Clark and Lois - Hope Realized - Matchmaker Chronicle Volume 5 08/25
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:
When the door opened, because of the light behind him, Jonathan and Martha couldn’t see more than a silhouette. They thought that it looked familiar somehow, but, no it just couldn’t be, but the similarity was unmistakable.
Lois spoke up, “Martha, Jonathan, I’d like to introduce Clark Kent.”
They both jumped to their feet and shouted, “Clark!” and rushed to his side. Martha threw her arms around him and was weeping uncontrollably. Jonathan had one arm around Martha and the other around Clark. Clark just stood there dumbfounded. Lois came over and put an arm around Martha then she and Jonathan led her back to the couch.
Clark came over and stood by. When Martha calmed down some she looked at Lois and asked accusingly, “Why did you tell us he was dead? Why all this talk about having a funeral?”
Lois replied, softly, “Martha, this isn’t your Clark.”
To which Martha replied, “What do mean ‘this isn’t our Clark’? I have two eyes! I can see that this is Clark. Who else could he be?”
Lois said, “This is going to be hard to explain … “
Clark interrupted her at this point, “Perhaps I should try.”
With a relieved sigh, she said, “Go ahead. You’ll probably do a better job anyhow.”
Clark addressed the elder couple, “Mr. and Mrs. Kent, my name *is* Clark Kent, however, I am not from here, I’m a visitor. I’m from another dimension or universe, an Earth parallel to yours. I have been going on a series of missions oriented toward saving either the Clark Kent or the Lois Lane of the universe in question. I actually came here because we knew that your Clark was going to die in that explosion. You see there is a strong concern that the fundamental course that the history of this universe should follow has been disrupted by his death and yet it was unavoidable. I can only guess how you must feel, especially with me here. I’m sure it only brings your loss home to you all the more. That is yet another reason to have a proper burial for Clark.”
Clark continued, “I am aware of the problem and I think I can handle that. I can have a special chamber made which is air tight and we can purge it with nitrogen. That should prevent decay. I think that as Superman I should be able to have one prepared within just a few hours. Why don’t we do this, I’ll go have the chamber prepared while Lois goes and retrieves Clark from the arctic. We can meet back here. I will bring a bottle of nitrogen for the purge and we can do that just before we bury him.”
Lois asked, “What’s the purpose of the nitrogen purge? Why not just allow the normal decay process to occur?”
“Since we are not going to bury him in a regular cemetery, if for whatever reason a search were conducted, cadaver dogs would alert on the scent and we don’t want that. It’s the same thing I did with my Lois.”
All were in agreement, so Superman flew off to acquire the special coffin, which was in actuality a chamber used in scientific experiments. The wood and metal coffin local Clark was currently in would fit inside.
After he left, Martha asked Lois, “What did he mean ‘with my Lois’?”
Lois took Martha’s hand and said quietly, “He lost his Lois in his universe. Just like I lost my Clark in this one.”
An hour later they all gathered at the site. Alt Superman had dug the grave. He and Lois placed Local Clark’s coffin inside the chamber and Alt Superman hooked up the nitrogen and purged all of the air out. He and Lois lowered the chamber into the pit and each said their goodbyes. Jonathan gave an eloquent eulogy and then read a passage from the bible. Lois, Martha and Jonathan each dropped some soil into the grave along with some tears, leaving the rest for Clark to fill.
They spent some time at the grave side comforting one another and allowing themselves to vent their grief. Clark felt something like an outsider as he looked on, but, he could sympathize having gone through this process with the death of Lois. When they were finished they all returned to the house.
Their grief having temporarily been spent at the grave side, Jonathan returning to their previous conversation spoke up, “Let me get this straight, you are from a parallel dimension and you have been going on missions to save Clark Kent or Lois Lanes but you came here to try to save our universe and make sure it follows a certain path?”
“Yes sir, that is correct.”
“Just what would that path be?”
“That would be the path to a utopian society brought about by his descendants.”
Jonathan thought about that for a second and then asked, “If you’ve been able to save other Clarks, why not our boy?”
With a look bordering on despair, Clark replied, “I really wish I could explain it better, but, as I understand it he had to die because in the future of this world he is dead. I wish Herb was here, he could explain it better.”
Changing tracks, Jonathan asked, “How did you get here?”
“A friend of mine brought me here using a device which is able to cross the dimensional barrier. His name is Herb Wells. I just mentioned him.”
“How long will you be here?”
“The plan is for me to be here for three months.”
Martha, who was not completely understanding asked, “Why are you doing this, why are you going on these missions?”
“Actually, in this case, I was looking for a universe where Lois is alone. You see, my Lois was killed while investigating illegal gun shipments into the Congo and Herb thought that if I could find a universe where there was a Lois and no Clark, perhaps we could then get together. My previous missions have actually been oriented toward rescuing the Clark or the Lois of that universe from a situation which could result in death. This is about my twelfth mission and in each of my previous missions I have been able to rescue Clark or Lois and actually facilitate the relationships between them. In one case I was able to be best man at their wedding. I can’t express my sorrow and I weep with you at the loss of your son.”
Martha spoke up, “Will we see you after today?”
“Hopefully, I will be staying here, permanently. The purpose of my presence is to see if I can establish a relationship with Lois. I would like to also establish a relationship with you, if I may. If you want to see me again, I’m sure I can be here.”
Martha responded, “It might take some time, but I think we’d like that. You do remind us of our son. How are you able to go on these missions? You said that your Lois had died, but what about your parents?” Clearly, in her grief at the loss of her son Martha had forgotten some of what Lois had told her.
Clark, at this question got a very sad expression on his countenance as he replied, “My parents … uh, I think Lois told you that my parents died when I was ten years old. They were killed by a drunk driver.”
Martha and Jonathan both gasped at this repeated revelation, suddenly remembering what Lois had told them and Martha simply stood and reached out to him. Putting her arms about him she, with obvious grief in her tone said, “Oh, that’s right, she did, I simply forgot that with all that’s been happening. You poor boy, to lose your parents so young. What happened to you after that?”
“I was placed in the foster home system until I was eighteen. Wayne Irig was made executor of the estate.”
Jonathan asked, “You even had a Wayne in your universe? What about Nellie?”
Clark replied, “Wayne was a widower in my universe. Nellie died in childbirth when I was a child.”
Martha had been observing Lois while all of this had been going on and she turned to her and asked, “He’s very much like our Clark, isn’t he?”
Lois mutely nodded her head in response. She was starting to feel more than a little guilty about what she was feeling. She could feel an attraction to this man. She knew that he wasn’t her Clark, but he was so much like him that she at times forgot that he wasn’t the same man. To say the least, she was conflicted. There was an unaccountable attraction, well maybe not unaccountable; he was, after all, identical to her fiancé. Seeing how Martha and Jonathan had taken to him was making it even more difficult for her to separate them.
Lois excused herself, “If you’ll excuse me for a bit, I have some things I need to sort out. I’ll be back.” She turned and as she was exiting the door she spun into her uniform and took off.
Clark said, “In view of this situation, maybe it would be best if I returned to my apartment.”
Jonathan asked, “Just how long have you been here?”
“I’ve been here for almost a week. I arrived shortly after the bomb exploded. I’ve been living at the Apollo in Metropolis under the name of Charles King. Please tell Lois that I’ll meet her here in a couple of days.”
Jonathan asked, “Could you come by each day, at least for a while? We’d like to get to know you better.”
Clark replied, “I’d like that. Sure, I’ll come by. Please tell Lois that I’ll see her tomorrow some time.”
“Okay, I’ll do that.”
Martha spoke up, “You could join us for dinner.”
With a grin, Clark replied, “How could I turn down a home cooked meal? I’ll be here.” Clark took off for the Apollo. As he flew he was thinking about Lois and what she was going through.
And now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 7 – Let’s Talk
February 26, 1994
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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Universal Locator Designation
Common name – ALT2
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It had been five days since the funeral and Clark had been spending a portion of each day with Lois and the Kents. Clark was aware of Lois’ problem with reconciling Clark’s death and his presence. He could understand and sympathize with her because he was also struggling with the same thing. He could feel the attraction to her and he couldn’t help feeling that he was being disloyal to the memory of his Lois. He thought that she was probably feeling the same thing. They had spent a lot of time in conversation; however, little had been said about Clark. On the fourth day suddenly Lois, without saying why, took off. They put LNN on and there was no emergency being reported so it had to be something else.
It was getting late in the day so, after Lois left Martha asked, “Have you had anything to eat? Are you hungry?”
Clark shrugged one shoulder and replied, “I really don’t want to put you out.”
Martha came back with, “No, it’s no trouble at all. We have to eat anyhow.”
Clark replied, “If it’s all the same to you, I’d kinda like to wait until Lois returns. If it’s too late maybe we’ll go out to dinner.”
Martha gave Jonathan a look and he nodded in return.
Martha said, “Instead of going all the way back to Metropolis, do you want to stay here tonight? You can use Clark’s room.”
“That’s really nice of you. Are you sure you won’t mind?” asked Clark.
Jonathan said, “You’re so much like our boy; it’d almost be like he was still here with us.”
“As long as it won’t be putting you out and making you uncomfortable …”
“We’d love to have you here. You’ve been flying in each day and spending time with us and we sort of feel like, well, almost like you could have been Clark’s twin brother or something. You’ve been so nice and supportive to us with the funeral and all that has been happening. We’ve been getting to know you and we like you. We’d still like to get to know you better, though.” Martha said.
With tears in his eyes, Clark said, “I’d like that and I’d like to get to know you better. I did meet another Jonathan and Martha Kent in another universe when I went to help out. Their son was trapped in a time bubble and Herb was trying to rescue him while I filled in for him trying to defeat the criminal, Tempus, who had trapped him. There was a brief time when they mistook me for their son but when it was explained to them, even though I wasn’t him, they accepted me the same way you have.”
With a soft chuckle Jonathan said, “Well, I’m glad to see that we are the same in these other universes.”
“I really appreciate this. It’s a chance for me to get to know what my parents might have been like if they had lived.” He was almost choked up with emotion as he finished his statement.
Jonathan said, “Tell you what, if you don’t mind I still have some projects around the farm that I could use some super assistance with. You can use some of Clark’s work clothes. If Lois doesn’t drag you away that is.” He was chuckling as he finished up this last line.
With joy evident in his voice he said, “I’d like that.”
Martha said, “Well, why don’t the two of you go ahead and plan while I go make dinner.” So saying she got up and moved toward the kitchen. At the doorway, she turned and looked back and said softly, “This feels like Clark is back with us.” Then she went into the kitchen and started dinner.
Clark said, “Can you excuse me for a couple of minutes? I need to step outside.”
Clark had just had an idea. When he had been with Lois the last time in the other universe she had told him about New Krypton and the other Kryptonians. She had told him about their ability to communicate telepathically. He had used it on a previous mission to communicate with the Clark of that universe. As far as he knew it should work with anyone with the powers so he decided to try communicating with Lois that way. He had only used it once before so it took a few minutes of trying before he was sure that he had it right. He broadcast a thought, /Lois?/
A bewildered thought came back, /What’s that? I thought I heard something./
Clark replied, /You did. It was me, Clark. In one of the other universes I was told that Kryptonians were able to communicate telepathically and decided to try to contact you. Are you alright?/
/Yeah, It’s just that I’m still a little confused./
/Me too. Do you want to talk about it? Maybe if we put our heads together we can come up with a solution./
/Okay, I’ll be there in a few minutes./
/Should I tell Martha that we will be joining them for dinner … or … would you like to go out to dinner?/
/Clark, are you asking me out on a date?/
With a mental chuckle he replied, /I guess I am. Do you mind?/
/No. I guess not. Tell Martha that we’ll be going out and not to wait up for us./
/Okay, where do you want to go?/
/Honolulu./
/Okay, I’ll let them know we’re going out./
Clark went back into the house and saw that Jonathan had moved into the kitchen with Martha so he went to join them. He said, “Lois will be back in a few minutes. We are going to go out for dinner as long as you don’t object.”
With a very curious look on her face Martha asked, “How do you know all that?”
With a somewhat sheepish expression he replied, “It’s something I learned in one of the other universes. Kryptonians can communicate telepathically. I just had a telepathic talk with Lois. We’re going to Honolulu for dinner so we may be quite late. If you want me to stay somewhere else that’ll be okay with me.”
Jonathan said, “No, our invitation still stands. Let me take you up to Clark’s room so that you can freshen up, maybe change clothes before you go. Clark always kept several changes of clothes here.”
Clark was again choked up as he replied, “You will never know how much this means to me.” The generosity displayed by the Kents continued to amaze him and all he could do was shake his head as Jonathan led him upstairs.
A few minutes after Clark had showered and changed, Lois arrived. She too had changed clothes and when she spun out of the uniform was wearing a cocktail dress. It was a little black number with a floaty, flirty skirt that ended above mid-thigh and the front was halter style with a gold ring in the center. It was backless to the waist with a thin string across the back holding the bustline in place. It definitely showed off her assets.
Clark was surprised by what she was wearing. None of the other Lois Lanes he had interacted with had dressed quite this provocatively. He caught himself staring in awe at this vision of loveliness. When his brain started to function again he said, “My, my, don’t we look nice this evening.”
She did a little pirouette so that he would get the full effect.
He turned to Jonathan and Martha and said, “If you’ll excuse us, we have to be leaving.” He crooked his arm to Lois and she had a smile on her face as she placed her arm through his and they headed for the door.
When they had left Martha said to Jonathan, “He’s just like our boy, isn’t he? I think Lois sees it too. You know, I’ve been thinking, what if we asked him to stay. I mean, our boy is gone and he doesn’t have any parents. It would almost be like having never lost him.”
Jonathan gave it a few seconds thought before replying, “I’d like to get to know him a little better first. I do like what I’ve seen so far, but you can never be too careful.
“I know, there are going to be differences, after all he grew up without any parents, in the foster care system. He didn’t turn out too bad from what I’ve seen.”
“Yeah, I wonder just who he wound up with in the foster care system.”
“Why don’t you ask him tomorrow?”
“I’ll do that. While you finish dinner I’ll go out to the barn and put things away.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Superman and Superwoman arrived over Honolulu it was mid afternoon so they knew that it would be a while before they would be going to dinner. Clark led the way and they landed in a secluded part of the Hanauma Bay Marine Preserve. They both spun out of their uniforms and started to stroll around seeing the sights and talking. Eventually they found themselves on the wide beach and both kicked of their shoes and walked on the sand.
Up to this point they had been limiting the talk to more impersonal subjects but knowing that eventually they needed to really talk Clark asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”
Reluctantly Lois replied, “There isn’t much to talk about, well maybe there is really. I’m really, really conflicted. My fiancé has been killed and then here you are and you are so like him it’s like I’m actually here with him, yet you’re not him and I have these feelings for him and they want to come out to you but should they, I mean, they should be for him, but he’s not here and you are here and I miss him so much but with you here I don’t miss him nearly as much as I should because you’re just like him.”
When she had finished this babble Clark said, “I can understand, completely, really I can. I was only with my Lois for a few months before she died.” The grief welled up in him as he continued, “At least I was able to tell her that I loved her before she died. And just before she died, as she was passing out she said, “Charlie, I lo ..” That was the last thing she said. I can only hope that she was trying to say that she loved me too.”
“Why did she call you Charlie?”
Clark replied, “We were undercover and at that time she didn’t know my real name. I was going by Charles King and she was Linda King. We were pretending to be married. We had only met a couple of months earlier. You see I’m from 1997 and Herb had taken me back in time to 1992. My Lois had been investigating illegal gun shipments into the Congo.”
Lois interrupted him at this point, “I remember that investigation. I almost got caught.”
Clark resumed, “It is really complicated, but, somehow, I feel that I was responsible for her death. If I hadn’t been there to facilitate the investigation she might not have been shot and died.”
Lois interrupted again, “If Clark’s powers hadn’t been transferred to me, he might not have died when they bombed his apartment.”
With wonder and sadness in his voice he agreed with her, “Yeah, I guess you are right. In some way we each feel that we are responsible for the death of our partners.”
Clark took off his jacket and laid it over a drift log so that they could sit down without dirtying their dinner clothes. After settling themselves, they continued the discussion. “We had only been together a couple of months but we had gotten really close. If she hadn’t died I feel certain that we would have been getting married. I know how I felt and I can only hope that she felt the same way.”
“Clark and I were going to be married in April. Oh, Clark, what am I going to do? I miss him so much and yet with you here, it’s like he isn’t gone at all. I feel so conflicted.”
Clark reached out and put an arm around her shoulders before he said, “Well, I’ll be here for a while. I can fill in for him at the Planet until we can decide what to do. Would you mind me doing that? I mean, will that be too hard on you, me reminding you of him and all.”
Lois thought about this for a minute before replying, “No, actually I think I’d like that.”
They both lapsed into silence for a while, both thinking about the near future.
After a while Clark spoke up, “What do you want to do about the investigation that you were working on? How far had you gotten? Maybe I could help. Since I’ve been to some of the other universes I know some things that may come in handy. Let me ask you a few questions. Have you had to deal with Lex Luthor?”
“Lex Luthor, yeah, I had dinner with him. It was supposed to be an interview, but that never materialized. After that Clark told me all about Luthor and I’ve been avoiding him ever since.“
“Wow, okay, that pretty much parallels most of the other universes. Lex Luthor made a play for Lois Lane. He would stop at nothing to possess her, uh, you. He even tried to kill Superman a number of times because he was interfering in his criminal operations. Believe it or not, Lex Luthor is the criminal mastermind behind all of the rackets here in Metropolis.”
Lois was very thoughtful as she replied, “So, that confirms what I already found out. Nigel St. John, Lex’s butler was the intermediary. Lex had Clark killed.”
Clark asked, “You say you just had dinner with him recently?
Lois replied, “Yeah, but, never again!” Lois, with an eager expression looked at him and said, “You know, with everything you know, you would be a tremendous help. We could make Luthor think his little trap failed. Do you want to team up with me while you’re here? We could get the final low down on Luthor and put him behind bars where he belongs.”
Clark replied, “I thought you’d never ask. I’d love to. It’ll be just like when I was working with my Lois.”
“Okay, how do we go about it?”
“You’ll need to fill me in on the specifics of this universe. For instance, in my universe the Daily Planet was bought by James Olsen, a billionaire who made his money in computer software, while in another universe I’ve been in, Jimmy Olsen is a research assistant/photographer for the Daily Planet. Do you have a Jimmy Olsen?”
“Yeah, Jimmy is kind of our mascot. He’s the gofer/researcher/photographer like the second one you described.”
“Who is Editor-in-Chief?”
“That would be the erasable Perry White.”
“So far so good, what does Clark call Perry?”
“We all call him either Perry or Chief.”
“Good, who owns the paper?”
“Franklin Stern.”
“Check. Tell me about some of your co-workers.”
They spent some time going over the information Clark would need to fill in for the other Clark. When they had finished they went out to dinner and then caught a movie.
When they arrived back in Smallville Clark asked Lois to spend a couple of days there. She agreed and he grabbed a blanket and pillow and headed for the couch while she settled in Clark’s bedroom.
In the morning Martha came downstairs to find Clark on the couch and looked up the stairs as if to see who was in the bedroom. Immediately she knew without looking just who was in Clark’s bedroom, it just had to be Lois. He had managed to get her to stay. With a look of understanding she turned and headed for the kitchen. Jonathan would be down shortly and she needed to get his breakfast ready.
Clark woke to the aroma of coffee brewing and just continued to lay there on the couch enjoying the feel. The feel of being home and the feel of having his parents back after all these years. Okay, they weren’t really his parents but in a way they really were. He thought, <Maybe they’ll allow me to be their son while I’m here.>
After a while Lois and Jonathan both came downstairs. Lois was dressed in the cocktail dress she had worn the previous evening. Clark sat up and Lois sat on the end of the couch. She said, “I think I really need to get back to work. As far as anyone knows you’re still recovering from your injuries sustained in the bombing. You might as well hang out here as anywhere.” She turned to Jonathan and Martha and asked, “Are you guys okay with that?”
Martha answered, “We already invited him to stay.”
Lois said, “Okay, good, well, I uh, I guess I can come by every night.” She looked at Clark and said, “Maybe we could spend some more time together, you know, getting to know one another.”
Clark answered, “I’d like that.” Looking over at Jonathan he said, “We have some fence to mend today, right?”
Jonathan smiled and said, “That’s right.” Chuckling he looked over at Lois and said, “I’m going to put him to work. Good honest farm work, not like what you call work in the big city.”
Knowing that he was kidding, Lois went along with it and asked, “Can I expect to find a dirty, sweaty, callused farm hand when I get back?”
Clark chuckled and said, “I don’t know about the sweaty and callused thing but I just might get dirty.”
Teasing Lois said, “I’ll check when I get back this evening.”
Martha said, “If you’re going to be spending any time here, perhaps you should bring some changes of clothes to keep here.”
Lois said, “That’s probably a good idea. I’ll bring some this evening. I think all I’ll have is a cup of coffee. I really need to get to Metropolis.”
For the next three weeks Lois went in to work while Clark was at the farm and commuted in each afternoon. They were getting to know one another and building a relationship. Though they thought they were taking their time about it, because of their prior relationships things progressed rapidly.
On Friday night when the three weeks had elapsed Clark had convinced Lois to stay at the farm rather than going back to Metropolis. She went to bed in Clark’s room and he slept on the couch.
In the morning Martha came downstairs and saw him on the couch again and she started to chuckle softly. She went into the kitchen and put the coffee on.
A few minutes later Lois came downstairs wearing a football jersey she had found in one of Clark’s drawers. It came down to just about mid-thigh and Clark couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Unbidden memories of his Lois dressed in a short skirt, showing plenty of leg came to mind, but he found them being overlaid by the more recent memory of this Lois in her cocktail dress. When that happened, he started feeling some guilt for allowing this to happen.
He sat up as Lois came over and this time instead of sitting on the opposite end of the couch, she sat down next to him. Unexpectedly she snuggled up close to him and pulled up her legs and tucked them under herself as she did.
Martha came out of the kitchen just as Lois got settled and got an amused smile on her face when she saw them. She walked over and sat in Jonathan’s chair. Once she was settled she said, “Jonathan and I had a talk last night. We’ve been together now for several weeks and we’d like to know if you would consider being our son while you are here.”
Clark was stunned to silence by this.
Almost as if Martha had talked it over with her beforehand and before he was able to respond, Lois added, “If you accept, it means that you have to be my fiancé as well.”
Jonathan had just reached the bottom of the stairs as Lois made her statement and chimed in with, “We were wondering if you might be able to extend your stay.”
“With you here it’s like we never lost Clark,” Martha added.
Lois reached up for his arm and pulled it across her shoulders and said, “I feel the same way. I don’t know why because you really aren’t him but in a lot of ways, you are. I am feeling more and more comfortable with you as time goes on.” She started playing with the fingers of his hand, lacing and unlacing her fingers in his absently as she spoke. “I’d like you to stay too. You told me that your missions were to help the Clark Kents of the various universes to stay alive so that they could marry their Lois Lanes, but, this time it was to rescue me from the despair that you suffered when you lost your Lois. We've been hanging out here at the farm for a while now and if you were to ask me out on another date I wouldn’t turn you down. I’ve had very nice times on our other dates.”
It didn’t take any thought to reply to this, “I enjoyed our dates too.” Looking around at Lois and the Kents he said, “What can I say? Thank you for your acceptance. I’ll do my best not to make you sorry for asking me to stay.”
Martha stood up and said, “Alright, now that that’s settled, let’s have breakfast,” and she led the way to the kitchen.
comments go here To be continued in Chapter 08 – New Family
