There were some technical – timing – reasons for not posting Witness this week. All will be revealed eventually. I didn’t want a whole week to go by without posting something, so I came up with this little NextGen piece.
Halloween in Metropolis – Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 1CD
By KenJ <ken.janney@kjanney.com>
This version is rated PG-13
I need to express my appreciation to my beta, Artemis, for the quick turnaround. I wrote this Monday – Wednesday. It was in her hands Wednesday night and she got it back to me on Thursday.
Disclaimers: The characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros., except those I created. No copyright infringement is intended. I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
/ denotes telepathic communications./
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
October 31, 2014 AD
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Universal Locator designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 Canon universe also called – Prime
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
It had been a relatively uneventful year in the Kent household at 348 Hyperion Ave in Metropolis, New Troy. Since last Halloween the family had taken many weekend trips to Smallville, to the delight of kids and grandparents alike. The primary reason for the trips was so that Jonathan and Lara could practice with their powers. Over the last year, the twins, Sean and Celeste had started showing signs of their powers developing and they had therefore been brought in on the family secret.
This same year, on major holidays, Mike Lee had been able to prevail upon his parents to allow him to travel to Smallville to be with his great uncle Wayne Irig. Wayne was always happy to see the boy, even though he knew that a lot of his time would actually be spent over at the Kent farm. He chuckled to himself as he watched the budding romance between his grand-nephew and the granddaughter of his long time friend, Jonathan Kent.
This year, because of what had happened the previous year, the Smallville Halloween party had been called off. Sheriff Broadhurst wanted to make sure that something like what had happened the previous year wasn’t repeated (1). If it hadn’t been for those two pint sized superheroes Maisie might have been killed and most of the businesses robbed. He was embarrassed about that and decided that he would have a comprehensive plan in place before the next event. The Corn Festival hadn’t presented a problem since most of those festivities were held during the day. He had been considering expanding the force by using volunteer auxiliaries, but he hadn’t been able to get that by the town council as yet.
Since the Smallville Halloween party had been cancelled, Mike was disappointed, but this year again, he had been a straight ‘A’ student and his parents were willing to reward his achievement by giving him permission to visit Metropolis this time instead of Smallville.
When Clark went to pick him up at the Metropolis airport, he had Jon and Lara with him. He had tried to go alone, but Lara was so insistent that he finally caved. It just seemed like ‘Daddy’s Girl’ could twist said Daddy around her little finger if she set her mind to it. They arrived a few minutes early and while Clark parked the van, Jon and Lara went on in to meet Mike as he came out into the terminal.
Lara was the first to spot him and as she ran up to him he dropped his carryon so that he could grab her in a hug when she slammed into him. She refused to let him go so Jon picked up his carryon and fell into step next to them as they headed for the baggage claim.
Clark was there when they arrived and after Mike had his bag, he asked, “You won’t mind sharing a room with Jon and Sean will you?”
With a chuckle he replied, “Na, Mr. Kent, I won’t mind at all. It’ll be like being at camp, only better. It’ll be a room instead of a big open dorm space and I won’t have to walk across the field to get to the bathroom.”
Jon added, “The bed will be a lot softer too.”
“Yeah, and no fear of a fire in the woods. We were just lucky that Superman and Ultra Woman were nearby.”(2) “They were heroes and put the fire out, but you guys were heroes too. You woke everyone up so that we could get to the lake where it was safe.”
“Yeah, we shouldn’t have to worry about anything like that this weekend. Since Halloween fell on a Friday this year, the city manager decided to hold off on Trick-or-Treat night until Saturday.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Saturday afternoon while everyone was getting ready for Trick-or-Treat the rest of the party arrived. Lucy Lane Olsen dropped off Jimmy junior and a few minutes later Melissa Kaplin dropped off her daughter Hattie.
As soon as Hattie walked in the door, three year old Lucy spotted her and ran into her arms screaming, “Hattie! Hattie! Are you here for the weekend?”
“Yeah, Squirt, I’m here for the weekend. Last year I missed out on seeing you in costume, I didn’t want to miss seeing you all dressed up you again.” Then she spotted JJ and said, “JJ, I didn’t know you were going to be here. I was hoping that you would be and I’m glad you are.”
“Hi, Hattie. I’m glad to see you too. I’m with you on that. I missed seeing everyone in costume also.”
Just then Sam came toddling in and Hattie scooped him up cuddling him to her chest. “Hi Sam, how’s my boy?” At nearly two years old, Sam was a precocious youngster. He put his hands on the sides of Hattie’s face and moved in to rub noses with her; imitating as well as he could a kiss.
Hattie giggled and rubbed noses with him and then put him back on the floor and he toddled away. She turned back to JJ and asked, “What costume are you wearing?”
“Didn’t Jon tell you? We decided on a Star Wars theme because they are working on a new movie, chapter VII. Jessie is going to be C3PO and Jim is dressing up like R2D2. Lucy and Sam are going to be Ewoks. Sean is going to be Chewbacca. Even Aunt Lois and Uncle Clark are dressing up. Aunt Lois is going to be Princess Leia and Uncle Clark is going as Han Solo. Jon is going as Luke Skywalker and I’m going as Jaba the Hutt. I’m too fat to be a Jedi or a storm trooper.”
Hattie was indignant and said, “James Olsen, junior, don’t put yourself down that way. You’d make a perfectly good storm trooper or even a Jedi.”
“Thanks, Hattie. I appreciate it, but let’s face it. I could stand to lose some weight. What girl is gonna look at me when I carry this much weight.”
Hattie put her hand on his arm and said, “JJ, it really doesn’t matter that much what you look like. It’s what’s inside that counts. You’re a very nice guy and that’s all any girl could ask for.”
JJ smiled and asked, “What are you going as?”
“Jon did tell me the theme so I thought I’d go as Queen Amidala.”
“As Padmé or the queen?”
“As the queen. You know, with the white makeup and red dots on the cheeks. That way.”
As Hattie finished speaking, Lois came into the room all dressed in flowing white robes. They didn’t quite duplicate what Leia wore in “New Hope”. A close appraisal would have confirmed that there was a resemblance to the robes worn by Lara in the hologram from the sphere, but the difference was minimal. Clark followed her in. He was dressed in dun colored pants, not quite spandex tight with high boots. A loose shirt with a leather vest over it and a ‘Blaster’ in a holster slung on his hip completed his costume.
Next to him stood, Sean, dressed as the Wookie, Chewbacca. He was a bit short for the part, but he looked good. Lara wore a brown tunic with red leggings and gloves and carried a helmet. She was Padmé in her disguise as a fighter pilot escorting the queen to Corousant. Next to her stood Mike Lee as Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker the Jedi that had married Padmé and had been the father of Luke and Leia.
Celeste and Jessica were dressed as storm troopers, complete with blaster rifles which were in reality water pistols.
Hattie nudged JJ and said, “I guess we need to get a move on and get into costume.”
They each grabbed their bags and headed upstairs.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When they came out of their respective rooms, JJ stopped and stared, “Wow, you look terrific!”
She looked at him and said, “I still think you’d be good storm trooper or,” she wracked her brain for an alternative, “or a rebel starfighter pilot. Remember Porkins? But you’re an okay Hutt.”
They moved downstairs and joined the others in the living room.
Lois admonished, “Remember, no threatening anyone with the water pistols. I realize that it’s like Indian Summer out there, but nobody wants to get wet. No we have to all stay together. Everybody ready?”
At the affirmative responses from everyone they headed out.
The storm troopers led the way, like an honor guard followed by Jaba the Hutt and Queen Amidala. Next came the Jedis, C3PO and R2D2, Chewbacca and the Ewoks in their little furry costumes looking like overgrown teddy bears.. Next came, Padmé and Darth Vader followed by Princess Leia and Han Solo.
It was twilight when they started and by the time they were half way down the block, darkness had fallen.
They passed other groups of children being escorted by parents, some in costume and some not. There were miscellaneous Supermen and Ultra Women as well as Batman and Flash costumes in abundance.
Looking around at all of the superhero costumes, Hattie whispered to JJ, “Next year I think I’ll be Wonder Woman.”
JJ smiled and said, “I can’t wait to see you in that costume. That’ll be HOT!”
Under her makeup Hattie blushed bright red, but because of the makeup it was hidden. If not for the white makeup her cheeks would have rivaled the red dots.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A few minutes later Lois and Clark’s as well as Jon and Lara’s super hearing kicked in and they heard shouts and screams of pain from a couple of streets over. Jon and Lara looked back at their mom and dad with a question in their eyes. Thinking quickly, Lois said, “Jon and Lara, could you guys go back to the house? I think I left the porch light on and it needs to be off.”
Taking Lara’s hand, Jon said, “Sure mom. We’ll go check.” They started to run back down the block. As soon as they were out of sight they ducked into an alley. Seeing that it was empty they both spun into their uniforms and ran at super speed, so fast that they would simply be a pair of colored blurs back out of the alley and down the street, around the corner and over two streets. Half way up the block they found the source of the disturbance, Raymond (Bud) Kyle(3), a bully that Jon knew from school and his two cronies had found some Trick-or-Treaters that didn’t have a parent with the group and they were taking the goodies that they had collected.
Bud was chortling, “Like taking candy from a bunch of babies!”
Jon and Lara both slowed to a fast walk and as they approached Jon shouted, “Release that child”
As soon as he said that, Lara smiled. After the incident in Smallville, Jon and Lara had discussed what had happened with their mom and dad. They had come to the realization that they had spoken too familiarly in that incident and had decided to use more formal language in future interactions.
Bud had a firm grip on the arm of a seven-year-old and was yanking on the bag of goodies that the child was hanging onto with a death grip. Bud looked up and spotted the costumed meddlers. Thinking that they were simply some more costumed Trick-or-Treaters he growled, “Butt out if you know what’s good for you and get yourself a better costume. Those colors are all wrong.” Turning back to the child he growled, “Leggo the bag!”
Jon stepped up to him and grabbed the hand that Bud’ was using to take the bag away and squeezed slightly.
Bud squealed in pain and released the bag. His squeal of pain turned into a growl or rage at being thus thwarted and he released the kid’s arm and swung his now free hand at the face of this interloper. As he did he snarled, “I told you you’d be sorry!”
Bud’s cronies had both been trying to steal from a slightly older child. Lara had stepped in and said, “Release that child or suffer my wrath.”
They both stopped hassling the child and stood there gaping at her. One of them finally found his voice, “Why don’t you just talk English. Who the heck are you supposed to be, anyhow, Ultra Woman? I got news for you, the colors is all wrong. Beat it before we muss up your hair for you.”
“I regret that you have chosen this path. Now I find that I must interfere in your activity.” Stepping up to them she grabbed the near hand on each individual in a steel like grip and twisted the arms up and back. They were both forced to let the child go and lean backward to relieve the pressure on their arms. This was accompanied by squeals of pain.
Jon used his free hand to intercept Bud’s fist, inches from his face. He clamped down on it with his fingers, applying just enough pressure to elicit another squeal of pain. Then Jon twisted both of his arms so that they would be palm up. He said, “You have no idea just who you are dealing with.”
The kid that had just been rescued was looking on in awe, “Wow! Who
are you?”
Looking at the child calmly while Bud squirmed, trying to get free, and said, “You may call me Kam-El and my partner,” he nodded in Lara’s direction, “is Ultra Woman 2.”
The kid said, “Wow!” again and then blurted out, “Real live superheroes!! Wow!”
Bud’s rage and pain was slowly morphing to fear and beads of sweat were popping out on his forehead.
Jon addressed the child he had rescued, “Please go to that door, knock and request that the person that answers call the police.”
“Sure! Right away!” He scampered off on his errand.
Turning back to Bud he said, “I will allow the members of the local constabulary handle this situation. I believe that there are ample witnesses to your assault on these children that a trip to the local jail will be the inevitable result.”
While they were waiting, Lara and Jon both applied enough pressure on the arms they had control of to force their possessors to kneel. They didn’t have to wait very long. A local patrol car was dispatched and arrived on the scene quickly. The officer observed the scene before he stepped out of the car and did so slowly. “What do we have here?” He asked.
Lara replied, “These three were assaulting this group of children. We interfered before any of the children received bodily harm.”
“Whoa, little lady. Come again, this time in English.”
“Kam-El and I stopped these bullies to keep them from hurting these children.”
The child that had gone, at Kam-El’s request, to have someone call the police piped up, “Yeah,” he pointed at Bud and said, “That guy was trying to take my candy. He was twisting my arm and it hurt a lot. Kam-El stopped him!”
The officer looked at the kid and asked, “Who’s Kam-El?”
The kid pointed at Jon and said, “Him! He’s a real live superhero!”
The officer pushed back his cap and scratched his head, “Superhero you say?”
The kid nodded enthusiastically and said, “Yeah! He stopped him like it was nothing! Then when the guy that was hurting me went to punch Kam-El, he stopped him dead.”
Looking at Lara and her two captures, he asked, “And you are?”
“I have chosen to be called, Ultra Woman 2.”
“And you’re a superhero?”
“If I understand your use of the term, then, yes, you could say that I am a superhero.”
“Well, I’ll be. Superman and Ultra Woman, now Kam-El and Ultra Woman 2. Wait’ll the sarge hears this one.”
Lara relaxed her grip slightly and one of her captures took advantage of the fact to yank free and start to run.
The cop shouted, “Hey, you, come back here!”
As Lara dragged her other charge over and placed the cop’s hand on his shoulder, she said, “Do not worry, officer. He shall not get away.” As soon as she was sure that the cop had him she sped off at super speed, becoming a brief blur of color before she stopped again directly in the path of the fleeing bully. Seeing her suddenly in his path he tried to bowl her over, but she simply side-stepped and grabbed his arm as he passed, spinning him around, pulling his arm up, forcing him to walk on tiptoe and took him back to the officer.
When Lara turned into a blur of color as she sped away after the fleeing bully the cop’s jaw dropped and he almost lost control of the one he had in custody.
As Lara was bringing that one back the cop took the one he had to the car and put him in the back. That was because MPD policy prevented him from putting cuffs on juveniles. When he finished that and turned around, Lara had the other one there and he put him in back along with his friend.
Turning to Jon he said, “Can you bring him over here so that he can join his friends?”
Jon replied, “Gladly,” released his hands, and moving faster than Bud could respond, grabbed his shirt front, picked him up with one hand and carried him to the car, setting him back on his feet at the door. The cop’s jaw had dropped once again at this display of strength, but once he got over that he opened the door and Jon thrust Bud inside.
After closing the door on the trio of bullies he pulled out his notebook and started making entries. “How do you spell your name?”
“K A M – E L,” he spelled it out for him.
“And the young lady is Ultra Woman 2? Are you related to Superman and Ultra Woman?”
Lara replied, “Our relationship with Superman and Ultra Woman is not for public consumption. Let us just say that we know them and that they are our mentors.”
“Well, I guess you couldn’t have a better pair of teachers.”
“We greatly appreciate all of the help they have given us. If there is nothing further that you require, we must be going.”
“I can get the names of the kids involved, call their parents and let them know what happened. If the parents want to press charges, these three will be going to juvenile court. Probably be put on probation. Will we be hearing about you again?”
“Perhaps but, I can not be certain at this time. Come UW, we must be going.” As he finished speaking they both shifted into super speed and turning into colored blurs ran off.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jon and Lara ran back to the same alley and spun back into their costumes. Leaving the alley they looked for their family and finally rejoined them.
A little later they all returned home, tired, but happy.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
While Jon had been away, Hattie had missed him. Yeah, she liked JJ, she like JJ a lot, but there was just something about Jon that attracted Hattie. Maybe it was the fact that he was the first one that she had met, maybe it was the time that they spent together as study partners. Perhaps it was the easy companionship she felt when she was with him. In any event, she had missed him when he had gone away and she needed to talk to someone about it.
She was sharing Lara’ and Celeste’s room that night and the three girls stayed up late having a pajama party of sorts.
Hattie was sitting cross-legged on her bed and she asked, Lara, “What’s the matter with me?”
Lara didn’t know what to make of the question and replied, “Is there something wrong, Hattie? I didn’t notice anything. Are you sick?”
Hattie gave her a silly look and said, “No, I mean, no I’m not sick, it’s … it’s just that … Jon …”
Worried now, Lara asked, “What about, Jon?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s probably me. Most of my other friends are dating and Jon …”
“Oh, he hasn’t asked you out, is that it?”
“Well, maybe he doesn’t care about me.”
“Hattie, Jon cares about you. He cares a lot about you, it’s just that …”
“There’s someone else, isn’t there?”
Lara had heard all about how mom and dad had met and she knew about the love-at-first-sight thing that happened to Kryptonians. She didn’t know for sure if it would happen to all the children of Kryptonians, but she knew it had happened to her. She knew that the love of her life was just down the hall, bunking with Jon and JJ. She knew that she has fallen for Mike Lee the first time she had laid eyes on him that first day of summer camp. She felt that she could put Hattie’s mind at rest on that point at least, “No, Hattie, there isn’t anyone else. I know for a fact that Jon is not seeing anyone, other than you. You’re worried about dating! Look at how many things we do together. We watch movies, play games, study and just hang out together all of the time. That’s as good as dating any day. You spend so much time with us, it’s almost like you’re another sister.” To punctuate that point, Lara launched a pillow in Hattie’s direction which started a three girl pillow fight.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Down the hall Jon, JJ, Mike and Sean were settling in. JJ said, “I don’t know about you guys, but I had a lot of fun tonight. Wasn’t Hattie absolutely beautiful as Queen Amidala? That headdress covered her red hair and hid it.”
Mike put in, “I thought that Lara looked outstanding as Padmé.”
Jon finally contributed, “I thought that all of the costumes were great.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When the kids had all gone off to bed, Lois and Clark had retired to their bedroom, still in costume. After closing the door, Lois said, “You know, I kinda like this outfit.”
Clark smiled and said, “Technically you are a Kryptonian princess and you could wear that if you wanted to.”
“Your mom had the family crest on it.”
“Well, that could give a secret away, if you know what I mean.”
“This way it looks a lot like the costume Leia wore. Remember back, years ago, the Ides of Metropolis Incident, when Reed and I were thrown into the trash compactor? We had just seen the trilogy and being in the compactor reminded me of that movie.”
Clark pulled her into a hug and a kiss before he said, “I need to do a quick patrol. I’ll be back as quickly as I can be.” Clark had spun into the Suit and flew out the window on his patrol.
When he returned he found Lois still in her Princes Leia costume, complete with the fake buns on each side of her head reclining on the bed reading a novel.
As he landed, Lois set the novel aside and stood up. As she was moving around from her side of the bed to the foot, she was saying, in a sultry tone, “This was Leia in ‘New Hope’,” she reached up and undid a clasp which allowed the gown to fall away. When it did, it revealed Lois wearing a brief gold brocade bikini with gauzy veils dangling from the waist. It was a costume very similar to the dance of the seven veils costume she had worn during the pheromone incident, only more brief “This is slave Leia from ‘Return of the Jedi’.” She swayed over to him and put her arms around his neck and started a soul wrenching kiss that had the two of them floating toward the ceiling.
Her hands dove beneath the cape and started to slide down the zipper of the Suit. He broke the kiss long enough to spin out of the suit into his underwear, before returning to the kiss and reaching behind her back to release her top.
Less than a minute later they were both panting for breath. Even though they could each hold their breath for twenty minutes or more they left one another breathless. The hands of each started roaming over the other’s body, thoroughly covering every inch of skin. When hands finally were not enough, Clark floated slightly lower and took one of her nipples in his mouth to nibble and suck on. When he did, Lois’s hands moved to the back of his head to hold him in place and also move him to the other side as she felt the need.
While he was doing this his hands slid the bikini bottoms off of her and started a period of marital intimacy.
Lois sent, /*”Remember, we have at least four sets of super ears outside of this room. We have to keep quiet.”*/
When they were both spent. they floated to a different position and down onto the bed where they cuddled in the afterglow.
Lois was lying on her side with her head pillowed on his shoulder drawing random figures on his stomach with her finger as she sighed and said, “I wonder if we just created another baby.”
He asked, “Are you ready for another one?”
“I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. There are women out there with as many as eighteen children you know. Each pregnancy helps extend my life, so the more I’m pregnant the younger I stay.”
“The pendant also keeps you young.”
“Yeah, but only while I wear it. Whenever I take it off, I age normally, unless I’m pregnant then the baby’s aura slows my aging.”
“I guess the answer it for you to wear the pendant all the time.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but there are times when being un-super are an advantage. It helps protect the secret identity. If I take it off and get a paper cut or poke myself with a staple, who’s going to believe that I’m Ultra Woman? Besides, when I’m pregnant, Ultra Woman has to take a vacation. I can take off the pendant and not have to worry about rescues.”
“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
They both got up and prepared for bed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Sunday edition of the Daily Planet carried a story about the new superheroes.
New Superheroes In Town – Say Superman and Ultra Woman Are Mentors!By Daily Planet Staff Writer
Saturday, during Trick-or-Treat night an incident occurred on Brown Blvd. The incident involved a gang of juveniles that were assaulting young children in order to steal their candy.
From the police report we know that the assault was stopped by a pair of young superheroes going by the names, Kam-El and Ultra Woman 2. According to the arresting officer, both of the new superheroes displayed a range of powers similar to those possessed by Superman and Ultra Woman. The name given by the boy, Kam-El, appears to be a proper name rather than a descriptive like Superman. The form of the name could indicate a foreign origin. It is speculated that these new superheroes are more visitors from New Krypton, recently arrived. It appears as though, unlike the last group of visitors, they are here to help and not try to subjugate the people of Earth. Story continued A-2* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
That afternoon, when Hattie read the paper she went ballistic. “They’re back! They’re back!”(4)
Jon asked, “Who’s back?”
Hattie almost shouted, “The two superheroes that were in Smallville last year! The ones that saved, what’s-her-name!”
“Miss Maisie?” Jon offered.
“Yeah, her. This time they kept some kids from getting hurt. It says they were seen over on Brown! That’s just a couple of blocks from where we were!”
Lara said, “Yeah, that’s close. I wonder if they passed by us and we just didn’t see them.”
Hattie had turned to page two for the rest of the story and continued to read. She demonstrated her natural reporter’s instincts when she said, “It says here that they appear to be young. Since he gave a name that doesn’t sound like it’s from Earth they think they could be from New Krypton, I wonder if they are going to go to school. We could check around and see if there are any new admissions.”
Lois stopped her, “Whoa, wait a minute, why would you want to do that?”
“To discover who they are!”
“Why? What would you do with the information if you found it out? Publish it?”
Hattie’s expression became one of disbelief, “No! I’d never do that! I’d just want to be their friend. I’d keep the secret. Wild horses couldn’t drag it out of me.”
Hattie didn’t notice the smile that her statement caused to appear on the faces of Jon and Lara. They knew that Hattie would be as good as her word. They had become very close to her and knew that if she somehow, accidentally found out the family secret, she would keep it a secret. She was the best friend that Jon had ever had, bar none. He hoped that at some point, a few years down the line perhaps, that he could either tell Hattie or she would find out accidentally. He didn’t think it would actually be so bad if that happened. Inevitably, that did happen and when it did, Hattie was as good as her word, but that’s another trilogy of stories. (5)(6)(7)
comments go here Footnotes:
(1)
Halloween in Smallville.(2)
Summer Camp.(3)
After Summer Camp(4)
Game Night(5)
Hattie Kaplin – Reporter(6)
Hattie and the Main Street Bomber(7)
Hattie and Mr. XThe proper reading order is:
1 Summer Camp
2 After Summer Camp
3 Halloween in Smallville
4 Game Night
5 Hattie Kaplin Reporter
6 Hattie and the Main Street Bomber
7 Hattie and Mr. X
