Averl Munday

New York

In a house you know, there's a drawer.

Inside are scrapbooks, brag books and loose photographs. If you were to arrange them in chronological order and slowly flipping through all of them, you would see the history of a family.

It could be your family.

As you flip through them you come upon pictures of your parents when they were the same age you are right now. It takes a moment to accept that those are the same people. Those so out of date clothes and hairstyles that make you cringe catch your eye, but if you look just a little closer you see them for who they used to be. In many ways they were probably just like you are now.

Would you have been friends?

What were they like at your age?

You look at them now and only see glimpses of the people in those photographs. They were pencil drafts back then, rough outlines of the final work. They were still rushing forward towards their future. Hopes and dreams of perhaps finding that special someone must have seemed so tantalizing back then.

You flip forward through some more photos and stop on their wedding day. It doesn't always happen like that, of course, but it still does more often than not. You've probably had to look at it a hundred times. A small secret smile would always come to your mother's lips as she showed it to you. The picture represents promises, between them and to the future. Some of those promises might later be broken, shattering that future beyond repair. It was a promise, not a guarantee.

The picture also represents something else. It is the beginning of you.

Without this moment, the next series of photos are never taken. There is no picture of your mother in the hospital holding you new to the world in her arms, as your father smiles proudly into the camera. There is no picture of your first steps or first day of school. There are no firsts without that picture. Futures are really fragile things. Take out one of the building blocks and the rest doesn't crumble, it vanishes.

As you flip back and forth through the pictures, there is one that's rarely there. It's a picture of your parents when they were in those first stages of the relationship, where both still had doubts about whether this was the one or not. Oh there are probably a few of them while they were dating, but those are after they knew.

Now imagine through some fantastic or unbelievable circumstances, you could travel back to that point where they were just beginning to think about the other as maybe the one. Could you resist the urge to see them together? You would be a time traveler witnessing the beginning of you. Your parents may have told you stories about when they were dating, but those are all from a distance and through the rose colored glasses of memory. How irresistible would it be to see what they were really like when they were your age?

Now put yourself in Helena Wayne's shoes. Your parents are dead in another universe from where you are now. The possibility of seeing them again even if Karen's machine works exactly as it is supposed to is remote. You might just get to witness them die all over again. That would be too much to take for anyone. You've made your peace with their deaths and keep them dear in you memory. You try and honor both of them with your life and hope they are proud.

The only thing is though, that those fantastic and unbelievable circumstances have almost come true. Yes, this isn't your world, but in many ways it's a mirror image. Younger doppelgangers of your parents, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle exist here. This timeline is already different, as they are not together and he already has a son by another woman. You can see the subtle differences in these two from your two as only a loved one could. They aren't your parents you keep telling yourself, but there they are. They look so much like them. It's like looking at those old pictures come to life.

Your father would probably caution you against messing with the timeline on this world. You understand this, but the thought of seeing them in the same room is just too tempting. You know this isn't your world and these aren't your parents, but they are still Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. Looking at them now, you can feel the electricity practically jumping between them. It seems impossible to you that in any world they wouldn't be together.

For if they aren't together, than there isn't even a chance of an alternative you.

But if there is an alternative you, than another series of photos begins and hopefully continues long after yours stopped.

An alternative you means in another house, there is a drawer waiting.

New York

Bruce glanced around to see where Miss Bertinelli went, but then his eyes were drawn back to Selina. She hadn't noticed he was here, so for that moment he could just let his eyes take her in. Lovely, yes, sexy, yes, but there was always something more about her that seemed to whisper seductively to Bruce. He knew many women, some that you would say were more attractive and some more mysterious, but none with her unique combination of both added to many others. He felt the urge to go to her, but stopped himself.

Selina knew who Bruce Wayne was, but she didn't know he was the man she'd been having an on again, off again torrid affair. That was Batman. Bruce had heard the whispers about her being his weakness and even considered it himself. As he gazed at her sultrily moving through the crowd he couldn't help thinking if she was his weakness, he could live with it. He'd tried not giving in before, but even his will power wasn't that strong. Yes the attraction was very strong, but he hadn't made the mistake of telling her who he was. That would be very dangerous at this point in both their lives. Maybe some day that would change.

So when she glanced over and saw him, it was Bruce Wayne that smiled and raised a glass of champagne as greeting. The smile she gave in return was sensual and flirting, but not the smile she gave Batman. That was a private, personal smile and a twinge of disappointment went through him at not seeing it.

Across the hall, Karen had spotted Selina too. Helena's words about a back up plan suddenly became clear. Knowing her friend, this back up plan as she called it was only part of another plan. It was pretty obvious what that other plan was. Helena was playing a bit of matchmaker with this world's Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. It was reckless and dangerous, but part of Karen understood. They did look so much like Helena's parents back home. They weren't though, anymore than Clark was the Clark from back home.

Thinking of him again, Karen looked over the crowd once more to see where he was. Still staying as far away from her as possible and still be in the same room. He was definitely not the Clark she knew back home, she fumed. Now though, as that reality had sunk in, she began to see the differences that she'd missed before. They were very small, but the distinctions were there. This Clark's features were just a little more asymmetrical than the Clark she knew back home. Their body structures were the same, broad shoulders, a relatively narrow waist, and V-shaped torso, but this Clark was leaner, more of a swimmer's built than the massive body builder body type of Clark back home.

His manners left a lot to be desired, that was to be sure, she thought. Just as she was starting to get irritated all over again at him, her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Did you see him when he first caught sight of her?"

Helena. Karen sighed and glanced around the room, but couldn't see her.

"What are you doing, Helena?" She asked.

"What? I told you I had a back up plan." Helena replied defensively.

"Trying to get them to hook up, is not a back up plan,' Karen stated.

"It worked, didn't it?" Helena countered. "He's certainly not looking for me now, is he?"

"That's because a bigger criminal just walked in,' Karen fired back.

"She's not that big a criminal,' Helena objected. "It's not like she killed anyone."

"Helena."

"What?"

"They're not you parents,' Karen reluctantly said. There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"I know that."

"Do you?"

"Yes, of course I do,' Helena replied. "I see the differences. He's probably an eighth of an inch shorter than back home and she's at least a cup size bigger. Have you seen her in that cat suit? The zipper just doesn't seem to want to stay up."

"Helena, I'm not talking about another woman's bra size,' Karen snapped. "Besides, they don't look that big to me. I'm talking about you playing matchmaker. They aren't the same people, Helena."

"No," Helena admitted. "But they are attracted to each other. Anyone can see that."

"Of course they are,' Karen grumbled. "They are both really attractive people so they are going to notice each other."

"Like you and Clark?"

"Yes." Karen automatically answered, but then realized what Helena had said. "What? NO! No, that's not the same at all! I'm not attracted to him. I don't even like him very much right now."

"So why have you been watching him all night?"

Karen knew what she was trying to do and she wasn't going to let her get away with it.

"We're talking about Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, Helena, don't try and change the subject! You just can't play matchmaker in this world, because they ended up together on our world. It doesn't work that way."

"How do you know?"

"Because it doesn't,' Karen snapped. "They're not fated or destined to be together because they were back home. They're different people here, different individuals that have already made different choices. I'm sorry, it just doesn't work that way."

"I disagree, I think in any world they're going to be attracted to each other,' Helena countered. "Like Clark and Lois."

"No, Lois is dating someone else,' Karen immediately replied. "They're more friends here than anything else."

There was another pause on the line.

"You know for someone that doesn't want anything to do with him, you sure know a lot about him,' Helena offered.

Karen groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Maybe we should leave,' she finally suggested. "Before you get tempted to give them another little push."

"No, I already did my pushing,' Helena replied. "I just wanted to see them in the same room together. Come on, aren't you a bit curious about what's going to happen?"

"Maybe a little bit,' Karen reluctantly admitted.

"So let's stay a while longer and watch."

"What if he comes looking for you?" Karen asked.

"Look at him, Karen, he's not thinking about me anymore."

Karen glanced over and while Bruce was acting the part of playboy, his eyes continually returned to Selina.

"All right, I guess we can stay a little while longer,' Karen finally agreed.

At the back of the hall, Clark had been watching too. While he continued to look at the pamphlets advertising the different companies new products, he noticed Bruce's reaction immediately. While they were friends, of a sort and had worked together they were by no means close. Following Bruce's eyes, Clark saw Selina enter. He looked back at Bruce and for just a moment he thought he saw the façade drop. For an instant, Clark thought Bruce was going to go to her, but then the façade returned.

He shifted his gaze over to Selina Kyle. He'd never met her, but knew who she was, Catwoman. Clark had always found it interested that of all the criminals in Gotham, she somehow managed not to be caught by Batman. He had of course heard the rumors as to why this was, as he heard pretty much everything. He couldn't quite believe it, knowing what little he knew about Batman, but now he definitely saw there was some truth to them.

Strange, the Batman, scourge of the criminal world was attracted to a woman that straddled the line at best. Although, as he looked at her, Clark could certainly understand how Bruce could be attracted to her. There was a femme fatale quality that seemed to just drip from her fingertips. While she wasn't the most beautiful woman Clark had ever seen. Karen was better looking he absently noted. Selina seemed to have a combination of sensual beauty that enhanced her considerable charms.

Wait, Clark suddenly thought, did I just say Karen was better looking?

Where the hell did that come from, he wondered? She'd been basically a bitch to him since he met her. Sure she was attractive, but let's not go overboard, he told himself. He'd certainly met friendlier women that were just as attractive. He glanced over to where she was standing and saw once again she was ignoring him. Yep, definitely have met a lot of women friendlier.

Well, the hell with her, he thought. I've finished my assignment so there's no reason to linger any longer. I've already spent too much time at this thing. As interesting as it might be to see what plays out between Bruce and Selina, he was tired of all this. If you're not in the club, the longer you're around it the more noticeable it becomes. Besides, with all the effort she's putting in to ignoring me I guess I can help her out again. I'll just head back to the airport and wait for my flight. It's about ten blocks to the right subway and there is still the bus ride, so might as well leave now.

Karen had been watching with some interest as Bruce and Selina seemed to circle through the crowd getting closer all the time. They both acted like they didn't know what they were doing, but she doubted that. The little glances they both took towards the other belied their outward appearance of ignoring each other.

At the thought of them ignoring each other, Karen glanced over at Clark. He was heading for the exit. He's not even going to acknowledge me, she thought. What a prick! Yes, they'd agreed to keep their distance, but this was just rude. She found herself setting her champagne glass down and following him. She still didn't want to talk to him, but she definitely wanted to give him a piece of her mind.

She saw him slip out one of the back exits and she pushed the door open seconds later. He was just down the alleyway towards the street. She stepped into the light.

"Well you certainly live up to the Kryptonian reputation for being arrogant.' She called after him.

Clark stopped and turned towards her.

"I was raised on Earth, so I'm guessing you're a better example of that than I am."

Now she was really pissed.

In the next moment she was standing right in front of him. She slapped his face. A normal man's head would have probably been dislodged from his shoulders and pulverized by the force of the blow. Clark of course, wasn't a normal man.

"So it's just normal Earth rudeness then?" She spat out. "You just ignore somebody?'

Clark rubbed his jaw, the sting still fresh. Now he was really pissed.

"Well you seemed to pick it up in your five years here, so it seemed appropriate."

Karen raised her hand to slap him again, but this time Clark stopped her. He caught her wrist in his and as they struggled he backed her against the building. They stood millimeters apart. They were both breathing hard and their emotions were high. He looked into her eyes and she starred back at him.

"Why are you so pissed at me?" He whispered.

"Cause you ignored me all night,' she softly replied.

Why he did it, later he couldn't say, but in the moment it seemed like the only thing to do. Clark leaned in and kissed her. It took them both by surprise and for a moment they didn't seem to know what to do. Karen finally wrenched her wrist away from his hold, hesitated for just a moment and then pulled him into tighter and deepened the kiss. When it finally ended, they were both out of breath, their foreheads resting against each other.

"I'm not ignoring you now,' he whispered.