Episode 1: The Cure For What Ails You

Episode #1: The Cure For What Ails You

By Matt Schiller 

Summary: Taking up where Family Hour left off, Lois and Clark
travel to the future where three different groups claim the baby
as theirs. (Episode # 1 of The Unaired Fifth Season)

***

"Mom and Dad ... Mom and Dad ... we've got something to tell
you."

Those words had introduced something into their lives, something
truly marvelous. A child. Granted, they had no idea where this
child had come from. But they did know that until someone arrived
to claim this child, it was theirs. And that was all they needed
to know. Clark looked over and saw the baby sleeping there,
between him and Lois. Clark saw how her arms were still hugging
the child's small form ever-so-delicately. He thought back to
the day before ... and wondered ...

There had been another villain trying to rule the world, another
one bent on another hair-brained scheme. It seemed almost as if
there was a new one every week. Clark wondered if he would ever
settle down ... and if he was even ready for the responsibility
of a child. He dismissed the thought as more of the previous 24
hours came back to him. Dr. Mensa had been stopped. The world was
safe again ... and then the small cry that still rang in Clark's
ears. The tiny voice that had touched his heart so dearly. He
would never forget the love on Lois's face as she held her small
child.

They hid the blanket with the "Superman" symbol on it from
Lois's parents, but Clark had secretly told his own parents. It
seemed as if history was repeating itself, and Clark couldn't be
more happy. As he turned back toward Lois and the baby. Lois
stirred momentarily, but was quickly back to sleep.

Our lives are different now, Clark thought. But he couldn't have
been more wrong.

***

Earth: 2086

The planet was in a peaceful state. After the aversion of a
possible Third World War, the UN was reformed, again giving it
more global power. This time it wasn't called the League of
Nations, or the United Nations; it was the United Earth Council
-- 'The Council' to most, a body of government to keep the
entire world in check. There were, of course, the usual lofty
ambitions within this group, but nonetheless, it was a very
well-liked and well deserving governing group. They were assisted
by the Kryptonians, all thirteen of them that were now in
existence. None of them were full Kryptonians. The full-blood had
passed on a few years back, but the three half-bloods and the ten
quarter-bloods were all intensely loyal to the globe. It was
theirs to protect. Each had a region and each had made sure that
nothing went wrong in their region. Until the child came.

It had changed everything. The child was thought to have
inherited two, instead of the normal one, Kryptonian genes,
making him possibly more powerful then the one halves, and at
least as strong. Yes, the child had changed everything, but the
Council kept the child in check. Until the attack that stunned
the globe. The child's father, one-quarter Kryptonian, had died.
Foul play was not suspected; it seemed like a simple VR accident.
With the brain gone, the body was not allowed to stay alive, due
to Council regulation 22-985A. It was just too dangerous. And so,
the child's mother, Tanisha, had to care for her baby alone. And
what she did to protect it had surprised everyone almost as much
as the death of the child's father. The baby was gone, but there
were three groups who actively pursued the child.

It would be found.

***

THE UNAIRED FIFTH SEASON, Episode #1

"THE CURE FOR WHAT AILS YOU"

Written by Matt Schiller

***

As Perry White walked from his office to the newsroom he
couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. As he caught himself
staring at the hustle and bustle of reporters investigating and
putting together stories, he thought back to his days as a
reporter. And thinking of the past always brought him back to
that one face.

That one woman.

Alice.

Perry shook his head and tried to focus. He needed a plan to get
her back, to make sure she knew he still cared. "The visit
couldn't have been a fluke," he said to himself.

"What visit, Chief?"

It was Jimmy. *Oh, not now Jimmy,* Perry thought. *You're the
last person that could ever help me with this.* Then it hit him.
*Jimmy's dated hundreds, maybe even thousands of women while
he's worked here. He's got to know something about it. After
all he's -- *

"Chief?"

Jimmy noticed Perry was silent for a minute there, and wondered
what was on his mind.

"Ah, it's nothing Jimmy. Nothing. I've, uh, just been having
some women troubles, you know. That's all."

Jimmy was just a kid, Perry decided, and he needed some real help
here, not someone barely old enough to shave. Jimmy smiled,
patting his chief's shoulder.

"I can sure sympathize, Chief. It's us against them, I'm
tellin' ya."

Perry shook his head at the arrogance of youth, and how much he
missed that. Not that he didn't like his current life.
Editor-in- Chief of the Daily Planet had a certain ring to it
that could always make Perry smile.

"Yeah, thanks, Jimmy," Perry answered. "Now what were you on
your way over here to tell me?"

Jimmy remembered he did have a purpose in being there.

"Oh! Yeah, Chief. I just wanted to know if I could get a ride
with you to Lois and CK's dinner party tomorrow night." Jimmy
continued sheepishly, "My car's kinda in the shop, getting
fixed."

"Sure, Jimmy. I'll be at your place around 7:30, all right? Be
ready."

"Yeah. Thanks, Chief." And then Jimmy was off, at the beck and
call of another reporter who needed research done.

***

Clark looked into Lois's eyes, and all he saw was love. But wait
... there was another look. The look that said --

"Get out of my way, Clark!" Lois exclaimed, pushing him over a
little bit.

"Calm down, honey. The guests won't be here for almost another
hour," Clark replied, checking his watch. He smiled. "Plus, I
can just super-speed and get everything together in the last five
minutes if you need me too."

Lois looked at him with slight contempt. "I'm trying to set up
a nice dinner party so we can lie straight to the faces of my
parents and our best friends. And you want me to let you do it in
five minutes?" Lois raised an eyebrow. "Just what can't you
do, Clark Kent?"

Clark leaned forward and kissed Lois, "There's nothing I've
found yet," he joked.

Lois slapped him playfully, "I just don't know what I'm going
to do with you." She smiled. "Wait! I know, I'm going to get
you to help me with this." She led him into the kitchen and they
continued preparations.

Meanwhile, in the living room, the child was fast asleep in the
carriage. Clark peeked his head out of the kitchen door to check
on the baby again, and smiled when he saw how cute and peaceful
he looked. As Clark returned to the kitchen, he went over to
Lois, hugging her from behind and then getting down to business.

"We've got our story straight, right?"

"I think so," Lois replied. She started going through it in her
head, then nodded. "Got it. Now let's get this food out on the
table before anyone gets here." The two of them started bringing
food out, just as the doorbell rang.

The Kents arrived.

With luggage.

Lots of it.

"Mom? What's all this?" Clark asked, looking at the pile of
suitcases.

"Well, that one's got baby clothes." Martha pointed as she
spoke. "That one's got the old toys we used when you were a
baby, and that's mine, and that's your father's."

"Yours?" Lois asked, a little surprised.

"We thought we'd come and stay and help with the baby,"
Jonathan spoke up. "If you don't mind," he added as an
afterthought.

"Oh! Sure! Definitely." Lois smiled. She liked her in-laws, and
Martha would be great to have around -- especially when it came
to the tribulations of raising a child. "Get the bags, honey?"
she said turning to Clark.

Clark ran the bags upstairs and when he came back down, Perry and
Jimmy had arrived. He welcomed them and ushered them into the
living room as well. As he, Lois, Perry, Jimmy, Martha and
Jonathan were just getting settled, Lois's parents arrived, and
Ellen was in a feisty mood.

"You made us late again, Sam. You had to stay up in that lab,
didn't you?" Ellen came through the front door in a fury, not
noticing the people staring at her.

"Uh, Ellen, dear -- " Sam tried to get in before she cut him
off again.

"You told me it would be different this time, Sam. It was
supposed to be better, not worse! I just don't know who we're
going to -- " Ellen cut herself off this time. She made a quick
look around the room, and flopped down in the nearest chair.
"And now I've made a fool of myself," she muttered, noticing
all the stares. There was a moment of awkward silence, broken by
Lois.

"Uh, well," she said, forcing a laugh as she got up.
"Dinner's ready, so we can all eat, if you two are finished."
She looked to her parents.

"Well, let's go," Ellen said, filling in the silence. The
group made their way into the dining room and all sat around the
table.

After the meal, which received compliments that made Lois and
Clark proud, they got down to business.

"We've got some explaining to do," Lois started, cautiously.

"You sure do," Ellen remarked, good-naturedly.

"We figured that this dinner would be a good way to bring
everyone together and let you all know what the story is with our
new child," Clark continued, pointing to the baby.

"Well? So what's the story?" Sam asked impatiently.

Lois smiled. "Clark has an old friend from Smallville, and his
farm went under this past spring." Lois tried to sound as sad
and compassionate as possible. "He called us, and told us that
his financial situation was in ruins. He was looking for work,
and thought he could take care of himself, but he loved his child
so much that he couldn't let the baby live a life like that.
Also, being a single parent, he couldn't care for it as much as
it need to be cared for." Lois paused to check if the guests
were believing her. They all seemed attentive. "He wanted us to
take care of the child, so he could have time to get back on his
feet and be able to leave the house all day in search of work and
a steady paycheck. We don't know how long it's going to take,
but we're glad we've had the opportunity to have this baby."

Martha started on cue, looking at Clark. "Do you mean Dean?"

Clark nodded.

"He had a child?" Martha acted shocked.

"It's really surprising," Jonathan piped in. "I heard about
his farm going under, but I didn't know it had come to this."
He shook his head, and allowed Lois to continue.

"So that's basically how it stands for us now. Clark and I are
going to look after the child for as long as we need to, and
we've had an amazing experience so far. It's really primed us
for eventually having our own baby." Lois smiled hopefully.

"Well, this is great. I'm touched to see you both helping a
friend like this," Ellen replied. By her tone, it was clear she
believed the story.

Jimmy nodded. "This is too amazing. You get a kid and it's like
your own. I gotta feel for that guy without a job though. That's
rough."

Clark nodded and looked at Lois. They shared a moment's glance
that spoke volumes. Everything seemed to be going all right.

***

It was time. They had to act quickly to catch them while they
were off guard. As Leaon peered into his portal he noticed that
Kal- El was about half a foot shorter then he seemed in his
statue. But it was a trivial detail. The real task at hand was
their transmission. They had rehearsed it so many times, and they
needed their child back so desperately, it had to be right the
first time. Leaon reached past his partner, Kallie, and grabbed
the globe. The globe that looked exactly like Kal-El's from the
1990's. He looked to the five people on his team. "It's
time."

***

"Well, that was easy enough," Clark said to Lois. She was in
the bathroom, brushing her teeth, so Clark had the baby in his
arms.

Lois came out and sighed. "It seems as though nothing's easy
with my parents. Even with this reconciliation thing, there's
still problems. I just want them to be happy together." Lois
paused.

"Lois? What is it?" Clark showed a bit of concern.

"Speaking of parents, where're yours?"

"Oh. They're in bed. They have an early wake up time on the
farm, so they usually go to bed pretty early." Clark smiled as
the baby started to doze off from Clark's steady rocking motion.
Lois smiled as well.

"I always knew you'd be a great father, Clark." She came over
and kissed him on the cheek, as she gently patted the baby's
head. Suddenly, the room seemed eerily dark, and a large beam of
light appeared out of nowhere.

"What the ... ?" Clark asked, looking around. He held the baby
tighter to his chest, preparing for the worse. He also felt
Lois's arm on his, almost clinging to him. The beam of light
widened into some kind of projection and the couple could see a
group of five people. The one in the center spoke first.

"Hello, Lois and Clark. We are your future. We are what your
future offspring will look like. This is Kallie; she is the
mother of the child we sent back for you to protect. And this
..." Leaon nudged Kallie and she held up the globe. "... is the
globe, within which we found you both and decided who would be
the best to protect our child from the malicious forces at work
here in your future."

They could only stand there and be stunned at first. After a few
moments, Clark recovered enough to say, "So this 'globe' is
the same one as mine?" he asked skeptically.

Leoan stepped forward, and talked less formally. "This is your
globe, Kal-El. And as surely as this future needed to be saved by
you both protecting our child, we now need the baby back again,
to make sure that he can take his rightful place as the future
head of the United Earth Council."

They were both still dumbfounded. "You're going to have to back
this up," Lois remarked, "because you're losing us."

Leaon smiled and nodded. "I thought this might happen. Which is
why I'd like to show you this." He touched the globe and it
started projecting an image of Clark as a child. Both Lois and
Clark watched as the globe continued to broadcast the life of
Clark Kent ... and then as Lois entered, their life together.

Lois whispered to Clark. "This is incredible! How'd they pull
this one off?" He shrugged, mesmerized by the picture show being
put on before them. When the "movie" finished, Leaon came
forward to speak again.

"This may all seem unsettling to you, which is why we are
letting you have two days to get used to the idea. We are forever
in your gratitude for keeping our child safe. In two days we will
be arriving in your time to reclaim our sacred baby."

Lois thought for a moment and realized how skeptical she was.
They weren't going to give this child to just anyone; didn't
these people know that? The note had said, "Lois and Clark, this
child is for you." And nothing or no one was going to get the
child away from them without a very good reason. After a glance
at Clark, seeing him giving a skeptical look of his own, Lois
started asking questions.

"What proof do we have that you're not all some kind of ...
kind of ... cult, and you want to ... to ... sacrifice this child
to whatever you hold as your 'almighty'?" she asked pointedly.
The idea of giving up the child was getting more and more
distasteful.

"All will be explained when we arrive in two days. Please
understand, this is hard for us, too. But Kallie does need her
child back." Leaon looked sadly to his partner, who in turn
choked back tears. "Be warned, though. There could be others who
try to claim this child as their own. But we have confidence that
you would never take a child from its mother." Leaon finished.
"We will see you both in two days."

The flashing lights disappeared and the image of the group before
the two reporters was gone.

"Now what the heck are we supposed to do?" Lois asked, turning
to Clark.

He didn't answer. He didn't have to. He was staring at the
child.

***

The elevator doors opened and Jimmy stepped out. He wondered what
it would be like to be a real reporter, actually writing stories
on the news floor, not just running errands for everyone. The
thought was quickly dismissed as he heard that familiar yell.

"What in Graceland's name is this?!" came the roar from
Perry's office. Jimmy approached cautiously. As he peered around
the corner, he saw that Perry had just chewed out Karen Ramsey,
the new society columnist. Jimmy listened, being sure to stay out
of sight. He learned that Karen had apparently written a column
about Lois and Clark and their let down from the adoption people,
and their miraculous new child just two days later. Perry didn't
seem to take a liking to the column.

"You know all stories about the Planet and its employees have to
come through me! What were you thinking?" he asked, in his loud
ominous voice.

"I'm ... I'm ... s-s-s-s-sorry, Mr. White," Karen stammered.
"I-I-I was just trying to make my column a good one. I'm ...
really- really sorry, Sir."

Perry sighed, "I think you need to write a new column." He
ended there, not wanting to hurt the girl's feelings any more.
She left, on the verge of tears, and Jimmy cautiously pretended
he had just got there. He needed to show the chief the pictures
he took of Lois and Clark's baby, but he wasn't sure it would
be such a good time right now. The chief was never in a good mood
when it came to dealing with women. Then Jimmy remembered the
other day, and his conversation about a woman troubling Perry.
Jimmy thought about that for a second before deciding. *It's got
to be Alice,* he thought. *It's got to be.*

Just then Perry came stomping out of his office and caught Jimmy
standing just outside. "Olsen? What are you doing standing
outside my office?" Perry asked suspiciously.

Jimmy tried to cover ... tried to think of something he could say
that would get him out of this one so that Perry wouldn't do
anything rash like firing him. "I'm here to help you, Chief.
With Alice."

Perry's face couldn't hide his shocked expression. "What?
How'd you -- ?" Perry was almost at a loss for words. "In my
office, Olsen. Now." Almost. As Jimmy followed Perry back into
his office, Jimmy couldn't help but smile, because he'd been
right. Perry walked in and over to his desk.

"Now let's talk about this, Son. Why do you think this has to
do with Alice?"

Jimmy shrugged. "Because the only other time you were this upset
with everyone for nothing was when Alice kicked you out of the
house. I figured this would involve her too."

Perry sighed. It had come to this. He was going to talk with
Jimmy about his problems with his wife. He felt pathetic, but
hopeful at the same time.

Perry decided he'd give it a shot. "I'm trying to woo her
again."

"What?" Jimmy asked, not really hearing.

"I'm trying to woo Alice again. I think we might be able to get
back together."

"And?"

"And I'm not having much success." Perry sighed. "Look Jimmy,
this isn't easy for me."

"Oh, I totally understand, Chief. I tried too hard to get this
one girl ... I did everything." Jimmy paused, noticing that
Perry looked mystified. "You know, all the normal stuff that you
do when you want a girl."

Perry looked sullen. "No. I don't think I do, Jimmy. Maybe
that's the problem."

"Oh, man. Maybe you're right, Chief. Okay ... " Jimmy started
to explain the things he'd done to get girls in his short but
overflowing dating experience with women. Perry did everything
but take notes.

***

Meanwhile:

Lois turned over and realized that Clark wasn't in the bed
beside her.

"Wha -- ? Clark?" she called. She heard the shower going in the
bathroom. "Oh," she commented, just noticing the still-sleeping
baby beside her. Lois smiled, and heard the shower shut off.
Clark returned and gave her a kiss.

"I just decided I'd get an early start, seeing as the baby was
still asleep," Clark explained. The baby stirred on the bed, and
began to cry right away. Clark took a bottle from the night
table, and began to feed the baby with it.

"You'd better get into the shower quickly. I'll handle him
while you have your shower." Lois groggily got up and went into
the bathroom.

Clark sat down on the bed. He looked at the child who had
momentarily stopped crying to suck on the bottle. He smiled.
"You like that bottle, don't you? Here..." He tilted the
bottle up so that the baby could have more to drink. Clark looked
at the baby, seeming so fragile. "Do you have my powers?" he
asked, not expecting an answer from a baby. "I hope you're
going to grow up with as good of parents as I did, and if you
have powers, that you learn to use them positively."

Clark felt sort of foolish that he was talking to the baby, but
continued, explaining to the child (though Clark knew he didn't
understand a word) about the problems and the triumphs all
associated with his double life. As he continued talking, Lois
returned from the shower and crept up silently behind him.

"Who're you talking to, Clark?" she asked. Clark turned, with
the baby in his arms, and just looked down. Lois smiled and went
over to snuggle with the baby. "I know. I caught myself talking
to him last night." Lois reached out. "Oh, here. Let me hold
him. While you get dressed, I mean."

Clark handed the baby over to Lois and went into his closet in a
spin. He was out in seconds, fully dressed. "There we go." He
took the baby from Lois's arms, in order for her to get dressed
as well.

After breakfast together with the baby, the phone rang, and Lois
gave the child to Clark. But just then, he heard the all too
familiar "Help!" cry and had to hand him back to Lois.

"Uh, I'll call you back," she stammered, making sure that her
full attention was diverted to the baby. "Oh no!" she
remembered, rushing down the hall to the dryer. "I left it in
there ... and I need it ironed!" She sat the baby on the dryer
first, then slapped her forehead, "No Lois, we're not going to
crack his head open," she remarked to herself. She moved him to
the ironing board, but realized that wasn't sturdy. So Lois
decided to hold the baby in one arm, and iron with the other, (a
task all in itself). Just as she thought she might drop the baby,
and was praying for a miracle, Clark whooshed back in and took
the child.

"You get ready, I'll hold him." Superman spun into Clark, and
the "transfer the child game" continued. It was past 9:30 a.m.
by the time either of them realized what time it was.

"Clark? Do you know it's 9:42?" Lois asked. They both just
looked at each other. Then, just as they were about to sprint out
the door, Martha came in through it.

"Why, thank you, Clark" she smiled. The couple noticed that she
had about fix or six bags in her arms.

"What is all that, Martha?" Lois asked, momentarily forgetting
about the time.

"This stuff is for you!" she exclaimed. She started pulling
things out of the bags, and explaining. "Here's some diapers.
I'm sure you know what they're for." She went searching
through her bags again. "Oh, and here I've got formula, bottles
..." She searched through another bag. "Wipes, outfits,
blankets, towels." Another bag. "Baby soap, powder, shampoo,
ointments, nail clippers." She opened up the fifth bag. "Yes,
here's some of Clark's old baby toys. I thought this baby might
like them." Martha beamed in pride at the child and its now
numerous belongings. Then something dawned on her ...

"Why are you two still here?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, it has to do with him." Clark said, looking at the
child.

"Haven't you named the baby yet?" Martha asked, almost cross.

"We don't know how long he'll be with us, and if he already
has a name, so we've held off on that." Lois said. She leaned
in and whispered to Martha. "Clark and I aren't happy that we
haven't named it either, but there's not much we can do."

Martha could only smile. "Of course," she laughed. "Now get
going, you two! You're late for work!"

***

The couple sprinted out of Lois's Cherokee and raced in the
front doors. They entered the elevator.

"Thank God it's only ten-thirty. I guess we're not that
late," Lois commented. Then the elevator stopped.

"Oh great," she muttered.

Then, just as in the brownstone, the lights went all funny and
another projection appeared. This time it was on the wall of the
elevator. The sole figure in this projection was a woman. She
looked agitated and almost hurried.

"Lois and Clark?" she asked through the projection.

"Well, yeah. Who are you?" Clark asked, almost hesitantly.

"I'm the child's mother."

Lois and Clark just stared at each other.

"What?" was Lois's only reaction.

The woman in the projection seemed annoyed at their negative
reaction.

"Look, I know you probably don't believe me, and that Leaon and
his buddies have already contacted you, but please believe me. I
don't have much time." She looked around, as if expecting
someone to jump in at her any moment. "Just take care of him for
me, please. He likes to be on your shoulder a lot and to be
rocked back and forth. He also loves the song 'Candle in the
Wind,' either version. Oh! And he needs a nice warm bath every
night, it helps him sleep."

Lois and Clark were still mystified by this woman. She was
cryptic before, and now she was offering them tips. She seemed
very two-faced. Lois started to speak, but the woman cut her
off.

"I'm sorry, but this part is important." She again looked
around to see if someone was coming to get her. "I'm going to
open a portal at six p.m. tonight. Please let the baby come
through it, and home to his mother." She now looked to be on the
verge of tears. "Please ..." The projection faded away. The
elevator started moving again.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" Lois asked, sounding almost
defeated.

"I don't know about you," Clark said, sniffing, "but I think
changing the baby is high on my list."

Lois sniffed as well. "Poop!" she exclaimed as the doors
opened. Perry noticed them and started walking over, but they
both made a mad dash for the washroom before anyone could get a
word in.

Several minutes later, they exited, trying to seem calm. Lois
dumped the soiled diaper in a plastic bag and then into the
passing janitor cart. As they made their way across the newsroom,
there seemed to be an increasing number of people that surrounded
them and started asking questions about the baby. "How is the
child?" "How are you?" "Where'd you get the baby?" and
"Oh! He's so cute!" all permeated the air around Lois's head.
She was about to shout at them all to be quiet and just back off,
but Perry started shouting first.

"This isn't Graceland! Everyone go sit down at your desks and
read the memo I sent out on this already!" Perry shouted, his
voice roaring above the crowd. As the crowd thinned and Perry got
closer to the couple he joked, "Doesn't anyone read those
things?"

Lois smiled. "Thanks, Perry."

"Well, we don't want a storm around this little bundle of joy,
now do we?" Perry remarked. He grabbed the baby's hand with
his. "How are you today?" Perry laughed. "Now you've got me
talking to a baby! Next you'll get me talking to animals." He
shook his head. "Well, I'll let you both get down to work."
Perry left, and the couple moved over to their respective desks,
with Lois taking the baby in the stroller.

Lois called up her latest story on the computer screen. It was an
expose of the illegal deals going on in the warehouses down by
Hob's Bay. She had three unnamed sources that had given her
specific examples. Lois was proud of this one. She stopped typing
for a second to check on the baby. It looked so peaceful. Lois
had given him a soother and he was sucking on it vigorously. Lois
looked over to Clark, and noticed that he was looking at the baby
as well. They shared a special glance, both knowing how much they
loved this child.

Clark was working on a story as well. Well, sort of. He had typed
about eight words in the entire time he'd been there. His
attention was solely on the baby. And he was unsure of why he was
so enthralled by the child. He thought it might have been a
"fatherly instinct" thing, but again, he wasn't sure. Clark
tapped a pencil on his desk, thinking. Out of the corner of his
eye he saw Nick, the delivery boy, approaching his desk. He
turned.

"Hello, Nick."

"Oh, hey, Clark. This package came for you just a couple of
minutes ago." Nick handed Clark a medium-sized package, with
just two words written in a thick black marker: Clark Kent.

"Okay, thanks, Nick," Clark called, still looking at the
package. He was curious about the contents so he x-rayed the
package, and saw that it was a video tape. There was a note
attached to the inside, which read "Watch this and learn the
truth about the child we sent you." Clark sighed. How many
people were going to claim this baby?

"Lois?" he called over to her. "I think we need to look at
this tape," he said, "And bring the baby, please." Clark
looked solemn as he entered the conference room. Lois followed
quickly behind, sensing his mood.

"What is it, Clark?" Lois asked. Clark opened the package and
showed her the contents. Lois closed her eyes, not wanting to
believe what she'd just read. "Not another one," she said,
clutching the baby tighter. Clark got silently up and inserted
the tape.

This group called themselves "The Foundation," and they claimed
to have sent the child back from October 7, 2086 after a ruthless
corporation killed its mother and tried to get the baby to be
raised to do their bidding. The child was to have been trained to
be the ultimate fighting machine and to destroy all that was not
supported by this corporate giant.

The video explained that October 7 will forever be remembered as
a terrible day in history if the two of them didn't return the
child.

"This is a new twist," Lois remarked, skeptically. Apparently
"The Foundation" didn't want the child back just yet, but they
would be in contact with Lois and Clark again very soon. The two
people in the video, a male identified as Ulee, and a female
identified as Jenna, also reminded the two that all the others
who asked for the child were imposters.

"We've heard that before," Clark told the screen as it went
black.

***

The dark building looked ominous to the passers-by. Not that
there were many in this secluded corner only sometimes inhabited
by the city's homeless when they needed a sheltering space. What
went on inside the warehouse, no-one knew. The only identifying
incident happened when the overnight drunks noticed a worker
carrying boxes into the building. The boxes said "Church
Industries", but none of the winos could say who "Church
Industries" were.

***

Lois was typing, and shooting occasional glances at the baby in
the stroller beside her desk. "Hob's Bay has over 50 abandoned
warehouses, many of which have been used for illegal purposes at
one time or another. Suggestions have been ..." she paused.
*What were they?* she thought. Her thought was interrupted by
Jimmy's voice. *It started with "Can I ... "* Lois thought.
She needed this story done in half an hour. "What was that
Jimmy?" Lois asked him.

"I was wondering if I could -- " Lois tuned Jimmy out there as
her computer started beeping.

"What the ... ?" she said, hitting the screen. "Come on!
Save!" She turned to Jimmy who had an expectant look on his
face. She didn't want him to know that she hadn't been
listening. "Sure, Jimmy." Lois remarked, and then turned to
continuing typing: " ... to lower taxes so that the commerce
industry would move back into the area, to have the city of
Metropolis rezone the land for other industries to move in to the
area or the proposal by the new corporation 'Permax, Inc.' to
buy up at least half of the available properties by the year
2000." Lois sat back. She wasn't done, but she felt good about
her story. She glanced again at the carriage before continuing.

"The proposal ... What?!" Lois's mind just clicked in on
something.

The baby was gone.

Lois's thoughts raced forward. Where was the baby? Who took it?
What was going on? Lois got up hurriedly and started asking the
people around her desk.

"Where's the baby? Who took the baby? Does anyone know?" she
was asking everyone and anyone.

Roberts from research replied, "I saw Jimmy with him. Isn't he
cute? You guys sure got a great child, I'm tellin -- "

"Yeah, thanks." Lois cut her off, scanning the newsroom for
Jimmy. "Jimmy!" she called out. Lois turned and almost bumped
into him. "Jimmy! Where's the baby?"

Jimmy looked dumbfounded, "Oh, I let Francis hold him for a
while. He and his wife just had a kid too, you know -- "

"Okay." Lois again cut someone off. Francis, she thought.
That's that tall skinny guy. Black hair, glasses. Lois spotted
him. "Francis!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

"What?" he asked, turning around.

"My baby. Where is he?"

Francis snapped his fingers. *I hate when he does that,* thought
Lois.

"Weldon has him. She wanted to show the muck-a-mucks
upstairs."

Lois looked ready to punch Francis. "You sent my child up to the
top? What were you thinking?!" Francis muttered a feeble reply,
but Lois didn't hear a word. She was running toward the
elevator, just as it was closing. She slipped between the two
doors and waited impatiently for the doors to open on the 5th
floor. As she exited the elevator she scoffed at the "Executive
Offices" sign. She walked down to the desk at the end of the
hall and asked where Weldon was.

"He's gone for lunch. Can I take a message for him?" the
secretary asked, pleasantly.

"Gone for lunch?!" Lois erupted. "Where the hell did he go for
lunch?"

The secretary was completely taken. "I ... I'm not very sure
... " she stammered.

"Can you tell me if he has my baby?" Lois asked, patronizing
the poor secretary. Lois knew it was wrong, but at this point she
didn't really care.

"Oh no!" the secretary replied, seeming relieved, "Before he
left, Mr. Weldon gave your child to Jaimison." The secretary
paused, unsure. "Didn't Jaimison give him back to you?"

Lois sighed; she had had enough of the "pass the baby" game,
and she just wanted her baby back. Lois left the secretary,
completely heartbroken. How could she lose her own baby? What
would she do if something happened to the baby? Lois was about to
cry when she passed a room and heard a familiar cry. She looked
at the door to the room, which said "Nursery". As she opened
the door and was greeted by the sight of the baby, Lois became
ecstatic. She let out a big sigh of relief and scooped the baby
up in her arms.

"There you are!" she exclaimed, with all the other mothers and
nursery workers staring at her. "Just picking up my baby." Lois
remarked sheepishly. Then she saw Jaimison. "What did you think
you were doing, anyway?" Lois found it hard to be angry when she
felt so happy due to finding the baby. "Why didn't you bring my
baby back?"

"I ... I thought that it would be happy here in the nursery. I
thought our babies could get to know each other," Jaimison
replied, looking at his own child.

Lois closed in on the man. "You do not take my baby somewhere I
don't know, even if it is to play with another child." As Lois
stormed out of the room she heard Jaimison call to her:

"I'm really sorry, Lois. I thought you knew that the baby was
getting passed around."

Lois quickly exited the floor, happy to get away from the
corporate airheads.

As Lois descended back to the news floor, she thought about how
she lost the baby and started feeling horrible. "I'm not a good
mother," she sobbed, looking at the baby. "I lost you! How
could I do that?" The elevator doors opened again and she
exited, still crying. She went over to Clark's desk.

"Clark?" she said, choking back tears.

Clark sprang up, worried "Lois! What's the matter? Are you all
right? Is the baby all right?"

Lois tried to stop crying. "I'm horrible, Clark! I'm a
horrible mother. I can't do it! I lost the baby!" Clark hugged
her, comforting her. He spoke quietly and firmly, "You're a
fine mother, Lois. You let Jimmy have the baby and a few people
passed it around. Lots of people get "pass the baby" done to
them and they lose track of their children. It's only to
co-workers. It's not as if you handed our baby to Lex Luthor."
Clark smiled. "My mother even lost track of me. Twice." Clark
whispered into Lois's ear, "Besides, I'm not the greatest
parent either, and we're going to have to help each other
through this. I love you, and I trust that you'll do the best
for our child. And I know that you will." As Clark finished
speaking, the baby giggled, and grabbed Lois's finger.

Lois was touched. "I love you too," she whispered to the baby.

Clark's point was made. "What better evidence is there than
that?" he asked. The phone on his desk rang. He answered it,
"Hello? Yeah. Okay. That's great, thanks." As he put the
receiver back into its holder, he turned back to Lois. "I've
got to go downtown to pick up some stuff for my story. Can I take
the baby with me? We'll get some air," Clark explained. "Oh,
and if you'd like we could meet in the park for a picnic
lunch."

Lois's tears were gone. "That'd be wonderful, Clark. Thank
you." He kissed her and took the baby, grabbing the huge bag of
baby accessories that Martha had sent with them.

Almost at the elevator, Clark turned back to face Lois. "One
o'clock?" he asked. Lois nodded and Clark was gone.

***

Clark pushed the stroller down the street, and another person
approached him. *This must be like the fifth person that's
approached me,* he thought. This was an elderly lady, who seemed
enthralled with the child.

"Hello," Clark said pleasantly.

"Oh, hello. You're Mr. Kent, right?" the lady asked.

Clark nodded.

"You've got such a very sweet baby, Mr. Kent."

"Thank you. We're pretty proud of him, ourselves," he replied,
smiling.

"Where's Ms. Kent? I love her work, too," the lady explained.

"She's working on a story back at the Planet. I'm getting the
baby some air, and I've got to get something from the
courthouse."

"Oh, well, I won't keep you," the lady said. "Nice to see you
both." And she was on her way.

Clark was amazed at the outpouring of support from the people of
Metropolis. It was wonderful. After getting the documents on the
Hans Greta case for another story, Clark arrived in the park,
just before one p.m. The baby started crying and Clark realized
that it was past his feeding time. Sitting at a bench, he pulled
out a bottle and started feeding the baby his formula. As the hot
dog vendor passed, Clark ordered two hot dogs. On cue, Lois
arrived.

"Here you go." He handed her the first hot dog.

"Thanks," she said squatting beside the baby in the stroller.
Lois began to rummage through the bag she brought. "I got us
some picnic stuff too," she said, pulling out what she'd picked
up at a deli on her way.

"Great," Clark replied, laying out the blanket, while Lois held
the baby. As the trio sat and had a great picnic lunch in the
park, both Lois and Clark realized how much they loved this
parenting thing. Clark brought up the taboo topic. "So who are
we going to give the baby back to?" he asked, offhandedly.

Lois sighed. "I really don't know. And how do we research these
people to find out who's telling the truth? Go to the future?"

The two stared at each other.

"H.G. Wells?" Clark asked.

"How do we contact him?"

"I don't know, but what other choice do we have?" Clark
replied.

It dawned on both of them. "S.T.A.R. Labs."

They quickly cleaned up the picnic lunch.

***

By now, Jimmy and Perry had figured out a plan to get Alice back
in love with Perry. They discussed what she had said was bad, and
what he could stand to change. They had made a list which
included Perry getting flowers for her and buying a big
candlelight dinner from a catering service (though he'd tell
Alice he'd cooked it himself, to seem even more sincere). Perry
wasn't too sure about that dinner thing.

"Well, I've done it and it worked out. It's the only thing
I've done for a girl that really impressed her." Jimmy paused
for effect. "Other than moshing for 12 hours straight."

Perry laughed. "Well, that definitely won't impress Alice."

***

Lois and Clark went straight to Dr. Klein's office. By now they
knew where it was. He was in the middle of briefing another
scientist about a new way of thermally inducting a substance.

"Can we have a word, please, Dr. Klein? It's important," Clark
said, nodding a greeting to the other scientist.

"Uh, sure. Craig, we'll finish this up tomorrow." Dr. Klein
ushered the other scientist out of his office, and Lois and
Clark, along with child, entered.

"What's up this time?" Dr. Klein asked, feigning humor.

"We need to get to the future," Clark remarked.

"What?" Dr. Klein was definitely stunned.

"Superman has asked us to go to the future and do a favor for
him," Lois explained, lying perfectly, "There's been an
accident in time. Superman is the only one who can sense it, but
he's tied up with events happening right now."

"He needs us to go," Clark finished. "Does S.T.A.R. Labs have
anything that can help us?"

Dr. Klein sighed. "There is something. But it's highly
experimental and we don't even know if it works!"

The pair gave Dr. Klein a look. He went over to his desk and
picked up a file. "This is Project 2885974928459-G. It's
something I've been tinkering with ever since Superman
experienced those time windows, almost a year ago."

Lois looked at Clark, then back to Dr. Klein, "Are you talking
about the windows Tempus used?"

Dr. Klein nodded. "I've been experimenting with them to see
what options they could give us in the future, but there's no
way that I could ever let you use them right now. They're in a
restricted area." Dr. Klein started ushering the pair towards
the door. He afforded one short glance around to make sure no one
was watching. "I'm really sorry that I couldn't help you guys,
but my superiors don't allow people in the restricted areas when
S.T.A.R. Labs is open." Dr. Klein slipped an access card into
Lois' pocket and winked at her. "Sorry I couldn't help."

"Yeah, thanks anyway, Dr. Klein." Clark remarked. His super
vision had picked up on Dr. Klein's little "delivery", and as
the two left S.T.A.R. Labs, they knew where they'd be returning
to later that night.

***

At just after five o'clock, when S.T.A.R. Labs closed, Lois,
Clark and the child all arrived, and used the card Dr. Klein had
given them to enter through the back door. The duo were used to
sneaking around places, but the child added complications,
especially when it started crying, and Clark had to super vibrate
to make an effective sound barrier.

By the time they had reached the room marked TOP SECRET it was
already five-thirty. "We'd better hurry," Clark remarked.
"We've got to get there before six."

As Lois swiped the card to gain access, Clark held the baby, who
had finally stopped crying. The door opened. "Let's go," Lois
said, leading the way into the room. They entered and saw a note
from Dr. Klein sitting on a machine in the center of the room.

Lois and Clark:

This is the device to access the time windows. They are in fact
safe, but S.T.A.R. Labs wants them kept under wraps for now. Set
a date on the main screen and put the arm bands on yourselves and
the baby. When you need to get back, press the big green buttons
on the sides of the arm bands. The window will re-open and bring
you back. Tell Superman I said "hi."

Bernard Klein

"Okay ... " Lois trailed off, as she studied the device before
her. She saw the main screen immediately and typed in the date
they wanted to go to.

"October 6, 2086," she said aloud, as she typed it in. "Our
anniversary."

Clark looked at Lois. "I'd say we have a great anniversary gift
already," he remarked, noting the baby. The two put the arm
bands on, and Lois put one onto the child.

"He's so cute!" She laughed as he tried to play with the
band.

"Are we ready to go?" Clark asked.

Lois nodded. "Yep." She and Clark joined hands.

"Let's go."

Lois pressed the button and the group materialized on the streets
of Metropolis, October 6th, 2086.

As Lois and Clark materialized on the streets, they looked around
to see who was watching them. It seemed as if no one noticed.
"What's with these people?" Lois asked.

"I have no idea," Clark replied.

The explanation arrived as they walked around, trying to find the
Daily Planet of 2086. A total of three other people materialized
in the streets, sidewalks, and even right in front of Lois and
Clark. It seemed to be a regular practice here in 2086. Clark was
also receiving strange glances from another group of people. What
they wanted was a mystery until one came up to them and asked:

"Lois? Kal-El?"

Clark gave the man a weary look. "Who's asking?"

"Never mind," the man muttered, walking quickly away.

"What's going on with these people?" Lois asked. "They're
all acting so weird."

Clark, who had turned around, tapped her shoulder. "Lois? Look
behind you."

As she turned, Lois's mouth dropped open. "Oh my gosh." She
exclaimed. A passer-by noticed her reaction. He looked at the two
and the baby.

"This is your first time here in Metropolis, isn't it?" he
asked, seeming to not notice that they were virtual celebrities
in this future timeline.

"Actually we live -- " Clark started.

"Yes, yes it is," Lois cut in, interrupting him. "Can you tell
us where the Daily Planet is?"

The passer-by pointed to a large cylindrical building down at the
end of the street they were on. "That's it right there,
ma'am," he replied, walking away. He abruptly turned back
though, to utter last words of advice. "Oh, and look after that
child. Children are our future, you know." And with that the man
dematerialized.

It would have seemed odd to them if they hadn't noticed two
others dematerialize seconds later.

"You know, I'm never going to get used to that," Lois
commented with a smile. "Now let's find out who this baby
belongs with so we can get out of this creepy future," she
finished, rushing toward the Daily Planet building.

Clark held the baby firmly and did some light super-speed running
to catch up with her. *Everyone here seems to know who I am and
what I can do anyway,* Clark thought.

As the two passed an alleyway, the woman who had previously
contacted them and claimed to be the baby's mother bolted out
from the shadows. She grabbed the baby from a startled Clark's
arms and made a run for it. Clark again forewent the "cape
change" and just took off after her, leaving Lois, looking
concerned, standing on the sidewalk. She was very glad -- almost
too happy, she told herself -- when she saw Clark catch the
woman, retrieving the child, not two blocks away. She started
toward the two of them, having a few questions for the woman
herself, but the woman seemed to fade into nothingness just as
people had been doing ever since they had arrived in Metropolis
2086.

"That's certainly a neat trick," Lois remarked.

"Too neat," Clark replied. He was angry and determined, "We
need to find out who these people who want the child really are,
before anything like this happens again." Lois nodded and the
two continued to the Planet.

***

As they entered the futuristic building, they couldn't help but
be impressed. The whole look of the place hadn't changed that
much from what they knew. Sure there was more technology and more
glitz, but it did feel strangely like home for the couple.

The elevator was totally revamped, though. It answered voice
commands, which Lois found out the hard way when she mentioned
that she was hungry, and a full meal appeared before her. Clark
had laughed at that.

"Not that hungry!" had been Lois's reply to the elevator
computer. "And get us to the archives."

The elevator stopped on the fifteenth floor, and they exited,
Clark still holding the baby.

"He's going to need a change soon," he commented.

"We'll get to that in a second, Clark. We've still got to find
the archives." Lois thought to herself, *This floor is set up
almost exactly like the archive section of the old Planet. And if
so ... * Lois bumped into another statue. "I guess the archive
computer isn't here," she said, rubbing her knee. "Clark!"
she called, "Look who this is!"

Clark came into the room and stopped. "Wow."

The statue was of Franklin Stern. "The Savior of the Daily
Planet -- 1994" was the plaque's description.

After a short moment of awe, Clark remembered something. "I
found the computers. They're over here," he said leading the
way.

On the walk over, Lois noticed that she was receiving a lot of
strange looks. The strange looks increased, however, when they
arrived in the archives themselves, and tried to swipe their 1997
Daily Planet ID Cards through the system to gain admittance to
the room. After a short skirmish with the door's computer, and
some assistance from several staff members, they hustled inside,
noticing how very futuristic this part of the Planet looked. More
than the other sections, this is the one that was constantly
updated -- of course -- and it seemed so new and almost alien to
the couple.

Lois was the first to sit down at the computer terminals, and
almost immediately had it figured out. Then the baby started
crying.

Clark started rocking him.

He still cried.

Clark rocked him and walked around.

He still cried.

Clark put him up on his shoulder, just as the woman who claimed
to be the mother said, rocked him, and walked around.

He still cried.

The two began to get worried. They still weren't sure if any of
the people who wanted the child had Kryptonian powers, and
therefore super-hearing.

*What else can I do?* Clark thought. He glanced at Lois, who had
gone to the bag they carried and brought out the bottle.
"Thanks, Lois," Clark said as he got the bottle and started to
feed the baby.

He spit the bottle out, and continued crying.

Clark was beginning to get very nervous. He didn't want to have
to meet any of those people just yet, so he tried to think of
another solution.

"Lois, I'll be right back," he said, starting out the door.
She trusted him enough to let him go.

***

*He is enjoying the flight!* thought Clark. He flew the baby
around more and more, with the child growing happier with each
twist and twirl. "You really like this, don't you?" Clark
asked the baby, continuing his flight.

***

With Clark and the baby gone for a while, Lois knew what she had
to do. She'd already figured the computer out, and now all she
had to do was access the information they needed. She sighed.
"Now, let's go group by group and find out what we can." Lois
took the physical descriptions she had formed in her mind and
cross- referenced them with the people of Metropolis's database.
She quickly came across the United Earth Council's information
files on the child and the various groups that were trying to get
a hold of him. She started writing notes on the page beside her.

By the time Clark returned with the newly-not-crying baby, Lois
had a full briefing ready for him. Clark sat and listened.

"Okay, the first group, with Kallie and Leaon?" Lois reminded
Clark. He nodded. "Well, they and those other people that we saw
in their projection are part of a group that is bidding to have a
ruling majority in the "United Earth Council" who are basically
a souped-up United Nations. They do have a lot of power, though,
which is why I'm reluctant to give this group the baby. I think
they could very easily have a hidden agenda."

Clark nodded again, "You're right. What about the mystery
lady?"

"Yeah, I've got some stuff on her, but not much," Lois
replied, searching through her stacks of paper. "Here it is,"
she continued, pulling out a single sheet. "I found out that
she's thought of as a nomad. She could be the child's mother
... but no one's sure." Lois shook her head. "This is just
really confusing, because they say that the child's mother
abandoned him and after that the details get pretty sketchy.
Three more women claimed to be the baby's mother, and since the
woman who everyone thought was the mother had disappeared by
then, there was actual credence left to these claims. Until the
baby disappeared."

"That's when we got him?" Clark asked.

"Yeah. Anyway, this woman has appeared sporadically in public as
well as the two times we saw her. Everything's too sketchy with
her, Clark. How do we know what to do with her?"

Clark thought about that for a second. He really didn't know.
Then, the cursed super-hearing that he was possessed with kicked
in.

"Uh-oh."

"What is it, Clark?"

"Explosion ... at a factory." Clark listened some more. "The
factory is registered to ... KallieCorp." He turned to Lois.
"Think there's a connection?"

Lois smiled, "I'll find out if there is." She turned to the
computer screen again and started typing.

"You're sure you and the baby will be fine?" Clark asked, just
before taking off.

"This is the Daily Planet, Clark. Of course we'll be fine."
Lois smiled as Clark nodded and flew off to take care of the
explosion.

***

As Clark landed he noticed that another person was there blowing
out the fire with super breath. It was taking him a while to get
it done. Clark came up beside the man and blew the fire out in
one breath.

"That help?" he asked the mystery "super-man" beside him.

The man nodded. "Thank-you, Kal-El." And with that, the man
flew off.

"Hey! Wait, I need to talk -- " Clark cut himself off as he
heard a voice behind him.

"Don't mind him, Kal-El. He's got other things to worry about.
On the other hand, you only have me to worry about." The man
approaching Clark was an older, bearded man with a distinguished
air about him.

"Why do I need to worry about you?" Clark asked, crossing his
arms across his chest.

"Because I hold to the key to destroying something you hold very
dear," the man smiled, devilishly.

"What are you talking about?"

"Maybe I can explain better," came another voice.

"Leaon?"

"What a good memory, Clark." Leaon appeared from the shadows.
"What my colleague means is that we have planted five small
nuclear devices at the Daily Planet in the year 1997. If you
don't let us have the child, they'll go off, one by one. And
because we used your primitive nuclear technology to plant the
bombs, I don't think anyone in Metropolis would survive the
radioactive fallout."

Clark could only stare dumbfounded.

"Surely the more than a million people who live in Metropolis
are worth more than the life of a small child, and we will take
good care of him," Leaon smiled. "Oh, and just so you know that
we're not bluffing, here's a demonstration."

"No!" was all Clark could get out before a projection of the
Daily Planet appeared before him.

***

"So everything's ready, right Chief?" Jimmy asked, looking at
the list.

"I think so." Perry replied, "I called the caterers, and
they'll have my dinner ready. And on my way home I'm going to
pick up the flowers and get my suit from the cleaners." Perry
paused in thought. "Yeah. And then I've got to -- " He stopped
as a rumbling sound swept the newsroom and a shaking accompanied
it. It was over in seconds, but was scary as hell.

"Was that an earthquake or what?" Perry shouted over the
commotion the shaking caused on the news floor. When there was no
reply, he got even angrier. "Can't anyone tell me what just
happened?!" With that, a staff member came running off the
elevator and headed over to Perry.

"Mr. White! There was a small explosion in the basement."

"A what?!"

"It's okay, there was minimal structural damage and the repair
crews are already on the job. No one was injured, either."

"Well that's a good thing," Perry commented. "Did Superman
save the day?"

"No, sir. He wasn't here at all. No one knows where he is."

"Now where's Superman when we need him?"

***

At that point the projection disappeared, leaving Clark with a
mound of guilt in his throat and a massive choice to make.

"Where's their knight in shining armor?" Leaon asked,
taunting. "If you'd give us the child, we'd be able to get you
back to your beloved Metropolis very quickly."

"You've got to be kidding me," Clark replied. "I'd never
give a helpless child to you. You're out of your mind." Clark
didn't get to hear a reply from Leaon, as he was suddenly
transported away from the plant and into the Daily Planet
editor's office.

"Hello, Clark," came another familiar voice. It was the voice
of Jenna, a member of "The Foundation," who had made the video
earlier.

"Wha ... where?" Clark then realized that he already knew where
he was.

"There's a bomb about to go off in my time! I've got to get
back!"

"Clark, please calm down," Jenna said with a firm voice.
"We've disabled the bombs set in your time. And KallieCorp is
now under investigation by the United Earth Council."

Clark wasn't sure that he believed this woman. But sitting where
Clark knew Perry used to sit gave a lot of support to her
statement.

"Is this still the original desk?" Clark asked, feeling the
mahogany desk that Perry had in 1997. He reached the place where
Perry had slammed into the corner and left a dent. The dent was
still there.

Jenna looked at him. "Now do you believe me?"

Clark looked mystified. "I think so."

"Good," she replied, "because we have to explain to you what
we need done."

Clark thought of Lois immediately. "You're going to have to
explain this to me and Lois, because I'm not leaving her or the
baby out of this. I'll be right back."

***

Clark returned five minutes later, holding the child, with Lois
right behind him.

"Hello," Jenna started. "Please, sit down. This might be a bit
to take."

The couple sat, and Clark still held the baby tightly. "'The
Foundation' is a group that is dedicated to keeping the
Kryptonian bloodline alive. We are made up of both humans and
Kryptonians." She paused, seeing the questioning looks on the
two faces before her. "I'm not Kryptonian myself, but as you
can see by this office, I am the current Editor-in-Chief of the
Daily Planet." Jenna paused again for effect. "Perhaps I should
explain to you what a miracle this baby really is. He was born a
full Kryptonian, and no one, not even with our advanced genetic
theories, can figure out how it happened. This child represents
what we hope to be the future of the Kryptonian race on Earth.
With the other Kryptonians having children with humans ... "
Jenna looked at Lois. " ... not that that's a bad thing, but it
has diminished the bloodline. It now takes about four
quarter-bloods to do what Kal-El here could have done by himself.
The world needs this fully powered super-being and 'The
Foundation' is dedicated to keeping him alive long enough for
his powers to manifest themselves." Jenna paused, and waited for
any questions Lois or Clark could have. The two looked at each
other, and then Lois turned to Jenna.

"We're going to need some time to think about this."

Jenna nodded, "I can understand that. I've also got another
edition to work on, so should we meet back here in an hour?"

"Sure." Clark said. With the baby still in his arms, he
followed Lois out of the room.

***

The couple went back down to the archives, where they began to
discuss their problem.

"She was telling the truth, Clark," Lois said. "I know all
about 'The Foundation'."

"She seems sincere, but I'd still like to know more about this
mystery woman. Why are there so many question marks surrounding
her?" Clark was frustrated. He gestured around the room. "All
this technology is sitting here and it can't give us one solid
piece of information about this woman?"

"There are other ways to get information on a person, Clark,
remember?"

Clark nodded. "I was thinking about that." They both got up,
and went out to do what they did best ... investigate.

As the couple returned to the building in 2086, they knew all
they needed to know. They went back to the archives and waited
until the hour was up. They had found out a lot for a
thirty-minute walk. They didn't know who was a viable source,
but when the opinions were unanimous, it was hard to argue. The
mystery woman was generally considered a bad person, though
everything was a rumor, and no one had ever proven anything. It
was thought that she stole all the technology that she used, and
had her own hidden agenda. The people of Metropolis generally
ignored her. She was seen in and out of the shelters for the
homeless, and had never had a steady job. No one was positive,
but she hadn't ever been seen with a baby.

The two got up to go back to Jenna's office, and both knew what
their choice was. Based on all of the evidence and the fact that
the people they had talked to on the streets also thought that
the baby's mother had died, as "The Foundation" had said. The
group that wanted to preserve the bloodline, were Lois and
Clark's best choice.

***

Back in 1997, Alice didn't arrive at 7 p.m. when she was
supposed to. She wasn't even there by 8 p.m. Perry went over to
her apartment at 9 p.m.

As he knocked on the door he wondered what could have happened
that she didn't show up. He was trying to make amends, did she
know that? There was no answer after a couple minutes. "Aww,
c'mon Alice! What's wrong? Why didn't you come to dinner?
I've been planning tonight for weeks, and I'd die if I didn't
get to be with you tonight."

The door opened and Alice let him in. "We need to talk, Perry.
About our relationship, and its final threads." Perry was
heartbroken, but sat down on the couch as Alice closed the door.

***

Lois and Clark sat with the baby on Clark's lap. Telling Jenna
their decision had been harder than they had thought. Lois was in
tears as the couple attempted to say goodbye to the child who had
meant so much to them for the past week.

"I'll leave you three alone for now," Jenna said, exiting the
room.

"This could be our last chance at ever having a child," Lois
sobbed, looking at the baby.

"I know that," Clark replied, almost in tears himself. "But
you can't honestly tell me that you'd keep this child from
where it belonged. We've got to let this baby have his life, and
get on with ours. It's hard, but we'll always have each other
and our hope that someday we'll have a child of our own."
Clark's eyes were misty by now.

"I ... I just have this place in my heart, Clark. And it's a
place that only a child could fill." Clark held Lois tightly,
with the child in the middle, on Clark's lap. "I know," he
whispered. He felt badly for her.

Jenna entered, this time with Ulee, from the video as well. Lois
and Clark attempted to collect themselves. Jenna looked like she
was going to cry at the sight of the two. "I know how hard this
must be. And I'm sorry, but this baby's place is here. I can
only reassure you that one day you will find a way to have a
child of your own. I can't tell you when or how, but rest
assured, please."

All Lois could do was nod, and she took the baby and hugged it
once before handing it to Jenna. With more tears, Lois sat down
again.

"Thank you both so much," Ulee said, "You've done a good
thing today." He smiled at the baby before continuing. "We'll
leave you two alone."

As Jenna and Ulee left with the child, Lois and Clark sat alone
in the room, clutching each other's hands.

***

In the darkness of his apartment, Jimmy felt oddly alone. He
wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because Perry hadn't called him.
Why hadn't Perry called him? Jimmy looked at the clock again. It
read 10:15. "Damn." Jimmy said, "He said he was going to call
at ten. Where are you, Chief?" Jimmy folded his arms across his
chest, and sat back again, waiting.

***

Lois and Clark still sat in the same position. They had been
there for more than thirty minutes now. Clark was the first to
break the silence.

"We've been gone from 1997 for a while now. People are probably
wondering what's happened to us." He looked at Lois, who was
still misty-eyed. He tried to be positive. "The baby's happy
now, honey. Just like Ulee said, we've done a good thing."
Clark knew he had to get through to her. "We still have a chance
at a child, just like Jenna said to us. No matter how small, we
have to hang onto that, Lois."

Lois nodded. "I guess so. Now, can we please leave? I've got
too much to deal with, I need a story to write or something to
get my mind off this."

Clark smiled. "Of course."

Just as the two were about to press the green buttons, Clark
heard a faint child's cry through his super-hearing. Lois
noticed him listening. "What is it?"

"It's just his cry. I'm sure it's just that he's hungry or
something. He's fine, Lois."

"Are you sure? Because I need to know that we made the right
choice." Lois pleaded with her husband, "Please check on him,
Clark."

Clark agreed and took off out a window.

He flew high above the Daily Planet, to get a better sound to
hone in on. As he got nearer to the place he knew the cry was
emanating from, he x-rayed the building.

What he saw shocked him. The baby was tied to a table, and Jenna,
Ulee and three others were working on some sort of device. Clark
rocketed toward the building, destroying one of its walls in the
process.

"We trusted you ... " he said, seething with anger. He didn't
say any more. He banded them up, tied them securely and made sure
the police got them. They explained that they needed the child's
powers, to spread out.

"He would have regenerated the powers, we just needed some of
them to make us stronger as well," Jenna explained.

Her words were lost on Clark, who took the baby back to Lois, who
now was standing outside the Daily Planet.

Lois was pacing. "What's taking him so long?" she asked
herself. Clark landed in front of her with the child. He
explained what happened, and Lois was equally appalled. "Well
_now_ what are we going to do?" Lois asked, frustrated. She
wanted the baby for herself, but knew that it was an integral
part of this timeline.

"We could take the child home with us. You know, just wait until
the right person contacts us?"

Lois looked at Clark thoughtfully. "I could barely let him go
with Jenna and her group this time, Clark. If we kept the child
longer, I don't think I could give it back, even if I wanted
to." Lois was again heartbroken. "We've got to find where he
belongs here and now."

"He belongs with me." The mystery woman arrived on the scene
again, this time more sedate than before. She tried to explain
herself. "I didn't want my child here, with these horrible
people wanted to do inhumane things with him. I knew I needed
help from someone, but I didn't trust anyone here. I did,
however, trust you two. The opportunity presented itself that I
could send me baby back. And I took it whole-heartedly." The
woman dug into the bag she had slung over her shoulder. "Here."
She produced the same globe that "The Foundation" had shown
them before.

"I wondered where 'The Foundation' got that from." Clark
remarked.

"They got it from me. They said they'd help my baby but instead
injected me with a powerful neurotoxin, and took the baby and the
globe. Was there sound in the projection that they showed you?"

"No," Lois replied.

The woman nodded. "I didn't think so. Only I've been given the
power to activate the full story. After my husband was killed,
the globe automatically adapted to recognize only me as the one
it needed to answer to." She touched the globe. "Watch this."

The reporters watched the same projections as before, only this
time the colors were one thousand times as vibrant and the sounds
made everything so much more believable. Lois and Clark heard the
sounds of everything inside their heads. They experienced
Clark's youth, his meeting Lois, their falling in love, the
marriage, their future baby and more.

"This is the globe which Jor-El gave you, Kal-El," the woman
explained. "Your entire life was recorded in here, as it
occurred. And you never even knew."

Clark was shocked, but both he and Lois knew they had a new
choice. And when the baby reached out from Clark's arms, to the
woman before them, they knew they had found where the baby
belonged.

As Clark handed the child over, he felt sad, but at the same
time, an immense happiness.

"Lois and Clark, you have done our future an incredible favor.
For that we are forever in your debt," the woman said. "And I
offer the only thing I can ... my thanks."

Lois was sad, yet satisfied, as well. "And hey, if you ever need
a babysitter in 1997, look us up," she joked.

The woman smiled and dematerialized with her child. Lois and
Clark both looked at each other. They grabbed hands, and pressed
each other's green buttons, and went home.

Alone.

***

Lois and Clark rematerialized at the Daily Planet. Lois glanced
over at the calendar on her desk.

It read 1997.

She also noticed that it was past 11 p.m.

She and Clark, hand in hand, made their way quietly out of the
building. They each knew how the other one felt, so no talking
was necessary. But just the simple touch of each other was enough
to keep them both happy.

As they walked down the street to where Lois had parked her
Cherokee, they passed a homeless person sitting on the sidewalk.
"Lois and Clark? Is that you?" he asked, looking up. When the
pair nodded, he continued, "I heard that you tried to adopt.
Does that mean the two of you can't have children of your
own?"

"The doctors have told us no," Clark replied.

The man smiled, "Well, I'm sure it will work out. Everything
does, doesn't it?"

Lois and Clark smiled at the warm message the man had given them.
Lois thanked him and the two walked on towards the Cherokee.
Towards home.

***

The two returned home and got settled. Clark went upstairs to
check on his parents, and let them know what had happened. When
he came back downstairs, he saw Lois at the carriage they still
had. He came up behind her and hugged her. She had tears in her
eyes when she turned to him. "We can never give up," she said.
"I know that one day we're going to have something to fill this
carriage, I just know it." Clark smiled at her and nodded, "I
believe you."

The two stared at the empty carriage in each other's embrace,
long into the night.

THE END