Clark and Lois – Two Universes - Matchmaker Chronicle Volume 7 19/32
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:
“Let me call the Plaza.”
“From here?”
“Sure, why not? I need to ask the desk clerk for a description of Smythe:”
“It might be easier to fly back and peek in the window.”
Clark thought over Lois’ suggestion and it made a lot of sense, so nodding his head he went to the closet and pulled out his snooping clothes. Lois smiled and moved to the dresser. She pulled out her dark turtleneck and black jeans. She said, “You aren’t going without me, buster. I enjoy flying just as much as you do and I have been grounded most of the time in this universe because there is no Superwoman.”
“Lo-is, what if someone sees you?”
“I’ll fly high and fast. No one will see me.” She put on a pout as she continued, “Come on Clark, I want to go with you. It’ll be okay. Please?” As she was saying this she moved into his arms and looked up at him with puppy dog eyes, batting her eyelashes.
He was weakening, but he said, “It’s broad daylight!”
“We could go to the beach. It’s a little cool and there shouldn’t be many people there. We can find a secluded area to change and take off from there. It’ll be dark soon in Metropolis. We could hover out of sight above the street. At the height of the penthouse, no one will see us. If you hold me like this no one will suspect that I was flying. They’d think you were carrying me.”
“When could I ever deny you?”
She pulled back and with the look of someone that just won a contest she said eagerly, “All right! When do we leave?”
With a look of chagrin he said, “I guess we could just put these on for our trip to the beach. I don’t think anyone would look at us twice.”
With a smile she said, “Okay, first the beach and then next stop – Metropolis!”
They both spun into their snooping clothes and after locking their room they went out to get a cab.
After a cab ride to Bondi beach they started their stroll on the sand. There were numerous joggers as well as other couples strolling along the beach. In a thoughtful tone Lois said, “You know, we’ve come a long way since that first stroll on a beach that day in Hawaii.”
Taking her hand in his and lifting it to his lips he said, “Who would have thought that day where we would be today; married and with a child on the way. It’s like a dream come true.”
There was fear and worry in her voice as Lois responded, “Let’s hope it doesn’t turn into a nightmare. There are so many things that can go wrong. There hasn’t been a Kryptonian birth under these circumstances, ever. Think of it, this is going to be a super baby. *Fully Kryptonian*, born here on Earth. In a way I’m scared.”
“We are going to do everything we can to make sure there are no problems. I promise.”
With a shy smile she said, “I’m going to hold you to that, Kent.”
And Now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 17 – Wrapping it up in Australia
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 - Local designation – Alt 1
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Lois and Clark were approaching the southernmost point of the beach at the most distant point from Queen Elizabeth Drive. He smiled in reply and looking around asked, “I don’t see anyone around. Shall we go?”
Smiling she said, “Let’s,” leaped into his arms and they took to the air headed northeast. Once they were out over the Pacific, Lois flew out of his arms and flew under her own power.
As they were in flight Clark sent, /”I just had a thought. Let’s stop by the Planet on the way.”/
/”What do you need?”/
/”Let’s get a camera from the supply closet.”/
/”Good idea! That way we can have a picture to show around. Let’s do it.”/ She put on a burst of speed and sent, /”Catch me if you can!”/
Since she was every bit as fast as he was he never did catch her, until she wanted him to. When he did they went into an embrace and soared up above the clouds while they kissed.
Eventually they arrived at the Planet and took out a still camera and a video cam. A few minutes later they were hovering over the street across from the penthouse of the Plaza.
The individual they identified as Luckabee was lounging in a chair watching the TV while Smythe was pacing the room behind him apparently in deep thought. There was no conversation to listen in on so they settled for a series of pictures.
They returned the equipment to the closet and taking the film and tape with them returned to Australia.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The next day Clark dropped off the roll of film with the concierge service to have it developed.
Lois called Lucy. “Hi Luce, what do you have for me?”
“Hi Lois! Okay, here’s the scoop. Luckabee checked into the Plaza ten weeks ago. I started checking arrivals from Australia around that time and found an arrival, flight 658 on Transunited Airlines at the appropriate time. I’m trying to get a seating manifest for the flight.”
Lois had written the information down and said, “Thanks, Luce. I’ll start working on it from this end. We can match up what we have after we both get manifests. We’ll be here a few more days. Are the guys behaving themselves for you?”
Lucy looked around, making sure Jack wasn’t within earshot, before she replied, “I think that Jack still has a crush on me. He and Denny have been as good as gold. No problems. Oh, and James had started teaching Jack more about computer technology. He says that Jack is a natural. He may eventually be able to replace me here as your researcher.”
Lois was laughing as she said, “Well you can’t fault him on his taste. You’re a catch. I don’t think I’d tell James that he has some competition.”
Lucy started to laugh as well. She said, “I don’t think he’d worry. By the way, what’s Sydney like?”
“It’s a lovely city. It is really clean and there are so many people, it’s incredible. The Opera House is beautiful. We haven’t gone in, but that white structure, right on the harbor, with the lights at night, is breathtaking.”
“I’m trying to decide where James and I will go on our honeymoon. I just added Sydney to my list of possibilities.”
“I’m sure you’d enjoy it here. I’ll check in with you tomorrow Sis.”
”Okay Lois. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the hotel in Sydney, after hanging up the phone, Lois sat down next to Clark and said, “Okay, we have a timeframe. Lucy’s information puts Luckabee in Metropolis a short time before we busted the bordello. There wouldn’t have been time enough for him to have taken over the operation. How is it he was running that place? I guess we’ll have to dig into that further. Luce gave me the flight information so that we can start checking tomorrow to see if we can get a flight seating manifest. We can also see if we can get a security camera picture of the boarding. Smythe should be easy enough to identify.”
“Once we have the pictures developed we could start showing them around. Now that we know what he looks like we can see about the security camera footage. At least we now know about what day. As soon as we find out when flight 658 departed we will be able to narrow it down. Let’s call the airline and see if we can get a seating manifest.”
A little later they went to the airport and collected the manifests for flight 658 originating around their target date.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After returning to their room they started going through the manifests. They finally found the one they were looking for. Leslie Luckabee had flown first class. Looking through the rest of the names they did not find any Smythes, let alone J. Smythes.
Lois dropped the sheet on the table and with an I-told-you-so look and tone said, “I told you it had to be an alias. Okay, now we have to see about the security tape.”
Clark called the airport and after identifying himself as Superman asked for the security office. When he was put through he spoke with the supervisor. After giving him the date and time of the flight he asked for a copy of the security tape for the period shortly before to shortly after the flight time. He was told that he could pick it up after 5 P.M.
After picking up the tape they played it back on a player provided by the concierge service.
They were able to play it back fast forward and to them it was like slow-mo. They spotted Luckabee as he was boarding. A bit later they spotted Smythe. Based on the order of boarding they estimated that he was somewhere in coach around row twenty to twenty-five.
They started checking the names in and around that area. There were no names that they recognized.
In frustration Lois threw down the list and said, “He must have used a different alias for the trip. How are we going to track this down?”
“I wonder if there are hospital records for people with disfigurations like that.”
“Maybe we should check the area’s hospitals.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After dinner they settled down in their room and went over the data they had gotten as a result of their FOI request.
Lois, reading from the account, summed it up, “Leslie Luckabee was arrested and served some time. He had been convicted of petty theft, numerous counts and one grand larceny, auto. He had started his criminal career early, in his late teens. The auto had been his last for which he was sentenced to five years. Get this, this man who somehow became a multi-millionaire was caught after the car heist because he didn’t realize that what he had stolen was a diesel automobile and he put gasoline in it. It had mixed with the diesel still in the tank so it continued to run, after a fashion, but when he tried to outrun the cops, it quit on him. After four years he was released for good behavior and placed on probation. He had gotten a job as a busboy and kept his nose clean until he dropped out of sight. When that happened he violated the conditions of his parole by doing so and now there is an outstanding bench warrant for his arrest. It isn’t something that the government would seek extradition on so until he returned to Australia he would essentially be safe.”
“Interesting story. When did he disappear?”
Lois scanned through the document. Finding what she was looking for she did a quick mental calculation and said, “Six almost seven months ago.”
“In Metropolis he is known to be suave and sophisticated. I haven’t heard too much about any women. That image doesn’t match up with what is in that write-up,” commented Clark. He continued, “The amount of time he was missing, before he turned up in Metropolis was about five months. He could have taken a crash course in suave and sophisticated. That wouldn’t have left much time for accumulating all of that wealth.”
With a sly expression, Lois said, “There haven’t been too many articles written about him and there have been no interviews. Maybe I should see if he’d allow *me* to interview him.” As she finished up she batted her eyelashes, coyly.
“You just might be able to wangle and interview, but I’m going to be there with you.”
“Why?”
“What if he has more Kryptonite?”
“All the more reason for you to not be there. If he has Kryptonite he would catch both of us at the same time. No one suspects that I’m Kryptonian so there’s no reason to attack me with it. If you’re there he might be tempted.”
“Okay, you’re probably right, but I’m going to keep an eye on you the entire time.”
“I knew you would. Okay, as soon as we are back in Metropolis I’ll see if I can schedule an interview with him.”
“Since this will be our last night here in Sydney, do you want to go to the Opera House?”
Lois snuggled into his arms and said, “I’m not much for opera.” She looked up at him and with a wanton look said, “Why don’t we just spend a quiet night here, in bed?”
His answer was a kiss which took her breath away. She thought to herself, <Wow, it’s a good thing we can both hold our breath for a loooooooong time. Neither of us wanted to stop.>
The next day they returned to Metropolis.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The following weekend they all flew out to Smallville so that the girls could work on the weddings. Clark flew Lucy and James then Jack and Denny out in shifts. Then he went back for Lois who spent the last few miles in Clark’s arms.
Pete brought Lana over and then asked if Clark could come with him. They climbed into Pete’s car and he drove them to a house a couple of miles away. This was one of the many farms that were scattered around Smallville. When they exited the car the front door opened and a pregnant Rachel Harris Eck and Billy Eck came out. Clark was pleased to see both of these old friends.
Noting Rachel’s condition, Clark said, “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you guys! Congratulations. Your first right?”
Looking back at Rachel, Billy replied, “Yeah, Rachel had to turn over the office to her chief Deputy until she can get back.”
“I’m really happy for you. I’m looking forward to the day when we can have a child.” He said this knowing full well that they had a child on the way, but not wanting to let on.
Billy turned to Rachel and asked, “Could you bring out the lemonade and some glasses? We have to talk about some things.”
Rachel said, “Sure thing, guy talk, I get it.”
After Rachel brought out the drinks, Billy asked, “Would you like to spend some time with Lana and the other girls? It would be a good chance to meet Clark’s wife.”
Rachel thought for just a second and then said, “I think I will.” She went in and grabbed her purse and keys. As she came out she said, “I’ll see you guys later.” She got into the car and drove off.
Pete said, “Now we can talk freely. Clark, here’s the story. I was able to get Billy here and Charlie and a few of the other guys together for that little project that Monday.”
Billy added, “We gave the area between Schuster’s field and Wayne Irig’s farm a going over like you wouldn’t believe. We used a fine-toothed comb. We found a couple hundred of those rocks.”
Pete resumed, “We actually found more than we bargained for. We found some, they weren’t green but they had that same characteristic glow but they were red! We weren’t sure if they were the same problem or not so we decided to play it safe and treat them as dangerous.”
Billy said, “It took us four days to completely cover the area, but when we were finished we were pretty sure we had everything there was to find.”
Pete said, “That was the good news. The bad news is that a few days after we finished clearing the area a bunch of outsiders came in. They claimed to be a team of entomologists looking for a rare species of Corn Root Worm that could be very damaging to the local crops. They went to the sheriff’s office for permission to search the area and go on people’s property. Since this is a known pest, it made sense to give them permission so Rachel’s deputy gave it to them.”
Billy took up that narrative, “Fortunately, mine was the first farm they visited. They were fakes. I talked to one of them when they came on my farm. A couple of things gave them away. First, they didn’t have any sweep nets to collect samples. Second, they weren’t going through the fields, they were just covering ground. Third, when I asked him what was so special about this particular pest and how could I identify one if I saw it, the description he gave me was that of a Lady Beetle. If that guy was an Entomologist I’ll eat my hat, not the straw one either. I’m sure they were looking for those rocks. As soon as I was sure I called Pete and let him know.”
Peter took over again, “I called all of the gang and we took turns watching them. They actually got irritated at us when we stayed near them, but we know that they didn’t find anything. If they had, we would know about it.”
Clark said, “I don’t know what I did to deserve friends like you guys.”
Billy said, “Buddy, we were your friends before we knew what you could do. After we found out we all started to realize that some of the scrapes we had gotten ourselves into, it was you that got us out without saying a word about it. We started comparing notes and realized that you had been our guardian angel all along. If there’s anything we can do for you, we owe it to you.”
Clark was embarrassed and said, “Really, you guys don’t owe me anything. I’m just glad I was able to help out.”
Billy said, “Clark, I still remember when I was trapped under that tree and you lifted it off of me. We always thought that it was rotten or you had just had a burst of adrenaline or something. Now we know the truth. I, and most of us, owe you our lives, many times over. This is the least we could do for the guy that has done so much for us and never said anything or even asked for our thanks. Even if we didn’t, it’s what friends do for each other.”
comments go here TBC
