Clark and Lois The Lost Years Matchmaker Chronicles Vol 3 31/46
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:
Lois said, “Clark, how about we let them use our spare room until they’re ready to move in. That would help cut their expenses and give them some time to decorate.” Clark nodded his agreement. “What do you guys think? Want to live with us for a while till your place is ready?”
Lana said, “Lois, thank you for that kind offer, but we wouldn’t want to put you guys out that way.”
“Lana, if it wasn’t okay I wouldn’t offer. It’s a done deal. You guys will stay with us until your place is ready. No arguments! Now that that’s settled we can come out next weekend to do the planning and pick out the gown and dress. We can have the final dress fittings the following weekend. How big is the reception going to be?” They started making the plans.
After the phone call Lois put her arms around Clark and said, “I’m happy for them. I just hope that they will be as happy together as we are.”
“I think they’ll do alright. Pete has loved her for years. He just didn’t want to cut in on his best friend. Yeah, I think they will be alright together.”
They watched a movie while the cuddled on the couch and then went to bed.
And now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 31 – The Prometheus Shuttle
August 11, 1992
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next morning Lois had a call.
“Lois? Perry.”
“Hi Perry.”
“Lois, I made that call. It looks like some strange woman was in the office. She vamped some reporter named Claude. He probably spilled the beans. Derek didn’t know and Claude wouldn’t own up to anything, but Derek said he didn’t like Claude’s attitude. It was like had a bug in his bonnet.”
“Yeah, he didn’t like being aced out on the story. I wouldn’t put it past him to try to get back at us. Oh well, looks like the fat is in the fire now. At least all he had was our undercover names. We’ll have to wait and see. Thanks Perry. We’ll be in touch as soon as we’ve broken the shuttle story.”
Since they had three weeks till the launch they were able to take the time needed for the planning of Lana and Pete’s wedding. They found them an unfurnished apartment within a few blocks of their home and took pictures with them to show to Lana and Pete on one of their trips to Smallville. Lana and Pete liked what they saw, so as a wedding gift to them Clark and Lois paid the security deposit and six months rental for them.
The wedding, on August 5, went off without a hitch. The bride was radiant and the Matron of Honor was equally beautiful, at least the Best Man thought so. They sent them off on their honeymoon telling them not to hurry. Since they were going to live with them until the apartment was ready they just needed to be in Metropolis the day before Pete had to report to work.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
All of the papers were covering the story of the launch of the Prometheus shuttle with its cargo of personnel to staff the space station. The Daily Planet was no exception. Clark and Lois were keeping a low profile as they moved away from the main pack of reporters. In order to keep from being too readily recognized she wore a drab business suit, had her hair pulled back in a tight bun and was wearing a pair of glasses. It had been so long since Lois had been actively engaged locally as a reporter that there were few of her peers that could actually recognized her. To all intents and purposes she had simply vanished from the public eye. A lot of her peers thought that she had given up investigative journalism in favor of writing novels.
Clark knew from what he had been told by Lois in the other universe that Lex Luthor had been behind the sabotage of the Prometheus shuttle in that universe. They got into a position that afforded Clark an opportunity to use his x-ray vision to do a complete scan of the rocket. Sure enough the parallels between this universe and hers were still holding true. Clark spotted an explosive device attached to a fuel supply line. This was a small device designed to simply cause a rupture in a line to create a fuel leak. The fuel would then ignite and blow the ship to bits and it would have been extremely hard if not impossible to find the actual cause.
While Lois kept watch Clark made a call to give an anonymous tip to EPRAD Control. After being transferred to the launch director he said “I don’t think it’s very wise to send up that shuttle. There is a bomb on board set to detonate shortly after liftoff.”
“What??? Who is this? Is this some kind of joke?”
“This is no joke! If you don’t care about the lives of every person on board, go ahead and launch. If you want to save their lives I would suggest that you stop it right now and find the bomb. This is no joke. I’m deadly serious. You launch and you murder everyone on board.”
“Who is this?”
“I’m a friend. Just call me Charlie.” Clark hung up.
A few seconds after closing the call they heard over the speaker system that the countdown had been put on hold for technical problems.
They observed a crew open an emergency hatch and start the passenger removal process. Another hatch was opened and a crew with protective gear entered. Clark watched as the crew searched for the device. He saw them miss it on their first pass so he called back.
“I see you took my advice and the countdown is on hold. Look for a small device attached to a fuel valve. All the bomb is designed to do is rupture the valve to release the fuel. The leaking fuel would then detonate and blow the ship up.”
They watched as a new individual in protective gear was dispatched from control and headed for the rocket. He entered the same hatch which had been used by the search crew. Clark used his x-ray vision and watched as he approached the individual who was probably the one in charge and led him directly to the location of the explosive.
Clark said to Lois, “They found it. We’re good to go. I’m going to call the Planet.”
As he was doing this EPRAD control called the bomb squad people over and they disarmed the bomb and removed it.
Clark dictated the story to Perry. Perry was ecstatic “By Elvis this is the biggest story of the month if not the year! Welcome aboard. Whatever it takes, you’re hired!”
While Clark had been making the call Lois had been watching the activity with a pair of field glasses and when she saw the bomb squad leave she turned to Clark and throwing her arms around his neck gave him a big kiss. In a whisper so that no one could overhear her she said “We did it! We saved the shuttle.” With a very sober tone she continued. “All those lives that we just saved. All those lives you just saved. I couldn’t have done it. If it wasn’t for your unique talents … they would all be dead by now. You’re a remarkable person. I love you, Clark! You’re so special.”
“We did it together. We’re a team, not two single people and don’t you forget that, okay? I’ll tell you later how this went down in the other universe.”
“Okay, I’ll try to remember, partner. And I look forward to hearing the story.”
They moved over nearer to the EPRAD Control center so that they could participate in the impromptu news conference which was just starting as a result of the incident.
When they returned to the Planet they wrote up their complete story to go along with the brief which had gone out as a special edition. Their follow-up story grabbed the front page and scooped all of the competition.
“Anonymous Tip Saves Shuttle”
By: Lois Lane and Clark Kent
“An anonymous tip given by someone calling himself simply ‘Charlie’ resulted in a bomb being located … “
They were very satisfied because they had successfully prevented this incident without having to reveal who Clark was or his abilities.
EPRAD was able to reschedule the launch with no more damage other than a slight delay while they awaited the next launch window.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As soon as the story was filed Clark took Lois to the roof of a building nearly as tall as LexTower where she could use her field glasses again. Clark used his x-ray vision combined with his telescopic vision to observe Lex Luthor. What he saw was very gratifying. Lex was extremely angry and was taking his anger out on a slightly older somewhat portly man with a van Dyke beard. He walked over and activated a switch which turned on a holographic projection of a space station. Clark said to Lois “It’s a pity we aren’t recording the conversation he is having with his underling. I’m sure he is ranting about the failed sabotage of the shuttle. We need to get in there to bug his place. Any ideas?”
“Let me think about it for a while.”
If they had been able to listen in on that conversation they would have gotten an earful.
“If it hadn’t been for an anonymous tip the shuttle would have been destroyed and I would have control of the space effort! Nigel, have you seen the papers??? ‘An anonymous caller calling himself simply Charlie’!!! He’s here, they’re here! They are interfering in my plans! I won’t have it! Find them. Eliminate them!”
“How? We don’t have a good description on either of them. All we know is Charlie and Linda and those probably aren’t their real names.”
“I don’t care how you do it, just find them and eliminate them. Use whatever resources you need, just do it!”
“Right away, Sir.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As they entered the Planet building, they stopped in the lobby and picked up a couple of coffees after which they headed for the elevator. When they exited on the newsroom floor Clark escorted Lois from the elevator with his hand at the small of her back. They descended the ramp and moved to her desk where Lois dropped her bag in the lower right drawer and as was her habit, kicked the drawer shut.
Lois said, “Let’s go see Perry.”
They headed for Perry’s office. Just as they started moving in that direction Perry opened his door and leaned out. He was just opening his mouth to call them when he saw them approaching. He threw the door open and stepped back. “I was just about to call you. Congratulations on the shuttle story. Clark, you can have the desk near Lois’. Welcome aboard!”
“Thanks, Mr. White.”
Addressing Clark he said, “You’re part of the team now so from now on it’s either Perry or Chief.” Turning so that he was now addressing both of them, “So, what are you planning on working on next?”
“We are doing some more on the Congo story. I need to get my accounts set up so that I have computer access.”
“Okay, just keep me posted. I’ve always trusted Lois’ instincts. I can see that she’s been right about you. You’ve got a lot of potential. Just keep me in the loop, okay?”
“You got it Perry.”
They exited his office and returned to their desks. Apparently Perry had already spread the word and Clark found a name plate already on the desk. Also apparently Perry hadn’t spread the word of their marriage.
Lois sat down at her desk and started going through the e-mails that had accumulated during her absence. Clark pulled out the notes and film from the Congo investigation. He needed to get the film developed.
He was about to summon the office gofer when he was interrupted by the arrival of Ralph Pinedo who leaned on his desk. “So you’re the unlucky schmuck that got stuck with the Ice Queen. I hope you have a set of mukluks, you’re gonna need ‘em.” He gave Lois a lecherous leer “She’s good enough looking. I wouldn’t kick her out of bed, if you know what I mean.”
“Your name wouldn’t happen to be Ralph, now would it?” Lois had warned him about some of her more obnoxious co-workers.
“Yeah, Ralph, Ralph Pinedo, you’ve heard of me?”
“Yeah, as a matter of fact I have, and you just lived up to your reputation. The woman you are talking about, Lois Lane, happens to be the warmest, sweetest, most passionate woman and genuinely nice person I’ve ever met. You can take it from me as fact because you see she happens to be my wife. Now you can take your lecherous comments and keep them to yourself in the future. If I ever hear you saying anything about my wife again I just might lose my temper and do something I might regret later. And trust me my hearing is excellent.”
Ralph blanched and got away from Clark as fast as he could.
Lois had watched the exchange with interest. She couldn’t hear it all but had a feeling that she knew the content. She would have to ask Clark later.
Clark had seen the office gofer running various errands. As he was passing his desk he stopped him and introduced himself. “Hi, my name is Clark Kent. I’m new around here but they tell me that if I need anything to call you. I think somebody told me your name is Jack, is that right?”
Jack had been a street tough that had been picked up by the police and hadn’t been placed in juvie only because Perry White had offered him a job at the Planet. He had turned out to be a good worker and was rapidly picking up more and more responsibility. He came over to Clark’s desk. “Yeah, just call me Jack. What can I do for you Mr. Kent?”
“Well Jack, here’s a roll of film I need developed. Could you get it down to the photo lab for me? Tell them that I need it ASAP.”
“You got it, Mr. K. I’ll get it right down there.”
“Thanks, Jack. I appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it. If you have anything else you need, you just let me know.”
“When you come back, come see me. I have some research I could have you do, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all. Count on me. I’ll be right back.”
“Thanks, Jack.”
Lois had been going through her e-mail, but only with half of her mind occupied. She had been thinking about their other problem with the other half. She got up from her chair and moved over to Clark’s desk. She perched on the corner and slowly brought one leg up and crossed it over the other causing the split in her skirt to open and reveal a delicious length of leg. She couldn’t help the smile that crossed her lips as she saw his reaction. She caught him in an open eyed stare. She slowly reached down and cupping his chin brought his face up so that he was looking at her face. She couldn’t repress a giggle as she did so. She said in a tone that she knew only he could hear, “I’m glad to see that I have that effect on you. Maybe I can have the same affect on someone else. I think I have an idea. Lex is sponsoring the White Orchid Ball in a ball room on the same floor as his office/apartment in a few weeks. Maybe we could manage to get invited.”
Clark could almost literally see the wheels turning in her head. He knew she would have the complete answer shortly. He couldn’t have been more correct.
“Remember your bedtime story?”
“Yeah, but what does that … “
“Remember the beautiful princess?”
“Yeah, but what does … “
“Remember your wedding gift to me?” she said as she reached up and fingered the Star Sapphire earrings she was wearing. They had quickly become her favorite earrings and she wore them at every opportunity.
“AHHhhh, I see where you’re going now. It just might work at that. In order to get an invitation though he’s going to have to know that there is someone he wants to invite. I think that, with Perry’s help, we can put some articles in the paper about a royal princess who is visiting Metropolis, a very rich royal princess. Yeah, it just might work.”
He jerked his head in the direction of Perry’s office. With a nod of agreement she hopped down off his desk, they picked up their cups again and they started walking. They were half way there when Perry opened his door and started to lean out with his mouth opening. When he saw them headed his way he stopped and standing straighter he opened his door wide to allow them to enter.
“How do you do that? It seems like every time I’m about to call you, you’re headed in to see me. What can I do for you?”
“Thanks, Chief. We thought we’d give you an update on the other story and ask a favor.”
Lois spoke up, “Chief. Clark and I have had an idea that we wanted to float by you. We are pretty well convinced that Lex Luthor was behind the sabotage attempt on the Prometheus shuttle, but to prove it we need to get some confirmation.”
Lois continued, “Chief, we need to be invited to the White Orchid Ball, but not as Lois Lane and Clark Kent. We need to do it undercover. Clark gave me some jewelry for my wedding present that gave us an idea.”
“Be honest Lois, this was all your idea. I just think it’s terrific.”
“Okay, my idea, but if you didn’t treat me like your fairy tale princess all the time it never would have occurred to me.” She looked at him with love in her eyes. “Anyhow, Chief, here’s the idea. I have some jewelry that looks like it’s straight out of the English Crown jewels. We need to plant some articles about a visiting Royal Princess staying in Metropolis, maybe in the Lexor Hotel. I’ll provide the jewels and the gown if the Planet will spring for the hotel room for a few nights. We need to make it look good.”
“What are you plannin’ to do at the ball, if I might be so bold as to ask?”
“Well Chief, we’re going to bug Luthor’s office and residence.”
“What????? You’ve got to be kidding me. Please tell me you’re kidding. We could wind up in a mess of trouble if you get caught!”
“Perry, look at the possible result! We could get enough on him to put him away for a looooonnngggg time! Clark can start planting the bugs while I distract Luthor.”
Clark said, “I don’t know if I like that too much. You know how dangerous Luthor is. I don’t think I want to leave you alone with him.”
“Clark, I won’t be alone with him! There’ll be hundreds of people there.”
“Just the same I don’t like it.”
Lois had a confident tone in her voice as she said “I can take care of myself, remember? It’ll be a piece of cake.”
With a worried look on his face Clark said “Okay, but remember, this time disable, not kill.”
Perry asked, “Do I want to know what yo’all are talkin’ about?”
“I don’t think so, Chief. It was something that happened in the Congo. We’d rather not talk about it. It’s in the past, let it stay there.”
“Speakin’ of the Congo, when are you goin’ to write that part up so that I can see it? That part has to be at least Kerth material.”
“Chief, I just sent the film down to get it developed. I was planning to have Jack do some research for me. The information he gathers for me will be added to the file we’re building. If we can get some more on Luthor added to what we have on him in the gun running story like the Prometheus sabotage, he will be going away for a very long time and it will definitely be Pulitzer material. He was the source of the guns here in Metropolis. We have the proof. We’ll write it up, but we need to hold it back until we have the complete package.”
“Wow, okay, run with it. Book the Honeymoon Suite at the Lexor for the time around the ball. Write up whatever you need printed to build the cover story. I’ll intercede with the suits upstairs if there is any need, just get me that story.”
“You’ve got it Perry. Lois and I’ll do our best.”
By the time they were back at their desks, Jack was waiting for Clark. “What do you need Mr. K?”
Clark pulled out the notes from the warehouse. “Jack, I’d like you to trace these weapons from manufacture to last owner. Think you can do it?”
“Sure Mr. K. Piece of cake.”
“Thanks Jack. If I’m not here, please give the data to Mr. White. Put it into an envelope with my name on it.”
“You got it, Mr. K.” Jack walked off whistling.
comments go here To be continued in Chapter 32 – More Changes to History
