Summary: Lois receives an unexpected visitor after
 her reunion with Superman.

Disclaimer: All of these characters remain the property
 of their owners/creators--I just thought Lois could use
 a sympathetic ear after a rough week.


Rating: T, for themes


Time Frame: Just after the events of "Hereafter."
 (spoilers!)


Archiving: Be my guest, but e-mail me 
(eilandesq@hotmail.com) to let me know. . .I like to know
 where stuff I write ends up and I might want to see what
 else you've got.


Author's Note: This story refers to certain events that 
occurred during episodes of the recent Superman and 
Batman animated series--most notably "World's Finest," 
"Brave New Metropolis," "Legacy" and "Knight Time."




KINDRED SPIRITS



He leaned in for a gentle kiss, and Lois resisted the urge
 to laugh as his beard tickled her. After a moment, he
 pulled back, smiled at her, and flew off the edge of her
 balcony, waving at her once before vanishing into the night.

Lois stared after him for a few moments, then sighed and
 walked back into her apartment, closing and locking the
 sliding door and pulling the curtains. She sat down on the
 edge of her bed and--in the first private moment she had
 experienced in the last eighteen hours--began to cry in relief.

She had been watching TV at home when the reports of the
 super villains tearing up Metropolis broke into the regular
 programming, and she had immediately rushed to the scene,
 grabbing a night camera crew and finding a good vantage 
point to observe the main part of the battle. She had been 
appalled to see that the survivors of the League had 
apparently taken on Lobo as an ally--she knew the Zarnian
 bounty hunter was completely without scruples and was as
 poorly suited to serving with the League as she was to 
fighting Lennox Lewis for the heavyweight championship. Still,
 she had been relieved when the League had triumphed
 without the villains or Lobo doing too much damage, and 
she had allowed herself to relax when she saw motion out of
 the corner of her eye and turned to see Deadshot aim and fire
 a rocket at the unsuspecting League. She started to scream
 a warning, knowing that she was too late--

--only to see the rocket stopped dead and the blast
 absorbed by a figure darting out of the shadows. Batman
 quickly dispatched Deadshot, but Lois' eyes were riveted 
on the tall figure--dressed like the cover of a Conan novel--who
 stepped into the group of heroes--provoking outbursts of joy
 from all of them.

He had come back.

She wanted to run to him, and her cameraman was suggesting
 that they move to get the interview immediately, but she saw
 the expression on Superman's face--and the beard and long
 hair didn't keep her from interpreting it correctly: the League
 had a new crisis facing them, and Superman wouldn't let a 
little thing like returning from the dead get in the way of being
 there to help them deal with it. After a few moments, the
 League departed, and Lois was preparing to head back to the
 office and put the story to bed when she heard a very familiar
 voice in her ear:

"I'll be by to see you as soon as we're done stopping Vandal
 Savage--order some pizza. I've got quite a story for you to 
hear."

Lois looked around, and saw no one. It took her a moment to 
remember that he had demonstrated super-ventriloquism to
 her once before--using heat vision very precisely to vibrate
 air molecules to generate sound. He had spotted her, and 
he was letting her know that he was OK and that he wanted
 to talk. Lois smiled--content for the moment--and went back
 to the office to file the story of the fight (including the
 identity of the foe that the League had departed to face), 
knowing that she would have an even bigger story in a day 
or two.

She had stayed at the Daily Planet for the next twelve hours,
 ignoring first Jimmy's, then Perry's pleas that she go home
 and get some rest ("Damn it, Lane--it's not like he doesn't
 know where you live!"). She prowled the newsroom for
 reports of the League's activities, unnerving several of the
 new staff members of the Planet who were unfamiliar with
 this side of the paper's resident superstar. Those who 
knew her better knew all too well the strain she had been
 under--and the additional stress created by the miraculous
 return--and continued absence--of the living symbol of 
Metropolis.

She was at her desk, drinking her twentieth cup of coffee
 of the day and reading sixty year old reports about
 Vandal Savage, when she heard an amused voice say,
 "Perry--are you paying overtime to Pulitzer Prize winners
 these days?"

Lois turned wearily and saw Superman standing next to
 Perry, watching her with an expression of concern that
 belied his tone. Perry shook his head in annoyance and
 growled, "No--I most certainly am not. Get her the hell
 out of here, before she frightens the rest of my staff to
 death." Superman grinned and started to move over to
 Lois--only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He
 turned back to Perry, and the older man hesitated for a
 long moment before saying simply, "Welcome back, friend."

The newsroom burst out into cheers, and Superman took
 a moment to smile and appreciate his co-workers from a
 different angle before darting over to Lois, scooping her
 into his arms, and flying out the open window.

Lois--not about to be overwhelmed--hit her speed-dial 
and had the pizza ordered by the time that they reached
 her apartment. They sat down in her living room, and just
 stared at each other for several minutes before she could
 bring herself to ask the first question:

"So--keeping the beard?"

Lois wondered at the smile that the question provoked. 
"No, Lois--I'm looking forward to returning to the wonders 
of modern grooming--and bathing. However, if you want to
 take some shots for the Planet, I'm not embarrassed--just 
don't expect this look to make a comeback anytime after I 
can get five minutes with a mirror and my heat vision."


Lois chuckled--he had told her what shaving involved for
 him in the past, and she had a feeling that it would be a 
tad rougher this time around than disposing of a little
 five-o-clock shadow. "Fair enough. It would have been
 a nice touch for your picture at the memorial, though--very
 rugged." She felt a moment of disbelief that she could joke
 about it, even now. "You missed a big scene at the
 service--I went ballistic on Lex when he showed up."

Superman blinked, and Lois wondered at his expression as
 he replied, "Really? Why was he there?"

Lois sighed. "Apparently, for the same reason the rest of us
 were-- something you want to tell me about you and Tall, 
Bald, and Evil?"

Superman sighed. "Luthor's a complicated guy--even if he
 was still up to the same crap he always was, he would 
have been ticked off that I was dead just because he 
wasn't in on it." He shrugged, and asked: "So how was 
the service otherwise? Savage said that it was quite an
 event."

"Great turnout--the only one of any importance who didn't 
show up was Smallville--he's been out of touch for over a 
week now. Probably stuck in Borneo or Cambodia without
 a cell phone, missed the whole show--" Lois paused in
 mid-sentence, and stared at Superman: "What do you
 mean, * Savage * told you?"

Superman grinned wickedly, motioned for Lois to start her
 tape recorder, and told her the whole story. It took two 
hours, and when he had finished, Lois knew that she had
 the story that would win her a second Pulitzer. * Eat your
 heart out, Clark! * She chided herself for the uncharitable
 thought, then saw that Superman's expression was
 wistful. "You came to like him, didn't you?"

"He spent thousands of years alone, Lois--teetering on
 the edge of total madness. The things he managed to 
accomplish while completely alone, facing a hostile
 environment. . .they were astonishing. Easy to say
 that it was a hell he built for himself, but he retained the
 greatness necessary to let me return to fix things."
 Superman shook his head in sadness, and said simply,
 "Lois--if I can help to draw that man out from the
 monster he has become. . .it would be a feat worthy
 of any hero. I've got to try." He chuckled bitterly and
 added, "Doesn't mean I'm turning my back on him 
any time soon."

Lois glared at him a little. "You'd better not--I've had
 attended enough memorial services for you."

Superman nodded gravely, and stood up: "I should
 go--you need to get some sleep so you can put
 those notes together."

Lois nodded wearily, and they walked out onto the
 balcony together. They stood silently for a moment
 before Lois whispered, "Kal?"

Superman blinked: even in private, Lois rarely used
 his real name. "Yes, Lois?"

Lois looked into his eyes and requested quietly: "Please
 don't do this to me--to us, again. It scared me enough
 to see what you might have been like if something
 had happened to me--I'm terrified at the thought of
 what this world is going to be like if you really do
 depart to the great hereafter." She put her arms
 around his neck and said simply, "We need you, 
you big lug."

He had smiled, kissed her, and flown off without 
another word, and--after a few minutes of good
 old-fashioned crying her eyes out--she was
 preparing to settle down into her bed for a long 
night's sleep when she heard a gentle tapping at
 the door to the balcony. She frowned and walked
 over to the door, speaking normally with the
 knowledge that he could hear her clearly: "Forget
 to tell me something, or did you want that last
 slice of pepperoni after all--?"

Lois stopped in mid-sentence and stared: the
 moon was full, and it was shining directly onto
 the glass door, revealing the silhouette of her
 visitor. It was not the bulky, currently hirsute
 outline of the man she loved, but a slightly 
shorter, rather more petite shadow. She drew 
open the curtains and saw a familiar face. Startled,
 but not losing composure or forgetting her 
manners, she opened the door and smiled as she
 called out, "Princess Diana! This is a 
surprise--please come in!"

The Amazon inclined her head and entered, 
allowing Lois to close the door and draw the
 curtains. When they had reached the living room,
 she turned and said, "Lois--anyone who's seen
 me go through a quart of chocolate chip
 cookie dough ice cream doesn't have to stand
 on ceremony any more: just Diana will be fine."

Lois chuckled. "Fair enough." Diana had shown up
 at her apartment door-- still wearing the
 ceremonial robes that she had donned for the
 service-- after the interment, and they had spent
 hours talking about Superman. Lois had the
 feeling that Diana was struggling to understand
 the man she had worked so closely with for over
 a year--only to see him killed in front of her
 eyes--and she had been more than glad to share
 whatever insights she had. With the apparently
 not-so-dead having risen, she was wondering why
 Diana was paying her another visit. "There's a little
 pizza left, but I think I'm fresh out of ice cream."

Diana smiled. "I think we can make do with what's 
here." Her expression turned somber, and she said
 simply, "I wanted to make sure you were all right."

Lois felt a moment of warmth towards the Amazon,
 but her reply was purely reflexive: "Why shouldn't
 I be all right? He's alive--you guys saved the world
 from that nut Vandal Savage again. . .what makes
 you think that I'm not ready to go dancing in the
 streets?"

"Maybe you will be in a few hours--and from what
 I've seen here in Metropolis, you'll have a lot of
 company." Lois heard the undertone of joy in
 Diana's voice, and smiled involuntarily as she 
added, "But I'm betting your eyes weren't this
 puffy and red a few minutes ago, and that it
 isn't just relief that he's back. You were here
 for me last week, and I'd like to return the
 favor--if you want me to."

Lois sighed, and sat on the couch, burying her
 face in her hands for a moment. When she looked
 up, Diana was sitting across from her with a
 concerned expression. Lois smiled weakly,
 and bowed her head as she whispered, "I'm just
 not sure I can take it any more. It's too much, 
and I'm not sure I'm up to it--I'm not sure
 anyone is."

"Lois--you've had two severe shocks in the past
 week: it's not surprising that you'd feel like
 you're being pulled apart." Diana gazed at
 her with an expression of open empathy, 
and added, "Just give yourself some time-- take
 some time off by yourself. He'll still be here."

Lois looked up and shook her head. "It isn't just
 that, Diana." She frowned and hesitated for a 
moment before continuing: "Diana--when I saw
 you a few days back, I spoke of the things that
 I found most wonderful about him. . .the things
 that made me admire him as well as the ones
 that made me love him. But if there's anything
 I've learned the past few years, it's that
 there's another side to him, too. He hides it,
 and most of the time I think he'd die rather
 than let it out--but it's there, and I can't
 help but think that it's my job to protect
 the world from it. . .and that I'm going to fail."

Diana's eyes moistened a little, and she
 whispered, "You mean what happened with
 the Justice Lords." One of the legacies of
 the interdimensional incursion by the
 League's warped counterparts had been
 three CD-ROMs of data passed on to the
 League by the Lords' Batman--containing
 the entire history of the events that had
 led up to the takeover of that world by
 the Lords (less certain personal information
 that would implicate secret identities and
 other personal secrets of the League). 
The League had released the data to the
 world after Batman had indulged a last
 gasp of paranoia and made sure nothing
 threatening was hiding in the discs. 
A notable item in the data was the fate
 of the Lois Lane of that world--kept alive
 and in luxury, but locked away from the
 rest of the world like a fairy tale princess.
 The Amazon princess shuddered
 involuntarily before reaching out to
 grasp Lois' arm and adding, "Lois--that
 was a different world. . .and it wasn't 
just him who was corrupted. All of our 
counterparts failed that test--all the ones
 that lived, anyway." She shivered--the 
Flash was annoying at times, but the 
news that his counterpart had died in
 the Lords' world had shaken her.

Lois shook her head. "It wasn't just
 that--and it wasn't even the incident
 with Darkseid before the League was
 founded--that was something done to
 him, not something that he chose." She
 paused, and Diana waited quietly, 
sensing that Lois was about to reveal
 something very personal. Lois grimaced,
 and said quietly, "About four years ago,
 Dr. Hamilton at STAR Labs came up with
 a gadget that could breach dimensional 
boundaries--a lot like the one that the 
Lords' Batman came up with, but with a
 few more bugs. I cleverly stumbled into it 
and wound up in the Metropolis of a 
parallel world--one that made the one of
 the Lords' world look like a paradise. I
 realized that it might take some doing to
 get me home, so I explored a bit and
 found out that the place was being run
 by Luthor--with Superman as his partner.
 The other thing I found out was that I
 had died in this world, and that was 
what had driven Superman over the 
edge into embracing a police state. 
Naturally, Lex wanted to protect his
 little kingdom and tried to kill me, but
 Superman found out and rescued 
me--and we had it out. He sounded a lot
 like the Lords' Superman, but I was able
 to convince him to confront Luthor, and 
after a nasty fight Luthor died in an air 
crash and the tyranny was overthrown. 
I left him there with his promise to make
 amends for what he had done and to go
 on without me--in the name of what he 
had always believed in." She paused, sighed
 and concluded, "So I always knew that he
 could cross the line that the Lords' 
Superman did--I just thought that my
 being there would be enough to stop it.
 Stupid, huh?"

Diana smiled. "Lois--I saw the unedited version of
 what was released to the media, and while I can't
 comment on all of it, I can tell you that he was still
 listening to you, even if he wasn't following the advice."

Lois stared, and Diana quietly gave her a brief
 description of the meticulous, faintly amused notes
 that the Lords' Batman had made about the regular
 dinner dates that the other Lois and Superman had 
participated in at the apartment where Lois was 
confined, and the circumstances under which they
 had taken place. When she finished, Lois shuddered
 and whispered, "Just when I thought I couldn't be
 more disturbed. . .he sat there with me, night after
 night, listened to what I had to say, then went out
 and continued to turn their world into a damned
 concentration camp."

"But he kept coming, Lois. He cut ties with almost
 everyone he cared about in Metropolis, and he 
kept coming back to see you, week after week, 
when all you did was berate him for what he was
 doing. It doesn't sound like he put up much of a 
fight, either--he just sat there and took it." Lois 
blinked, and a tear fell free as Diana added, "Perhaps
 deep down he saw you as the only remaining path 
he had left to going back to the way things were, 
and that was why he couldn't bear to give you up." 
She shook her head and muttered, "The others had 
doubts, but none of them repented until the League 
was abducted. Thank Hera that Bruce got through to--"

Lois flinched involuntarily and stared at Diana again.
 "You know--" Diana smiled, and Lois shook her head 
and muttered, "Of course you know--and you probably
 knew that I knew, or you wouldn't have let that slip." 
She chuckled and commented, "It puts those pictures
 from Paris a few months back in a whole new light. 
Good thing for you that I don't work for a tabloid."

"I wouldn't be here if you were the kind of person who
 would work for a tabloid, Lois," replied Diana, shaking
 her head in amusement. She looked back at the 
younger woman and whispered, "He told me more
 about you than Kal ever has, Lois--he's kept tabs on 
your career since the last time he was in 
Metropolis. Of course, it requires a lot of reading 
between the lines--what few lines there are--but he 
cares deeply for you." Lois blinked, and Diana sighed 
and concluded, "You've made it rather difficult for 
anyone who chooses to follow your old path, Lois."

"You and Batman--?" Lois couldn't bring herself to say
 his name--even after a few years, the pain was still there.

"No--at least not yet." Diana's expression was wistful,
 and Lois watched her with interest as she sighed again
 and added, "It would be a bit complicated, to say the
 least--particularly with what you Americans would
 call 'mother-in-law problems.'"

Lois snorted, then laughed out loud as Diana gave her 
a dirty look. Lois gave her an apologetic look and said, 
"Thanks for the dose of perspective-- I need to be 
reminded sometimes that other people have complicated
 lives too."

"Any time." Diana watched Lois as the reporter yawned
 involuntarily, then stood up. Lois--noticing the unspoken
 decision to end the evening and concurring with it--joined
 her as the Amazon walked back to the balcony door. They
 stood in front of the door for a moment before Diana shook
 her head and commented, "It's really annoying that the
 interesting ones are the complicated ones, isn't it?"

"Definitely." Lois replied, looking out into the night and idly
 looking for a dark shape that would not be there. She
 turned back to Diana and said quietly, "Diana--tell that
 broody jerk that if he ever wants to stop by, regardless
 of the wardrobe involved--"

"I'll pass on the message," Diana replied. She looked at Lois
 fondly and added, "I should let you get some sleep--if Kal told
 you the whole story, you'll need the next few days to write it, 
and a lot of people won't be giving you much rest either before
 or after it's done." She opened the door, nodded, and called
 out, "Next time we'll do this at the Watchtower-- the view's
 better," as she vanished into the night.

Lois watched her go, and walked out onto the balcony,
 listening to the occasional cheers and watching the fireworks
 that were bursting in various parts of the night sky--celebrating
 the return of their favorite adopted son. Tomorrow, she would 
get to work on the story that would give them more to cheer 
about, and to understand what they had almost lost. With
 another yawn and a quiet sigh, she left the balcony and went
 to bed.



As always, comments are welcomed and desired 

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