T.O.G.o. M. 2013 – With a Little Help from Their Friends
By Tank
1994
Lois Lane pulled the oversized rollers from her hair and ran a brush through the dark, silky strands. It crossed her mind that it was getting to be time for another trim. She took a few minutes to finish up her makeup; not too much, but enough to cover up the flaws. Flaws which Clark would just tell her she didn’t have. She moved her head from side to side and gave herself a critical once over. A smile appeared on her face. She looked good.
She quickly moved to the bedroom and started looking through her options for a dress for tonight. She frowned as she quickly chose, and then rejected, everything in her closet. She couldn’t believe that she didn’t have anything she wanted to wear. Suddenly she was struck by the thought that she was acting like some moony-eyed teen ager getting ready for her first date.
What was wrong with her? This wasn’t a date. It was an undercover operation, and it was just Clark she was going with. It wasn’t a date. He was her partner. They did this kind of stuff all the time. So why was she so concerned about how she looked? It’s not like she cared about what Clark thought.
As soon as that thought escaped she knew it was a lie. She cared very much about what he thought of her. She mostly liked that fact that he thought she was intelligent and dedicated to her profession, but she would be lying if she didn’t admit that she liked it when he complimented her looks. He thought she was attractive. He’d even called her beautiful on occasion and coming from one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever met that was pretty heady stuff.
Sometimes she pretended that these undercover assignments were actually dates with Clark. He was fun, and attentive, and handsome. It was good for her ego the way he treated her when they acted like a couple. It wasn’t like she dated much. Actually she hadn’t dated anyone since the Lex fiasco. Not that she cared. She hadn’t really felt any desire to go out with someone else. She spent most of her day, and many of her evenings with Clark and that was enough for now. Clark was her best friend and she enjoyed his company, even when they weren’t on a story. Why complicate things by dating someone.
But they were on a story. A really confusing one and she had to get ready because Clark would be here soon to pick her up. She didn’t want him to show up with her only half dressed. A sly smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Though, maybe that might not be so bad either.
She turned her attention back to her closet and finally pulled a simple red dress from its hanger. It wasn’t fancy, but it was nice. With the right accessories it would fit the bill for tonight perfectly.
She was just slipping on her shoes when the knock came at her door. She glanced at her watch. Right on time; why was she not surprised.
She opened the door and her mouth formed a silent ‘O’. He looked great. He was wearing a charcoal colored suit with a crisp white shirt and a typically loud tie. She still didn’t know why he had such a strange taste in ties, but it worked for him.
“Hey, Clark, right on time I see. I’m ready to go.”
Clark seemed to have trouble clearing his throat. It took him a couple of tries to finally get some words out. “Wow, Lois, you look terrific.”
She smiled at him. “Thanks, but we’d better get going.” She stepped out into the hallway, pulling her door closed behind her. “It might take us a while to find the right place. Bobby said it was an illegal gambling club run by someone called Georgie Hairdo.”
Clark nodded as he walked along side her. “Yeah, we have an address but it might be a bit tricky getting into the place. They tend to be pretty careful about who they let in.”
Lois patted his arm. “Don’t worry, Clark, I’ll get us in.”
Clark smiled. “Of course you will, Lois.”
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2013
“I can’t believe you cut my hair!”
Detective Kate Beckett looked at her reflection in the steam misted bathroom mirror. A look of dejected disgust was on her face.
The shower door slid open and Richard Castle poked his head out. “Excuse me?”
Kate glared at him, and then sighed. “Okay, I can’t believe I let you cut my hair.”
Castle stepped out of the shower and pulled a towel from the rack, placing it around his waist. “Who was it that wanted to ‘up the stakes’ for the final showdown hand last night?”
Beckett frowned as she passed her brush through her, now considerably shortened locks. “Yeah, well I ran out of gummy bears.”
Castle smirked at his frustrated fiancée. She glared at him again. Since it was clear that she could never compete monetarily at the poker table with the wealthy writer, she often came up with unusual bets to ‘make things interesting’ on some of the hands. Normally they’d just play for gummy bears, or some other handy confection, just to keep score. But occasionally she liked to add a bit of drama, or even a little danger to make the hand more exciting.
Last night she had been on a hot streak and decided to really up the stakes. She wanted Castle to put up a year without his X-Box so she had to come up with something that he would see would be equally important to her. In a mad moment of daring she had put up 12 inches of her hair. One inch for every month he’d have to forgo his gaming. She’d been growing it out for the last several years so he’d know that it would be something she felt strongly about.
She’d been confident. She had been holding a very good hand so she wasn’t worried about suggesting the bet. Initially she had been surprised when Castle agreed and had called. Still, with only one card left to show the odds that he’d be able to beat her full house were slim at best.
And so, after the final card was dealt, with a big smile of triumph, she laid down her cards. Castle’s brow had risen and he commented on how not many hands could beat her full house… except for the four of a kind that he laid down.
She fixed her lover with a hard stare. “Why didn’t you throw your hand, like you’ve done in the past with me? It would have been a nice gesture.”
Castle chuckled as he shook his head. “I learned my lesson a long time ago. Never patronize Kate Beckett. And really, it was only you and me; there were no friends around, so no one needed to save face for the other. No, you made it perfectly clear that you wanted to beat me straight up, so no more Mr. Nice Guy.” He grinned. “Besides, you don’t really think that I’d willingly give up my X-Box for a whole year just so you could have more hair to fuss with everyday.”
She turned her back to him. “I thought you liked my hair long. You’ve played with it enough in bed.”
Castle grinned and shrugged. “I readily admit that it has been fun, but you, my dear detective, have been blessed with a hotness that doesn’t depend on a single hairstyle.” He walked over and planted a kiss on her hair. “Witness the myriad of styles you’ve worn since I’ve known you, and the fact that you looked great in all of them. It’s still longer than when we first met.” He circled around her so he could plant a kiss on her lips.
“Don’t worry, Kate, after all you’ve already caught your man.”
Beckett punched Castle in the arm. “Yeah? But what if I decide to dump you for someone richer and more ruggedly handsome?”
Castle stopped and looked thoughtful for a moment, then he shook his head. “You might find someone richer… but more ruggedly handsome? Don’t think so.”
Kate just rolled her eyes. “Get dressed or we’ll be late.”
“Ooh, I love it when you’re bossy.”
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1994
Clark had his hand on Lois’ lower back as they slowed in their approach to the clandestine club. It appeared to be a typical warehouse down near the harbor. There were dozens just like this one within a few block area. There was nothing remarkable about this one. Not unusual; unless you counted the fact that well dressed, important looking people kept coming up to the single door and after conversing with a face in a window in the door, were let in.
The two of them recognized several prominent businessmen, local politicians, and even a few local celebrities. It was a veritable who’s who of Metropolis streaming through the door of the secret club. This had to be Georgie Hairdo’s club.
“This definitely is the place.” Lois turned to Clark and gave him a smile.
“I’m not sure this is a good idea, Lois.” He stopped and turned to his beautiful partner.
“You’re kidding, right? Come on, Clark, Bobby said it was a pretty sure thing that Capone, Dillinger, and Clyde would show up here tonight. He said there was definitely going to be something going down here tonight. We both know that there’s no way that Capone and his goons would let an illegal gambling club exist without them getting in on the action.”
Clark nodded. “That’s why we should just watch… from a distance. It could be too dangerous to actually go inside.”
Lois shook her head and grabbed Clark’s arm. “Don’t wuss out on me now, Kent. Besides, if things get rough, I’ll protect you.”
Clark just shook his head and followed dutifully.
Lois was an amazing woman and every day he counted himself lucky to be able to call her his partner and friend. She was not only one of the most beautiful women he’d ever known, but she was intelligent, and dedicated to her job, and was fiercely loyal to her friends. If she’d just use a little more common sense when it came to her safety he’d feel better.
Of course some of that was his fault. If Superman hadn’t made one of his primary missions to always be there to save her from serious danger she might not think herself quite so immortal. But who was he kidding. He would always be there for Lois. He couldn’t help it… he loved her, even if she only thought of him as her friend. He would always be there for her.
They casually approached the door and the window panel slid open revealing the face of a serious fellow. He asked for the password. Lois threw out several ‘classic’ passwords from literature and movies. Clark realized that the fellow behind the door was getting fed up with Lois so he stepped in.
“She’s just joking. The fat lady sings.” The fellow nodded and opened the door for them.
As they moved past the doorman’s hearing Lois grabbed Clark’s arm. “How did you know that password?”
He shrugged. “I saw it on an old Untouchables episode.”
Actually he’d heard it from several of the patrons who had preceded them. Super hearing came in handy every now and then. Lois just shook her head and moved quickly into the club.
Once inside they split up in order to better check out the patrons of the club. Clark could only smile when he saw Lois attack a nickel slot machine as if it were a Pulitzer story waiting to happen.
He was standing near the bar when he was hit upon by an attractive blonde. It was Bonnie Parker and she was definitely flirting with him. Clark tried to make small talk but Bonnie seemed to have something else on her mind. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do until Clyde came along and broke it up. He sounded angry and glared at Clark as she pulled her away.
Clyde was certainly going to remember him.
He hurried back to where he had last seen Lois. They quickly found each other but before he could say anything she grabbed him by the arm.
“Clark, I just found out that Georgie Hairdo is dead.”
Clark wasn’t surprised. “Yeah, well, Bonnie and Clyde are here. We’ve got to call the police. Let’s go.” He reached out and grabbed her arm to steer her toward the door.
She pulled out of his grasp. “You go. I’ve got to find a gray-haired lady with a bucket of my nickels.”
Before Clark could respond they were startled by the sound of gunfire. They looked up and at the top of the stairs stood Al Capone. Bonnie and Clyde stepped out of the crowd and Dillinger stood to the big man’s right. A few other faceless thugs surrounded the reanimated gangsters. Clark just shook his head. This was trouble.
“My apologies ladies and gentlemen, for this little interruption. I just came by to announce that Georgie Hairdo has wisely decided to retire from the hospitality business.” Capone took a deep drag off his expensive looking cigar. “So from now on this club belongs to Al Capone.”
Lois had been moving closer to the front while Capone was speaking. Out of necessity, Clark followed. Dillinger spotted Lois and approached her.
“Hey, Al, how’s ‘bout we make this little cutie our new head hostess.” He leered at Lois. “You know I always was partial to a lady in red.”
He reached out and touched Lois on the cheek. She flinched back. Clark surged forward and pushed Dillinger’s hand away.
“Leave her alone!”
“Who are you?” Dillinger glared and Clark. “Her big brother?”
Before the two men could come to blows Clyde Barrow pulled out his revolver and three loud shots rang out.
Clark could feel the slugs hitting his chest and he saw the look of horror on Lois’ face. What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t expose himself as Superman. Not in front of all these people.
Clark slowly allowed himself to slide to the floor. Lois was hanging onto his arm all the way. He could hear her tearful denial of what she saw happening in front of her. She just keep saying his name and crying out ‘no’.
He lay flat on the floor with his eyes closed. He wasn’t sure what he should do now. It wouldn’t be long before someone noticed that he wasn’t bleeding.
“You moron.” Capone was angry. “What did you go and do that for? Now we have to get out of here, and take the stiff.” He signaled to a couple of his henchmen. “I can’t afford to be linked to no murder.”
Clark felt himself being roughly dragged out of the club. As they left he could hear Lois’ plaintive cry of ‘Clark’; then sobs.
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2013
It was a pleasant night so Castle and Beckett chose to exit their taxi a few blocks shy of Castle’s loft. They often took walks in the calm of the late evening; especially after a difficult case.
Beckett liked the fact that the darkness helped their anonymity. She was comfortable with people knowing that she and Castle were engaged, but she hated having her personal life splashed all over page 6 by the overzealous paparazzi.
“What the heck was that?”
Kate turned to see what had caught Castle’s attention. “What was what?”
He gestured toward the back of an alley. “Didn’t you see that glow just a moment ago?”
“I didn’t see anything. Come on, let’s get home. I’m tired.” She rolled her eyes as he sprinted off into the dark alley. “Castle!” She had no choice but to follow him.
She went deep into the alley. It was quite dark. “Castle where are you?”
“Back here.”
She glanced to her right and saw him several feet away looking into a garage of some sort. There was no door on the building and it looked like it was ready to collapse with the slightest push. There was a very dusty security light offering minimal illumination. She could see Castle staring at some kind of, for lack of a better description, vehicle.
She came up next to him. He was staring at what appeared to be some sort of sled. A single bench style seat sat in front of a large disc-like structure. There were levers and gages on a simple dashboard in front of the seat.
“Do you know what this is?” The excitement in his voice was obvious.
She raised her brow and grabbed his arm. “Seriously? You actually recognize this… this… Santa’s nightmare.”
He turned toward her; the enthusiasm of a child animated his face. “Haven’t you ever read H.G. Wells’ ‘Time Machine’?”
She frowned at him. “Of course I have, but I was just a kid. What does that have to do with this thing?”
“This is the time machine!”
“What?”
Castle let his hand caress the polished side of the sled. “I have a first edition copy of the book. This is exactly like the drawings from the original book.” He literally gushed. “Someone built an exact copy of Wells’ machine.”
“So what, maybe they built it for a fair or carnival. Who cares? Let’s go home.”
Castle stepped up and sat on the upholstered seat. “Look at the attention to detail.”
Beckett was getting annoyed. “Come on Castle; let’s get out of here before we get into trouble.”
“No, just look at this, Kate.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the seat next to him. “Just feel the workmanship on this control panel. See, that there is probably the destination gage.” He frowned. “I wonder why it says Metropolis.” He turned to Kate. “I guess they forgot that they were in New York.” He pointed at another glass covered read out. “Look at the date; November 13, 1994. Do you think that’s where the machine came from?”
Kate rolled her eyes again. “Yeah, Castle, I’m sure this thing traveled from nearly twenty years in the past just to materialize in a rundown garage in SoHo.” She punched him in the arm. “Now quit touching things, you’ll break something."
“I bet this lever activates the machine.” He pulled the largest lever toward him.
Suddenly they felt the disc behind them start to spin. Beckett looked back and saw that as the thing spun faster it gave off lightning like flashes of light. As the light grew brighter she began to hear a humming sound which increased in intensity as the disc spun faster and the flashes brighter and more frequent.
She noticed that the building surrounding them seem to lose focus. It was like trying to see through a heavy smoke screen. She was rapidly getting more disoriented when suddenly a loud boom shook her whole body.
It took several moments for her to regain command of her senses. The machine had stopped its light and sound show. She looked around but didn’t recognize their surroundings. She would swear that the sled like contraption hadn’t moved… but they weren’t where they were supposed to be.
She turned to her companion. “Rick, where are we?”
It seemed to take him a few more moments to register where they were. He shook his head. “I have no idea… but we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
Kate grabbed his arm and jumped out of the machine. “Let’s get out of here and see if we can find out where the heck we are.”
Castle just nodded and followed his love out of the alley.
Kate was cautious. She had no idea where they were and didn’t want to end up walking into a dangerous situation. She didn’t know what had happened to them but it was always best to err on the side of caution.
She could smell the ocean so she figured that somehow they’d been transported near the docks. As they stepped out from behind a building Kate reached back a put her hand on Castle’s chest. “Shhh, I hear voices.”
“Look.” Castle pointed off to their left. They stood in the deep shadows and watched as people approached a side door in what appeared to be an old warehouse. Individuals and couples, all well dressed approached the door and waited until someone from the inside slid back a peep window. Words were exchanged, which they couldn’t hear, then the people were let through.
“I know what this is.” Castle spoke in a hushed whisper. “This has to be some sort of secret club, like the speakeasies of the twenties. Those people are giving the door guard some sort of password to get in.”
Beckett nodded. “That tells me that something illegal is going on inside.”
Kate scanned several folks as they arrived and made their way to the door. “Hey.” She nudged Castle. “Isn’t that Clark Kent? Who is he with?”
Castle looked to where she was pointing. “Yeah, that’s Clark but I don’t…Omigod, that’s Lois.”
“What?” Kate stared at him.
“No, look; her hair is longer and she looks a lot younger, but it’s definitely Lois.” Castle smirked at her. “Her hair looks a lot like yours does now.”
“Shut up.” Kate studied the woman as the pair approached the door. It definitely was Clark and the young woman with him looked a lot like Lois, but that was impossible. Lois was a bit older than Castle and still a stunning woman, but no amount of make-up or good genes would allow a woman to hide twenty years.
“Didn’t she say she had a younger sister?”
Castle nodded. “Yeah, but Lucy’s not that much younger than Lois, and I’ve met her. The resemblance is not that strong.” Castle’s furrowed brow suddenly smoothed and a huge grin spread across his face. “Oh man, this is awesome.” He grabbed Kate by the shoulders and turned her to him. “Do you know what this means?” She stared blankly at her crazy partner. “It worked! It was a real time machine!”
“Castle, get a grip. There is no such thing as time travel.”
The smug look on his face was too familiar. “Let’s examine the facts shall we, Detective?” He began to count off on his fingers. “One, we are most assuredly not in New York anymore; two we see a man we both know lives in Metropolis. Add to that, number three; he is with a woman who looks remarkably like a much younger version of his wife.” His excitement level increases. “Do you remember the date on the display on the machine? It said 1994. It all fits, Kate. We’ve traveled to 1994 Metropolis.” He clenched his fists. “This is so cool!”
“This is not cool, Castle. We haven’t traveled back in time; that’s impossible, but there is definitely something fishy going on here and we need to find out what.” She studied the old warehouse for several moments. “If this is some sort of illegal social club then they probably have food, or at least a bar. We just have to find the delivery entrance. Once inside we can search out Kent and find out what is going on.”
Castle nodded. “Sounds good. My guess would be around back. There is a wider alley back that way which would easily facilitate trucks. If this actually was a warehouse, there should be a dock of some sort back there.”
Beckett agreed and so they made their way around to the back of the building, being careful not to be seen by anyone approaching the place. It only took a few minutes for them to find the buildings receiving dock. Fortunately there were no working lights back there. Obviously they didn’t take deliveries at night.
The two overhead doors were closed and padlocked. There was no getting in that way, which was just as well. The noise that the doors of a building this old would make would alert everyone inside that they had company. Next to those two overheads was a small single entry door; no padlock but it was locked.
“Castle,” Beckett whispered. “Do you have your lock picks on you? I left mine in my police cruiser.”
Castle reached inside his jacket pocket and produced a small leather wallet that held his personal set of lock picks. He pulled them back as Kate reached for them.
“Uh, uh… my picks, my lock.”
Kate rolled her eyes. This was so like Castle. A little boy playing the part of some sort of cat burglar, or better yet, a spy; and she loved him for it.
To his credit Castle was able to get the door open in only a few minutes. The two of them cautiously entered the building. They could hear general noise and voices up ahead of them but the area they had entered was dark. The ambient light from up front allowed them to check out their surroundings.
To their right were the dock doors and a large receiving area. There were several crates and boxes on the dock; obviously supplies for the club. They couldn’t smell any cooking odors so apparently food was not served here.
Quietly Beckett led them through the dark back dock toward the light. A quick surveillance revealed that all the activity, including the bartenders and wait staff were all occupied with their respective jobs. Kate and Castle were able to slip into the club and inconspicuously mingle with the crowd.
Castle bought them a couple of drinks so they’d look more natural as they wandered about looking for Lois and Clark.
Kate looked at Castle in horror. “How did you pay for those?”
Rick looked confused. “What do you mean? I paid with cash. I do have a lot of it you know.”
She grabbed his sleeve. “Rick, you have 2013 cash. Remember, most of the denominations have a different look now. It would be pretty stupid to get caught passing ‘funny money’.”
Castle quickly pulled out his wallet and looked through his cash. A sigh of relief escaped from his lips as he fanned through the bills. “We were lucky. I paid with a five and some ones. The five must have been an older bill and ones haven’t been redone.” He shrugged. “The drinks were cheap.” They walked a couple of steps when Castle stopped. “Hey, if you were worried about the bills that means…” Castle clenched his fists in victory. “You believe!”
Kate just shook her head… only Castle.
Rick punched her arm. “Look, there they are.”
Kate looked where Castle was pointing. Lois and Clark were standing next to each other having an animated conversation. Before they could move over toward their future friends the sound of gunfire froze them where they stood.
Kate, being a cop, had studied a lot of criminals over the years, both past and present, but nothing could prepare her for the vision of appearance of…
“Is that?” Castle whispered.
Kate nodded. “Yep, that’s Al Capone, and next to him is Dillinger, and over by the railing are Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow.” She looked at her partner. “Castle, what the hell is going on here?”
The couple could only listen and watch as Capone expounded on his acquisition of Georgie Hairdo’s club. As with everyone else in the place they were spellbound by the scene as it unfolded. That is, until the fateful conclusion.
The three rapid gunshots fired by Clyde at Clark caused them to gasp. Beckett and Castle watched in horror as Clark slid to the floor with a sobbing Lois beside him.
“Omigod, Rick, Clark has been killed!
Castle had to swallow several times before he could speak. How could this have happened? They both had entertained Lois and her husband Clark Kent back in 2013; how could he be shot dead in 1994?
“What do we do?” His voice was barely above a whisper.
Kate shook her head. “This isn’t right, Rick. Something is very wrong here. We just saw Clark shot three times at fairly close range, but that can’t be right. You’ve been to enough crime scenes Castle; what’s missing here?”
Castle frowned for a moment, then his eyes got wider as if he’d just had a revelation, which he had. “There’s no blood. There should have been splatter, and Clark’s shirt should have been soaked through.” Castle returned Beckett’s concerned stare. “Oh, jeez, we have to get her out of here.”
Kate looked around at the chaotic scene. With the shock wearing off, people were running every which way. “Castle, you go to Lois and help her.” Beckett pulled her gun from her back holster. “I’m going to try and follow those gangsters and see where they dump Clark.”
Castle nodded. “Okay, but how will I get in touch with you later?”
She gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll find you.”
After another quick kiss, the two headed toward their assigned tasks.
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