Mxyzptlk was nothing if not true to his word. He remained visible on the whole way back to Kansas to the point of irritation.
"Knock knock," Lois said dryly about halfway there.
"Oh, goody, I love knock knock jokes," Mxyzptlk said. "Who's there?
"Kltpzyxm."
He laughed merrily. "Clever but not clever enough."
That was the highlight. They were stumped on how to send him and his fake reality back to the fifth dimension, and they couldn't talk about it with him there, but they were all thinking about it.
The last person in the world he expected to meet them at the airport was his mother. "I heard from Mrs. Fisher that you took off in a private plane yesterday but your plane had radioed you'd be landing soon, so here I am. Lana's moving out."
"Not even a hello?" he asked. It was never fun getting chewed out by your mom at any age. Why couldn't Mrs. Fisher have minded her own business? "Uh, yeah. She probably is."
She saw Lois standing behind him. The rest of the team had all had the good sense to back up out of earshot except Mxyzptlk, who was enjoying his ringside seat, but his mom couldn't see him.
"I don't suppose I have to ask why," she continued.
He looked back at Lois. "I don't suppose you do." He knew his mom. She'd raised him with traditional values like honoring your vows and putting your family first. There was no way she was going to be cool about this.
"And the baby's yours?" she asked.
"Yes." He could have lied. He probably should have lied.
"Can't say I approve of how things happened," she began.
"I wouldn't expect you too," he interrupted, getting ready to explain the circumstances the best he could as fast as he could.
"Let me finish, but they have happened, and whatever happens you will always be my son, and Lois, I will always love you like a daughter. I just wish your getting together would have been less messy and more timely."
"Funny you should mention that. It was less messy-"
"Well-" Lois started to say, but Clark cut her off with that stern Kent look.
He turned back to his mother. "We did things the right way: marriage then baby and no extramarital affairs. It's just there's someone you can't see right now messing with our personal histories, but we're fixing it." He looked up at the gleeful Mxyzptlk. "Or trying anyway."
His mother nodded as if he'd just told her he had to run to the grocery store. Shock from these revelations had worn off sometime after about the fiftieth meteor freak or so. Though she had never been the type to get too ruffled by the strange. He doubted any other mother in the world could have handled herself with such aplomb when her son developed powers and brought the strange into her life. "Can I do anything to help?"
"Thanks, Mrs. K," Lois said. "We may have to take you up on that offer before it's over."
"Don't worry, Mom. I don't think he's dangerous. More of a pest really."
"And here I thought you cared," Mxyzptlk kidded.
After hugging them both, she left them in the airport lounge to plan.
"So the elephant in the room," Oliver began. "Or the imp. What are we going to do about it?"
"Yes, what are you going to do about it?" Mxyzptlk asked, enjoying that he was bugging them and almost making them wish he was invisible again.
"I think we should go to the Planet," Chloe volunteered. "It's got a better computer than I have at home."
"Well, if a nice computer is all you want," J'onn said, "at headquarters, we have the best-"
"I've always wanted to see where the legendary League meets," Mxyzptlk added.
"No Chloe's right," Clark said, feeling suddenly inspired. "The Planet is where we should go."
Lois didn't argue, but she did say, "I've got no objection. I do my best brainstorming there. Maybe we should try to get on with life as normally as possibly until we figure this out."
He was sure she was trying to throw Mxyzptlk off guard and not being accepting of the situation in any form or fashion. The fact that Chloe, Oliver, and J'onn tagged along demonstrated she didn't think of it as just another day at work.
Perry White came out of his office to greet them. Lois' pass had gotten them all upstairs, no questions asked, but the barrage of questions were about to come.
"Lois, I didn't expect you in today, and I certainly didn't expect you to bring an entourage with you."
"This is Oliver Queen."
"Yeah, I've met your husband," Perry said, earning Mxyzptlk's laughter and Lois' annoyance.
"And this is my cousin," Lois said, taking a deep breath, "Chloe Sullivan. We're catching up."
"Nice to meet you," he said though his expression still said, What the heck is going on?
"And this is John Jones. He's been useful in a recent trip to Russia with a visit to the prime minister."
"An informant, okay. I'm with you, so far. Though I'm not sure why you brought your family reunion to work."
"I have my reasons. And this is Clark Kent."
"Ahh, this man I do know," he said, shaking his hand vigorously. "He saved my life when I paid a visit to Smallville."
"And you offered him a job if should ever need one," she said proving she was familiar with the story.
"Okay. I suppose he was with you on your trip? Have him write me up an article on your interview with the prime minister, and the job's as good as his."
They gathered around her desk after Perry went into his office. He had shook his head the whole way, probably still wondering if she needed more mental health days. They made quite the spectacle.
J'onn as if reading his mind, and he probably was, provided a distraction. "You've got us beat. You must be proud."
"Oh, I am.! I am!" he answered. J'onn had zeroed in on the trickster's weakness. He liked bragging about his accomplishments.
"I take it this isn't the first time you've done something like this," J'onn said.
"Oh, no. Why I remember the first time," he said launching into a story.
Clark tapped her to get her attention and then motioned for them to move to a more private location. She pretended she needed something out of the supply closet, and they hid behind the opened door of the closet.
"He spies on us, right?" Clark asked.
"A fact I'm trying to forget, but yes."
"So, let him spy. We'll work on the article together, act like he's annoying us by reading it, and poof I type in his name backward."
She grabbed the sides of his face and kissed him. "Clark, you're a genius. I knew there was a reason I married you. I hope the baby has your brains."
He blushed. Mostly because another reporter was watching. Fortunately, he hadn't heard her whispered praise.
"So I'm an affectionate person," she said with a shrug. "I kiss all my new coworkers like that."
"I hope not," Clark mumbled as they moved back to the desk.
"Do you mind moving the stories of your exploits over somewhere else," Lois asked as if they'd been sitting there the whole time.
Clark open the word program and typed out the first sentence. "The prime minister and his cabinet are working hard in Moscow at this time of year but not too hard to consent to an interview."
Lois started to read it out loud, but Clark shushed. "It's my first article, at least that I can remember. I don't want it read out loud. What if it's not any good?"
The bait worked like a charm. He came and hovered over their shoulders as he read out the whole sentence. They acted as if they were trying to block him with their shoulders, which only encouraged him.
"Appointed in 2016," Mxyzptlk read with speed and excitement.
"Go away," Clark said.
"Can't you just agree to go back where you came from and leave us alone for like two seconds?" Lois asked.
"Cabinet member, Nikolai Kltpzyxm- oh, drat!"
And just like that, he disappeared.