Chapter 12: Hope
"Where there's life, there's hope." - Terence
Kent Estate, Metropolis
Lois has pretty much settled in as best she could. Other than Clark, Jonathan and Bruce, she hasn't made any efforts to contact anybody else. She has, though, on a number of occasions, picked up the phone and dial Martha's number only to hang up before she could get to the first ring.
She wasn't ready yet. She didn't know if she ever would be.
Watching the sun set from her couch, she was entangled in her memories of the last twelve years. They won't allow themselves to go away.
As she tried not to think about it, there was a knock on the door.
"Hello." A woman walked in with long wavy dark black hair.
She looked familiar.
"Diana?"
The woman smiled. "Hey you," she greets in a soft caring voice.
Lois eyed the woman who had become one of her closest friends. Family. She hasn't seen her just as long as Clark and Jonathan. "You've barely aged," she observed thoughtfully.
"You're as beautiful as the day you left, Lois." With an elegant grace, Diana closed the gap between them and embraced her. Lois returned the gesture sincerely.
Letting go, Lois smiled weakly but she was still very grateful to see a familiar face.
"How's Themyscria?"
"Thriving." Diana tilted her head to the side, as if a single look will answer all her questions. "How are Kal and Jonathan?"
"Happy," she answered with a smile, but then it faltered. "Well, their happy around me, but I can tell they're worried"
"You talk so little of your experience." Diana hadn't meant to bring it up so soon, but once it left her lips, there was no turning back.
Lois frowned. "I see you've been talking to Bruce…"
"And your husband"
"I seem to be the subject of a lot of conversations," she sighed.
"We're just all worried about you." Diana spun to watch the sun set out in the horizon through the window. The sudden move showed a glint of her golden lasso.
Lois subtly shook her head at the sight and moved immediately to her side that it caught Diana off guard. Lois removed the lasso and wrapped it around her hand.
"Ask me," Lois calmly demanded.
Diana remained silent, guilt overwhelming her. When Bruce announced to the Justice League that Lois Lane Kent was alive, they all beamed with joy. And after Bruce's very brief explanation in regards to her disappearance, Diana felt everyone was being far too welcoming.
She could be an imposter. A very good one. It isn't' like it never happened before.
Diana wanted to know the truth. Lois is… was a dear friend. A great friend. Family. If this woman really is an imposter, there would be hell to pay that no God will be able to stop her.
"Ask me," Lois says once more.
When nothing…
"Ask…"
"Are you who you say you are?" Diana finally spoke; it was the only question she wanted answered. "Because if you're not, I will strike you dead right at this moment"
Lois did not react to her threat. Frankly, she was appreciative.
"Yes"
Diana smiled, relieved. That is all that it took. She began removing the lasso from Lois's hand but Lois resisted.
"Ask me another question"
Diana was surprised. "Why?"
"Please"
The one question that has been on everybody's mind, including her family, "Where have you been all these years?"
Lois lowered her head, staring the golden lasso she held around her hand. She's always known that truth is a powerful instrument.
"I won't answer that," Lois says, relinquishing her grip.
Diana didn't know what to make of this. "Anyone under the power of the lasso cannot refuse to answer"
"Anyone but me," Lois explains. "I can't lie, but I can choose not to answer. So I'm not"
"How is this possible?"
Lois closed her eyes shut; those were the exact same words she used all those years ago.
"This can't be happening. I have to get back. You need to bring me back."
For the past three days, Lois restlessly tries to find a way home. She walked through the forests that seems to never end. Finally, through miles of trek, she found another person, a woods guide.
At first, she didn't understand the language but in some twist of fate, in a matter of days, she had learned it. It's becoming abundantly clear that this land is clearly beyond her comprehension.
"I am truly sorry, but there is no life beyond the boundary in which you claimed you have crossed"
"Listen to me, Richard. I have a family. I have a husband and a son waiting for me back home. I have to get back. I need to. It has to be some form of magic, please help me!"
"That's impossible. Magic is forbidden here in Westland. No one practices such things, and neither should you"
"If it brings me back, then it's a risk I'm willing to take"
"Please, there is no magic here, I swear. I've lived in these woods my entire life; no one has ever breached the boundary. Anyone that's done so has never returned to tell the tale."
"You're no help to me whatsoever!" she says angrily. Walking briskly away but not too far as to get lost. She sat against a tree trunk, wiping the tears from her eyes. "This is not possible. This can't be happening," she mumbled to herself. All she could think of is her family. Clark. Jonathan.
"Unfortunately, my dear, it is," an old calm voice said behind her.
Lois shot up and looked at the old man deftly in the eyes. He was a skinny old man with plain robes, white unkept hair and a clean shaven face.
"Who are you?"
He bowed kindly before her. "I am Zedd, the local cloud reader"
"Cloud reader?" Lois wondered briefly if it's another word for the word weatherman. "What do you want?"
"I heard a woman ask for help, perhaps I could"
Lois's eyes lit up with hope.
"Are you all right, Lois?" Diana's voice took Lois out of her thoughts.
She simply shook the concern away. "No but I will be," she assured the Princess.
Diana respects her privacy. "Very well then." She hugs her once more. "Call me, for anything," she tells Lois.
"Thank you, Diana"
When the Amazon Princess was gone, she headed back to her couch and cuddled in the corner. Even back home her nightmares never ends.
To be continued…