Lois was sitting at one of the picnic tables in the pocket universe. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, letting the warm sun caress her, trying her best to ignore all the other people who were standing some distance from her, her hand never stopping caressing the bracelet. She still felt Lex's hands on her, no matter how many showers she took since then. After Bruce brought her to the temporary building of the Daily Planet, she threw up the entire contents of her stomach, it wasn't the alcohol but the sickening taste of Lex in her mouth. She couldn't take this universe anymore.
She heard footsteps approaching and without opening her eyes knew who it was. He sat down beside her.
"Are you okay? You haven't talked much since we arrived."
"I'm fine."
They fell into silence. He tried to touch her hand on the bench, and she pulled her hand away from him.
"Lois..."
"No." She heard him move and knew he was crossing his arms over his chest.
"I heard your conversation with mother. I was standing in the corridor." She didn't respond. "It doesn't seem fair."
"Life is not fair."
"She told me something." Lois didn't have to ask who he meant. "It's about him." Lois blinked and looked at him.
"Clark..."
"Wells said two things were needed. That he would like to come back and to bring him to the castle. If what she says happened to her really happened... Lois, she says he's been in her mind since about the time you got here, that he kept her from going mad and dying. He made her repeat all the training her father instilled in her."
"How...? How does she know it's him?"
"He told her." Lois straightened up and looked from Clark to the other Lois who was still standing next to Perry White. "If what she says is true then he hasn't left you, not really and he wants to come back. I can't imagine a situation where he wouldn't want to."
"But there is still no one to operate the Fortress."
"Lois, you crossed universes, you managed to wake up an entire generation of heroes! You're going to let a little thing like that separate you from him? He's going to let something like that happen? This defeatist attitude doesn't suit you."
"I'm tired, tired of being alone, of fighting. Why does everything always have to be so hard?" He pulled her hand and held her.
"You can do it. You need each other, your world needs you. And you are not alone, you are never alone."
"Okay, this is weird and uncomfortable." Lois sat down next to Lois. Lois smiled.
"You don't have to do that."
"Yes, I do."
"I didn't do anything special."
"You left everything to help a universe not yours, for people you don't know."
"But I do know. Maybe not them exactly but close enough. You would do the same if the situation were reversed."
"You can be sure of that! If it were up to me, I'd put Hamilton in a cage. I don't trust her around my Clark!"
"So, he's 'my Clark' now?" The younger Lois blushed but answered
"He doesn't know that yet." The older Lois giggled.
"I won't tell." They held hands.
"My Clark says you're not sure you'll be able to bring your Clark back to life."
"Smallville. I call him Smallville."
"Why? Oh, I see." she smiled. "Can I use this?"
"I see no reason not to." Lois thought about his reaction and smiled.
"Anyway, I thought about it. Did you say Batman?" She looked at Lois for confirmation and the other woman nodded, "He's his best friend, almost like a brother. Do you think he might be able to bring you guys to this fortress? Then if your Smallville has something like Jor El in his fortress…"
"So maybe he can help?" Lois II nodded, "Maybe."
"The way I see it, we're past the harder part, knowing what he wants, if he wants to come back."
"How do you know that?"
"I know it's hard to believe, you have to go through it and I myself thought I was crazy at first. But he knew things I could never have known and showed me things I couldn't imagine that no sane person would imagine."
"Doomsday."
"Doomsday. That must have been hard." She tightened her grip, "I don't know if I could handle it like you." They looked at Superman who was standing talking to Mr. Wells and Perry White.
"I hope you won't have to. He's suffered enough." They were silent for a while.
"It's a beautiful bracelet. I've never been a jewelry type. Maybe earrings and sometimes something extra at a party or prom but you're always walking around with it."
"Hmmm... he was very young, still in high school and he found ancient Indian caves with wall paintings that depicted an ancient prophecy. The tribesmen believed that the prophecy spoke about him. Among the other paintings was a painting of a woman who was supposed to be the love of his life, his soul mate and underneath the painting was a painting of this bracelet. The tribal elder liked and respected him very much and he gave him this bracelet."
"Really?" Young Lois curiously examined the bracelet. The older Lois nodded in approval.
"After we became a couple, he told me the story and gave me the bracelet. I wasn't able to wear the bracelet after he died but when I was about to arrive here, I felt I had to take it with me." Young Lois bit her lower lip.
"I think you should wear the bracelet when you go to the fortress." They looked at each other, talking to each other without words.
Mr. Wells looked at Lois with a smile. When they were in her apartment getting ready to go to an alien universe, she was all business and decisive now she was nervous and stressed.
"Ms. Lane? Is everything alright?"
"No, I'm nervous like I'm going on a first date."
"It'll be fine."
"You think this Bruce Wayne is threatening? You haven't met the one from my world. And that's assuming I can find him. Last word was he left the country."
"I doubt it's going to stop you." She smiled back.
"He doesn't know what awaits him."
"So going back to your apartment?" Lois hesitated only for a moment.
"Yes. Mr. Wells? I'm sure you're a busy man, traveling through space and time and all, but would you mind staying with me for a while?"
"Miss Lane, it would be my honor." Lois smiled gratefully. "Did you say goodbye to everyone?"
"Yes." She hung the strap of the computer bag over her shoulder and grabbed the suitcase. "let's go."
Dick Grayson descended the main staircase of the Wayne mansion and entered the official drawing room. Alfred put people in there to make them feel threatened, usually journalists, police, and politicians. The woman waiting there now didn't seem threatened. She examined the art objects in the room as if she were in a museum.
"Ms. Lane?" She turned in a flowing movement with a polite smile on her face. When she noticed him, she just raised an eyebrow.
"Mr. Grayson? So, the Playboy is still hiding in Europe."
"We don't know where Mr. Wayne is. I thought Alfred was clear enough on the phone."
"So, the rumors really are true."
"Rumors?" She walked around the room, looking at the portrait above the fireplace.
"I didn't think Bruce Wayne would endanger innocent people like that just to catch a criminal. Who is really under the mask?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"It's not you either." She didn't need to look at him to know that the blood was freezing in his veins, "And not that boy, what was his name?" She moved to another picture, "Oh, yes. Tim Drake."
"Ms. Lane."
"I need to talk to Bruce Wayne, Mr. Grayson. He's the only man who can help me."
"I have no way of contacting him." She turned and looked at him coldly.
"I doubt it." She sat down on one of the sofas, crossing one leg and taking out a mobile phone from her pocket. She looked at him. "I know a great deal, Mr. Grayson, and I will not hesitate to use that knowledge to achieve my goal." Dick crossed his legs and crossed his arms over his chest.
"And what is your goal?"
"Get Superman back. Now, are you going to help me contact Bruce Wayne or do I pick up the phone to Perry White?" Dick looked from Lois to the phone in her hand.
"I can stop you from using the phone."
"I'm sure." He looked into her eyes.
"I have no way of contacting him." Lois stood up smiling. Dick had a feeling she had decided to give him a break and he felt an inexplicable need to thank her.
"Mr. Grayson, I chose to take the direct route. I thought it would save time." She put the phone in her bag. "I'll be forced to do it the hard way. If Mr. Wayne decides to pop up in the next few days, please have him contact me urgently." She passed him on her way to the exit.
Alfred was standing by the front door, handing her her coat. She thanked him with a smile. Alfred opened the door and Lois was about to leave when Dick stopped her.
"Were you serious?" She looked at him surprised, "Are you going to bring back Superman?"
"Oh, yes."
"How will you do it? With magic?" He tried to mock.
"No, kid, with the help of good old Kryptonian science. I'm sorry for the threats. Have a good evening."
"And what's the hard way? Maybe I can help? I may not be as rich as Bruce but maybe I have a way to help."
"Do you know Kryptonian?"
"No."
"Me neither. I've never seen a reason to study."
"So how?"
"You're not willing to share your secrets, why should I?" She shook her head at Alfred, "Mr. Pennyworth."
"Miss Lane."
She left the mansion and got into a red Lamborghini car and drove away. Dick looked at Alfred who looked back at him and closed the main door of the mansion.
Mr. Wells looked at Lois as she entered the cafe and sat down across from him.
"You haven't had much success, I see."
"I planted a seed. Worst case scenario, I'll take him north myself. He once said something about a portal in the caves near Smallville, but I have no idea where the key is."
"Will the fortress let you in?"
"I don't know. With a little luck this whole soulmate thing gives me a little more than an antique bracelet."
Screams were heard from outside and sirens. Mr. Wells and Lois rushed out but apart from a lot of people running and speeding cars on the road it was not clear what had happened.
"Here!" Lois called and they headed in the opposite direction from where everyone was rushing to and entered an electronics store. Lois quickly found the media wing and flipped channels until she found a TV channel that was broadcasting the happenings. Soon a crowd gathered around them. The camera that stood on a helicopter that hovered over one of the bridges hanging over the river transmitted live video. An unidentified helicopter began to lose control. Two figures were hanging from a long cable hanging from it.
"Who are these?" Wells asked.
"Batmans." Lois whispered, "One the real one, the other a substitute who lost control of himself."
"And the one that fell?" Lois narrowed her eyes but one of the people in the crowd answered.
"Catwoman. I bet it's Catwoman." There were nods of agreement among the spectators. Wells approached Lois and whispered.
"How will we know who is the real one?"
"The one who will save Catwoman."
The lower figure on the rope left him and landed with impressive acrobatics on the huge cable that held the bridge and then threw something at Catwoman.
"It was a Batrang."
"Yes."
The live broadcasts suddenly stopped in favor of news flash about a chain accident on the same bridge and then went back to the camera continuing to follow the two Batmans. Apparently the second figure with the full mask was not going to let Batman avoid the confrontation even to save a life.
"Which one is Batman?" wondered the people around.
"The one without the metal body armor." Lois said.
The masked man kicks Batman and he flies off the rope but manages to grab the masked man's leg to the applause of the spectators. The fight continues over the vertical cables. They slid down and landed on a maintenance platform continuing to wrestle each other. It was not clear to the onlookers who is winning. Suddenly the man in the full mask stood holding Batman by the neck, a flame lit in his other hand.
"It's raining?" Wells asks.
"No. It's..." Lois says palely, "It's fuel from the helicopter!"
Batman suddenly kicks the masked man and manages to throw him off the bridge into the river, but the helicopters fuel ignites, and the man turns into a ball of fire. The water from the river must have extinguished the fire because the camera from the news helicopter is unable to find the man in the full mask in the river and by the time the camera returns to focus on the bridge, the helicopter that crashed into the high pillar of the bridge explodes in a huge fireball. The intense and bright fire blinds the camera, but the photographer must have noticed something because the camera is tilted down.
"It's Batman!" Exclaims one of the people happily, "He's alive!" The people are cheering. Wells looks in wonder at Lois and she smiles at him.
"I don't think I believed you until now, Ms. Lane, even when I saw him in the fight against Brainiac."
"He is wasted in the conference room."
"Did he go into the tank?"
"No, It's the Batm-" The black vehicle explodes with an even bigger explosion than the helicopter. Silence reigns among the spectators, shock on the faces of the people.
"Is he… is he dead?" Wells whispers.
"Let's get out of here before a riot starts." Lois pulls him out.
"Where?"
"To our hotel."
"You accept it very calmly."
"He's not dead."
"Lois, Superman would have survived this, Batman..." Wells shakes his head in the negative.
"Don't underestimate him. It's never a good idea."
"So, what do you propose? That we wait for one hero to rise from his grave to raise another hero from his grave?" Lois smiled big.
"Couldn't have said it better myself."
It was three days before the phone rang. Wells was stunned by Lois' indifference during those three days. She spent them at the hotel spa, watching TV and talking on the phone. He was just about to talk to her and convince her to give up the ridiculous idea that any human could have survived that fire when the phone rang. Lois only gave this number to Alfred Pennyworth. She turned off the TV and looking at Wells answered the phone.
"Mr. Wayne."
"Ms. Lane. What are you doing in Gotham?"
"I am looking for you."
"I only arrived this morning. By chance."
"Of course. Is there a possibility we can meet?" There was silence on the other end of the line.
"I'm a bit busy right now, Ms. Lane. I'm sure you understand."
"I understand more than you think and as much as I would like to let you tidy up the basement, I really need your help."
"I'll be there in half an hour."
"Thanks." She hung up and looked at Wells. "Now we just have to wait."
Half an hour later, Bruce Wayne entered the hotel room. Wells stood up in surprise as Lois ushered him into the room.
"How did you know where we are?" Bruce didn't answer.
Lois closed the door, went to her computer bag, and took out a DVD which she handed to Bruce.
"First of all, you should watch it. My computer is over there." she pointed to the small table in the room, "The headphones are already connected."
Bruce took the disc and sat down at the computer. He sat there for close to fifteen minutes, his face revealing nothing, then he leaned back and took out his headphones. He acknowledged Wells' existence for the first time since entering the room.
"Then this should be H. G. Wells."
"Yes." Lois said. There was something calculating in Bruce's eyes, but Lois decided not to comment on it. Bruce looked at her.
"What's the plan?"
"Steal Superman's body and bring it and me to the Fortress of Solitude. After that, I'll manage on my own."
"What if it doesn't work? How will you-?" Bruce fell silent.
"I'll be fine."
"You and the body?"
"I'm joining in as well."
"There's no need for that, Mr. Wells. You've already done more than I could ask." Lois said.
"I want to see how it ends." Wells said with a smile.
"Mr. Wells, could i see the device that helps you travel through time?" Bruce asked, "I've always been curious about things like this."
"Of course." Wells handed him the pocket watch. Bruce looked at the device curiously.
"And it's completely mechanical?"
"There is a small crystal, very much like a sunstone that contains its entire operating system."
"There was no such technology when you were alive."
"No, it's a combination of Hamilton's knowledge with 31st century knowledge. My original time machine was the size of a room."
"Thanks." Bruce smiled and gave Wells the watch back. He looked at Lois, "We'll be in Metropolis tomorrow night."
Nothing has changed in Superman's grave. Batman was the last to enter. The three surrounded the glass coffin.
"Did you visit here after you came back?" Bruce asked, closing the round tomb door.
"Yes." Lois said, "I wanted to make sure no one else took him." She smiled at Bruce. Batman nodded.
"Why did you close the door? We won't have to open it to get him out?" Wells asked. The smile on Batman's face was unpleasant.
"Suffering from claustrophobia?" he asked quietly.
"No."
"So why are you stressed?"
"I don't..." Lois looked between the two. Batman pulled a grenade from his belt and placed it on the cabinet.
"Batman?"
"Just to be safe." He activated the grenade.
What came out of the grenade was not gas and was not an explosion but an electromagnetic pulse that surrounded the entire tomb. Wells screamed in pain and surprise, green electric currents running under his skin. After a second he collapsed on the ground like a doll whose strings had been cut. Lois moved her hand away from the glass coffin which was also covered in green electric currents.
"Brainiac!" She hissed through gritted teeth.
When the green currents stopped, Batman approached Wells and used an insulated anti-static device to collect the fluid that came out of Wells' ear and seeped out of the glass case. He straightened up and looked at Lois.
"The second Bruce?" she asked. He nodded.
"He suspected the possibility because Wells was left alone for a few moments during the attack on Brainiac. I couldn't allow him access to the fortress."
"You don't have to explain. I saw what he was capable of. He tried to take control of Clark there too."
"I'm not ready to take a chance with him yet. I'll take Kent on the plane; the coffin stays here. As soon as Wells recovers, join me." Lois nodded.
The fortress was very quiet, the fierce snowstorm outside was not even felt. Batman placed Superman's body on one of the raised platforms near the main console. There was no response from the console. Batman looked at Lois.
"Are you sure this will work? The fortress looks, well, frozen." Lois tentatively approached the main console and the crystals lit up.
"Frozen but not dead. You don't have to stay."
"I'm not leaving you here."
"You abandoned an entire city without a problem, and you have a problem abandoning me?"
"It was a mistake in judgment that I'm not going to repeat. I tried to fill the void he left instead of being me. I trusted the wrong people and I didn't trust the right people. I'm staying here."
"And who cleans up the mess your replacement left?"
"I left instructions." He approached her.
"We lost him. I'm not sure the world is ready to lose you too."
"You said it would work so what's the problem?"
"Okay, stay, it doesn't matter to me and if Jor El doesn't like it I'm sure he'll find a way to get rid of you himself." Batman just smiled.
Lois walked over to the main console and ran her hand over the crystal, she made sure it was the hand with the bracelet. The weak light in the crystals grew stronger and became almost blinding. Lois raised her head and was about to call out to Jor El when he got ahead of her.
"Lois Lane."
"So, you are at home. A game of hide and seek?"
"I don't understand." Lois sighed.
"Why do I have a feeling you were expecting me?"
"Kal El was killed in battle with Domesday. His place is here."
"His place in the world! Breathing, living, flying, saving people!" Jor El did not respond. "I had a very interesting experience recently, Jor El. I was in a parallel universe, I met another Kal El, one who didn't fulfill his destiny. When I was there, I discovered something very interesting. In every universe that Clark fought with Domesday he lives! In every one of those universes! Either he didn't die, or he resurrected! So why didn't it happen here? Why were we left here without him?" Silence answered her, "Knowledge of twenty-eight galaxies and all you give me is Silence?"
"Lois…" Bruce started to worry. Lois ignored him.
"I took the bracelet with me, Jor El, and Clark showed up." Bruce looked at her in surprise, "Not flesh and blood, inside other Lois Lane's mind. You have a way to bring him back! Do it!"
A light began to envelop Superman's body, a blue-white light that began to shine so brightly that Bruce recoiled from it, blinded. Lois suddenly cried out in pain as the bracelet on her hand turned to liquid metal, tightening tighter and tighter. The blue stone flowed in intricate patterns. Lois suddenly stretched like a starfish, her head tilted sharply back, and the same blue-white light began to envelop her as well. Bruce stepped back, the bright light seeming to attack him. He covered himself with his black cloak and lowered his body as much as he could, waiting.
It went on like this for more than an hour, now and then the crystals sang with a harsh and intense sound, now and then the citadel shook with a violent shock that Bruce didn't even try to guess its source. Finally, the light faded enough for Bruce to straighten up and loosen his cloak and look around. Lois lay unconscious on the ground. Bruce rushed to her. She was breathing and her heart was beating, the bracelet looks the same as ever. If he didn't know, if he didn't witness the storm of light happening around him, he would believe she was just sleeping. She was very cold, and Bruce removed his cloak and wrapped Lois in it, holding her in his arms. He didn't try to wake her up. He had a feeling that whatever was going on inside the colored ball of light that surrounded Clark had something to do with her condition. After another hour, Lois's body twitched in his hands, as if something had been pulled out of her. She turned pale, her eyes sunken but she opened her eyes.
"Bruce?"
"Are you ok?"
"Where's Clark?" Bruce lifted her slightly just in time to see a bright ray of sunlight come down at a sharp angle through an opening in the roof of the fortress and cover the orb of light. "Wow beautiful."
"Is that all you can say?"
"My brain functions have pretty much dropped to a basic level. Beautiful sun. Good food." Bruce smiled back at her and then remembered.
"I brought food, but I left it on the plane. I don't trust Jor El to let me come back here."
"I think he's a bit busy at the moment. The whole fortress is dark except here." He propped her up on one of the large crystals.
"I'll be right back." She just nodded weakly.
The intensity of the light beam increased considerably until Bruce returned. He placed a sandwich in Lois' hands.
"You must eat, you seem to have lost a lot of energy."
"If he continues at this rate the whole fortress will melt." she said between bites. "Thanks for the cloak, by the way." He sat down next to her.
"But you prefer something a little redder." Lois smiled at him with her mouth closed. Batman removed the mask, "It seems a little unnecessary now."
"The mask?" He nodded, "Bruce, are you okay? I saw the explosion on the bridge and everything that happened before that and the rumors about Bane."
"I'm fine."
"Physically and mentally, you are just like always. Crazy as a bat in the bell tower." He smiled at her.
"Well, that suits me."
"I don't buy it. I mean, it's crazy that a rich billionaire would spend his nights fighting criminals, but no more so that an alien with superpowers would work on a farm in Kansas or be a mild manners journalist hiding in plain sight."
"Yeah, he didn't buy it either."
"There must have been something very compelling about that video." He shrugged. "It was very difficult to convince him to listen to us."
"They put him in the lab?" Lois looked at him questioningly, "He showed me a picture of Clark in a padded cell with scars. It was more shocking than his blooding corpse after the battle with Doomsday. It's not something I thought I'd ever see."
"Yeah, it's a long story."
"I think we have time."
After three hours and eliminating the stock of food and coffee that Bruce had brought with him Lois was looking much better, Bruce was looking more disturbed, and it seemed that the process by which the Fortress worked Clark's body was about to end. The lights in the rest of the fortress returned and the sunbeam faded to nothing. Bruce decided it was time to talk to Jor El and he did so in Kryptonian. Lois returned the cloak to him. When the orb of light faded completely Clark could be seen. His suit was completely burned and even from a distance you could see that he was breathing. Lois wanted to run to him, and Bruce stopped her.
"What are you doing? Let me go!"
"Lois, no! Not yet." Tears covered her face.
"Bruce, let me go! Let me go to him! Let go!"
"Lois, I'm really sorry but not yet. We have to protect his identity and there are things that must be done."
"What-?" Before her eyes, Clark's hair began to grow longer, and a beard grew on his face. "What?"
"Jor El is making it look like Clark has been living homeless since the battle with Doomsday. He'll move him to Hobb's Bay."
"But..."
"According to Jor El it won't take long for his powers to return. The Citadel used a lot of energy just to bring him back to life. What did you think would happen? That the two of you would just jump into the Daily Planet and announce that Clark had appeared? That's a better way. He'd show up confused in Hobb's Bay and arrive in the hands of the police to identify him and call the Kents to take him to Smallville. It'll create enough of a mess that he showed up like that, at the farm at least we can control it and you two can spend time together and when Superman shows up no one will wonder if there's a connection."
"We're not going back to the Daily Planet. Lex bought it. And no one will think it's weird that Superman's body disappeared just as Clark came back? And why would the cops even bother with a homeless person? Not to mention the heart attack the Kents will have when he suddenly shows up. Let me go!"
"Lois." He released her and she ran to Clark, but a force field prevented her from going to Clark. She punched the air a few times then turned to Bruce with fury in her eyes. "I understand you're upset but I need you to call the Kents and warn them before I take care of the rest of the arrangements." She approached him and slapped him.
"Batman? What's all this supposed to be?"
"I don't have time to explain right now, J'onn. Can you arrange what I asked? He just got back and he's vulnerable now we wouldn't want anything to happen to him."
"This emotional blackmail doesn't suit you, Bruce. I look forward to an explanation later."
"And about the body?"
"I'll take care of that too. How's Lois taking it?"
"She's not really talking to me right now." Bruce looked at Lois who was looking at the raised surface that Clark's body had been lying on until a few moments ago. "J'onn, try not to raise the expectations of the rest of the league. For now, we'll start by bringing Clark back into the world."
"Okay. I'll be in touch if anything comes up."
"Lois." Bruce said, "It's time to go back."
"I'm coming back alone."
"How? On foot?"
"No." She stood up and stood by the main console. "Jor El, take me to Smallville."
"Lois!" She disappeared before his eyes.
She appeared in the caves and hurried out of there. It was the middle of the day outside and she hurried to the main road. She had to go back to Metropolis and Wells. She knew that Bruce was right, that Clark should be found by accident and not by her, that this was the best way to protect his identity. That doesn't mean she has to like it. Right now, she was too angry to deal with Bruce, but she had a responsibility to Wells and it was a good enough distraction right now, something to keep her from reporting to all the media in the world who Batman really was. She left Wells at her apartment, and she rushed there now.
After an hour she arrived at her apartment. Wells was sitting there on the couch reading a book.
"Mr. Wells." He stood up to her.
"Miss Lane! Are you okay? Where's Batman? Where's Clark?"
"It's a long story. We managed to get him back, but I have no idea where he is right now."
"How can it be?"
"It's part of a plan to protect his identity. Mr. Wells, it's time you came home."
"Ms. Lane, I…" Lois pushed her anger and frustration aside and smiled at him.
"It wasn't your fault, Mr. Wells. You helped fix two universes. Think of the Clark Kent and Lois Lane of your universe. I know I will always be grateful to you. Because of you I was able to help so many people and I got my hope back, the belief that I can make a difference, to change something for the better in the world. But Clark's return will cause enough of a stir and explaining you will be one complication too many."
"I understand." He smiled at her and hugged her. He handed her a folded paper. "These are the plans for my time machine. Give them to Clark when you think the time is right." Lois took the paper with a smile. He pulled away from her and took out his pocket watch. "Good luck, Miss Lane."
"Thank you, Mr. Wells, for everything."
The opening formed again, and Mr. Wells disappeared. Lois sighed and put the paper into the computer bag that was waiting for her on the desk. It didn't take her long to get ready to leave, she hadn't unpacked her suitcase yet, but there were calls she had to make. She informed Perry that she was back in town and that she was staying with the Kents and updated on what was happening on the Planet. She called her father and Lucy and then the Kents. All this time she ignored her other phone that never stopped ringing. She knew it was Bruce. She took her things and left the phone behind.
Clark woke up under a bridge in Hobb's Bay with no idea how he got there. The last thing he remembered was the battle against Domesday. Am I dead? Ain't I supposed to be dead? He looked at himself and felt the dirty hair, the long beard, the bags he wore. He tried to get up and stumbled three times before he was able to stand. He had no strength. The homeless around him looked at him suspiciously but he didn't do anything threatening and they left him alone. One of them, an old drunk man with a small three-legged dog offered him soup and Clark agreed. They sat together and Clark groped carefully to figure out what had happened since the battle with Domesday, how much time had passed. The old man offered him an old issue of the Daily Planet and he looked in shock at the date. Has half a year passed? What happened to him? And while he was trying to understand what was happening around him, approaching sirens were heard.
It turns out that the police received a tip that a fugitive from the law was hiding among the homeless under the bridge. They gathered all the people under the bridge and started interviewing them. When Clark gave his name the interviewing policeman did not seem to be registered, in fact it was only after the policewoman he was with looked at him with disgust and bewilderment that he realized it was the journalist from the Daily Planet who had been missing for six months. This set off a whole chain of events. The officer called his supervisor, and he opened Clark's missing person file and called the Kents. Clark tried to ask for Lois to be called but no one really listened to him.
By the time Jonathan arrived at the police station, Clark was given a change of clothes and underwear and physical examination that determined he was in good physical condition but a little weak and confused, not a big surprise for him. Everything until the moment his father appeared was a blur like a roller coaster ride and no one around him stopped to listen to him. Jonathan and Clark hugged for a long time and then Jonathan took him to the van, and they drove to Smallville. The van was shrouded in silence, both didn't know what to say. It wasn't until they neared the farm that Clark broke the silence.
"So, what happened?"
"I have no idea. Lois called a few hours ago, sounded angry, said the Metropolis police would call and say they found you, promised to explain later and then she shows up at the farm, locks herself in your room and we hear muffled curses and then the police called."
"Ok."
"It's been hard on all of us, Clark." Jonathan said quietly, "But it was especially hard for her. She saw you dead and then she had to pretend you were just missing. All of Metropolis was looking at her and I can tell you the people in this town are crazy. The things they did when they found out Superman was dead…" Jonathan shook his head, "It was a mess from the start, and she was at the center of it all. And on top of that I think she blamed herself."
"For what? She didn't do anything!"
"I think she felt you were put on her watch, and she failed the mission." Clark smiled and rubbed his chin.
"It's a job for Clark Kent." Jonathan chuckled. "I'm dying to take that beard off."
The van stopped near the farmhouse and the two got out of the van. Clark had barely closed the door when he heard the farmhouse door close.
"Smallville!" He turned in time to catch her in the air.
Her hands were around his neck and her legs were around his waist and from the force of her jump he was thrown back on the car, but nothing would make him stop her. He hugged her tightly. Lois buried her face in the crook of his neck, and he felt her tears, his hand caressing her head.
"Shh, everything's fine." She just tightened her hug. Rocking her gently he stayed like that for a long time. "Did you get a haircut?" whispered in her ear. She lifted her head and looked at him, "Oh, nice, so you have a face. I was worried. I can deal with a crazy demon attached to me as long as it has a face." she giggled. He turned around with a smile and sat her on the hood of the van. "Sorry, still a little weak."
Lois kissed him, giving him her whole heart. Clark caressed her face. She turned away from him looking at him with a smile.
"The beard doesn't do that to me." He smiled.
"If I promise to shave and cut my hair, will you tell me how I grew all this hair?"
"Maybe." He kissed her again and her eyes sparkled. He chuckled then picked her up in his arms and carried her into the farmhouse.