Clark and Lois – Two Universes - Matchmaker Chronicle Volume 7 05/32
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.
This particular story takes place after Lois and Clarks.
* * 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 – Common name – Alt 2
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Previously:
“I don’t know how that would work out. We don’t know how long this will take. Look, I need to go. This happens a lot and James is okay with it because I can write it up as an exclusive. If I’m not back in time, go out to dinner.” He gave her a kiss and said, “Wish me luck.”
She said, “Good luck.” And then switched over to telepathy, /”What if you are gone too long. If Lucy knew about me I could fly her home. This way we’re stuck here.”/
/”This is just one of the glitches in our living arrangements that we have to look at. We can discuss it when I get back.”/
/”You bet we will, buster. I think we need a local apartment, that’s what I think.”/
Clark leaned in and gave her a kiss. He said, “Keep the home fires burning.”
Lois patted his cheek and asked, “Should we save a seat for you at dinner?”
Back over his shoulder he said, “I’ll have to let you know,” as he headed for the stairwell. A few seconds later there was a sonic boom heard in the western suburbs.
Lois continued to watch the coverage on the TV. The scene had switched from the camera on the Sunbird to a news helicopter. The cruise ship was obviously in distress although it wasn’t apparent as to what had happened. Suddenly she caught the term rogue wave and nodded in understanding. The ship was listing at a severe angle and seemed to be leaning more and more. If this kept up it would turn turtle within a very few minutes. A couple of minutes later, as the starboard side rail was dipping under the surface, Superman came into the frame. As they watched he dove underwater. A few seconds later the ship was being righted and then started to lift clear of the water.
Just then the police/fire scanner chirruped and announced a robbery and the address was just around the block from the Planet.
Lois felt the need to help out so she grabbed her bag and throwing the strap over her shoulder she headed for the stairwell. As soon as the door was closed behind her she supersped down to the lobby. She almost literally ran through the lobby and out the doors headed for the scene.
As she was running down the block to get to the scene she saw a car coming up the street toward her at a high rate of speed. She assumed that this was a getaway car because it was being pursued closely by a police car. Suddenly, Clark’s parting remark came to mind. He had said, “Keep the home fires burning.” That gave her an idea so; she used her heat vision in a wide beam on the radiator to instantly overheat the water causing it to boil so furiously that the cap popped off like a cork out of a champagne bottle. Water with coolant treatment started bubbling out of the neck and steam immediately started billowing out from under the hood so thickly that the driver’s vision was obscured and it was complicated by the oily coolant which smeared the windshield so he had to hit the brake before his plowed into another car or light pole.
The crooks bailed out of their car guns in hand. One of them shouted, “Come and get it coppers!” He leveled his gun in the direction of the car that had been chasing them. He was going to shoot the driver right through the windshield.
Lois used her heat vision again and heated up the guns. This time she moderated the heat so that the rounds in the magazines didn’t explode, but hot enough that they had to drop them.
The driver, who was the one aiming at the cop screamed in pain, “Owwwww! It’s burning my hand!” as he dropped his gun.
The driver of the pursuing police car had seen the distress that the crooks were in and stopped behind them. Seeing the perp aiming at him, the officer jumped out of his car and crouched behind the door. He started to shout for them to drop their guns, but before he could get it out they in fact dropped their guns and put their hands up. Staying behind the door of his cruiser car the officer stood up and shouted for them to put their hands on the roof of their car and lean in to them.
As they complied another car pulled up and another officer jumped out, gun in hand. Seeing the perps moving to put their hands on the roof of their car he reached back and pulled out his cuffs as he moved in to place them in custody.
The cop figured out what must have happened and he started scanning the sky looking for Superman, but he didn’t see him.
As he was cuffing the prisoner Lois walked up and looking at his name tag said, “Officer Powers, Lois Lane, Daily Planet. What happened here?”
“Ah, Ms. Lane, I’ve read your stuff in the Planet. Well, these guys just robbed Hotchkiss Jewelers up the block.” He reached into the car and removed a bag. Opening it he displayed the contents. A pile of sparkling jewelry greeted her perusal.
She asked, “How did you stop them?”
He replied, “It had to have been Superman. The car overheating could have been a mechanical failure, but the guns heating up, that had to be Superman. He must have had somewhere else to go, because he didn’t stick around. I wished that he had, I woulda liked to thank him.”
Lois smiled in the secret knowledge that she had been able to help and still keep her secret. She said, “I’m sure he knows that you are grateful. Thank you officer, I need to get back and get this written up for the evening edition,” as she turned and headed to Hotchkiss Jewelers. When she got there she interviewed a clerk. They were still doing an inventory, but a preliminary estimate on the value of the jewelry stolen was $25,000. After making the appropriate notes she thanked the clerk and returned to the Planet.
She wrote up her Superman foils Jewelry store heist getaway story and sent it to Mr. Olsen. She thought to herself, <I need to tell Clark that he heated up those guns on his way to Australia.>
And Now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 03– Women are missing
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 - Local designation – Alt 1
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
When she had gotten back to the newsroom Lois had turned her attention back to the TV and watched the news coverage. The newscopter had followed Superman with his burden all the way to a port facility. He was just lowering the ship into the water next to a wharf. Knowing that this rescue was in the bag Lois returned to her desk. Lois turned her attention to writing up her story. Just as she was finishing up she was interrupted by Clark’s phone. Since they were in a call pick-up group she answered for him, “Daily Planet, Lois Lane.”
A voice she didn’t recognize answered, “I was looking for Superman.”
“I’m his partner, can I help you?”
“Can you pass a message to him?
“Sure I can. How can I help you?”
“My name is Jeffrey Faulk. I need Superman’s help. You see, my fiancé is missing. She went missing just under two weeks ago. She was out with her girlfriends from work. They had a few drinks, maybe a few too many. One of the girls told me that when they left the bar Doris wasn’t feeling well, maybe more than a little drunk. She claims that they all had the same number of drinks but they hit Doris harder than any of the other girls. Anyway, she never made it home. I filed a missing person report, but the police haven’t been able to find her. I’ve been calling the police regularly to follow up on her and they have told me that they are really stretched thin right now. There are about seven girls missing including Doris. I’m really worried.”
“What is Doris’ last name?”
“Sanders, Doris Sanders.
“Well, to me this sounds like it could be more than a coincidence. I’ll pass the word on to Clark when he returns and in the mean time I’ll start investigating this myself.”
“Thank you. I figured that if I could get Superman to help she might be found.”
“We’ll do what we can. Give me your number and we’ll get back to you.” She wrote down his contact information and ended the call.
Returning to her computer she finished her story and sent the e-mail. That done, she picked up her phone and called the twelfth precinct. “Twelfth precinct, Sgt. Cooper.”
“Sgt. Cooper, Lois Lane. Is Lt. Henderson in?”
“Just a moment. I’ll transfer you.” There were a few clicks and then Lois heard, “Henderson.”
Lois said, “Bill, Lois Lane.”
“Hi Lois, what is it this time?”
Laughing, Lois said, “You think you know me so well, don’t you?”
“It didn’t take me long. You know, your partner is easier to get along with even knowing just who he is.”
“How much difference does that make?”
“Well, you know, before he came on the scene, back when Tempus was running against Perry White for mayor, we went through a rough time. Tempus was riling everybody up about ‘The Enemy’ when he tried to make Clark out to be a threat. Fortunately that got cleared up really quickly once Tempus was exposed. I wonder just what happened to him. We were going to go after him for fraud and a few other things, but he up and disappeared. We never saw him again. I guess it’s good riddance. People aren’t so concerned now. They have stopped carrying firearms and are letting the police handle problems with Superman’s assistance. It’s much better this way. I could wax eloquent on that topic for hours on end, but that’s not what you called about I’m sure.”
“You’re right, Bill. We just had a call from," she referred to her notes and continued, "Jeffrey Faulk. He’s worried about his fiancé, Doris Sanders. She’s been missing for almost two weeks. Do you have anything for me?”
“Yeah, well, we’ve been trying to keep a lid on it because we don’t want to start a panic. She’s just one of a number of young women that have been reported missing by friends, relatives or co-workers over the last few weeks. Altogether there are seven young women that have gone missing.”
“Can I get copies of the missing person reports and the interview notes on the case?”
“I really shouldn’t, but this way Superman is getting the information and he can help us. I was planning on contacting him within the next couple of days anyhow.”
“How soon can I pick up the copies? He’s in Australia right now but I’m anxious to get a start on this.”
“Okay, you can come over at any time. I already have copies made since I was going to be asking for an assist anyhow.”
“Thanks Bill, I’ll be there shortly.” As she hung up the phone she was thinking, <I need to be especially careful around Bill. He’s one smart cookie, no matter what universe he’s in. I don’t want to give myself away to this one the way I did the one in the other universe. Clark and I really need to go back for a few days so that we can have him over for dinner. I’m dying to know just what it was that gave us away.>
She locked her workstation, jotted a quick note to Clark explaining her errand in case he returned before she did, grabbed her bag and, throwing the strap over her shoulder, headed for the elevator.
Lois didn’t know it but, when she exited the Daily Planet building and hailed a taxi she was being observed from across the street. Her watcher lost her when she entered the taxi but his purpose had been achieved. He had been able to identify her after only having seen a picture. Now when the order came he felt confident that he would be able to pick her up. He nodded to himself and turning strolled down the walk away from the Planet building.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When Lois arrived at the twelfth precinct she made her way to the desk. She said, “Hi Sgt. Cooper, Henderson is expecting me.”
When Lois addressed him, Sgt. Cooper looked up from the 'True Detective' magazine he was perusing. Seeing who it was he smiled and in a friendly tone said, “Sure thing Ms. Lane. You can go on back.”
Bill’s door was open so Lois walked in and in a cheery tone said, “Hi Bill. What do you have for me?”
Bill looked at her and said in a serious tone, “A piece of advice. I know how involved you were in that other investigation, going into the brothel as one of the girls. That took guts and I know, I know, you have Superman as backup, but my advice is to stay out of this one. I have a bad feeling about it. Let Clark handle it, okay?”
She replied with a bantering tone, “Aw, come on Bill. Give me a little credit.”
He had a concerned tone in his voice as he said, “I mean it Lois. I’ve got a really bad feeling about this one. You fit the profile of the missing girls to a ‘T’. If you weren’t standing right here in front of me, I could pick out your description in that stack. It’s scary.”
Her interest was piqued and it was in the tone of her voice as she made one of her intuitive leaps and replied, “So, you think this has been orchestrated. There’s someone behind it and they’re after a particular type of girl, like they are filling orders or something.”
He started leafing through the papers in his hand as he continued, “Yeah, they are all around thirty, pretty, good figure. The one item in the profile that doesn’t fit you is that most of them are unattached. You are most definitely attached. You are the most attached woman I know. Being married to Superman makes you the most attached woman in the world.”
Lois started to laugh, “I don’t know about that. Clark might argue that he’s the most attached guy in the world, but I guess it works out to the same thing.” She was still laughing as she finished up. “Thanks Bill, I’ll take these back and go over them with Clark. We’ll see what we can do to help.” She placed the sheets in her brief case and, throwing the strap over her shoulder, turned to leave.
Before she was able to get out the door, Bill stopped her when he said, “Lois, I’m really serious about this one. I have a really, really bad feeling about it. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this.”
Lois turned and put on a confident pose as she said, “Bill, if I did that I’d cease being an investigative reporter. I
have to investigate this. It’s what I do. Don’t worry! I’ve got the absolute best backup in the world.”
“Yeah, I guess you do at that.”
“Thanks, Bill. We’ll get right on this and let you know what we come up with. Clark’s in Australia right now, but as soon as he’s back, I’ll go over this with him.” She left the office and headed out.
Deciding to follow up on the discussion they had had just before Clark left on the rescue Lois hailed a cab so that she could have some extra time at the office.
Another watcher spotted her as she exited the twelfth precinct. This watcher also lost her when she entered a cab.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As soon as she was at her desk she called Murray at the Superman Foundation. “Murray, Lois Lane.”
“Hi, how is that husband of yours?”
‘He’s fine. He’s on a rescue in Australia right now. Listen Murray, we are in a situation where we are going to need some cash. Can the Superman Foundation loan us enough for a down payment on a house and a car. Now, we expect to pay it back.”
Murray replied, “I don’t think there will be any problem, in fact we can underwrite both loans at no interest. The Superman Foundation derives all of its revenue thanks to Superman, it’s the least we can do.”
“Thanks, Murray. We’ll get back to you with the amount.”
“Just let me know how much and we’ll cut a check.”
“Thanks, Murray. That’s a load off of my mind.”
She pushed down in the cradle to break the connection and then looked for a realtor. She found the number for Ed Jackson. They had used the same realtor in the other universe when they had purchased 348 Hyperion Ave. “Metro-Real Estate, Ed Jackson. How can I help you?”
“Mr. Jackson, my name is Lois Lane. You were recommended to me by a friend. I’m looking for a house to buy.”
“What is your friend’s name? I like to thank clients for referrals.”
“That would be difficult. It is a sad story.”
“Oh, I understand. How may I help you? Is there a particular type of house you are interested in? Do you want to move out to the suburbs or stay in town?”
“Actually, I have a particular house in mind. Could you check and see if it is currently available?”
“Of course. What is the address?”
“348 Hyperion Ave. It is a multi-story brownstone.”
“Give me just a few seconds to check the MLS, that is, the Multiple Listing Service. That will tell me if it is available and if it is who the seller’s realtor is. Just a moment.” She could hear him typing on his keyboard and clicking his mouse. A few seconds later he was back on the line, “Yes, it is available. The realtor is Pam Henry. Would you like to schedule a tour?”
“That won’t be necessary. What is the asking price?”
He quoted a price very similar to what they had paid in the other universe. Lois gave him a sum to put up as an offer. He said, “I will need you to come in and sign some papers. What would be a convenient time to do that?”
Lois looked at the TV and saw that Clark was finishing up with the emergency and said, “We should be able to come by in about three hours. Will that do?”
“I’ll have all of the paperwork prepared. See you then.”
After hanging up the phone, she turned her attention to the file she had gotten from Bill. She started leafing through the reports. She found the one for Doris Sanders and read the complete report. The report on what the police had found didn’t quite match up with what Jeffrey had told her over the phone. The police had been a bit more thorough than a distraught boyfriend. They had interviewed a number of people that had seen her exit the café after her friends. Despite what Jeffrey had said the other witnesses didn’t say anything about her being even a little drunk, but that is always a matter of perception. The police had traced her movements for almost a block before they lost her.
Just then her phone rang. “Daily Planet, Lois Lane.”
“Lois, Bill Henderson. I just got some new information on that case.”
“Oh, what is it?”
Lois could hear Bill moving papers around looking for what he wanted before he spoke again, “We have been following the movements of … Doris Sanders. I just got a report back on a security camera on an ATM across the street from where she was last seen. It’s definite now, she’s been abducted. The camera captured what happened. It is a shame that the period between pictures is as great as it is. We could have had more. Well, anyway, what we got is conclusive. There were two perps. They came out of a side alley. It looks like they grabbed her and one of them put something over her face. It could have been chloroform or ether. Either way she was knocked out and they took her away. That makes this a case of serial kidnappings and not runaways. Approach it from that angle.”
“Thanks, Bill. I’ll pass it along.”
“You do that and remember what I said. You stay out of this one. That bad feeling I had on this just got worse.”
She was very thoughtful as she said, “I’ll keep it in mind,” and then hung up the phone.
She took the file and moved into the conference room so that she could spread the reports and the accompanying photos out on the table. Once she had them spread out she started moving them around, changing the order.
She arranged them first chronologically. There was no apparent pattern. Then she grouped them by age. That was a waste of time because they were all within about a year of the same age. Marital status came next. There were two that were married. One was engaged and four were simply dating. All of the husbands, boyfriends and fiancé had been interviewed. There were no problem relationships. Next she arranged them by hair color.
< They are all about thirty and about five three to five six. What is the common thread here? Ahhh, what do we have here? We have blonds and redheads, but no brunettes. I wonder.>
Lois picked up the conference room phone and made a call. Eventually she heard, “MPD, Henderson.”
“Bill, Lois Lane. How closely have you looked at these missing person files?”
“I’ve looked them over. Have you found something?”
“Well, maybe, just maybe. I’ve been looking for a common thread that would tie them all up together and I haven’t found one, but it’s what is missing that’s important. Take a minute to look at the pictures.” She allowed him some time to look at the pictures.
“Okay, I’ve looked at them, now what? I don’t see any common thread either.”
With confidence she said, “Bill, it isn’t what’s there that’s important, it’s what isn’t there. There are blonds and redheads.”
“Yeah, I see that.”
“What’s missing?”
“I don’t … kn-ow … wait a minute … there aren’t any brunettes! Is that what you’re driving at?”
‘Yes, now if they are kidnapping girls to fill an order, my guess would be that they would be on the lookout to pick up some brunettes.”
"Okay, you could be right. Now I'm tempted to put you into protective custody. Please promise me that you won't use yourself as bait."
Bill didn't like the tone in her voice as she replied, "Now Bill, would I do that?"
"Do you want an honest answer to that question? I wouldn't put it past you. Look, Lois, everything about this case stinks. At least don't do anything until Clark gets back. Can you at least promise me that much?"
With an exasperated tone in her voice she gave in, "Alright Bill, just for you. I won't even leave the Planet building until Clark returns."
With a rather sarcastic tone, Bill replied, "That makes me feel so much better. If we get anything else I'll let you know."
"Thanks, Bill, I, we appreciate it."
Lois actually kept her promise and didn't even leave the Planet building until Clark had returned. Of course it wasn't because of her promise; it was because she was busy making phone calls checking with her snitches.
Lois was so elated with her little adventure in helping from the shadows that as soon as Clark returned from Australia she pulled him into the conference room and told him all about it.
He was smiling as he said, “That’s the kind of thing I was doing before I actually became Superman. When I first started working for the Daily Planet I was engaged to Lana. She didn’t want me using my powers because she was afraid that the government would grab me to study me. I would duck into an alley, behind a light standard or some such and do whatever I could. I remember once I ducked into an alley and used my heat vision to flatten the tires on a getaway car so that the police could capture the bad guys.”
Lois replied, “It felt good to be able to do
something! I don’t like to sit back and allow bad things to happen just because I’m a surprise package.”
Clark had a serious expression as he said, “I know how you feel. I felt the same way back then, but I’m sure we’ve made the correct decision. We really need to hold you in reserve for the right time.”
Grudgingly she replied, “Yeah, I know it was the right decision. As long as I can do things like this without getting caught though …”
“Alright, just don’t take any chances.”
“I’ll be careful. I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise. Okay, here’s the story, while you were in Australia I called a realtor and made an offer on 348 Hyperion Ave.”
Amazement in his voice he asked, “It was available?”
“Yep and they are asking just about the same as over on the other side of the doorway. If we get it though, I suggest that we paint it different colors so that we have a visual clue as to just where we are.
He laughed and said, “You are amazing! How do you think of things like that?”
“That’s one of the things you married me fore, remember, I think of all the angles.”
Laughing he replied, “Actually, I’m still thinking of curves.”
commants go here TBC
