Disclaimer All characters belong to DC comics accept for Zooey & Nolan. They are from my own mind, and proud of it!
Summary Lois & Clark's future comes to haunt their past. Is it haunting if it's good?
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Chapter Three
Intergalactic Traveler
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In the future....
Clark stood at the head of the bed. Emotions were running through his head, unable to grasp which one he was really feeling. His daughter no longer slept humbly on the guest bed. A certain tug at his heart made it that more obvious to him that something was wrong. His daughter did some unexplainable stuff in her day, but taking off wasn't one of them. He strolled to the side of the bed, slumped over and sat down. "What happened?" He asked no anger hidden in his voice, just confusion.
Chloe stepped into the room, no longer speculating the view before her, "I'm not sure. She came in last night right before 11. I mean, nothing seemed wrong. Not until this morning."
He closed his eyes, fists clenched. "Who found the bed empty?" He asked trying to keep from blowing up. He didn't want Chloe to think he was mad at her, but at the same time he wanted to let out all his frustration. He spent most of his life with Zooey, trying to keep her safe from the big bads of the world, and now she was gone. Vulnerable to the world. He'd be damned if he'd let his daughter slip through his fingers. He had already lost Lois, last thing on his agenda was to loose his daughter too.
Chloe noticed his sudden discomfort, and thought it best just to leave him be, but she couldn't. She didn't want to. "I did." She then let her legs take her to the bed, and sat down next to him. "Clark, against popular belief, she isn't your typical teen. She does have your abilities after all."
Clark angrily darted off the bed, his hand now running through his thick raven hair. "Chloe, she's still gone. Even if I know she could handle herself, it still doesn't bring her back."
"I'm sorry Clark." Chloe stared down at her hands, letting that one tear fall down her cheek. She didn't know how she would take it if Zooey was less then fine. When Lois died, the only thing keeping Clark and her together was Zooey. She was in some way, like her own mother. And that comforted both her and Clark knowing that she was Lois's daughter. Clark and Lois's daughter. Loosing her would make everything fall apart.
He bent down in front of her, his hand found it's way to hers, and he squeezed gently trying to give her some kind of comfort even if he no longer knew how. "It's not your fault Chlo, you couldn't have known this was going to happen."
She didn't say a single thing, just nodded accepting that she probably really didn't know it was going to happen. He gave her a reassuring smile, then rose up from his spot on the bed. "I need to start looking for her. And I need you to make some phone calls to Bruce and Oliver. If we are going to get a chance at finding her, we need as much help as we can get." Chloe nodded, agreeing to do so. It was obvious he was anxious to find her. Bringing Bruce and Oliver in it made it that much clearer.
Bruce and Oliver were close to Clark. They had been for the longest time. Oliver of course being the first one that Clark could trust who was apart of the Justice League. Bruce later on became second of the super heroes to be trusted. They weren't close like colleagues but more or so like best friends of the family. To Zooey, they were family. She after all had called them her uncles when she was old enough to start speaking full words. Clark didn't mind it, she needed that in her life. Family. He himself didn't have any siblings that were his blood except Kara who was his cousin. But of course it didn't stop Zooey from calling her aunt, just like she did Chloe. These were people who surrounded her every single waking moment. And he was glad that his pride and joy had that in her life. Now he needed to find her.
Where? He didn't know...
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In the past....
After Lois had fainted, Clark swooped up and caught her before she caused any more damage to that little pretty head of hers. Not that she always seemed to hit her head; actually she really did hit her head a lot. He couldn't help but stare at her body slumped over his arms. He had to smile at how perfectly her body felt against him. Almost as if his arms were meant to hold her like this in such an intimate manner. He didn't bother denying it to himself, he did that enough out loud when she wasn't knocked out.
She had to giggle to herself. She didn't realize how bad her dad had it for her mom. At the moment she could see how in love her dead really was. There was no question, and denying it would just make it that more obvious. She didn't dare interrupt his moment with her passed out mom. She would brand herself an idiot if she did. The last thing she wanted was to alter the future of them never getting together. She liked being alive and able to eat pizza anytime she wanted.
As much as Clark loved the warmth Lois's body brought to him, he now needed to get some where they could all easily talk without getting stared at by pedestrians. He looked over to Zooey who looked all to radiant with her bright smile. Did she like Lois fainting? He thought. No that smile came from something else. But there was no time to ask questions. There was time for that later. Right now he needed to get Lois some where comfortable.
He opened the back door and carefully placed Lois on the cushioned back seat of her car, and shut the door behind him. "Are you able to get into the car?" He asked Zooey who was no longer smiling but now concerned.
"Is she okay?" She consciously asked him looking over his shoulder. But failing. Too tall! She cursed.
"Shes fine. Lois is a pretty tough cookie when it comes to these things. We just need to get some where we can talk about this further." The word this escaped his lips as if whatever was wrong with her, couldn't be said out loud.
"You mention something about a friend named Chloe?" She asked with a suggestive twinkle in her eyes. She couldn't help it. The thought of seeing Chloe at such a young age made her sort of excited. Jimmy still looked the same, she wondered if Chloe did too. Of course she saw photos of Chloe in her younger years, but they just never were the same unless you saw them in person.
Clark raised an eyebrow at her wondering why she looked so eager to meet his best friend. But he couldn't help but admit, going to Chloe's did sound like the most logical thing to do. "Chloe's it is." He opened the passenger door gesturing for the ghost girl to hop in, "Hop in."
She had to speculate it a little. What if she fell in? Then she'd have to walk, and who knows how long that would take. She sighed and did just that. Only nothing. She actually didn't fall through. With that she let out a "Woo, I didn't fall through. I can sit!" She said in amazement.
Clark smirked and wheeled himself around the car so that he was opening the drivers door, and slipped inside. For a girl who obviously was confused at her inability to hold solid things, she sure looked a little more than happy. Shes taking this pretty well, he thought before starting the ignition.
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"So let me get this straight. Only you and Lois can see her?" Chloe was just as confused but never dismissed the idea that a girl was a ghost, and only her best friend and cousin could see her. She looked over at the sleepless, clueless Lois laying on her couch where Clark had rested her.
Chloe wasn't much different from how Zooey knew her. She was still the curious Chloe she always knew. Her hair was shorter. She looked actually pretty with shorter hair. But it was eerie, since most of her growing up years consisted of knowing long hair Chloe, and never really saw Chloe with short hair before. She had to admit, long hair Chloe looked a little bit older than the one she was staring at right now.
"Can you tell her I said hi?" A small voice chimed in.
Clark turned his head towards her with a quizzical gaze, "Zooey says hi." He relayed to Chloe who was now looking in the general direction that Clark just had looked trying to find some ounce of life.
She found none and nervously waved, "Hi to you, too?"
Zooey stepped a little closer so that she was now next to them. She felt odd being talked about as if she wasn't there. Well she wasn't there to Chloe, but she was there to her dad.
Chloe walked over to the counter, picking up a folder that held a few pieces of paper. "Looks like you have to handle this on your own Clark. You can stay here as long you want, but I have a date with Jimmy. I'd cancel it but it looks like you just need to ask Zooey questions. It's the only way to get to the bottom of this weird situation."
"What about Lois?" Clark looked at Lois obviously still concerned at her current state.
"If I know Lois, she'll be more than fine. Heck she'd probably do all the asking." She then patted his shoulder, "Don't worry Clark, the sooner you three talk about this, the better your answers will come."
As much as Chloe wanted to stay and help figure this out with them. She felt as if she needed to leave it to them. The girl obviously had some sort of connection with them for them to only be the ones able to see her. So it only seemed natural for her to leave and let them figure this out. There was only so much she could do.
"I will see you guys later. You can fill me in on the details later." She walked to the door and opened it only to stop and look around the room. "Bye Zooey."
"Bye!" Wow that came out weird. Zooey thought to herself noticing the look Clark was giving her. "What?" She asked shrugging. "I like new people."
Clark watched as Chloe shut the door behind her and continued to stare at Zooey, curiosity getting the best of him. "You know her don't you?"
"No." She couldn't get anything past her dad. Even if he didn't know that she was his daughter, he still found a way to read right through her.
"Why do I have a hard time believing that?" He asked crossing his arms.
"Can we talk about this when she is awake?" Zooey suggested gesturing to a still knocked out Lois. She didn't want to start speaking about her predicament till her mother was awake.
He gave in. Something about her made him trust her. But he didn't know what. "Promise?"
"Scouts honor." She lifted up her hand giving him her boy scouts salute. "Maybe we should talk about your ability to catch a collapsing corps. Super speed much?"
Oh crap, Clark thought she noticed! He let out a sigh and looked over to Lois making sure she was still in her current state.
"Something tells me you haven't told her about your, uh, intergalactic traveler powers." She had used her hands in quotations to emphasize what she was talking about. She remembered her dad getting bent out of shape about calling him an alien from another planet. She couldn't help herself but use it against him. Making him squirm was just too much fun. It's not every day you get to poke fun at your own father. Who was she kidding? She always poked fun at her father. It's the only way she could keep her dad on his toes and not so closed off.
He was in complete shock that he didn't noticed his gaped mouth trying to form words. How did she know that? "How did you know that?" The words finally formed. Good job Clark.
"Oh you'll find out when she wakes up." She said, "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." She then winked at him with a smirk. "Fa-zha."
Who was this girl?! And what was fa-zha?
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It didn't take long for her to finally wake up. Lois sat up still a bit dazed from the sudden black out. Noticing her surroundings, she realized she was at her apartment above the Talon. Well hers and Chloe's. With Jimmy in the mix? Didn't matter. Didn't change the fact that she felt like crap, and had a horrible dream that she could literally put her hand through a girl.
Clark could hear her stirring up from her recent slumber and quickly made his way beside her, helping her so that she was now sitting up. "You alright?" He asked not caring how concerned he sounded.
"I had this weird dream that I saw a ghost girl. How weird is that?" She asked looking up at him. He cleared his throat and then looked over to Zooey who was looking at them both with no actual expression he could make out. Subconsciously Lois looked to his direct current stare, only to stare too, wide eyed and all. "You're real!"
Zooey waved at her and gave her the sweetest smile she could possibly muster up at that moment. "Real as a heart attack."
"Do you see her too?" Her mind was racing. She felt as if she was going crazy.
"Yep." He didn't sound too excited. He really didn't want Lois finding out about his abilities. He wasn't ready for that yet.
Lois was about to speak, but Zooey quickly cut her off. "I know you're freaked. Heck if I were you, and completely clueless - no offense - but if I were, I'd peg myself as a insane lunatic." She stopped to wait for her mothers full attention. Lois only stared at her in shell shock, but listened. "But right now, you guys need answers. And I am the only with them." She finally took a breath suddenly feeling the need to actually breathe.
That's exactly what she gave them. Boy did they have a lot of questions.
Why are you a ghost? Don't know.
How come we can only see you? Don't know. But really she knew. She just didn't want to out and say it. They needed to figure that out on their own.
How did you get here? And that's the real question she was waiting for. She told them how she was from the future, how she entered a weird gypsy store, and a gypsy handing her a necklace.
"She said something about me getting the answers to my questions, and my wishes would come true. That it will fill the emptiness in my heart." Her face suddenly fell at that. She did always feel a painful emptiness within her. She knew it was because she grew up without her mom.
"And?" Lois was already intrigued. Zooey thanked the gods that she wasn't freaked out anymore. That she was understanding, and not scared. She didn't even know how her dad was taking this.
"And so I came home, was about to go to sleep, decided to give it a shot and wish something. And voilá, I'm here."
"Just like that?" Lois asked in disbelief.
"Not exactly. It didn't happen right then and there. Must have happened when I was asleep." Zooey explained.
"What did you wish for?" Clark asked curiously.
Zooey got up trying to avoid the question she didn't know if she should answer. If she answered it, they could figure out that they were her parents. But she knew she had to. She never lied to her dad, and she wasn't about to start now. "That I'd get to know my mom."
Both Lois and Clark had confusion written all over their faces. It didn't make any sense to either of them. If she wanted to get to know her mom, why didn't her mom have her instead of them? Then as if on cue both looked at Zooey wide eyed as if a light bulb finally lit.
Zooey nodded gesturing that whatever they were thinking was probably right.
"No way." She argued still in disbelief, now standing up. "How?"
"I'm pretty sure it's called 'doing the nasty.'" Zooey answered honestly.
Clark swallowed the uncomfortable knot that found its way to his throat. His Lois was a mom? He felt a certain sadness form within the sole of his heart, and couldn't help but wonder who the lucky man was that clearly stole her heart.
"But with who?" Lois asked not entirely dismissing the idea of having a daughter. She couldn't deny the similarities she felt coming from the girl in front of her. Her witty remarks were sort of similar if not close to her own.
"Who do you think?" Zooey's eyes fell to Clark who had his hands in his face, trying to keep from showing any sign of sadness. He didn't even notice both females starring at him, till Lois spoke.
"Who? Smallville?!" She practically spat his nickname out as if it wasn't possible that he could be the father.
At the mention of his name; well nickname; he looked up at the staring Zooey who looked like she was a bit sad. Why was she looking at me like that? He thought.
She felt for him. She didn't know how her parents relationship was before they got together, nor did she really know about their relationship after they got together. But she knew that look from any where. Her dad gave her that look sometimes. And she knew he was sad. He must have thought mom had me with another guy.
She smiled warmly at them, tears were about to spill. Why now of all times was she about to cry? Wasn't this a good thing? It was. They weren't sad tears, they were relief tears. She could now get the answers she so desperately wanted, without having to beat around the bush to get them. But she didn't dare let on that her mother was not only gone in the future, but gone forever.
She looked to Clark who was fighting back emotions, her face still keeping her warm smile, "Hi dad." She greeted, then looked over at her mom who was currently starring holes into her. "Hi, mom."
All that came to Clark's mind at that moment was, No wonder she knew I was an intergalactic traveler!
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TBC
Sorry, didn't find a beta reader. So hopefully you guys can do without. =(
