Hattie and Mr. X - Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 1 – P 8/11
By KenJ <ken.janney@kjanney.com>
This version is rated PG-13
Submitted
Disclaimers: Some of the characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros., except those I created. No copyright infringement is intended. I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.
Note::
This story takes place in the Matchmaker Chronicles universe. Hattie Kaplin has had a long standing relationship with Jon Kent and the entire Kent family; in fact she is almost part of the family. Recently she had been brought in on the family secret that the Kents are in fact the super family.
This story is a sequel to Hattie Kaplin and the Main Street Bomber – Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 1 - O
*denotes emphasis*
<denotes thoughts>
/” denotes telepathic communications.”/
Previously
After placing a large pad of paper in front of him, Hattie gave him one final direction, “Write down everything you know about ‘X’, and then write down how you got involved in this and what your part was.”
He picked up a pen and began to write.
Hattie shut off the recorder and motioned to the mirror that Boyce should join them. A few seconds later he entered. She said, “I’d let him finish writing and then I’d let him sleep it off.”
“I’m not so sure that any of this will be admissible in court.”
"If it isn’t, you will still have leads that you can follow up, plus, you can take this in to Simmons and tell him you have James’ statement and if he doesn’t want to take the full weight of the charges, he should also write up a statement, putting himself in the best light possible.”
Boyce smiled and said, “That’s a very good idea. Thanks!”
Hattie looked at JJ and said to Boyce, “We’re getting married this weekend, so I doubt that we’ll do anything more on this until we are back from our honeymoon.”
Boyce clapped JJ on the back and said, “Congratulations. All the best,” and shook his hand.
They exited and headed for the Planet.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Tuesday, March 27, 2029
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The headline in the Daily Planet read:
“MYSTERIOUS ROBBERIES SOLVED – ARRESTS MADE”By – Kaplin and Olsen
The case of the mysterious robberies being performed by individuals with no previous criminal record has been solved.
Researchers at MiraLabs discovered a drug which enabled them to program individuals to perform robberies and then have no memory of doing it.
Based on evidence gathered by the Daily Planet staff the drug ring has been broken and most of the principals taken into custody. Story continued on 2A.”And now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 8 – Rehersal Dinner
Wednesday, March 28, 2029
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In an otherwise darkened sanctum lit only by flashing lights on a console and a computer monitor screen, a single light glowed in a shaded light over a desk. The front page of Tuesday’s Daily Planet was open. A pair of hands, wearing a strange pair of gloves appeared in the light. A pen was picked up and a circle drawn around the article and then they drew a large ‘X’ through it. Then the hands grabbed the sheet and tore it in pieces in obvious anger. A voice growled, “Kaplin and Olsen again! Those two have been thwarting me at every turn. Each time I manage to start a project, they queer the pitch. This is the last straw. The problem is that they seem to have a special connection to the superheroes. Each time I try to get rid of them they interfere. I’ve almost lost count of the number of times it has happened.”
A female voice seemed to speak from the air, “If you had more reliable underlings rather than the dregs of the criminal world you might have better luck.”
“Luck has nothing to do with it. It’s like a computer algorithm; you input the data and find out what the result should be. You set the same conditions and expect the same result, but then a random element is introduced and the entire calculation is thrown off.”
“So, how do you plan to handle this?”
“I have to hit them when they least expect it,” ‘X’ replied.
“All right, bright boy, when would that be?” The female voice challenged.
Now that the previous day’s paper had been removed from the desk top, the gloved hands pulled the current edition of the Planet over under the light and opened to the Society Page. Central was the announcement of the wedding of the reporters on the City Desk, Kaplin and Olsen.
He pointed to the article in the paper announcing the upcoming nuptials. Details of the wedding were included.
The hands, wearing the strange pair of gloves appeared in the light again. A pen was picked up and a circle drawn around the article. A button was pushed and an underling entered. The underling was addressed, “The rehearsal dinner for this wedding will be on Friday. Call around and see if you can find out where that dinner is to be held. Once you find out, get a couple of guys out there to take them out. I’m tired of them ruining my plans.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Friday, March 30, 2029
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Friday evening was the wedding rehearsal. Lara and Mike had flown in for the wedding and were staying at the Wisteria Lane home with Hattie’s soon to be Aunt and Uncle.
The minister had been amazed at the size of the wedding party, twelve aside from the bride and groom would be crowding his platform. He was hoping that the church would hold the guests. This promised to be a very large affair. The notoriety of the principles, the former investigative reporting team of Lane and Kent who were now the Editors-In-Chief of the Daily Planet and the current reporting team of Kaplin and Olsen who had also been making a name for themselves over the last year since their debut as a team would have a lot of friends and family.
With a party this size he tried several arrangements, finally deciding to have only the Matron of Honor and the Best Man on the platform with him, and the bride and groom with the rest arranged on the steps leading to the platform in a ‘V’ pattern, the apex being the bride and groom with him in between them.
The organist found that she had to add several extra bars to the wedding march to accommodate the large party and it took her two walk-throughs to get it right.
After the rehearsal the wedding party went to Café Americana for the reception. It had changed hands after Lois’ Uncle Mike had passed away, but it still was one of the best places in town to eat and because of the founder, it drew the Kent family. On this occasion they were joined by Hattie’s parents.
Years ago, when Hattie first decided on her career and selected Lois Lane as her role model, her parents had been concerned. The number of times they had read articles describing how Lois Lane had needed to be rescued by Superman caused them to fear for their daughter’s safety in that field. When Hattie actually met Lois and started getting close to
that family their fear only increased, that is until they met the Kent family themselves. That coupled with the effect that the association with the Kent family had on Hattie. She had always been a good student, but being associated with Lois Lane and trying to follow her example had only spurred her to new heights of excellence. Whenever Jon Kent came over to study with Hattie, his respectful conduct and his very gentle spirit finally overcame any anxiety that they might have had. Such an example as he set had to come from a warm loving family. They were actually happy that their girl had found such a good friend.
Hattie had always been very open with her mother and would discuss even matters that some girls would shy away from with a parent. She had, on many occasions, discussed her growing feelings for Jon Kent and her lamentations that he only considered her to be a friend, his best friend admittedly, but just a friend, none the less. The relationship couldn’t seem to progress past that stage to Hattie’s dismay.
Hattie had gone to her mother for consoling when she found out that Jon had met another girl and that he was going to be moving to Smallville so that he could be close to her. It all happened so quickly. It was a matter of only a week. Initially, her disappointment had manifested as anger toward this new girl that had stolen
her boyfriend from her. That changed rapidly when she finally met Jennifer and got to know her. Seeing how she and Jon related to one another, she realized that their relationship was such as none she had ever seen before aside from Lois and Clark. Then thinking about it some more she realized that the relationship that Lara and Mike shared was also like that. She began to hope that she would have that kind of relationship when she found the right guy. Then JJ had come back into her life.
JJ, Jon and she were all the same age. They had spent a lot of time together as teens. She had always like JJ. Jon’s cousin was a little overweight and very sensitive about it, but it never bothered Hattie, she liked him as a person and didn’t care about his weight. There were lots of times that they would be playing games and she and JJ would team up against Jon and Lara and Hattie was usually pleased with the outcome because most of the time, they won.
When she had been paired with him at Jen’s wedding, she almost didn’t recognize him. They hadn’t seen each other for a few years. They had been in different schools and then he had hired on at the Gotham Gazette.
When she saw him at the rehearsal for Jen’s wedding she was shocked. He had dropped the excess weight and really built himself up. He had taken up the martial arts and weight lifting and it had done wonders. He had bulked up and was ever so much stronger, but the martial arts had given him a lithe grace characteristic of a practitioner. Later, he had confided in her that she had been his inspiration for getting his weight under control and all of the rest of it. As far back as their teen years he had determined that she was the one that he wanted as a wife and he wanted to become what she deserved.
Hattie’s parents had been invited, on numerous occasions to affairs, birthday parties and holidays, at the Kent home and had met JJ at those times. In this last year, ever since Hattie had been teamed up with him, they’d had more opportunities to get to know him and had found that, even cousins of the Kent family displayed the same strength of character that they had observed in the Kents and when she had accepted JJ’s proposal they heartily approved of Hattie’s choice of a life mate. The only reservation they had was the number of times that their daughter had been in danger over the last year.
A room at the back had been set aside for the use of the wedding party for the rehearsal dinner and they all had a pleasant meal.
Jack and Melissa (Mel) Kaplin sat at the table with Lois and Clark as did Hattie and JJ, Jimmy and Lucy Olsen. This was the first time that they had met JJ’s parents. They knew James Olsen, by reputation as a famous photojournalist with the Planet, but this evening they found out that, on the side, he had a computer business, called ‘White Hats On Call’. The company specialized in contracting with corporations to do penetration testing to discover security flaws in their networks.
Among the first to leave were Jon and Jen. It was Jon's turn to do a patrol and he was going to fly Jen home first. They had only been together about a year and a half so her body was not ready for the pendant to infuse her with the superpowers yet.
Shortly after Jon and Jen, Jack and Mel with Jimmy and Lucy left. Jack and Jimmy were discussing contracting White Hats to test his corporate network which had recently suffered an intrusion.
After the festivities the attendees started leaving, as couples.
Sean and Celeste were the next to leave because they were due on duty at the hospital. They were just starting their internships and were beginning their clinical rotations, but they would be off shift in time to change for the ceremony.
Jessica, James Perry, Lucy and Sam had all car pooled so they all left together.
Lois and Clark, Lara and Mike were still talking as Hattie and JJ prepared to exit. Lois said, “Now, remember, you need to be at the house at ten to get dressed. The seamstress dropped the gown off at the house this afternoon. She said that she has never had to rush the fittings like this before. She usually likes to have more time. Your mom will be there with the rest of us. JJ, Clark will meet you at the church at ten-thirty.”
Hattie chuckled and said, “Got it, ‘Momma’ Lois.” She and JJ turned and headed out through the doors.
Stationed outside the restaurant, unknown to those inside were a pair of gunmen. They had a picture of the red haired couple that was their target.
As they exited the café, JJ helped Hattie on with a jacket. It had been somewhat overcast all day and it was the end of March so it was a bit cool.
One of the gunmen nudged the other and said, “There they are. It has to be them. That red hair is distinctive. Let’s go.” They got out of their car and stood across the street from the couple and when they had come abreast the first one shouted, “Kaplin and Olsen!” Then he smeared, “The hottest team in town! Hah! Try some hot lead!” They both opened up with automatic weapons.
Hattie and JJ had both been startled and as soon as JJ realized what was happening he threw himself between the gunmen and Hattie, but he wasn’t fast enough.
Lois and Clark, Lara and Mike heard the shouts in the street and then the gunfire. They had been the only ones left so all four spun into their uniforms and took off through the window. Coming down on the sidewalk they evaluated the scene. Clark did an x-ray of JJ while Lois x-rayed Hattie. As she did, Hattie recovered consciousness long enough to weakly say, “JJ,” before she passed out again.
Looking across the street they saw the two gunmen sprawled out on the sidewalk, obviously unconscious and Kam-El standing over them, staring across the street at the wounded couple. The expression on his face was one of pain and sorrow. He was also angry! Oh, so angry! Angry at the two at his feet for what they had done and angry at himself for not getting there sooner and protecting Hattie and JJ.
Clark sent a thought, /”JJ has only minutes to live. He’s been hit in the liver, spleen, lung, kidney, intestine and there is one bullet lodged very near his heart.”/
Lois sent, /”Almost the same for Hattie. They missed her spleen and heart. What can we do? Take them to the ER?”
/”I don’t think that will help.”/ There was a pause of several seconds, before he continued, /”Pick up Hattie and follow me. We have only one chance.”/
Lois picked up Hattie as she sent, /”Where are we going?”/
As Superman took to the sky, he replied, /”Perpetual Pines Cemetery.”/
Lois followed, but was mystified and sent, /”Why there?”/
/”Gretchen Kelly’s machine. It was sealed up, but never dismantled.”/
Remembering the incident, Lois sent, /”Do you think it will work?”/
Clark was grim as he replied, /”It has to! It’s their only chance.”/
Seeing Ultra Woman and Superman take to the sky, Ultra Woman 2 and Torque followed. When they landed in front of a mausoleum at a cemetery Lara said, “They’re not dead yet, why bring them to a cemetery?”
Lois replied, “This may be their only chance.”
Lara was totally mystified, but trusted her mom and dad to do what they needed to do.
Superman said, “Torque, I need you to open that door. Time is of the essence, so don’t worry about damaging it.”
Torque grabbed the door and ripped it off of its hinges.
As they entered, Clark said, “Shove that casket aside and stand out of the way”
Lois shouted, “Wait!” She nodded in the direction of the light sconce on the wall she said, “Turn that a quarter turn to the right.”
Lara turned the light fixture and the trap door opened.
Descending the stairs they noted a thick layer of dust on everything and there were no footprints so it appeared as though everything was undisturbed. Clark placed his burden on the left hand platform. As he pointed at the various mechanisms he was speaking about he said, “Lara, throw that switch, that’s the power,” once this had been done he said, “now throw that lever. Watch that dial. When the pointer is in the red, stop it. If you don’t it’ll transfer all of my powers.”
Lara followed his directions to the letter. There was an artificial lightening display and Lara watched the needle. When it hit the red she moved the lever and once the lever had been moved back to neutral she noted that the needle had stayed in the red. Clark again picked up JJ and moved him so that Lois could place Hattie there. This time Lara stepped onto the right hand plate. Superman said, “What are you doing?”
“We don’t want to take a chance of draining you too much. Come on, we don’t have all day! Throw that lever.”
Realizing that she was right Clark stepped over to the control and operated it. After another lightning display, as soon as the needle hit the red, he moved the lever back. Again the needle stayed in the red.
Lara tried her x-ray vision and was able to see through Hattie. She checked and didn’t find any bullets. She looked at the floor of the platform that JJ and then Hattie had been on and saw a small scattering of bullets on the floor.
A few seconds later, JJ woke up. Immediately he started patting his body. He saw places where his blood had soaked his clothing. Then he remembered and started looking around as he shouted in an anguished tone, “Hattie!”
In a feeble tone, she replied, “Right here, tiger.”
He jumped up and knelt next to her. He pulled her into his arms and weeping said, “I thought I had lost you.”
She asked, “What did you think you were doing, throwing yourself into the line of fire like that?”
Suddenly realizing what she was saying she looked down at herself and saw that her clothes were a bloody mess. She looked at JJ and saw the same thing. She stared incredulously and in a hushed tone asked, “How???”
She looked up into the face of Lois, Ultra Woman and said, “You guys saved us again, but we were shot! I remember. It hurt so much. And now … it doesn’t hurt anymore. How long were we out?” Looking around and noting the stone walls she said, “This definitely isn’t the ER. What happened?”
Lois asked, “Think you can stand?”
JJ helped her upright.
Lois handed JJ an iron bar that had been lying nearby, part of what looked like a prison cell at the side of the room. She said, “Okay, strong man, bend this.”
In appearances it was an iron bar although it didn’t appear to weigh anything. Either she believed that it was metal and didn’t know the difference, or else this was a trick that they were playing on Hattie to make her think that he was stronger than he really was. He decided to go along with the gag. “Aw, come on Aunt Lois, yeah, I lift weights, but you know I’m not
that strong.”
Lois raised an eyebrow and just said, “Trust me. Try to bend it.”
With a dubious expression he said, “Okay, but don’t be too surprised if I fail.” He prepared to apply maximum effort to the task she had set him. He got a good grip on either end and with a look of concentration and a sudden movement he brought his hands together. He let out a squawk and dropped the bar as if it had bitten him. It was bent in half and it hadn’t even taken that much effort to do it. His eyes were wide and staring at the bar as it clattered to the floor with a very solid clang. He was surprised when he heard that sound. The ease with which he had bent it had convinced him that it was plastic.
Lois picked up another bar. She handed it to Hattie and said, “Your turn.”
Hattie said, “Huh? JJ’s the weight lifter, not me.”
Lois proffered the bar and said, “Here, give it a try.”
Hattie took it. It sure looked solid. She used it to tap the floor and it gave the ring of metal, but it didn’t have any discernible weight. She looked at Lois with a question in her eyes.
Lois said, “Trust me, Hattie girl. Try to bend it.”
Hattie grasped it as she had seen JJ do and brought her hands together bending the bar in half. She challenged, “What is this plastic?”
Lois shook her head and said, “Nope, one inch of solid steel.”
With a mystified expression she asked, “But … how?”
Lois smiled and said, “Welcome to the
superfamily.”
JJ said, “Super, but we aren’t on that side of the family! That’s you guys.”
Lois said, “It looks like you need a little more convincing. Close your eyes and think happy thoughts like Peter Pan and try to float.”
Hattie and JJ both closed their eyes in obvious concentration and slowly both started to smile. As they did they both left the floor and when they were a couple of feet up, Lois said, “Open your eyes, you two.”
When they did, the first thing they saw was each other and their smiles broadened. Obviously the happy thoughts had been about each other. Then they realized that something didn’t look right and they glanced around. Seeing the rest below them they realized they were floating and crashed to the floor.
Hattie was the first to recover and said, “Wow,” and continued in a hushed tone, “super. We’re ... super!” She looked at Lois and asked, “Just like you?”
“Yeah, just like me. You can thank Lara. She was the source.”
“Is this going to make her lose some of her powers?”
Clark said, “No, we were careful. What she gave you will regenerate as soon as she is in sunlight. The nice thing is that, from previous experience, your powers should be permanent and renew just the same way. Resplendent man didn’t lose his powers until they were stripped from him by this machine.”
JJ asked, “Who was the source for me?”
Clark answered, “That would be me.”
JJ shook his head in awe. Superman had just given him some of his life force.
“Why did you guys do this?”
Lois addressed them and as she did they both turned toward her, “You were both dying. You would have been dead, within only a couple of minutes. If Clark,” she nodded in his direction, “hadn’t thought of this machine, we would have lost you.”
Hattie was surprised that even here where it was basically dark she could see the sheen of tears in Lois’ eyes then she realized that it was her super vision that enabled her to see it.
She moved over to Lara and threw her arms around her in a hug and said, “Thanks, cousin.”
Lara returned the hug and said, “The one you really need to thank is pop. It was his idea that saved you.”
Hattie let Lara go and approached Clark. As she reached to hug him she said, “Thanks, Uncle Clark. Thanks for everything. Thanks for saving my life, once again.” Clark could feel his Suit getting wet from her tears of gratitude.
He wrapped his arms around her and said, “I couldn’t allow anything to happen to
our girl or our nephew either,” he said as he glanced at JJ who was hugging Lois. “You and JJ are family, every bit as much as Jon and Lara and nothing will change that now. Oh, speaking of Jon, there's someone I need to speak to." Clark sent a thought, /"Jon, where are you?"/
/"About 30,000 feet."/
/"What are you doing that high?"/
/"I'm about to drop a couple of pieces of garbage in the ocean."/
/"Jon … look, I know that I taught you better than that, Son. We do not act as judge and jury."/
/"This time it's different. This was family, can't you see that? Hattie ... Hattie was like a sister to me. JJ was my cousin and these two vermin ..."/
/"Jon, listen to me! The wedding is still on! Everything is okay. We got to them in time."/
/"Huh? How? I saw them. I was sure they were dead. I x-rayed them. They were each hit with about half a dozen bullets. How could they have survived?"/
/"Take my word for it, Son, they are alive and well and there is a bonus. We aren't going to have to worry about them anymore."/
/"Why are you lying to me? You've never done that before."/
The others were standing around him and could see the play of emotions on his face as he communicated with Jon. /"I'm not lying to you, Son."/ Clark shook his head in denial.
/"The only way we wouldn't have to worry about them anymore would be if they were dead."/
/"No, Jon, there is another way."/
/"Really? You need to convince me quickly, before I throw out this trash."/
/"Jon, Hattie and JJ are standing right here next to me and they are as alive as ever, in fact they are healthier than they have ever been in their lives."/
/"How could that be?"/
/"I knew we had to do something so we took a chance and it worked. Hattie and JJ are now superpowered."/
There was a mental gasp and then, /"Really? How?"/
/"We can explain it later. Right now you need to turn those two over to the MPD so that they can face attempted murder charges."/
/"Right, Pop, I'm on the way."/
/"Good! Hattie and JJ are headed home, but I don't think they'd mind a brief visit. Just keep it short, remember we have a wedding to attend."/
/"Right, Pop. I'll keep it short ... And, thanks."/
/"For saving their lives?"/
/"For that and also for keeping me from doing something I would have regretted for the rest of my life."/
/"Don't mention it, Son. See you at the church."/
Clark summarized for the group, "I just spoke with Jon. He's turning the shooters over to the MPD. I got to him just in time. He was about to do something ... rash."
Lois had a worried look as she asked, "He wasn't taking the law into his own hands, was he?"
"I'm afraid so and actually; I find it hard to blame him. I can't tell you the number of times I almost did when something happened to you. It was a near thing, but he's settled now." Turning to Hattie and JJ he said, "He'll be stopping by, just to reassure himself that you're okay."
"We'll wait up for him."
Lois said, “Hey, I just remembered, we have a wedding to go to tomorrow, and the two of you are indispensible. I think we need to get out of here. Clark, we need to seal this up again.”
“Right you are,” he turned to JJ and Hattie as he continued, “It will take you some time to master your powers. I’d suggest that after your honeymoon we take some time to go to Smallville. That’s where each of the kids learned to control their powers. I think that your boss will see fit to give you some extra vacation, but there will be a string attached.”
Hattie asked, “What would that be?”
“Find the one responsible for the shooting and bring them to justice.”
“Nothing would give me more pleasure.”
Lois said, “Keep in mind, now you have a secret that you need to protect.”
Chagrined, Hattie said, “I hadn’t thought about that. How do we explain this?”
Mike suggested, “How about, since the sniper attempt, you have been wearing bullet proof vests?”
JJ smiled, “Just the thing. Yeah, that will work. In fact, we can start wearing them under our work clothes, just in case they try again.”
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