All Shook Up - Matchmaker Style
Rated PG-13
Lois and Clark now live in Clark's ‘old' apartment.
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Previously
Cat was nervous. She was about to do something that she hadn’t done all that frequently and just the thought made her apprehensive. As she crossed through the doors she pulled some cloth from her purse. It was a very feminine bit of black lace, a bit larger than a handkerchief. Folding it into a triangle she placed it on her head demonstrating that it was in fact a mantilla and that she had just entered a church. Clutching the bottom to hold it in place, Cat made her way to the small cubicles off to one side of the church. Shortly after entering one side of the cubicle a young priest, barely out of his novitiate entered the other side of the same cubicle and to signal that he was now ready he slid a partition aside leaving only a screen blocking him from the other side. He sat back so that if the penitent were to try to look into his side he would be mostly obscured.
Cat had nervously been handling a set of rosary beads, but upon hearing the partition being moved, she began the ritual, her own inimitable way, “Bless me father for I have sinned ... and sinned ... and sinned.”
He had been taught well and moved to the next step, “How long has it been since your last confession?”
Cat was silent for some time. It was apparent that she was mentally calculating before answering, “Twenty, uh, twenty-two years. But I've meant to get in more. I've just had a busy schedule.”
He was shocked at this. He had heard some confessions and most of the time they were short, the penitent having been in the confessional at most a week previously. He instantly became worried about how long it would take to confess the sins accumulated over a twenty-two year period and said, “I'm sure you realize the time constraints we're operating under. Perhaps you should limit this confession to the most recent transgressions.”
Cat said, “Oh, all right, well let’s see. Oh, I have it; I told a man who has no memory that he desires me. Oh, and his wife was standing nearby.”
The priest couldn’t help, but be curious, “Does he?”
“Well, he ought to. Although before they were married he was playing awfully hard to get. Why he decided to marry her, I could never tell you. They do look happy though. I guess there’s no accounting for taste.”
Trying to cut to the chase, the priest asked, “So you are confessing to the sin of lust by attempting to take advantage of a vulnerable man, who is also married?”
In an off-hand manner, Cat continued, “It's kind of a pattern I see in my behavior. I just don't want to meet the maker fresh off this one.”
Trying to fulfill his duty and get to the root of the problem the priest asked, “Why do you feel you've lived your life this way?”
As if he could see her, Cat shrugged and said, “I guess I've always found meaning in meaningless relationships.” Cat paused, trying to decide if she should confide her deepest fears. She decided to go for it, “I called everyone I know. They all have someone to be with. It's taken to the end of the Earth to get to this point, but I'm totally alone.”
The priest took this in and asked, “But what you want now is reassurance that you're never alone, that you are loved for your soul. Is that right?”
Cat brightened. He understood! She said, “Exactly. Aren't there some things you passionately want to experience just
once before you die?”
Being just out of his novitiate and having some of his own issues because of ‘Nightfall’ this was hitting too close to home. He slammed shut the patrician and fled the confessional.
Cat heard the partition close and didn’t understand why. She questioned, “Father? … Father?” Then she heard his rapid footsteps receding from the confessional. Realizing that the session was indeed over, Cat pulled off the mantilla and used it to wipe her eyes before putting it back in her purse and exiting the church.
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The next morning, while Jonathan and Martha worked with Clark, trying to re-teach him how to be Superman, Lois went in to the office. Compared to the last few days the city appeared to be deserted. Where there had been traffic jams and jammed sidewalks there now were empty streets and almost empty sidewalks.
On the sidewalk in front to the Planet building stood a newspaper vending machine. Through the Plexiglas window the headline stood out big and bold – “
SUPERMAN CAME HOME" with the sub-headline, "Where Is He Now?" The by-line reads, "By Perry White and James Olsen."
Small clusters of people stood on the street looking into the sky. They were either trying to get the first sight of Superman or else their doom. A few cars were driving along. In the window of an electronics shop across from the Planet a TV showed the countdown clock which explained everything. The Chiron read: “Estimated Time to Impact is now 3:09:35” and it continued counting down.
Lois made her way to the newsroom and her desk. She had picked up a copy of the morning edition on her way up and sat at her desk simply perusing what she had.
Jimmy was at Cat’s desk and he was showing her his article, his first byline. Cat was suitably impressed.
Perry came by and Lois stopped him, “That was a nice thing you did for Jimmy, Chief.”
“Jimmy's a good kid, Lois. It’s been a month o’ Sundays since I had a byline and I didn’t mind sharin' it. After all, it was his story.”
Lois nodded, “He earned it. As long as we know Superman got back to Earth, there's still hope.”
Looking around, Perry said, “There isn’t much goin’ on. You don't have to be here now. I know that you and Clark’s folks are trying to restore Clark’s memories. He should probably be your priority now. It's your choice, but I think you ought to go be with him. What about your family?”
Lois had a somewhat regretful expression as she replied, “We already managed to get everybody together on an open phone line. Mom and Dad even acted like they cared about each other. It was nice. You?”
Perry looked down, “Alice was visiting the boys when it all happened. She can't get a flight out of Des Moines.”
Lois reached out a comforting hand, “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Making the best of it, Perry said, “She knows how I feel about her and what she's meant to me. That's the important thing.”
Lois reached to shut down her terminal and said, “At least there’s that. Thanks, Perry. I think I will go home and be with Clark and his folks.”
And now:
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Chapter 10
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After Lois left for the office, Martha and Jonathan started going over what Clark needed to know to be Superman. They did it in such a way that they hoped it would stimulate memories.
Martha said, “Let’s see … the first power you showed was strength and then invulnerability. Even as a kid you couldn’t be hurt too easily. We’re just lucky that it didn’t manifest too early. When we took you for your shots, if the doctor had broken his needles trying to inject you they would have started asking questions.”
Jonathan picked up at that point, “As I recall the next power was hearing. You kept complaining about the dog barking all night and keeping you awake. First, we didn’t have a dog and second then next closest farm with a dog was more than two miles away.”
Clark started to blush and Martha saw it. She challenged, “You’re remembering something, aren’t you?”
With a shamefaced expression he said, “Yeah. It wasn’t really a dog I was hearing.”
Jonathan was lost, “Oh, what was it?”
Clark was blushing brighter and brighter red, “Do you really want to know?”
Martha barked out a laugh. She jabbed Jonathan and said, “I wish we’d known that before. We would have been more careful.”
Suddenly, Jonathan realized what the two of them were talking about and said, “Ooooooh. Yeah, I wish you’d told us sooner.”
Martha brightened up, “Hey, that’s a good sign. That’s a childhood memory. Do you remember why we got you the glasses?”
“Lois said that it was so I don’t go around seeing people in their underwear … or worse.”
Jonathan chuckled, “Yeah! You came home from school one day and you were very upset. You had been in gym class and all of the sudden you were looking into the girl’s locker room. Since it was like x-rays and they use lead shielding to protect people from x-ray exposure, I made up the glasses with lead crystal lenses. It worked too.”
Clark summarized, “Okay so I’m strong and can’t be hurt. I can hear sounds at great distances and see through things. How did I get to the asteroid?”
“Your power of flight was the last one to develop. You were about eighteen at the time.”
Martha said, “Let’s go out on the balcony and try.”
Once they were out there, Martha said, by way of encouragement, “It must be like riding a bicycle, Clark. You probably don't forget how to fly, once you've done it. Give it a try.
Thinking that perhaps he had to give it a literal jump start, he gave a little hop, ala George Reeves, but it had no effect.
“How do I do it? Do I flap my arms or something?” Clark looked at them for guidance.
Jonathan said, “You don’t flap your arms or anything, it’s like you just will yourself to fly and it happens.”
Jonathan and Martha stood back and watched expectantly as Clark tried to concentrate. Nothing happened. He turned back to them and asked, “Is this like something out of Peter Pan? Do I need Pixie dust and happy thoughts, or what?”
Martha struck a pose with her right arm up and her face looking up and said, “Usually when you fly, you do something like this.”
Jonathan said, “It's just instinct, I think. You just want it to happen and it does.”
Clark turned toward them again and said, “But you said I didn't fly until I was eighteen. So I had to figure out how to do it. And right now, I can't remember.”
Jonathan pointed out, “Clark, we didn’t know you would have powers and when they started to develop we didn’t know what or how many there would be. It isn’t like we knew you would be able to fly and you had to figure it out. It just happened.” Jonathan indicated the edge of the balcony and said, “Maybe if you were on the edge there it would look like you were flying and you’d remember.”
Apprehensively, Clark walked over to the edge and tried to strike the pose that Martha had demonstrated. He stared up and then looked down. When he looked down he saw the drop to the alley and had an attack of vertigo. He swayed uncertainly. The attack of vertigo unnerved him and he backed away from the parapet. He said, “I don’t know about this.”
Martha sounded positive as she said, “Honey, it'll all come back to you once you get going.”
Clark was still unconvinced as he said, hesitantly, “Okay. If you say so.”
Martha asked, “Look, do you want us to help you?”
Clark said, “Okay. Why don’t you give me a count?”
Martha said, “I think it would be better if you got up on the parapet.”
Clark looked at her skeptically before actually climbing up on the railing.
Once he was up there and had assumed the pose, Martha started to count, “On three. One, two …” At the count of two she suddenly moved forward and shoved him off the railing.
With a scream, “GAaaaaaaa,” Clark plummeted from the railing and fell like a brick all the way to the floor of the alley.
It was as if there had been an unspoken understanding between Jonathan and Martha and Jonathan had known just what his wife was going to do and he joined her at the railing to watch their boy plummet to the ground. After he hit, Martha looked at Jonathan as if to say, ‘we tried.’
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After shutting down and packing up, Lois made a beeline for her car and with as little traffic as there was she made it home in almost no time at all. She had just parked the Jeep and headed for the apartment when she heard Clark’s scream and then the clatter of trashcans in the alley. She diverted her path to see what had happened and saw Clark as he came out from behind a dumpster. He was dusting himself off as he walked.
She asked, “Clark, what are you doing down there?”
He looked around before answering to make sure the he wouldn’t be overheard. “Mom tricked me. They were trying to help me remember how to fly and she … pushed me off the balcony. I’m glad I can’t be hurt.”
Lois chuckled, “I don’t know if I would have thought of that approach. I take it that it didn’t work.”
With a rueful expression he admitted, “I fell like a rock.”
Lois reached for his hand and took it in hers as they started to walk back to the apartment. She said, “Clark, we really need you to remember. We have less than four hours until impact.”
Thoughtfully, Clark said, “Maybe if you told me about Superman, I’d remember.”
Thinking that was a good idea, Lois started telling Clark about his alter-ego.
“The first time I saw Superman I was a stowaway on the Prometheus Shuttle. I had snuck aboard and since I didn’t have an assigned position I found a side compartment that was vacant that had a seat. I was strapping myself in for blastoff when I spotted a bomb. I needed some way to alert EPRAD about the problem so I grabbed some cutters and started cutting wires, indiscriminately. It did have the effect of stopping the countdown, but it didn’t solve my problem. I was in the compartment with the bomb and when it exploded I would be killed. Suddenly, with the timer on the bomb getting closer and closer to zero this man wearing blue tights and a red cape came in. He pulled the detonator off of the bomb and swallowed it. Seeing what he was doing, I was frantic. I called him crazy and a few other things, but when the detonator went off and the only effect it had was to make him burp, quietly I might add, I was stunned. How could a man eat a bomb and not be killed when it went off? Then, to top it off, after I debarked he lifted the shuttle into orbit. Even better than that, he came back and picked me up and flew me back to the Planet. Landing on the newsroom floor and putting me down right next to my desk. I have to admit, I was captivated. Talk about hero worship! I had it and I had it bad.”
Lois went on to recount more times that Superman had rescued her. As she had been speaking they had made their way into the apartment where Martha and Jonathan were also interested listeners.
“It wasn’t too long after that we were invaded by a group posing as federal agents looking for information about Superman. They wound up kidnapping us and taking us up in a plane. They were using us as bait to lure Superman out into the open. Incidentally, that was our first kiss. They were about to throw us out of the plane, without parachutes and I asked if I could kiss you goodbye. It was a nice kiss and I realized right then and there that you were dangerous, to me at least. I had been unlucky in relationships and was afraid of being attracted to any guy and right then and there I knew that I was attracted to you, but I refused to admit it to myself. Anyhow, I was thrown out and you dove out after me. Superman caught me before I hit the ground and flew me back to the Planet. What we didn’t know was that a homing beacon had been planted on me. They fired a missile and it homed in on the beacon, me and Superman. Superman flew up and intercepted the missile and sent it into the stratosphere where it exploded. That was the second time that he directly saved my life.”
“The next time was when we were tracking down the invisible man. Some criminals had stolen these invisibility suits so that they could rob a load of gold bullion from a vault. Well, anyhow, I got caught and they left me locked in the vault. The air was running out when Superman busted through the wall and rescued me again.”
“Then there was the time in Smallville, that’s when I first met your parents. That same group of rogue government agents were looking for the Kryptonite that Wayne Irig had found. The Kryptonite took away your powers and Trask almost killed you. We had just gotten married the night before and I just couldn’t let him do that. Well … he died instead.”
“Wait a minute; you killed him, didn’t you?”
Lois smiled, “You’re remembering?”
“A little. Keep going.”
Almost an hour had elapsed and she had gotten to the event of him rescuing her from the tsunami. His visage had been changing, slightly as she had been speaking.
When she finished relating this latest incident, Clark said, “Hold that thought,” stood up and strode to the secret compartment. After opening it he pulled out one of the uniforms and said, “Excuse me for a second.” He stepped into the bedroom. They heard a wind and then Superman stepped back into the living room.
Lois whispered in awe, “He’s back!”
Clark crossed to Lois and taking her in his arms kissed her and then said, “You brought me back. First, by loving Clark and now by telling me how I had rescued you as Superman, you rescued me. Mom, do you still have that SCUBA gear at the farm?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact it was recently hydro’d and refilled. It’s in the downstairs closet.”
“I remember what happened. The energy release generated by the impact destroyed my air supply. This time I won’t simply hit it. What I’ll do is push it. This part is a lot smaller and I should be able to affect its orbit by changing its velocity and vector. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a job to do.”
Lois smiled at him and said, “Come back to me.”
He looked at her sincerely and said, “I’ll always come back to you. I love you. Right now, I have to save you again, all of you. There’s a rock out there that needs to go away and I’m the only one that can send it away.”
Lois gave him another kiss and said, “For luck.”
“I don’t need luck when I’ve got Lois Lane.”
She looked at him up through her lashes and coyly said, “Always, lover.”
In a gust of wind he was gone. Lois turned on the TV and tuned in LNN. The Chiron showed 2:42:17 until impact. Lois, Martha and Jonathan settled in to watch. With a sense of relief now, Lois asked, “This should be a good show. Anyone for popcorn?”
They had known that it would take Clark a while to reach the asteroid. The mission control specialist came on and announced “This is Mission Control. The ‘Nightfall’ fragment is still on track and on time. We are fourteen minutes and counting from the projected impact of the 'Nightfall' asteroid. Impact is expected to occur just off the coast of the eastern seaboard. The tsunami created is expected to cover all of the landmass east of the Appalachian Mountains.” Suddenly he paused in his recitation and with a startled tone said, “Wait a minute. What’s happening? Stand by!’ The audio was cut off. Two minutes later it came back on and the excitement was obvious, “This is mission control. Mission trackers reporting an anomaly. Switching to back-up computers for corroboration.” There was a brief pause, then, “Roger, confirmation. The asteroid’s vector is changing.”
“The trajectory of the asteroid has changed and continues to deviate from the projected path. It is beginning to move in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic. Estimates at this time are that the asteroid will miss the Earth with a wide safety margin.” A few minutes later the announcer said, “Incredible. We seem to be ... the asteroid appears to be leaving the vicinity of the Earth entirely and on a course that will take it completely out of the Solar system.”
“We are stopping the countdown clock at this time.” There was a short pause and then the announcer said, “It's gotta be
Superman! Speculation is that Superman has returned and saved the Earth once again. We don’t know where he’s been, but we’re sure glad he’s back.”
The feed from EPRAD was cut and the screen read, “Please Stand By.” Then a voice announced, “We will now return you to our regular programming.”
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The next morning, Lois was at the Planet bright and early thanks to Martha preparing breakfast again. Clark had to respond to an emergency so she had gone in by herself. He would be with her shortly.
Looking out the windows from the newsroom, the staff marveled at the crowd in the streets. It rivaled the crowd seen in Times Square in New York City on New Year’s Eve. There were line dances forming and all kinds of noise makers in use.
In the newsroom itself a party atmosphere prevailed. The sound of champagne corks popping happened a few times and glasses were filled.
Jimmy, with the lack of expertise of a novice, popped the cork only to have part of the contents bubble out in a foamy geyser drenching his hands and the floor. He managed to get some into a glass and holding it up in salute said to his boss and mentor, “Perry, these last two days were the best days of my life. Even if it was almost the end of the world.”
Perry clapped the younger man on the shoulder and said, “You did a good job Jimmy. You hustled, you didn't give up, you got the story. I’m proud of you, son.”
Jimmy was suddenly very subdued, “That means a lot, coming from you. I just wish I could write better.”
By way of encouragement, Perry said, “Nothing wrong with being a photo-journalist with a nose for news. You keep at it, son. Never know what'll happen.”
Suddenly a roar went up from the crowd that drowned out the conversations in the newsroom. Jimmy grabbed his camera and threw open the window so that he could get some pictures. He saw that everyone was looking up and some were pointing at the sky. Following their track he saw Superman so he brought up his camera and started snapping picture after picture and was very pleased when Superman made a close approach and waved to him.
As soon as Jimmy had snapped a couple of pics, Superman put on a burst of speed and disappeared from view.
Looking around in anticipation, Lois watched the door to the stairwell. She wasn’t disappointed when literally, seconds later, her husband stepped through straightening his tie. She smiled at him as he approached. When he was close she reached out to finish straightening his tie and said, “That was a nice thing to do. I’m sure it encouraged Jimmy. Perry was just talking to him about the importance of being a photojournalist.”
Clark reached up, tapped his ear, said, “I know,” and smiled a smile which she returned.
She mumbled, “Softie.”
He and Lois move over to the window and looked down at the crowd. It was celebratory and not riotous and being rather peaceful. Loud enough so that those nearby could hear, Clark asked, “Did I miss something?”
Lois replied, “Your buddy Superman just made a flyby, that’s all.”
Perry was exuberant and as he approached Lois and Clark he said, “A real day to remember,” then he caught himself, suddenly remembering Clark’s amnesia, “If you’ll pardon the expression.”
Lois smiled and gave Clark a hug. Without breaking it she said, over her shoulder, “Not to worry, Chief. He’s all better now, aren’t you honey?”
Perry was all smiles as both he and Jimmy approached to shake Clark’s hand.
Lois added, “I just knew that a bump on the head wouldn’t keep him down.”
Cat came over and it looked to Lois as if she were going to try to kiss Clark, but to Lois’s surprise that’s not what happened. Lois was surprised when Cat walked up and put out her hand, saying, “Welcome back, Clark. I’m glad you got your memory back. I have to say, even without your memory; you’re still the nicest guy I think I’ve ever met. I’m just sorry you chose Lois and not me.”
Noting the tear at the corner of her eye, Clark said, “Cheer up, Cat. I’m sure that the right guy for you is out there, somewhere. You just need to slow down and let him find you.”
Lois pulled Clark aside and asked, “Honestly, truthfully, when did your memory come back?”
“I was starting to get little flashes, but when we went to bed a lot of Clark returned. I never really forgot you. It was me that was lost.” Looking around to make sure no one was listening, he added, “When you were telling me how Superman had saved you so many times, that’s when he came back. I also remembered how I dealt with the asteroid. I used that karate technique you taught me. You know, I think I should learn more about karate.”
Lois said, in a quiet tone, “I think so too. You can join me at the dojo. It’ll be nice. We can practice together. Now that your memory is back, I think it’s time we talked about Luthor. You are not going to believe this story.”
“I think that later tonight will be soon enough. As Perry would say, ‘We have a paper to get out.’”
Lois smiled and swatted his arm before she said, “How right you are. We have to write up the ‘Superman Saves the World’ story, but that’s yesterday’s news.” Looking around to make sure she wouldn’t be heard and dropping her tone to a conspiratorial level, she said, “I think that our next big story is going to be, Lex Luthor.”
Clark quirked an eyebrow and wondered what Luthor had done to put that particular bee in her bonnet. Whatever it was, he was happy he had done it. Only time would tell where this would lead.
comments go here. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The End
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Next up – Witness – Matchmaker Style
