Chapter Forty-Nine

Martha Kent placed a hand on her pregnant belly. As she felt her baby kick, she was comforted with this child's presence as her heart ached for her missing son. How she had wanted to tell the news to both Johnathan and Clark. But she had been so scared. An entire lifetime being told pregnancy was impossible for her. Only to have it granted by a miracle.

Or, to be precise, a spaceship.

When Roger Nixon last spring had taken the ship's key, a metallic octagon, and inserted it, the ship was activated and flew through the storm. Where it was going and what it wanted to do was unclear. Still, the flash it gave off somehow cured her, allowing her body to get pregnant in the following weeks. At first, she couldn't believe it and kept the news to herself in case she had misread her symptoms. But as time passed, she had to accept that she was pregnant. Still, she didn't know how to break the news to Johnathan and Clark.

Now she had lost the chance to tell her son he would be a big brother.

Martha remembered coming home with Jonathan the night Clark was taken. They hadn't known he was gone at the time. They thought he was asleep in the barn or his room and didn't want to disturb him; they had come back so late. Then the next morning, he was nowhere to be found. Bed unslept in; chores not done. His cellphone left on the counter. Martha had a son who was bulletproof; a son impervious to all-natural harm, yet she still worried.

They had called Pete, Chloe, and Lana. He wasn't with them, and they had no idea where he would be. When desperate, Jonathan called Lex asking if he knew anything about Clark's whereabouts. Lex jumped into action, sending his private security team on the case.

Then, at two o'clock that afternoon, the Kents received a letter by courier.

Mr. and Mrs. Kent.

I have your son.

You will not see him again.

I do not say this to taunt you or cause you distress, but to give you closure.

There are dangers you cannot protect him from, but I can. And I will.

Please know that your son will be treated with kindness and love. No harm will ever befall him. I shall fulfill his every need. I shall live to grant his every whim. He will never know want and live in luxury like he deserves.

I solemnly vow I will love him, protect him, and give him a life of love, happiness, and fulfilment.

The letter had not been comforting. It had not even provided a solid lead. The courier wasn't part of a legitimate business. Just some kid from Metropolis University who was given fifty bucks and then a promise note from Lex Luthor for two hundred more.

The poor kid was drilled by the new Sherriff Adams at the Smallville jail for over three hours. He identified Lex on the spot and said he gave him the note and promised more money. Video footage was limited. Chloe only discovered a man wearing a baseball cap talking with the kid on campus. Lex himself had an alibi; he was at a fundraiser and photographs on the society page confirmed it.

Lex paid the kid.

The neighbors were supportive, bringing over meals. Chloe went to work posting fliers and trying to track down where the paper the note was left on came from. Jonathan had to hire workers to help at the farm. Pete stopped by and volunteered some work. Lex rolled up his sleeves and did some too. Martha knew he would have paid for a whole fleet of workers, but Jonathan wouldn't allow it. He just grunted at the young man's work instead.

Martha sometimes wondered if Clark's birth parents had somehow taken him away. But the key she took from Lionel's office was still hidden away. She had moved it from the flour container into the tea jar. Jonathan didn't drink tea, so it was safe inside. On the trip home she was thinking she'd hide it in the cellar. But with Clark gone, what was the point?

The news of her pregnancy had been shared with Johnathan in a quiet moment at night. Johnathan was surprised and happy. Martha remembered he had taken her hand in his and kissed it.

"That is a miracle."

Martha burst into tears. "Why is it just as I gain a child, I lose another? I want my baby back, Johnathan."

"Even though Clark is not here with us right now, I am here to tell you, Martha Kent, that we will have happy days again."

Johnathan built a crib for their new baby. But he didn't whistle while doing it as he usually did when working on projects.

Martha sighed and reached up for the flour tin. Might as well start baking the pies. Lana had increased the Talons pie order. If it was out of pity, she wasn't sure, but the baking kept her busy. And they needed the money. Without Clark's help, Jonathan was losing money paying for all the workers. Martha knew she should take it easy. That all her baking and worry wasn't good for her miracle child. But doing nothing was too much to ask of her right now.

"Mrs. Kent!" Martha recognized Chloe's voice. The young girl barged into the kitchen, face red, panting from lack of breath. Lana and a girl Martha didn't recognize were right behind her. "You got to hear this."

"Hi. I'm Lois Lane. Kind of." The unknown girl introduced herself. "So, I know where your son is."

"Where is he!"

"See, that's where things get complicated. Want to sit down?"

Martha sat at the table, never taking her eyes off Lois. "Where is my son?"

"So, I am Lois Lane. But I'm not the Lois Lane of this universe. Are you with me?"

"What?"

Lois sighed. "Chloe, call her again."

Chloe already had her cell phone out and put her phone on speaker.

"What is it now?" the voice on the line sounded annoyed.

"Hey, cuz," Chloe said. "Sorry to bother you again, but can you state your name and location?"

"Seriously! I'm on a military barge in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and you don't want to chat with your cousin Lois Lane? What is up with these phone calls?"

"Thanks. I'll call you tonight. Love you, bye." Chloe hung up. "She's a bit annoyed. We had the same conversation about an hour ago." All three girls were gazing at Martha expectantly.

"I don't understand. You said you know where Clark is?"

"So, other universes apparently exist," Lois explained. "Same people, same town, same buildings, except they're not. See, I come from a world where your son, Clark, was adopted by the Luthor's and not you guys."

Martha held up a hand to get Lois to stop talking. "Let me get, Johnathan."

She waddled to the barn to get her husband. All the while her head was spinning. She was relieved to have word about Clark, but Lois wasn't giving her a straight answer. Pete was with Johnathan inside and all she could do was motion to the house, and they had to come with her. At the mention of "Clark" both boys dropped what they were doing immediately and started heading to the house.

Johnathan walked with her but could tell he desperately wanted to run ahead. "You know where Clark is?" was the first words he said as he walked through the door.

Martha sat down as Lois explained what she had just told her.

"See, he's been living at the Luthor Mansion for the past six months. As Julian Luthor. I know this is far out there, but I'm from another universe. I have photos." Lois shoved her phone into Martha's hands.

Tears sprang to Martha's eyes as she saw Clark. He was alive. He was alive and smiling. Clark was dressed in a suit and with…Chloe? Martha looked up to Chloe for answers.

"Guess he asked me…I mean, her to the Spring Formal." Chloe gave a pained smile.

"Hello." Lex Luthor said from the doorway. "I got a call from Lana saying I should come over. There's an update on Clark?"

Martha listened to the explanation a third time, and this was when the possibility the story this Lois said was true.

"Where I come from, his name is Julian Luthor. Not Clark Kent." Lois finished.

"So, two of ourselves exist?" Johnathan asked out loud.

"Well, hypothetically speaking if choices result in different consequences, each resulting in a new branch, we're looking at Infinite Earths." Lois said.

"And your Lex kidnapped our Clark and has been gaslighting him into thinking he's your Julian?" Lana said. "That's wrong on so many levels."

"That's why we're going to get him back," Lex stated firmly.

Another bit of information I couldn't find was how far along was Martha's pregnancy. She had a sonagram at the end of Fever, and I set this story to take place before that episode. I'm estimating she was four months at April and for story purposes we're now mid-summer. Also, since Clark disappeared, Martha didn't feel the need to hide the flour jar with the key inside it in the cellar, so she never got infected with the kryptonite spores.