Hey-o! Another hectic week has come and gone and it's Sunday. Time goes by WAY too fast. I wish sometimes that time could freeze at the good parts of life so we can apreciate and enjoy it more. But of course that isn't possible (unless you're Clark and you're in super mode). Anyway, on with the story. Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: Clark told me to write this so here it goes: I don't own any of the characters and places in this story. There happy?
Chapter 12
The kids were playing on the X-Box and Chloe looked at her screen for abnormal activity. She was looking for Brainiac, but had no luck. There was a soft whoosh and Chloe took out her spare gun from underneath her desk. She walked slowly to the front of Watchtower and surveyed the area for any signs of activity. Something grabbed her from behind and she yelped. Another whoosh, this time though it was a visible blue and red blur. Clark, she instinctively thought. The blur stopped suddenly and said: "Uncle Bruce?" Huh? Batman suddenly dropped Chloe to the ground in surprise.
"Uh, sorry." He spluttered as he picked her up.
"Who's that and how does he know my alter ego?" He asked suspiciously.
"Uh… This is Jason Kent. He's from the future." Bruce's eyes go wide and then he says: "Awesome." Then there was a pink and blue blur that collided into Bruce.
"Uncle Bruce!" She exclaimed.
"Future?" He asked Chloe. She nodded.
"Clark's kids?" She nodded again.
"What are you doing here?" She asks.
"I got your letter. You said to be here for 10:30."
"Shit! I mean shoot, I forgot." She yelled out and then corrected herself when she saw the wide eyed look from Marty.
"The rest of the JLA should be here any moment." She said, rushing around her office.
"Shoot! I completely forgot. Clark dropped his kids off here and I was so busy entertaining them that I forgot."
"Entertaining! Hah! You're more fun in the future." Jay exclaimed. Chloe glared at him.
"What are you drawing, little man?" Jimmy asks, looking over at Jason's drawing.
"That's mommy," he says pointing at a stick figure with a dress, "that's daddy", he points at man with a briefcase, "and that's dad." He says, pointing at the tallest stick figure, with glasses and a tie. Jimmy coughs nervously.
"Uh, that's nice Jason, but why don't you put it in Clark's desk for now, okay?" Jason nods and says: "Okay."
Richard walks across the bull pen. His clothes were wrinkled and his eyes were blood shot, he hadn't shaved and it looked like he hadn't slept much either. Jimmy saw Jason's reaction and held his shoulder to prevent the boy from running into Richard when he was in a state like this. Jason looks up at Jimmy questioningly.
"I wanna go see him." He says innocently.
"Richard needs to work, little man. Leave him be for awhile, okay?" Jason crosses his arms over his chest and says: "Fine."
"Good boy." Jimmy says, patting his head like a dog.
Richard walked through the office. He could feel his co-workers gazes on him, but he ignored it. He knew he looked like crap. Perry had told him to stay home (home meaning the hotel he currently resided), but he had refused. He wanted to keep life as normal as possible, even though his life now was very far away from normal. He saw Jason and saw the worried look on his face. He was going to give his son a reassuring smile, but when his blue eyes met his, he saw Clark in him for the first time. He stumbled on the carpet and tried not to cry in front of the whole bull pen. When he entered his office he closed his blinds and sat in his chair. He cried again, for the loss of the son he never really had. Perry walked into his office without knocking; Richard wiped his tears and tried to look as presentable as possible.
"Son, you don't look like you're doing well." He stated. Richard tried to roll his eyes, but failed and he sighed.
"I don't like you staying in that hotel when we have a perfectly good room at our place. Alice said she'd be delighted if you came and stayed and I wouldn't mind having another man around." Richard hesitated.
"I don't know uncle. I… I'm a grown man and-"
"Son, don't let your pride get in the way. We'll give you a place to stay until you find your own place and that's final." He says looking at his nephew sternly.
"Fine, fine Uncle, I will. Thank you." He whispers. Richard realizes that Jason had been sitting at Clark's desk, but neither Clark nor Lois had been in the bull pen.
"Where are Kent and Lane?" He asks.
"Out chasing a lead." His uncle said dismissively.
"Wow." Lois said looking around the white castle.
"It's amazing. It looks familiar, like something I saw in a dream." She says walking around.
"Though it isn't very easy to walk around with heels on. Should I be cold? I mean we're in the Arctic, but I'm not cold." Clark chuckles.
"It's the Fortress. It's got something in it to keep it warm in here." He shrugs.
"Oh." Clark goes down to the control panels and Lois follows, stumbling on her heels a few times.
"Jesus Christ!" She yells out.
"No I am not the religious being you have referred to. My name is Jor-El, head of the house of El. Though I can understand your confusion because of my omniscient presence and my bodiless voice." She hears a deep voice say.
"What. The. Hell. Is that, Clark?"
"Lois Lane, meet my father Jor-El." Clark says.
"Uh, hi." She says awkwardly.
"You have no need to feel uncomfortable Miss Lane." Jor-El says.
"Yeah right." She mumbles under her breath.
"Jor-El, have you had any progress in coming up with a way to take the children back to their time?" Clark asks.
"I have made minimal progress my son." He says.
"That's not good enough Jor-El. We need to work faster." Clark says.
"I am doing everything I ca, my son." Jor-El says. The conversation ends and the Fortress is silent, until Lois disrupts it.
"So… since we're here and it looks like the kids will be stuck in this time… or whatever, can you give my memories back?" She pleads, with puppy dog eyes.
"But, Lois…"
"I don't care, so pucker up." She says determinedly.
"Lois…" She grabs his head and jams her lips unto his. The kiss gets heated and Lois is the first to pull away.
"Why didn't anything happen?" She asks.
"Lois… it doesn't work that way, it's complicated." He goes to her and kisses her. She feels as though the air is being sucked out of her lungs. She feels Clark step away, but she can't moved, she's in a daze. When she snaps out of it she remembers everything. All the emotions she felt back then come rushing back tenfold.
"The first time I figured it out… you tricked me into thinking I was wrong… and then I shot you to prove my point… and then…here." She says in a confused jumble. Clark nods. She looks at him in the eyes. She shakes her head.
This is so fucking confusing. She thinks to herself.
"It's okay Lois things will be clearer later on."
I knew she was going to take this badly. Clark thought.
"Well yeah! I mean you took my memories away and then whoosh, they're all back!" She exclaims.
"Lois, I didn't say that out loud." Clark says.
"Hmm? Yeah, you did." Clark wanted to try something.
Lois, look at my lips, are they moving? Lois looked at him wide eyed.
"Oh. My. God. That Jedi mind thing you told me about, it's true!" She exclaimed.
"Yeah. I thought that maybe because you're human it might not happen, but I guess I was wrong." He said.
"This is quite interesting, my son." Jor-El suddenly said. "If Miss Lane stayed here awhile I could study her-"
"No!" Both Clark and Lois exclaim.
"Okay, so other then this freakish mind thing and my memories being back, we really do need to go back to the Planet, it's lunch time and Jason will be hungry." Clark nodded in agreement and they left without another word. Jor-El on the other hand had just found something that could make the kids voyage back home safe.
Jason saw his parents enter the bull pen. Jason ran over to them.
"Did you find anything?" He asked.
"How did you know?" Lois asked him.
"I heard you."
"Heard me?" Jason nodded.
"Yeah when you were talking to Dad over there." He points to outside of Perry's office.
"But…" Lois says.
"Ugh, the hearing. Already? How old were you when you got that?" Lois asks Clark.
"I was in my teen's when I got it. I had to go blind before it developed." Lois gave him a questioning look, but decided to question him about it later.
"I'll have to ask Jor-El about it." He said with worry in his voice.
Richard saw Lois and Clark enter the bullpen. Jason ran to them. He wished he was the one that Jason was running to. Richard couldn't hold his anger in anymore, even if he had promised Lois. He exited his office and quickly stalked over to where the 'happy family' stood. He swung his right arm and hit Clark in the face. Clark looked over at Richard in surprise. Richard was cradling his hand, saying: "What the hell?" Clark made a show of stumbling back and rubbing his face with his hand. The whole bull pen was starring at them.
"Richard!" Lois exclaimed. Jason starred at him wide eyed; he was on the verge of tears.
"You, you…" Richard said pointing at Clark. "You stole everything from me. You're gone for five years, you come back and it's like I was never here. You take Lois, Jason… It's not fair!" He yells out, spit flying from his mouth.
"Calm down." Lois whispered anxiously.
"Calm down! How can I be calm? You lied to me for five years! You made me think that Jason was mine. That's not right!" He yells out.
"Richard, not here,not in front of them and especially not in front of Jason." Clark speaks up; he was getting angry at Richard for his outburst. Richard looks around himself to find the whole bullpen staring at him as though he had grown an extra head.
"We'll continue this on the rooftop." He says, angrily rushing over to the emergency exit door. Clark looks over at Lois. They both nod. Jason goes to follow but Clark tells him to go with Jimmy. As they go up the stairs Clark can hear Lois worry.
"Lois, it'll be alright. He'll come to understand. I promise." She nods and gives him a weak smile. Richard is leaning on the ledge of the rooftop as he waits for Lois and Clark to arrive. When he hears the door open, he calmly says: "I need explanations." He turns around to face them. Lois is nervously fidgeting with her hands and Clark's hands are in his pockets, his head is bowed down. Lois starts.
"Before Clark left I didn't know I was pregnant... I really did think the baby was yours." Clark cringes at this.
"When did you know that he was his?" He glares at Clark.
"When I held Jason in my arms and he opened his eyes to look at me for the first time. His eyes were so much like Clark's, I just knew." She explains. Richard nods slowly.
"When did you find out?" Richard asks Clark. Clark looks up at him and answers him truthfully.
"The week I came back." He looks sad.
"Richard, if I could undo time, I would avoid all this. If I knew Lois was pregnant at the time I never would have left. Things ended... badly between us and I just needed to leave." He turns to Lois.
"Lois I swear I did love you, I didn't mean to leave like I did, but I was afraid that if I said good-bye I wouldn't actually be able to leave."
I still love you. She barely hears this, maybe she wasn't supposed to hear it, but she did. Her heart sped up and she met his eyes.
I think I love you too. She mentally tells him. Clark smiles. Richard watches there silent conversation and wishes he had had that kind of connection with Lois.
"Perry offered me a job as the editor in chief at the Planet in London. I'm going to take the job. I'll be leaving in two weeks. I love you Lois, I always will. I'll never forget you." He says before exiting through the door.
"How heart breaking." A voice said in the back ground. Clark turned around to find a man dressed in black with dark brown hair standing behind them.
"Brainiac." Clark said through his teeth.
That's it for now. It's a little cheesy, I know. But hey, next chapter is when things get really interesting. So please review!