An Unpleasant Afternoon of Viewing

By Tank Wilson <tankw1@aol.com>

Rated: PG

Submitted: May, 2011

Summary: Perhaps there's a reason why we can't see into the
future...

***

Clark entered the brownstone he shared with his lovely wife,
Lois. It had been her day off but for all that he'd been able to
accomplish at the Planet he might as well have been off, also. He
wondered what she had found to do with a whole day off and no
major story to occupy her time. He'd probably find her scrubbing
the tile grout or maybe rearranging all the kitchen cupboards.

Instead, he found her sitting on the couch, sobbing. He rushed to
her side.

"Lois, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

His beautiful partner turned her tear-streaked face toward him.
"Oh, Clark, we're doomed. It's only a matter of time." She
shook her head as more tears flowed. "There just isn't going to
be any happy ever after for us."

Clark pulled Lois into a comforting embrace. "Lois, you're not
making sense. Tell me what's wrong."

His distraught wife pulled back and wiped at her eyes with the
back of her hand. She sniffed a few times before she recaptured
his gaze. "Do you remember the time/dimensional viewer that Herb
left here?"

Clark raised his brow as he regarded Lois. "Do you mean the one
where we were able to look in on the life of our counterparts
from another spatial dimensions?" She nodded. "If I remember
correctly, Wells didn't leave it here... you borrowed it."

"Yeah, well, you say tomato..."

Clark shook his head. "I thought you didn't want anything more
to do with that viewer after we saw the Lois Lane of another
dimension as a government assassin targeting a corrupt
Superman?"

Lois shrugged. "You were at work. I was off... and I was so
bored."

A smile of compassion for his firebrand of a partner graced
Clark's face. He put his arm around her shoulders. "So you
thought you'd pull out the viewer and check up on another Lois
Lane. Did you see another unpleasant scenario? Is that why you
were so upset when I came in?"

"Oh, Clark!" Tears burst forth again. "It was horrible. There
was nothing good, only death and heartache. We're doomed!"

Clark gave Lois' shoulder a squeeze. "Come on, Lois, so you saw
a few bad situations. It's just a coincidence. In the limitless
alternate universes you could have tapped into, there are bound
to be some that aren't what we would desire."

Lois shook her head violently. "You don't understand. There may
be an infinite number of universes out there, but Herb once told
me that there are only 52 separate alternate universes that he is
able to see or interact with. Something to do with vibrational
frequencies and dimensional intersects. He stopped his
explanation when my eyes began to glaze over, but the bottom line
is... I peeked in on several other worlds today and none of them
were good."

"I'm sorry that happened, but what does that have to do with
us?"

"Don't you see, Clark? I don't care what Herb says about some
future Utopia, the evidence says that for us there is no happy
ever after."

"Come on, Lois, it couldn't have been that bad."

"Oh no, well let me tell you about the wonderful lives the
several Lois Lane's I looked in on had." Lois got up off the
couch and began to pace. Clark sighed, and leaned back against
the soft cushions of the couch.

"The first place I saw was probably the least awful and in that
universe we were criminals." Her arms began to wave about as her
agitation increased. "We belonged to a group of super-powered
criminals called the Crime Syndicate and we ruled the entire
planet through fear and cruelty. For some reason you were called
Ultraman and I was called Superwoman. I had your powers also but
was cheating on you with some Batman wannabe dressed like an
owl." She stopped her pacing and glared at Clark. "Don't look
at me like that." He held up his hands in supplication. She
resumed her pacing.

"That was the best one I watched. At least I was alive."

"Lois, that wasn't you. Don't confuse the people you saw with
us just because they resemble us."

She was still pacing. "Yeah, well they are supposed to the
'us' of those universes. How can I not see them as you and
me?"

She turned to face him. "Do you remember when Kyle Griffin had
that thingamajig that froze people with the flash of that bright
light?" Clark nodded. "Well, we were able to eventually foil
his plot, but the Lois I saw wasn't quite so lucky. Do you know
what else he did? Every time he froze me, or her; he thought it
would be a funny prank to cut her hair. After the first time in
the apartment, she woke up with her hair trimmed several inches
shorter. Then there was the time, later, at the Planet when he
took my dress and put in on Jimmy. Well, when she snapped out of
the trance, her hair was cut up past her ears. Then, that last
time, I -- she - woke up in that penthouse set-up in front of a
chess board. Her hair was cropped to within an inch or two of the
scalp." Lois' arms were flying about in earnest. "But that
wasn't the worst. You remember that he froze you, and then
dumped you over the balcony to fall fifty stories to the sidewalk
below. Of course, you weren't hurt. Then he tossed me over the
side."

Clark nodded gravely. "I woke up just in time to catch you."

Lois pursed her lips tightly and shook her head. "Not this
time."

Clark closed his eyes for a moment as he remembered how close a
thing it had been for him and Lois. If he'd hadn't snapped out
of the trance when he had... "That is a terrible outcome, Lois,
but that Lois wasn't you."

"No, *I* lucked out that time, but there's more."

She paced some more.

"You remember the Clark we met from the other universe, the one
that I helped turn into Superman then he, in turn, helped me find
you when you were lost in time." Clark nodded. "Well, we'd
always hoped that he'd eventually find his own Lois who was lost
in the Congo years earlier. Now, I'm not so sure that will ever
happen. I never went to the Congo because my lead didn't pan
out, but I viewed four separate Lois Lanes who did make the
trip." Lois turned toward Clark; a few tears strayed from her
eyes. "None of them survived." She counted them off on her
fingers. "One was shot by a sniper as she got off the plane at
the airport. One had her disguise penetrated and she was tossed
off a boat and killed and eaten by river crocodiles. Another one
simply had her neck broken by some thug and one..." Lois' voice
broke before she could continue. "One was hacked to death by a
machete. I'm going to hear those screams in my nightmares for a
long time to come."

Clark stood up and pulled his distraught wife into his arms.

"Oh, Clark, I don't think any Lois Lane who went to the Congo
ever made it out alive, and I swear I saw a Lois shrunken head
sitting in a trophy case in Luthor's penthouse."

"Shhh," Clark murmured into her ear as he rocked her gently.
"You have to let it go, Lois. With all the danger you and thus
your counterparts have put themselves into over the years
there's bound to be those instances when escape wasn't in the
cards. It's just a matter of odds, but, Lois, those people
aren't you. You are here. You are fine. And I'm not going to
let anything like that happen to you."

She pulled back from his embrace and viewed him through a curtain
of her tears. "You didn't always come out unscathed either,
Superman."

She used her palms to wipe her face again. "I saw one of your
counterparts having his atoms scattered across the cosmos by that
vile Lord Nor, but there was never any challenge raised to force
them to bring you back. You... he... was just gone. She clenched
her fists. "I saw another Lois find that kryptonite cage in
Lex's cellar, but Superman had never escaped. She found a
lifeless body. I cried with her."

Clark pulled Lois back down to the couch, keeping his arm tightly
around her. "Lois, you have to realize that no matter what you
saw, those people are not us. Even if they experienced incidents
similar to what we have, the fact that they failed where we
succeeded shows that our lives are different. Their actions have
no relation to ours. We are living our own life and what happens
here... to us... is uniquely ours."

Lois laid her head on his shoulder. "I understand what you're
saying, Clark, I do. But how can I feel confident that we will
have a happy ever after, if I didn't see even one alternate Lois
and Clark sitting in front of their fireplace, together, well
into their golden years."

Clark gave his wife a squeeze around the shoulders. "I don't
know, Lois. Maybe it was just a miraculous coincidence that you
saw so many bad outcomes without seeing any good ones... maybe
not." He looked into her mist-veiled eyes. "But it doesn't
matter what happens in any of those other dimensions. There are
no guarantees in life, Lois. You know that as well as I do. But
I've told you before, it isn't about the future, it's about
the moments. It's about you and me, here and now. If the world
ended tomorrow, I wouldn't curse all that I would be missing,
but I would thank the fates for allowing me the time I've had
with you."

"God, I hate when you do that." Lois buried her face into her
husband's broad chest.

"Do what?"

"Disarm me with your feelings for me. You have to be the most
romantic, caring, individual in all the universes."

"Are you complaining?"

Lois couldn't keep a slight grin from her face. "Nope. I'm
just constantly amazed that all this love you have is directed at
me."

Clark kissed the top of Lois' head. "And it always will be."

Just then there was a knock at their door. Clark gave Lois a
confused look as he disentangled himself from her, rising up to
answer. "Are you expecting anyone?"

She shook her head. "No, but I wouldn't be surprised if it
wasn't Jimmy. He does seem to have a knack for interruption."

Clark gave her an answering grin as he reached the outer door and
opened it. "Herb?"

***

Lois got up from the couch as the short, dapper, Englishman came
into their living room. She and Clark had both had their share of
encounters with the supposedly long dead science-fiction author.
As it happened, some of the fiction that Herbert George Wells had
written wasn't fiction at all, but contained more than a grain
of truth. Most particularly, his novel "The Time Machine". The
time machine was real, and Herb was a time traveler.

In his travels, he'd seen many wonders of the future, including
what he called a Utopian society based on the ideals put forth by
Superman, Lois, and their descendants. Whether these so-called
descendants were physical progeny or just ideological followers
Lois was never quite certain, but she had assumed it meant that
she and Clark had grown old together and had children to carry on
for them. After her afternoon of viewing she wasn't so sure
anymore.

Clark ushered Wells over to a chair opposite the couch. He and
Lois sat back down on the couch. "What brings you here, Herb?"
Lois bit her lip. Whenever Wells showed up it was because there
was trouble for her and Clark.

Wells took his bowler hat off and fiddled with the brim. "Ah,
it's kind of embarrassing, but I seemed to have mislaid an
important piece of Time Bureau technology. The Head of the Bureau
is quite vexed with me and I need to find it and return it. I've
looked everywhere that I can remember being since I checked out
the machine in the first place. This is the last possible spot
that I visited." He looked up at them, a hopeful expression on
his face. "Lois, you remember the dimensional viewer I showed
you the last time I visited?" She nodded, not letting on that
she knew exactly why he was there. "Well, that's the device I
seemed to have misplaced. Is there any chance that I left it...
here?"

Lois glanced over at Clark, hiding the slight smirk she had on
her face. Clark shook his head at his wife and stood up to
retrieve the machine from where it lay - still on the kitchen
table. He brought it over and handed it to Wells.

"Is this what you are looking for, Herb?"

Wells gratefully took it from Clark and placed it into a bag
he'd brought with him. "Oh, yes, thank you so much. I can't
imagine how I came to leave it here."

Lois couldn't hold herself back. She knew that Herb used that
viewer to look in on the other dimensional versions of her and
Clark. He had to know of the worlds she had seen. Of the death
and heartbreak she'd been subjected to. She had to know.

"Herb, answer me something would you?"

The older gentleman stopped his walk toward the front door,
turned and looked at Lois. It was obvious from his look that
he'd guessed that Lois had used the viewer. "If I can, Ms.
Lane."

"I'm sure you realize that I've peeked at some of the worlds
that your little gizmo can show. In fact, I've looked in on
several of them." She noted the grim line that the
time-traveler's lips formed as he nodded. "So, tell me. Do any
of the couples get to live to a ripe old age, or are Clark and I
doomed to this brief period of happiness together before fate
catches up with us. Are there any happily ever afters?"

Wells seemed to consider his words before he spoke them. "You
and Clark are very special people. Whether there is a Superman,
an Ultrawoman, or just the dynamic investigative team of Lane and
Kent, you two are special. Individually you are both incredible
people, but together you can change history."

"Most of the histories that I saw were quite short." Lois
folded her arms over her chest as she glared at Wells.

He nodded. "No doubt. I once told you that where there was a
Lois Lane there was a Clark Kent, and vice versa, and that is
true. But it doesn't mean that the two of them will
automatically come together and march off into the proverbial
sunset arm and arm. Actually, it's quite difficult. In the 52
worlds I've observed, only 18 Lois and Clarks eventually got
married." He walked over and knelt in front of Lois, taking her
hand in his. "In nearly all the dimensions, whether they are
together or not, Lois Lane and Clark Kent are crusaders. They
stand for and fight for something greater than themselves and
history is never very kind to crusaders. Most wind up as martyrs
to their causes."

Lois pulled her hand away from Herb. "So, that's my destiny? To
wind up a dead martyr sometime soon."

Herb shook his head, sadly, as he backed away from her. "I
didn't say that. Haven't I told you both that this future
timeline - your future timeline - begets a Utopian society? That
is very rare, and very special."

Lois clenched her fists. "But you can't tell us if it's our
continued actions, and the actions of our descendants that bring
this Utopia about, or if it's merely the ideals which our
martyrdom might inspire."

Wells shook his head. "No, and you know why I can't tell you
that. I've already told you too much about your futures as it
is." He walked toward the door, then stopped. "Let me ask you
two a question. Clark, do you love Lois with all your heart and
would you gladly lay down your own life for her?"

Clark nodded. "Of course."

"And, Lois, do you love Clark with all your heart and would you,
without hesitation, lay down your life for him?"

Tears began to leak from the corner of Lois' eyes again.
"Yes."

"Then know this - you two are very special. Only 11 other
couples in the alternate worlds I've seen have reached the level
of love and happiness that you two now share. You've gone
through a lot to get to where you are, and you will go through
more before your time is done. But this is life, and no one gets
out alive. Treat each moment you have together as precious and
you will have a life well spent, no matter how many days, weeks,
months, or years it may last."

Lois stood up from the couch and rushed over to Wells. She put
her hand on his shoulder to stop him from leaving. "Please,"
she said, as her voice choked up. "Can I see just one dimension
where that Lois and Clark have a happy ever after? Just one?"

Herb stood still for a moment, and then nodded. They all moved
over to the couch and Herb flipped the view screen to the upright
position and punched a few buttons and turned a couple of knobs.
Soon the picture showed a static wave, then cleared up to show an
obviously older Lois and Clark sitting in a living room similar
to the one they were in now.

They all leaned in to watch what unfolded. The elder Lois and
Clark were sitting comfortably on the couch, she was tucked
against him, her head on his shoulder. A doorbell rang, and Clark
seemed to get up rather slowly as he moved to open the door. Once
the door had been opened, a flood of small children came rushing
into the room, followed by two sets of adult couples.

"Gramma, gramma." Five young children, two boys and three
girls, rushed over to Lois on the couch, immediately inundating
her with their excited shouts and climbing all over her.

The two young women each gave Clark a kiss on the cheek. "Hi,
Dad," each said in turn.

One of the young men clapped Clark on the shoulder. "Sorry for
barging in on you like this, but we didn't know where else to
drop the kids."

The other young man joined in. "Yeah, the sisters decided that
tonight, come what may, we were going to get together and have
dinner and see a show. Unfortunately, neither of our babysitters
was available at such short notice."

One of the young women came over and swatted the young man. "Oh,
shush. Mom and dad are more than happy to take the kids for a few
hours... aren't you dad?"

The Clark in the viewer just stood there with his mouth open,
looking over at the overwhelmed Lois on the couch. Her expression
was one of near panic.

Wells closed the lid on the small machine and made his way back
to the door. "There you go, Lois. Not all the Lois and Clark's
meet an unhappy end." He placed his derby back on his head and
gave each of them a nod. "I'll be going now. It's been nice
seeing you two again, even under these unfortunate
circumstances." He quickly slipped out through the door and was
gone.

Lois was still looking at the door, her face a blank stare. Clark
came up and put his arm around her. "Well, you see, Lois, not
all the outcomes are bad. You got to see one happily ever
after."

As if coming out of a trance Lois turned her gaze toward Clark.
Her eyes refocused as her lips began to tremble.

"Happy ever after? Happy ever after?" Her voice rose a notch.
"Babysitters! We're reduced to being babysitters. And did you
see all those kids? My god, I'll bet that poor Lois hasn't had
a moment's piece since those girls were born. First taking care
of her own kids, then a bunch of grandkids."

Clark rolled his eyes and looked heavenward. Lois continued her
rant. "Do you believe that Herb thought that was a happy ever
after?" Lois' hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, no, you don't
think that what he showed us might actually have been us?" Lois
began to pace around the room. "Omigod, the room did look a lot
like this one... Clark, where are you going?"

She watched in confusion as her husband just moved toward the
stairs and up to their bedroom.

fin

THE END