Clark and Lois – Two Universes - Matchmaker Chronicle Volume 7 09/32
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:
Lois tried in vain to engage Jack in conversation while they were on the way to the Planet. She knew about Denny and figured that Jack was probably worried about his little brother. She hoped that Clark could find him and find him quickly so that at least that anxiety would be removed from Jack. He was in a bad enough situation already without that worry hanging over him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jack sat, sullenly on the far side of the seat against the door. He considered opening the door and bolting when the cab came to a stop at a light. There were a couple of things that kept him from doing just that. He thought to himself, <How could I outrun Superman? If he came after me I don’t see how I could get away. This lady, I think he called her Lois, she’s sure pretty and she seems really nice, but what’s going to happen to Denny? He’s expecting me back before long. I hope he doesn’t start to worry and break cover. If he gets picked up they could separate us. I guess the best plan is to cooperate and get this over as quickly as possible so that I can get back to him. He’s just a kid and he might do something stupid.>
<I am going to need to shoplift some food or check some dumpsters on the way back. Wow, how far are we going? On foot it’s going to take me a long time to get back to Denny.>
<Why would Superman be offering a kid like me a job anyhow? What can he get out of it? What does he have up that blue sleeve of his? He doesn’t know me. How does he know he can trust me? If this is legit it could be okay. I have heard that he does a lot for kids. Maybe this could work out after all. I’ll have to wait and see what he says.”>
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Finally the cab pulled up in front of the Daily Planet and they got out. After Lois paid the fare they headed inside.
After they got to the news floor she led him down the ramp and said, “This is my desk. Have a seat. I’d like to get to know you better.” She started using her well honed interview techniques to draw information from him without him really suspecting how much he was divulging. She used her knowledge of the Jack in her universe to guide her questions. The parallels were amazing. She knew that there had to be similarities, but the amount of duplication was surprising.
Lois kept Jack talking until she heard Clark’s heartbeat and the elevator ascending. There was another heartbeat with him. From the speed and tone she could tell it was a child and she smiled to herself as she realized that Clark had succeeded in locating Denny.
Jack noted her smile, but didn’t have the faintest notion as to its meaning until she said, “I think you will be having a visitor in a minute.”
Her statement confused him. How would anyone know where he was to come and visit? Who would want to visit him anyhow?
And Now:
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Chapter 07 – And Denny
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Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 - Local designation – Alt 1
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Superman, after seeing Lois and Jack off, flew up and started searching. From the other universe he knew Jack’s history and had met Denny a few times. He knew that they were orphans trying to make it on their own. Jack was doing whatever he could to keep them together and out of the system.
He knew, from personal experience, just how rough that could be. He had been lucky with some of the foster homes he had been put in but that was only because it had been in and around Smallville. He actually had pleasant memories from some of the homes he had been in. Bob Clifton had been a Viet Nam vet that had taught him many things including some self-defense moves that had come in handy. Not all of the homes had been as nice, but even so they had all been better than it would have been trying to fend for himself, especially with a younger brother depending on him.
He scanned all of the abandoned or empty buildings in the area. Finally he found a rundown tenement that had a mattress and some threadbare blankets with some boxes as furniture in the basement. In the doorway stood Denny as if he were expecting Jack’s return. Superman landed out of sight and spun into his working clothes. As he walked up Denny ducked down the stairs and disappeared into the basement of the building.
If he had used his superspeed he could have intercepted him before he had gotten more than a few steps, but he chose to be Clark Kent and not Superman right then. He descended the steps slowly and when he reached the bottom he listened. He heard Denny’s breathing so he spoke up, “You don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m here to help you.” He chuckled as he said, “Your brother doesn’t know it just yet, but I’m the best friend the two of you have. Come on out Denny, don’t be afraid.”
He heard a tremulous voice from the shadows, “How do you know my name? Did Jack tell you?”
“Not exactly. Let’s just say that I know more about you than you or he realize. Come on out. I need to take you to Jack.”
Worried now, Denny asked, “What happened? Where’s Jack?”
Reassuringly Clark said, “Jack is just fine. He’s with my partner on his way to the Daily Planet. We’re going to see if we can’t get him a job.”
“Why are you doing this for us?”
“Let’s just say that I could have been in your position, you see, I’m an orphan too.”
Denny finally stepped out of the shadows and started to approach. He said, “You were? What happened to your folks?”
Before beginning his reply, Clark knelt down so that he was more at Denny's level and less intimidating. “My biological parents were killed a long time ago, when I was a baby, then when I was ten my adoptive parents were killed in a traffic accident.”
“Wow, you mean you were orphaned two times?”
“Yeah, Denny, twice so you see, I really know how it is. Do you want to come with me to see your brother?”
“I guess so. I just hope he doesn’t get mad because I left our place here.”
“I’ll square it with him. Don’t you worry. He’ll be okay with it.”
“Who are you anyway?”
“Me? I’m just a guy that works at the Daily Planet. Maybe you’ve heard about the paper.”
With childish enthusiasm Denny replied, “Sure, who hasn’t? You’d have to be living under a rock not to know about the Daily Planet!”
Chuckling Clark said, “Okay, well, let’s go see Jack.” They climbed the stairs out into the sunshine.
When they hit the light, Denny got a good look at his new acquaintance. He thought he looked familiar somehow. He followed him as they headed for the street. When a cab pulled to the curb at his signal they both got in and he heard him tell the driver to take them to the Planet. He had been ready to jerk the door open and bolt if he had heard anything else. So far this guy seemed to be legit so he sat back and enjoyed the ride.
When they arrived at the Planet they exited, the guy paid the fare and they headed for the doors. Denny looked up in awe at the big Daily Planet globe as they passed.
When they exited the elevator on the newsroom floor the first thing Denny did was to look for Jack. He saw him sitting in a chair next to a desk with a pretty lady and saw that they were talking. Before he had a chance to say anything Jack looked up and with a fearful expression he shouted, “Denny! What are you doing here?” Just then Jack saw Clark exit the elevator behind Denny.
Denny replied, “This guy came for me. He said he would take me to you. I figured you had to have told him about me.”
“Well, I didn’t!” He turned to Clark and asked, “How did you know about Denny?”
“You’d be surprised at how much I know about you.”
Jack questioned, “Is that another one of your powers?”
Clark laughed and said, “No, Jack, it isn’t. I just have some inside knowledge, that’s all.”
Denny asked Jack, “Powers?? What powers?”
Jack looked at Denny and pointing at Clark asked, “Don’t you know who he is?”
Denny, searching his memory said, “No, should I?”
Jack replied, “That’s Superman!”
Deny looked at his brother as if he had lost his mind and then skeptically at Clark and said, “Really? Then where’s his blue suit?”
Clark smiled, loosened his tie and unbuttoned a few buttons of his shirt revealing the familiar blue suit and the top of the red and yellow ‘S’ crest.
Seeing this Denny was stunned. All he could say was, “Wow,” in a hushed tone. Regaining his composure he asked, “Were you telling me a story or was that the truth?”
“I wouldn’t lie to you Denny. It was all the truth. I am an orphan just like you.”
Denny said, “I believe you. Thanks.”
As Clark started to button his shirt Lois said, “Let’s go into the conference room guys,” and gathering up both Jack and Denny she headed them in the right direction with Clark following along in the rear.
After they were all seated, Clark asked, “Jack, how would you like to work here? It wouldn’t be anything big, like reporting on stories, at least not for a long time, but you’d be working, earning an honest salary.”
Jack was surprised and replied, “A job? Why are you doing this? What would I have to do?”
Lois replied, “Well, you see it’s this way. My sister was going for a cup of coffee at a local beanery and she was kidnapped. Normally that wouldn’t happen, but, well, with me being married to Superman and her being my sister we need to take extra precautions. That’s where you come in. You would be what’s called a ‘copyboy’, running errands, getting coffee and donuts, supplies, making copies, that kind of thing. I think you will be demonstrating an aptitude for computers and we could then move you over to research. That would be during the day. At night you would be going to school.”
With a skeptical expression, he asked, “What about Denny?”
Lois calmly replied, “Denny would be going to school during the day just like every other kid.”
“How could we do that? Somebody is bound to question it and they’d take Denny away and put him in foster care.”
Clark replied, “Nobody is going to split you up. I’ll see to that.”
Skeptically, Jack asked, “What do you get out of it?”
Good naturedly Clark replied, “First, a good employee, second, the pleasure of seeing that you two stay together and finally the satisfaction that you aren’t going into a life of crime, getting arrested and leaving Denny to fend for himself. If you’re willing to give it a try, I’ll go talk to Mr. Olsen to see about that job.”
Denny looked at Jack with imploring eyes and said, “I’d rather have you around and not in jail.”
Relenting, Jack said, “Okay Mr. Superman, you’ve got a deal.”
Laughing, Clark said, “The name is Clark Kent. I’m just Superman when I’m wearing the Suit.”
“Oh, I didn’t know. Sorry. Can I call you Mr. K?”
Thinking about just how parallel things between the universes were and how the Jack in the other universe called him the same thing he smiled and said, “Yeah, Jack. That will be just fine.” Clark turned and went to Mr. Olsen’s office to plead the case for hiring Jack as a copyboy. Citing what had happened to Lucy and why, it was an easy sell.
Returning to the conference room he addressed them, “Welcome to the Daily Planet, Jack. Now we need to see about a place for you and Denny to stay.”
Lois interrupted, “Clark, can I talk to you a minute, in the other conference room?”
He nodded and she led him out. When they were in the room with the door closed she said, “We are about to own 348 Hyperion.” Looking into the other room they could see the happy expressions on both of the boy’s faces as they talked animatedly. Lois continued, “Why don’t we let them stay with us, at least for a while? That way we could keep an eye on them. I think they need some caring adult role models really badly.”
“You’re probably right. Okay.”
They returned to the room where Jack and Denny waited. Lois said, “We are going to be closing on a house here in town. It’s kinda big with lots of extra bedrooms. If you would be willing to live with us, at least until you have some money saved we will have a couple of rooms you could use.”
Denny looked at Jack and said, “It’d sure be better than that basement.”
Jack looked skeptically at Lois and asked, “You aren’t going to try to take the place of our parents are you?”
Clark spoke up and said, “No, Jack, we aren’t.” He placed one hand on Jack’s shoulder to make sure Jack was looking directly at him. “We know that no one could ever replace your parents. We *would* like to be your friends though. We think you could use some.”
Jack thought about it briefly before saying, “Okay, but if we don’t like the arrangement, we can leave, can’t we?”
Lois said, “Of course you can, although we would be disappointed we won’t try to stop you. We just want to see you in a decent living situation. Keep in mind, it’s just until you have some money saved and you and Denny can afford to live on your own.”
Clark, placed his other hand on Jack’s other shoulder to show just how serious he was and looked him straight in the face before he said, softly, with empathy, “We know that you don’t want to wind up in the system. We don’t want that either. I’ve been there. I know how it is and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Most of the time, I got lucky and had a good situation.” Clark looked over at Denny, significantly and said, “I don’t want to see the two of you separated. I’ll pull whatever strings I can with DCF to keep you together and out of the system. I have to admit, it would be a lot easier if you were living with us. We could show DCF that you are in a stable, family environment.”
Denny spoke up, “Come on Jack. I like them. I wouldn’t mind living with them, besides, he’s Superman. Just think we’ll have a ringside seat to watch him being super.”
Clark had started laughing while Denny had been saying this. Finally he said, “Well, I don’t know just how super I’ll be around the house. That’s usually only when I’m on a rescue.”
Looking at Jack, Denny implored, “Common Jack, whadda we got to lose? At least we’ll be outta that drafty basement and won’t have to worry about rats no more.”
Jack with a look of resignation said, “Any more, not no more.” Then he turned to Lois and said, “I guess we can give it a try.”
Clark asked, “What do you have to collect from where you were staying?”
“Nothin’ really, about all we had was these clothes.”
Lois said, “Well, we can’t have the newest member of the Daily Planet staff wearing the same clothes every day and Denny will need some clothes for school,” turning to Clark she asked, “How about we take the two of them shopping after while? We need to interview Lucy and write up her kidnapping as well as mine, and then Mayson should be in. As soon as we have the story filed we’ll be free.”
“Why don’t you get Lucy’s story and start writing everything up while I call the realtor and see if we can’t speed up the process?”
“Sounds like a good idea. We are going to need that house sooner than we expected.” Turning to the boys, Lois asked, “You guys want to watch a reporter interview the victim of a crime first hand?”
Denny was eager and grabbed Jack’s hand and started dragging him in Lois’ wake over to Lucy’s desk. Half way there Jack saw who they were going to see and immediately his attitude changed. When he saw Lucy who was only a ‘little’ older that himself he was attracted to her and Denny was no longer dragging him.
When they got nearer Lucy’s desk she introduced them, “Guys this is my sister Lucy, Lucy, Jack and Denny.” She indicated which was which with her hand. “Jack is going to be working here as a copyboy.”
Lucy stood and offered Denny and Jack her hand which they in their turns shook. Lucy noticed the way Jack was looking at her and said, “Nice to meet you both. I’ll have to introduce you to my boyfriend.”
Immediately Jack lost the look of adoration that was on his face and he choked out, “B … b … boy … boyfriend?”
“Yeah, Mr. Olsen.”
That was a name he had just heard and he choked out, “The owner? The owner is your boyfriend?”
“Sorry, yeah, he’s my boyfriend. Tell you what, do a good job and I’ll put in a good word for you. Deal?”
Trying to make the best of a bad situation Jack said, “Deal.”
Lois said, “Okay, Lucy, I need you to tell me everything you remember about your kidnapping.”
Lucy turned away from Jack and faced Lois as she said, “Okay, well, I had been working on that research project for you and, well, you know how it is, a computer geek's brain runs on caffeine, so I decided to go get a large coffee with a shot of espresso. Well, as I left the building and rounded the corner I felt hands on my arms and a rag over my face. I held my breath and started to struggle. I tried to use some of those Tae Kwan Do moves you’ve been teaching me. The problem was that they surprised me and they had a secure hold before I knew what was happening. I heard one of them complain that I was fighting more than any other girl they had taken. The other one said that I was the wrong one, whatever he meant by that, then I couldn’t hold my breath any longer. A few seconds later I was out. The next thing I knew I was in a room somewhere and somebody was jabbing a needle in my arm. Everything is kinda fuzzy after that until I woke up in the hospital.”
With a thoughtful look, Lois said, “I think I can explain one of their statements. I was the target that they were after.”
“Oh, Lois! Why were they after you?”
“Because I’m with Superman and also some time ago we, along with Mayson and Daniel, that couple you met a little while ago, got the evidence needed to bust up a prostitution and extortion racket here in town.”
“Was she a target as well?”
“We believe so.”
Clark joined them and said, “I just spoke to the realtor. We got lucky. The current owner is available and we can sign the rest of the papers and close in an hour.” He turned to the boys and said, “That means that the house will be ours today. The house has been vacant for some time because the previous owner had already moved to a larger house and because of their growing family they wanted to move to the suburbs. That means that this afternoon we have a lot of shopping to do. We need four beds, dressers, curtains, living room furniture and kitchen equipment. Let’s see, we also need to get Denny some school clothes and work clothes for Jack.”
Jack spoke up, “I can’t let you do that. I’ll get us what we need when I have some money.”
Clark said, “Look at it as a loan. You can pay us back a little at a time, but you need these things now.”
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