Clark and Lois - Hope Realized - Matchmaker Chronicle Volume 5 06/25
By Ken Janney
Rating 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.
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
(#) footnotes
/ denotes telepathic communication/
[ playback of a recording or TV Commentary]For reference purposes the following will hold true throughout.
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
Alpha -120 x Gamma 255 x Tau -190 New universe called Alt 2
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Clark and Lois – Hope Realized - The Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 5
Previously:
Superwoman flew next to the cockpit all the way to the ground indicating that the pilot taxi to an unused section of taxiway and park. When this had been accomplished she hovered next to the door and knocked. The head attendant opened the door and Superwoman stepped inside. She asked the attendant for a seating manifest. She saw Jack Duggins in seat 23C. She asked the attendant to bring that passenger forward.
While all of this had been going on Duggins had moved aft to the rear emergency exit, released the door and triggered the inflatable emergency ramp. When he reached the ground Superwoman was there waiting for him. She said, “Jack Duggins, the police want to question you about the bomb that blew up Clark Kent’s apartment.” She picked him up and flew him directly to the twelfth precinct.
She kept hold of him and led him into Bill Henderson’s office. “Lieutenant Henderson, Lois Lane asked me to bring this individual to you for questioning.”
Bill jumped out of his seat, “Right you are! Please take him to interrogation 3, just down the hall.” After seating him in a chair in 3 the door was closed and locked.
She turned to Bill, “Lieutenant Henderson, this is personal with me. I want the people behind this and frankly I don’t care how I get the information. If you will give me a free hand I will get that information for you within twenty minutes. All you need to do is pretend that I didn’t bring him in just yet.”
Bill asked, “You brought someone in? I didn’t see you with anybody. Please let me know when you find our ‘person of interest’.”
“Thanks Lieutenant, I’ll have him back to you before you know it and I’ll have the information.”
Bill unlocked the door and Superwoman entered room 3. She walked over and unlocked the window and bent the bars that covered it enough to allow egress. She said, “I’m going to ask you nicely, just once, who hired you to plant the bomb in the Kent apartment?”
“I ain’t talkin’. I know you won’t do nothin’.”
“I wouldn’t count on that if I were you. You see, I’m *not* Superman. I don’t have his scruples. I will ask you just once more, nicely, who hired you?”
When Duggins saw the stony expression on Superwoman’s face, he realized how much trouble he was in. The money he’d been paid wasn’t worth all this. But for some reason he continued to deny it. “I ain’t talkin’.”
“Okay, you brought this on yourself.” She picked him up and flew out the window. Once outside the building she headed straight up. When she reached thirty thousand feet she stopped and held him there, looking him in the eyes before she asked in a voice so calm that it was menacing.
“How long do you think it will take you to fall from this height? Of course, as soon as I let you go and my aura isn’t protecting you, you’ll start gasping for air and your skin will start to freeze and what air you do get into your lungs will be deficient in oxygen and so cold it may freeze your lungs. You’ll be unconscious for the first oh, fifteen thousand feet or so when the amount of oxygen is enough for you to survive but then you’ll be able to see the ground as it rushes up at you. When you hit there won’t be much left. They’ll have to use a dustpan and broom to sweep up your remains.”
A look of stark fear and panic had taken over his features as she had been speaking. He started babbling, “Some English guy, sorta stocky, Vandyke beard, he wanted Kent out of the way!”
“Who was behind it? What’s his name?”
“I don’t know any names. Just an English guy.”
This revelation hit Lois like a ton of bricks. The description fit Lex’s butler. That meant that Lex had to be behind it, but, why? What was he after? Superwoman said, “Thank you. That’s all I needed to know.” She brought the hand she had been holding at his collar in front of him so that he could see the mini-recorder she held. She said, “I promised I’d have you back within twenty minutes. It’s only been five. Henderson should be pleased.”
“Then this was all a bluff!”
“Maybe and maybe not, I’m not sure. You see, Lois Lane and Clark Kent are very close friends of mine.” She flew back to HQ and returned through the window to room 3.
She knocked on the door and Henderson opened it. She handed the recorder to him. “I didn’t start recording until he started to talk. Here’s his confession but he didn’t have any names just a description. Apparently someone wanted Clark Kent out of the way. He didn’t know why.”
Bill said, “You know, since we didn’t Mirandize him, this will be inadmissible.”
She nodded her understanding as she said, “I know, but I had to find out who was behind it. He’s just the hands, I needed to know who was the brain.”
Nodding his understanding, Bill called for a couple of uniforms. “Read him his rights, book him on attempted murder, conspiracy, destruction of private property, felony theft, arson and anything else you can think of. Get him outta here.” By the time he turned back around Superwoman was gone.
As soon as Superwoman was outside she took off straight up until she was out of sight and then she headed west landing on the porch of the Kent home just a few minutes later. Spinning out of her uniform she let herself in. Martha and Jonathan were still in the living room comforting one another. She moved over to them and wrapped her arms around them both.
The three cried together for a long time. Finally, Lois told them she had found Clark’s killer and delivered him to the authorities, which gave them all some measure of comfort.
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End Flashback
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And now:
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Chapter -5 – Another Revelation
February 21, 1994 - One week after Clark’s death
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Universal Locator Designation
Common name – ALT2
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Lois had determined that she would have to remain undercover for a period so she had decided that she would stay with the Kents. They were all grieving over the loss of Clark and it was a comfort to all of them that they could share this time together.
However, she couldn’t avoid her activities as Superwoman. .As a result she had responded when she had seen on LNN the report about the ship that was about to hit a pile supporting the highway in Florida.
When she arrived on scene and saw Superman she couldn’t believe her eyes, but in view of the emergency she couldn’t confront him immediately. She had been so startled by his appearance that she was almost frozen in place at first, but then the immediacy of the situation shook her out of her stupor. There were lives at stake and she had to do what was needed.
She was watching every move he made as they were in the rescue and thinking, <Who is this and where did he come from? He looks just like Clark and he obviously has the powers. I *have* to find out!> He took her by surprise when he took off and headed north as soon as they were finished. By the time she got herself together he had several seconds head start on her. He was every bit as fast as she was but she was determined. She had to find out just who or what this was. She started wondering if this could be a clone. She saw him change direction and head west so she changed course and cut the angle, by doing this she cut the distance somewhat, but not enough. She just couldn’t catch him and she was getting very frustrated as a result. The rescue in Japan was a surprise; if she hadn’t heard that radio she would have had absolutely no warning. Her frustration grew as he managed to get a lead on her again when they finished up in Japan. With Mad Dog determination she set her mind to catching this ‘person’ or die in the attempt. She didn’t think that he would attack her; his actions so far had indicated that his motivation was the same as hers and Clark’s.
This time they were traveling east. They had already crossed the Pacific and were crossing the Rockies when she saw that he was slowing somewhat. Not enough that she would catch him anytime soon but she thought, <If he keeps up this pace when we reach the east coast we will be close together.> As they were getting closer to the east coast she could finally tell that their destination was Metropolis.
Watching in astonishment, she saw him fly directly to 344 Clinton and land on the balcony to Clark’s apartment. She landed seconds behind him and moved into the apartment. She moved through his bedroom and into the living room, picking her way around the rubble. She found him dressed, not in the Suit, but in Clark’s style of clothes. Spinning out of her uniform and into her business suit she walked over in front of him. She said, “Okay, you’ve led me a merry chase and now you are here in my fiancé’s apartment. Just who the hell are you?”
He was standing there surveying the destruction. He spread his hands and asked softly, “Who do I look like I am?”
She said with some menace in her voice, “You look like my fiancé, but he’s dead.”
He had a very sympathetic tone in his voice as he said, “I know, and I am sorry. It was unavoidable.”
She picked up on his statement, “What do you mean unavoidable?”
He replied, “This is going to be something of a complicated story. Let’s go somewhere where we can talk.”
She said, “Okay, let’s go to my apartment.” They both spun into their uniforms and exited through the bedroom.
After arriving at Lois’ apartment they moved into her living room and he sat on her couch while she perched on the edge of the couch across from him.
He started, “I’m going to have to ask you to suspend your disbelief for a time while I explain. Can you do that for me?”
She nodded so he proceeded to tell her the story.
“I *am* Clark Kent, I’m just not *your* Clark Kent. I’m from a parallel universe. I was brought here because we knew that your Clark was going to die. I arrived just as you were collecting his body.” Clark saw her dubious expression. He finished weakly, “This is going to be hard to explain. I am a traveler. I have been traveling through time and across the dimensional barriers. The purpose of my travels has been to help Lois Lanes and Clark Kents to unite. I have been on twelve missions and in each case the purpose was to prevent the death of either Lois or Clark.”
She challenged, “If that’s the case, why didn’t you keep my Clark from dying?”
With an expression of sadness matching her own he said, “It was meant to be and couldn’t be prevented.”
“What do you mean?”
“In the history of this universe, your Clark had to die; there was no way to prevent it. If I had saved him, your situation would not have changed in the slightest. It’s hard to understand, but, we are inflection points, pivots around which new universes are created. If I had saved him, a new universe would have been created where he was alive, but this universe would have remained unchanged. He would still be dead to you.”
“Would it have been so bad to have him alive, even if it was in another universe?”
“Actually he is. In another universe he survived the explosion and you and he are together.”
“What?!?!?”
“I told you it would be difficult. Yes, He did survive and you are together, in another universe. In this universe he had to die.”
As he had continued speaking Lois’ expression had morphed from dubious to sad. She actually started to cry. On an impulse he got up and moved over next to her. He reached out and took one of her hands. He felt that familiar tingle and was encouraged by the fact that she didn’t snatch her hand away immediately so he continued. “Have you ever met Herb Wells?”
“No, should I have?”
“No, not necessarily. Herb said that somewhere in the distant past a change occurred in this universe which altered the course of events. I guess that’s what he meant. In a number of the universes I’ve been in there had been a curse on the union of Lois and Clark and he has had to intervene. I guess that was not necessary in your universe.”
A look of wonder came over her face, “You mean that there are other couples out there, like us, I mean me and … him?” Her voice broke on that last word.
He replied, “Yes, there are many, many universes and almost all of them have their own Lois and Clark. There are some where there is … no … Lois.” She could hear the raw emotion in his voice as he said this and heard his voice break as he said those last two words.
This time it was her turn to reach out. She put her free hand over the hand that was holding hers and looked into his eyes. She could see the same pain that she was feeling at the loss of her Clark mirrored in his dark brown orbs.
She asked very quietly, “That’s what happened to you, isn’t it?”
He didn’t respond verbally. He didn’t trust that he would be able to control his voice so he simply nodded.
She could feel his pain and it was the same pain that she was feeling. Very gently she asked, “How did it happen?”
“We were in the Congo doing an illegal gun investigation. We were captured by the rebels. I wasn’t fast enough to prevent her from being shot. She almost literally died in my arms.” He broke down weeping.
She shifted her position so that she was closer to him and put an arm across his shoulders. She said, “I can imagine how I would feel if that had happened to me. I mean, coming back from California and finding him dead was bad enough, but, to be right there when she died, I can just imagine how that must have felt. I’m so sorry. Do you have anything to remember her by?”
He pulled out his billfold and extracted a newspaper clipping. It showed the two of them at some kind of function. They were both dressed for a hot climate. She asked, “Where was this taken?”
“That’s the mayor’s residence in Brazzaville. We had rescued his wife and family from drowning when their sailboat capsized in a storm on the Congo River. I was hoping that he would marry us but she didn’t live long enough.” Again he was choking up as he related the story.
Lois leaned in and hugged him. He turned toward her and putting his face in her shoulder started to cry. She in her turn put her face in his shoulder and did the same. They both vented their feelings for a time.
When they were both spent they finally separated. Lois pulled back and asked, “Okay, what do we do now? I need to decide what to do about Clark. How soon do you have to leave to help another couple?”
“I don’t. This mission was specifically for you … and … me. I need to tell you about … us. Do you feel a tingle like an electrical current where we are touching?”
“Yeah, I felt it with Clark too. I never was able to figure it out.”
“You don’t need to. I know what it is. It’s the soul mates connection.”
“Soul mates connection, what’s that?”
“Let me explain. Do you acknowledge the existence of the soul?”
“Yes, everyone has a soul, don’t they?”
“Yes, they do, but there are some that are special. The soul is eternal and at creation at least some of them were split into two parts. Those two parts cannot rest content until they have been reunited. Our souls, yours and mine are two parts of a whole. That tingling sensation is an indication of the connection our souls share. We were not only meant to be together, we were never meant to be apart. That is why the death of one of us hits the other so hard. Half of our soul has been removed.”
“Even though we are from different universes, our souls are recognizing each other. Even though we only met a few hours ago, I … I can’t help loving you. You complete me, the way no one else can. I’ve felt this connection with each Lois I’ve encountered, but it has only been this strong with my Lois. It’s probably because their Clark’s were still there. This has to be because your Clark is dead. It’s like two like signals interfering with each other. In this case the interfering signal has been removed.”
“Usually, when one of us dies, our soul passes to another vessel. On rare occasions when the body dies, the soul dies with it. That is what happened with my Lois. When it happened, I almost didn’t survive it. The same thing almost happened to you. We timed our arrival so that I arrived before you could experience the full depth of the loss.”
“Now, you expect to just walk in here and take his place, is that it?”
“No, I could never do that the same way you could never just take my Lois’ place. There’s a place in your heart that is reserved for him and in my heart for her. You are a different person from her as I am different from him. There are bound to be similarities though and I would hope that we could build on those to create a new relationship with each other. I’d like to try, if you’ll let me.”
Thinking about what he had said she replied, “You know, I *have* been grieving with the Kents. They lost their son, you know.”
Gently, Clark said, “Yes, I know you felt grief. But it is like a pit that gets deeper the longer you are alone and without him. Trust me, it’s better this way. I almost didn’t make it. It was only the thought of you that kept me alive.”
Startled she asked, “Me?!?”
“Well, you, but, not you in particular, you as in Lois, you see, I knew that there were other Lois Lanes out there. You didn’t know that there were other Clarks.”
“In Brazzaville I had two friends, twin girls, who worked at the local Daily Planet office with me. After the twins nursed me back to health, one of the things Suzanne said struck a bell. She said something like, ‘Maybe there’s another woman out there that you could love.’ That got me to thinking about the possibility of another Lois. From that point on, having that goal sustained me. It was my reason to continue living.”
With a tone of wonder in her voice she said, “Wow, you went through all of that. When Clark was killed, I felt him die. It was an empty feeling and I almost tumbled into those depths you were talking about, but, it didn’t last too long. That must have been when you arrived. Since that point I’ve been grieving but it hasn’t been the soul shattering grief you have described. I guess I am grateful to you for sparing me that experience. I guess it’s at least partly due to that that I was able to find and bring in the perp.”
With a somber tone Clark said, “Really, you do need to go through the grieving process. You need to deal with your loss, before you can move on. I have dealt with my loss. You have yet to completely deal with yours. In many respects we have followed the same pattern. Immediately after my Lois died, I was able to function in such a way that I interfered with Lex Luthor’s machinations in the Congo. In your case you were able to bring in the bomber. I liked the way you handled locating Clark’s killer and extracting that confession from him. But, it really wasn’t until the funeral and actual burial that the grief finally really hit me. Perhaps, if you were to have a funeral for Clark?”
Lois asked, “How can we? I can’t take the chance of his body being examined and have them find something unusual in his body chemistry.”
Clark suggested, “Perhaps a ‘private’ funeral. It would probably help his parents as well.”
“I’ll need to talk to Jonathan and Martha about that.” You could hear the surprise in her voice as she continued when she asked, “You saw that?”
“Yeah, like I said, I got here shortly after Clark was killed so I was able to follow you around. Did you find out who was responsible?”
“I think I know. From the description I got from the bomber it was Lex Luthor’s butler that set up the hit. The bomber said that Clark was ‘in the way’. In the way of what I don’t know. I found out that shortly after I left for California, he must have gotten a call because the phone was still in his hand when I found him. It must have been a trap because while he was on the phone the bomb went off. If he had still had his powers it wouldn’t have been a problem.”
“How did he lose his powers anyhow?”
“We aren’t sure as to the motivation, but, he was attacked by a couple of women using a laser which used a Kryptonite crystal. The crystal they used was a blend of red and green and when he was hit by the beam; his powers were transferred to me, permanently. We went to see Bernie Klein and he did a genetic study. My genetic structure became Kryptonian while his became Earth human.”
“You said you would need to ask Jonathan and Martha. His parents are still alive then?”
“Yes, they are.” When she said this she observed his reaction. She had a hard time determining just what it was however, so she asked, “Why do you ask?”
“I’m really sorry that they have had to go through this.”
Lois, with her reporter’s instincts sensed that this was not all that there was to it and asked a follow-up question, “How do your parents feel about you being away so much on this mission?”
Her instincts were confirmed when she saw the look that came over his features, infinite sadness. She gave him some time to compose himself.
He finally answered, “My parents were killed in an auto accident when I was ten years old. I saw it happening and just like with Lois, I wasn’t fast enough to save them.”
Lois once again took him into her arms to comfort him. She asked, “Would you like to meet Clark’s parents?”
“I don’t think that would be right, I mean, so soon after he died.”
“I think I know them well enough to know that they won’t have a problem with it. In fact, when they find out that you were orphaned twice, they will want to do whatever they can to help.”
“You really think so?” Clark asked. Clark had met several Jonathan and Martha Kent couples while on his missions. He felt he knew their nature, but in this circumstance he couldn’t be sure how they would react. He was surprised and pleased that she seemed to believe that they would be so generous.
“I know so. Come on; feel up to a little flight? I’d like to introduce you to them.”
“As long as you don’t think I’d be imposing.” He looked a little unsure and then answered decisively. “Okay, I would like to meet them.”
They both stood up and Lois spun into her Superwoman uniform and Clark spun into Superman, they walked to her back window and took to the air. Moving too fast to be tracked or seen they headed for Smallville. When they landed behind the barn they spun back into regular clothes and Lois said, “Let me go in first. I’ll call you when they are ready.”
“Okay and … thanks, I appreciate it, but, perhaps you should discuss the possibility of a funeral first.”
With a look of compassion she reached out and put her hand on his arm and said, “I’m glad I can do this. Maybe a funeral for him will help and then your presence will be healing for all of us and meeting them will help to heal the old wounds of losing your parents when you were so young. ” Lois walked around the end of the barn and disappeared from view.
comments go here To be continued in Chapter 06 – Meeting the Kents
