"How are we going to approach this?" Martha asked Jonathan for some guidance.
"There may be an added problem. Clark had asked Lana over today to take her to the Fortress, tell her his secret and then propose to her." Star explained what Lois had told her in the past.
"Great!" Martha looked unimpressed. "He is only doing that out of desperation to keep her because he does not know a life without Lana."
Star smiled. "Well hopefully if we can send him back, Lois and he will stay together. They are crazy about each other."
Jonathan put on his serious face. "Not too crazy I hope. We will have to set some ground rules." He lectured.
Martha rolled her eyes at her husband. "Jonathan, can we just concentrate on getting Lois back before we write the list of rules and regulations for them."
They headed out, but came to an abrupt halt when they noticed Lana's car was parked outside. "She must have come back." Martha voiced in a panic. "He may be up there proposing to her as we speak. We need to stop them."
Clark stood looking out of the loft window, and was trying to work out what had just happened. Thirty minutes ago he was preparing to propose to Lana, but then he must have passed out. He had just woken up on his sofa, and had managed to change his clothes somehow; clothes he did not even recognise.
He realised he had been out for about 25 minutes but what had caused it. He panicked when he realised that the engagement ring had been in his other jeans pocket. He felt around for it but could not find it. The only ring he could find was the signet ring on middle finger of his right hand.
"What the hell." He commented to himself, only to be interrupted by an approaching person coming up the stairs behind him.
"Clark, so you have decided to show." Lana sneered in a very annoyed tone. "Where were you?"
"I am sorry, Lana but I must have passed out. I have just woken up on the sofa."
"That is impossible. I was only here fifteen minutes ago and it was like you vanished into thin air. What is going on? Why did you drag me out all this way to tell me a cock and bull story?"
For some reason, Clark was not impressed with her tone and accusations. "I don't care whether you believe me. I am telling you that I have just woken up on the sofa after obviously passing out."
"Never mind that!" Lana replied impatiently. "Can we just get to the issue at hand here? Why am I here? It sounded like you had something to tell me. Maybe a secret?" Her voice changed to an annoying sweet tone; the one she always put on if she wanted something.
Clark could not explain it but he felt different. Lana was annoying him when normally he would jump through burning hoops for her. He would never dream of arguing with her; instead he would normally be fire-fighting to dampen down any potential conflict between them.
"Lana, why would I tell you my secret? I don't have one but you are never going to believe that." Clark fought back, realising this was the first time he had ever not felt guilty about lying to her. It was as if someone had removed the lid of his feelings and allowed him to voice all his pent up frustration to Lana.
"Did you bring me here to fling insults at me? I am leaving. Lex has invited me for dinner and you know what I think I will just have to take him up on his offer. At least he is honest and open with me."
She did not wait for his reaction and stormed off, passing Martha and Jonathan on the way out. Star had decided it would be better if she waited in the house for the time being.
Clark was sitting at his desk with his head in his hands
"Clark, are you ok?" Martha asked, as she placed her hand on the back of his shoulders. "Can we talk for a moment?"
He looked up with bewilderment. "What have I just said to Lana?"
"What you needed to say, honey! We could not help but overhear most of it. Telling her your secret is not the answer." Martha tried to reassure him.
"I was about to risk everything, and tell her but something stopped me at the minute. On top of all that, I am sure I have just passed out for the last thirty minutes but I do not know why or how." Clark was confused.
"Clark, your mind has been wiped by Jor-el and that is why you cannot remember what happened." His father explained.
"Wiped? Why?" he looked at his dad.
Martha led him over to the sofa. "You have just time travelled from 1989. You left this time half an hour ago, spent a week in the 1989 and then jumped back."
Clark got up and started to pace. "This is all a bad dream isn't it? No doubt, Jor-el is playing games with me."
"Clark, this is real." Jonathan added. "You have been away for a week, but it was less than an hour in our time. Someone from the future changed our past. You were sent back to save our marriage and to prevent Lionel Luthor from finding the toddler version of you after the meteor shower."
"Am I interrupting?" Star came up the stairs.
"No, Star…. Come up. This is Clark." Martha introduced her.
She smiled at him. "We have already met in 1989 but you won't remember Clark."
"You came back with me." He asked hopeful of some answers.
"No, I met you when I was 22 years old. I have waited 16 years to come and meet you again so I could ask you to travel back in time again." Star explained.
Clark looked at Star with astonishment. "I don't mean to be rude but I have just allegedly travelled back from 1989. Why would I want to go back?"
"When you first time-travelled Lois went along for the ride unexpectedly. For some reason you jumped back here, and she didn't. She was shot dead on the day of the meteor shower, no doubt arranged by Lionel Luthor." Star pulled no punches with her explanation.
Clark collapsed in the chair. "You mean Lois is dead."
"You can save her if you travel back to a time before the meteor shower. You jumped on the 20th June, so any time after that should be fine."
Clark had one focus, his mind was clear of everything else. "How do I time travel?" he demanded to know.
"That ring on your finger will take you. All you need to do is really focus your mind on a date and you will go but Clark there are some things you need to know before you jump." Star tried to explain but it was too late. Within seconds of explaining how to use the Legion Ring, he was gone.
Jonathan and Martha stood looking at the empty space where their son had been standing.
Star took a deep breath. "He is going to be a bit shocked by the greeting Lois gives him. Her red face gave away what she was implying...