Pheromone, My Lovely - Matchmaker Style 01/12
When Virginia proposed the challenge of taking a first season story and having it result in Lois and Clark being married I took up the challenge and “The Green, Green Glow of Home – Matchmaker Style” was the result. Virginia, I’m afraid you have created a monster.
That was all well and good, but then I started thinking - What about future episodes? How would the fact that they are now married affect the dynamic? For instance, how would “Pheromone My Lovely” be changed by the marriage?
So, to answer the question - What if Lois and Clark were already married when PML happened? I offer the following.
Pheromone, My Lovely - Matchmaker Style
This is a sequel to GGGoH – Matchmaker Style
Rated PG-13
Disclaimers: The characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros. No Copyright infringement is intended. I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
In this, the sequel to GGGoH – Matchmaker Style. Lois and Clark have been back from the assignment in Smallville for a couple of weeks. Clark has finally removed the sling having recovered from being shot through the shoulder.
Lois and Clark now live in Clark’s ‘old’ apartment.
In this particular story a lot of the dialogue is taken from the script text. I wish to express my thanks to my Beta readers Artemis and Ray Reynolds for their invaluable help. This was a VERY rough draft when it first landed in their hands.
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Pheromone, My Lovely - Matchmaker Style
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What is past is Prologue
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Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 - canon universe
Distant future - TTEMPO Headquarters
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At TTEMPO Headquarters in this distant future, shaking his head Herb Wells took the translift to his floor and moved down the corridor to his office. The door, with it usual reliability, opened as he approached. He stepped in and said, "Lights on."
Once the lights were on, he shrugged out of his coat and removing his derby, hung both on the coat rack just inside the door then moved to his desk. As he was crossing the floor to his desk he removed his tie, opened his collar by removing the collar-button and heaved a relieved sigh, thinking, <I really ought to update my wardrobe. These hard starched collars can be very irritating. Oh, well, I guess it's all in what you are used to.> For the most part his office had been decorated in modern furniture and equipment, but it was made in such a way as to resemble what he was used to back in the early twentieth century. The first thing he did was go to the sideboard and prepare a cup of tea and then he carried it over to his desk. He set the teacup on the corner of his desk and then smiled when he heard that familiar squeak as he sat in his chair and then simply sat there in thought for a time with his fingers steepled. He was planning his report on this incident.
Finally, once he had organized his thoughts he reached over, pushed a button and started speaking into the air in his British English accent, "Computer, dictation."
A very human sounding voice apparently emanating from the very air around him replied "Working. Will this be a letter, or a journal entry?"
"This will be a journal entry. Addenda to report on incident in Alpha -34 x Gamma 255 x Tau -225 an alternate universe related in many ways to Prime.
"Working, file accessed."
Herb commenced, "Regarding the incident in Smallville with Trask. It had been determined that in this Alt universe intervention would be required. The Sheriff being delayed in her arrival at the Kent farm by the freight train would prevent her from intervening and preventing Trask from shooting and killing Clark while he was vulnerable."
"I decided to take this universe on as one of my special projects; therefore the monitoring of this particular universe has fallen under my direct purview. In order to preserve the life of Clark Kent, it was necessary to provide an alternate person to prevent Trask from killing him.”
"Pause recording."
"Paused."
Herb was lost in thought for a time before he continued. The next parts were going to be very important to have recorded and he wanted to make sure he had everything correct. He pulled out a chart of figures that he could refer to in order to have everything correct. Once he had the chart in hand he said, "Resume."
"Recording."
"The idea for this entire exercise was a direct result of having sent the Clark Kent now of two universes, his own native universe, Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036, Alt 1, and the native universe of his Lois, Alpha -120 x Gamma 255 x Tau -190, Alt 2, on his earlier rescue missions."
"In preparing for this mission, I had to travel back in time in the subject universe and ascertain if Tempus had been there in any incarnation. Fortunately, he is not in all universes and that was the case here, thus there was no fear of the curse such as that which we had to deal with in Prime.”
"I decided that Lois would be the best candidate to save Clark. She was already on scene and had been working with Clark for some time. In order to ensure that she would act in Clark's behalf, I decided to give her some extra motivation. I began laying the groundwork as they were leaving on the assignment."
"After ascertaining the absence of Tempus in their past, by using the Soul Tracker I traveled to their future and recorded some of her memories and after returning to the time of this incident, I was able to add those to her current memories on a subconscious level. I used the memories of the time after she and her Clark were together. The overlay of these memories lowered her barriers and moved the personal relationship ahead, you might say, rather precipitously. I began the memory overlay when I was in the elevator with them at the Daily Planet as they were leaving on this assignment. The time in the elevator was insufficient so I arranged for the train to break down keeping them at the rail road crossing for an extended period. I was at that time able to add more memories of her future. I finished the overlay while they were at the Corn Festival. The only time they were aware of my presence was in the initial phase, in the elevator which required closer contact to link to her mind. After that I could work from greater distance. I did continue to monitor them throughout. Pause recording."
"Paused."
Herb picked up his tea cup and took a tentative sip. The tea had grown cold and frowning, he set the cup back down.
"Resume."
"Recording."
"As I said, I continued to monitor their progress. As it turns out it is well that I did. Unknown to me or Lois and Clark, Trask had sent a couple of his men after Lois and Clark. I still do not know if they had been dispatched to simply follow them or if they had orders to kidnap them. However, I did take steps to prevent them from following Lois and Clark by disabling their vehicle. Pause."
"Paused."
Herb could no longer suppress his mirth. He chuckled aloud. Standing up he moved to the sideboard and prepared another cup of tea. By the time he had the tea prepared and had returned to his desk he was back in control.
"Resume."
"Recording."
"I had not anticipated just how successful the memory overlay would actually be. Lois began to see Clark as a romantic partner almost immediately. I had not been aware that in this universe the state of Kansas had a particular law on their books. Apparently the memory overlay was even more effective than anticipated because as soon as Lois found out that by the laws of Kansas they were married by simply spending the night together she wanted to make it permanent. Even Clark was surprised by her immediate acceptance of the situation. That does make some measure of sense as the memories used were those of their married life."
"I hadn't realized, until Clark mentioned it, that I had inadvertently included a memory of the birth of their first child. I was glad that I had checked out their history previously because she couldn't wait to consummate the wedding and they almost caught me observing. If Tempus had been a problem in that universe, I would have been required to choose another protector for Clark. The other possibility I had considered had been Pete Ross."
"Note: If activities of this nature are called for in the future I need to exercise more caution. When I moved forward in time to record Lois' memories, I inadvertently collected memories from a later period, when they had a child. Still, I can't quibble with the results of this exercise."
"Pause recording."
“Paused.”
Herb thought for a few minutes, considering how to proceed. Finally he said, "Resume."
"Recording."
"When they were captured by Trask I had to wait for an opportunity to free Lois so that she could go to Clark’s aid. That was yet another difference between this universe and Prime. This Carol Sherman did not help free Lois. It was up to me to perform that task. Up to that point I had been able to operate in the background. Once I released her I had to depend on her personal motivation and her martial arts skills to protect her ‘husband' and she performed admirably. A mama bear defending her cubs could not have done better."
“At the appropriate time, Lois came out of hiding and unknown to both Trask and Clark removed the Kryptonite which enabled Clark to begin to recover after only a brief exposure to that deadly rock.”
“Her warning to Clark coupled with the distraction provided by her breaking cover and advancing on Trask, just as he was firing the derringer, was what actually saved Clark’s life. A derringer is an inaccurate weapon at best, but even the most inaccurate weapon at a range of about ten feet is liable to hit the target. Trask was aiming for the center of Clark’s back and if he had not ducked when he did he would have suffered a mortal wound.”
"It was unfortunate that, though it was an accident, Lois was required to take Trask's life, however, if she had not he would have presented a continuing problem. At the very least he would have revealed Clark's secret and at worst, if he had convinced the powers that be that Clark was actually a threat, he could have been instrumental in his death or exile."
"Pause."
"Paused."
Herb got up and moved to a sideboard again. He dumped the tea which had gone cold through neglect and prepared another fresh cup, promising himself to actually drink this one. Picking up the cup he held it under a faucet which dispensed near boiling water, then thankful for the advancements in society which made things so much easier, pulled out a tea bag, rather than a container of loose leaves, and he prepared a cup of Earl Grey tea which he carried back to his desk before he continued. Once he was again seated and after first taking a sip of his tea he said, "Resume."
"Recording."
"After the Sheriff and her deputies left, I was able to sit down with Lois and the Kents to explain what had happened and why. Lois was somewhat irritated with me for overlaying her future memories. I explained that I had not had any choice in that she was the best candidate to rescue Clark from Trask. She started weeping when the thought of CJ crossed her mind. When I explained that that child was actually going to be her first born she brightened up and her mood became a happy one. They asked how many children they would have and naturally, I declined to give them that information. When she asked how long she would have to wait to have a child. I told her that unfortunately that would be too much information too soon and that she should simply be patient and let things happen in the proper time."
"Lois admitted that she had always feared having children because of her family background, however, the memory overlay had removed those fears and she was now eagerly anticipating that event. I did not at this time reveal to her that her physiology would have to be changed by exposure to Clark's aura to make their biologies compatible before the blessed event. I also did not tell her that another result of that physiological change would be that her lifespan would be extended. I will schedule a trip back to them at a period after the birth so that I can give her a gift. Pause recording."
“Paused.”
Herb pulled open a drawer in his desk and pulled out a box. In the box was a pendant on a necklace. A pendant with very special properties. A pendant holding two different forms of Kryptonite within its silver matrix. On the outside of the box he wrote, "Lois Lane, Ultra Woman, Alpha -34 x Gamma 255 x Tau -225. Lois' birthday, September 23, 1998."
Remembering that he had simply paused the recording, Herb said, “End recording. Do not finalize and allow for future additions and edits. Format it as a document and send a copy of the file to my hand held for review."
"Recording stopped. Formatting. Sending."
Herb's hand held beeped and a small light started to flash indicating the file had been received. He nodded his approval and stood up from his chair. He would review the file and make his edits after taking a brief nap. He moved to his sleeping alcove and after kicking off his shoes and placing his glasses on a side table, he lay down on a trundle bed.
He spoke to the computer again, "Lights off."
After the lights went out and before Herb had a chance to fall asleep he wondered just how the rest of their lives would work out. His intervention had resulted in them becoming married at an exceptionally early point in their relationship. He determined that he would have to pop in on them and check occasionally, just to see how things were progressing.
comments go here TBC
