Here's my next chapter. Again, it's early. Next update on Sunday. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Superman related, though I wish I did.

Chapter 5

"No! Leave her alone! Get away from her!" Clark is startled awake by screams; they were louder than the screams he had heard all the other nights. Somehow he had ended back down to the couch sometime during the night. He realizes that the voice is coming from his room.

"Let her go!" Clark jumps off the couch and super speeds to his room; it was Jason. When he arrives in his room he runs to Jason. His eyes were still closed; he was having a nightmare. He lightly shakes Jason to wake him. He opens his eyes and then grabs Clark in a hug. He's sobbing and shaking uncontrollably.

"Dad." He sobs out several times. "I'm sorry I couldn't save her dad. I'm so sorry." He sobs, hugging Clark even tighter, like a lifeline.

"Jason" Clark says softly, "I don't know what you're talking about." Jason lets go of Clark and looks at him, realizing that he was still in the past. He wipes his tear stained cheeks and softly mumbles: "Sorry." Clark looks at him concerned.

"Jay, what was your dream about?" He shakes his head and says: "Nothing. It was just a nightmare." He looks away as he says this; he's lying. Clark is about to push even further when he sees the look in Jason's eyes, he decides to leave it until the morning.

"Okay. You sure you don't want to talk about it?" Jason shakes his head and lies back down on his bed, turning his back to Clark. He gets off the bed and turns off the lights, shutting the door behind him.

\S/

Brainiac's plan was working out so far. The Kent family was as predictable as he had foreseen and the noise he emitted from the ring had been the cherry to his cake. He knew someone would break the ring to stop the noise. It was perfect! They were stranded in the past and damage had already been done, soon the damage would be irreparable.

The kids being in the past will cause a rip in the time zone. Catastrophe and chaos would soon follow. Maybe even death to the family he loathed so much. He smiled at that thought. All he had to do was escape from his temporary prison and return to his time to see his work unfold. He shut his eyes concentrating on the deep layers of security, unlocking them one by one.

\S/

Morning came too soon. Lois gingerly opened her eyes. She was on the guest bed with her clothes still on and lying on top of the covers. Her cheeks were tear stained and her eyes felt swollen. She looked at the clock on the bedside table; 5:06 am. No one would be up and she needed to work on her article; she had until three o'clock that afternoon.

She quietly went down the stairs to retrieve her laptop. She couldn't find it anywhere. Then she remembered that she had left it in her and Richard's room. She cursed silently to herself. She quietly made her way back up the stairs and silently opened the door. It made a squeaking noise; Lois glanced nervously at Richard. He stirred but went back to sleep. She went to the closet, but it wasn't there. After a few minutes of searching, she found it under the bed. She lay down on her stomach and stretched her arms towards the black laptop. Her search was interrupted by a loud beeping noise. She let out a startled yelp and hit her head on the underside of the bed. She heard the bed move and realized it was the alarm clock. She had forgotten that she had set it the previous morning for 5:15 am so she could work on her articles.

Richard woke up to the alarm clocks annoying beep. He leaned towards it and shut it off with his right hand; Lois slept on the left side by the window. He went to hug her when he realized her side of the bed was empty, the previous nights event came rushing back to him and he sighed loudly. He didn't want to get up.

Lois waited beside the bed until she heard Richard's gentle snoring. She snatched her laptop and walked quietly out of the room, shutting the door behind her. When she got to the study room it was already 5: 30 am; precious time had been wasted. Jason would get up in an hour; she needed to start on her article.

She stared at the white screen; she didn't know how to start. So much had happened since the previous afternoon. She had learned more then she had bargained for. She felt scared. It was very rare that Lois 'Mad Dog Lane' got scared. She knew she had to lie in her article or at the very least write a version of the truth. So many thoughts ran through her mind; Clark, her future children, Jason and Richard. She sighed loudly. It wasn't often she got writer's block. The last time she had had that was when she had wrote the article 'Why the World Needs Superman'. That had gotten her a nomination for another Pulitzer award. She had lost it for an article written by the Daily Star entitled 'Human Nature: A Look into the Mind of Lex Luthor'. It was about Luthor and human's instincts to destroy itself and its tendency towards violence. Personally, Lois had hated it and thought it was a load of crap. Humanity was so much better than the reporter had put it and not everyone was like Luthor. Thinking of him made her shiver. They still hadn't found him or his prissy girl friend Kitty Kowalski. She had a sinking feeling that Luthor knew of Jason's paternity and that scared her. She would talk about it with Clark at the office. She had so much to talk to him about. She hadn't forgiven him yet, but she was starting to feel something more for him and it wasn't because he was Superman. It was something she had felt so long ago; a memory tugged at the edge of her subconscious; but she couldn't summon it. Then she got an idea for her article and started to write quickly before her idea vanished.

\S/

Clark didn't know what to do with the kids when he would go to work. Maybe he would call in sick. No, he had to talk to Lois. They could pretend they were on a lead and had to leave, but in reality they would go to the Fortress. Clark looked over at Jay and Marty eating there cereal. Clark had started referring to Jason as Jay because it was easier to differentiate between younger Jason and older Jason. Jason hadn't found that strange because his dad had always called him Jay, in fact he was the only one who called him that and he liked it that way. Jason could feel Clark's eyes on him; he knew he was thinking about asking him about his nightmare. He didn't want to talk about it. Clark got ready for work and told the kids to wait until he got back; he wouldn't be long. He headed off for work at eight.

Marty knew there was something wrong with Jason. He was never this quiet. Marty put her bowl in the sink and watched Jason twirl his corn flakes around with his spoon. She cleared her throat and waited until he looked up. He didn't and she knew he was doing this on purpose. She took his bowl and spoon away from him. He looked up at her moodily.

"Okay Jason. Cough it up. What's going on?" he rolled his eyes and hissed: "Nothing. Leave it be, alright. I don't want to talk about it."

He goes to Clark's room and shuts the door behind him. She hears him lock the door, even though they both knew that that was useless. Marty angrily stomped off to the spare room. The spare room looked like it had been furnished for a boy (which it probably was). The curtains were dark blue with planets were on it. The walls were painted a lighter blue and there were stars on the ceiling with a red one in the center of it. Marty assumed it was Krypton. She also assumed the room had been made up to be Jason's room, though she doubted that he had ever set foot in the room yet. She lay on the bed for awhile staring at the red planet. She didn't want to look at that anymore so she lay on her stomach. Even the bed set had planets on them! She couldn't stand the room anymore and went to further interrogate her brother.

\S/

A man with brown hair and brown, gold flecked eyes walked down the street hurriedly to get to work on time. He was already late. He glanced quickly at his watch and almost walked into a young woman. She seemed to have come from nowhere; she was lying on her back and looked skywards confused. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. She stumbled to her feet. She looked lost and confused. The man walks closer to her, forgetting about being late and goes to help her. She might have been injured.

Earlier…

The sand storm was unsettling. She knew Brainiac was causing it somehow and didn't know how. She thought that in the Phantom Zone everyone was rendered powerless. She struggled as she walked through it to get to the gates, to make sure Brainiac wasn't there trying to break out. To her relief he wasn't there. She went to leave when she saw him coming after her. He slammed her head against the panel that allowed people out of the Phantom Zone. She tried fighting back but it was useless. She was confused when he suddenly let her go and walked to the panel with an evil smile. His hands were slick with her blood. She knew now what he was doing. Only the people from the house of El could open the portal and let the Zoners out. He used her blood against her. Wind rushed by her as the portal was opened and light blinded her. The light disappeared as suddenly as it came.

She was now starring up at a blue sky; something she hadn't seen for years. She realized she was on her back in the middle of a street. She stumbled to her feet. A man that was about six feet tall with brown hair walked up to her.

"Ma'am?" he looked concerned. The blond haired girl looked at him confused. She hadn't talked to anyone for years.

"Yes?" she said groggily, rubbing her soar head. The language was as foreign to her as it was when she had first arrived on Earth. She preferred to speak in her Kryptonian language. The man saw her rub her head.

"Are you okay?" he asks. The woman nods her head slowly.

"Here, I'm a doctor. Let me take a look at that." He saw the blood and immediately thought of the worst scenarios. She could be concussed or have amnesia. She shakes her head, not wanting him to see her wound. She knew that the yellow sun would soon heal it. He looks at her with his brows furrowed.

"Can you tell me your name? I'm Doctor John Andrews." He points to himself.

"I-I'm Kara, uh Kent" she says adopting her cousins last name. She had almost forgotten it. The man nods.

"How many fingers am I holding?" he says holding up three fingers.

"Three" Kara answers easily as she feels her wound heal.

"I'm okay." She says. "I must've tripped on the sidewalk. No big deal. Uh, could you tell me where I am?" she says looking around the unfamiliar place.

"New York." The man says confused. Kara goes to walk away.

"Wait." He yells out to her.

"Are you sure you're fine? I mean, you don't even know where you are." Kara turns back to him.

"I'm fine. I just momentarily forgot. I just got back here. I've been gone for a long time." She explains. He looks unconvinced.

"Well just to be safe here's my card." He says pulling out a business card.

"Here's my cell and work number." He says pointing at the two.

"Anything happens big or small give me a call." He says. Kara smiles kindly at him, taking the card.

"Thank you." She says before walking off. Now she had to find out how to get to Metropolis. Last she heard her cousin was working at a place named the Daily Planet.

So that's it. What do you think of Kara's return? Please review.