Lois Lane (iconicreporter) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-03-26 14:49:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ₴ inactive: clark kent, ₴ inactive: lois lane-kent |
A save and an introduction.WARNINGS Nah
What Clark had to get used to the most during his time in Vallo was that people knew who he was, both as Superman and Clark Kent, and that keeping Clark separate or, well, secret, didn't really matter. It also really wasn't possible. But it was kind of freeing as well. Most notably, he usually didn't bother ever donning the tights and cape (unless someone asked him to, which had happened a few times) when he was out, on Defense Team rounds or not.
He also tended to monitor the city, out of habit that was impossible to break, even when his Defense team wasn't on patrol. There were some things that Superman was still best trained for. He let the team on patrol and the DOA agents handle the bulk of minor things like new arrivals or securing the edges of the forests, but if anything big came about, Clark couldn't help but head immediately in that direction.
Which was why, when he heard a scream that stood out among the rest of the chatter and sounds of Vallo City and the surrounding forest, he flew that way without a second thought.
It wasn’t as though Lois wasn’t used to insanity--somedays she was pretty sure it was her middle name (it wasn’t). Her life had never exactly been normal and it took a lot to knock her off balance and let out a shriek. But suddenly arriving in a random bit of woods when she’d been filling her travel mug with coffee and immediately being attacked by a giant wolf wasn’t something she’d ever really prepared for.
She threw the half-filled mug at the creature, splashing it in the eyes and temporarily blinding it as she scrambled backwards and looked for something to use as a weapon. The device she usually kept on her to call on Clark was no doubt sitting back on the counter in Smallville, completely useless to her now, but she wasn’t about to go down without a fight.
Grabbing at the large stick on the ground, she held on tightly to it, ready to fend off the creature while also looking for some sort of escape route. Hopefully one that would lead to answers.
Clark spotted the extra-large wolf first, then the woman using a stick to defend herself from it. It wasn't going to do much if that wolf wanted to have a bite of her, but he admired her desire to face it head on. He swooped down and, instead of picking up the woman as he did back home in Metropolis, picked up the wolf by the scruff of its neck and sped off with it.
A mere second after dumping the wolf off a great distance away and also checking that there weren't any others lurking nearby, Clark came to a stop in front of the woman. He inclined his head at her. "Are you all right?" he asked. He focused on her racing heart and the blood pulsing in her veins, and he suspected she might be a newcomer. "Are you hurt?"
Lois held the stick, ready to beat the thing back when it suddenly wasn’t there anymore. She’d heard the familiar woosh associated with that kind of quick grab and turned toward it, waiting for the accompanying body that usually went with it. Except the man standing in front of her wasn’t who she expected it to be. She lowered the stick though, even if she still held tightly onto it.
“Not a scratch on me. I’m fine,” she assured as she glanced around. “Even if I am definitely not in Kansas anymore.”
Clark's brow crinkled with amusement. "Certainly never seen wolves that size in Kansas, ma'am," he said. He looked her over quickly, confirming that she hadn't been injured at all.
When he was satisfied she wasn't hurt, Clark smiled at her. "This is the outskirts of Vallo," he told her, waiting to see if it rang a bell or if she was, in fact, a newcomer. He tilted his head to the side to check for any DOA members on their way here, but he didn't hear anything in particular. "I can take you into the city if you need to get somewhere, or to the arrivals team at the Department of Outlander Affairs, if you've just, um, arrived here." He rubbed the back of his head and shrugged.
Ma’am. Lois didn’t know if she should wrinkle her nose or not at that, but she couldn’t discount the politeness. Best to focus on the other bits that were being said. So Vallo. Definitely not a place she’d heard of before. And she hadn’t heard of the Department either, but if there was such a thing it meant this sort of occurrence had to happen fairly regularly.
“How often does this happen that there’s an entire department geared toward it?” You could take the girl off of Earth but you were never going to take the reporter out of her. Asking questions was like breathing to her.
Clark hadn't sat down to really do the math but he could guesstimate fairly well. "Pretty often," he answered her, gesturing for her to join him as he started walking toward the nearest Waypoint. He'd let her decide if she wanted to use it or if she wanted to take the Superman Express. Since she hadn't reacted - neither positively or negatively to his flight and superspeed - he wasn't sure if maybe she was just from a place where people like him existed. Or perhaps she was still disoriented and shocked at the whole thing.
"I'd guess a handful a week, sometimes less and sometimes more. I've only been here for about a month and a half myself, but there are some Outlanders who have been here for years."
“Outlanders?” Had to be the name for people who weren’t native to this place. “Do you know which galaxy we’re in?” She peered up toward the sky, trying to figure out what type of sun this planet might have. The man before her seemed to have flight and superspeed. Was that because of this sun or had he come with it?
But alright. He’d been there a little over a month and yet others had been around for years. That was a wide gap and Lois wondered what could cause such an anomaly. Did that mean people could leave? And if so how?
“Will the department have a way to get back home?” she asked as she walked with him along the path before stopping. “I’m being rude. Bombarding with questions instead of thanking you. It’s a habit.” She held out her hand. “Lois Lane. Kent.”
He was surprised to hear her ask about the galaxy. The majority of Outlanders seemed to be from various versions of Earth, though he knew there were outliers. "The Milky Way, I believe," he answers. "Someone at the DOA might have more information, but despite being somewhere I hadn't ever heard of, most everything outside of this place's magic, leads me to believe we are on some version of Earth."
Clark smiled sheepishly at her. "Unfortunately, there hasn't been any kind of headway made as to sending people back to where they came from at will. People come and go, without much rhyme or reason."
Then she stuck out her hand and introduced herself. And as he halted his walk, Clark actually tripped over a tree root but righted himself without falling. He stared at her. "No you're not."
Some version of Earth. Well, that was fun. She’d prefer to be in her own version. Someone had to have a way to get out of there and back home. She needed to meet the right people because Lois did not want the boys or Clark ending up there next.
She blinked at his adamant response to her name before arching a brow. “Pretty sure I know who I am.”
Well, that was familiar at least. Clark looked her over for a moment and then held out his hand. "I'm sorry. You're not my Lois Lane," he said. "Clark Kent. Nice to meet you, Lois."
Lois shook his hand before giving him a once over. There were some similarities but he really didn’t look like the Clark Kent she had known for decades now. “Guess that explains the superspeed and flight.”
It was a lot to wrap her head around and yet not the craziest thing she’d ever experienced. Alternate worlds and versions of herself and others wasn’t that out of the realm of possibilities. It was really hard to discount it as being a thing considering she was married to an alien. Anything was possible after that.
“So where’s this DOA?” Because Lois really wanted her answers.
"Guess it does," he echoed. This was weird. Weirder than everything else that had gone on so far, he thought. Of course, Clark had seen alternates and acknowledged the multiverse and understood that it was possible. But there was a large part of him who had hoped, of course, that if Lois Lane had arrived, it would have been the one from his universe.
"Vallo City," he answered. "I can, uh, take you to a Waypoint and you can find your way there yourself or I can, you know -" He made an awkward up, up, and away gesture with his arm. He figured, if she knew Clark Kent as Superman, and she was married to her Clark, then she was pretty used to the Superman Express service. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable though."
“I think I’ll stick with the Waypoint for now, but thank you for the offer.” It just felt a little odd to take it from a Superman that wasn’t her husband. Especially one she had just met. She doubted that her own version of Clark would mind but there was something special about being flown around by Superman.
“Maybe some other time though.” Even if Lois hoped she wouldn’t be sticking around that long.
Clark nodded. "Of course. There's one not too far from here," he said. He motioned off in front of them, in the direction they were already going. "It's just a portal that'll transport you over to DOA Headquarters. They'll do all of your intake and there's a welcome video that isn't too bad. Then they'll have to find an apartment at Morningside. A lot of Outlanders who haven't found other housing are staying there. I'm in 1202, if you need to find me. Or you can just - call." Either on the phone or by shouting, it didn't make much difference to him.
The fact there was housing provided definitely was dwindling away at Lois’ chance of this being done quickly. Places that had housing available were in it for the long haul. Not promising at all. But it was a start and maybe there would be some other familiar faces in this place. Or at least versions of people that she knew.
“1202.” She would definitely file that away to use later.
When they stopped in front of the portal, Lois tipped her head to him and offered up a smile. “Thanks for the assist, Clark. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
"Well," he said with a grin, "I'm always around."
Clark stepped back from the portal. "It's real nice to meet you, Lois. If I can be of any help, I hope you'll let me know. And there are a few other people around who know a version of me. I don't know if they're from the same universe as you are or not, but they also might know some version of you too." He shrugged a bit.
“Definitely good to know, Clark.” There were others around from their side of the multiverse. Hopefully one of them knew her but if not, she’d make do. Adapting was something she was good at.
“Thanks again for the rescue.” And then she stepped into the portal, ready to see where it took her.