THIRTEEN

"Seriously?" Lois asked as she leaned back into the soft leather seat. She had just been informed that their journey was going to start underwater. "Are you sure we can't just do the whole thing in the air? I have this weird aversion to water all of a sudden. Something to do with an oil drum…" she rambled.

Clark reached for her hand.

Lois felt calmer but continued to speak. She looked up to where Connor was hovering above the open hatch. "Why aren't you coming with us?"

"No room," he replied, laughing. "It's a three-seater, but don't worry. She's a great driver," he said, smiling at the woman he had introduced to them as his wife. "Everything she has ever hit has turned out all right."

"I like her already," Lois remarked with a smirk. She leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes. How she felt about the pilot had nothing to do with her sudden and irrational fear of going underwater.

Connor descended to place a kiss on Karyn's lips. "Race ya," he challenged, and with a wink, he was gone.

Karyn flipped the switch to lower the hatch and began submersing the craft. An awkward silence descended upon the group. What do you say to your in-laws? "We were surprised to hear that Kyle had found you…" she started, reaching above her head to flip the switches located there.

"I think we all were surprised," Clark offered.

Lois sat up and released Clark's hand so she could straighten her hair. "How long have you known Connor?"

Karyn smiled and directed the ship into an underwater cave. "It seems like forever, almost," she answered. "We grew up together. My grandfather was a member of the Justice League. The Waynes took in my family when he was killed.

"Who was your grandfather?" Clark asked.

"Arthur Curry… Aquaman."

"A.C.?" Lois blinked. She thought about the way she and Arthur had met; being saved after hitting her head while diving off a platform at Crater Lake. Looking out of the windshield, she shrugged. "Water… figures."

Clark glanced at her, remembering how she had once felt about the swimmer. Lois felt his gaze and met it with a smile. "You've got me, remember?" she told him, having read his thoughts.

Clark blushed and turned back to the front. Everything darkened as they entered the cave; the only lights coming from the ship's interior. The feelings that he shared with Lois were both new and old… They were comfortable, yet awkward. He knew that it wasn't his fault he was feeling them… he just had to keep them in check.

"We'll start returning to surface level in a few minutes," Karyn announced. "But we'll still be in caves for the rest of the trip."

"So, why is it so important that these agents from the Centre not find us?" Lois asked.

"It's a long story…"

Lois silently recounted Karyn's story. Glancing out the corner of her eye and seeing Clark's jaw tense as he stared off into the distance, she knew he was doing the same.

People were a mystery, she decided. She trusted her cousin's ability to read people as much as she did her own. If Chloe had become involved with Lex Luthor, there must have been something redeemable about him… at some point. It was heart wrenching to learn what Chloe had gone through in order to help create the organization that had essentially saved the world.

Having once known Arthur Curry made it even harder on Lois to see what Lex had done to his family. Lois started to wish she had been more suspicious of Lex in the beginning, but stopped when she realized that if that part had been different, then so would everything else. Would that mean she would have never married Clark? Never had Connor?

With a quiet sigh, she turned her mind away from thoughts of her future loss and back to those of A.C and his family. As Karyn had explained, the opposing factions in the first Dominion war had employed chemical warfare, killing marine life in over 50 of the world's seas and oceans. Arthur had been with the other members of the JLA when a panicked call from his wife had sent him rushing back to his home in the Keys, taking Bruce's young protégé, Dick, along for backup.

Later, when the bodies of Arthur, Dick, and Arthur's daughter were recovered, the remaining family members, his wife and eight-year-old son, were transported to the manor. Karyn explained that her family's surname had been changed to Remmer for their protection. Arthur Jr. had grown up along with Gray at the manor, but having seen the attack that had claimed his father's life; he was the more rebellious and hot-headed of the two. When the third Dominion War started after 40 years of calm, he had been the first to break the Guardians cover.

And, thus, had been the first Guardian to die; leaving his wife to care for their 19-year-old and 11-year-old daughters. Karyn had recalled how Connor, her best friend at the time, had understood her grief and anger, having lost his Grandmother only a few years before. Gray had never married, and Connor, having lost the person closest to a mother in Chloe, had decided that it was time to bring Superman back.

Lois shifted her gaze toward Clark again and tried to recall the similarities between him and Connor once more. As she did so, her head began to hurt and she closed her eyes to ward it off.

After a few minutes, Lois opened her eyes again, feeling the ship settle and the engines begin to die down. Blinking away tears she unbuckled her seat belt.

"Everything okay?" Clark asked in concern.

"Yeah," Lois replied with a forced smile. When he continued to look at her studiously, she swatted his chest and flashed him a more genuine smile. "Do you think they'll let me fly this thing?"

"Grayson Wayne, but I've always gone by Gray," Gray greeted them, shaking hands with Clark.

"I guess I should be thanking you," Clark stated, glancing in Connor's direction.

Upon arriving at the Guardians' headquarters, they had been met by Connor, Kyle, and Gray. They were now outside of the Flyer, getting ready to head to the manor.

"If anything, I should thank you… both of you," Gray corrected, using a hand to encompass Lois in his statement.

Everyone remained silent for a moment; each lost in their own thoughts. The story Karyn had told Lois and Clark about the history of the Guardians was unsettling. They had read about the attacks on the Super Class, but hearing an account first hand was entirely different than reading about it. Finding out that Lex was behind it all had made their blood run cold.

The casualties that had been wrought en route to the future were devastating. And yet, through it all, this manor had created a safe haven for those that remained. It seemed fitting that Chloe, who had suffered just as greatly as anyone else, had been at the crux of the rebirth of hope.

"I have someone who is on pins to see you," Gray informed them. "Please, come this way."

"What are you doing here?" Lois exclaimed as the cousins met in a fierce embrace.

"Looking for you!"

"But, how did you get here?"

"I stumbled into a time vortex…" Chloe said as she stepped from Lois's arms to hug Clark.

Lois arched an eyebrow. "Stumbled?"

"Or jumped…" Chloe admitted with a mischievous smile. "I'm so glad you guys are okay."

Clark sighed and nodded. "Pretty crazy, huh?"

Chloe noticed the two men she hadn't yet met and turned. Clark noticed her expression and cleared his throat. "This is Connor…"

Chloe nodded. "I heard." She shared a sad look with Lois. She turned to the younger man dressed in the suit. "That must make you Kyle."

"How are you holding up?"

Chloe turned to her cousin with a surprised look on her face. "Me? Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"

They were sitting in a far corner of the Great Room everyone had gathered in. The cousins had retreated to the small couch when Gray had finished sharing stories with them about the Guardians early years.

Lois reached out and stroked the younger woman's hair. It was a force of habit for her to want to look out for her little cousin. Chloe reached up and pulled Lois's hand into her lap.

"How are you handling all of this?"

Lois glanced across the room to where Clark was standing with his two look-a-likes. "I don't know," she replied with a sigh. "I almost feel like I don't even want to know…" she let the thought remain unfinished.

Chloe followed her gaze and squeezed Lois's hand. "When I first learned that I died young leaving a child motherless, I thought we were cursed or something. You know, both of us growing up without mothers, and now our children having to do the same thing. It was even worse when I learned that I left her on purpose."

Lois swallowed and faced her cousin. "I'm sorry, Honey. I wish that it didn't have to happen that way, but I'd hate to think what the world would end up like if you hadn't." She gestured at their surroundings. "I'd like to think that I knew you would be here for Connor… otherwise…"

"He had a good life, Lois. Gray is a remarkable man," Chloe assured.

"I know…" Lois didn't want to talk about her own loss… it made it too real. She searched for something to make Chloe feel better. "It sounds like Xandra had a good life too. Marrying a Greek shipping magnate, living on a private island… She was the princess we always wanted to be."

"Well, I know that Lex took good care of her and her son… especially after her husband died. I guess that much is a relief to some extent. I just wish that letting her know I was still alive and watching over her wouldn't have put everyone else in danger. Isn't it weird to feel this much love for someone who is not in your life yet?"

It was even weirder to feel this much love for someone who was in your life under a completely different circumstance, Lois thought, flicking her gaze across the room again.

Lois flushed when Clark's eyes met hers. She refocused on Chloe. "I'm sorry about Lex. It sounded like things were really good for a while there."

Chloe shrugged. "I'm sorry he turned out to be a crazy bastard," she quipped, causing them both to start laughing.

"A crazy, bald bastard," Lois amended between chuckles.

They kept smiling but the humor had faded for both of them, and the smiles didn't reach their eyes.

"This is serious… like save-the-world serious, right?" Chloe asked.

Lois nodded, and Chloe mimicked the motion. "So, our sacrifices were justified… no regrets."

"No regrets," Lois repeated firmly.

They shared a look before reaching to wrap their arms around one another for comfort.

After they parted, Chloe fixed Lois with a suspicious look. "So, what is this about you and Clark not being able to be separated?"

"I have no idea!" Lois exclaimed. "It's like we're attached at the hip or something."

"Do you guys have to be in the same room at all times?" Chloe asked. Amused, she thought that would make using the bathroom pretty awkward.

"Not in the same room… just not far apart."

"How far?"

"A mile maybe?" Lois estimated. "We really don't know until it happens…"

"Like on the rooftop," Chloe realized, remembering the story of how Lois met the newest Superman. A thought dawned on her. "Were you touching when you went through the vortex?"

Lois frowned in thought. "I don't know… I don't think so. Why?"

Chloe shrugged. "Something to do with magnetized particles re-populated on landing."

"What?"

"I can't explain it… because I don't understand it, but if you're not touching on the way back, it should go away."

"Good," Lois said. "I can't imagine us keeping up this charade once we got back home."

Chloe laughed at Lois's snarky comment. Lois smiled in return, but a part of her was feeling curiously miserable.

"Sir, may I talk to you for a minute?" Xavir quietly asked, pulling Gray to the side as Connor continued telling stories of his rescues to his biological parents.

Gray nodded and stepped away from the seating area with Xavir. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Xavir shook his head. "Well, yes… maybe. Um, about Brynnan's plan for the return trip to the Centre tomorrow morning… it would be a suicide mission."

"How so?" Gray asked. He already knew that what the young man was saying was true, but wasn't ready to accept it.

Xavir laced his hands in front of him to stop from wringing them together. It was a nervous habit. "She's the only operative you have inside the Centre, and the only one here who knows the details of the Centre's projects."

Gray remained silent, waiting for Xavir to make his point.

"If she goes back, they'll know… and they'll dig. Everything you have built here would be in danger…"

"What do you suggest?"

Xavir turned at the sound of the new voice. Chloe had heard their conversation from her position behind him.

Xavir stepped to the side and looked at her nervously before swallowing and looking at Gray. "I think I should be the one to take them back tomorrow."

Gray's eyes narrowed as he locked gazes with Xavir. A strange calm surrounded the younger man and he relaxed as he returned Gray's look. He was unable to turn away.

"Tell us why we can trust you." Gray commanded in a soft voice, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"When I helped Brynnan earlier, I felt like I was part of something for the first time. What you have here… it's the family that I've always wanted… What I've always worked for. Most of you aren't even related by blood, yet you come together as if you are. I want to be a part of that, too.

"I can get them back into the Centre and back through a window without the Professor even knowing. I started this whole mess and I just want to make everything right. I can do this… I need to do this."

Gray's piercing blue stare turned soft. "I believe you."

Xavir blinked rapidly as he felt like a hold on his mind had been released. He faced Gray with a bewildered expression.

Gray smiled and nodded in reply to his unspoken question. "People rarely lie to me."

Chloe's eyebrows shot up. She wondered how she was able to cope so well around super-powered people in the future. The exchange she had just watched left her puzzled. Chloe wondered if there was something special about the golden piece of rope that she'd seen in Gray's hand right before he had touched Xavir.

Gray stepped closer to wrap an arm around Xavir's shoulders. "Young man, perhaps it is time for you to live for something other than a place in your father's shadow. There's just one other thing that has to be done."

Xavir felt warmed by the familial half-embrace Gray was giving him. "What's that?"

"After they return, the Hyper Chronos project needs to be taken offline. Permanently."

Xavir looked out at to where Lois and Clark were laughing with Karyn, Connor, Kyle, and Brynnan. He then turned to face Chloe, who was watching him thoughtfully, and paused for a moment, marveling at how close he had come to destroying this future that had been so delicately entwined.

He thought about the secrets that this group had worked for nearly a century to keep from his father and great-grandfather. Secrets that the Centre was counting on the use of time travel to uncover.

He knew what had to be done.

"I agree. And I know just what to do."

TBC