The Ides of Metropolis - Matchmaker Style
Rated PG-13
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Previously:
Luthor was sitting on his balcony, he had on his shooting vest, his double barreled shotgun standing nearby and he was idly with a set of night-vision goggles as he waited.
After a minute, Nigel arrived carrying the clay pigeon launcher and some clay pigeons. He placed the clay pigeons on the floor near the balustrade and affixed the launcher. He loaded a clay pigeon and stood by.
Luthor, satisfied with the function of the night vision device slipped it on over his head, picked up his shotgun, checked that it was loaded and approached the barrier. He barked out, "Pull!"
Nigel triggered the launcher and the clay pigeon flew out over the street.
In one swift movement, Luthor brought up the shotgun, sighted along the barrel allowing a lead and fired. The clay pigeon exploded into very small shards.
As Nigel loaded another pigeon, he said, "It is amazing, sir. All things considered, LexCorp came through this computer virus relatively unscathed."
"Pull!"
Another pigeon was launched into oblivion first by Nigel and then by Luthor's shot. After the shot as he savored the victory, he replied to Nigel's comment, "Yes. Tragedy averted. For now."
Surprised, Nigel replied, "For now?"
As Nigel loaded another pigeon, Luthor elaborated, "Yes. You never know when another virus might hit, one that has no code, or no code capable of being broken."
Nigel offered, "I suppose so. What a horrible and desperate act, utterly unthinkable. Unless ..."
Luthor said, "Exactly, Nigel. Unless it belongs to me. This time there was a genius equal to Henry Harrison to break the code that he had written. We must see about hiring Eugene Laderman." He paused a second and then shouted, "Pull!"
Nigel launched the pigeon. Luthor obviously had his mind on other matters, because his timing or his aim was off by a fraction because he … missed."
As he pulled the night vision device off he said, "Ooops." He stepped to the edge and joined Nigel as they looked down following the falling intact clay pigeon. After a moment, Luthor said, "Nigel, call …"
Nigel finished for him, "The lawyers. Yes, sir. Right away."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next day Perry observed Lois and Clark as they stepped from the elevator carrying their matching travel mugs of coffee. Lois's hair was a little mussed and her cheeks were flushed and they both had smiles on their faces. They made it to their desks and Perry couldn't help but notice the little bump Lois's hip gave Clark as she swayed down the ramp, trying to make it look like a simple sway of her hips. Perry smiled to himself. He loved those two kids as if they were his own and to see them happy made him happy.
Perry gave his star reporting team a few minutes to get settled before he picked the early edition from his desk and walked out into the pit, stopping near their desks. "Eugene's a free man, thanks to you. Nice work." He pulled up the paper and indicated the story, above the fold, "Great story!"
Lois replied, "Thanks, Chief. And thanks for not blowing the whistle on us."
"How could I blow the whistle on you for something, I didn't, you know … know? And next time, I don't want to know what I shouldn't know."
After Perry departed, Lois turned to Clark and looked at him.
Clark shrugged and said, "Well, go ahead. I'm waiting."
Lois, with feigned innocence looked at him and asked, "For what?"
Clark shrugged and said, "The morality play. The 'you should have trusted me and my infallible reporter's instinct' lecture."
Lois reposts, "Clark, you don't need me to remind you of your shortcomings. I would have thought, by now ... they'd be obvious, but I love you anyway."
"At least there's that."
Lois said, "Come on, I'm starving and you're buying." After a few seconds, she said, "And just in case you *did* miss the moral to this story -- you should trust what's in people's hearts, not just the facts, ma'am. I hate to say, I told you so, but I told you that Eugene was innocent. My gut told me that he was."
"Lois, if I have ever had any doubts about your intuition in the past, I need to make a note to not ever doubt it in the future." He stood and helped Lois with her jacket, "Let's go get lunch."
As they were on the way to the elevator, Lois wrapped her arm around his and leaned into his shoulder. As the doors were closing, through the final gap, Perry saw her go up on tiptoe and give him a kiss.
And now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 12
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After lunch, back at the Planet, Clark was looking over an article that Lois was working on when Jimmy passed by and dropped an envelope on Clark's desk. He called over, "Hey, CK. There's a letter here for Superman. It came ‘care of Clark Kent'. You'll see to it that he gets it, right?"
Looking around, Clark said, "Sure thing, Jimmy. Next time I see him, I'll give it to him. Thanks."
A few minutes later, Clark moved back to his desk and picked up the envelope. It was addressed in a flowing, feminine hand. Lois came over and looked over his shoulder. She also noted the handwriting and asked, "Does Superman have a female admirer?"
Looking back over his shoulder he said, "Superman has a lot of female admirers. He gets offers from them all of the time. They range from one night stands, to permanent commitments."
Lois looked around to make sure they weren't overheard and asked, "Do you reply and tell them that Superman is not available, I hope?"
He asked, "Jealous?"
Lois gave him a coy look, "Me? Never. I know what I've got and I think he knows what he has."
Craning around, he gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, "I sure do."
Just then, Lois's phone rang and she went to answer it. Clark sat there looking at the envelope. It was addressed to Superman c/o Clark Kent at the Daily Planet and it was postmarked Chicago. Finally making up his mind, he opened the envelope. When he opened it a snapshot dropped out onto his desk. He picked it up and turned it over to look at it and saw the smiling face of a beautiful 6 year old girl with brown eyes and hair. After looking at the picture for a time he opened the letters, there were actually two of them. The first, written in a practiced feminine hand:
Clark just sat there re-reading the letter a few times before he picked up the second letter. This one was written in a child's scrawl.
Clark was near tears as he folded both letters and placed them along with the picture in his inside pocket to show to Lois when he joined her in the evening. After doing this, he sat there, thinking about how he could help. He decided that two heads were better than one, and four heads were even better so he would discuss it with Lois and his parents when he got home.
By the time Lois returned from her desk he had composed himself.
"So, who was the letter from?"
Looking at his watch, he said, "I think it's getting late. Let's call it a day. Mom and Dad will be returning to the farm tomorrow and I think we should have dinner with them. What do you think?"
"I think you're trying to distract me. Who wrote the letter?"
"Can it wait until dinner? I'd like to go over it with you, but I want Mom and Dad to hear it too."
"Oh, okay. As long as it isn't someone propositioning my husband I'm happy. Let's go."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
They were visiting with the Kents later that evening in Lois's old apartment. After a dinner prepared by Martha, Clark brought out the letters. Turning to Lois he asked, "Remember, I told you about the little girl I saved from the fire."
Lois replied, "Let me see, you mean the one you saved from that fire in Chicago?"
"Yeah, that's the one. Well, I got a letter from her and one from her mother." He pulled the envelope from the pocket of his jacket, which was over the back of his chair. "Before I read them, let me show you this." He pulled out the picture and handed it to Lois.
As soon as Lois saw it she gasped and said, "You're right! She looks like she could be our child. Here Martha, take a look."
Jonathan looked over Martha's shoulder as Martha looked at the picture.
Martha gushed, "Is this a preview or what? She sure looks like she could be yours. The coloring is perfect and that mouth! It's shaped very much like yours. Her big doe eyes are just like yours too. She's an absolutely beautiful child."
When they had finished Clark said, "Let me read you her letter." He read Carrie's letter first.
" Mister Superman,
Thank you for saving me and Scrappy from the fire. Scrappy is my special friend and I would miss him. He helps me and helps my mommy and daddy take care of me. He lets them know when something bad is going to happen to me.
He helps me like you help other people.
When I grow up I want to help people too.
Love,
Carrie."When he finished Martha said, "That's so sweet. She wants to help just like Superman. How can we help her do that?"
Lois said, "I have one idea right off the bat. I had been saving for a trip to Tahiti." She smiled as she continued, "Since I won't have nearly the expenses now, I'd like to use some of that money to pay for her schooling."
With a downcast expression, Clark said, "Let me now read her mother's letter."
"Dear Superman,
My name is Phoebe Harris. My daughter Carrie was the little girl you rescued from the fire a few weeks ago. I wanted to take a minute to thank you for what you did for me and my family. Carrie is a special little girl and very precious to her father and me.
In your brief encounter with my daughter you would not have known anything of her background.
It is not apparent, but Carrie suffers from a form of epilepsy. Her seizures can come on very suddenly and can be very violent. Until we got Scrappy they would be totally unexpected. We are very grateful that when you saved Carrie that you saved Scrappy as well. Scrappy is a working or companion dog. You had already left when Scrappy became very agitated and started barking which is the way he alerts us that he has sensed the onset of one of Carrie's seizures. Thanks to Scrappy and his alert we were able to properly care for Carrie and have her protected from injuring herself during the seizure. Normally her seizures are controlled through medication; however, they still do occasionally occur. In this situation, since the fire had destroyed her meds she suffered several seizures before we were able to renew her prescription. Scrappy was able to warn us each time. I don't know what we'd do without that dog.
Her epilepsy is a result of an inoperable brain tumor. Because of it we are not sure just how long Carrie will be with us. So far we have had her with us for six wonderful years.
Because of her affliction we have been homeschooling her. Because of the attention she receives she is already approaching grade level two even though she is just at the age for kindergarten.
Carrie wanted to write you her own letter and I have included it.
Thank you for what you did for my special little girl.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Phoebe Harris"When he was finished, Lois picked up the picture again and stared at it for a long time while Martha wept silently.
Finally, in a subdued tone, Lois asked, "Is there nothing we can do? Isn't there a doctor we can contact to help?"
Before Clark was able to answer, there was a knock on the door. Lois said, "That can't be Luce. She's not due for a couple of weeks yet."
Clark slid his glasses down his nose and x-rayed through the door. After he did, in a hushed tone he said, "I'll be … we may be about to get an answer."
Lois was mystified, "Huh?"
Clark smiled and said, "Herb."
"Oh! Well, don't keep him waiting. Answer the door."
Clark super sped to the door and opened it. "Welcome, Herb. Come on in."
Seeing that everyone was around the table, Herb took off his Derby hat and said, "I hope I'm not interrupting a family gathering."
"No, Herb. It's all right. Come on in. We were wondering if we were ever going to see you again." Clark took his hat and put it on a side table.
They joined the rest of the family at the table. As they did, Herb spotted Carrie's photograph lying on the table. He nodded in understanding and said, "Ah, I see you have received the letter, uh, letters."
Lois held them up and asked, "You knew about these?"
Herb nodded and said, somewhat sheepishly, "There isn't much that happens to you that I don't know about."
Lois got right to the point, "Okay, so, what can we do about this little girl?"
Herb replied, "At the present time, not much. Rest assured that in the future there will be significant contributions made by all four of you to this particular child's welfare. All I can say to you at this time is - be her friends."
Lois felt a chill of apprehension go up her spine. "What are you saying, Herb? Is she somehow involved in our future?"
Herb smiled and said, "Too much information, too soon is not good. Just be her friends. At the proper time the proper steps will be taken." Turning to encompass the entire family, Herb continued, "I've told you about parallel universes. It is remarkable how events in various universes are repeated in others." Singling out Clark, Herb finished, "With some variations, of course, for instance in your case, Lois had to save you from Trask. It was not that way in other universes." Tapping the picture, Herb continued, "This particular young lady has appeared in several universes. Sometimes she has a tumor and sometimes she doesn't. In all cases, if she is present, she is intimately involved in your, that is, Lois and Clark's and to a certain extent, Jonathan and Martha's future."
Lois broke in, "Speaking of the future … I have these memories … memories of our baby. We've been trying and trying, but we haven't, you know …"
"Ah, I understand. I don't think I would be telling you too much to say that it will require some time before that will happen. Your body, Lois, is undergoing a metamorphosis, like a caterpillar in a cocoon. By being exposed to the Kryptonian aura certain physiological changes are being made which, in time, will make your body compatible with a Kryptonian and capable of pregnancy."
"Oh, so when I become a butterfly, I can get pregnant," Lois reposted with a pained, sarcastic expression on her face. Clark hugged her in sympathy and she gave him a watery smile.
Herb nodded and calmly replied, "In a manner of speaking, yes. The changes will not be evident, on the outside like a caterpillar changing into a butterfly. That was a metaphorical example. They are internal. You are slowly becoming Kryptonian. When you are approximately one half Kryptonian your bodies will be compatible and pregnancy possible."
"Does that mean that eventually, I'll be fully Kryptonian and super, like Clark?" Lois smiled, hopefully.
As usual Herb gave an enigmatic smile and said, "Too much information …"
He was interrupted by an irate Lois, "Herb, you
can't do that to us! We have a need to know."
Herb was calm as he answered, "How will your life be enhanced by the knowledge? How would your behavior be modified by knowing? We cannot take the chance that we would adversely affect future events by having prior knowledge."
Lois gestured with her hands, pointed at her head, snorted and challenged, "But I do have prior knowledge. I've got these memories …"
"I know, my dear, and I am sincerely sorry about that, but it was necessary. It was done to give you the incentive you needed to save Clark from Trask."
Lois gave Herb a look of disbelief, "Who says that I needed that incentive?"
Herb turned to her and asked, in a serious tone, "If not for the fact that you had those memories and considered yourself married to Clark, would you have even thought to put your own life in jeopardy in order to save him?"
Lois was taken aback at the question and thought, seriously for a time before answering, "I don't know." She looked at Clark and said, "I honestly don't know. Before the memories, I … well, I liked you, sort of, but I also didn't like being teamed with a rookie. I guess I might not have. I might have left it to the police."
Herb looked at her with understanding and said, "That was the reason you were given the memories. It was necessary that Clark survive. If he survived, I knew that you would also, therefore he had to survive. There was a chance that if he died you would also. It was a calculated risk, but it did work out."
Lois returned to her prior theme, sweeping her hands down her body, she asked, "So when does this caterpillar turn into a butterfly?"
Herb chuckled a self-deprecating chuckle and said, "The legendary Mad Dog Lane tenacity. All I can say now is that you will know at the proper time."
"How will I know?"
"I'll be back before that time. When the time is very near and I will bring you a present … a very special present, but you must be patient. You have many adventures in store before that time arrives. One of them will involve," Herb placed a finger on the picture, "this young lady."
Lois said, "Then it must be soon. She has some kind of tumor that could shorten her life."
Herb smiled that insufferably, infuriatingly, enigmatic smile of his that told them nothing and yet held a world of meaning.
The eyes of Lois and Clark as well as Jonathan and Martha were irresistibly drawn to the picture. The thought on all of their minds was - how could this child be so important to them?
Herb stood up from the table and pulled a device from his pocket. It turned itself on as soon as he touched it. After reclaiming his hat he punched a few buttons and a portal opened in the air between the dining room and the living room. He turned to them, tipped his hat and said, "Ciao," stepped through and the portal closed behind him.
Lois, who had stood in the heat of the discussion flopped back down in her chair and let out a breath, "Whew. He is so infuriating! He tells us a lot without telling us anything. What are we supposed to do?"
Clark picked up the letters and looked at the postmark. "I think that Superman has a date to visit a little girl in Chicago. He needs to acquire more background information on this little girl. From what Herb said, I may need to bring her here. He said that we were all involved so maybe Smallville would be better." He looked around at his parents and asked, "You guys up to it?"
Nodding in the direction that Herb had departed, Jonathan said, "He seems to think it's important so I think we need to go along with it. Who knows, we might even like her."
Martha slapped his arm and said, "Look at that face." She picked up the child's letter and thrust it into his hands, "Read that letter … she's a sweet child. How could we not like her?"
Jonathan rubbed his arm in mock tribute to the hurt he did not actually feel and smiling said, "Actually, I thought it would be a foregone conclusion. How could I help, but like her? She is the spitting image of Lois."
Martha smiled and moved into Jonathan's arms, "You big old softie! I love you."
Jonathan replied, "I love you too and I don't need that picture to remind me what you look like. I've got the real thing all the time." He gave her a kiss.
comments go here The End
Next up - That Foundling - Matchmaker Style
