Clark II
The midwife took the baby to be cleaned up and checked out, leaving Clark alone with Lois.
"Ya done good, partner," he said. Even sweaty and exhausted, she was beautiful and once again, as he did almost every moment of every day, he marveled at how lucky he was to have her.
"I know," Lois said with a tired grin. "When can we go home?"
"In a couple hours," Clark said. "You need to rest a little, let them check you out. You know the drill."
'Kal-El?' Zara's voice intruded inside his head. 'Ching and I will be landing in four hours. Can you have everything ready?'
'Yes,' Clark replied mentally.
"Clark, what's wrong?" Lois asked.
He had realized many, many years ago that he couldn't hide anything from her. Not since she figured out that Superman was Clark Kent's alter ego. "Zara and Ching are on their way. They'll be here a little after six."
"So soon?"
"I have the impression they're in a hurry," he told her. "And she did say they'd come after the baby was born."
"I figured they meant a few days, not a few hours," Lois commented. "You'd better get things ready for them."
He kissed her, a long, lingering kiss, tasting the sweat that was still on her face. "I'll be back to get you as soon as I can," he promised.
Lois I
That odd feeling of missing something was even stronger. Kal-El's excuse for leaving was as bad as one of Clark's. And Superman certainly didn't need an excuse to go handle an emergency.
He came back less than twenty minutes later, smelling of burnt rubber and gasoline. "There was a multi-car smashup on the West Channel Bridge," he explained. "No serious injuries, thank goodness."
"Good job. Thanks," Clark Kent said with a grin as he walked into the conference room. He had a small, dark-haired boy on one hip. The boy had large, brown, almond-shaped eyes that watched her solemnly. "Oh, this is Jordan. Jordan, say hello to Wanda and Charlie."
Jordan hid his face in his father's chest.
"He's a little shy," his father explained with an embarrassed smile. He looked over at Kal-El. "Who handles the Superman exclusives where you come from?"
"Lois or Clark. Our Clark," Kal-El said.
Clark checked his watch. "Well, you have forty-five minutes to give me something. We've got a great shot of the visiting Superman for the front page."
"And Superman sells papers," Wanda said. It was something she'd heard often enough over the past week from Perry White. Her Perry White.
"Almost as good as tragedy and sex," Clark said. He went to the computer and logged onto the system for them.
"Almost?" Wanda asked.
Clark shrugged. "Well, Superman's been in Metropolis nearly fourteen years. He's not exactly old news, but it has to be a pretty big problem to make the front page anymore. Now, a different Superman visiting, that's news."
Kal-El had already started typing on the computer keyboard, fingers moving faster than any normal human's. Wanda noticed that Clark didn't seem surprised at Kal-El's typing speed. What does he know?
Clark turned and headed back into the newsroom. Wanda watched as he approached two of his reporters. Richard White and his partner had come in and were settling in at their desks.
"Richard?" Wanda murmured. He looked so much like her fiance it was unbelievable. But she saw that he only had eyes for his partner, Penny.
"He's not the Richard you know," Kal-El said softly, not looking up from the computer screen.
"I know," Wanda said. She watched the Daily Planet's E-in-C as he spoke quietly with his two stars. Whatever he was saying had surprised and pleased Richard and Penny. Wanda couldn't remember the last time her Richard had looked so happy. Before Superman came back into her world. Maybe even before that.
Clark disappeared into his office and Wanda went over to where Kal-El was writing. She peered over his shoulder at the screen, forearm resting on his shoulder as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "You don't say anything about how we got here. For that matter, you left me out altogether."
Kal-El shrugged and patted her hand. "There are some things better left a mystery. This needs to be about the new Superman arriving on the scene in this Metropolis. I think Mister Kent will be relatively pleased with it."
"Good quotes. You do good work. Most people can't write about themselves, especially in third person."
"Thank you, ma'am." Again, the crooked smile that was so annoyingly familiar as he sent the document over to Clark. Kal-El tipped his head to one side, listening, watching something she couldn't see. "He's finished writing the sidebar, welcoming the new Superman to Metropolis."
A few moments later, Clark walked back into the conference room, Jordan once again on his hip. "Good piece," he said to Kal-El. "I have to get the other kids from school, and since you're obviously staying at my house, tonight at least, we'd better get going."
"What about putting the paper to bed?" Wanda asked. Perry would never leave before the next edition was locked down and ready to go to press.
"Unless somebody blows up the Lexcorp Tower in the next couple hours, we're ready roll," Clark said. "Besides, my assistants all have my cell number. And I do usually answer it." He beckoned them to follow him out.
He led the way to the elevators, down to the lobby and out to the parking garage, to a champagne-colored Windstar van. He chirped the doors unlocked and belted Jordan into the car-seat in the middle row of seats. Wanda noted a booster seat in the back row and wondered how many children the Kents of this world had.
"Who's sitting up front?" he asked.
"I'll sit back here," Kal-El volunteered, allowing Wanda the front passenger seat. She gave him a grateful smile. She didn't like being a passenger and being in the back seat only made it worse.
As it turned out, Clark was a reasonably good driver, if a little cautious for her taste. But then, she realized, she had gotten more cautious after Jason was born. She was startled when she recognized the route he was taking to pick up the 'other kids'. The same route either she or Richard took nearly every weekday to pick Jason up from school.
"Something wrong?" Clark asked. Wanda hadn't realized she'd actually jumped.
"No," she said. "I just recognize the neighborhood. My son goes to school here."
He raised a dark eyebrow at her. "How old is he?"
"Five years, four months," Wanda said.
"Same age as Lara," he commented. "How long have you been married?"
"I'm not," she said. He gave her a look she couldn't decipher. Surprise, puzzlement, consternation? She glanced back at Kal-El. His expression had gone bleak and more than a little guilty. "My son's father disappeared without a word or a trace six years ago. I moved on. I had to," she explained. "My fiance is a very good man. He's stood by me, helping raise my son when his biological father was nowhere to be found."
"I see," Clark said, very quietly. She was sure he didn't understand. How could he understand something when she didn't understand it herself?
Clark pulled the van into a parking space in front of the school. Two children, a boy about eight or so and a younger girl, came running across the driveway to the van. The girl had the same dark hair and eyes as her father. The boy's coloring was a little lighter, with hazel eyes. Kal-El got out and let them climb into the van before settling back into his seat beside Jordan.
"CJ, Lara, this is Wanda and Charlie," Clark introduced them. "They'll be staying with us a few days," he added. The older boy gave Wanda an appraising look, as if trying to decide who and what she really was.
"Has the baby come yet?" Lara asked. The girl reminded Wanda of Jason. Same fine features, knowing gaze. She was going to be a knock-out when she was older.
"Yup," Clark answered, starting the van and pulling into the street. "A little before two. You have a baby sister."
"When can we see her?" Lara demanded.
"Well, I was planning on dropping you guys off at home with Grandma, then going to pick Mommy and baby Martha up and bring them home, too. I want all three of you monsters on your best behavior. Mommy's going to be really tired and it's going to be a long day," Clark told them. "CJ, you remember Lady Zara and Ching, don't you?"
The boy nodded. "Mommy doesn't like them much," he said.
"I know, but they're on their way, and Richard and Penny are coming to talk to them tonight."
The van headed north over the City Center Bridge to the Lafayette neighborhood, one of the suburbs that had undergone a rebirth in the past ten years, becoming a magnet for middle and upper managers who wanted to live close, but not too close, to the city.
Clark turned the van down an impossibly familiar street, pulling into the driveway at three-twelve Riverside Drive. Wanda recognized the two-story house surrounded by a white picket fence. It was the house she had awoken in that morning, before that impossible storm and the even more impossible situation she found herself. Herself and Superman.
One of the garage doors opened by remote control and Clark parked the van beside an older model Jeep Cherokee.
Kal-El let himself and the three kids out of the van and the youngsters ran into the house yelling "Grandma! Mommy had the baby!"
Wanda followed them into the house, Kal-El close on her heels. The layout was the same, the furniture different, naturally. Educational toys, children's books, and stuffed toys were strewn across the family room. These were well-loved kids.
An older, gray-haired woman came into the family room from the kitchen and gave the kids hugs. She gave Wanda and Kal-El a curious look over the heads of the children.
"I'm Wanda Detroit and this is Charlie King," Wanda introduced herself.
The older woman gave her a disbelieving look and began to laugh. "Clark, what gives?" she asked as she caught sight of Clark.
"Martha Kent, Mom, I'd like to introduce you to Lois Lane and Kal-El. They're visiting from another time-line, another dimension," Clark explained.
Wanda felt her jaw drop. How did he know? Had Superman told him? Why hadn't he said anything earlier? Her astonishment started to turn to anger. He'd been laughing at her, at them! But wait – he knew they were from another dimension? And Martha seemed to take that announcement in stride like they'd just come in from out of town.
"Lois, honey," Martha said with a grin. "Anyone who knows Clark's wife knows she uses Wanda Detroit as a pen name, among other things. I've seen her sing at the Stardust, too."
"Mom, I have to get Lois and the baby, plus, Zara and Ching are on their way," Clark explained.
"Zara and Ching?" Martha repeated. Wanda could tell the older woman was not happy. "Clark Jerome Kent, you're not planning on letting those two take one of these babies, are you?" There was a definite threat in her voice.
"Hardly," Clark assured her. "It'd be worth my life to even suggest it. It's Richard and Penny they'll be talking to. But I admit, there's something a little odd going on, too. I wasn't expecting them to show up so soon."
He grabbed a newborn's car-seat and started to head back to the van. "I'll be back in a little bit with Lois and the baby." He turned to 'Wanda' and Kal-El. "Please try to stay out of trouble."
As soon as Clark left, Martha took charge of her grandchildren, ushering them into the kitchen for snacks. She beckoned for Wanda and Kal-El to join them.
"Would you like some coffee or tea?" Martha asked.
Wanda nodded. "Coffee would be nice."
"Mrs. Kent, who are Lady Zara and Ching?" Kal-El asked. "And what are you afraid they want?"
Wanda watched conflicting emotions cross the woman's face – worry, relief.
"Zara is the First Lady of New Krypton, acting head of the ruling house, which happens to be the house of El. Ching is her consort. Clark tried to explain it all to me but I still don't understand it. It's just too foreign," Martha said. "Under Kryptonian law, Kal-El, our Kal-El, and Zara are in a binding contracted marriage between the House of El and the House of Ra, but are legally separated since he refuses to live on New Krypton. She has control of his lands and estates until his heir goes to New Krypton to accept the titles and responsibilities as head of the House of El."
"And you're afraid they're coming to take one of the children to become his heir on this other planet?" Kal-El asked.
Martha nodded.
"How barbaric," Wanda found herself saying.
"It's a barbaric place," Martha said. "He almost didn't come back went he went there eleven years ago to help stop a civil war."
"Wait a minute," Kal-El said. Wanda watched as astonishment and disbelief washed over Kal-El's face. "There were survivors of Krypton?"
Martha nodded. "A whole colony. Believe me, it was a surprise to us, too. I guess nobody on your Krypton believed Jor-El when he warned them the planet was doomed."
"I guess not," Kal-El said. "What keeps them from coming here and trying to take over? I mean, they'd be super-powered."
"There's only a couple ships that can make the trip, for one. And two, a couple of Lord Nor's followers tried it, and our military took them out pretty handily. There's not a lot of kryptonite around, but we know how to use it," Martha said. "I'm also told that Zara and Ching have emphasized to their people how barbaric and dangerous Earth is and how courageous and self-sacrificing Kal-El is to stay here and 'lead us to civilization.'"
Martha turned her attention back to her three grandchildren. "It's homework time, CJ. Lara, piano practice. Your recital's next week."
Lara made a face but headed off to the living room. Wanda followed her, leaving Kal-El talking with Martha over a second cup of coffee and a plate of doughnuts. Wanda's head was spinning. She was a reporter, but she wasn't making a lot of sense of what Martha had told them.
The little girl sat down at an electric piano, turned on the power and began practicing scales. Wanda sat down beside her. "My son plays piano, too. And he's your age."
Lara didn't stop playing. "He is? What's his name?"
"Jason Peregrine White."
"I'm Lara Ellen Kent," the little girl announced. "After two of my grandmas. Daddy was adopted, you know. So I have three grandmas, but one of them is dead."
Lara continued her practice, switching to 'Heart and Soul', the piece Jason had been working on for weeks. Wanda's heart began to ache for her son. Lara reminded her of him so much it was frightening. She wondered if she would ever see him again. If she and Kal-El, 'Charlie', would be trapped here forever, in this version of Metropolis where Clark Kent was Superman, was married to Lois Lane, and had four kids – not to mention a wife on a different planet.
Clark Kent was Superman. It sounded right, like something she'd known before. But for some reason, she still couldn't get her head around it. What the hell had he done to her? Did he even know what he'd done? There was no way that Kal-El could possibly be the Clark Kent she knew. That Clark was a geek, a nerd, a hack – a brilliant, idiotic, clumsy dweeb who tripped over his own feet and could barely talk coherently. No way! It was impossible! But still...
She left the piano bench and walked back to the kitchen. Martha was cleaning up and Wanda could hear Kal-El talking to one of the boys in the family room. She walked in to see Jordan sitting on Kal-El's lap as they both sat next to CJ at a computer. Kal-El seemed so natural, so easy, with Clark's kids. He'd make a fantastic father. What am I thinking? Jason has a father, and not one who ran out before he was even born!
She stepped closer to him. "You're good with kids," she said. "You'll make a great father, someday."
"I am a father, remember?" The hurt was palpable in his face, his voice. "I just don't know how I fit in to his life, or yours."
"I don't honestly know yet. I've got memories floating around in my head. I know some of them are real, but some of them, too many of them, I still can't grab hold of, still don't make sense. What really happened?" Wanda asked. She suddenly felt her pent up anger starting to boil over. "Why did you leave me like that? What aren't you telling me? What did you do to me?"
Lois II
Lois waited for Clark to help her out of the van. Baby Martha was asleep in her carrier, wearing a yellow jumper that was far too big for her. But like all the previous Kent kids, she'd grow into it in no time.
Clark had explained to her that Wanda and Kal-El would be staying overnight, and possibly longer, if a way to send them back to where they belonged couldn't be found. Wanda would have to share a room with Lara, or stay with Martha at her apartment.
"They're not together?" she asked.
Clark shook his head. "She has a son Lara's age, and a fiance, but it's not him." Clark grabbed the baby and followed Lois into the house. "She said her son's father disappeared six years ago and she moved on. I'm pretty sure Kal-El's the father. He looked awfully guilty when she was talking about it."
"Why did you leave me like that? What aren't you telling me? What did you do to me?" Wanda was practically screaming at Kal-El when Lois and Clark walked in.
CJ's eyes were wide in surprise, as were Jordan's. Kal-El's eyes were narrowed in that peculiarly Kryptonian fashion Lois was familiar with, the one that said 'back off now'. Lois also noted that Wanda didn't seem to be getting the hint.
"I've got her," Lois murmured to her husband, taking the baby from the carrier.
"I'm on him," he murmured back.
"Wanda, come with me, please," Lois ordered firmly. She saw Wanda's eyes widen in surprise and was pleased when the younger woman's mouth snapped shut. "Now."
Lois started toward the living room, then stopped as she realized Wanda wasn't following. She turned back and grabbed the younger woman's arm and led her away. "I will thank you not to yell at your boyfriend, or whatever, in front of my kids," she hissed.
"He's not my boyfriend," Wanda grated.
"Whatever. Absentee father of your child? Irresponsible lout that got you knocked up?"
"You don't understand," Wanda said.
"Then explain it to me," Lois said, settling onto the leather sofa and cuddling her newborn. She kept her voice low and controlled.
Wanda sat down on other end of the sofa, turning to face Lois. "Kal-El and I had a relationship six years ago. Hell, relationship isn't the right word. One night stand. Then he decided it wouldn't work, and he did something to my memories, erased them, shut me out of his life, shut me out of his world," Wanda explained. "A month later he left without saying goodbye, disappeared without saying a word to anyone. He was gone for six years. Six years. I didn't know if he was dead, if he'd just gotten tired of rescuing people who wouldn't take care of their own problems, if I'd done something to drive him away. We, I, didn't know I'd gotten pregnant. I had a baby and I didn't even know how it happened. I did what I had to."
"And then he came back?" Lois asked.
Wanda nodded. "I won a Pulitzer for an editorial on why the world doesn't need Superman. And then he comes waltzing back into my life as if he hadn't been gone all that time, as if he could make it all up to me, to my son, wave his magic cape and it'll all be better. I have a man who wants to marry me, I have a good life." Tears were running down Wanda's face.
"Wanda, if your Superman was so horrible to you, why were you with him when whatever it was happened that brought you here?" Lois asked.
"We were trying to recover my lost memories," Wanda explained. "Even though he doesn't want a relationship with me. He can't have a relationship with me."
"I assume you mean Superman can't have a relationship with you?" Lois asked.
Wanda nodded.
"You do realize that Superman can't have a relationship with a real person, because he isn't a real person? He's a character in an improv play with the world as a stage who wears a blue body suit and red cape. He's not real." Baby Martha had started to protest and Lois put her to her breast.
"Of course he's a real person," Wanda protested. "You're married to your Superman. You should know."
"No, I'm married to Clark Jerome Kent, who happens to have a second job that doesn't pay at all well, that involves dressing up in a blue body suit and red cape so he can go flying around rescuing people, and having bad guys shoot at him," Lois said. "Clark Kent is the one who said 'I do', who takes the kids to school, helps pay the bills, holds my hand, sleeps in my bed, and was my birthing coach for four babies. Superman didn't do any of those things. He can't. He's not a person, he's a job. You need to be looking for the man doing the job."
It was a vast oversimplification, Lois knew, but Wanda just seemed so oblivious. She hoped Clark was having better luck with his counterpart.