Clark & Lois – When Worlds and Universes Collide - Matchmaker Chronicles V 8 34/36
By KenJ <ken.janney@kjanney.com>
This version is rated PG-13
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 – Canon Lois and Clark universe also called – Prime
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -124 – Alternate Prime - Lori and Clark
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 – Alt 1, Alt Clark and Kryptonian Lois – (Alt 1 )
Alpha -120 x Gamma 255 x Tau -190 – Alt 2 Kryptonian Lois' home universe.
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 040 – Alt 1 alternate (Alt 3) Alt Lois and Alt Clark
Previously
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Universal Locator Designation
Alpha -120 x Gamma 255 x Tau -190 – Alt2
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"You got it, Chief! We'll get you the lead story in a bit. There's a lot more to come. Just wait."
Perry was dry washing his hand in glee as they left the office.
Lois said, “Let’s go into the conference room.” Once inside she said, “Thanks, Zara. You really didn’t need to do that, but it’ll help.”
“It was the least that I could do. Your help was invaluable in this. What your friend Herb did was amazing. If he hadn’t brought in all of that extra help, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“I can tell you just what would have happened. You’d be looking at a marriage that you didn’t want and we would possibly have died along with the kids.”
That evening the lead story carried a Lane and Kent byline.
The next morning the first in depth story hit the paper and later in the afternoon Perry called everyone together in the bullpen while he stood at the top of the ramp and read the article, in its entirety to the staff. It finished up with:
"And so the fate of two worlds hung in the balance. Not only that of New Krypton, but Earth as well would be decided based upon the outcome of the conflict conducted according to the customs of New Krypton. In the end it was the honorable conduct and character of Superwoman and Superman that proved to be the deciding factor. Their maintaining of the traditions of New Krypton when their opponents were willing to violate those sacred traditions caused the ruling Council of Elders to decide in their favor and award them the victory. Their opponents have been duly tried for their transgressions and appropriate punishments assigned.”
“Those who visited temporarily have at this time returned to their homes.”
“The people of Earth need fear no longer that they will be subjected to a tyrannical rule by people from New Krypton.”
“The people of New Krypton wish to establish full diplomatic relations with the people of Earth and will use the Superman/Superwoman Foundation as the intermediary. The trade which they wish to establish will benefit both planets and could be the means of moving this planet ahead technologically while we will provide commodities which they sorely need.”
“The new rulers of New Krypton,” here Perry interrupted his reading, “You’ all don’t know it, but our very own Sara is now one of those rulers. She’s like the queen of New Krypton and she says that they wish to express their regrets for what happened here and promise that in the future, if there is a need, their people will be ready to assist us if circumstances require it. They will provide auxiliaries to assist Superwoman and Superman as needed thereby adding to the peace and security of this planet."
Perry lowered the paper and said, "That article has the famous Lois and Clark touch. I can foresee another Kerth nomination. Do you two have anything to say?"
Lois stepped up next to Perry and said, "We owe it all to Sara. She approached us and asked us to be the journalists on this story. What can I say? She liked our work!"
Perry added, "And our circulation has almost doubled.". He turned to Lois and asked, "You are going to be doing follow-ups aren't you?"
Lois replied, "Of course we will. We will have interviews with the new ambassador and his staff. We will have pieces that will make Arnie in travel jealous. I don't think Steve in sports has anything to worry about though."
Perry wrapped it up with, "Okay, people. Show's over. We still have a paper to get out. Frank, I still need that piece on the mayor's press conference."
"Coming right up."
" Ralph, where's that piece on the boat show?"
"The boat show was cancelled because the venue had a fire created by one of those people from New Krypton.”
Perry was incredulous and he sputtered out, “You didn’t think that was newsworthy?”
Abashed, Ralph replied, “I'll get right on it."
“You’d better do more than that!” Perry replied as he watched Ralph turn away and scurry in the direction of his desk.
People hurried back to their desks. Clark sat on the corner of Lois' desk and said, "What say we pick up Carrie from day care and head home. We have another member of the family I have missed all day."
"Sounds like a good idea to me. Let's go." Lois picked up her bag as she stood and they headed for the stairwell.
And now -
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Chapter 36 – Supergirl
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Universal Locator Designation
Alpha -120 x Gamma 255 x Tau -190 – Alt2
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Three weeks later
Lois and Clark were startled awake by the bed shaking under them. They both opened their eyes to see Carrie bouncing on the bed between them.
With a chuckle, Lois asked, “What do you think you are doing?”
“Come on, Mommy, it’s time to get up!”
Clark sat up quickly, grabbed Carrie and pulling her down, started tickling her. As he grabbed her she let out a squeal and then started laughing as he tickled her.
He stopped abruptly and she shouted, “More, Daddy!” So he started the tickling her again to her squeals of delight.
He stopped again and said, “That’s enough. I think we need to get up and ready to go.”
Lois reached for Carrie and gave her a hug as she said, “He’s right you know. Today we have a special treat. Penny is going with us and you will see her when you get to the day care after school. Won’t that be nice?”
“Yes! I miss her when it takes us so long to come home.”
“Well, then, let’s get ready. You need to go get dressed for school and we’ll get ready.”
“Okay, Mommy. I’ll go get dressed.” Suiting her actions to her words she jumped down off of her parent’s bed and scampered out of the room followed closely by Scrappy.
By this time they had developed a system and it followed the same pattern each day. While Lois fed Penny, Clark would get dressed and while he cleaned and changed the baby, Lois prepared for the day. The previous day had been Sunday and they had used their day off to move from Smallville to Metropolis so today they would be driving to work.
It was Lois’ turn to make breakfast. Lois had learned a lot from Martha about what a growing child needed in the way of nutrition so the days of a donut and coffee breakfast were long gone. When Carrie made it downstairs she found a small bowl of cereal, some fruit, scrambled eggs and bacon with a glass of milk. To set a good example they each had the same breakfast.
While they were eating Scrappy came in through his doggie door from taking care of his morning business and trotted over to his food bowl and water for his breakfast.
After breakfast Lois packed Carrie’s lunch while Clark put Penny into her car seat.
Carrie patted Scrappy on the head and said, “I’ll see you later. Be good.” He was wagging his tail the entire time.
Lois took Carrie’s free hand and asked, “Everyone ready to go?”
Carrie nodded enthusiastically and they headed out.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As they exited the elevator they were spotted by Jimmy. “Morning guys! Hey, what do you have there, CK?”
Lifting it he said, “Baby car seat.”
Jimmy started walking in the direction of Clark’s desk. “Why do you have that, CK?”
Clark smiled as he said, “Well, I don’t know, maybe it’s safer that way for carrying the baby.”
Jimmy had arrived next to Clark as he spluttered, “Baby? What baby?”
Clark threw back the blanket and revealed a sleeping Penny as he said, “This one.”
Jimmy was surprised, “Where did you get a baby?”
“Jimmy, do I really need to explain the birds and bees to you?”
“Wha .. no .. aw CK, I know that stuff, but Lois she wasn’t …”
“Remember Olive?”
“Yeah.”
“What did Olive look like?”
“Like she was pregnant … you mean she really was?!?!”
Lois said, “The light dawns!”
“But, you guys have been back for a while now.”
“Right, but what was happening?”
“The war between the superheroes and New Krypton.”
“Do you think we wanted to bring the baby into the middle of that? We left her with my parents in Smallville where we thought she would be safe.”
Just then Perry came out of his office. He spotted Lois and Clark and shouted, “Lois, Clark, my office, pronto!”
As they started to move toward him he saw the car seat in Clark’s hand and got a questioning look on his face. As they neared him he asked, “What is that?”
Rolling her eyes, Lois said, “It’s a baby car seat.” She turned around and shouted, “Hey, listen up, everybody!” Once she had the attention of the entire news room she said, “Here’s a news flash for all of you. What Clark is carrying is called a baby car seat. In this baby car seat is a baby. Her name is Penelope Ann Kent and she is ours! We got her in the usual way. Today is her first day here and we are going to enroll her in the day care program on the second floor. Does anyone have any questions?”
Someone shouted, “Is that why Olive looked pregnant?”
“Yes, Sherlock, that is why Olive looked pregnant. She was! Happy now?”
In a hushed tone, Ralph said, “I thought she looked bigger up top.”
Lois turned in his direction and giving him a withering stare said, “Yes, I am breastfeeding. Any other questions or comments?”
Silence answered her.
Lois turned on her heel and strode toward Perry’s office with Clark bringing up the rear carrying Penny.
Once in the office, Perry forgot all about what he had called them in for and said, “Let’s get a look at this little lady.”
Clark put the car seat on the corner of Perry’s desk and he took a close look. He commented, “Yep, she’s yours all right. It is surprising how much she looks like Carrie. Are you sure Carrie’s adopted? They really look like sisters.”
Thinking about Protector and Supergirl, Lois said, “You’d be surprised just how much they look alike. We want them to really be sisters. We are going to do everything we can to encourage that. I think we’ll succeed too.”
“Why did you guys keep her secret?”
“In a word. Luthor. We were involved in recapturing him and then we went right into the war and this is the first chance we’ve had to bring her in.”
“Well, while you go file the paperwork to get her registered in the day care, why don’t you leave her here and ol’ Uncle Perry’ll watch her.”
Lois laughed and said, “Okay, Chief, we’ll take you up on your offer. We’ll only be gone a short time.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When they returned Perry had his finger stuck in his mouth, sucking on it with a look of pain on his face.
Lois asked, “What happened?”
Perry removed his finger and said, “She has some grip! She woke up and I allowed her to grab my finger. When she squeezed it I saw stars.” In a more conspiratorial tone he said, “You guys are going to have to watch out about that. That kind of thing could give away a secret. Now, just forget I said anything, but remember what I said.”
Lois and Clark both had dumbfounded expression as the goggled at Perry. Lois sputtered, “Wha .. how? But uh.”
Clark was just as stunned but he was speechless.
Perry just said, “Look you two. I didn’t get this job because I could yodel. I’ve been around the block a few times. I’ve been an imbedded journalist and I’ve been an investigative reporter. That’s why I teamed you two up initially; I saw the promise of greatness in you as a team. I figured out who you were a while ago, but I also figured that if you wanted me to know you’d tell me yourselves. In this case, it was just too important to keep quiet any longer. You’re gonna need to be careful or she’ll give you away.”
“Clark replied, “Thanks for the heads up, Perry.” He looked at Lois and said, “Perhaps we could have mom knit her a pair of mittens to wear all of the time. We could say that it is to keep her from scratching her face with her fingernails. Really, we should have known something like this would happen after what we found out.” Turning to Perry he said, “We recently found out that she was born super powered. She should also be invulnerable so she can’t be hurt. I think there will be a time, in the future, when we won’t have to keep it a secret, but right now; there would be too many problems if our identities were known. For one thing, my parents would be in danger as would Lois’ parents and her sister.”
“Well, you can trust me to keep your secret.”
“We know Chief, and we appreciate it.” Turning to Lois he said, “I think we need to hold off on putting Penny in the day care until we take care of that.” Turning back to Perry he said, “Do you mind if we keep her on the news floor until we take care of that little item?”
“I got no problem with it, just watch out for Ralph. I wouldn’t let him get too close. He’s an idiot, but he might discover something by accident and with him you can’t tell what he would do with that kind of information.”
Lois picked up the car seat and said, “I think I will go to the ladies room and feed this little lady. See you in a few,” and walked out.
Clark turned to Perry and asked, “Okay, Chief, what gave us away?”
“Oh, nothing big, just a lot of little things that when I put them together the puzzle made a pretty picture.” As he was speaking Perry brought up his hands and like a photographer squared forefinger and thumb to form a frame which he moved around.
Changing the subject he asked, “So, what are you and Lois going to work on next?”
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Later that night
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Lois oversaw Carrie's nighttime prayers and tucked her in bed. She leaned down and kissed her goodnight and said, "Pleasant dreams little one. I'll see you in the morning."
She said, "G'night, Mommy," and half rolled over, hooked her arm over Scrappy's neck and closed her eyes.
Clark, holding Penny, had been watching from the doorway with a smile on his face. Lois joined him and they headed for their bedroom. Once there he placed Penny in her cradle and they started getting ready for bed.
Lois broke the silence, "There is something that we need to talk about."
"Oh? What would that be?"
"It has been several weeks now since they all left, but I really need to know ... where do I stand?"
Clark was totally mystified by this question. He asked, "What do you mean, where do you stand?"
Lois stood and looking down at her feet started pacing the room as she launched into full babble mode, "Where exactly do I stand, in your affections? I mean, suddenly here is the first Lois you ever met and by your own admission you were strongly attracted to her, I mean, how could you help it, being soul mates and all and then *your* Lois, the Lois that you were supposed to be with showed up. I saw how you reacted to her arrival. I'm sure there was an attraction there. Then Lori came in and as the next Lois, how could you help but be attracted to her. Where do I fit in, sloppy seconds?" She paused to take a breath and with chagrin said, "I'm babbling aren't I. I can't believe I'm babbling. I only do that when I'm nervous." She looked at Clark and asked, "I am babbling, aren't I?"
Clark had moved over and placed himself directly in her path and when she looked up and asked that question, there he was. He pulled her into his arms and said, "Like a brook. Where is all of this insecurity coming from? *You* are my wife. We have a family together. We have built a life together. We have, in the time we've been together saved each other more times than I care to count. I love you and that is the only thing that counts.". He thought for a few seconds before he spoke again, "Could this actually have anything to do with you and how you feel?" It would only be logical for Lois to have felt an attraction to the other Clarks as he had to Lois so he asked, "Did you feel an attraction to the other Clarks?"
Her cheeks flushed and he knew he was on the right track. "You did, didn't you? Come on, you can be honest with me. You were attracted to the other Clarks, weren't you?"
In a shy, embarrassed tone she replied, "Well, yeah, sort of."
He smiled and kissed her forehead before saying, "Lois, Lois, Lois. It's nothing to be ashamed about. Look, I admit that I felt the attraction to Lois, it was still there, but what we have is so much more! Yes, I was shaken when *she* showed up, but I got over it quickly. Fortunately, the other Lois showed up first. I had been with her and her Clark a couple of times. I already knew what their relationship was like and frankly I envied them. Now I know what they have ... because I have it with you. She had told me that I could not replace him in her affections. She told me that the first time we met and that was before they were married. The attraction was still there and it was so confusing, when he was trapped in the time bubble, we almost kissed. She was missing her husband and there I was, his duplicate, and me without a Lois. But, that was then and this is now and no one can replace you in my affections just as I hope none of the other Clarks could replace me." He stopped for a few seconds before he began again, "I know what you are going to say next ... 'But, you did. You replaced *my* Clark when he was killed.' Yes, I know, but that was a special situation. We had, both of us had, lost our soul mates. We felt that bond break when they died and then, from the moment we met we were connected by that same bond and it has only grown stronger the longer we have been together. So to answer your question, you stand at the top, but there are two little girls that are running close seconds." He paused again before he continued, "Want to know a little secret?"
Lois brightened up; she always liked to be let in on secrets so she nodded enthusiastically.
"That was one of the reasons I suggested that we pair up as couples and fight that way."
"So, you didn't trust yourself?"
He chuckled, "No, well, maybe ... a little, but just a little. No, there was actually a good reason, other than that, for that suggestion. We have been working together and we are used to how each other reacts in situations. I'm sure that pertains to each of the other couples as well. We work best with those we know best."
"So you weren't afraid that you would kiss the wrong Lois by 'mistake'?"
"No, I wasn't afraid of that happening at all."
Lois admitted, "It was confusing and I felt myself being drawn to each of the others, but you are right. I knew which one was my lover every minute we were all together," and sealed her statement with a kiss. With an arched eyebrow she said, “We have a couple of hours before Penny will be hungry again and Carrie is asleep ..."
Before she could even finish her statement she found herself in bed with her Clark, her soul mate, her forever husband.
comments go here TBC
