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1. Miracle Manic Monday
Chloe angrily shoved her last box of clothes into the pink roadster. Catching Jimmy in bed with Lucy “the grifter” Lane was the last straw as was having Clark call her in the middle of the night moping about Lex and his first lady Lana. For years, she had been the good-natured keeper of Clark’s secret identity as Superman. He had never shown any interest in anything but being her friend, and she could live with that. Jimmy had been a comfort at that time- a loyal friend to them both. It also didn’t surprise her when Clark finally began showing interest in her colorful cousin Lois.
What pissed her off was losing the job at the Daily Planet when Perry White took over installing his old drinking buddy Lois in her place. Then Clark became obsessed with his old childhood sweetheart when she married President-elect Lex. Or was he jealous of Lana? Once again, she became the platonic shoulder to cry on. Jimmy, the lover she became content with when she couldn’t have Clark, now also began growing distant. Little did she know that he was having an affair with Lucy. Everywhere Chloe went she was taunted by the shadow of dark-haired, self-absorbed girl such as Lucy, Lana, and Lois and their male dupes. It was time for fresher pastures.
She drove aimlessly on the highway going from Metropolis considering her options. She took a turn and drove back to Smallville…
It was Saturday when she encountered Senator Martha Kent at the grocery store. “Visiting Gabe?” Clark’s mother asked. She had a touch of gray in her red hair, and her eyes looked haunted. Losing Lionel a year after losing Jonathan had made Martha a shadow of her normal self.
“Yes,” she replied, “I want to get some advice on what to do with my life.”
Martha shrugged with a heavy-set sigh. “Oh that! You’ve been carrying a torch for my son for way too long. You are also too co-dependent and passive aggressive.”
Chloe blinked. “Oh.”
“Ah, here we go! There’re the wine coolers.” The former Senator tipsily turned her shopping cart towards the alcohol aisle. Chloe quietly cursed that she no longer worked at the Daily Planet or felt desperate enough to go Perry’s tabloid route.
Her father was too busy being overworked to really talk to her in his job as a convenience store clerk. It allowed him to barely upgrade to a two-bedroom apartment. The new place was still shabby but with some privacy for visitors. Yet, he needed to work constantly and was stone tired during his time off. While he was gone, Chloe just sat in the stifling semi-silence of an apartment building on a Sunday afternoon. She heard the rustling of people fixing barbecue, and of teenagers and children playing in the pool.
She picked through some of her old items in the closet. She went through her old scrapbook of Ledger and Torch articles followed by Daily Planet stories as well as old, discarded pictures and papers from the Wall of Weird. She found the mask underneath secret photos of the Fortress of Solitude and Clark visiting her or Lois as Superman. She touched the silk red mask with a blue “S” done in honor of the late Andrea, “the Angel of Vengeance.” She was a vigilante that Clark’s rival Batman could almost admire.
There was one thing that Andrea and Batman would agree on. His bumbling non-entity was different from Clark’s real self. It was a long process of pain and embarrassment for Clark to develop this nebbish persona. Chloe would have put her real self in her civilian identity and made the super heroic self the disguise. She remembered Bruce saying the same thing one time. Yet, Clark wanted Lana, Lois, and Lex to underestimate him. Lana particularly turned back on their Smallville roots and became a sophisticated Metropolitan businesswoman and shadow criminal just like Lex. They did this mainly because of Clark’s lying about his alien origins and powers. Chloe thought that Lex was always seduced by power, yet she thought he wouldn’t have become so evil if Clark had hidden his secrets better. She wouldn’t make the same mistake and would follow in the Angel’s and Batman’s footsteps.
She tied the mask over her head covering the top half of her face. She wanted to be Clark’s partner in all senses of the word, but it never worked out. “I am Superwoman,” she whispered.
It was very hard at first. Mondays were manic as usual with her sending off applications and resumes over the Net. She even wandered over to the Buy N’ Gulp to say hello to her father and mused about trying a job there until she could get in a better position. She googled for rumors or news of crime spots in Metropolis, something that might be under Clark’s radar. In between job interviews conducted by phone or e-mail, she designed her costume. Chloe plotted out the idea of a double identity and thought of a perfect way to get revenge on Lucy and Jimmy.
A month later, she ended up at Galaxy Broadcasting doing puff pieces about kittens in trees and dog shows nothing worthy of her journalism degree or of Superman’s attention. Her current stories wouldn’t even interest Perry White not even at his lowest in journalistic reputation. Instead, she was constantly bothered by Cat Grant, a fellow reporter with more curves than her cousin and even worse taste in men. She kept suggesting that Chloe use Fashionwiki to develop better clothing.
In her spare time, Chloe researched a minor heist performed by a member of Intergang known as Doctor Kang. She was ready for her debut, but something happened instead that changed her mind about nabbing a minor villain.
Suddenly that Monday, time stood still, and the sun turned blood-red while Cat gossiped to her about Brad and Angelina. * Shit,* she thought * another supervillain trying to take on Clark.* Everyone then froze around her. She seemed to be the only one unaffected and rushed to the windows of Galaxy Broadcasting. There floating in the air in between the towering glassy buildings of Metropolis was Clark in his Superman costume and Lex Luthor in his skin-tight purple get-up. So, that was what the President had been up too during his numerous vacation times which the media criticized.
“I see you’re just trying to get my attention, Lex,” cried out Superman.
He smirked, “Is it working?”
Chloe noticed that the two seemed more like catty ex-lovers than a superhero and a President turned supervillain. It was time to interfere and add a new player to this game. She rushed over to her work locker and recovered her secret satchel. Everyone was still frozen, and she had no idea how she was immune, but she couldn’t pass up this opportunity. Though she didn’t need to, she still changed into her costume and the mini jets she developed using stolen LexCorp and Kryptonian tech in the ladies’ bathroom. Chloe carefully used burglar tools to cut a hole in the corporate building’s window and away she went.
Superman was just about to punch Lex who was waggling his tongue at him when Superwoman arrived kicking the purple-clad President in the buttocks. She had her mask on plus a red-haired wig and made sure to use a voice changer like Oliver. Her identity was safe, and so she declared, “I’m Superwoman!” She flew upwards to avoid Lex’s angry fists. The look on Clark’s face was priceless as well as Lex’s initial shock.
He stared at her as he avoided his arch-nemesis’ kicks and kryptonite ray gun. “Are you Kryptonian?” he asked in awe.
She giggled and flew expertly with moves she had practiced for several months. “I’m Kristen Wells from the future,” she lied, “I’m a reporter, a descendant of Jimmy Olson and Lucy Lane.”
Both men’s eyes narrowed in shock at her made-up revelation. Let Lucy explain that one to her sister. “I’ve come by to see this Miracle Monday when Superwoman was revealed to Metropolis, and realized this new hero was me. I’ve come to save Superman from the dastardly Lex Luthor!” She hid a smile at the President appearing chagrined at being called the bad one. Lana and he would not be able to preen their way out of this one. Her Superwoman disguise allowed her to confront the people that had made her life hell for the past few years. It was liberating. She punched Lex in the face and then waved at Clark whose mouth was open.
“Come follow me, boys, if you dare.” She then flew behind a skyscraper. She was disappointed that the hero and villain were not pursuing her, but she thought it was a successful debut. She snuck back to the Galaxy building. She had to see what was causing the citizens of Metropolis to be still except for her, Clark Kent, and Lex. She bet it was the President’s fault somehow, but she needed to do some research.
She went back to her desk next to a frozen Cat Grant when suddenly a light appeared. A strange red-haired girl was there by her wearing odd clothing. “I’m Kristen Wells from the 29th century, and I’m looking for Superwoman.”
Chloe was shocked. “Oh, shit!”
2. Identity Gift
Lex and Brainiac had done a number on them all. She sifted through her memories, and there were holes there particularly of her life in Smallville. It was probably the same for everyone, yet Martha and Clark Kent had become more distant from them as if they were hiding something. Chloe’s dimly remembered friendship with Clark wasn’t the only casualty of the robot’s and businessman’s schemes.
She walked down the hospital corridor restlessly clenching her coffee cup and taking bitter sips. Lucy Lane, in her new blonde hairdo, was sobbing in the waiting room but Chloe wasn’t sure if it was all fake. Lucy played the grifter and con artist going further to being a “pretender” at jobs with one week being a stewardess and another, ironically enough being a nurse. Her cousin’s eyes shone with anime tears with her mouth all wet from either biting or lip gloss. She looked up at Chloe and glared at her. “Don’t judge me, Miss Perfect,” she whispered, “I may not have always shown it to Lois and Dad, but I did love her.”
“You have a funny way of showing it sometimes.” Yet, Chloe admittedly felt guilt for saying it. Her younger cousin was a rogue, but she wasn’t in Lana’s league for self-absorption.
The General came by the chairs dressed in his civvies clenching a coffee cup. His stoic military demeaner seemed like a mask. His eyes were dazed looking and wrinkled. He was pale and clammy with shock.
“She should have been at the base hospital. They would’ve given her better treatment,” he muttered.
The doctor approached them in the waiting room. “Miss Lane would like to see all of you.” All three of them followed him through the endless corridors until they were inside room 512. He then told them, “I’m sorry to say that the tests confirm that Lois Lane cannot feel anything below her waist. She is paralyzed.”
The foreboding sensation that Chloe felt all during her stay in the waiting room turned into cold dread. Lucy started sobbing again, while the General’s face was blank. As for Chloe, her father was dead, and she was blacklisted from the Daily Planet. In the meantime, Lana was a traitor, and the Kents were acting strange. All this felt like a slow-moving nightmare.
Lois lay in the hospital bed swathed in bandages. She appeared like a fragile doll, and not the strong curmudgeon she used to be. Her hair was lank and greasy. Lois opened her eyes and lightly croaked, “Come closer.”
The General reached and grasped her hand which limply clutched his while Lucy tentatively caressed her cheek. Chloe hung back not sure what to say or do.
“Lex got you blacklisted, didn’t he?” Lois said hoarsely. She winced and remembered what happened last week…
Chloe nervously walked into the Editor-in-Chief’s office feeling none of her characteristic confidence. She had holes in her memory, but she distinctly recalled Lex smirking in the laboratory. “You won’t have a career once I’m finished with you.” She dreaded what would happen.
Ms. Kahn sat working on paperwork at her huge executive desk looking like a dignified grand dame of letters. She glanced up through the glasses perched on her nose and licked her wrinkled lips as she prepared a letter stamp. “Well, Ms. Sullivan, according to Lex Luthor, his father before his death was helping you out with several stories word for word particularly about Lex Corp rivals. That lovely young man sent me extensive documentation on your plagiarism.”
Chloe blinked back her tears at her dreams turning into dust. “That is not true… Ms. Kahn.”
“I don’t believe you. I aways suspected you were unethical. Clean out your desk in the basement by the end of the hour. I will make sure you will not even get a job at the Inquisitor.”
She felt the tears drip down her cheeks. “Because of Brainiac’s machine I can’t even remember how Lex framed me. Kahn also thinks that I faked my sources with Lionel’s help. Like my late dad, my career is over because of the Luthors, and you took the bullet meant for me.”
Lois grimaced. “I can’t feel anything in my toes.”
Lucy spitefully said to Chloe, “She’s in that bed because of you. Why did you even come?”
“Lucy Lane,” growled the General, “I ordered her to come. She’s your cousin.” He turned and kissed Lois’s forehead as she smiled wanly. “You were a true hero like any soldier. I’m proud of you, daughter.”
Letting go of Lucy’s hand, Lois weakly reached for her. “Come here, coz.” Chloe trembled and then firmly grasped her cousin’s weak hands. Lois turned and spoke to General Sam Lane. “Daddy, I hope I can get better with physical therapy, but I know I’ll never walk again.” He protested, but Lois firmly shook her head no. She gazed at her cousin. “Luthor screwed you over, too, Chloe. I want revenge on him for that, and Lucy will help you.”
She didn’t think there was anything Lucy could help her with until Lois whispered, “You’ve done it before, using my name for an article. Now, you’ll take my name and change your hair. Pass yourself off as Lois Lane and build yourself back up again. I used a pseudonym when I did articles for the Inquisitor. Because of that, no one will guess that ‘Lois Lane’ was once Chloe Sullivan or worked as a tabloid reporter.”
Lucy grinned nastily, “Or worked as a stripper and tricked someone into stripping.” Lois just rolled her eyes at her sister while Chloe blushed.
The General scowled. “Enough of that,” he snapped. “I have contacts so we can concoct a cover story.”
Lucy lowered her eyes. “So do I… though I doubt Dad would approve of them.” Sam Lane just snorted. “I know some tricks of identity theft and impersonation that you can use, Chloe, to pretend to be my sister better.”
Lois smiled. “My dear baby sister, our little grifter.” She squeezed Chloe’s hands. “I want to speak to you alone.”
Lucy smirked at the idea of her upright older sister and cousin planning a scam. She then left with a disapproving but pragmatic General.
“For some reason, you seem to have strong feelings for that Smallville yokel, Clark.”
She sighed and nodded to her cousin not denying it, though she had tried to move on with Jimmy and others. None of them had ever clicked the way Clark did.
“Don’t worry,” Lois admitted, “I was kinda attracted to ‘Smallville,’ too. I was friends with Lana before she got too deep with the Luthors, and I thought if he was good enough for her, he would be good enough for me or you… Of course, I saw him completely naked that one time so did you!”
Chloe raised her eyebrows at Lois’s confession and cursed the missing holes in her memory. She would like to have remembered that. Her cousin continued, “I don’t know what Smallville would do if he saw you impersonating me.”
The young former reporter shook her head. “He’s hiding something. I don’t know what it is but I’m gonna try to find out.”
Lois nodded. “Maybe pursue him aggressively if you see him, it will freak him out.”
Chloe blushed but she would have to do anything to keep him off balance and try to stop him exposing her even as she connived at his secrets like Lana used to (based on her fragmented memories).
Her cousin gripped her fist tightly. “Go get them… Get the Luthors above all.” She released her, and Chloe trembled at the awesome undertaking she faced.
Lois closed her eyes and smiled bitterly. “Now, go live my life, coz.”
3. Losing my Religion
She hungrily picked up any news she could find these days and watched CNN like any political junkie. She missed the smell of printer ink and jotting notes from a source in a notebook. Yet, she couldn’t go back to that job. The powers she had inherited from her mother prevented her from being an investigative journalist. People knew from tabloid copy from Lois’s rival Cat Grant that Chloe could heal the dead and the sick even if it was at the cost of her own health.
No longer could she be the Chloe that was the sneaky and conniving reporter looking for the next scoop that could take down the corrupt and powerful. She was Chloe the Healer, the Health Goddess. Joshi kept her hidden away in grimy hotel rooms letting her recover until bringing her out for the next group of ill people. She was Mother-fucking Theresa trapped in a cult in India under the thumb of her handler.
Conquering the journalism trade had fallen to her cousin Lois Lane of all people. There was a buy out at the Daily Planet, and a new editor named Grant was installed. He ended up smitten with the flighty Lois and hired her. Chloe wasn’t particularly bothered at first. If it wasn’t for her being afflicted with this lame and burdensome power, Chloe probably would have been able to move up the corporate ladder faster under Grant than under Kahn.
What really devastated her was Clark’s apparent relationship with her. Chloe had seen the blurry news footage of a red-caped, blue cad man flying around the world saving people. She had read Lois’s exclusive interviews with an alien she dubbed “Superman.” Superman was always rescuing Lois as she got into dangerous reporting assignments inevitably getting into trouble and screwing up. She always glared at the imported newspapers Joshi would bring to her while she recuperated. That should be her in the intrepid reporter role. She thought she would be a lot better at it than Lois. She could help Clark more. They could be true partners, but it was not to be.
She rested in the hotel bed watching some of the local Indian news with dull apathy. She could understand some snippets and phrases of the local language. The former reporter was wholly reliant on Joshi for clarity. He strode into her dingy room and flicked off the little T.V. like he owned her which was technically true. She vividly recollected Lex signing over some papers to the dapper, high-caste Indian gentleman through the bars of 33.1 cell.
“You have some children to heal, Miss Sullivan,” he said haughtily to his investment.
She closed her eyes wearily. “Please,” she pleaded, “I haven’t recovered yet.”
“You are a selfish American.” He eyed her contemptuously. “They are dying of various diseases. They have no one else to help them for the charities are overwhelmed this month, and the believers need a miracle.”
Her body shivered for she couldn’t neglect innocent people because of her own personal pain. Yet, she knew that Joshi was just exploiting her. After she healed the children, he would collect the excess tears for the medical benefit of rich, high caste Indians who pay through the roof for her miracle “cure.”
She wrapped the blanket around her and stumbled to the bathroom to put on her religious robes. “Let me have a half hour to meditate, at least,” she begged.
He nodded and smirked. “You will do much good for me today.” Her handler left the room, and all Chloe could do was cry.
A blur of red zapped into her room. She almost screamed but Bart Allen covered her mouth. Once she recovered from the shock, she hugged “Impulse” like it was the end of the world.
“Hey,” He gently touched her cheek. “It’s all right. Thank God, I’ve finally found you. Oliver and the League have been hunting you all over the world.”
Chloe felt giddy with happiness that she wasn’t forgotten, and that there was a potential end to her ordeal. “Where’s Clark?” she eagerly asked.
Bart removed his mask. “Superman was too busy. A lot of people need his help.”
She understood but her face still fell. The friendship was over long before. Chloe Sullivan was part of his past not his future. Bart grinned rakishly showing off his angelic good looks. “Who cares about him anyway? All my friends think Clark is a dick.”
He brushed his lips across hers, and she was startled but gratified. “There’s more to superheroing than *him! *” He grabbed her hand and motioned to the open door getting ready to hold her for a super run. “You should join the League. We have your mother there, and you can find ways to refine your powers so you can’t be hurt like this again.”
She squeezed back. “Mom, I missed her.” Chloe curled herself into his arms and quietly whistled a song she heard as a child in the early ‘90’s. She would be depriving a cult of their goddess, but she needed to be free. To no longer be a tool of the Luthors, Clark, or Joshi and be a hero in her own right would be a dream come true. “Let’s go!”
When her handler came back, all that was left was a broken-in, messy hotel room and a light breeze left in Impulse’s wake.
4. The Secret of Brainiac 5
“Come in,” Kara smirked at her older cousin. Her pretty blonde head poked up through the neat opening of Vril Dox’s black triangular spacecraft. “The water’s fine.”
Chloe rolled her eyes at her part rival’s invitation. Clark just shrugged and held out his to courteously help Chloe into the mysterious Ship. She could tell he would rather be someplace else, perhaps with his new girlfriend Lori Lemaris, but if his old enemy now reluctant ally had something to show him that could help in the fight against evil, he was obliged to help the bio-computer. Kara was just in it for the kicks, a chance to see what the future was like. Clark’s cousin was like a flight butterfly going from idea to idea, adventure to adventure, and unfortunately for Chloe, from man to man. Kara had briefly dated both Jimmy on the rebound from her and Lex during a messy divorce with Lana.
As for herself, Chloe was consumed with a burning curiosity to see what wonders or horrors the future held and whether she and Clark made a difference. She also still held some wariness toward the motives of Vril Dox in doing this and wanted to protect Clark.
Dox was an amoral clone of the evil Brainiac. He seemed sincere in his desire to turn a new leaf, yet he still possessed a strong desire to control people, things, and situations. Vril Dox always gave highly logical, elaborate proposals on how Clark could help humanity better as well as personal advice. Like the old Lionel Luthor, the biocomputer was also fascinated with Chloe because she, a mere girl and human, was able to defeat them both with just a few tricks. It was like Dox, in his cold and calculating way, wanted to impress her.
She and Clark settled themselves in flat, crystal seats. The Ship was very cramped surprisingly for all its advanced technology. Kara was fidgeting with the fastenings of her crystal chair like a little kid. “I wish there were windows here,” Clark’s cousin sighed dramatically. “It would be cool to see what the Universe looked like when we time travel.”
Vril Dox morphed out from one of the white, crystalline appearing with a smug grin and dressed impeccably in an Armani suit leftover from his Milton Fine persona. “Humanoids, even advanced ones like Kal-El’s people, could not comprehend the warping of time and space needed for jumping back and forth from past to future, future to past.” He strutted over to Clark and Chloe and seemed to address her personally. “Yet, I am sufficiently advanced enough that I can merge with the Ship and withstand the time waves.”
He pivoted in front of her showing off his slim, muscled physique. “I am certainly more intelligent than those oafs you work with at the Daily Planet, Miss Sullivan.”
Chloe tried to ignore both the robotic clone and Clark who was smiling at her in an amused way. “Oh, for God’s sake.”
“Looks like you have an admirer,” her friend said slyly.
She felt uneasy and annoyed. “See how you feel having a super-intelligent alien machine obsessed with you for some reason.”
Dox glared at her and walked away from their seats in a huff. “I don’t know why I impress a primate like you.” She stiffened at the reply, and Kara overhearing them with her super-ears chuckled and tittered.
“C’mon, c’mon,” Clark’s alien cousin entreated the vain construct, “I want to see the future.” The machine smiled at the female Kryptonian.
“This will be an historic occasion. Let us see whether we will all be remembered in a thousand years.” With an arrogant smile, “Brainiac II” merged with Ship’s walls again.
The spacecraft thrummed into life, and the three explorers from present-day Earth hastily completed fastening themselves into the seats. She felt as stretched out as that joking krypto-freak Oliver had recently befriended who was named Ralph Dibny aka the Elongated Man. She also could barely turn her head but could see from the corner of her eyes with amusement at the funny faces Clark made at the gravity changes in the Ship. Kara laughed loudly, and the sound distorted making her giggles seem like that of a banshee’s.
Finally, the Ship shuddered to a halt like it was a living thing that just ran a ten-mile marathon. Dox melted into his human form from a metallic plastic bulwark above Clark and Chloe. He collapsed at their feet. He was dressed in an elegant black suit with white silk trim at his wrists and throat. The style was like nothing Chloe had seen on Earth now, so she assumed it was a style from Krypton or the future. He shook his head in a dazed manner and then helped the three out of their seats. Dox appeared as though he had personally witnessed all the shifts in space and time the Ship had to undertake for it to travel to the future.
He unsealed the entrance. “Behold, the future- the 31st century,” he stated proudly.
Kara bounded outside with an excited yell while Clark and Chloe followed more warily. The future was indescribable. It was hard to keep her bearings as a human of the 20th century. She felt like a caveman coming across Times Square in New York City on New Year’s Eve. Around them were floating buildings that seemed thousands of miles tall and wide. Some looked like traditional skyscrapers, while others were spherical shape or made up of delicate webs of wire. Some seemed to be made of more than three dimensions. She also saw objects that Chloe had only seen drawings of in sophisticated science magazines.
Roads made up of shape changing metal much like Dox appeared in numerous directions. They changed routes and textures almost every ten minutes almost on a whim. Kara floated around watching everything in gaping, gawking awe. Vril Dox sauntered around as though he owned the place. It was Clark and Chloe who stumbled around in disorientation as the road surface morphed from cement to wood to brick to metal again.
The lights were too bright and in some colors that Chloe couldn’t quite figure out. Holographic images floated in the air harassing them, and they depicted bizarre futuristic objects Chloe had trouble deciphering. She had to keep Clark from throwing a punch at one of them. She patted his bulging arm and watched in concern at his pale, sweating face. “At least this proves you’re more like humanity than those two.” She pointed to Kara and Dox who were taking in the sights eagerly.
Clark and Chloe also walked through several bizarre clouds of different colored gases. Some of which smelled quite sweet, and others were sour almost making them gag. These substances made them light-headed, their vision blurry, and gave them intense feelings of euphoria or alertness. Brainiac noted the effects of the future world on them and slowed his pace keeping a concerned eye on both. Kara just whirled around with her powers just enjoying the sensations. They all hiked or flew through the futuristic city for hours until they came upon what was obviously a futuristic statue that seemed completely lifelike. Clark stared and stared at the floating statue’s face for it was an uncanny resemblance of himself in ten years wearing a skin-tight blue-and-red costume with a red cape. The family crest of the House of El was emblazoned on his chest. What looked like five young adults in strange, futuristic costumes approached their group.
One of them was a young man who wore black and gray armor and had short dark hair. He nodded and spoke a language neither of them understood except for Dox who smiled and nodded. The man pointed towards a blonde girl who wore a white skin-tight clothing with a stylized picture of Saturn on her chest. She touched her forehead and concentrated. *Hello, Superboy! * Clark and Chloe exchanged glances at the strange name. The girl was communicating telepathically and continued speaking without moving her lips. *Hello, Supergirl, Brainiac II, and Chloe Sullivan. Welcome to the 31st century! I am Imra Ardeen from Titan. * Imra gestured towards the other young people that were with her. *This is Rokk Krinn! * She pointed to the young man that had tried to speak with them. *Otherwise known as Cosmic Boy. * A roguish young man with longer brown hair reached out to Clark with a grin. *This is Garth Ranzz. Be careful. He controls lightning! * She then introduced an impish dark-haired girl who smiled wearing a yellow cloak. *And this is Luornu Druso aka Triplicate Girl. * To Chloe’s shock, Druso suddenly split into three women all identical and grinning. Finally, Imra who now thought of herself as Saturn Girl pointed to a male teenager that looked remarkably like a younger version of Vril Dox. *And Querl Dox, our Brainiac 5. Welcome, Clark Kent. We are Legion, and we have been waiting for you. *
Clark appeared as confused and overwhelmed as Chloe was. Vril Dox was just watching everyone with curiosity. Kara was excited for she seemed to have understood everything that was thought and spoken. “I am Supergirl,” she cried and shot up in the air. Querl Dox stared at Kara with what looked like desire. However, when his eyes scanned Chloe he appeared uncomfortable, and she wondered why.
Brainiac 5 turned to the time travelers and said in clear 21st century English, “Rokk Krinn is our leader and wishes to bring Clark Kent and his cousin Kara to our meeting place so we may celebrate his first meeting with the Legion of Superheroes.”
Her mouth dropped open to protest. Were these teenagers krypto-mutants or aliens? She didn’t know who these people were, at all and why they celebrated Clark and Kara. Her friend and his alien cousin were obvious heroes in the future but what about her? *Querl Dox will explain to Chloe Sullivan more about our ways. * Thought Saturn Girl.
Her shoulders slumped in resignation. Vril Dox had already wandered off to look at more sights. The bio-computer seemed unconcerned about all of this. He appeared to trust this Legion for one of his descendants was in it. “Very well,” she sighed and turned to Querl Dox. The other four heroes scooped up Clark and Kara and took them to an odd-shaped spaceship. Clark glanced back at her and nodded showing her that he was okay with this.
She took a closer look at the statue and saw a plaque. She had a hard time understanding the language on it but could decipher one word, “Superman.”
“So, Clark is going to become someone named Superman,” she said in reluctant awe.
“Yes,” said Brainiac 5 in a pleasant monotone. He seemed almost autistic, but he was related to the superintelligent Vril. “He will be the greatest hero.”
She gazed at the statue frowning at the plaque. “Is there anything about Superman’s girlfriend?” she asked too casually.
“I should not be telling you this,” Querl refused to look her in the eyes.
Her heart sank. “Go ahead,” she said flatly. “Try me.”
“You are Chloe Sullivan, are you not?” His face was so like Milton Fine’s which disturbed her. He hesitated then replied quickly. “Your cousin, Lois Lane, the famous reporter is his wife.”
“Lois? She is a college dropout. She is a fucking tabloid reporter.”
“She becomes top reporter at your Daily Planet.”
Her face turned pale. “What happens to me? I suppose I end up with Jimmy Olson, or Bart…” She smiled, “maybe even, for all I know, Oliver Queen?”
Brainiac 5 had an ambiguous look on his sculpted, cold face. “You leave Earth.”
Tears spurted down her cheeks. “What? I leave my father, my career. Why?” The future no longer seemed inviting to her but a wide open, jagged chasm.
The alien turned away from her. He was hiding something even now. “Damn you,” hissed the blonde girl, “what is the secret?”
He stared at her with haunted blue eyes. “You are.”
“What the hell?’
“You are my ancestress,” he declared. “If you don’t leave Earth with Vril Dox and mate with him I cease to exist.”
“Him?” Chloe felt bile raised in her throat. “He’s twice my age and just annoys me.” She then burst into braying laughter. “This must be a joke.”
He frowned. “The others say I have no sense of humor.”
“Of course.” She walked away from Brainiac 5 and that wretched statue. She was alone in a strange, futuristic world while her friends Clark and Kara were being feted by this new generation of heroes. They were celebrated for accomplishments that hadn’t happened yet. Meanwhile, she had this bizarre bombshell dropped on her! What was she going to do now?
Chloe glanced up and saw Vril Dox staring at her with concern. He was standing near another futuristic sculpture she didn’t understand and care for. He walked towards her, and she almost backed away to avoid him. His handsome face showed concern for her, and she could no longer deny the clone’s feelings for her. He took one step after another until he was by her.
“What is wrong? I thought you would be with your friends.” He asked in a nonchalant tone.
Chloe glared at him and realized he was lying. “You knew all along,” she accused. “You knew I would ask someone about my future, my fate.”
His eyebrows were raised at what she said then the clone just shrugged. “I’ve been to the 31st century before,” he admitted. “Brainiac 5 wanted to know about his roots. We did some research and found out what happened to you.” He had a pleading look in his eyes. “Is being with me really so bad?”
Her walking slowed down, and she turned to peer at him. “I don’t know. This is a shock to me. I thought I had my whole fate planned out. I guess I was wrong.” Her face crumpled.
Vril Dox gently touched her face, and she sighed letting him do it. She reached upwards and embraced the lovesick biocomputer caressing his cheekbones in wonder. She glanced back over her shoulder at her would-be descendant Querl Dox realizing she could see slight similarities to herself in him.
5. The Rebirth of Hope
Mercy Greaves stood in the rain wearing nondescript clothes as she watched the funeral. She just looked like another homeless, Metropolitan street person wandering around the cemetery. It would be a matter of time before she was chased off. In the meantime, she stared at the pallbearers lowering Chloe Sullivan’s casket into the open grave mound. The steady rain made the dirt into a muddy paste. That was the end of a long string of bad luck for the young reporter who had been a thorn in her boss’s side for many years. It was his day to arrogantly gloat while Mercy kept an eye on his other foils and rivals.
She had been a street runaway who stole, and dumpster dived to survive. Her androgynous looks didn’t make her attractive to “johns” until she started to pass herself off as a young boy. Before a pimp could offer a so-called lucrative career to her, a Rolls Royce pulled up to her on the street, and Lex picked her out thinking she was a “throwaway” chicken to use as a minion. She was loyal and grateful to the bald billionaire for taking her off the streets and away from her abusive family. He fed and clothed her, and, to her awestruck thrill occasionally slept with her moaning the names “Clark” or “Lana” at the climax. All she had to do was protect him, break some kneecaps occasionally, and spy for him.
Keeping an eye on the grief-stricken Clark and his mother, as well as his other allies such as Lois Lane, Chloe’s boyfriend Oliver Queen, and an aloof Lana was easy, but she also had to worry about Lex’s other minions. Lex Luthor was dressed to the nines in a tasteful, black three-piece suit. He stood to one side of the grave with an enigmatic look on his face. The Kents, his ex-wife, the Green Arrow, and the more exploitative reporter Lois glared at him from the other side. Beside the young Luthor was his entourage, and it was a bigger bunch of dummies that Mercy had ever known- the preening curly, dark-haired Kitty Kowalski and Otis with a slightly dumb frown on his plump face.
Mercy didn’t know what Lex saw in Kitty. The trailer park floozy was another dark-haired woman Lex seduced after his divorce. He had Mercy give her the customary gift of diamond earrings. Instead of the woman breaking down in tears at being just a conquest, she smirked and gave the bodyguard a gift of a gold locket to give to Lex for a “fabulous, good time.” The gesture impressed the younger Luthor, and he brought her in as a secretary for LuthorCorp. Otis was someone he met during his brief time in jail for Lana Lang’s apparent “death.” He was a simple, bumbling man that Mercy suspected Lex kept around for the laughs. He hadn’t had much to laugh about since his divorce, and he told her also since Clark severed his friendship with him.
Kitty kept grinning, and Otis looked like he was in a stupor. Neither of which was appropriate behavior at a funeral which was why the Kent party continued to throw dirty scowls at them. *Idiots, * Mercy thought, *I should be there beside Lex instead of spying from a distance. *
The priest said his final words over the coffin, and they began to bury Chloe Sullivan. Lois shook her fist at Lex yelling something at him. Oliver calmed her down and pushed her away from the younger Luthor. Mercy gritted her teeth memorizing every move the brash reporter made as she left with the other mourners. * She’s not as pretty as Chloe, not as smart either. I could take her. *
Finally, Lex just nodded at Lois like he was a king with a particularly stupid subject. He turned and left with Kitty and Otis. When the rest of the Kent party was gone, Mercy easily joined them as smoothly as a lioness rejoining her pride. Kitty smirked at her but let the muscular bodyguard insert herself between her and Lex. “Lexy, is there something you want to tell us,” she prodded the billionaire as though Mercy wasn’t there.
He ignored Kitty and told his bodyguard, “Mercy, do you want a playmate?” She hid s shiver at Lex’s silky tone. All she wanted was the younger Luthor to herself but that wasn’t to be. If he had someone she could talk to, that wouldn’t speak shallow chatter from Kitty or stupid grunts from Otis she would be happy. If he ever got another bodyguard, she could plan strategies with her or him. That would be fabulous.
“Yes,” she whispered shyly while glaring at the frowning Kitty.
“Great,” he smiled. “I’ve got just the thing for you.”
The secret laboratory was a place even more hidden than Level 33.1. This subterranean inferno was the home of three special prisoners. Mercy had escorted Myxy down here after his “treatments” at 33.1. He was no longer an attractive con artist from East Europe with a power over luck. His body had shrunk after Lex and some other amoral scientists experimented with interdimensional portals. Myxy had come back changed. Not only was he smaller but his hair fell out making him as bald as Lex. Because of his increased powers and irritability, he couldn’t be among the 33.1 prisoners, or one of Luthor’s allies.
The second prisoner was an unusual entity known as Milton Fine nicknamed Brainiac by Lex. He was apparently a sophisticated alien computer who was made of a unique oil base that allowed him to change shape. “Brainiac” was trapped in a special cell that even he couldn’t escape. When Mercy walked by the cell one time to inspect an alarm, he had tried to kill her by forming his hand into a spear shape which thrust through his bars. Fortunately, a metallic device that Lex had installed in Fine’s wrist stopped the spear from reaching her. In fact, it had created a violent electric shock that caused the former professor to writhe on the floor. She just shrugged at the time and flipped him out and then went on her way.
The final prisoner was the one that was wheeled out of his cell for their gathering today. Lionel Luthor was sealed in a clear tube, a coffin Mercy would call it if she was being honest with herself, that had several tubes and wires directly connected to the older Luthor’s shaved skull. His eyes were open and wet with unshed tears. Lionel’s mouth opened with unsaid pleas but all was heard was gargling because his tongue was removed. Kitty and Mercy were always repulsed at his father’s appearance though Lex reminded them of what Lionel tried to do to him involving electro-shock. Mercy had to admit that by the standards of the rough justice of the street he was justified.
Lex smiled at the two men and two women and held himself as though he was some prominent politician which he aspired for. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he stated standing in their circle. “I’ve always had ambitions for LexCorp…” Lionel in his tube flinched. “I wanted to be the first to successfully clone a living human.” Two scared assistants wheeled in a covered gurney which he gestured for them to place beside him. “We’ve had many failures and two clones particularly hurt me.” He quieted as he thought about Grant and Connor Kent. “Yet, I finally succeeded to engineer the perfect minion with Chloe Sullivan’s DNA.” Everyone gasped when Lex removed part of the sheet revealing what looked like an unconscious, nude Chloe.
Kitty frowned. “Oh Lexy, why didja have to choose her? She was enough trouble the first time!” Lex ignored his secretary and instead reached out to Mercy who tentatively took hold of his hand. She felt nervous being near the breathing clone because she had had to kill the most vicious failures of previous cloning experiments. Yet, she let him pull her closer to the gurney. He placed the clone’s hand in hers. It felt exactly like a human palm would.
He smiled at her. “Mercy, before you started working with me,” he murmured lovingly, and she was gratified to see Kitty scowling at her, “I had trouble getting decent security.” He pointed at the clone still asleep. “She was a formidable enemy, and her clone should have most of her traits.” He squeezed Mercy’s shoulder as she stared in wonder at the slumbering woman. “With the two of you looking after me I should be unstoppable! My father used to tell me the legend of Pandora’s box (or jar)- of how the first woman opened a box letting all the ills of the world out but keeping hope with her. I name her Hope and give her to you to train as a bodyguard. I even had her hair dyed the way you liked it.”
Hope’s eyes fluttered open, and Mercy leaned down to kiss her while Otis whooped, and Kitty gagged. The clone stared at her in awe. “Hello, I’m Mercy, and you are my Hope!”
6. Brave New World
Chloe unloaded the camera equipment with Carl Kolchak out of her trusty little roadster. They had heard of a UFO sighting in the woods, and each of them hoped to catch footage of it for their papers. Instead of fighting an elderly man for a scoop like her cousin Lois would she decided to pool their resources together. Using Internet research and old taped sources from Kolchak’s files they were able to determine the exact location.
The UFO was rumored to be a shining white sphere not the typical flying saucer. The last times it was seen by the locals of Haverston Falls was 1986, and then briefly in 1994, and then finally periodically in the late ‘90’s. The place that it could be seen was most clearly Blackstone Campsites. The two tabloid reporters had set up their tents in plenty of time. Unfortunately, so did a lot of other people. Most of them were geeky UFO spotters whose hobby was that of trying to get documented proof of alien spaceships.
One couple looked quite attractive not like your typical Ufologists. The man cheerfully offered his hand to Kolchak and Chloe to shake and introduced himself as Wolf. He also introduced his wife to them calling her Diane. Chloe had a feeling those were not their real names, but it wasn’t any of her business. For now, she needed to concentrate on finding the sphere.
She used to be interested in real news and finding out mundane secrets. That changed several years ago. With the shift in management at the Daily Planet, it wasn’t the same newspaper she had respected and always yearned to work for. All the different events of Lex Luthor’s various schemes conspired to drive her out of ordinary journalism. Her career in serious journalism was in ruins, and her personal life was in tatters. Lionel was right about her always being attracted to the weird and absurd. She took over Lois’s old job at the Inquisitor but kept her integrity by keeping the editor from changing her articles. She now wanted to provide hard proof of strange phenomena all over the United States, and she had been successful for the most part.
Now, she helped her aging colleague set up their equipment while “Wolf” and “Diane” watched them curiously. This assignment would be a feather in her cap. She could quit working at the disreputable rag and graduate to writing non-fictional tomes on UFOs and other paranormal activities. “I hope the sighting happens soon before the insects eat us alive,” she sighed to Kolchak, and he grumbled under his breath. He was observing the man known as Wolf warily as if he recognized him. The latter simply winked at them. All four people then stared at the skies.
Darkness fell showing the spread of stars cleanly. She gazed up there with longing wondering what other worlds were like. The young reporter longed to escape what had been a disappointing life so far. The tiny clouds of biting insects distracted her as did the chill of the woodland air. She went back to her car to get an extra coat and some mosquito spray. Then she suddenly heard Kolchak and Wolf yelling. Chloe raced back to their campsite and saw everyone gathering to stare at the bright light shining in the sky.
There was a hush of awe among the crowd. Diane held her husband’s hand and said, “Now I understand, after all these years. Just to believe instead of question…”
Chloe ignored them and hastily finished getting the cameras ready with Carl. They started filming the bright shapes in the sky. It wasn’t a sphere this time for it looked almost like a hand. The “hand” seemed to grow bigger and bigger. Instinctively, Wolf and Diane began moving away from them towards their SUV. Chloe felt uneasy and glanced at Mister Kolchak who was sweating and appeared older than usual. He was watching the hand as if he had seen a ghost like some of the ones on his tapes. Yet, she didn’t go away from the site because she was getting so much good footage.
The ”hand” seemed to be searching for something and, without warning, it stopped floating in the sky, It reached down to snatch one of the UFO watchers. Everyone scattered and started to scream. The object began plucking more people out of the crowd as Chloe hustled a shocked Carl back to their car. She turned and saw one of the “hand’s” fingers hook its way into the hood of Diane’s coat lifting her in the air. She reached for Wolf and screamed, “Fox Mulder, help me! It’s happening again!”
“No, Dana,” cried “Wolf.” “Scully!”
*Huh, so I was right* Chloe thought numbly as she and Carl paused before her roadster. The couple were not who they said they were. Mulder was throwing rocks at the “hand,” and after she got Carl in the car, she joined him. To their happy surprise, the finger dropped Dana Scully into Mulder’s arms. Choe gazed enviously as they hugged and kissed each other like it was the end of the world which it probably was. The “hand” was taking people away and disappeared and reappeared in a flash of light. Then it made a fist and punched the air. Chloe felt everything shaking and tried to get back to her roadster. The next thing that happened Chloe could never describe or write down to her satisfaction in the years to come.
Reality seemed to shatter in a billion pieces suspended in a black abyss. Chloe saw shards of screaming people float by her including her roadster with poor Kolchak with his face glued to the window. One shard still featured Dana and Fox embracing. She opened her mouth to scream and suddenly pieces were pulled together in one spot. One flash of light revealed a bald, reddish skinned alien with tufts of brown hair along the edges of the skull. “Child, welcome to New Earth,” he said apologetically. Then all was white…
She woke up in a comfortable bed wearing a silk nightie. Chloe stretched up wondering if it was all a nightmare. She padded to the bathroom, turned on the light, and stared in the mirror. Her hair wasn’t brown or her typical bottle blonde but was dark black and trimmed professionally. She was also wearing expensive earrings and a silver wedding ring.
“Lois,” she heard a man’s voice in the other room. Chloe froze in the bathroom and mused how she ended up wherever her cousin was staying. He also sounded familiar. The door opened and a mature-looking version of Clark Kent wearing glasses entered.
“Honey? Are you okay?” he asked in concern.
She glanced down at her wedding ring. “Y-yes.”
Clark came over and hugged her as tenderly as Fox and Dana did. She couldn’t help herself and returned the hug.
“Lois, I’m glad the Crisis is over,” he murmured into her ear. She realized that somehow, she was now Lois Lane and not Chloe Sullivan anymore. “I don’t how long I’ll be depowered, but I intend to make the best of it.”
Her thumb caressed her ring as Clark kissed her. “So do I,” she said softly. “If you’re depowered, what are you going to do if someone needs to be saved.”
He escorted her to the window brushing the curtains slightly open. “There are many other superhero organizations out there who can take over for me until I get my powers back.” Her eyes widened, and she gaped at a bright, blue sky full of colorfully dressed vigilantes flying in the air going about their business. “… and I am going to lead them all when I’m ready,” he stated proudly.
She decided to make the best of this strange situation particularly when she saw the Daily Planet in the distance from their window. * I’m probably a reporter there as well. A second chance at last! * “And I’ll stand beside you.” Lois Lane smiled at her husband.