Chapter 15 by Zeebop

What Does Lois Do Now?

Lois Freaks Out

"Oh fuck," the reporter whispered. "Motherfuck. I'm going to be a fucking mother."

Lois Lane took several deep breaths, trying not to hyperventilate. She could feel the acid edge of panic cut in, her motions jittery as she pulled up her pants. The **** Rat wasn't even spared a passing glance.

"I can get an abortion. Plan B." Lois told herself out loud. "I mean hell, it's the twenty-first century and a quarter of all pregnancies miscarry. Odds are I just...I..."

She stared accusingly at her belly button. There was nothing to see there, a perfectly flat stomach, trim and fit. Yet somewhere deep inside...she could picture the little clump of cells dividing and dividing and growing.

"...I'm fucked," she said, fighting back tears. "I'm not going to miscarry and I won't be able to bring myself to abort it and I'm going to be Rosemary from Rosemary's Baby except I'm going to be Murphy Brown-ing it and everybody is going to call me a slut and I'm going to get fat and I'll get stretch marks and..."

Lois let herself go on in this vein for a couple of minutes. It was cathartic to get it out, and there was no-one else around to hear. Better to freak out now, when there was no harm in it.

She started to cry, big fat tears rolling down her cheeks, warm rivulets that soaked into her shirt. That made her think of how her breasts were going to get swollen and vein-y, and the nipples would darken like her mother's had when she had been pregnant with her sister Lucy.

The reporter sniffed and smiled.

"Maybe I'll finally get mom's rack." Her voice felt cracked and brittle...but there was an edge of humor there. The corner had turned.

After all, it wasn't so bad. No baby daddy to worry about, and Lois had always kind of wanted kids. Sure, the little demonspawn would be evil, but if Lois raised her right she could be a superhero. Probably any hope of a future with Superman was long gone, but she didn't need a man anyway.

And it would be nice to have some tits for a change.

Lois wiped her eyes. She felt better. Okay. So she was pregnant. She was still the Daily Planet's greatest reporter.

"And there are four missing women that need my help," she said. "Time to find them."