Clark & Lois – When Worlds and Universes Collide - Matchmaker Chronicles V 8 16/36
By KenJ <ken.janney@kjanney.com>
This version is rated PG-13
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 – Canon Lois and Clark universe also called – Prime
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -124 – Alternate Prime - Lori and Clark
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 – Alt 1, Alt Clark and Kryptonian Lois – (Alt 1 )
Alpha -120 x Gamma 255 x Tau -190 – Alt 2 Kryptonian Lois' home universe.
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 040 – Alt 1 alternate (Alt 3) Alt Lois and Alt Clark
Previously
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Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 – Alt 1%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
A/N – Alt 1 is the canon Alternate universe.Local Clark said, “I think the answer is multiple universes and I can explain in more detail, but not right now.”
Seeing how upset he was they all decided to let it lie for the time being.
Looking at 1993 Lois, Local Clark asked, “Are you super too?”
1993 Lois nodded and said, “Yeah, there was an incident at the White Orchid Ball where a laser was used against Luthor. We were accidentally hit and it changed my physiology and energized the Sapphire Kryptonite giving me the powers.”
Not having any way to know the whole story behind the new couple and the local couple beyond the obvious fact that here were two more super powered individuals to help in the upcoming conflict, Ching said, “Well, the odds are getting better and better. It’s now seven to nine. I wonder if this Herb of yours will even the odds for us.”
Suddenly there was another thumping on the hull. After a cursory glance at the monitor Ching activated the transporter and another couple materialized in the room.
This Clark was dressed in a charcoal gray suit with a black shirt and a tie that almost shined with an inner light it was so bright.
Lori was wearing her short black chiffon dress with black stilettos. Her hair was loose and flowing around her shoulders. Incongruously, she had a quiver of arrows on her back and a golden colored bow in her hand.
Lori looked around at all of the others and said, “Hi Zara. Hello Ching. Does New Krypton have a problem again? You know, Clark won’t be able to do much. Looking at the group again she said, “It will be up to us girls to help out.”
Zara and Ching exchanged mystified glances while the other Clark and Lois couples stared at her with open mouths.
Zara was the first to regain speech and asked, “Can you identify yourself please?”
Clark spoke up, “I’m Clark, but I guess you already knew that. This is Lori.”
Local Clark asked, “Lori? Where do you come from?”
Clark said, “It probably isn’t so much where we come from as when that’s important. I think we’re all from Metropolis. We are from 2091.”
Zara shook her head in amazement and then turned to Ching. “Ching, we are getting a little crowded in here. Please increase the size of the pod.”
Ching went quickly to the control panel again and made a separating gesture with two fingers of each hand. Abruptly the walls of the conference chamber they were in moved away as the diameter of the pod increased.
Zara smiled to herself at the startled reaction of the couples. Technology was handy for getting messages across at times.
Twenty five minutes had passed and Local Lois suddenly appeared on Ching’s view screen. He operated the control and she appeared in the pod next to her Clark. Local Clark smiled to himself. Technology indeed. “Welcome back,” he said softly. “Everything okay?”
Local Lois smiled serenely and said, “Just fine. She’s doing well and Martha and Jonathan are helping a lot. Who are the new people? Who’s the chick with the bow?”
2091 Clark spoke up, “Me, I’m from 2091 and this is Lori.” Lois raised her eyebrow. Clark continued, “A different time and a different universe. In our universe, Lori is the next Lois like Lady Loisette and Lulu Kent were before Lois.”
Local Lois smiled and relaxed.
Zara thought it was time to get back to the main purpose of the meeting and summarized the problem for the new comers.
The group divided up at this point. The girls gathered at one side while the guys gathered on the other.
And now -
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Chapter 16 – When Universes Collide pt 2
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Universal Locator Designation
Alpha -120 x Gamma 255 x Tau -190 – Alt2
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When they split up, Lori recognized her old Ultra Woman uniform and said, “Hi, Ultra Woman.”
2013 Lois was startled and asked, “You know me?”
Smiling, Lori replied, “I used to be you. I still call myself Ultra Woman even if I do wear a different uniform now.”
Flabbergasted, 2013 Lois asked, “You used to be me?”
Lori replied, “Yes, you see, like Clark said, we’re from 2091. In a previous life I was Ultra Woman for a short time before we succeeded in transferring the powers back to Clark. I remember Martha making the suit. A non-super version of you died of old age on your birthday, September 23, 2063 which also happened to be my birthday. As had been the case with Lady Loisette and Lulu Kent and several others I might add, her soul essence was transferred to me. That’s when Herb stepped in and rigged the game. He gave me a Clarkie bear with a soul tracker device inside of it to restore all of the memories of my past lives. He gave me that bear when I was six months old. How is it that you are super powered?”
“In a word – Herb. In 2010, on my birthday, Herb showed up on our doorstep with a birthday present from the Clark that had helped us a couple of times.” She pulled out her pendant.
Lori recognized it as a duplicate of hers and pulled hers out to display it.
1993 Lois said, “Herb got that to you already? We just gave it to him. Duh! Time traveler! What year did he pluck you from?”
2013 Lois replied, “2013.”
“And he gave you the pendant when?”
“2010, when did you give him the pendant?”
“1993, that’s the year we are from.”
“Thank you for the gift. It has been a godsend.” Turning back to Lori she asked, “You have a pendant, so you are super powered, right?”
Lori answered, “Yes, I am.”
Local Lois asked “Then why the bow and arrows?”
Lori replied, “Frankly, I don’t know. Herb seemed to think it would come in handy. He also gave me this for you.” Lori handed 2013 Lois another pendant.
As soon as it was in her hand 2013 Lois felt her powers surge. She said, “Wow, thanks for the boost.”
Lori said, “I only have one more.” Looking around she was curious, “I don’t know why, but he only gave me two extra pendants. Who uses the pendant for powers?”
The Lois from 1993 put out her hand and Lori handed it to her.
Looking apologetically at local Lois, Lori said, “I’m sorry, I don’t have a pendant for you. Herb obviously made a mistake.”
Local Lois said, “No, he was quite correct. I don’t need a pendant.”
Lori turned to local Lois and asked, “Why don’t you need a pendant?”
Local Lois replied, “I’m fully Kryptonian. The short story is that Clark was on a rescue at the wishing well and he was hit with a laser beam. That laser transferred his powers to me.”
2013 Lois said, “I remember that incident! That was how I first became Ultra Woman, but we used the laser to transfer Clark’s powers back to him.”
Lori said, “Me too.”
“In our case it wasn’t just a transfer of his powers. It was a complete transfer of his Kryptonian physiology. We tried to use the laser to return it, but it didn’t work. I’m every bit as Kryptonian as Clark is.”
Lori said, “Wow, I guess you guys won’t have to wait three years to have a baby.”
With a smile local Lois replied, “As a matter of fact, that’s what this is all about. We just had a baby.”
Lori went, “Oooooo,” and asked, “Boy or girl? We just had a little boy. We call him CJ.”
2013 Lois let out a gasp. She almost shouted, “CJ! CJ, is your son?”
“Yes, he is, and I want to thank you for taking care of him for us.” Lori could see tears forming in Lois’ eyes so she moved over and gave 2013 Lois a hug. “Herb just brought him back yesterday.” With a conspiratorial grin and tone she added, “Herb gave me a prescription to start my milk again.”
Her incipient tears forgotten, 2013 Lois barked out a laugh. She said, “Yeah, he surprised us with that when he dropped him off. It turned out to be a lot of fun.”
Lori smiled as she replied, “I remember and I look forward to it. I don’t want to wean him yet.”
With a sad smile, 2013 Lois said, “We really loved him.”
With a serious look, Lori said, “I know. I also know how hard it was for you to give him up. I … I really appreciate all that you did for him … and us.” In an attempt to lighten the mood somewhat she turned back to local Lois and repeated her question, “Boy or girl?”
Laughing, local Lois replied, “Girl. We decided to name her Penelope Ann. We’re gonna call her Penny.”
1993 Lois said, “We don’t know yet what we’re going to have.”
Local Lois replied, “Clark was the second to know. Martha performed the delivery so she was first. When Clark cut the cord he found out. Carrie was going to tell us some time ago what it was going to be, but we told her that we wanted it to be a surprise. I would have found out the first time I changed a diaper. I'm flying out every 4 hours to feed and change her, but I can't stay long each time so Martha is doing everything else. Carrie is so cute, she wants to help so much."
Lori asked, “Carrie? Who’s ... Carrie?”
Local Lois replied, “Carrie is our adopted daughter. That’s a long story. We can fill everyone in on that later.”
Lori pressed, “You said that Carrie was going to tell you … some time ago. How did she know?”
“Carrie has started to demonstrate psychic powers. We don’t know the extent of them yet, they just started to manifest.”
Turning back to the other Loises, Lori said, “Okay, we have found that we girls, because we started out as Earth human, even though our physiology has been modified by the Kryptonian aura and we derive powers from the pendant, we are immune to green Kryptonite. The only problem is in the case of pregnancy. The baby is affected. I’ve been through it and believe me, it’s no picnic.”
1993 Lois said, “I’m pregnant.”
Lori replied, “All I can say is, as long as you are, avoid green K.”
“Got it. Could be easier said than done.”
Zara started to explain the rules of combat for the group. “The ritual combat is limited to family groups.”
2013 Clark interrupted, “That’s funny, when I fought Nor it was supposed to be one-on-one. Of course, he cheated and had a couple of cronies help.”
Zara replied, “In our tradition it is family groups.”
Local Lois suggested, “Like the Scottish clan wars.”
Zara replied, “If I understand the history of your world that I read, then I would say that is a valid comparison. It looks like this Herb of yours has done us a big favor. The numbers are now equal.”
2013 Clark asked, “Equal for what exactly. Herb didn’t tell us much, just that we were needed.”
Zara said, “Good! All right, let’s all sit down and I’ll go over this again, now that we’re apparently all here.”
2013 Lois turned to Zara and asked, “Since Kal-El is already married, where does that leave you?”
“Well, you see that’s a potential problem,” Zara, with a look of chagrin said, “I’m potentially one of the prizes in this conflict. As the child of the hereditary ruler of Krypton I should, along with my husband, my bond mate, be on the throne of New Krypton. It is known that Kal-El was designated by Gee-Ra to be the next High Lord, but since Kal-El is no longer available then whoever the council selects as my bond mate will be on the throne as long as there is no one from the house of El that is. I hadn’t mentioned it, but that is the second problem that we face.”
“The child that carries the essence of Kal-El is a threat to Nor’s acquisition of the rule of New Krypton. He can secure his rule by eliminating that threat. He can also secure it by forcing me into a life bond with him as my bond mate. He would need to do both to secure his claim. If he presents a strong enough claim to the Council of Elders he could force me into a life bond.”
2013 Lois replied, “That is a situation like what we faced when Nor and his minions did something similar in our universe. Zara, you actually love Ching, don’t you?”
Lori turned to Zara and said, “Zara, you can be honest with us. Clark and I just returned from New Krypton. Our Zara and Ching have been happily married, uh, I mean in a life bond for some time.”
2013 Lois said, “Yeah, we could see it was headed in that direction when you guys left. The Earth military used Kryptonite laced poison gas to kill Nor and several of his henchmen, Jen-Mai was among them. The problem was that they almost killed Clark along with them. That gas didn’t discriminate between good guys and bad guys.”
2091 Clark asked, “Is it possible to win this conflict without killing the combatants?”
Zara replied, “It should be possible. If we win and it is proved that Nor was attempting to usurp the rule of New Krypton then he could be sentenced to the Phantom Zone. But, we would have to win first and then try him for treason. Only if he is convicted of treason could he be so sentenced.”
2013 Clark said, “Let’s worry about one thing at a time.” Looking at the Clark that had just been speaking he said, “We know just where or when Herb recruited each of us. I see a lot of similarities in memories. I remember that incident as happening just the same way. We’ve seen some differences in the way some things have happened, but that is identical. I wonder … After this is all over we will all need to get together and compare notes. See if there are more commonalities.”
Seeing how many Kal-Els were now present, Ching had left to prepare additional Dreis and reentered the room as Clark had finished speaking. He had moved over next to Zara and referring back to the earlier conversation said, “Lady Zara, it would seem that there is hope for us yet.”
Zara replied, “Ching, we must concentrate on the here and now. We must keep our focus on the upcoming conflict.”
‘You are correct My Lady.” Turning to the Clarks, Ching said, “I need to train you in the use of the Drei. It is a formidable although a primitive weapon. It dates back to our more warlike time. I have prepared enough to meet our needs.”
Lori interrupted. Holding up her bow she asked, “Zara, you said that the women were barred from using the Drei. Can I use this?”
Zara answered, “Since it is a non-energy weapon then it will be allowed, however against super powered, invulnerable beings its efficacy could be in question.”
Lori replied, “Herb had me bring it for a reason. He didn’t tell me why. He gave me that ‘Too much information too soon’ line. I really hate it when he does that.”
2013 Lois joined in, “I’ll second that. Every time he does that I just want to tear my hair out. It is so
frustrating!”
1993 Lois said, “He hasn’t done that to us. I wonder why.”
2013 Lois responded with a question, “Has he ever recruited you to do something that you asked for an explanation on?”
1993 Lois replied, “Well, this is the first time he has recruited us to help and as soon as he said that there was another couple that needed help, since Clark had helped before, we just said, sure and came along. We really didn’t question it.”
Lori said, “There’s your answer. You just went along with him. I bet if you had questioned him, he would have given you the same line. Anyway, I have my bow. By the way, Zara, this bow was built for me by the engineers of New Krypton.”
Zara looked at the bow with increased appreciation after hearing this.
Local Superwoman asked, “How did you get interested in archery?”
“Oh, it’s just a sport I picked up as a teen.” Looking at her Clark, with a smirking smile, she said, “It’s come in handy a few times.” She snickered and then continued, “The papers started calling me the ‘Emerald Archer’ because I dressed up like Robin Hood in a Lincoln green costume. I used some trick arrows to subdue a robot and to get the drop on the crooks behind it.”
With his arm around her waist, pulling her in tight, Clark added, “More recently she dressed up in a traditional Kryptonian gown and looked like the Greek Goddess – Artemis, as we dealt with a new space faring race for New Krypton. She saved my life by sending an arrow through a weapon that was being used against me. She really knows how to use that thing, trust me.”
Lori continued, “One of our sons-in-law is also an archer. That’s a funny story. He wore a Robin Hood costume to a party in Smallville one year. He was a little embarrassed that he couldn’t use a bow so after that he started practicing and discovered he enjoyed it. He became quite good. In fact he just left to become the resident superhero of New Krypton.”
2013 Lois gasped out, "Mike Lee? Mike became an archer? For us that Halloween party was last weekend."
Zara asked, "Were our counterparts in your universe able to establish themselves on a planet?"
“Yes, a planet circling Arcturus. It is a giant world circling a red giant star. It is very similar to Krypton.”
With a look of stunned disbelief, Zara said, “Yes, as a matter of fact that is where we settled. This voyage took its toll on our people and our efforts to Kryptoform have required a lot of effort. That is one of the reasons we need a new High Lord. We need a decision maker.”
comments go here TBC
