Author's Note: Sorry for being so long. Back when I had the case of writers block on this story, I started another one altogether (Stargate) Got that all done and I promise to be devoted again.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Me?" The unexpected arrival looked around. "I'm Lois Lane." She noticed Victor standing closest to her. "I'm not at Star Labs anymore, am I?" She asked. He shook his head. "No, of course not, that would be too normal an expectation. You know, to still be at the same place where you were two seconds ago. It's happened again. Hasn't it. There must be something wrong with me." She threw her hands up in the air and added pacing to her babbling.
"Why wouldn't it happen again?" Lois questioned semi-hysterical and then tried to calm down. "Could be worse, could have been kidnapped, or lost my memory." She whirled about, gesturing wildly and still maintaining the conversation by herself. "It has been worse. I've been kidnapped while I lost my memory." She stopped for a moment to consider her comment. "Or is that really worse? Because I don't I remember to much about that."
Victor slowly backed away from the mad woman and went to examine the smoldering ray.
Lois's sweeping motions drew Milton's attention to the dark object in her hand. He crossed the room and caught her fist on its downward arc. He pried her fingers open and scuttled back to the counter where the lights were still operating. Lois cried out, "Hey! I think I'm going to need that."
Chloe watched them with her mouth agape, immobilized by the sheer magnitude of this disaster. Clark was still lost, the AU-Ray looked decimated, the lab was in shambles, they had wrenched another victim into this mess, and the odds of her name being just a coincidence were decidedly low.
Chloe knew she was going to have to deal with Lois and whoever she was soon. She knew the AU-Ray had to be rebuilt fast; Clark didn't have much time left, but she remained motionless, unable to act. Wave after wave of disappointment and weariness washed over her rendering her unsteady and bogged down with helpless rage. They had been so close to bringing Clark home and now they were back to square one; worse than at square one with less time, two people to switch, and completely without funds.
Dimly, she was aware of Milton and Lois bickering like petty school children, something about H G Wells and resonance. Milton was getting out of control again.
Still frozen, Chloe was also vaguely aware of Victor going through his own meltdown. He was examining the ray and muttering, "Ruined, ruined. We will never make it." He picked through the ruble. "Destroyed, it's ruined, my life ruined, I'm ruined." He checked the internal components. "Core processor singed, secondary systems fried, base feedback charred, external plating, oww! Still retaining heat. Impossible, can't do it."
The increasing tumult between Milton and Lois penetrated the fog of pessimism, kicked up her temper set her in motion. In four strides Chloe stood in front of Milton who hunched over the counter examining his treasure. Lois was fruitlessly trying to tell him something about the devise and he was paying no heed. Chloe's last bit of control snapped. Calling up the tougher persona she used to control Milton was no difficulty this time. Apparently her helpless rage would find an outlet.
"Milton," she got no response. "Milton!" She demanded his attention a second time. When she didn't get even a bat of an eyelid, Chloe snatched the empty fire extinguisher lying on the ground, lifted it up over her head and hurled it at the glass beakers stacked behind him. Glass shattered and crashed satisfyingly. Milton ducked and protectively covered his head.
When he straightened, Chloe grabbed the front of his shirt, made a fist, and twisted it to bring Milt close. His scowl dropped and his eyes got wide. "Are we going to go through this again?" She asked too sweetly, hoping he would give her a reason to pull out the taser. Milt shook his head and gave Chloe his attention. "Good." She released him and turned to Lois who had fallen silent at this sudden display.
Chloe took a steadying breath and exhaled, trying to release any lingering violent urges. "I know you are confused and probably have a million questions, but please if we are to have any hope of getting you home, I need to figure out how you got here in the first place." She held up a finger, indicating Lois should wait and turned to Milton. "Give me that, that…"
"Resonator recorder," supplied Lois.
Chloe thanked her. "Give me that resonator recorder and get over to the AU Ray with Victor and give me an assessment."
Milton sullenly handed it over, "Don't touch the settings."
"Fine, now get me a timeline. I need to know how soon the ray will be working again." Milton walked over to Victor and pushed him out of the way so he could get a closer look at the damage. Chloe turned her attention to the Lois Lane watching her with a mixture of wariness and respect. A Lois Lane who looked nothing like the cousin Chloe knew, but could still very well be the same intended representation.
The past few days forcibly enrolled Chloe in the ultimate crash course on string theory, multiple dimensions, and parallel universes. She read scientific journals, articles and blogs written by everyone from Stephen Hawking to SG1Fanboy12. Hey, a concept of a parallel universe where everyone looked different but still had the same names wasn't much harder to wrap her mind around than an evil, super-computer professor or a miserly, earth burrowing, homicidal maniac of a farmer. She'd figure out just who Lois was supposed to be later, first Chloe needed to know if this Lois knew anything.
Chloe opened her mouth to begin her interrogation and then stopped and looked around. Her ebbed temper made way for weariness. "I need caffeine." She glanced at Victor and Milton who were finally working together disassembling the ray for salvageable pieces. "They're not going anywhere for a while. Is there anything you're going to tell me that can't wait until I have a double espresso in my hands?"
Lois shook her head. "That's the first thing anyone here has said that makes sense."
They remained silent until after they placing their orders at a coffee spot just off campus. Chloe led Lois to a table in the back corner of the shop. The coffee house wasn't crowded so Chloe felt it safe to talk. She took a sip of her coffee and with her eyes closed waited just a moment before she felt the effects singing through her veins. "I almost feel human again," she sighed with pleasure, but encountered more than a twinge of guilt when she noticed Lois forlornly stirring her latte.
Lois glanced up to see Chloe watching her and addressed the elephant in the room. "That machine that brought me here, it looked bad, real bad. What's the chance that I'm going to make it home? Just tell it to me straight."
Chloe furrowed her brow in concern and shook her head. "I don't know yet, but I promise you, we are not giving up. Yeah, the AU Ray looked pretty bad, but these are the guys who built it and so if they have to start from scratch we will."
Lois took comfort in her fierce avowal. She offered a small smile and held out her hand. "We haven't been officially introduced. You must be the Chloe that Clark keeps talking about."
Chloe took her hand and shook it perfunctorily before she understood the significance of what Lois revealed. "You saw Clark? My Clark?" Her eyes welled and she looked up grinning and dashing away fat tears of relief. "You spoke to him? Is he alright? Of course he is alright." Chloe half sobbed, half laughed in joy.
If Lois had any doubts about Chloe's feelings for Clark, the girl's face just told the whole tale. Chloe was a cute girl with a commanding presence and a streak of inner elegance, but at the mention of Clark, her smile lit up her whole face and transformed her into a beauty. "He was fine when I unexpectedly departed." Lois shook her head, "Ten more seconds, even five and he would have been the one sitting sipping coffee with you." Lois's words stole away Chloe's smile.
"What happened?"
Lois quickly filled her in on the events that took place at Star Lab's and the importance of the resonator recorder device, "Which," Lois concluded, "is what I was trying to explain to Dr Hamlish."
"Dr Hamlish? You mean Milton?"
"Yes, in my world he and Dr Davinhoe had worked heavily on alternate reality theory during grad school, but didn't have the funds to develop the actual working model. Once we found Clark, we were trying to gather as much information as possible and they seemed a good source to turn to."
"How did you find Clark in the first place?" Chloe broke of a piece of her blueberry muffin and took a bite.
"We first heard about him after he came to the Daily Planet looking for you and then we got word from Clark's parents about a strange young man looking for his mother, Senator Martha Kent--you have to explain that one--and also ranting about a Chloe Sullivan." Lois took a sip of her coffee. "When I ran across him the next day I convinced my husband we should help. Well, once I convinced him who your Clark really was, of course he was going to help."
Chloe cocked her head. "Wait, I'm confused. Why were you at the Planet? Where was I, err, your Chloe?"
"There is no Chloe Sullivan at the Planet. I don't even have a cousin named Chloe Sullivan, although I had this dream…," Lois trailed off and shook her head. "Never mind that, but as to why I was at the Planet, Clark and I were just putting to bed a hot scoop. We had just sent it off to the presses when Clark got the call from his parents."
Chloe choked on her muffin. "You and Clark, and a hot scoop? You work at the Daily Planet? You, Lois Lane, are working for the Metropolis Daily Planet? As a reporter?"
Lois paused in her effort to open a package of sweetener, feeling she should be somewhat offended by Chloe's great surprise. "I'll have you know I've worked for the Daily Planet since I first got hired as an intern back in college."
"Wow, that's great." Chloe blinked rapidly trying to adjust to this new idea. "It's just not something I'd expect from my Lois; Clark, I always knew he had it in him, but Lois?" Chloe lifted her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders, "Sorry, it's just that the Lois I know is so happy at the Inquisitor that…"
Lois's jaw dropped. "The Inquisitor! That lying scandal rag!" She jumped to her feet in agitation. All heads in the coffee house turned at her shouting. Lois nervously tittered and sat down slowly, trying to calm down. "No, no, it's the alt reality thing," she tried telling herself, "in your world The Inquisitor is a respected newspaper." Lois clutched Chloe's hand desperately, "Right?"
Chloe shook her head laughing. "I'm sorry, but just last week they did an expose on Elvis sightings in squash fields."
Lois put her head down on the table. "Ugh, I am so humiliated."
Still laughing, Chloe patted her on the shoulder, "Cheer up, you are two completely different individuals making your own choices. I've done a lot of reading on alternate realities. When there are so many differences between worlds, there are no rules that say you have to follow the same destinies. What Lois does with her life doesn't have to be any kind of reflection on you. Hey, at least you have a counterpart here; I don't exist in your world." She tilted her head contemplatively. "I wonder why that is?"