Hattie and Mr. X - Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 1 – P 10/11
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.”/
/* denotes playback of tape */ Previously
Before they took their first flight however, Martha made each of them their new uniforms.
Because of a fire that Hattie had created while trying to master her heat vision, Hattie decided to call herself ‘Blaze’ and Martha made what looked like flames of fire and put the El Crest over it so that it was surrounded by fire.
Through their training, JJ had shown more patience than Hattie and Jonathan had said, more than once, that he had the patience of a saint and that stuck in JJ’s mind so when it came time to choose a super persona he chose ‘Saint’. Martha accommodated him when she made his suit by putting an El crest on the chest and then, using gold colored spandex, made an ellipse and sewed it on above the crest at about a thirty degree angle so that it looked like a halo worn at a jaunty angle.
When they were ready and in costume they started with some short flights at different heights and speeds. Finally they took off together on an around-the-world flight.
After half an hour, Jonathan was becoming concerned.
After forty-five minutes he was down-right worried.
It had been just over two hours when they landed and Jonathan heaved a relieved sigh. Then he noticed the mud.
They were both flushed with excitement and they were hugging each other.
Jonathan asked, “What happened? You were gone more than two hours.”
“As we were passing Metropolis we saw, Uncle Clark, Aunt Lois and Jon heading south so we joined them. It was a mud slide in Tegucigalpa. We helped rescue about twenty people each about half of them were children. Between us … we saved … about twenty children and their parents. We made a difference!”
Jonathan was smiling as he said, “That’s enough training for one day. Go clean up. Watch a movie or something”
As they headed for the new wing Jonathan joined Martha and told her what had happened.
Martha quickly whipped up a batter and put on a cake to bake. They were going to celebrate. She called the Daily Planet and spoke to Lois.
At 7 PM as they were finishing up on dinner, suddenly in walked Jon and Jen, Lois and Clark, Lara and Mike.
Hattie and JJ were surprised, but happy to see everyone.
Addressing Hattie and JJ, Martha said, “I called them here so that we could celebrate your graduation. Clark, you have anything to say?”
“I sure do! You kids did great today. Thanks to your help we were able to save a lot more people that we could have otherwise. Lois?”
“I’ll echo what Clark said. You guys did a great job today. Because of your help there are a lot of kids that will live a full life that otherwise wouldn’t have. Now, you’re really part of the super family. That was a terrific debut. By the way, I love the costumes. What are your names?”
Hattie said, “I’m ‘Blaze’ and he’s ‘Saint’.”
Lois laughed and said, “I suppose there is a story that goes along with each name, but I’ll wait.” She took Hattie in her arms and gave her a hug.
Martha brought out the cake and they had a celebration.
And now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 10 – Mr. X
Monday, April 2, 2029
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
‘X’ had seen the report of his minions being arrested and charged with attempted murder. He shouted into space, “
Attempted murder!!!!! That means that they failed! What is it with this couple? They seem to lead charmed lives. It had to be those blasted superheroes again! Years ago, it was Superman, Clark Kent and Lois Lane that foiled my plans. Because of them, I lost the program!”
“The gunmen failed and now Kaplin and Olsen are married. They’re away on their honeymoon at some undisclosed location so there’s no way to get them now. If they know too much they can cause problems when they get back. They might even let Lane and Kent know what they found out while they are away. We must take precautions.”
The female voice challenged, “What can you do? You can’t leave this hideout. You depend on minions to do your dirty work.”
“I may have time to plan while they are on their honeymoon.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Tuesday, April 3, 2029
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The light flicked on over the desk in the darkened room. The gloved hands appeared and spread out the latest copy of the Daily Planet.
The headline of Tuesday’s Planet read:
“STRANGE ROBBERIES SOLVED – NEW DRUG RESPONSIBLE” BY Kaplin and Olsen
A new drug synthesized at MiraLabs is responsible for the rash of odd robberies. Two chemists have been arrested and bound over for trial. Story continues page A2”“Aaaarrrrrggggggggg! I’ve lost, I’ve lost,
I’ve lost! James and Simmons were working on the delta form and they were not finished. Now they will never finish! My plan for world dominion is ruined … ruined, I say!!”
The female voice challenged, “So, you’re going to just give up on your plan? Are they the only ones that can do this job? I thought that no one was indispensable.”
“You may be right. Set up a search; look for anyone working on drugs like these. Search all trade publications. I don’t care what country. Just find them.”
“I’m not programmed to read oriental characters or Arabic.”
“So search everything else and look for translations of those articles.”
“Searching.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Monday, April 9, 2029
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Hattie and JJ returned on Monday morning. As soon as they were in the bullpen Lois called them to the office. “Welcome back, you two. Are you ready to get to work?”
Hattie reached up and adjusted her new glasses on her nose, smiled and said, “Another week with Grammy and Grandpa would have been fun, but not necessary.”
Lois interrupted, “Grammy and Grandpa, huh? One would think you like the Kents.”
Hattie looked at JJ and seeing his nod answered, “Like them? We love them. They are like another set of grandparents. Are we ready to get back to work? We are ready to go after the creep that’s behind all of this. We may have a lead. We are after ‘X’, but under the influence of the drug, Dr. James gave away a name. It seems to be unrelated, but you never can tell. Here, let me play the tape.”
/*Hattie: “Are you the inventor of Zombie?”
Dr. James: “Yes.”
Hattie: “Who was involved in the creation of the Zombie formula?”
Dr. James: “Myself and Dr. Simmons.”
Hattie: “Who funded the project?”
Dr. James: “It was funded through MiraLabs.”
Hattie: “Who is behind MiraLabs?”
Dr. James: “It recently changed hands. The new owner chooses to be called ‘X’.”
Hattie: “Is that supposed to keep his name a secret?”
Dr. James: “Perhaps, but I gather that it is part of his name.”
Hattie: “What is that name?”
Dr. James: “I’m not sure. I heard the name Jackson, but I don’t know how ‘X’ could be part of that name.”
Hattie: “Did this ‘X’ order you to use Zombie on innocent people and use them to commit robberies?”
Dr. James: “Yes.”
Hattie: “Why did you choose the individuals that you drugged?”
Dr. James: “We left that up to Colbert.”
Hattie: “Who is Colbert?”
Dr. James: “He works at ‘Stokes’. He is a bartender.”
Hattie: “But, why were these particular individuals chosen?”
Dr. James: “It was a random selection.”
Hattie: “Why did you consent to go along with this criminal activity?”
Dr. James: “I had large gambling debts. ‘X’ picked up my paper and threatened me. Then he promised large payments if the drug worked as he wanted.”*/Hattie turned off the recorder at this point.
Lois and Clark were both mulling the name over for a time. Lois asked, “Clark, where have we heard that name before?”
“How do we get ‘X’ out of Jackson?”
Lois snapped her fingers and said, “Wait a minute, what if it isn’t spelled J a c k s o n? What if it just sounds like that. Remember, years ago – Jackson spelled J a x o n, as in Jaxon Xavier?”
Clark was stunned at the thought, “Yeah, but, didn’t he die?”
“No, he didn’t. He was still breathing on his own, remember? I think they put him into a care facility so that they could feed him through a tube. What if he recovered?”
“But, his higher brain functions were trapped in the internet!”
“What if somehow he was able to transfer his mind back into his body?”
“He was trying for world dominion by brainwashing world leaders. He was going to lure them into trying his VR world and while they were in there brainwash them with a program developed by LexCorp. He lost the program when we escaped from his VR world and took his escape window with us. From the sounds of it, this drug would do the same thing. We need to check up on him."
Hattie was shocked. She said, "You know who might be behind this? Just who is this Jaxon Xavier, anyhow?"
Clark said, "JJ and I can start calling around to see if we can locate where he was taken and if he is still there while you fill Hattie in. Come on JJ, we have a bunch of calls to make."
While Clark and JJ went to the conference room to first identify the possible facilities prior to starting the calls, Lois told Hattie the story.
"It was years ago, before we were married. Perry sent us to check out a new amusement center which was based on Virtual Reality."
"Oh, you mean like a FPS where you are, like, really in there? JJ and I play them sometimes. When we team up we usually win."
"Something like that, but on steroids. When you put on these hoods and gloves you were like, really in this Virtual world. I really felt it when we kissed. When we arrived, it apparently threw a monkey wrench into his plans, you see, I was supposed to be alone. Anyhow, the point was that it was all a setup. Jaxon Xavier Luthor was the illegitimate son of Lex Luthor. A young son that everyone thought had died in a car crash with his mother. He was trying to get into the protected archives of the computer system of what used to be LexCorp ..."
Hattie interrupted, "That fits! MiraLabs used to be LexLabs and whoever is behind this has worked to buy a controlling interest. "
"Right! The thing is, he trapped me in the virtual world and kicked Clark out. He didn't know it, but we knew we were still in the virtual world because Clark didn't have his powers and there was another Superman that acted, kinda, aloof, if you know what I mean. He thought that we were still fooled. Apparently he was attracted to me and he created this monstrous persona of a man with a big 'X' tattooed on his chest. After Clark was kicked out, he confronted Jaxon and Jaxon threatened to trap me in the matrix forever. That's when Superman went for help. He went to the only person he could think of to help, JJ's dad. He quickly built a powerful computer and tied into the VR complex's matrix and they entered the virtual world. While they were working on getting in Jaxon changed his VR persona to become Clark. He tricked me into giving him three names that Luthor wanted to use for his children. Those were three of the four words in the passcode to unlock the protected archive where the mind control software was stored. Anyhow that was when Superman and Jimmy showed up. They figured out what he used as his escape window and we got out. He was still hooked in and when he lost, he crashed the system. His higher brain functions were trapped in the matrix and I guess eventually, the internet.
Hattie was fascinated with the story and when Lois paused she asked, "If his higher functions were trapped, how could he possibly still be alive?"
"That's exactly what we have to figure out. Let's see how the boys are doing."
Exiting the office, Lois headed for the conference room while Hattie headed for JJ's desk. As she approached he shouted, "Got it!"
Clark and Lois both came out of the conference room and approached JJ's desk. Once they were there he said, "Would you believe that there is still a facility in this city that carries the name 'Luthor'? Well, there is. Luthor Perpetual Care Center. It is a nursing home. It appears that until about a year and a half ago, Jaxon was an inmate. One day, he suddenly just, woke up."
Lois said, “Let’s go! We have to go there and find out what happened.”
They all went down and piled into Lois’ car and drove to the Luthor Perpetual Care Center. After they entered they inquired about who was present when Jaxon Xavier woke up. Records were checked and the individual was called to the lobby.
Lois read her name tag and was surprised to see that she didn’t have R.N. after her name. Instead she had R.E.E.G.T. It read, Donna King, R.E.E.G.T.
Lois addressed her, "Ms. King, I’m curious, you’re not an RN?”
She smiled and said, “Yeah, I’m asked that a lot. No, I’m not a nurse. There are many things that are done here other than nursing duties. There are certain individuals who, because of their condition require different diagnostics to be run. My specialty is brain waves. I am a Registered Electroencephalography Technologist. I use an EEG machine to measure the activity in the brain."
Lois said, “That’s very interesting. We are here to inquire about what happened to a patient of yours. We were told that you were with him when he woke up. His name was Jaxon Xavier.”
“Oh, wow, yeah. I have good reason to remember that day. Actually, there are a couple. First, it was the first day I had my new machine.”
Hattie asked, “New machine?”
“Yeah, would you like to see it?”
Clark said, “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”
“Right this way.” She led the way down a couple of hallways and into a room with a bed next to a wire harness in the wall. Above the bed was a light and in the wall near the wire harness was a window.
She led them into an adjoining room which put them behind the window. Against the wall was a device with various wire leads that went to a wire harness in the wall. Proudly she said, “This is it, the latest thing in the field, detects even the slightest activity.” She pointed through the window. “The patient lies on the bed and I apply the electrodes. Depending on the type of test and how sensitive it needs to be we could use the mesh,” she picked up what looked like a rubber band skull cap with electrical connections and held it up for display, “sometimes I have to actually glue the electrodes to the scalp. In extreme cases, there are electrodes that are inserted into the nasal cavity and into the nasal sinus.”
Hattie made a face and said, “Sounds painful.”
She replied, “Believe it or not, there is little to no pain involved.”
JJ said, “That’s very interesting, but what about the day that Xavier woke up?”
“Oh, yes, well, as I said that day was memorable for a couple of reasons.” She reached out and lovingly patted her machine and said, “I had just gotten this baby. He was my first patient on it. I had been directed not to use the mesh so I had glued all of the electrodes on and had inserted the nasal-pharyngeal leads. I returned here and turned on the machine. A few seconds later, he woke up. It was quite a surprise, I can tell you. After all of these years to suddenly have him wake up.”
“What did he do when he woke up?”
She thought for a few seconds as she searched her memory, “He coughed a couple of times. He … he reached up and removed the nasal-pharyngeal leads and looked at them with a curious attitude. And then asked, ‘Where am I?’.”
“I immediately hit the panic button to summon help. I had never needed that before. The nursing staff was surprised to get a call from EEG. They almost ignored it thinking I had hit it by accident. When they finally arrived, they were shocked to see him awake. I removed my electrodes and they wheeled him out. I never saw him again.”
Lois muttered, “That makes no sense. Why would that time be any different than any other?”
Hattie asked, “You said that he was your first patient on this machine. What is different about this machine from the one you had before?”
“Well, the doctor’s were getting tired of looking at paper tracings and going through what seemed like miles and miles of paper for a single record. They wanted the tracing sent directly to their workstations, electronically, so we got this baby. It is networked so that the doctors can connect directly to it and see the tracing in real time if they want to.”
JJ almost shouted, “That’s it! Networked!” He challenged, “The doctor’s computers are on the internet, aren’t they?”
“Of course!” She looked around to make sure there was no one around, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve entered one of their offices and found them surfing the porn sites. Naturally they excuse it by saying that they are studying anatomy. Yeah, right. Give me a major break.”
JJ said, “There’s the link! His higher functions were trapped in the net. The EEG device is linked to the doctor’s computer which in turn is on the net. He found a way to return to his body.”
Hattie asked, “What happened to him then?”
“Well, like I said, I never saw him again. There were some rumors that he disappeared, but if he did, he had to have help. After so many years of inactivity his muscles were mostly atrophied. He also squinted a lot. After years of having his eyes closed they were extremely sensitive to light.”
Clark said, “Thanks, Ms. King, you’ve been very helpful. Let’s go.”
The four of them headed for Lois’ car to return to the Planet. When they were in the car, Clark said, “Okay, now we have a direction to travel. We have to start looking for where he is getting his money. It is possible that while he was in the matrix he diverted money to accounts or perhaps got account numbers so that he could access some of Luthor’s hidden Swiss accounts. We have to find companies that specialize in the kind of equipment he would need for his continued support. She said that his eyes were sensitive to the light, so he is either in a building with the windows blocked or else underground. My bet would be underground. Lois, you remember Lex’s penchant for going underground.”
“Do I ever!”
Hattie asked, “Why does it always have to be underground? I almost got blown up, underground.”
JJ said, “Look at it this way, at least if you fall, you aren’t falling twenty stories or more.”
“Yeah, like that hasn’t happened before.”
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