Pheromone, My Lovely - Matchmaker Style
Rated PG-13
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Pheromone, My Lovely - Matchmaker Style 06/12
Previously
After what seemed like their ninth lovemaking session on the island, Lois had finally fallen asleep for more than a short nap.
Clark was thanking his luck stars for his super stamina. He was sure that it was the only reason he was able to keep up with her and satisfy her rampant desire.
He watched her sleep, sprawled out on his cape on the sand with the sound of the surf in the background. As he watched over her, he was thinking. Ever since Smallville, when Herb had given her the memories of their married life and they had gotten married, in fact, they had experienced a rich sex life, but this was something else again. Her behavior at the Planet still puzzled him. That coupled with her insatiability had been a pleasant distraction, but then he thought about their co-workers, Perry in particular. He just couldn't understand Perry's obsession with Rehalia. And it had all come on everyone at the same time. It had even affected the representatives of the dock workers and management. Suddenly, rather than being at each other's throats, they had all become best friends.
He was going back over the occurrences of the morning and the only thing he could come up with was the fashion/perfume show. There had to be something about that to explain what was happening.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Eventually, Lois awoke and with a wanton look did a slow, sexy stretch of her still naked body. When she finished, she reached for him and said, "Come to mama, big boy," and he fell into her arms.
When they finished he said, "I think we need to get dressed and head back. We've had a very enjoyable night, but we need to get in to work."
They had gotten dressed and Clark had flown them back to Metropolis. He hoped that he had satisfied Lois desires sufficiently so that there would be little risk of her accidentally revealing the secret.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To her disappointment, Clark had left her alone briefly yesterday afternoon when they were supposed to be playing hooky because his contact within the dockworkers union had contacted him about a contract deal.
Now, Clark had dropped Lois off at the office when he'd had to leave to deal with an emergency. It tore her up to be separated from him even for the short time it would take for him to handle it. She picked up a copy of the Planet on her way upstairs. She was gratified to see that the night editor had managed to get Clark's submission into the morning edition.
Lois looked at the paper as she rode up in the elevator to the newsroom floor. The headline of the morning edition of the Daily Planet read - "Dockworkers Embrace New Profit-Sharing Plan." And there was a photo which accompanied the story. A photo is of the union and management reps hugging each other. The photo credit was given to Johnson. Lois briefly wondered why it hadn't been Jimmy. Johnson had been out of the office in the morning on an assignment and Lois figured that Clark had caught him as he was returning and taken him along to the meeting.
And Now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 5
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Lois returned to the newsroom she was surprised to see red, white and pink balloons hanging from desks and other furnishings. Perry was calling for a staff meeting.
Gathered in the conference room were the staff members, minus of course Clark and surprisingly, Cat. Lois was euphoric after her night and early morning trysts with Clark and looking around, it seemed like the happy glow she was feeling was being reflected by everyone else. They were all dressed like they were about to head out on dates. All except Jimmy. Jimmy had decided not to shave and was going for the ‘rough' look of a battle weary photojournalist.
Perry entered and looked around seeing who was there. In a bright tone, very unlike his usual gruff voice he said, "Good morning everyone! And a beautiful morning it is." Turning to Lois he asked, "Lois, have you seen Clark?"
"Uh, yeah, Chief. He had to go meet a source. He dropped me off on the way."
"Were the two of you home last night? I called and called and there was no answer."
Lois blushed at the memory of what they had been doing and where. She reached up and loosened her collar as she replied, "Uh, we decided we didn't want to be disturbed. We pulled the plug on the phone so we wouldn't hear it."
Giving her a knowing look, he said, "Oh. Okay." He looked around taking inventory again and asked, "Where's Cat?"
Jimmy replied, "Oh, Cat's here. She's in the copy room."
Lois looked startled and blurted out, "Again or still?"
Jimmy looked weary as he replied, "Still. She even asked if there were any reports
I needed copied."
Shrugging it off, Perry said, "Okay, our lead story for the next edition is obvious …"
One of the staffers shouted out, "Russia? The counter-revolution?"
Shaking his head, Perry replied to this sally, "Revolution! Who cares? That's not what the people want to read. Now
this is a story. A man and woman meet on a train, fall in love, but then, somehow, they lose each other. Thirty years later, on that same train, they see one another from across the dining car ..." Perry pulled out a handkerchief and blotted his eyes. "It just ... breaks me up."
Lois was caught up in the emotion with Perry and standing, moved over to give him a hug. As she did, several of the other staffers joined in and it became a group hug.
Jimmy was moved to tears by the story, but had other things on his mind. As he walked to the door, he wiped a tear from his eye. Over his shoulder he said, "Chief, I can't stay for the meeting. I have something much more important to do."
From the depths of the huddle, Perry's voice could be heard, "Go ahead, son."
Hearing this Jimmy dashed out of the room, before Perry would have a chance to change his mind.
After he was out the door, the rest heard Perry say, "I love that kid."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When the huddle broke up, Lois realized that she was missing Clark. She had sudden inspiration. In her locker, Lois had a dress that she had been planning to use the next time she had to go undercover. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to do it. Making up her mind, Lois headed for the locker room.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Running a criminal empire required just as much paperwork or possibly more paperwork than a legitimate enterprise and as a result, Lex Luthor was sitting at the desk in his office wading through the pile of paper that had accumulated on his desk when the door opened and his fencing partner, dressed in the full garb entered.
Lex looking up and seeing the outfit he glanced at his calendar and said, in some surprise, "Oh, Emil … I didn't see you on my schedule. If you'll wait a few moments, I'll …"
His statement was interrupted when the point of his opponent's blade touched his chest. Astonished at this behavior, Lex dropped his pen and looked up at his attacker. His astonishment grew as his attacker put some force behind the blade and it pierced his chest slightly and a trickle of blood started to flow staining the white of Luthor's shirt dark red.
Luthor tried to back off, but his attacker maintained the pressure.
Luthor said, "If you're upset about our last session, please, let me make it up to you."
His attacker stood impassively, maintaining the pressure on the blade as the bloodstain on his shirt grew.
Luthor's eyes flew wide as his attacker reached up and removed the fencer's mask to reveal … Miranda.
Immediately his mind flew back to his last encounter with this woman. His very callus statement - "Us? You were an itch. You've been scratched." His eyes widened even farther as his fear increased. The thought of the old quote, ‘Hell hath no fury, like a woman scorned' crossed his mind and he was afraid that he was facing the embodiment of that proverb. He knew that most animals reacted aggressively when they sensed fear in their prey, so he tried to hide his abject terror. In a voice that waivered only slightly, he said, "Miranda. What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?"
Without backing off one iota on the pressure she was applying to the sword, she said, "You wouldn't return my calls, so I decided to get your attention in my own way."
Luthor put up his hands in surrender as he said, "You've got it."
Still not relenting and keeping him firmly fixed with her eyes, Miranda nodded in the direction of his phone and said, "Call your man. Tell him to have the car brought around.
Starting to lower his hands, Luthor asked, "Are we going somewhere?"
Finally backing off on her sword, Miranda replied, "
You are. To the Daily Planet. I think you'll find it … interesting."
As she finished speaking she pulled a copy of the Daily Planet from her jerkin and tossed it onto the desk in front of Luthor. As soon as she had done this she turned and sauntered out of Luthor's office.
Luthor picked up the paper and looked at it closely. He had a hard time convincing himself that what he was seeing wasn't a fake that Miranda had cobbled together to fool him. He couldn't believe that a major,
the major paper in Metropolis would publish what he was seeing. The headline read: "Couple Reunited! Love Wins Out!" The headline wasn't what he would expect from the Planet. This was not ‘hard news' such as they was their norm. He did a double take and looked more closely. All of the A's in the Masthead were shaped like red hearts!
After contemplating the paper for a few more seconds, with a shake of his head, Luthor depressed a switch on his intercom and said, "Nigel. Have the car brought around."
After giving this order, he got up from behind his desk and moved into his residence. He removed his shirt, dressed his wound put on another shirt and still in a state if disbelief and shaking his head strode to his private elevator for the trip to the garage.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Clark was finally back from his rescue and as he exited the stairwell into the newsroom he stopped dead in his tracks. Looking around all he could see were red, white and pink balloons, flowers and paper hearts.
While Clark was standing on the landing, staring around, mesmerized, Lois spotted him. She was so anxious to be in his arms again that she started running to him.
As she neared him, Clark finally spotted her. He almost didn't recognize her because she had changed her clothes. She was wearing a white lace creation which clung to her figure accentuating all of her curves and had a deep yoke neckline that showed off her cleavage. The skirt was tapered, high in the front reaching a point above her knees and low in the back, mid-calf. She had done up her hair in an upsweep which accentuated her long neck. She had flower petals in her hand which she strewed along the way. When she finally reached him she literally flung herself into his arms and throwing her arms around his neck said, "Clark! Where have you been, my darling?!?!"
Clark automatically grabbed and held her in his arms. As she snuggled into his shoulder he looked over her shoulder at the newsroom and saw couples scattered across the room walking hand-in-hand or in various postures of intimacy. Steve from Travel was actually lying on a desk with his head in Denise's lap as she stroked his face with a rose. The lovefest was in full swing.
Clark slowly lowered Lois back to the floor and she took the opportunity of his distraction to steal a quick kiss. Clark took Lois by the hand and aid, "Lois, come with me. We have to talk."
Lois smiled and said, "Yes, we do! I have so much to say."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Across the newsroom, Jimmy was at his desk intently scrutinizing his computer monitor. Anyone looking over his shoulder would have realized what he was doing. He was scrolling through an address list. He had used his computer skills to access the city directory. He rapidly scrolled through until he found what he was after, the address for April Stephens. He pulled out a notepad and wrote, #11, 55 West Elm. Heaving a relieved sigh, jimmy sat back with a smile on his face. <Mission accomplished.>, he thought. It had been worth the effort.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, in the Editor's office, Rehalia, with one hand on her hip, was standing in front of Perry's desk.
In a strong Latino accent she said, "My husband says I should file a harassment suit against you."
Perry, with a besotted grin on his face was looking at her with adoration. The threat of a suit didn't even seem to faze him as he replied, "If that's what you want, then go ahead. But nothing can keep me from proclaiming my love. I won't force anything. I'm content to adore you from afar. Listen ... I've composed a little something ..." Perry pulled a piece of paper from his desk and continued, "I call it Rehalia." In a sing-song voice he read the poem, "I plucked a rose. I smelled its dew. That fragrant scent, embodies you. Rehalia, Rehalia.
Rehalia allowed Perry to finish and then mulled over what he had said for a second before she flared up and said, "I smell its dew? Dew doesn't smell!" As she finished she stormed out of the office.
As she turned, Perry looked again at what he had written and placing the paper down on his desk started to edit his own copy.
I'm content to worship you from afar.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Back in the newsroom, Clark led Lois back to his desk. As they were moving in that direction, Clark noticed that the copy machine was still in operation and running non-stop. Shaking his head, he didn't even bother to slide his glasses down to check. That last time had been too embarrassing. Finally reaching his desk he tried to get Lois to sit in his guest chair when he sat, however, she had other plans and as soon as he sat she jumped into his lap and threw her arms around his neck.
Clark reached up to gently disengage her arms as he looked around nervously to see if anyone noticed the PDA, but after just a second decided that it would go totally unnoticed amongst all of the PDA that was going on around them.
Holding her arms and looking into her eyes he said, "Lois, listen to me. You are not in control …"
Her reply was immediate, "I know that Clark! For the first time in my life I feel free to express how I feel about you! I don't care who knows."
"Lois, no, there is something very strange going on here."
"Yes, strange and wonderful!"
"Lois, you're not yourself! You've changed, *everybody* around here has changed."
Smiling and giggling like a teenager in love, Lois replied, "But, for the better."
Realizing that he needed her help, he tried once more to get through to her, "Lois, snap out of it! I need you to help me figure out what has happened. Please. Concentrate."
Contritely, like a six year old, Lois said, "Okay."
Clark nodded and said, "Good. Now, it all started yesterday afternoon."
Lois nodded and brightly replied, "I remember."
Clark started doing what he and Lois usually did together; he started throwing out ideas, brainstorming. "It seems to have affected almost everyone in the newsroom. Maybe something we drank or ate?"
Lois put her arms around Clark's neck and brightly, like a child playing a game replied, "I had Chinese Chicken salad from Wong's. You had a steak sandwich with fries."
Clark disentangled her arms again and continued, "What else? The models were here, with the perfume." He stopped speaking as he considered the implications of his statement, "The perfume."
As he was considering the implications of what he had hit upon, Jimmy dropped a pile of black and white photos on the corner of his desk. As Jimmy was about to walk away, Clark stopped him and asked, "What are those?"
Jimmy, with a dreamy expression replied, "Photos from yesterday's show." He plopped down into Clark's guest chair and contemplated the photos he still held. Turning one around so that Clark could see that it was a picture of April, he asked, "Beautiful, isn't she? And she's all mine."
Clark was now convinced that there was a problem and that Jimmy was affected as well. All he could do was warn him, "Jimmy, be careful. I … don't want you to get hurt."
Surprised, Jimmy asked, "Hurt? How could
I get hurt?" Jimmy stood up and walked off in a romantic haze.
As Jimmy walked off, Clark started leafing through the photos. Lois craned around so that she could see them as well. She asked, "What're we looking for?"
As he was leafing through, he replied, "I don't know. But remember when …" Suddenly he had the picture which showed Miranda spraying Lois, Perry and him. With conviction, he said, "There!"
Lois looked at the picture and Clark zoomed in with his microscopic vision. He fixed Miranda's appearance in his memory and took a close look at the atomizer that she was using fixing it also in his memory. He muttered to himself, "Probably leaded glass, hand blown shape, antique, very rare."
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