Lori and Clark – The New, New Adventures of Superman – MMC V 6 02/32
By Ken Janney
Warning: This story is 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.
Previously:
There on the screen was a full color photo of Superman taken as he grasped the bomb preparatory to launching into space with it followed by the headline.
“SUPERMAN RETURNS – SAVES METROPOLIS FROM NUCLEAR DESTRUCTION”
By Clark Kent and Lorelei Lane
“In the early hours of the morning while most of the inhabitants of Metropolis were either in bed or preparing for slumber, Homeland Security was protecting the citizens of Metropolis. A plot to detonate a nuclear device under the city had been uncovered and an operation designed to capture the perpetrators and prevent the disaster was underway when one of the leaders attempted to perform a suicide bomb attack with the nuclear device. The only thing standing between the city and total destruction was Superman. Superman swooped in at the last second and launched the bomb into space. In an exclusive interview your reporters were told that the ‘original’ Superman had returned from his mission and would again be protecting the city.” (Story continued pg A2)
“You’re sharing your byline with me?!?! I’m not back in the reporter ranks yet; I’m your research assistant.”
“I’m sure our editor; Frank, will agree that you deserve it. You did just as much work on this story as I did. Besides you’re the one that got the interview with Superman. Maybe this will move you from research to reporter.” He gave her a wink.
“Wow, Okay but, that byline, there’s just something wrong with it. I don’t like it - By Clark Kent and Lorelei Lane. I think I’ll use a ‘professional’ name.” She thought about it for a few seconds then snapped her fingers and said, “I know, I think I’ll go with my middle name. I didn’t know it until I started doing some family research that I *was* named after a famous relative.”
She reached over and deleted the name on the byline and then retyped it as:
By Clark Kent and Lois Lane.
“There, that more accurately reflects who I am now.”
Clark smiled. He hadn’t known what her middle name was. It just hadn’t seemed important. It was almost like old times and he looked forward to the day when she insisted on top billing.
It had been early in the morning when they had arrived at home and since they had been out on the story they had left word with the night editor that they would be in later in the morning the next day.
The next day when they arrived at work Lori and Clark were talking over what had happened the previous night as the elevator took them from the lobby to the newsroom floor. A ding sound announced their arrival and the doors parted. That ding had alerted everyone in the bullpen that someone was arriving and they had all turned to see just who it was. Knowing the hour everyone in the newsroom expected it to be the Kents since they had worked late the night before. As usual Clark was dressed in a neatly tailored business suit and today Lori was also dressed in a well tailored women’s business suit in an off white color with matching pumps. When they exited the elevator Clark allowed Lori to precede him and as they did so there was a round of applause. Their front page story of the attempted terrorist strike and the save by Superman was the buzz of all the newsnets. It had been picked up by all of the agencies and their byline had gone worldwide.
Inevitably there was a backlash to the story originating in the Middle East. Lori and Clark weren’t too concerned about it because no one knew what they looked like and they would just keep a low profile until a later news cycle knocked them off the front page.
Clark was not terribly surprised to see that Lori had her own name plate and that it was situated on the desk near Clark’s. He said, “I told you that you wouldn’t have to wait too long before you moved up to reporter again.” He started chuckling as he finished, “All it took was a front page byline.”
Lori walked over and just ran her hands over the top of ‘her’ desk. She sat down in the chair, pulled out a drawer and propped her feet up on it and leaned back. She said, “Feels just like old times.”
And now:
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Universal Locator designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -124 Alt-Prime
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Interlude From Volume 2
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As was stated in Volume 2, years ago, in the 2040s after retiring from the Planet the first time, Lois and Clark had written a number of books detailing some of their major investigations and also a book documenting some of Superman’s adventures and major rescues. Between the royalties from those and movie and TV show rights for their Superman stories they had become multi-millionaires. That money had been wisely invested and their fortune had grown even more.
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Chapter 1 – Lori
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Smallville, Kansas
Universal Locator designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -124 Alt-Prime
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One evening in September 2087 Lori and Clark were cuddled up on the couch and looking around, Lori took in the ambiance of the old farmhouse. Memories of her time spent there with Clark, his parents and the children came flooding back.
Thinking about the last year, Lori started voicing her thoughts, “You know, it has been no small chore getting to know all of the family. There have been some other things which were harder to overcome than others. One was the memory of Lois’ aversion to firearms. That was a difficult integration. It was difficult because Lois, Loisette, Lulu and all the others, they are separate people and yet, they’re still me, just different aspects from different times. It’s hard to explain to someone that hasn’t been through it.”
“As Lulu, I frequently had needed to depend on my sidearm for survival. This was also the case when I went on the trail ride during camp. My accuracy with my revolver was the thing that saved me and Withers in that encounter with the rattler. I feel that it was fortunate that the Lois side of my personality hadn’t been manifesting itself strongly at that time because her aversion to firearms could have caused a delay which could have been serious if not fatal. I have succeeded in submerging that part of Lois and allowed Lulu and my own inclinations to dominate.”
“I know it’s been difficult Honey. You’ve been a real trooper. I hope I’ve been supportive enough.”
Lori looked up at him and said, “You’ve been my pillar of strength getting me through this and I love you for it.” She moved up and kissed him.
She remembered back to that time, when she had gone to the riding camp before her fifteenth birthday. As far as she had known at the time it had been her first time on horseback, however, now, with the realization that she had Loisette’s and Lulu’s memories of riding it made a lot of sense that she loved to ride.
Looking around the room again she had started thinking about the farm and asked about it. “You know, I have this twenty year gap in my memory and some of Lois’ memories are kinda fuzzy. Why don’t you tell me about the farm? I mean, here we are, but how did we get here?” She giggled as she continued, “I mean aside from the obvious, you flying us. Jon’s son Bernie and his family recently built a new house and moved in. Lara’s son Greg is over in the Irig farm house but the farms are merged?”
With an extra little squeeze, Clark started to tell the tale, “Yes, well, you see, there are things that even Lois didn’t know. In the late 1960s Wayne Irig, Dad’s best friend and neighbor had lost his wife Nellie. At the same time he lost his first born when Nellie had a breach delivery and the midwife didn't have the skills or equipment to perform an emergency C-section.”
With emotion in her voice and a tear on her cheek at this sad story, Lori said, “That is so sad. Did he ever remarry?”
“I guess that’s the saddest part of all, no he didn’t. He lived the rest of his life missing his wife.”
Clark pulled her in closer as he continued, “It wasn’t all bad though, many years later, in 2010, something happened, which became a comfort in his old age. His brother's grandson, at the age of ten, started expressing an interest in farming and when Wayne agreed to take him for the summer the two of them really hit it off. The boy became like the son he had never had and he spent every summer and a lot of holidays with his great uncle.”
“That would be Lara’s husband, Mike, right?”
“That is correct, Mike Lee, Lara’s husband is Wayne Irig’s grand nephew. That was another thing that pleased Wayne very much aside from the time that they spent together. Wayne was also happy about the fact that when Michael became engaged it was to Lara Kent, one of Jonathan Kent's granddaughters. They had met in 2013 and were married nine years later in 2022 uniting the long time friends’ families. Wayne wasn’t around to see it or be at the wedding, but he could see the way things were headed back in the twenty-teens.”
Lori turned in his arms so that she could look more directly at Clark as he continued.
“It was no wonder that when Wayne passed away his grand nephew Michael Lee was listed as his sole heir. The problem was that his interests had changed radically. He was no longer interested in farming and became a lawyer. Mike’s father helped with the management and hired a company to rent the farm out while Mike was in school. That continued until Mike and Lara’s son Greg got his degree in Agriculture. Greg spent time with the people that had been renting the Irig farm and observing what they had been doing. When their lease ran out in 2050 he moved in and took over the management of the farm. He paid strict attention to trends and decided to take the farm the organic route.”
“Now, our grandson, Bernie was also interested in AG Business. He was more interested in the business side while Greg was more interested in the techniques side. Desiring to keep the farm in the family it was a no brainer to let Bernie take over the Kent farm, so in 2055 Bernard Kent assumed management of the Kent farm and Bernie had moved into the old Kent farm house. After twenty-five years, in 2080, the new house was built for his growing family and they moved out of the original farm house, leaving it vacant once more.”
“2058 was when the two farms were officially merged making the Kent/Irig farm the largest in Small County. Between Bernie managing and Greg directing they have turned it into a thriving, very profitable business.”
Lori decided that the time was right to bring up her plans with Clark, “In view of all of that, since we have the farm, why don’t we use it? It doesn’t all need to be put to crops does it? I want a place where we can ride and I’d like to take the kids riding. They’d love it, I’m sure. Here’s what I’d like to do …”
That was when Lori had come up with the idea of remodeling the farm.
The idea for activities at the renovated farm where she would be able to deal with smaller subsets of the family most of the time was very appealing. The idea for fun activities was based on her experiences as Lulu and Loisette. As a result they had the most fun at the farm, which was most weekends, usually with only a few families at a time. She was determined to share her love of riding with her family.
This project took next to no time to complete. The entire super family joined in. The plans were drawn and construction materials ordered and delivered. It was going to be a boon to the local economy. Even though the super family could have done all of the construction at super speed, how could that have been explained, so local tradesmen were hired and the super family assisted with the non-skilled menial labor. The plan called for a separate building joined to the main house by what could be called a large Florida Room. This was glass enclosed on three sides with tables and chairs as well as lounges. In one corner was a large HV for the kids and along the one wall was a large fireplace for those long cold winter nights. .
The final plan was for a three floor wing with many four person rooms like a college dorm. They could hold younger families with a few small children in each room or else act as girls or guys dorm rooms. In this way, for large family gatherings they had the accommodations to handle the growing family.
Part of the plan also called for the addition of a new stable. This would adjoin the new corral and would have adequate space for as many as sixteen horses.
When the new stable had been put up a number of horses needed to be purchased. Naturally, when it came time to pick out the horses, Lori had taken the lead. Clark, remembering his time as the Lone Rider presented no objections. Clark could see how these activities couldn’t help but aid in deepening the family unity. The shared activities and even the competitions that could be introduced could result in fun times.
It seemed like Lois’ competitive nature had been passed down through the generations and as a result nearly all of the children and grand children were highly competitive. Finding ways for them to express that competitiveness in an atmosphere of love was not only important but highly entertaining.
Once the basics were ready and in order to put her plan into effect they went to a horse auction and Lori knew just what she was after.
Fifth on the block was a three year old Appaloosa mare. She looked just like Withers, only younger, and Lori wouldn’t stop until she was hers. As soon as the auction was finished she looked at the list and saw some quarter horses would be going off, but she had some time before they would go on the block so she moved to the paddock.
She found her purchase and walked up to her holding out a sugar cube in her hand. The horse was wary at first but the gentle approach that Lori made reassured her and when she saw the object in Lori’s hand she touched it with her tongue. Sensing the sweet treat she grabbed it with her lips and pulled it into her mouth savoring it. She then nuzzled Lori’s hand looking for more. Lori reached out a calming hand and slowly started stroking the horse’s nose. When the horse didn’t shy away she brought her other hand up and started patting her on the neck and talking to her in a crooning, soothing voice which the horse responded to. She said, “I think I’ll call you Withers just like my friend from riding camp. Think you’ll like that, Withers?” She gave her a few more strokes before turning away. As she did the horse nickered. Lori turned back and said, “You like me already, huh? Okay, I’ll only be gone for a while. I’ll be back.” She gave her a few more pats and turned away.
When they had built the stable Lori had asked for sixteen stalls to be built. She now had Withers and wanted at least five or six more horses. She was looking for at least five quarter horses. She also wanted to find one for Clark. That one would have to be strong and sturdy because of Clark’s dense molecular structure. She was determined that he was going to ride with her.
When she got back to the auction there was a Tennessee Walker on the block, a chestnut gelding. She liked his looks as soon as she saw him and didn’t stop until she owned him. Next up was a string of quarter horses. Of the ten that went on the block she purchased six.
They had made arrangements for a large transport to move the horses to the farm from the auction in Tennessee. Lori insisted on having a two horse trailer to pull behind her Jeep. Into this went Withers and Whistler. After the auction they loaded the trailer and headed out for the farm. Lori insisted on stopping every so often so that they could take the horses out for exercise.
Clark had grown up on the farm, but aside from a few cattle they hadn’t really had any livestock. The Langs had had a stable though, so he was no stranger to horses. It was a pleasant trip and the horses, because of how they had been treated, were not skittish when they arrived. They went into side by side stalls. When the rest of the mounts were delivered they saw to their disposition. The quarter horses were raw and would need to be broken before their training could begin. That task fell to Clark. Buck as they might they just couldn’t seem to get rid of their rider and in no time at all they were saddle broken.
A corner of the farm had been landscaped so that there was a twenty foot berm as a backstop for a shooting range. There were benches set up and targets set out at different ranges. There was a partition down the center. One side was for firearms and the other side was for archery. Lori had a selection of firearms, most of which fired sub-caliber ammunition so that the younger members of the family could handle them. For the archery range she had a selection of longbow, semi-recurve, recurve and compound bows to pick from in different weights.
After some months had passed, Lori approached Clark with an idea. “Now that we have everything in place and the kids are working on their riding, archery and shooting, let’s start some contests. It’ll be fun! We can make it a big affair patterned after a medieval tournament! The kids could all dress up in period costume as nobles. The grand kids could dress up also, perhaps as peasants, and we could have archery competitions like the one Robin Hood participated in. I wonder how many of the grand kids could duplicate his feat. We could make it a pot luck picnic.”
Clark started to get into the spirit, “That might be fun. We could also offer prizes. You could be the queen of the tournament and I could be the King. It’s a shame that we are teaching them rodeo riding rather than jousting.”
“No, It’s not! Jousting is just too dangerous. I know, all but the youngest children are invulnerable, but I just couldn’t imagine a couple of guys jousting without armor. Regular people can really get hurt doing that even with full armor. Besides that gives us another activity that we can do that requires skill and not powers; we can hold our own rodeo. We could all dress up as cowboys and cowgirls. Like I said, it’d be fun!”
That had started a couple of annual activities that the entire family participated in.
From then on any particular weekend would find Clark and Lori at the farm. It had literally become their second home. The weekends had become Lori’s favorite time. Usually there were at least four or five of the younger grandchildren there with Lori and Clark and Lori was teaching them to ride and shoot. For this purpose a large corral had been fenced in and some of the girls were learning the Rodeo art of barrel racing while some of the boys were learning calf roping. She was even able to get Clark up on Whistler for some pleasure riding.
All of the grand and great grandchildren liked going to the range with ‘grandma’ Lori. A number of them were showing a considerable talent with firearms as well as the bow. Lori had had a hard time convincing Clark. She said, “I know that firearms are somewhat outmoded nowadays, but I think that this would be beneficial training. It helps to develop discipline; it sharpens the senses and develops a keen eye. This along with the karate training will develop the discipline and control they will need when their powers develop.”
“Okay, you’ve demonstrated how handy a bow can be. As long as they will be safe you have my blessing.”
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