Clark and Lois The Lost Years Matchmaker Chronicles Vol 3 29/46
By Ken Janney
This version is rated PG-13
* denotes emphasis *
< denotes thoughts >
[ playback of a recording or TV Commentary] / telepathic communications /
(#) footnotes
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Reminder:
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 - Canon Lois and Clark universe also called – Prime
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 – Canon Alt Clark universe also called – Alt 1
Previously –
Clark laughed “Count on it. One way or another, he’ll be here. I think that all I’ll need to tell him is that you’re going to be here and he’ll show up with bells on.”
Lana laughed at the picture that engendered in her mind and said “Normal clothes would be preferable.”
All three laughed together.
Lois put an arm around Lana’s shoulder and directed her into the house as she said, “I think some repairs are needed. Let’s go into the bathroom. You can use my mascara.”
Lana put her arm around Lois and said, “Thanks, I guess I really do need to do the repairs. I probably look like a witch.”
“We’ll have you presentable in no time.” They moved into the house.
After sharing some time together during the repairs and some ‘girl talk’ wherein Lana told Lois some anecdotes about Clark, Lana was presentable enough to go back into town. She was headed back to Maisie’s to clear up what had happened earlier and quash any rumors that might start. She would let everyone know that she and Clark were still friends even though they had broken up and that his wife, Lois, was one of her best friends and that she was happy for them.
And now:
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Chapter 29 – 348 Hyperion Ave.
Friday July 3, 1992
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Friday night couldn’t have gone better.
Pete, seeing the obvious green light that Clark was giving him, asked Lana, “’Dead in the Water’ is playing at the Talon, would you like to go see it tomorrow night?”
Lana replied, “Why, Pete Ross, are you asking me out on a date?”
Pete replied, “Yeah, I guess I am. Do you want to go out with me?” He had a hopeful expression on his face.
Lana laughed, “I’m just wondering why it took you so long to ask. You’ve known about Clark and Lois for a while now.”
“I wasn’t sure how Clark would take it and I have this job application in and I’ve been helping Clark with this project and …”
Lana laughed again and said, “No need to excuse yourself, Pete. I’m just glad you finally asked. Can I get a large tub of popcorn?”
With a relieved tone in his voice Pete said, “Anything you want. I’ll even get you a giant soda pop if you want.”
In a bantering tone she replied, “Only if it’s diet. I have to watch my figure you know.”
That set the tone for the rest of the evening and everyone had a good time. It looked like things would work themselves out.
On Monday, July 6, Lois gave Perry White a call.
The phone was answered on the second ring. “Daily Planet, Perry White speaking.”
“Hi Chief.”
“Lois, is that you Darlin’?”
“Yeah Perry, it’s me. We’re back in the states.”
“You are? That’s wonderful! How did the investigation go? Where are you? How soon are you going to file the story? Are we going to nail the culprits?”
Laughing, she replied, “Whoa, whoa, slow down Chief. One thing at a time. The investigation had a few glitches, but we’re okay now. I don’t think I want to tell you where we are right now. It’s our own little hide-a-way. I think we’re going to hold off on filing the story ...”
“What? Why? If this is the story I think it is then we need to get it out there. This is the scoop of the year!”
“Perry, we want to hold it back because we believe that it’s only part of a bigger story and we want to bring it in all at once. If you thought that this story was perhaps Kerth material … we are looking at Pulitzer!”
Perry was speechless as he absorbed the import of what she was telling him. Finally he replied “Lois, if you’re serious about this, whatever you want to do, we’ll do. It has been a long time since someone at the Planet has captured the big one. How soon can you fill me in on what you have and where yo’all are goin’ with this?”
“As soon as we get back. We …”
Perry interrupted at this point, “There you go with that we again. Am I to assume that you brought this new partner of yours back with you?”
“Well, yeah. We kinda hit it off. We want to continue working together.”
“Is he any good? Is he Planet material?”
“I think it’s safe to say that you just might have been willing to hire him even without my recommendation.” Looking over at Clark she gave him a smile and a wink. He smiled back.
Continuing on Lois said “Chief, I’d like you to let it get around that I’ve been on an extended vacation. That I just needed a break from the grind but that I’ll be back soon, okay?”
“Why do we need to do that?”
“There was an incident during the investigation and we don’t want any possible hint that I was in the Congo to get around. If anyone were to find out, it could compromise the investigation and be dangerous to us. The ones behind the gun running won’t stop at anything to avoid exposure, even murder.”
“That serious huh? Okay, you got it. Extended vacation because the daily grind was getting to you. When do I get to meet this new partner of yours?”
“We should be there in a couple of weeks. We have some things to do first.”
“Okay Lois, we’ll see you, both of you, in a couple of weeks. Bye!”
“Bye, Perry. See you soon.” She hung the phone up. “Okay, that’s taken care of.”
“I like the extended vacation idea. That covers for us being in the Congo. I think that we need to concoct a story of how we met while you were on vacation, fell in love and got married. That should completely deflect any possible suspicion from us.”
“Good idea, what do you think, were we in Hawaii or some secluded island? I know, how about this, we were on a cruise and I fell overboard. You jumped in to rescue me and we wound up on a deserted island together and were just recently rescued. The ship’s captain married us to make an honest woman of me.” As she finished this scenario she started laughing so hard that she almost couldn’t get it all out.
He started laughing as well and suggested an alternative, “No, I think I was the one that fell overboard and it was Lois Lane to the rescue.”
As they both caught their breath from their laughter Lois said, “We really have to work on that. We do need to come up with something realistic before we get back to Metropolis.”
While they were in Smallville Clark went on campus to complete his make-up exams and managed to bring his grades back up to where they should have been without the unexplained absence and graduated with honors. He had missed the formal graduation ceremony but that mattered very little to him. He was just glad to be finished and have it behind him.
As soon as this was done and all the Kryptonite that they could find had been rounded up and dispatched out of the solar system it was time to return to Metropolis. Unfortunately that still left the chunk that Tempus had used on him in the future. He, from a distance of course, had examined each piece that had been unearthed and had not recognized it among those pieces that had been collected.
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July 17, 1992
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Before they locked up and left they had a discussion about the farm. Clark wasn’t sure if he wanted to keep it or not. It had served a useful purpose while he finished up his college requirements and they did the Kryptonite search but now what did he need it for? He asked Lois “What do you think about the farm? Should we keep it or sell it?”
“Personally, I think you should keep it for a number of reasons.” She started ticking them off on her fingers. “First it was your parent’s and they would have wanted you to have it. Second you have a lot of memories from the time you lived here with them. Third we could use it as a get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. To be honest, believe it or not, it reminds me of our time on the Ubuntu, without the rocking motion. It’s so peaceful and quiet I love being here with you and fourth, if we have children someday I’m sure you would like to spend time with them here where you grew up. Next ...”
With a laugh Clark interrupted at this point and said “You present a very powerful argument Mrs. Kent. Okay, we keep it. We can fly out occasionally and work on fixing the place up more the way we like it. I’m sure you have some things you want to do just like when we refit the Ubuntu.”
“You had better believe I have. Let’s see, first there’s the furniture in the master bedroom then …”
Laughing even louder Clark interrupted again “I knew it! I’m going to be spending all my time moving furniture!”
She was laughing very hard as she replied “Well, I don’t know what you have to complain about. Moving furniture is easy for you! Don’t you pity all those poor husbands that don’t have your powers and still have to move the furniture anyway?”
“I guess I should, it just never occurred to me. I’ve never been in a position where I’ve needed to. Now that I am, I couldn’t be happier about it. We can start with the furniture next trip. Right now, we have a plane to catch to Metropolis. Let’s go.”
“I’m with you. The house is locked up. We’re ready to go.
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After they arrived in Metropolis they checked into the Lexor and settled in. The next day they went out apartment hunting. Lois’ apartment was going to be too small for the two of them. Clark was familiar with 348 Hyperion Ave from his time spent with the other Clark and Lois so they contacted a realtor. The brownstone, being currently on the market and available, attracted him greatly and he insisted that they go and look at it. The realtor met them at the door.
After they had been looking at the ground floor for a bit Clark said, “Well, Lois, what do you think? It’s larger than your old apartment; the upstairs has several spare bedrooms for guests and an extra room that we can use as an office.”
The realtor, somewhat bewildered asked “Have you been in this house before? How do you know what’s upstairs?”
“I, uh, some friends of mine have a house very similar to this one. I’ve, uh, I’ve been in it a … couple of times.”
Lois was talking more to herself than him as she said, “Spacious living room, dining area, nice sized kitchen.” Then to the realtor, “Can we go upstairs? I’d like to see the master suite.”
“Of course, right this way.” She led them upstairs.
“Oooohhh, I like the master bath. There’s plenty of room in that shower.” She turned from the realtor and looked over at Clark arching an eyebrow. As she did she couldn’t suppress the smile which resulted from seeing his response which was to blush a rather bright red. Turning back to the realtor she said “Where do we sign. We love it!”
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Downtown
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Nigel knocked on Luthor’s door. From the other side he heard “Come!” Nigel opened the door and entered carrying a box.
“Ah, what have we here? Is this the package from the Congo?”
“Yes Sir. It arrived by courier a short time ago.” He placed it on Luthor’s desk in front of him.
As Luthor opened the box he asked, “What have you found so far on the follow-up?”
“We haven’t found a single trace of either the man or the woman. It’s like they vanished into thin air. Which is the oddest coincidence. One of the native bearers had been sent to the camp to request a relief crew be sent. As he was nearing the edge of the grassland he heard shots being fired. Because of this he moved ahead more cautiously. It was almost dark so he couldn’t see much. He said that suddenly what he described as an evil spirit took off from the ground and flew away. He panicked and fled back to the cargo train. When the security team from the cargo train arrived at the site they found the group that had been escorting the prisoners either unconscious or tied up. There was blood on the ground and marks of a scuffle but no bodies.”
Luthor looked up with the mangled gun in his hand and said “And this. What could have done this to this weapon?” He was turning it over and over in his hands. “It was fired at least once before it was crushed. How was it crushed?” Luthor was wearing a very pensive expression. “An evil spirit you say? The native said an evil spirit flew up from the ground?”
“Yes, sir. But you know how these superstitious natives are. Most of the time you can’t believe even half of what they say.”
“But, what if? What if we take what he said as fact?”
“It was dark; his eyes could have been playing tricks on him.”
“But, what if they weren’t? What if something, no, someone … took the woman and flew her to safety?”
“According to the shooter it was a mortal wound.”
“Ah, but perhaps only if medical care was not immediately available. Expand the search immediately. Check every hospital in a two hundred kilometer no, on second thought check every hospital in the country for a woman with a gunshot wound. When did the incident occur? Whatever, I want to know if a woman who had been shot was brought into a hospital the night of the incident, any hospital.” I need to know what I’m dealing with.”
“As you wish, Sir. I’ll initiate the inquiry immediately.” Nigel turned and left.
Luthor continued to sit at his desk turning the crushed gun around and around in his hands and muttering. “No normal man could have done this. It would take enormous strength to crush this steel. And to be able to fly?!?!?!? How could this possibly be? I just may be up against a worthy adversary. I’ll find you, whoever and wherever you are. I’ll find you and if you cross me, I’ll crush you!” Looking down at the gun again, he voiced his thoughts, “I’ll crush you the way you crushed this gun. Lex Luthor will crush you the same way I have crushed all of my adversaries, with cunning. Physical strength is as nothing compared to my brain. Lex Luthor will win.”
Lex depressed a key on his intercom “Mrs. Cox, attend me if you will.”
“Right away, Lex.”
As she opened the door Lex was replacing the crushed gun back in the box. “Have this sent to LexLabs. I want a complete analysis. I need to know just how much force needed to be applied to crush this gun this way. See to it. Oh and call the madam and have her send one of her girls over tonight.” When he saw her hurt expression, he continued “I have something else for you to be doing for me tonight, my sweet. I’ve checked and the only Metropolis based paper that has an office in Brazzaville is the Daily Planet. I want you to pack an overnight bag. I’ll have a jet waiting for you. I want you to go to Brazzaville, to the Daily Planet office and see if you can find out if any of their reporters were checking up on our arms shipment. I expect you can use your … abundant … talents … to secure all the information I need.”
comments go here To be continued in Chapter 30 – Lana and Pete
