Fic: Come What May | DCU/SR | Clark/Lois, many others | PG | 1/1
Title: Come What May
Fandom: DCU/Superman Returns
Characters/Pairings: Clark/Lois, Dick/Roy, Wally/Linda, Bruce/Selina, Diana/Steve, lots of other Leaguers and Titans, and two surprise pairings!
Rating: PG
Word Count: 3,766
Prompt: For 12days_of_clois: S'mores; For the 2009 DCU Free For All Summer Challenge: S'mores, Camp Fire
Summary: Some ten years after the events of Awaiting the Ghost of Christmas Past and Lost Time, Lois contemplates her ever-growing extended family at the Sixth Annual League/Titans Camping Trip. Slice-of-life fluff, no real plot. :p
Disclaimer: DC and WB own it all. I own nothing. Darnit!
Author's Notes: This far in the future of the Aftermath-verse, it really becomes a thorough melding of the SR world and the comics world. If you still need a chart to keep up with all the Titans, I will happily provide one. Conversely, my apologies to those of you on the comics side of fandom for the excessive exposition. :p For visualization purposes, I see grown-up Jason as Jared Padalecki, and Bruce Jonathan and Bart as young Clark and Bart from Smallville. Also, written for bradygirl_12's 2009 DCU Fic/Art Cast of Thousands Challenge.
Come What May
Sitting back in her camp chair and slipping her old-fashioned Coke bottle into the armrest cup holder, Lois surveyed the beautiful chaos of the gathering around her. Three generations of heroes, from her own age group right down to Bruce and Selina's pride and joy, little two-year-old Helena, all together again for the Sixth Annual League/Titans Camping Trip at Bruce's fifty-two-acre summer spot in upstate New York. No powers, no costumes, no code names, just family, food, and fun and relaxation in the great outdoors. And this was no small get-together, by any means. In addition to the Wayne family cabin, there were three smaller cabins that Bruce had had built―one set aside for Lois and Clark, of course, as one of the few couples with seniority in the extended family―and a whole slew of tents of varying sizes and shapes spread out over the landscape, some in the clearing and some tucked just back under the trees. In the middle of it all was the partially-shaded cookout area, complete with a fire pit, picnic tables, camp chairs, and the massive built-in grill, made to Alfred's specifications, of course.
All that considered, with not one, but three hero teams that needed to be wrangled and coordinated, it was practically unbelievable that they all managed to pull together these gatherings with any sort of regular schedule.
Well, no. Since it was all mostly Bruce and Alfred's doing, yes, it could be believed. After everything those two had done for her and Clark over the years, anything seemed possible.
“Your hot dog, madame,” Clark pulled her out of her reverie with a proffered paper plate, loaded with the usual cookout food: hot dog, baked beans, potato salad, cucumbers and tomatoes, and Watergate salad for a light dessert.
Accepting the plate with a soft laugh and a tilt of her head, Lois quipped, “Took you long enough. I was starting to think someone had gone over the falls again.”
“Ha ha,” her husband shot back, not really hiding his smile as he dropped into a camp chair to her left and balanced his plate on his knee to open his own bottled Coke with a twist and a hiss of released carbonation. “You're never gonna let that go, are you?”
Lois grinned at him sideways. “Nope,” she said before digging into her hot dog. Damn, but it was delicious, with all the fixings just like she liked them, and she couldn't help a groan of pure bliss. “Alfred on the grill?” she mumbled around the bite.
“Nope, Ollie is.”
Nearly choking, Lois turned to Clark, eyes wide as she managed to swallow the bite, then glanced behind them at the grill area to see the League's elder archer flipping a burger a good three feet into the air. It was common knowledge that Ollie tended to spice things up entirely too much, since his specialty at these gatherings was his secret-recipe five-alarm chili. That, and his tendency to go a little crazy once he had a spatula in hand, were enough to make anyone nervous.
Clark laughed beside her. “Relax, honey. I grilled this batch.”
Lois took a long, deep breath and eyed him again. “Don't scare me like that.”
“Sorry, beautiful,” her husband said, still snickering, before leaning over to drop a kiss on her nose.
“Well, you should be. I almost choked half to death!”
“I know the Heimlich,” he said matter-of-factly, and there was that lopsided smile Lois had loved since, well, forever.
“Hmph,” she scowled back halfheartedly, digging into her food again, and they settled into a comfortable silence, enjoying the picnic fare and watching all the kids as some of them played games out in the clearing and some took their turn to eat at the picnic tables and in the other camp chairs scattered around the empty fire-pit just under the shade of the trees.
Most of the first generation of Teen Titans―now simply Titans, to set themselves apart― had gathered around one table, gravitating toward one another as usual. Little raven-haired Lian, tucked between her father and Dick, was happily devouring a hot dog while her parents chatted with the group and dug into their own food. Lois still couldn't get over the fact that Roy, once Speedy and now Red Arrow, had a seven-year-old, especially one that so closely resembled her villainous mother, and that Dick, long since graduated from Robin to Nightwing, had become her 'Papa' by default of his relationship with Roy. But she supposed it was a combination of Roy's genes and exposure to Dick's bright personality that made the little girl such a gem, and that the group's close-knit loyalty to each other had helped the little family through their greater-than-fair-share of tough spots.
Sitting close together opposite the trio were Jason and Donna, and Lois watched them with a wistful smile. Her eldest son, now going by Titan for simplicity's sake, had started officially dating Diana's not-so-little sister, the first Wonder Girl and now openly Donna Troy to the world, just a few months ago, and the pair looked every bit the new couple they were, eating slowly and making eyes at each other. She wondered offhand whether she and Clark had ever looked like that, and laughed to herself at their seeming naiveté. Even in their mid-twenties now, they seemed too cute for words together. It was refreshing, in a way.
Glancing past the lovebirds, Lois noted the other small family that rounded out the core of the group. With Wally, now the second Flash, his wife, Linda, and their little twin speedster hellions, Jai and Iris, perched around the far end of the table, Lois couldn't help but think of the entire group as an extended family unto themselves. Three couples, with three kids between them already. And that wasn't even counting the other original Titans who were still on the first patrol shift. Starfire, Victor, Raven, and Gar were all looking after Titans Tower and the west coast for the day, both as the self-appointed stewards of the next generation of Teen Titans, and having elected to sit out the first day of the gathering. When the shift change finally came, it would be a madhouse around the campground, especially with the little ones having to see most of their parents off for the night.
And that thought reminded her so much of her own family's past that it almost hurt. So many nights when Clark hadn't come home, hadn't been able to, nights when she'd had to soothe her youngest two children, Lara and Bruce Jonathan, when all they wanted was Daddy to come home.
Lois could only be glad that Jason and Donna didn't seem too serious yet, and that their own offspring might still be far off; she wasn't sure she was ready to be a grandmother, not at her age, and especially not when her grandchildren might wind up with both Kryptonian and Amazonian abilities, and two perpetually on-call parents.
On the other hand, Jason was almost the same age now that she and Clark had been when she'd gotten pregnant for the first time, so it wasn't like she had room to talk. And besides, Jason's career as a photojournalist―under Jim's special tutelage, of course―had already taken off spectacularly. Between his work at the Planet and Donna's consulting for both the League and the Birds of Prey, they'd be set, really. And God knew they'd never hurt for babysitters.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Lois chuckled to herself. The two had only really been dating for about two months, and here Lois was trying to marry them off and demand grandchildren. Maybe she was getting senile in her old age.
Not that forty-nine was old, she told herself resolutely. She still had two teenagers to worry about, after all. Well, four, really, with both Kon, Clark's much younger partial-clone, still living with them, and Kara, Clark's recently-arrived young cousin, now in the house; no alternatives with the farmhouse empty these three years. BJ, at least, was a handful and a half, what with his discovery that he could be just as much a hero without flight, speeding around the world with his best friend, Bart, the Teen Titan's Kid Flash, on a regular basis. And God knew Kara and Lara kept her on her toes constantly, both sixteen and practically twins, if not in hair color or by birth.
No wonder Lois had streaks of gray coming in around her temples already.
“We're getting old, aren't we?” she said absently, her self-assertion already forgotten as she continued to stare at the group of Titans gathered around the one table, her plate long empty and her drink mostly drained, rolling the bottle between her fingers and thumb.
“What?” Clark asked beside her. “Where's this coming from all of a sudden?”
She glanced to catch his look of disbelief, and sighed, shaking her head. “Sorry, just caught up in my ridiculous observations about our kids and my hair. There's a direct correlation there, I think.”
“Your hair's beautiful,” he insisted, looking more serious.
“Says the man with nary a gray hair on him,” she shot back with a raised eyebrow.
Clark lifted a hand in mock-surrender. “It's the sunlight, I swear.”
At that, Lois couldn't help a laugh, her maudlin mood lifting just like that at her husband's unique brand of humor. “Touché, hero,” she said, and curling a hand around the nape of his neck, she pulled him close for a quick kiss. “Now, I believe you promised me a campfire and some s'mores.”
“But the sun hasn't even set yet!” he grinned back, kissing her again.
“Spoilsport.”
~*~*~
Much later in the day, with only an hour and a half left until the heroes' shift change―Clark, Bruce, and Diana exempted, since this was the only real vacation they ever allowed themselves―and with the sun finally angling past the horizon of the tree tops, Lois supervised the preparation of s'mores ingredients while some of the second generation of Titans finished constructing the campfire and collecting other necessities. Mia, Roy's successor as Teen Titan archer, and Lara had gathered sticks for the marshmallows and broken them just so to give them sharp enough points at one end, passing them around to make sure everyone had one, while several of the boys were busy at the fire pit.
Opening another bag of marshmallows at one of the picnic tables, her back to the group, Lois nearly jumped at the loud whoosh of the sudden ignition of fire behind her. But her adrenaline-fueled startle morphed immediately into her mama-bear version of Mad Dog Lane, and she whirled immediately, hands going right to her hips. “Who did it?” she growled, brow furrowed.
Kon and BJ straightened from where they were poking at the fire with long sticks, eyes wide in an instant, and silence fell over the campground, snickers and conversations stopping mid-breath. Rather than call each other out, the two boys―never mind that Kon seemed physically about twenty-two and BJ was nearly two years ahead in school at fifteen, they were still boys―muttered, “Sorry, Mom,” in dejected unison.
Without even blinking, Lois set in on them, nodding as she wound herself up. “That's what I thought. You know the rules. No powers at the campground, unless instructed to use them. Now put out the fire, the quick way, and start it again, the right way.”
“Yes, ma'am,” they chorused.
In another moment the fire was out, doused by a flash-blast of cold-breath from both boys, and in the dimming light of dusk, a murmur of discontent rippled around the group as it became clear that the s'mores would be significantly delayed.
“You have the two of them to blame,” Lois shot over her shoulder as she turned back to opening bags of marshmallows and unwrapping Hershey's bars, her ire settling after a moment. If there was anything her father had managed to teach her, beyond self-reliance, it was to not half-ass things. And that was a hard lesson for a lot of these kids to learn, with all their abilities making life too easy. If only she could find a way to turn all those powers off for a week, then sic Bruce on them, maybe they'd finally get the message.
A soft touch on her elbow jolted her out of her thoughts more thoroughly this time, and she sucked in a breath and straightened as she turned to find Diana next to her, the Amazon clad in worn jeans and a long-sleeved tee, looking suitably impressed.
“Don't do that,” Lois huffed, raising an eyebrow and leveling a finger at the taller woman. Clearly, Perry had influenced her more than she knew; God, she missed that man.
“My apologies, Lois,” Diana said, smiling softly as she sat down and started opening boxes of graham crackers, Lois sitting across from her. “I wanted to tell you I admire your way with the boys. This generation of Titans does not seem quite as... disciplined as their elder brothers and sisters were at that age. They need a firm hand such as yours.”
Letting out a breathy laugh and ignoring the unintended backhanded compliment on her parenting skills, the younger woman shook her head. “You read my mind. What they need is a good kick in the pants. A little boot camp might do them some good.”
Diana looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, then said, “If it were permitted, we might take them to Themyscira for a few weeks and train them properly against real warriors. But I doubt my sisters would let the boys set foot on the island.”
Now there was an idea! Lois tapped an unopened bar of chocolate against her chin as she worked out a plan. “You know... maybe we could recruit Zee to give us a hand restricting their powers, and put them through a little training right here, show them what they're really up against. Maybe in August, when it'll be unbearably hot and sticky,” she finished with a twisted smirk. If anyone could take the kids' powers away for a few days, it would definitely be Zatanna, the League's resident magician, against whose spell craft the Kryptonian set were completely defenseless. And a few days feeling the hottest, most uncomfortable weather of the year could be a humbling experience.
A wide, wicked grin met her in return. “I like the way you think, Lois. I'm sure Zatanna would be glad to help.”
“What's this about training the kids?” came a male voice, and both women looked up as Clark, Bruce, Steve, and Hal joined them, all settling around the table. Clark sat by Lois's side, sliding up close with Bruce sitting on his left, while Steve, the League's military liaison and Diana's longtime boyfriend, sat by the Amazon, the blonde man kissing Diana on the temple, and Hal, still the League's Green Lantern, despite others taking up the ring, sat to Steve's right. Naturally, it was Bruce that had spoken, and there was already a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
“Boot camp,” Lois smirked, pointing at him with the still-unopened chocolate bar. “No powers, heat of the summer, three weeks of grueling training. Whaddya think?”
“I think Tim and Mia would enjoy putting the rest of the team through their paces.”
A quiet roll of laughter rounded the table; as Batman's current Robin, Tim was the only younger Titan with no powers besides Mia, so of course, they were well ahead of their peers in the training department.
“They could use a little exercise in team-cohesiveness, too,” Clark added after a moment, absently putting together s'mores ingredients as Lois passed them down the table to recruit all the men into helping out. “I mean, Tim's a great leader, but this is a whole different group than the first generation. And with our kids all on the team, it's a whole different dynamic. A lot more Kryptonian force than varied powers now, so delegation seems to be an issue.”
Heads nodded around the table with murmurs of agreement as everyone pitched in to help put together the chocolate and graham crackers, and after a few moments the conversation turned to other topics, Lois no longer paying too close attention as Hal, Steve, and Bruce discussed flight training and the merits of learning on the League's Javelin craft versus the traditional fighters that both Hal and Steve loved so well.
Checking over her shoulder, she glanced at the boys as they worked on the campfire. Nope, still no flames. It would probably still be a while yet, but at least the rest of the kids and the little ones had the evening fireflies to entertain them in the mean time. Focusing back on the group around the table, she popped a square of chocolate into her mouth and wondered if it was sheer numbers that was the problem. A decade ago, her generation wasn't responsible for nearly as many people. Maybe they'd stretched themselves too thin, between all the kids, the teams, and saving the world on a regular basis.
But then a squeal of delight rose above the controlled chaos of the evening, and she looked up to glimpse Roy and Dick swinging Lian between them out in the clearing, the little girl giggling and grinning and so happy, and Lois's question was answered. With the first group of Titans already taking up the slack, there was plenty of room for their community―family―to grow. It was just a matter of coordination.
And they were all more than capable of coordination, judging by the sudden applause and cheers that erupted as the fire was finally lit properly.
Laughing despite herself, Lois shook her head absently, and looked up again as BJ and Bart trotted up to her, thankfully at a normal speed, her youngest looking sheepish, and as always, so much like his father it hurt.
“I'm sorry about the fire, Mom,” he apologized again. “It was stupid.”
Lois smiled at him beatifically. “Forgiven,” she said as he leaned down to hug her, and then added for emphasis, “but use your brain next time!”
BJ laughed and grinned, straightening again. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You're welcome. Now, you gonna make some s'mores, or what? We've got enough to feed an army here.”
“I think we're gonna skip the s'mores for now. Consider it my punishment.”
Lois gaped way up at her son, the boy already tall for his age. “Who are you and what have you done with my kid?”
Another laugh, and BJ glanced at Bart briefly. “Um, Bart and I were just gonna go take a walk, if that's all right.”
“It's getting dark,” Lois cautioned warily.
“I can see, Mom,” BJ replied. “Please?”
“Hmm... all right, I suppose you can go,” she relented after a moment's consideration. They were half-way grown, after all, and Teen Titans, to boot.
“No speeding,” Clark piped up from Lois's left, his arm snaking around her waist to add to his support of her authority on the matter.
“No speed, Mister Kent, I swear,” Bart promised, crossing his chest with a big 'X'.
Eying the boys, Lois added, “Take a flashlight, anyway,” to which Bart held up his large Mag Lite and grinned. “And watch out for bears. And don't get lost! Well, if you do, yell; I'm sure somebody'll hear you.”
Nodding and agreeing with smiles plastered on their faces, the two boys set off for the short hiking trail leading off of the far side of the clearing, and―
Lois wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it. Her attention squarely on the boys, she watched them heading across the clearing, hands clasped between them tightly and the same looks passing between them as she'd seen on Jason and Donna earlier, except more mischievous.
Well, then! She supposed she didn't have to worry about any surprise grandkids from her youngest, barring seductive villainesses. Hopefully.
Elbowing Clark, she directed his attention to BJ and Bart with a jerk of her head, and watched his jaw fall open as the sight registered.
“Huh,” he said after the boys had disappeared into the trees. “I, um, guess that's not really all that surprising, all things considered. I mean, they've been practically inseparable for a while now, so....” he trailed off, his cheeks starting to redden.
The irony didn't escape Lois, or anyone else, it seemed, that Bruce and Clark had been at least as close as the two boys were for going on two decades now, were closer than friends, partners, or brothers, even if nothing would have ever come of it, and she chuckled quietly as they both blushed all the way up to their ears, the rest of the group snickering around them. All those years of public speculation about Superman and Batman was amusing, at the very least, and it wasn't like either she or Clark could really say anything about each other where their friend was concerned.
Shaking his head then, Clark coughed oh-so-subtly and continued, steering them back on-topic, “Anyway, I'm just glad Lara hasn't really started dating. I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet.”
At that, the entire group turned their heads to find Lara, Kara, and Mia all sitting side-by-side in their camp chairs close to the fire, drinking Cokes and carrying on like any other normal sixteen-year-old girls, and Lois and Clark let out matching heavy breaths of relief as laughter bubbled up around the table.
“Me, neither, Clark,” Lois sighed, turning back and reaching up to brush her husband's hair back from over his eyes, firelight dancing in forever-young brilliant blue, and she pressed her lips firmly to his for a quick kiss. “Me, neither.”
“All right, who wants s'mores?” Bruce shouted over their mushy little moment, and as the table was instantly swarmed, Lois simply smiled and laughed, snuggling into her husband's arms and enjoying the feeling of having her family, as many of them as they could get in one place at the same time, all around her. Old or not, ready or not, she had them, and she loved them all, come what may.
~*~*~
Fandom: DCU/Superman Returns
Characters/Pairings: Clark/Lois, Dick/Roy, Wally/Linda, Bruce/Selina, Diana/Steve, lots of other Leaguers and Titans, and two surprise pairings!
Rating: PG
Word Count: 3,766
Prompt: For 12days_of_clois: S'mores; For the 2009 DCU Free For All Summer Challenge: S'mores, Camp Fire
Summary: Some ten years after the events of Awaiting the Ghost of Christmas Past and Lost Time, Lois contemplates her ever-growing extended family at the Sixth Annual League/Titans Camping Trip. Slice-of-life fluff, no real plot. :p
Disclaimer: DC and WB own it all. I own nothing. Darnit!
Author's Notes: This far in the future of the Aftermath-verse, it really becomes a thorough melding of the SR world and the comics world. If you still need a chart to keep up with all the Titans, I will happily provide one. Conversely, my apologies to those of you on the comics side of fandom for the excessive exposition. :p For visualization purposes, I see grown-up Jason as Jared Padalecki, and Bruce Jonathan and Bart as young Clark and Bart from Smallville. Also, written for bradygirl_12's 2009 DCU Fic/Art Cast of Thousands Challenge.
Come What May
Sitting back in her camp chair and slipping her old-fashioned Coke bottle into the armrest cup holder, Lois surveyed the beautiful chaos of the gathering around her. Three generations of heroes, from her own age group right down to Bruce and Selina's pride and joy, little two-year-old Helena, all together again for the Sixth Annual League/Titans Camping Trip at Bruce's fifty-two-acre summer spot in upstate New York. No powers, no costumes, no code names, just family, food, and fun and relaxation in the great outdoors. And this was no small get-together, by any means. In addition to the Wayne family cabin, there were three smaller cabins that Bruce had had built―one set aside for Lois and Clark, of course, as one of the few couples with seniority in the extended family―and a whole slew of tents of varying sizes and shapes spread out over the landscape, some in the clearing and some tucked just back under the trees. In the middle of it all was the partially-shaded cookout area, complete with a fire pit, picnic tables, camp chairs, and the massive built-in grill, made to Alfred's specifications, of course.
All that considered, with not one, but three hero teams that needed to be wrangled and coordinated, it was practically unbelievable that they all managed to pull together these gatherings with any sort of regular schedule.
Well, no. Since it was all mostly Bruce and Alfred's doing, yes, it could be believed. After everything those two had done for her and Clark over the years, anything seemed possible.
“Your hot dog, madame,” Clark pulled her out of her reverie with a proffered paper plate, loaded with the usual cookout food: hot dog, baked beans, potato salad, cucumbers and tomatoes, and Watergate salad for a light dessert.
Accepting the plate with a soft laugh and a tilt of her head, Lois quipped, “Took you long enough. I was starting to think someone had gone over the falls again.”
“Ha ha,” her husband shot back, not really hiding his smile as he dropped into a camp chair to her left and balanced his plate on his knee to open his own bottled Coke with a twist and a hiss of released carbonation. “You're never gonna let that go, are you?”
Lois grinned at him sideways. “Nope,” she said before digging into her hot dog. Damn, but it was delicious, with all the fixings just like she liked them, and she couldn't help a groan of pure bliss. “Alfred on the grill?” she mumbled around the bite.
“Nope, Ollie is.”
Nearly choking, Lois turned to Clark, eyes wide as she managed to swallow the bite, then glanced behind them at the grill area to see the League's elder archer flipping a burger a good three feet into the air. It was common knowledge that Ollie tended to spice things up entirely too much, since his specialty at these gatherings was his secret-recipe five-alarm chili. That, and his tendency to go a little crazy once he had a spatula in hand, were enough to make anyone nervous.
Clark laughed beside her. “Relax, honey. I grilled this batch.”
Lois took a long, deep breath and eyed him again. “Don't scare me like that.”
“Sorry, beautiful,” her husband said, still snickering, before leaning over to drop a kiss on her nose.
“Well, you should be. I almost choked half to death!”
“I know the Heimlich,” he said matter-of-factly, and there was that lopsided smile Lois had loved since, well, forever.
“Hmph,” she scowled back halfheartedly, digging into her food again, and they settled into a comfortable silence, enjoying the picnic fare and watching all the kids as some of them played games out in the clearing and some took their turn to eat at the picnic tables and in the other camp chairs scattered around the empty fire-pit just under the shade of the trees.
Most of the first generation of Teen Titans―now simply Titans, to set themselves apart― had gathered around one table, gravitating toward one another as usual. Little raven-haired Lian, tucked between her father and Dick, was happily devouring a hot dog while her parents chatted with the group and dug into their own food. Lois still couldn't get over the fact that Roy, once Speedy and now Red Arrow, had a seven-year-old, especially one that so closely resembled her villainous mother, and that Dick, long since graduated from Robin to Nightwing, had become her 'Papa' by default of his relationship with Roy. But she supposed it was a combination of Roy's genes and exposure to Dick's bright personality that made the little girl such a gem, and that the group's close-knit loyalty to each other had helped the little family through their greater-than-fair-share of tough spots.
Sitting close together opposite the trio were Jason and Donna, and Lois watched them with a wistful smile. Her eldest son, now going by Titan for simplicity's sake, had started officially dating Diana's not-so-little sister, the first Wonder Girl and now openly Donna Troy to the world, just a few months ago, and the pair looked every bit the new couple they were, eating slowly and making eyes at each other. She wondered offhand whether she and Clark had ever looked like that, and laughed to herself at their seeming naiveté. Even in their mid-twenties now, they seemed too cute for words together. It was refreshing, in a way.
Glancing past the lovebirds, Lois noted the other small family that rounded out the core of the group. With Wally, now the second Flash, his wife, Linda, and their little twin speedster hellions, Jai and Iris, perched around the far end of the table, Lois couldn't help but think of the entire group as an extended family unto themselves. Three couples, with three kids between them already. And that wasn't even counting the other original Titans who were still on the first patrol shift. Starfire, Victor, Raven, and Gar were all looking after Titans Tower and the west coast for the day, both as the self-appointed stewards of the next generation of Teen Titans, and having elected to sit out the first day of the gathering. When the shift change finally came, it would be a madhouse around the campground, especially with the little ones having to see most of their parents off for the night.
And that thought reminded her so much of her own family's past that it almost hurt. So many nights when Clark hadn't come home, hadn't been able to, nights when she'd had to soothe her youngest two children, Lara and Bruce Jonathan, when all they wanted was Daddy to come home.
Lois could only be glad that Jason and Donna didn't seem too serious yet, and that their own offspring might still be far off; she wasn't sure she was ready to be a grandmother, not at her age, and especially not when her grandchildren might wind up with both Kryptonian and Amazonian abilities, and two perpetually on-call parents.
On the other hand, Jason was almost the same age now that she and Clark had been when she'd gotten pregnant for the first time, so it wasn't like she had room to talk. And besides, Jason's career as a photojournalist―under Jim's special tutelage, of course―had already taken off spectacularly. Between his work at the Planet and Donna's consulting for both the League and the Birds of Prey, they'd be set, really. And God knew they'd never hurt for babysitters.
Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Lois chuckled to herself. The two had only really been dating for about two months, and here Lois was trying to marry them off and demand grandchildren. Maybe she was getting senile in her old age.
Not that forty-nine was old, she told herself resolutely. She still had two teenagers to worry about, after all. Well, four, really, with both Kon, Clark's much younger partial-clone, still living with them, and Kara, Clark's recently-arrived young cousin, now in the house; no alternatives with the farmhouse empty these three years. BJ, at least, was a handful and a half, what with his discovery that he could be just as much a hero without flight, speeding around the world with his best friend, Bart, the Teen Titan's Kid Flash, on a regular basis. And God knew Kara and Lara kept her on her toes constantly, both sixteen and practically twins, if not in hair color or by birth.
No wonder Lois had streaks of gray coming in around her temples already.
“We're getting old, aren't we?” she said absently, her self-assertion already forgotten as she continued to stare at the group of Titans gathered around the one table, her plate long empty and her drink mostly drained, rolling the bottle between her fingers and thumb.
“What?” Clark asked beside her. “Where's this coming from all of a sudden?”
She glanced to catch his look of disbelief, and sighed, shaking her head. “Sorry, just caught up in my ridiculous observations about our kids and my hair. There's a direct correlation there, I think.”
“Your hair's beautiful,” he insisted, looking more serious.
“Says the man with nary a gray hair on him,” she shot back with a raised eyebrow.
Clark lifted a hand in mock-surrender. “It's the sunlight, I swear.”
At that, Lois couldn't help a laugh, her maudlin mood lifting just like that at her husband's unique brand of humor. “Touché, hero,” she said, and curling a hand around the nape of his neck, she pulled him close for a quick kiss. “Now, I believe you promised me a campfire and some s'mores.”
“But the sun hasn't even set yet!” he grinned back, kissing her again.
“Spoilsport.”
~*~*~
Much later in the day, with only an hour and a half left until the heroes' shift change―Clark, Bruce, and Diana exempted, since this was the only real vacation they ever allowed themselves―and with the sun finally angling past the horizon of the tree tops, Lois supervised the preparation of s'mores ingredients while some of the second generation of Titans finished constructing the campfire and collecting other necessities. Mia, Roy's successor as Teen Titan archer, and Lara had gathered sticks for the marshmallows and broken them just so to give them sharp enough points at one end, passing them around to make sure everyone had one, while several of the boys were busy at the fire pit.
Opening another bag of marshmallows at one of the picnic tables, her back to the group, Lois nearly jumped at the loud whoosh of the sudden ignition of fire behind her. But her adrenaline-fueled startle morphed immediately into her mama-bear version of Mad Dog Lane, and she whirled immediately, hands going right to her hips. “Who did it?” she growled, brow furrowed.
Kon and BJ straightened from where they were poking at the fire with long sticks, eyes wide in an instant, and silence fell over the campground, snickers and conversations stopping mid-breath. Rather than call each other out, the two boys―never mind that Kon seemed physically about twenty-two and BJ was nearly two years ahead in school at fifteen, they were still boys―muttered, “Sorry, Mom,” in dejected unison.
Without even blinking, Lois set in on them, nodding as she wound herself up. “That's what I thought. You know the rules. No powers at the campground, unless instructed to use them. Now put out the fire, the quick way, and start it again, the right way.”
“Yes, ma'am,” they chorused.
In another moment the fire was out, doused by a flash-blast of cold-breath from both boys, and in the dimming light of dusk, a murmur of discontent rippled around the group as it became clear that the s'mores would be significantly delayed.
“You have the two of them to blame,” Lois shot over her shoulder as she turned back to opening bags of marshmallows and unwrapping Hershey's bars, her ire settling after a moment. If there was anything her father had managed to teach her, beyond self-reliance, it was to not half-ass things. And that was a hard lesson for a lot of these kids to learn, with all their abilities making life too easy. If only she could find a way to turn all those powers off for a week, then sic Bruce on them, maybe they'd finally get the message.
A soft touch on her elbow jolted her out of her thoughts more thoroughly this time, and she sucked in a breath and straightened as she turned to find Diana next to her, the Amazon clad in worn jeans and a long-sleeved tee, looking suitably impressed.
“Don't do that,” Lois huffed, raising an eyebrow and leveling a finger at the taller woman. Clearly, Perry had influenced her more than she knew; God, she missed that man.
“My apologies, Lois,” Diana said, smiling softly as she sat down and started opening boxes of graham crackers, Lois sitting across from her. “I wanted to tell you I admire your way with the boys. This generation of Titans does not seem quite as... disciplined as their elder brothers and sisters were at that age. They need a firm hand such as yours.”
Letting out a breathy laugh and ignoring the unintended backhanded compliment on her parenting skills, the younger woman shook her head. “You read my mind. What they need is a good kick in the pants. A little boot camp might do them some good.”
Diana looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, then said, “If it were permitted, we might take them to Themyscira for a few weeks and train them properly against real warriors. But I doubt my sisters would let the boys set foot on the island.”
Now there was an idea! Lois tapped an unopened bar of chocolate against her chin as she worked out a plan. “You know... maybe we could recruit Zee to give us a hand restricting their powers, and put them through a little training right here, show them what they're really up against. Maybe in August, when it'll be unbearably hot and sticky,” she finished with a twisted smirk. If anyone could take the kids' powers away for a few days, it would definitely be Zatanna, the League's resident magician, against whose spell craft the Kryptonian set were completely defenseless. And a few days feeling the hottest, most uncomfortable weather of the year could be a humbling experience.
A wide, wicked grin met her in return. “I like the way you think, Lois. I'm sure Zatanna would be glad to help.”
“What's this about training the kids?” came a male voice, and both women looked up as Clark, Bruce, Steve, and Hal joined them, all settling around the table. Clark sat by Lois's side, sliding up close with Bruce sitting on his left, while Steve, the League's military liaison and Diana's longtime boyfriend, sat by the Amazon, the blonde man kissing Diana on the temple, and Hal, still the League's Green Lantern, despite others taking up the ring, sat to Steve's right. Naturally, it was Bruce that had spoken, and there was already a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
“Boot camp,” Lois smirked, pointing at him with the still-unopened chocolate bar. “No powers, heat of the summer, three weeks of grueling training. Whaddya think?”
“I think Tim and Mia would enjoy putting the rest of the team through their paces.”
A quiet roll of laughter rounded the table; as Batman's current Robin, Tim was the only younger Titan with no powers besides Mia, so of course, they were well ahead of their peers in the training department.
“They could use a little exercise in team-cohesiveness, too,” Clark added after a moment, absently putting together s'mores ingredients as Lois passed them down the table to recruit all the men into helping out. “I mean, Tim's a great leader, but this is a whole different group than the first generation. And with our kids all on the team, it's a whole different dynamic. A lot more Kryptonian force than varied powers now, so delegation seems to be an issue.”
Heads nodded around the table with murmurs of agreement as everyone pitched in to help put together the chocolate and graham crackers, and after a few moments the conversation turned to other topics, Lois no longer paying too close attention as Hal, Steve, and Bruce discussed flight training and the merits of learning on the League's Javelin craft versus the traditional fighters that both Hal and Steve loved so well.
Checking over her shoulder, she glanced at the boys as they worked on the campfire. Nope, still no flames. It would probably still be a while yet, but at least the rest of the kids and the little ones had the evening fireflies to entertain them in the mean time. Focusing back on the group around the table, she popped a square of chocolate into her mouth and wondered if it was sheer numbers that was the problem. A decade ago, her generation wasn't responsible for nearly as many people. Maybe they'd stretched themselves too thin, between all the kids, the teams, and saving the world on a regular basis.
But then a squeal of delight rose above the controlled chaos of the evening, and she looked up to glimpse Roy and Dick swinging Lian between them out in the clearing, the little girl giggling and grinning and so happy, and Lois's question was answered. With the first group of Titans already taking up the slack, there was plenty of room for their community―family―to grow. It was just a matter of coordination.
And they were all more than capable of coordination, judging by the sudden applause and cheers that erupted as the fire was finally lit properly.
Laughing despite herself, Lois shook her head absently, and looked up again as BJ and Bart trotted up to her, thankfully at a normal speed, her youngest looking sheepish, and as always, so much like his father it hurt.
“I'm sorry about the fire, Mom,” he apologized again. “It was stupid.”
Lois smiled at him beatifically. “Forgiven,” she said as he leaned down to hug her, and then added for emphasis, “but use your brain next time!”
BJ laughed and grinned, straightening again. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You're welcome. Now, you gonna make some s'mores, or what? We've got enough to feed an army here.”
“I think we're gonna skip the s'mores for now. Consider it my punishment.”
Lois gaped way up at her son, the boy already tall for his age. “Who are you and what have you done with my kid?”
Another laugh, and BJ glanced at Bart briefly. “Um, Bart and I were just gonna go take a walk, if that's all right.”
“It's getting dark,” Lois cautioned warily.
“I can see, Mom,” BJ replied. “Please?”
“Hmm... all right, I suppose you can go,” she relented after a moment's consideration. They were half-way grown, after all, and Teen Titans, to boot.
“No speeding,” Clark piped up from Lois's left, his arm snaking around her waist to add to his support of her authority on the matter.
“No speed, Mister Kent, I swear,” Bart promised, crossing his chest with a big 'X'.
Eying the boys, Lois added, “Take a flashlight, anyway,” to which Bart held up his large Mag Lite and grinned. “And watch out for bears. And don't get lost! Well, if you do, yell; I'm sure somebody'll hear you.”
Nodding and agreeing with smiles plastered on their faces, the two boys set off for the short hiking trail leading off of the far side of the clearing, and―
Lois wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it. Her attention squarely on the boys, she watched them heading across the clearing, hands clasped between them tightly and the same looks passing between them as she'd seen on Jason and Donna earlier, except more mischievous.
Well, then! She supposed she didn't have to worry about any surprise grandkids from her youngest, barring seductive villainesses. Hopefully.
Elbowing Clark, she directed his attention to BJ and Bart with a jerk of her head, and watched his jaw fall open as the sight registered.
“Huh,” he said after the boys had disappeared into the trees. “I, um, guess that's not really all that surprising, all things considered. I mean, they've been practically inseparable for a while now, so....” he trailed off, his cheeks starting to redden.
The irony didn't escape Lois, or anyone else, it seemed, that Bruce and Clark had been at least as close as the two boys were for going on two decades now, were closer than friends, partners, or brothers, even if nothing would have ever come of it, and she chuckled quietly as they both blushed all the way up to their ears, the rest of the group snickering around them. All those years of public speculation about Superman and Batman was amusing, at the very least, and it wasn't like either she or Clark could really say anything about each other where their friend was concerned.
Shaking his head then, Clark coughed oh-so-subtly and continued, steering them back on-topic, “Anyway, I'm just glad Lara hasn't really started dating. I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet.”
At that, the entire group turned their heads to find Lara, Kara, and Mia all sitting side-by-side in their camp chairs close to the fire, drinking Cokes and carrying on like any other normal sixteen-year-old girls, and Lois and Clark let out matching heavy breaths of relief as laughter bubbled up around the table.
“Me, neither, Clark,” Lois sighed, turning back and reaching up to brush her husband's hair back from over his eyes, firelight dancing in forever-young brilliant blue, and she pressed her lips firmly to his for a quick kiss. “Me, neither.”
“All right, who wants s'mores?” Bruce shouted over their mushy little moment, and as the table was instantly swarmed, Lois simply smiled and laughed, snuggling into her husband's arms and enjoying the feeling of having her family, as many of them as they could get in one place at the same time, all around her. Old or not, ready or not, she had them, and she loved them all, come what may.
~*~*~