A/N: Thanks for all the great feedback, guys. I'm going to try to update as fast as I can. (Just bear in mind, though, that I'm in the process of writing this fic & another so it'll depend on how fast I can write.)
Chapter Six
Metropolis, 2008
"You have got to be kidding me!" Chloe exclaimed, her head swiveling back and forth between Clark and Lori. Finally, she focused on Lori. "You're telling me that my cousin is possessed?"
"Um… no… not really," Lori thought for a second. "Ah… okay, yeah I am. It's kind of like that."
"Chloe, it doesn't matter. She could be a different Lois or maybe she's our Lois, but just confused." Clark shook his head. "We can't just go off of whatever Lori saw when she read Lois's mind –we just need to find her and bring her back."
"Hey, it's not exact science, but I know what I saw, Clark," Lori shot back.
Chloe eyed Lori dubiously. "And what you saw in her mind was another Lois? Where's our Lois Lane, then?"
"I don't know," Lori admitted. "I didn't see any memories to indicate that our Lois was in there. She didn't know who I was, at all. She has no memories of this apartment – or even of Chloe. The only person she knew out of all us was Clark. And it wasn't this version of Clark."
"Right, it's the version that had a kid with her," Chloe said sarcastically, shaking her head in frustration. "Lori, it doesn't make sense."
"And, of course, everything in your life has always made sense. Seriously, Chloe? I mean, you're currently talking to a mermaid and an alien. And you're questioning this?" Lori replied, with a wry smile.
Chloe looked at her best friend curiously. He looked like he was in a confused daze. Chloe sighed. If it turned out that Lori was right, then it was going to be one hell of a problem. And knowing Clark, he was never going to recover from the knowledge that an alternate version of he and Lois had a child together. Great, just what she needed.
"What do you think, Clark?" Chloe finally asked.
"I think she may be right, Chloe," Clark answered, shrugging. "Some of the things Lois said seemed pretty odd. It's true – she didn't recognize anyone but me. And Lori…" Clark hesitated and then smiled at his girlfriend slightly. "Lori's usually not wrong about these things." He looked a little guilty for doubting Lori earlier.
Chloe rolled her eyes at the pleased grin Lori flashed back at him. "Okay, Lori, did you happen to figure out why Lois pulled a Freaky Friday while you were swimming around in her mind?"
"Freaky Friday?" Lori repeated, with a puzzled frown. "What does that mean?"
Chloe arched a brow. "You know, the book? The one about the mother and daughter that switch bodies for a Friday? They made a movie out of it? In fact, they made several."
Still looking blank, Lori shook her head.
"Okay, forget it." Chloe sighed and raked her fingers through her short hair. "It doesn't matter why it happened or even exactly what happened. The first step is looking for her." Chloe turned to Clark. "Clark, go find her and give us a call when you're with her. We need to convince Lois – or whoever she is – to stay with us."
Before Clark could reply, Lori interjected. "Why would Clark know where she is? We'll all go."
"I actually do kind of know where she is," Clark answered. "I've been following her heartbeat while we've been talking. I should be able to track her down pretty fast."
Both Chloe and Lori stared at him in amazement.
"Really? I was just going to tell you to run around until you found her," Chloe said, impressed in spite of herself. "I didn't know you could use your super-hearing for that."
Clark shrugged. "I didn't either. I just tried it right now and it seems to be working. We'll know for sure when I get to her, though."
"Do you think you can do it for anybody?" Lori asked curiously. "I mean, how can you tell her heartbeat from everyone else's in Metropolis?"
"Why don't we worry about the crisis on hand first? We can always analyze his new-found ability later. But we need to find our missing Lois Lane now," Chloe said hastily, not exactly liking the direction the conversation was going. The last thing she needed was Lori and Clark fighting while they had an alternate universe's Lois running around her in cousin's body.
"Right," Lori nodded. "Of course – that makes sense. Clark, you go look for her. Give us a call when you find her."
Clark nodded and, in less than a second, disappeared out the door.
Smallville, 2019
Lois threw the stick for tenth time and started laughing when the yellow-haired dog sped off after it.
"He likes you," Clark said, as he walked up to her outside. He was dressed simply in a green t-shirt and jeans, and without the glasses, he looked just like her Clark. For a second, it seemed like she was back home, in Smallville, hanging out with Clark at the farm. A part of her expected Chloe to come driving up any second.
Lois looked at him and saw that he was watching her warily, obviously thinking that she was about to ream into him again.
"Yeah, I appear to have Shelby's love no matter what universe I'm in," Lois responded. "Thank God the allergies have gone away, though."
Her tone was light, but she couldn't meet his eyes. After her brief flare of anger had faded, she had ended up feeling pretty embarrassed for going off on him. It wasn't right for her to be angry about something that hadn't actually happened to her.
"Shelby?" Clark repeated, as he knelt down to grab the stick from the returning dog. He threw it out into the field and the dog sped off after it again. "Actually, his name's Krypto,"
Startled, Lois turned to look at him. "No, I - ." Then, she stopped. Of course. I wasn't here to stop him. She couldn't help it, she started laughing.
"What's so funny?"
Lois shook her head, but couldn't stop the laughter. Finally, she explained, "Back in my world, Clark has this same dog. And he wanted to name the dog Krypto, but I wouldn't let him. I told him he could name his next dog Krypto. So… I guess…." Lois's voice trailed away.
Suddenly, she didn't feel like laughing anymore. Instead, she was starting to feel downright miserable as the implications of her situation starting becoming more and more clear. The silence between them lengthened until Clark finally broke it.
"I'm sorry, Lois," Clark said softly.
"For what?" Before he could answer, she continued quickly. "Because if it's for the Freaky Friday thing, then there's no need – it's not your fault. If it's for the whole Jason thing – well, I'm not the one you should say sorry to. There was no point in me getting mad at you about it – it's none of my business."
Clark stared at her for a moment and nodded. Then, he shot her a confused look. "Freaky Friday? What's that?"
Lois started to explain but then just shrugged. "Forget it – it's just a book." She paused and added, "My favorite one when I was little."
"What's it about?" Clark asked, leaning back against fence and crossed his arms. The soft material of his t-shirt stretched across his muscular chest.
Lois couldn't help but grin appreciatively. If Clark ages this well in my universe, I definitely need to make sure we're still friends when we grow up. Lois realized what she was thinking and tried to stop the inappropriate thoughts. Stop it! He's taken – by you, actually. So don't think about stealing Clark from yourself. It's screwed up. You're just projecting because he looks just like your Clark right now. Wait – what difference does it make if he looks like Clark? Damn.
Apparently unaware about the confused direction of her thoughts, Clark prompted her, "The book? What's it about?"
"Ah… yeah…it's about a girl and her mom that switch bodies," Lois replied. "My mom read it to me when I was seven – the year she died."
Lois became quiet, remembering the evenings when her mother would sit down and read through the chapters of the book with her. Every day, Lois would look forward to the nighttime when it would just be her and her mother, reading the book. After her mother died, it was years before she could pick up the book and read it again. But it was still one of her favorites.
Lois blinked away the moisture had come to her eyes and cleared her throat. "Anyway, the book is about two people who switch bodies. I'm assuming it's the same case here. I think your Lois must be in my body if I'm in hers. We must have switched somehow."
"Or you could be in both," Clark pointed out. "How do you know she's not somewhere else, completely?"
"Like floating around on some other plane or something?" Lois asked and rolled her eyes. "Not likely – and even if it's a possibility, let's not consider it, okay? The thought is kind of scary. Let's just go with my theory."
Clark nodded and smiled. "Sounds good. Something does tell me that if we manage to get you back where you're supposed to be, it'll all work out."
"Yeah," Lois agreed and became quiet again. Shelby came running up to her and she absentmindedly rubbed his soft fur. "How do you suggest we go about doing that?"
Clark glanced at his watch and pushed himself away from the fence. "I'm going to look into a few things. Talk to a friend of mine. And you," Clark added, while he pushed her firmly back towards the house, "are going to go back to Metropolis and hang out with Jason. Richard's supposed to go on a business trip tonight and you're the only one who can stay with him."
"What?" Lois came to a dead stop. "No way – I'm not a kid person, Clark. I'm not hanging out with someone who keeps calling me "Mommy". Trust me when I tell you this -- you do not want me babysitting your son."
Clark's eyes started twinkling in amusement. "You're going to be fine. After all, if this Lois Lane can handle it, I'm sure you can."
Chapter Six -- Part Two
Metropolis, 2008
"What took you so long?" Lois asked calmly, as she looked up at the tall man that had just come skidding to a halt in front of her. Her voice echoed faintly through the large, empty room.
Lois was sitting cross-legged on the floor, but now she got up and started to pace back and forth. Occasionally, she'd turn to glare at him.
Clark started to speak, but she cut him off.
"Wait – sorry. What am I thinking?" Lois smacked her forehead sarcastically. "This is the part where I say, 'Clark, what are you doing here? How'd you find me so fast?' and then you say, 'I was just wandering by the neighborhood and just managed to figure it out.' And then I say, 'Oh, right, that makes sense.' And then you think to yourself, 'Man, how great is it that Lois is galactically stupid?'"
The last words were thrown out in a much louder voice than she'd intended and she ran out of steam. Her rant over, she looked at Clark, waiting for a response. He kept silent and just stared at her for a moment. Then, without a word, he took out his cell phone out of his jacket and flipped it open.
"Chloe? Yeah, I found her – she's at the place we had the meeting with that scientist." Clark quickly gave Chloe directions, all the while not taking his eyes off of Lois.
Lois opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, again – this time for ignoring her original rant, but he beat her to it.
"I'm sorry, Lois," Clark said softly, as he snapped his cell phone shut and put back in his jacket.
Lois paused. Okay… wasn't expecting that.
"Who are you apologizing for, Clark? The Clark that lied to me for years in my world or for you – the one that's lying to this Lois for years?" Lois asked warily.
"Neither," Clark replied, with a puzzled look. "I'm apologizing for Lori – she shouldn't have read your mind. And when she did, she shouldn't have told me about it." Clark hesitated and continued with an inquiring look, "You heard us, right? How much did you hear?"
Lois looked away for a second. "I heard enough. I already suspected you were him – but when I heard Lori talking about me knowing your powers, that's when I knew what was going on." She glanced back at him, feeling the anger return. "And what do you mean, you're not apologizing for yourself? I can't believe that – ."
"Lois," Clark interrupted softly and held up one hand. "Give me a second, okay? First of all, I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but one thing is pretty clear – I'm not your Clark. And you're not my Lois." Clark stopped and flushed. His eyes widened and he corrected hastily, "I mean, you're not our Lois – the Lois in our time. Not that she's my Lois… she's not…."
Lois crossed her arms and couldn't help but be amused at the younger Clark's stammering explanation. It reminded her of her partner's stammering explanations. In that moment, her anger faded a bit and was replaced with a deep wave of homesickness.
Even though the knowledge that Clark and Superman was overwhelming, she would have given anything to be back at home having this fight with her own Clark – rather than the younger, more assured version before her. This Clark was weird – he was an odd mixture of Superman and Clark Kent and, truthfully, she didn't know what to do with him.
Lois finally broke into his long-winded denial of ownership of this universe's version of Lois Lane. ""It's okay, Clark, I get it. You and Lois aren't dating – you've got Lori." Lois couldn't help but add, with a tiny smile. "Although I can't really get why you'd want to date a girl that can read minds. That must make surprising her on Valentine's Day pretty hard."
Clark looked down at her for a moment and smiled back, obviously relieved she wasn't going to start ripping into him again. "Lori doesn't read my mind. She promised me she wouldn't. And, in general, Lori doesn't read other people's minds, either. She just couldn't help it in your case."
Lois's brows rose in disbelief and almost snorted. "Give me a break – she's lying to you."
"No, she's not," Clark shook his head emphatically. "The one thing that's perfect about my relationship with Lori is that we trust each other one hundred percent. We have no secrets from each other."
"The one thing, huh?" Lois eyed him speculatively. "That must be a pretty boring relationship, then, if that's the perfect thing about it. What about passion? What about love? What about excitement?"
Clark looked at her oddly and asked slowly, "Is that what you have with your Clark? Is that why you guys are married and have a kid?"
Lois blinked and took a step back. What? Where is he getting that? Wait… Lori must have dug around in there for quite a bit. Damn.
"Um…I take it Lori told you about my son?" Lois finally asked, not knowing how to explain the weird love triangle she had with Clark, Superman and Richard. Especially since she hadn't quite figured it out herself, yet.
"Ah…yeah," Clark shot her a confused look. "But, Lori told me that he wasn't just your son – he was also Clark's. Your version of Clark."
"He's not Clark's kid," Lois shot back, a bit of her anger returning to her. She bit her lip and looked away. "Well, I guess, biologically, Jason is Clark's child, too. But Clark isn't his father. Someone else is – Clark doesn't deserve to be his father."
Lois could have sworn she saw a hurt look pass over Clark's features, but it was so brief, she couldn't be sure.
"Well, I don't think I understand. I can't imagine that I would have a child and not be a father to him. Is your version of Clark that different from me?" Clark asked the question in an even tone, but his eyes looked troubled.
Not exactly sure how to respond to the question, Lois looked around the room until located a steel table in the corner. In an effort to hide her confusion, she moved towards the corner and settled herself onto the hard surface. She crossed her legs and considered the handsome young man standing silently across the room from her.
"He's not that different from you – if you put the two of him together. But, separately, yes he is different. From anybody," Lois replied, swinging one leg back and forth restlessly.
"Sorry? Two of him?" Clark asked, almost politely, with a raised brow.
Oh, right – Superman doesn't exist here. Clark must not have turned into him until after college. Lois squinted at the Clark in front of her and wondered when he would get the desire to don a pair of tights. How does one get to that point, anyway? Did he just wake up one day and decide he'd look good in spandex?
Shaking her head at the random thoughts, Lois tried to focus and explain things to Clark without confusing him anymore than he already was.
"Basically, in the future, you have two identies. You're Clark Kent, reporter for the Daily Planet. And you're also Superman – a hero that flies around the world saving people, using various super-powers," Lois explained. "No one knows that both of you are the same person."
"Superman?" Clark looked like he was trying to hold back laughter. "Um… I guess I'm pretty arrogant, huh?" He flashed her a quick grin and, for a second, her heart flipped around in her chest.
Stop doing that! It's not him! Lois commanded herself.
"Um…" Lois blinked, realizing that Clark was waiting for a response. "No… you didn't name yourself. I named you. I mean – I didn't name you Clark, I named you Superman. The first time I wrote an article about you."
Clark hesitated and then asked, "So… what happened? I mean, you work with Clark and you know Superman. How did you and he end up - ?" Clark's voice trailed off and it looked like he was blushing a bit.
Lois couldn't help it - she started laughing. There was just something so familiar about this Clark. She couldn't help but feel comfortable with him. In a way she hadn't been comfortable with her own DP partner for a long time. His crush on her always got in the way. Wait – Clark had a crush on me. Of course, that makes sense. Damn.
Inwardly cursing herself for own stupidity for the umpteenth time, Lois's voice was harsher than she'd intended when she answered Clark's question. "He lied to me. I worked with Clark and I loved Superman. He never told me he was the same person. And then, one day, they both disappeared. For five years." She thought for a second and added in a softer tone, "Well, Clark did leave a note – but he said he was going to go wander Africa or something. Superman didn't say anything."
Clark frowned. "You mean, he left you and his baby? He didn't even tell you the truth when you told him you were having a kid?" Clark shook his head. "No wonder you're so mad."
"Well…actually… he didn't know I was pregnant when he left," Lois reluctantly admitted after a minute.
"Oh," Clark answered. It was a simple reply, but a wealth of meaning seemed hidden in the word.
"Hey – I would have told him. I just didn't know I was pregnant, either," Lois shot back defensively. "And I didn't even know he was the father."
Clark took a step back, looking horrified. "What? Please tell me you're joking."
Suddenly, Lois realized how it had sounded and her own eyes widened in horror. She shook her head quickly, "No…no… that's not what I meant. It came out wrong." Lois took a deep breath and tried to figure out to explain something she barely understood herself. "Okay… look… there was a point, before Clark left, when I figured out that Clark and Superman were the same person. He told me who he was and took me to this place – he called it the Fortress of Solitude."
"Wait – was it a place full of crystals? A place that looked like Krypton, his home planet?" Clark interjected questioningly.
"Yeah," Lois nodded. "Anyway, this happened about six years ago. Then, an evil dictator from your home planet tried to take over the world – with some help on the side by an evil, bald billionaire." Lois sneered a bit at the reference to Lex Luthor. Just thinking about the last time she saw him made her want to maim someone. "Apparently, Clark decided it was too dangerous for me to know who he was, so he erased my memories."
Clark stared at her blankly. "He erased your memories? How'd he do that?" Clark asked the question in almost awed tone. He actually looked impressed by the other Clark's abilities.
Lois squinted at him and groaned. "Don't go getting any ideas. Let's not forget that it didn't work out that well for that world's Clark. I'm not sure exactly how he did it. But, one day, he just kissed me – and it made me blank out any interaction I'd had with him that would make me know his secret. Unfortunately, the moron," Lois ground out through clenched teeth, "didn't realize the kiss would also make me blank out the conception of my child."
"Oh," Clark said again. This time, he looked sheepish.
Lois sighed. "He left pretty soon after that. Maybe he was afraid that if he stayed, it would come back to me. I don't know. I started a relationship with Richard about two months after Supe – I mean, Clark – left."
Lois stared at a spot on the wall near her table, reliving for a minute the day she'd realized she was pregnant. She'd been terrified and in disbelief. What did she know about being a mother? And she barely knew Richard. Even though she loved her son more than anything in the world now, at the time she'd been scared and had thought that her life was ending.
"Um… so…," Lois cleared her throat and continued, yanking herself back to the present. "I, of course, assumed the baby was Richard's. When Jason was born seven months later, we just thought he was premature. And I thought Jason was Richard's until a few months ago – my memories of what happened started coming back. Oh, and Jason shoved a piano across a room – that kind of made me figure out things out a bit faster."
Clark nodded and an odd look came over him. He looked like he was in a daze. He had been leaning against the wall while they were talking, but now he slid to the floor and dropped his head in his hands.
"Clark?" Lois jumped off the table and came to stand before him. She stared down at him with concern. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
Clark gazed up her and shook his head. "No… I'm fine. It's just that… I didn't think I could have kids. I always assumed…" Clark hesitated and raked his hand through his hair. "I always thought I couldn't. At least, I didn't let myself hope I could. So, now… what you're telling me – it means that I can at least…."
Lois gave him a tiny smile and rolled her eyes. "Glad that my pathetic life story could benefit you in some way. Way to make it all about you, Clark," Lois said dryly, as she looked down at him.
Clark started laughing and stood back up in one fluid motion. He gazed at her for a moment and said thoughtfully, "You know, sometimes, you're just like her. Most of the time, I can tell the difference, but when you say something like that – you're just like her."
"How are we different?" Lois asked curiously. "I mean, I know some things are different in her life than they were when I was in 2008 – but are our personalities different, too?"
Before Clark could answer, they were interrupted by the sound of two young women entering the empty room. Their heels and voices seemed unnaturally loud in the echoing chamber.
"Lois!" Chloe ran up to her and gave her hug. She pulled back and grinned. "I'm glad Clark could find you."
Lori followed close behind the petite blonde woman, but with much less exuberance. Lois eyed Lori suspiciously and purposely stuck her hands in her jeans' pockets.
Lori looked straight at her and said simply, "I'm so sorry, Lois. I didn't mean to invade your privacy. It just happened. My powers – I can't always control them." Lori glanced at Clark as she said this. He nodded slightly, like he understood. She turned back to Lois and smiled. "I hope you'll forgive me. I'd like to help you in any way that I can – in this world, Lois is my roommate and we're actually pretty good friends. I'd like to be your friend if you'll let me."
No, we cannot be friends. And the fact that you're asking tells me that there's something wrong with you. No one can be this nice. And there is no way that hair can be natural. It's definitely fake – and not the "I spent a hundred bucks at the salon" fake.
Lois smiled at Lori, but didn't bother to try to stop the mean thoughts running through her mind. Lori looked directly at her and returned her smile almost shyly.
Okay, so maybe she actually doesn't go around reading minds all the time. Or maybe she's just a really good actress.
Lois suddenly realized everyone was really quiet and they were all looking at her. Chloe and Clark were both looking at her expectantly, waiting to see if she was going to move past what had happened with Lori. Lori was still smiling shyly and also a bit nervously.
Lois forced a smile to her lips and lied through her teeth. "Of course we can – any friend of this Lois's is a friend of mine." Lois made sure to keep her hands safely in her pocket and gave her a huge grin as she added, "Not that I have a choice – you guys are my best bet getting out of here. And I have no money or a place to stay."
"How did you get to downtown, anyway?" Chloe asked curiously. "You would have needed a cab to get here and you left your purse at home." Apparently, Chloe had realized that a change of subject was in order. Lois couldn't help but shoot her a genuine smile – the girl was smart.
Lois patted her jeans' pocket. "Your Lois does the same thing I used to do when I was in college – she has a twenty sewn into the lining of each of her jeans' pockets. Forty bucks was enough to get here."
All three of the college students looked at each other in surprise and then stared at Lois's jeans.
Clark cleared his throat. "Really? Why?"
"For obvious reasons – you never know what could happen. Came in handy today, didn't it?" Lois pointed out, with a slight smile at the confused looks on their faces. It was hard to believe she'd ever been this young and naïve. Then again, she really never was naïve – the General had seen to that.
Lois took a deep breath and looked at Chloe, Clark and Lori with a determined expression. "Okay, let's come up with a plan. I have a son to get back to and every minute we waste is a minute where my son is left alone."
"He might not be alone – our Lois could be with him," Chloe suggested, with a worried look. "At least I hope so – otherwise we have no idea where our Lois is."
Lois paused. "You mean like a "Freaky Friday" thing? We switched bodies somehow?"
"Yes, exactly!" Chloe said with an excited grin. She threw Lori and Clark a triumphant look and muttered, "See, I told you it was a book."
"Of course it's a book." Lois replied matter-of-factly, wondering why they would even question it. "It was my favorite book when I was kid."
Chloe blinked in surprise. "It was my cousin's favorite book, too. Because of her mom."
"Hmmm," Lois nodded thoughtfully. "Looks like I've got more in common with your cousin than I thought. Interesting." Then a thought occurred to her and she winced. "And that means that I'm not leaving her with Jason any more than I have to – there's no way I would have been able to handle him when I was in college."
Chloe and Clark exchanged an amused look. Chloe agreed with a grin. "You've got that right – I cannot imagine Lois taking care of a kid. We better get her back here before she kills herself – and you've got no body to go back to."
