When Clark opened his eyes, he could see the ceiling of the barn. So it had all been a dream, or at least that was what he thought until he turned over to get himself up and noticed a still unconscious Lois lying next to him on what looked like hay. He got up, and noticed the loft was not his loft, but the hayloft as he remembered it as a young boy before his parents had converted it for him. His worst fears were confirmed when he looked down and saw the time travel ring on his index finger.
He looked down at Lois sleeping and blissfully unaware of what had just happened to them. Clark scanned the farm, pleased at least that he still had his powers, but there was no one home. Just then he felt a breeze on his back, and turned around to see three people standing there, one of whom was Rokk.
There was also a young blond girl and a red headed man standing alongside Rokk.
"Kal-el, this is Garth and Imra. They belong to the Legion, a group of superheroes from the 31st century."
"Rokk, I need Lois transported back to her time now, she is not part of this." Clark demanded.
"Lois Lane…." Garth shouted excitedly. "I never ever thought I would get a chance to meet the one and only Lois…."
Imra stared at Garth. "You know the rules, Garth. We must not interfere any more than our mission allows."
Clark ignored the others and waited for an answer from Rokk.
Rokk shook his head. "Kal-el, if we send her back, she will go back to a time she will not recognise. Life is bleak in the altered present."
"Ok…She is staying with me, but how long will she be unconscious for? Is there any way I can fix time and transport back without her waking?"
Garth butted in again. "You're kidding right! You are going to be here for months."
Rokk held his hand up. "Garth, please stop interfering. We have already discussed the matter when we realised that Lois had tagged along for the ride. She is going to find out about your secret, and if she finds out now, it will change history. So we have a plan."
Imra stepped forward. "One of my powers, apart from telepathy is the ability to manipulate thoughts and memories so I will wipe her memories prior to the transport back."
"So why am I here? What happened that was so bad?"
"It seems that on the day of the meteor shower that Lionel Luthor was in the truck with Martha Kent when they passed Miller's Field and found you and your spaceship." Imra explained.
"What about Jonathan Kent? He found me. Why would my mom be with Lionel?"
"Due to events changing so fast, we have gaps in our knowledge of events but what we do know is that Martha ended up divorcing your father and becoming a Luthor."
Clark was horrified, stumbling back at the thought. "She would never do that."
"She would if it was the only way to protect you from being brought up by an evil man like Lionel Luthor. She tried to escape with you many times, but she will brutally murdered a few years from now by an unknown assailant."
"No….." Clark shouted. "Why did my father not stop this from happening?"
"Kal-el, he did try. He was the one helping Martha escape with you, but he ended up paying for it with his life too, leaving the Luthor's to bring you up with no interference."
"The result of that upbringing has changed the world to a dark place in the alternate present. The whole of the US is at the mercy of the Luthor's and their powerful heir, Clark Luthor." Rokk carried on the grim tale.
"So what do I do to change things?"
"Brainiac has interfered somehow, but we still don't know what happened to make Lionel get into that truck that day with Martha, but we do know that she was no longer living at the Kent Farm with Jonathan at the time of the meteor shower and that she moved out a few months prior."
"Something major must have happened to split them up." Clark suggested. "Is Brainiac still here?"
"No, we got him back and re-altered his programming and the scientist will never cause any more trouble." Garth said.
"So what is the plan?"
Imra smiled. "You have to start a new life in Smallville with new identities until you can find out what is going on."
"That is not going to be easy, not with Lois tagging along." He added.
Rokk smiled. "Actually she will help make things more believable. We have already set up your new identities. You are called Tom Bradley and Lois is going to be Lucy Mason. You are college sweethearts who are travelling around Kansas trying to find work over the summer. In actual fact, you are running away from your parents who found out your recent engagement, and tried to split you up. The engagement ring you have in your pocket will be perfect to keep up the pretence."
Clark was amazed. "How do you know about that?"
"You were planning to propose to Lana Lang before all this kicked up…" Imra announced as if it was common knowledge.
Clark looked at Imra. "If you think anyone is going to fall for Lois and me being madly in love, you are dreaming. That will never happen I can assure you."
Rokk shot Garth a stare before he had a chance to open his mouth with some quip about the future.
Garth opened his mouth. "I am sure you will be convincing."
Imra looked at her wrist. "Lois will be waking up in five minutes. We need to get her to the bed and breakfast before she wakes up."
Clark was concerned. "What bed and breakfast?" he asked in a worried tone.
"Betty's bed and breakfast! I believe it is called." Rokk commented.
"Well you have blown our chances of convincing anyone. Betty Gibson has owned that bed and breakfast for thirty years and you know why… so she can get the gossip about guests and spread it around town." Clark explained.
"It is the only one. We have paid for a room for a week in advance. We have put some more money deep in the woods for you to use."
"How did you come across money in this time?" Clark asked curiously.
"We placed a bet on a sporting event." Garth grinned
"It was excusable in this case as you need money to survive. There is $5000 hidden." Rokk defended the decision and told him where it was.
"Where are you staying?" Clark asked.
"We are in a location which is unaffected by time, so we can come and go as we need to. If you need us, press on the Legion Ring and say our names, and we will come." Rokk replied.
"You need to go now." Imra stated. "We will visit in the next few days."
Clark nodded, picked Lois up and sped to the bed and breakfast.
Luckily Betty was not at reception when they arrived at the Bed and Breakfast, and Imra had given Clark the key to the apartment. For all the gossiping Betty did, no one could ever accuse her of not providing spacious and homely accommodation to stay in. Each apartment had its own entrance and was fitted out with a bedroom and an open plan lounge and kitchen.
He lay Lois on the bed and waited for her to wake up. He took the few minutes he had left before she did to consider what he was going to say to her. He decided he would need to divulge his secret at some point and the history of how he arrived on Earth. However he knew he had to take it easy and just start of the basic information, like how they had time-travelled back more than 16 years.
She stirred, her eyes opened gradually, then blinking as she tried to focus on her new surroundings. Soon there were signs of confusion on her face, as she tried to examine the room she had found herself in. She sat bolt upright.
Clark sat down on the bed. "Lois, you're safe! Lie back down until you have a chance to wake up properly. You have been out of it for a while."
"Smallville, where are we?" she asked, slightly disorientated still.
"It is a long story. I will go and make a cup of coffee. I'll be back in a few seconds." He went off.
Lois looked across at the alarm clock on the bedside table. "Talk about antiquated!" She muttered to herself, but then almost passed out again when she saw the date. -14.06.89. She freaked and screamed. "Clark…"
Clark flew back into the room, panicking at the distress in her cries. "What is it, Lois? Are you ok?"
"Smallville, please tell me this is not working!." She said looking at the clock.
Clark gulped. Why had he not noticed the clock? "Lois, please calm down."
"I will calm down when you will tell me the clock is broken and for that matter where we are."
"Lois.."
"Look, Smallville. I will go outside and ask someone where we are."
"Ok, listen carefully. Prior to you coming to see me in the barn, I was visited by someone from the future. He warned me that I needed to go back in history and change things immediately. Just as I was about to transport back, you touched my shoulder meaning you came along for the ride. I am so sorry you got dragged into this." He announced calmly.
Lois looked at him. "Smallville, I never thought for one minute that you were the type to do acid, but I guess you have proved me wrong."
"I am not on some acid trip. It is the truth. Now I am sorry that you have been dragged along but we have some major work to change time back to the way we remember it." He spoke in a commanding tone. "Now I need you to work with me or it is going to make my job very difficult."
He suddenly heard Betty approaching the building from across the main street. Her voice sounded younger but the gossip was unmistakable. She was talking to one of her friends.
"Lois, listen carefully." He pleaded with her. "We are in Betty Gibson's B&B, and in a few moments, she will be back and she will want to meet us. Don't react when you see her, as we have never met her before. We cannot give our real identities, so we are assuming false ones. I am called Tom Bradley and you are my fiancée Lucy Mason. We are travelling around Kansas trying to find summer work before we both start college in Topeka in the fall."
Lois nodded but then laughed nervously. "Can you go back to the part about the engagement? You are kidding right."
"Lois, why else would we be travelling together and sharing an apartment. If you hadn't noticed, there is only one bed here."
"Smallville, believe me that has not escaped my attention and will be discussed as soon as we can Betty out of the way." She smiled.
He reached in his pocket, took one look at the ring and thought about Lana. How he wished he was back in 2006!
"Put this on!" he said, as he got her ring finger and put slipped it on.
She looked at it in amazement. "God, Smallville. You are a regular boy scout aren't you – prepared for anything."
"Lois, remember, Lucy Mason and Tom Bradley." He said one final time.
"Got it, Clark…sorry I mean Smallville…no I mean Tom." She managed a smirk despite their predicament.
The predictable knock at the door soon came. Clark went to open it. "Hi Mr Bradley, I am Betty Gibson, owner of this establishment." She announced in a posh accent. "I like to add the personal touch to everyone staying."
Lois appeared at door, and almost broke into hysterical laughter. She had thought that Betty's dress sense in the present day had been bad but she was a walking fashion disaster in this time and in the 1980's that was saying something. "Hi Mrs Gibson, I am Lucy Mason, Tom's fiancée."
Betty looked her up and down. "I must admit I was a little reluctant to let an unmarried couple share a room but then my husband Bernie told me that it was the 1980's and I had to start to move with the times."
"That is so nice of you." Lois announced, trying to act nicely even though a few days ago in 2006 she had cut Betty down to size in the Talon in front of everyone due to the lies she had been spreading about her.
"I took some comfort in the fact you intend to get married in the future, although I must say you look very young to be getting married." Betty said as she looked down at Lois's stomach.
"Oh well I will leave you to it." Betty said as she scuttled off in a hurry. "If you need anything, let me know."
Lois shut the door. "What is the bet that she is headed over to the Talon to tell everyone I am pregnant and I have tricked you into marrying me."
Clark smiled. "That will be hard considering the Talon has only been around since 2001. The place she will be heading for is my mom's old café."
Lois realised that they would be soon coming face to face with Clark's parents. How weird would that be…
"I am starving." Lois said, the sounds from her stomach backing up her statement. "You know when I came to the barn, I was going to ask you if you wanted to join me at the Talon for a coffee and donut."
Clark looked at her with suspicion. "Why would you want to have coffee with me? I guess the rest of the Smallville population must have been busy." He grinned.
"Actually I wanted to fix our friendship after the incident in the lap dance club." Lois spouted quickly.
Clark went red at the thought. "What do you mean? We were both under cover and put on an act."
Lois laughed. "Well I must say Clark Jr is quite an actor. He seemed quite realistic to me."
He went a shade of purple. "Lois, you were imaging things."
"I don't think so, Smallville. It would be difficult to mistake something like that." She continued her assault on him. "Anyway can we put it behind us, and forget it happened."
He took a deep breath. "Let's move on… and fix things so we can get back to our time."
"So what exactly are we fixing? You haven't said what has happened."
Clark asked Lois to take a seat. "Ok, this is complicated and there are gaps in what I have been told. But basically my parents have separated recently for some unknown reason, but no doubt something to do with Lionel Luthor."
"So how does that change history?"
"If they are not together, they do not adopt me, and apparently my mom ends up marrying Lionel and raising me as a Luthor."
Lois was confused. "No way, your mom and Lionel…gross." She stopped when she realised he was upset at the thought. "Yeah I guess that might change things in Smallville, but how does that lead to a dark time for the whole world. I mean you are just a little fish in the big pond."
Clark pondered for a second. Even though Imra had said she would wipe her memory, something still stopped him from revealing his secret to her. Maybe it was the years of hiding the truth from Lana.
"The people from the future do not know why yet. They will be coming back soon, hopefully with some more answers. Until then, why don't we head into town to buy you that donut. Remember not to do or say anything which could alter history. One wrong word could change everything."
She put her hand on his chest. "You need to trust me more, Smallville."
They walked over the road towards Martha's café. "I didn't know your mom ran a café."
"It was just thing she did for a few years to supplement the farm income and to use her business skills she had learnt but then gave it up when she adopted me."
"Your mom is a real home body, isn't she?" Lois could almost smell the apple pie.
Clark smiled. "Yeah…"
They entered the small café. The smell was to die for – all home cooked food.
There was no sign of his mom behind the counter. There was no one else there apart from a girl sitting on a young man's knee at one of the booths, making out with him.
Clark and Lois took a seat, and but no one came to take their order. "I wonder if anyone works here." He asked.
Lois looked across at the hot and heavy couple, and happened to notice the girl was wearing an apron. "Give me a moment!"
Clark looked at her, and realised what she was about to do. "Lo…Lucy, don't grab any attention."
"Excuse me, miss." Lois said, as she arrived. "Do you work here?"
"Yes, I do…. What is it to you?" The girl asked with an attitude.
"Ok...it is a new concept. I am a customer, you are a member of staff, so therefore you get me what I ask for, and I give you money to pay for the goods. Got it…" Lois said slowly.
The man stood up. "Are you insulting my girlfriend?" He asked angrily.
"No, just merely stating a fact." Lois replied coolly.
Clark had been watching and knew he would have to get involved. "Lucy…just leave it." He tried to grab her hand, but she removed it before he could make contact.
"No, I won't. Are you going to serve us or not?" Lois asked.
"No, I am busy." The girl turned away, just as a familiar looking woman walked in.
"Marie, what do I pay you for? I have warned you three times about being rude to customers so please take your apron off. You can come and collect your wages later."
Clark looked at across at his mom. Her hair was redder than he remembered from all those years ago, but it was still the mother he knew.
Marie and her boyfriend walked out the door but not before he could turn around and say. "You'll regret this."
Clark wanted to protect his mom but knew he couldn't without looking suspicious.
Martha turned around, and Lois could see she had been crying. "Are you ok?" she asked her.
"No..not really. Anyway, I really appreciate your help. I have never liked that jock she hangs out with. She had it coming." Martha managed her smile. "I am Martha Kent. Are you two just passing through town?"
Clark tried to interrupt so Lois would not drop them in it any more than she had done already, but it was too late.
"Hi Mrs Kent. I am Lucy, and this is my fiancé, Tom." Lois tried to beam when she mentioned being engaged to Clark, but it did come across as a slight grimace. "We are just travelling around for the summer, and we came to Smallville, and thought it was nice so decided to hang around for a while."
Martha smiled knowingly. "Smallville does grow on you! So are you staying a while?"
"We don't know yet!" Clark commented.
"I don't suppose you are looking for work, are you?" she looked specifically at Lois.
"Are you offering me a job?" she asked.
"How about it? Do you have any experience?"
"Yes, I have worked in a café but don't ask me to cook anything more than toasted sandwich." Lois laughed.
Clark smirked and added his opinion. "Please don't let her cook anything if you want your café to stay standing." He had lost count of the number of times he had smelt smoke when Lois was attempting to cook at the farm.
"Ok, I cook most of the food at home." Martha replied. "Why don't you work with me this afternoon and you can have a trial."
Clark gulped, but knew deep down this was the perfect opportunity to find out what might have happened between his parents.
"That would be great Mrs K." Lois smiled. "Kent, I mean."
That was when Clark started to panic…