The Green, Green Glow of Home - Matchmaker style 1/10
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.
A/N - This story was written in response to a WAFFy challenge proposed bt VirginiaR. The parameters were - first season, they cannot have been married previously and they need to be married before the end of the story. I hope that this story concept meets with your approval. 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.
In the first season there were a number of episodes that if they had turned out just a little bit differently could have resulted in major changes in the series. One of those, and I must admit, one of my favorite episodes was “The Green, Green Glow of Home”.
You have to wonder, “What would have happened, if Rachel hadn’t been there to shoot Trask?” “What if Clark hadn’t been exposed accidentally to the Kryptonite by Jonathan?” “What if Sherman hadn’t bucked Trask?” There are any number of what-ifs that you can come up with.
I am going to present here, one of my – WHAT-Ifs. Enjoy.* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
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Chapter 01
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Universal Locator Designation
Alpha -34 x Gamma 255 x Tau -225
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It was 9:30 on a Tuesday night and Superman was flying over Metropolis on his usual patrol. He mused to himself, <Weather is deteriorating. Looks like it will be raining shortly. Hopefully everything will be quiet and I can just go home and watch a game.> Suddenly a flash of lightening lit up the sky. <Yeah, that's what I thought. About time to head home. No self-respecting crook is going to be out in the rain.> Suddenly, a sound was picked up by his superhearing. It was a woman's voice shouting, "Help! Help! He stole my car!"
As he zeroed in on the location of the woman's voice he heard the sound of tires screeching. Looking in that direction he changed course. He could see the woman, who was still screaming, standing in the street, watching as her late model luxury car roared down the street leaving her in the dust as the first drops of rain started to fall.
The carjacker was looking in the rearview mirror and making an obscene gesture to the owner of the car as he left the scene. When he looked away from the mirror, he suddenly saw Superman standing in the street, right in front of him and in reflex he tramped on the brake, stopping mere inches from the legs of the superhero. He slammed the gear shift lever into reverse and looking over the back seat attempted to leave the scene, however he saw that he wasn't moving yet the engine was revving like he was traveling at ninety miles an hour. Suddenly he realized that the angle of the car was like it is going up a steep incline. He took his foot off the gas pedal as he looked around. The realization that Superman was holding the front of the car up in the air hit him. That and the fact that it was a front wheel drive car told him that he wasn't going anywhere. He put it into Park, turned the engine off and put his hands up.
As Superman lowered the car back to the ground the carjacker showed that his submission was a ploy because he jumped out of the car and started to flee down the street. He had only taken a single step when suddenly Superman is there in the street in front of him again. He skidded to a halt and pulling out a gun started shooting.
Superman's hands became a blur of motion as he caught the bullets. When the perp stopped shooting Superman opened his hands. As he did the scene was lit up by another flash of lightening and it glittered with a coppery golden color off of the slugs as they fell to the ground looking for all the world like falling sparks.
Having expended all of the bullets in the clip the perp threw down his weapon in disgust and as he raised his hands said, "Man, don't nothin' hurt you?"
Superman chuckled and replied, "Not so far." Just then another flash of lightning lit up the sky.
The local beat cop, responding to the cries of the woman and the sounds of gunfire ran up. Without even being directed to, the carjacker turned around and put his hands on the roof of the car, allowing the cop to frisk him, and put him in cuffs. When the cop finished giving the perp his Miranda warning he turned to Superman and said, "Thanks, Superman. I don't know what we'd do without you."
Reading his ID, Superman replied, "My pleasure, Patrolman Davis."
The woman arrived at this point and pointing at the perp shouted, "That's him! He stole my car!"
Patrolman Davis turned to her and asked, "Would you like to press charges, Ma'am?"
"Darn right, I'll press charges."
Patrolman Davis pushed the button on his microphone, "Davis to dispatch."
"Dispatch, go."
"Carjacking suspect in custody, corner of Ninth and Lexington. Dispatch car for pickup."
"10-4"
Unobserved by any of those involved, a dapper little man wearing a suit that was a little out of step with the times and a derby hat was standing on the corner, observing. Smiling he nodded to himself and turning entered an alley.
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The rain that was threatening Metropolis was part of a larger front that covered a good portion of the eastern seaboard. There was another front over the mid-west which had similar characteristics. So far there had been a threat of rain, but no actual precipitation. The concern of the local population was that there would be lightning without rain and that the lightning would start a fire. With the recently harvested crops there was a lot of debris left in the fields that needed to be cleaned up and bundled. The corn stalks lying on the ground would eventually be ground up for roughage.
In this rural setting there was a farm house, neat and well maintained.
As the lightning flashes lit up the surrounding countryside it illuminated a solo individual making his way across a field and approaching the house. The frequent lightning bolts revealed the wizened face of an older man who by his clothes it was easy to tell was a farmer or perhaps a mechanic since he was carrying a large tool box.
He made his way across the field and around the barn. He finally climbed the steps to the porch of the farm house and knocked on the door.
A few seconds later, Jonathan Kent opened the door and said, "Wayne! What are you doing out on a night like this?" Then over his shoulder he shouted, "Martha, it's Wayne. Put on some coffee." Turning back to Wayne Irig he said, "Come on in, Wayne."
Wayne shook his head and said, "Not now, Jonathan. No time for that. Better out here," and he gestured for Jonathan to accompany him.
Jonathan nodded his head, grabbed his coat and stepped out onto the porch, allowing the door to swing closed behind him.
As he shrugged into his coat he asked, "What brings you out on a night like this, Wayne?"
Wayne, never one for much in the way of conversation, cut right to the chase, "Jonathan, you know that big oak tree I got out back? Well, Tuesday's storm, it blew it right out of the ground.
Nodding his head in understanding, Jonathan asked, "Need some help cutting it up? I just sharpened the blade on my chain saw."
Shaking his head, Wayne replied, "No, Jonathan, that ain't it. No, uh-uh. I found somethin' under that tree. It was a rock of some sort and I sent a little chunk off to the state lab to have it checked out. That much was okay, but today I got federal agents asking me a lot of damn fool questions. Now they got bulldozers showin' up tomorrow. That's all I know. It has to be about that damn rock, that's all I can figure. I need you to keep this for me till I know what's what." With that statement, Wayne held out the toolbox and Jonathan took it.
Hefting the box he noted how heavy it was. He asked, "What do you think it is? It's as heavy as lead."
Wayne dismissed his comment, "Nah, it ain't that heavy. It's this old toolbox of mine. Handed down in the family. I think it's made of lead. What's in it is like nothin' I ever seen before, Jonathan. Somethin' weird. Here, see for yourself."
Jonathan opened the catch and threw back the lid of the box. Inside was a football sized chunk of crystalline rock, glowing as if from an inner light source, seemingly alive with energy. Jonathan's face reflected the green glow.
Unknown to either of the gentlemen by the house, at the corner of the barn a little gentleman in a suit and derby hat was watching the scene unfold and when Jonathan's face was lit up by the green glow, he nodded to himself and disappeared around the corner of the barn.
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Early the next morning, as soon as the doors to the elevator opened, Jimmy Olsen rushed out and into the bullpen fiddling with an oversized watch seemingly oblivious to what was happening around him, barely missing knocking over a deliveryman with a hand cart full of packages.
Catherine Grant was sitting on Jimmy's desk with her feet in his chair, her very short skirt displaying her legs to all present and looking over a proof copy of her latest article while she waited for him. She saw him approaching and couldn't help making a comment, "Start being on time, Jimmy, it'll ruin your reputation."
Smiling, Jimmy held out his arm to display his new watch for her perusal, "Morning, Cat. What do you think?"
She quipped, "MM mmmm, I prefer … leather."
Taken aback by this comment, Jimmy said, "I wasn't talking about fashion."
With a sly look, Catherine replied, in a tone reminiscent of Mae West, "Neither was I." She gave him a little wink.
Trying to bring the conversation back to a serious footing, Jimmy tapped the watch and said, "It's a S.T.A.R. Labs prototype. The Air Force plans to use it to help in finding their lost pilots, but I was thinking we could use it to get in touch with Superman.
At the mention of Superman, Catherine's attitude changed immediately. She asked, "May I see that?"
While Cat and Jimmy were having this conversation Lois, Clark and Perry were at Clark's desk arguing about a new assignment. Clark was standing on one side of the desk, his jacket was off and the sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up.
Lois leaned back against his desk, showing a bit of leg. She was wearing a brown business suit which consisted of a brown jacket over a beige shell with a skirt that had a slit on the left front which allowed her leg to show through half way up her thigh.
Perry sat perched on the corner of the desk. As was his habit, his jacket was off and like Clark his shirt sleeves were rolled up.
Clark pointed out, "So here's this decent guy - a farmer - who gets thrown off his property by the feds who then start tearing his place up with bulldozers."
Nodding, Perry replied, "Sounds like a story to me."
Lois replied, "Let Clark go then. I'll stay here in Metropolis and watch for Superman."
Perry had known Lois for a long time and could see the signs. She thought that this story was beneath her and besides, she was fixated on the new superhero. He would have to pull out all the stops to get her on board, "Now, Lois let's keep an open mind here. 'The Poisoning of America.' I'm seeing a Planet special investigation.
Sneeringly, Lois replied, "Really? I'm seeing guys in overalls discussing hog futures."
Clark got a pained expression on his face as he suddenly heard an ear-piercing beeping sound. He looked around the room, his brow furrowed. Business continued around him as usual. He could hardly hear what Perry was saying as he replied to Lois' objections, "Private property rights versus the public good."
Clark could barely hear as Lois replied, "We've got that story here in Metropolis. We don't have to go all the way to
Kansas to find it."
Clark finally spotted what could be the source of the noise that he was hearing. He saw Jimmy and Cat and Jimmy was showing her how the watch worked by pressing a button on its side.
Perry was waxing eloquent on his subject, "Urban and rural. It's the same story. Same problem. Sometimes it's easier to understand in a smaller setting. A microcosm …" Catching sight of Clark out of the corner of his eye, he turned in his direction and concern in his voice, asked, "You okay, son?"
Still having a pained expression, but now, knowing the source of the problem, Clark replied, "Sure, excuse me a minute." Clark turned away and headed in the direction of where Cat and Jimmy stood.
As he approached, Cat was shaking her head as she moved the watch away from her ear and said, "Big disappointment. I can't hear a thing."
Jimmy grabbed the watch back and shook it in the air between them as he replied, "You aren't supposed to, it's hypersonic."
Cat shot back, "The man's a superhero, not a dog!"
Just then, Clark arrived and grabbed the watch out of Jimmy's hand. He punched buttons until the sound died. Turning to Jimmy he asked, "What is this thing?"
Jimmy could see that Clark was upset, so in an attempt to calm him down he said, "It's a signal watch. Superman has super-hearing, right? We need him, we call."
Shoving the watch back into Jimmy's hand Clark said, "Maybe you should only use that thing in a true emergency."
As he was putting the watch back on his wrist, Jimmy replied, "Smooth, CK. Will do."
While Clark had been confronting Jimmy and Cat and resolving that problem, Perry had been laying down the law to Lois. With a final shrug of his shoulders, he said, "Okay, I'm done arguing."
Lois had one more argument to try, "But, Perry, it's …
Smallville!"
Perry just shook his head and said, "Yeah, I got you. That's probably how the first reporter at Love Canal felt." Then with an I-told-you-so expression he finished with, "Say, I almost forgot ... didn't that reporter ... pull in a …
Pulitzer Prize?"
Lois didn't even bat an eye at his statement. She was convinced that this would not end up well, but she could see the handwriting on the wall. This is going to be a disaster and to top it off; she would be a thousand miles from Metropolis and probably miss Superman's next appearance.
Finally resigned to her fate she turned to her partner and said, "Okay, Clark, if we have to do this, I guess we might as well get started. Let's go pack."
Clark grabbed his jacket and put it on. While doing that he said, "Oh, I don't think it'll be that bad, Lois. It
could turn out to be almost like a paid vacation."
As she headed for the elvator she looked back over her shoulder she said, "My idea of a vacation is Tahiti … not
Smallville."
When they boarded the elevator there was already a passenger. A dapper little man wearing a suit that Lois thought he must have gotten from the Salvation Army complete with a derby hat. Who wore a derby now-a-days. The oddest thing was the electronic device hanging by a cord around his neck that he was actively fiddling with. They rode down in silence for a time, but then Lois' curiosity got the best of her and she turned to the little man with a question in her eyes. She didn't remember ever seeing him in the Planet before, yet she couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity. Under this scrutiny, he looked up, nodded his head and said in a British English accent, "Good day, Miss Lane, Mr. Kent."
Lois was surprised and asked, "Do I know you?"
He smiled an enigmatic smile and replied, "No, no you don't, Miss Lane. At least, not yet."
Lois was mystified by this comment and was about to ask for clarification, but just then the elevator doors opened and the little man exited, disappearing around the corner before they could see just where he went.
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Later, Lois and Clark were seated side-by-side on a plane headed west. Lois had insisted on the window seat and as she was looking down all she saw is farmland. She grumbled, "We're miles from any big city."
Clark smiled and in a very upbeat tone said, "This is America's breadbasket, Lois. I bet that half of what you eat comes from this area."
Lois wasn't mollified, she continued to grumble, "Don't tell me, 4-H changed your life."
Clark was still being insufferably upbeat as he continued, "I can't help it if I'm a farm kid."
Lois, now with a sarcastic tone replied to this sally, "If I ever need a cow milked, I'll remember that." Lois was thinking, <For a farm kid he sure can write. It may not exactly be my style, but Perry might be right. Our styles do compliment each other. I don't know how Perry does it. Actually, I guess I do know. Like he always says, 'I didn't get this job because I can yodel.' Much as I hate to admit it, Clark and I are good and together ... According to Perry we could be great. So far he hasn't tried to take advantage of me. He hasn't stolen any of *my* stories. In fact, much as I hate to admit it, I'm the one that stole one of his. I hate it that I did that. That's another thing about Clark, he never casts that up at me. He is so forgiving. Why can't all men be like him? It's such a shame, he appears to be unique, one of a kind. I've even started to like working with him. If he would just stop disappearing suddenly, frequently.>
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The Mustang convertible with the top down turned into a dirt road which wound through a wooded area. Lois was driving while Clark was enjoying the sunshine. Suddenly, rounding a curve Lois pulled the car to a halt. In front of them was a railroad crossing and there was a train stopped, blocking the road. The gate was down, but this was just a bit superfluous as there was a very solid freight car blocking the road. There were several railroad workers walking around the cars apparently looking for the problem that had caused the train to halt, but also apparently not having any luck doing so.
Clark and Lois resumed the discussion that started on the plane, "You can joke about it all you want, but take away Middle America and what have you got?
Lois, with a one-ups-man tone replied, "Art, music, theater …"
Clark interrupted and added, "crime, drugs, poverty.
Sighing and indicating the stalled train, Lois asked, "How long is this going to take?"
Smiling, Clark replied, "It takes as long as it takes."
With a sidelong glance, Lois said, "I didn't know that Zen was popular in the country." Lois thought, <Maybe this won't be that bad. There may be more to Mr. Greenjeans than what's on the surface. Maybe by seeing him in his own environment I can figure him out a little. Maybe he won't disappear while we are here.>
Clark was continuing his discourse, "It always takes people from the city a while to decompress. Fortunately for you, this weekend Smallville's holding the annual Corn Festival."
With a dispirited air, Lois asked, "This is a good thing?" <Hmmmm. Maybe I can talk to some of the people that knew him growing up. I might just be able to find out if this is all a put on or if he really is this good. If it's a put on, then I can keep him at arm's length. I hope it isn't a put on. The time we've spent, working late nights together … sharing take out … ohhhh, that take out. He always gets the very best take out. If he can do that for a working session, I wonder where he'd take me for a
date?> She gave a mental shake, <DATE??? Where did that thought come from?>
Clark's almost insufferably upbeat attitude was abundantly evident as he replied, "Sure. We'll see the Corn Queen Pageant. The Husk-Off. The Corn-O-Rama. Popcorn, creamed corn, corn-on-the-cob. We're in luck."
With a sarcastic tone, Lois replied, "Be still, my heart." <Maybe, with a personal guide it won't be so bad. I hope it won't be as boring as it sounds.>
Not allowing her negative attitude to affect him, Clark smiled in reply.
The train continued to remain immobile for what seemed an interminable time. The couple in the car was forced to spend the time in conversation. At times the conversation became rather animated and neither observed the dapper little man that peered at them from between the railcars.
comments go here TBC
