It Worked. Lois Lane Is Pregnant.

The minutes ticked by. Lois Lane watched the dome of her swollen stomach slowly shrink. Lex Luthor watched her bare abdomen with serene patience or expectation...and Lois, still hazy from the anesthetics, resisted the urge to touch it. She could see the livid mark of the incision, the stitches so small that she couldn't see the individual threads, but she couldn't really feel it yet.

"Your weight has stabilized," Luthor said, after a few minutes. "Stomach distension appears to have ceased changing."

Lois blinked, and realized that her dome of a stomach had stopped shrinking. It was like a potbelly now...or perhaps like a woman at the end of the first trimester.

The bald scientist stepped forward and grabbed a white, plastic, wand-like device. A screen snapped into life, and Lois realized it was an ultrasound wand...

...and transvaginal ultrasound wand.

"Your belly is still sensitive. Touching it right now might do inadvertent damage. You've just been through major surgery," Lex said, almost absently.

The reporter couldn't even protest as Lex Luthor's hands dipped down between her legs...and then the stiff, pre-lubed wand slid past her labia. Luthor's focus was entirely on the screen, and the only sounds were the chirps of the equipment that Lois was connected to, monitoring her heart rate and blood pressure. She found herself focused on the screen too. Black and white images resolved themselves into weird, half-familiar shapes...and then.

Then, a figure showed on screen. Characteristic, with the swollen head and tiny body, curled into a fetal position.

"No signs of continued age regression. Placenta has formed...anatomical development is equivalent to about 12 weeks along...too soon to tell gender, but the pregnancy is stable," for the first time, Lex Luthor's face broke into a triumphant grin. "I've done it!"

Lois Lane let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. She was pregnant. The baby...Maria...was safe.

Then Lex Luthor's grin dropped. His brow furrowed, the green eyes fever-bright for a moment. Lois winced as she felt the rod move around inside of her.

"That's odd..." he said.