Clark and Lois – Two Universes - Matchmaker Chronicle Volume 7 07/32
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:
Clark’s first stop had been the Twelfth Precinct. Before entering he spun out of the Suit and into his work clothes. As he handed over a picture of Lucy he said, “Here you go Bill. She still hasn’t showed up. Lois is checking the vicinity of the Planet. She says that there was a commotion outside the Planet this morning, just about the time Lucy would have been leaving. That might be when she was snatched.”
“Lois said?”
Clark pulled out his cell phone and held it up.
“Oh, okay. Well, I’m afraid it could be. It fits the profile. I’m afraid she’s another victim of this kidnapping ring. The thing is there have not been any ransom demands. The girls have just vanished. She’s the eighth one so far.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After talking to Joe, Lois headed out of the building. She was on her way to the twelfth precinct and as she exited the Daily Planet she went to the right, following Lucy’s path. There were no taxis in sight so she headed for the corner. Suddenly, as she passed an alley there were hands on her arms and a cloth with a cloying odor was held over her face.
She had never before experienced chloroform, but she assumed that this was what they were using and in that split second she decided to play along. She struggled briefly and then went limp. She felt herself being lifted and carried into a vehicle. She sent, /”Clark!”/
Bill noted a change in Clark’s features as he received this communication and filed it away for future reference. Clark replied, /”Yes, Lois?”/
/”I’m being abducted. They used chloroform to knock me out. Now I’m in the back of a car.”/
Bill noted yet another change. This time a look of anxiety came over Clark’s features.
Bill asked, “Is there a problem, Superman? Do you hear something?”
Chagrined that he wasn’t being careful enough he replied, “Well, yes, sort of.”
“What is it, a fire?”
“No, not exactly. Excuse me Bill, I have to go.” He spun into the Suit and exiting at superspeed took to the air. He sent, /”I’m on my way.”/
He flew to the vicinity of the Daily Planet and started listening for Lois’ heartbeat. He started flying in concentric circles moving outward using the Planet building as a center until he heard what he was listening for.
Using his x-ray vision he finally spotted Lois in the back seat of a car and was thinking about intercepting the vehicle. If he did that then the kidnappers could be grilled by the police until they revealed the location of the other girls.
He sent, /”Okay, I found you. I’m going to stop them and take them to the police.”/
And Now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 05 – Rescued?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 - Local designation – Alt 1
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
She sent to him, /”No! Don’t do that! This is fun! What can they do to me? Really! Let’s let them take me wherever they want to. Maybe they will take me to the rest of the girls that have been kidnapped. Lucy could be there.”/
/”But, why? The police can get the location of the other girls out of them. How did they get you?”/
/”Look, go with me on this. Think about it, it’ll be quicker this way! They must be taking me where the other girls are. Just follow us. I was on my way to the corner to get a cab when they jumped me. I think we are traveling down Shuster which could take us out of town if they stay on it. Oh, I hear your heartbeat. You must be close.”/
/”Yeah, I found you a minute ago. You’re in the back of a blue Chevy. Okay, you’re probably right. It will be quicker this way. I’m going to follow, from a distance.”/
/”Okay, but don’t get too close. We don’t want to scare them off.”/
They were both listening as the driver said, “That went easy. The more of these dames we grab, the easier it gets.”
His partner replied, “Yeah. Dat one dat Frank and Bud picked up dis morning really put up a fight. I’m glad dis one wasn’t a hellcat like her.”
“Are you sure this is the one we were supposed to grab?”
“Yeah, I spotted her earlier so dat I could be sure. Dis one is Superman’s partner. Now dat we got her, we can call all de shots. If he don’t play along, we got his dame and we can make him sorry.”
“Why did Frank and Bud grab that other one this mornin’?”
“Dey tout it was dis dame. Dey look so much alike dey could be sisters. We needed some brown haired dames for de order anyhow. Dis one may be kept ‘ere or sent wid de rest. I don’t know.”
“I hope Frank and Bud get that Blond. She completes the order and we can ship these dames out.”
Lois sent /”They have Lucy. Just wait till we get where we are going, I’ll soon teach these guys what’s what.”/
/”Now, Lois, remember you are our surprise package.”/
Her mental grumble came through even though she didn’t think she was broadcasting, /”I really hate surprises.”/
The car proceeded to the outskirts of the city and as it pulled into the attached garage of a secluded house Lois started feeling the pain associated with Kryptonite exposure. She sent, /”Oh no! Pain! Clark, Kryptonite! You need to stay away.”/
She could sense the worry in the side channels of the mental communication as he sent, /”What about you?”/
/”I’m going to have to let them carry me into the house or else I’ll blow my cover. At least the telepathy isn’t affected by the Kryptonite. Look, I still have my bag. For some reason they didn’t take it away. I still have some lead foil in it from the other universe. If I can find the Kryptonite I’ll neutralize it. It might be a good idea to call Bill Henderson. A police raid at this point would be a good thing.”/
/”I’m going to call it in now! Be right back.”/
After the car was parked Lois felt herself being lifted and carried out of the car and through a door. At that moment the pain increased dramatically and then as they continued to move it lessened again. With each step the pain from the Kryptonite now decreased. Once they had mounted the stairs the pain came again and it was becoming harder for her to control herself and she was beginning to wince from the pain.
One of her captors said, “Let’s get her settled. I can feel her starting to move. She must be coming out from under the chloroform,” just before they unceremoniously dumped her on a cot in a room on the second floor. Her bag had not just been slung over her shoulder in her normal way. This time she had actually put the strap over her head so that it was over the opposite shoulder and thereby harder for her captors to remove so she still had it when they exited, closing and locking the door behind them.
Lois was in a fair amount of pain as she lay there for several minutes making sure her captors were not going to return immediately. She sent, /”I’m inside the house. I am in pain, but it’s nothing like what I felt coming from Nigel’s office. This is either a smaller piece, it is from a different substrate or I’m farther away from it, but it still hurts and I don’t think I have my powers right now.”/
She could feel the concern coming to her through the side channels of the link as he sent, /”I need to get you out of there. I can see you. It should be easy.”/
She tried to project confidence with her thoughts as she sent, /”No! We don’t know just where this piece of Kryptonite is or what kind it is. We can’t afford to both be caught. Keep your distance. I’ll handle this! See if you can spot it and let me know just where it is.”/
A few seconds later he sent, /”Well, what do you know. That’s the piece Tempus used on me. I had wondered where it had gotten to. It’s on the first floor in the kitchen sitting out on the table. They brought you through a door down that hall from it when they carried you in from the garage. Wait a minute, there’s another car pulling up into the garage. They have another woman. Oh no, you’re not going to believe this.”/
/”Believe what? Who is it?”/
/”They are removing her from the car. I think she will be the other occupant of your room. Just wait until you see who your roommate is.”/ She heard a mental chuckle as he finished up. Lois made sure that she was lying still as she heard the door being opened.
“Okay Bud. They got the other dame. Let’s put this one on the other cot and go have a beer.”
“Sounds good to me. Let’s get up a card game. I’m feeling lucky.”
As the thugs were exiting Lois sent, /”How many of ‘them’ are there?”/
After a few seconds he sent, /”There are seven other girls besides you, Lucy and your roommate. All of the rooms have two girls each. You’re all on the second floor. There are five hoods, all on the first floor. They are in the living room sitting around a table drinking beer and starting a card game. If you are quiet you might be able to get downstairs and into the kitchen without them seeing you. I’ll guide you from here. Before you leave, check out your roommate.”/
She replied, /”Thank God they didn’t take my bag. I still have my lock-picks.”/ Finally opening her eyes she let out a groan as she shifted her position.
Clark heard that groan and sent, /”I need to get you out of there!”/
Lois could feel the anxiety in his communication. Trying to reassure him she sent, /”It was just changing my position suddenly. It’s not so bad now. Just a dull ache.”/
/”Don’t even try to lie to me. I can sense the truth through our link,”/ Clark sent indignantly.
/”Alright, have it your own way. It hurts, but I can handle it. You stay clear and let me do this.”/
She felt quite weak as she swung her legs around and put her feet on the floor. She took just a second to kick off her heels when she thought, <These heels could make noise. Better to be barefoot.> Her body was aching all over as a result of the Kryptonite exposure and she was thinking, <How did Clark do it? He was being exposed to crystalline Kryptonite all of the time he was fighting those muggers. He even walked up to it and wrapped it up in lead foil so that I wouldn’t be exposed. I know how I’m feeling at this distance. I just hope I don’t collapse before I can get it wrapped up in lead.>
Forcing herself to her feet she found her legs to be somewhat unsteady. She reached down inside herself and sought that connection that she had with Clark and tried to draw on his strength. Her legs stopped trembling and she made the few steps that would take her to the door. As she passed the other cot she looked at her roommate and received quite a shock.
Her roommate was Mayson Drake! She sent, /”This is too much to be a coincidence. It had to have been planned.”/
/”I agree. Coincidence only goes so far.”/
Reaching into her bag she pulled out her lock pick set from its partial concealment and went to work on the lock. It was the work of only seconds for her to release the lock and quietly open the door and peek out.
Suddenly she received a message from Clark, /”One of the guards is getting up. I’ll let you know where he is headed.”/
A minute later she received, /”Okay, the coast is clear. He went to relieve himself. He’s headed back to the game. I hope none of them need a refill soon.”/
She opened the door and passed through closing, but not locking it, after herself as she headed for the stairs. Barefoot she made no sounds as she descended the staircase.
Surprised by the fact that the pain of the Kryptonite didn’t increase as she descended the stairs she sent, /”Am I getting used to this exposure or what? I was expecting the pain and weakness to increase as I came downstairs.”/
He replied, /”You’ve been getting closer vertically, but you’ve been increasing the horizontal distance. You’re moving away from the kitchen. It balances out.”/
/”Oh, okay, I understand. Once I’m on the ground floor and start to move toward the kitchen, that is when it will get worse?”/
/”Yes, I wish I was doing this and not you.”/
/”But, you can’t. I’ve got to be the one to do this. Just keep talking to me. It helps. What’s taking the police so long?”/
/”Bill said he would get a squad together and get here as quickly as he could. It shouldn’t be too much longer.”/
By this time she was approaching the first floor landing and was tempted to peek around the corner to see what the guards were doing.
As she started to move in that direction she received, /”Don’t do that! One of the guards is sitting facing that direction. If you look around that corner he could see you.”/
/”Okay, thanks for keeping me from making that mistake.”/
She stood there listening as the guards talked while playing cards.
She recognized the driver’s voice as he asked, “How many more do we need to fill the order?”
One of the others replied, “That all depends. If we count these two, then we’re done. If the boss is going to keep them here as leverage against Superman then we need two more.”
“How does he figure dat dese dames can be used against Supes?”
“One is his partner at the Daily Planet. They work together which means that they are close. If they are close then threatening her will cause him to do what we want. The other one was his main squeeze until recently. The Boss figures that they might have had a falling out, but that he might still have feelings for her.”
“But won’t dat just get him to come atter us dat much sooner and make him meaner?”
“I hope he does show up. That’s what that green rock in the kitchen is for. It’s a trap for Superman. If he gets too close … whammo … the trap closes and he is caught. We might even be able to kill him.”
“Kill Superman? I taut he was inbulnerable.”
“Invulnerable you idiot. He is, but not against that rock. Les … The Boss says so.”
“Yeah, but what does he know? He ain’t even from around here.”
“Well, he’s The Boss and what he says goes. We have to trust him.”
/”Did you hear that slip? Les … could be Leslie and he’s not from around here, Leslie is from Australia,”/ the excitement she felt flowing through the link.
/”We can’t jump to that conclusion. It could be a setup,”/ Clark sent and his skeptical tone carried through the link.
/”Yeah, right.”/ Even using telepathy her sarcastic tone came through.
“This last one was a special order, like the other one. This last one, the blond, was in the DA’s office. Word is that she caused The Boss a lot of trouble some time ago. She got a warrant to raid the brothel. That messed up his plans something fierce. She was to be the last one we picked up so that as soon as we had her they would all get shipped out.”
/”Mayson and I were singled out because we helped to break up the prostitution racket!”/
“Hah, I woulda thought dat de dame we just lugged in here wouda been de last, what wid her bein’ Superman’s partner and all. How are we goin’ to get dese dames out o’ da country?”
“The Boss will have an exec jet waiting at a little private airstrip outside of town. It has the company logo on it and no one will question it since it makes frequent trips out of the country.”
/”I wish we knew what airport and could get a look at that jet to see what company it is.”/
/”You really need to move. Go to your left, down the hallway. At the end of the hall you will be in the kitchen.”/
Stepping down off of the bottom step, Lois started to tip toe down the hallway. As she moved the voices faded. She was already past the door to the garage, more than half way down the hall, when suddenly, behind her, she could hear voices rising in anger coming from the living room. There was apparently a dispute about the outcome of a hand.
The pain she was experiencing was rising exponentially as she moved down the hallway. She felt like she was moving through a flowing stream of molasses, against the current. The further she moved toward the kitchen the stronger the current against her seemed to become.
At that point Clark sent, /”The one that was complaining just threw down his hand in disgust. He said he was going to go check on the prisoners. He said that he was going to shoot up the two new captures with the sedative. If he catches you out in the open it will be a problem.”/
It was amazing how telepathically you could even project sarcasm, Lois replied, /”You’re just chock full of good news aren’t you.”/
She was already worried that something would happen and one of the guards would see her and now that fear seemed to be coming true. What she received next confirmed her fears, /”He’s standing up from the table. He’s headed for the staircase. If he looks down the hall he’ll see you.”/
She still had a distance of five feet, two long paces, to travel until she would be obscured from view and she didn’t know if she would make it.
The pain was excruciating and her movement had been slowed to a crawl. The way she felt it would be half a dozen paces instead of two. It had almost come to the point that she would be on the floor, literally crawling, on all fours. In utter desperation she drew again on that inner bond, drawing strength from Clark and put on a burst of speed, only in the metaphorical sense, and made it the two paces needed to get around the corner into the kitchen before the guard was in a position to see her, but just barely.
Once around the corner she did collapse to her knees and let out a muffled groan. She had to rest and recover some strength before she could move another inch. She knelt there on all fours quietly panting from the exertion which had sapped almost all of her remaining strength and will.
Since those last two paces almost did her in, she was having some serious doubts as to her ability to complete this mission. The pain was almost unendurable and all she wanted to do was get *away* from that evil rock, not get closer to it, but her resolve to do this, to neutralize that rock so that it wouldn’t hurt her or Clark again enabled her to force her body to start moving again.
As much as it hurt she had to get closer. She had to get close enough to touch it even if it killed her. She hoped that it wouldn’t, but right now it *felt* like it *was* killing her and not exactly slowly. She could feel her body failing rapidly. If she didn’t finish this quickly *it* would finish *her*.
With her vision starting to blur and seeing multiple images of what she was looking at swirling around in a circle, she saw the Kryptonite on the table. Hoping that when the time came, she could pick out the real from a false image she started crawling toward it. It seemed like she was moving only an inch at a time and that each inch was taking an eternity, an eternity of torture.
After creeping a foot she had to stop to rest and was still panting with the exertion but realizing her danger doing so as silently as possible. On one of her stops she pulled the lead foil out of her bag and clutched it in her hand. She crept forward another pace. Suddenly she received an urgent thought, /”Lois, the guard is on the second floor. When he finds you missing he’ll raise an alarm!”/
She looked and saw the distance remaining and wasn’t sure she could make it. She clamped down on the telepathic link so that Clark wouldn’t know just how close she was to failing. She wasn’t sure just how long she could block him out, but to keep him from doing something rash she had to.
She felt like she should be rolling on the floor writhing in pain. She was already sweating profusely. She could feel her hair sticking to the sides of her face. It was only her strength of will and her connection to Clark coupled with her determination to protect him from the Kryptonite that kept her going.
She crept forward another pace. She was close to one of the legs of the table now. She knew that only because with her head down and her eyes mostly closed to reduce the dizziness the top of her head bumped into something. She *needed* to rest again, but she knew that she dare not. If she gave in to that need, she would never rise again and she knew it. She looked up to see what she had hit and found herself looking at the table leg, bleary eyed she looked at it for a few seconds before she realized just what it was.
As she grasped the table leg to pull herself up she heard a shout from upstairs followed by curses and the noise of more feet rushing up the stairs.
It was now or never. With her last ounce of strength she pulled herself up and reaching out with the hand grasping the lead foil, slapped it down on top of the rock, and then with a convulsive movement clenched her hand, enclosing the rock completely in the lead. Immediately she collapsed, falling with a thud, supine on the floor, legs bent at an angle arms outstretched and eyes closed. Her last conscious thought was, <I did it.>
Clark had been watching her and saw her cover the Kryptonite and collapse. A second later Superman burst in through the kitchen window and, scooping up the now lead wrapped Kryptonite, put it in her bag, where it would be out of sight. Picking Lois up he flew her out the same window setting her in the sun on a chair he had taken from the porch. As he reentered the house he heard sirens approaching from the direction of town. He flew up the stairs, arriving just as the guards were finishing their search of the second floor for Lois.
Seeing Superman the guards all pulled weapons and started shooting, all but one who made a dash for the nearest room.
Superman caught all of the bullets launched in his direction and seeing this the thugs dropped their useless weapons and, putting their hands up, surrendered. Superman called to the one in the room, “You might as well come out. You can’t get away. The police will be here in a minute.”
The thug replied, “I have two hostages, Superman. Give me safe passage out of here or they get it.”
At superspeed Superman used the thugs own belts and shoe laces to secure them and then he sped out of the house. He used his x-ray vision to see just where the remaining thug was. He saw him half supporting Lucy and holding a gun to her head. The thug was facing the door, expecting him to come at him from that direction.
As he hovered outside of the window he could just see the gun the thug was holding and focused his heat vision to melt the point of the firing pin on his revolver’s hammer so that it would never contact the primer. When he did this he also melted two pinpoint holes in the glass of the window. Now that the danger was eliminated he crashed in through the window. As Superman grabbed him, in reflex, the thug pulled the trigger, but instead of the expected explosion there was a simple metallic click. Superman reached for and relieved him of his weapon. Five seconds later he had joined his fellow thugs on the floor of the upstairs hallway.
Once this had been accomplished he picked up Lucy from where she had fallen when the thug released her and took her with him as he flew back to Lois. He placed Lucy in another chair and picked Lois up and cradled her in his lap, her head on his left shoulder, as they waited for the police to arrive, which was only a few short minutes later.
Bill Henderson was the first one out of a cruiser car. He spotted Superman with Lois in his lap and Lucy next to them. Lois appeared to be passed out. Bill looked at her and then at him and lifted an eyebrow in enquiry.
Superman replied to the unasked question, “They chloroformed her. She hasn’t completely recovered yet.” Superman indicated the other girl and said, “This is Lucy Lane, Lois’ sister. The rest of the missing girls are all upstairs. They look like they’ve been drugged. I’d suggest that you call for some ambulances.”
Bill turned to his driver, Sgt. Tartaglia, and said, “Gino, get on the radio and call that request in.” He turned back to Superman as Gino sketched a salute and turned to make the call. Bill indicated Lois and asked, “How is she? Should she go in an ambulance?”
Shaking his head in the negative, Clark replied, “No, Bill, that won’t be necessary, I’ll take care of her. I will leave Lucy here so that she can go to the hospital with the other girls. I don’t want to give her special treatment. If I did then whoever is behind this could realize that she is a valuable hostage. There were five guards and they are all secured up on the second floor.” Superman stood up and cradling Lois in his arms said, “We’ll stop by and give you our statements later. By the way, you’ll find Mayson Drake in one of the rooms upstairs. I overheard a statement by one of the guards that she was kidnapped because of the work we did on the prostitution rackets a while ago. It was a revenge move by someone they called The Boss.”
“There’s no rush about the statements, so take your time. The Boss huh? Sounds like what happened a few years ago. After Lex Luthor died in that attack during the White Orchid Ball we found that he had been behind the rackets here in Metropolis and he was called The Boss. I wonder …” After a few seconds contemplation he nodded in Lois’ direction as he added, “Take care of her. I told her a couple of days ago that I had a bad feeling about this case and I warned her to stay out of it. She just didn’t listen to me.”
As they had been talking the patrolmen had been entering the house.
Smiling, Clark replied, “Don’t feel too bad about that Bill. She doesn’t always listen to me either, besides, they had her sister. She has a mind of her own, but she didn’t do this deliberately. She couldn’t avoid this. She was targeted because we are partners. They were going to use her as leverage against me. If you don’t mind, I’m going to take Lois home.”
“No, I don’t mind. Thanks for your help.” Bill was distracted and turned away as the uniforms started bringing the hoods out in handcuffs. He turned back, but Superman was already gone. He nodded to himself and said, under his breath, “Really need to put a bell on him so that he can’t sneak away like that. Right, married man. Needs to take care of the little woman.” Out loud, addressing the patrolmen, “Did they have their rights read to them?”
The corporal looked at each private and receiving a nod from each replied to the Lieutenant, “Yes, Sir.”
Bill nodded and said, “Get ‘em outta here.” He called over another patrolman and said, “Stay with this one until she’s in an ambulance. I’ll wait with the rest for the ambulances.” He turned and entered the house to wait.
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