The Matchmaker Files - An Unusual Proposal
Rated PG-13
G -
Story - TOC* emphasis*
<thoughts>
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Previously
Releasing her arms from around his neck she leaned back so that she was floating on the surface with her face and bare breasts in the air although the rest of her body was below the surface. She sighed and said, "This is the life. Time alone with my husband and not a care in the world. No more Trask."
Looking out through the window she said, "Just look at that view! I know it isn't like when you take me flying, but …"
Derailing her train of thought a light suddenly went on in an office across from them. The lights were in the top floor offices in the building directly across the way. While she watched, three men entered the reception area and then moved through to the inner office. Lois noted that one of the men was tall and slim, wearing a business suit. In startled recognition, Lois asked, "Isn't that Congressman Ian Harrington?"
Her question drew Clark's attention to the office across the way and he zoomed in with his telescopic vision. He said, "I think you're right. What's he doing in that office?"
Looking at the second man she decided that she didn't recognize him, but she noted that he was short and stocky, wearing black slacks and a black turtleneck. The third man was huge, wearing muscle pants, a t-shirt and Clark could see, with his x-ray vision that he had a stiletto hanging handle down in a shoulder holster.
Lois was looking on in rapt attention and realized just what Clark was doing and felt that she needed to level the playing field, somewhat. Without looking away she asked, "Clark, could you get my bag? I have binoculars and a camera in it."
Moving so fast that he barely made a ripple, he retrieved her bag for her. She grabbed her binoculars and camera. First she looked at what was unfolding with the binoculars and then said, “Keep an eye on them while I take some pictures.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Neither of them got much sleep that night. Now that the fear of intimacy had been broken, Lois was virtually insatiable. They had taken some brief naps, in between sexual encounters. Early in the morning, Lois had been straddling his hips once more and as she was climbing off, she said, “I think I want to go for a flight.”
“Oh, where do you want to go?”
Naked, she was kneeling on the bed next to him as she said, “I think I want to go to Brazzaville.”
He was incredulous as he questioned, “Brazzaville? Why there?”
With an arch look, Lois said, “I think it’s time that Suzanne and Collette learned that Coquinos was off the market.”
“What about Claude?”
She smiled and replied, “I heard through the grapevine that Derek fired Claude. Suzanne and Collette both filed harassment charges against him.”
“Do I sense a setup there?”
“Well, I did warn them about him and told them what he had done to me. They are my girlfriends, after all.”
“What happened to not leaving the country?”
“Well, since we will be going by Superman express we don’t have to go through customs so even though I’ll carry my passport there won’t be any stamp. Who’s to know? As far as the Planet knows we’re here on our honeymoon and don’t want to be disturbed. When we show Perry what we got on Harrington, he won’t ask any more questions. He might even send us back here to use it as a crow’s nest for the investigation. He’ll never ask where we were.”
“Okay, Brazzaville it is. Let’s get dressed.”
Startled, Lois blurted out, “Now?”
With a smile he replied, “You forgot about the difference in time zones. If we leave now we’ll get there in the afternoon, local time.”
“Oh, that’s right! I forgot.” She bounced off the bed and went to the cabinet where her clothes were stored and pulled out an outfit to wear. As she did, she looked critically at what she had and holding it up said, “You know, I think I need to do one of two things, I either need to hem these things, or else buy a new wardrobe.” She looked down at her naked self and said, “You have convinced me that I don’t have anything to hide. That’s what I’ve been doing all of these years. After what happened, I had a poor self-image. You’ve cured me of that and I think you’d like to see my legs, even when we aren’t in bed.”
With a thoughtful expression, Clark said, “There’s this little boutique in Brazzaville that the twins told me about. It’s where they buy all of their clothes. If we leave now, maybe you and the twins could go shopping.”
Throwing herself into his arms, Lois was weeping as she blubbered, “You’d do that for me? You’re so sweet.” While she dressed, he spun into some clothes with his uniform underneath.
Once they were both changed they headed out. Once they had exited the building, they ducked into an alleyway. A few seconds later a colorful streak split the air and headed south-east.
And now
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Chapter 23 - Epilogue
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%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120
Local designation - Canon Universe also called Prime
1999 Sidereal
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At 348 Hyperion Ave., after Herb stepped through his portal and disappeared, Lois tuned to Clark and complained, "My, that was rude. He left us hanging. It would have been nice if he would have finished the story. We don't know how they made out. We don't know if they had children. We don't know if he had to face Nightfall, nothing!"
Clark chuckled and quipped, "Well, at least he told us that they wouldn't have to deal with Luthor the way we did."
Lois was very subdued as she replied, "Yeah, it still bothers me that I didn't see him for what he really was and fell for his line. The only good thing that came out of that was the fact that I realized, before it was too late, that I really didn't love him. That I was actually in love with my bespectacled partner. I realized that while I was getting dressed and finally managed to admit it to myself. That gave me the courage to say 'no' at the altar, just before Perry and the police burst in."
Clark was thoughtful as he mused, "I wonder if the other Clark found his Lois and had that problem to deal with, hopefully not." He paused for a second in thought before, with an impish grin, he said, "I think we can figure out how they made out. We do it every day"
Lois slapped his arm, playfully and replied, "Not that way! You know what I mean. I meant did they have a happy marriage like ours?"
"Yeah, I wish Herb had dropped that little piece of information."
Lois's brain was constantly working and she commented, thoughtfully, "I just had a thought. You know it would be really convenient if we both spoke a foreign language the way they can. They are both fluent in French. They could communicate in a crowd and unless they were in a French speaking country, they could do it secretly. Maybe I should learn French. What do you think?"
"I could teach you. How about we start now. Je t'aime."
Lois puzzled over this for a second and then asked, "Okay, what does that mean?"
"I love you."
"I know you do, but what does that French term mean?"
"I just told you. I love you."
Frustration in her tone, Lois said, "I know you love me. I do love hearing you say that to me, but what does, 'Je t'aime' mean?"
Smiling he replied, "I think you could be onto something. Communicating in a foreign language could have its advantages. I was telling you what Je t'aime means. It means, ‘I love you’, in French."
Smiling, Lois stepped into his arms and started a kiss. When they broke the kiss, she said, "Je t'aime. They do say that French is the language of love. I think I’m going to like learning from you. I am glad that it finally worked out for them."
After she said that, Clark pulled her into a closer hug and said, "So am I. It didn't look very promising at first. Actually, at first it looked very promising. It was only when the relationship started to develop that she got the cold feet." Clark paused for a few seconds before he said, "At least they didn't have to cope with Luthor.” He thought for a second before he continued, “Honey, you know that if Herb had told us some of those things, he would have been giving us a peek at our own future and you know what he says."
"Yeah, 'Too much information, too soon is not good.'" Her tone became even more frustrated as she said, "I really hate it when he does that, even when he doesn't do it outright. I wonder if we will ever meet this couple the way we met the other Clark, you know, the one from that first alternate universe. The one that needed to find his Lois."
"I don't know, but with Herb on the case, you never can tell. He may find a situation in one of the universes that needs more than one superhero and he could come asking me to help. Actually, with all of the universe hopping he does, he could recruit a small army of superheros if the need was there."
A/N - They weren’t to know it just then, but that very circumstance would bring them all together in the future
Clark and Lois - When Worlds and Universes Collide -- Matchmaker Chronicle Volume 8"You're not going anywhere without me, buster, especially if there would be other Lois Lanes there. And Lana, I saw how she was with the other Clark. And Zara too, I had enough of that when you went away with Zara. If it hadn't been for Ching sneaking me aboard as one of your concubines, I might never have seen you again."
"It’s a deal, if I go, you go. And speaking of going, I think we have a vacation to go on. We need to get started. We are already packed, so, next stop, Smallville."
He picked up the luggage in one hand, Lois leaped into his arms and they took off on their much deserved, needed and anticipated vacation.
A/n - Before they got to their island they needed to break up a terrorist plot, but there was no way for them to know that, yet.
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%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120
Local designation - Canon Universe also called Prime
Distant future
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Herb was whistling a merry tune as he walked down the hall to his office. His door opened at his approach and stepping inside he said, "Lights."
Fixtures made to resemble gas lamps from the early twentieth century sprang to life flooding the space with a warm glow. As the door closed behind him, he removed his hat and coat and hung them on the coat tree which stood just inside the room.
As he started walking to his desk he reached up and undid his collar button and after removing it loosened his shirt collar. Changing direction he moved to the sideboard and prepared a cup of tea which he carried to the desk. He took a sip of tea and then placed the cup on his desk before he sat in his chair. As he sat the chair squeaked in protest and Herb smiled at the familiar sound.
Sitting back he looked up and said, "Computer?"
He heard back, "Working. File, a letter or a journal entry?"
"Personal log."
"Entry title?"
"Oh, call it ‘Notes on visit to Lois and Clark in Prime'."
"File started."
"I have just had a most delightful visit with the Lois and Clark of Prime. They were the perfect audience for me when I related the story of Canadian Lois. They enjoyed the tale immensely however I had to cut it short. I delayed them in their departure for a vacation as it was. I didn't want to delay them any longer than I did for two reasons. First, they would be disrupting a terrorist plot to bomb a government building, preventing the loss of a significant number of lives and second, that was the trip which resulted in Lois's first pregnancy." (See Borrowed Time - Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 2)
"If I had told them the next part of the story it could have caused them to ask some rather embarrassing questions."
"I still question the board's decision, but I have to bow to their wishes. They have decided to withhold the knowledge of the pendant from Lois until 2010 and as they are her descendants, who am I to question them. I can understand it even if I do not agree with it. The decision to wait was based upon the creation of Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 wherein Lois's life was not extended by the exposure to the Kryptonian aura. In this way she did not have to suffer the anxiety of the ‘what if?' that is normal in these circumstances."
"After this new Lois and Clark had dated and she realized that he really was committed to the marriage she lost her fears and it truly became a marriage and a partnership."
"As soon as I had determined their status I had returned to their universe and …"
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%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 223 x Gamma 104 x Tau 155
Local designation - Alternate Universe Canadian 1
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
After a long day at work, Lois and Clark were at home. They had just wrapped up an adventure wherein Superman had been accused of affecting the weather, creating summertime like heat during the early winter. Lois and Clark were convinced that he was not the cause, because he had gone undercover, performing rescues from the shadows the way he had on his world travels, before creating Superman. In those instances the heat had not increased so as a team they investigated. Since Superman was not seen and apparently had left Metropolis the weather had moderated, somewhat. With the help of Jimmy Olsen they had identified the source of the problem as the LexCorp Nuclear Reactor which was nearing completion. It was discovered that the aquifer that ran beneath the city was being heated by effluents from the reactor and that was heating up the city. Some close scrutiny was applied to Luthor as the author of the calamity after Superman prevented the reactor from coming on-line and creating an ecological disaster.
Temperatures had dropped precipitously when the reactor had been shut down and the sharp temperature change had brought about a change in the weather. Clouds had rapidly formed and first rain and then snow had started to fall. As they were entering the door of the apartment, Lois was shivering because earlier in the day it had been so warm that she had dressed for warm temperatures. Clark stopped her just inside the door and said, “Hold still.” When she stopped moving she could feel a gentle heat permeate her body. It felt like she was standing next to an old fashioned radiator. Her shivers quickly disappeared and she apparently forgot all about the cold because she was saying, “It looks to me like someone, no not someone, Luthor, was the one behind the heat. I think we need to start looking into him and his businesses. We also need to look into that arms shipment. I haven’t been able to reconcile that in my mind. It was about a year ago and there should have been more shipments in that time. I think we need to go back to my notes and start digging. I got the bill of lading and it had the company name on it. It’s a start.”
“Yeah, you might get that Pulitzer yet.”
She sidled up to him and putting her arms around his neck, said, “
We might get a Pulitzer. We are a team now, don’t forget.” She kissed him to confirm her point.
“What do you want to do now,“ he asked.
“Oh, I don’t know. How about a movie?”
“A movie sounds good, how about
‘Braveheart’?”
“Oh, yes. I love that movie!” She settled on the sofa as he got the tape out and put it into the player.
They were on the couch cuddling. Lois's low cut blouse displayed quite a bit of cleavage and the upper slopes of her breasts, her right leg was hooked over his and the slit in her skirt revealed a slender, shapely leg, almost all the way to her hip. They were sort of watching the movie, in between kissing sessions, when there was a knock on the door. Clark hit the pause button, untangled himself from her and standing said, "I'll see who it is." He leaned in for a kiss and said, “Don’t go anywhere.”
Answering the door he found a dapper little man on the stoop with snow collecting on his shoulders and Derby hat. "Can I help you?"
"Ah, yes, Mr. Kent. Yes, you can. May I come in? It is rather cold out here."
Clark x-rayed him and seeing only a watch on a chain, a pen and pencil set in his breast pocket, what appeared to be a jewelry box and a small electronic device in his pants pocket he said, "Yes, you may."
Herb stepped in and seeing Lois standing next to the couch, straightening her skirt and blouse, said, "Ah, good evening, my dear. I'm pleased to see you." He indicated the living room and turning to Clark asked, "May I?"
Clark nodded and said, "You seem to know us, but … who are you?"
When he and Clark had descended to the floor of the living room, Herb turned to Lois and said, "Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Herbert George Wells."
Lois had a thoughtful expression as she said, "I've heard that name somewhere before."
Herb replied, "Ah, well, I am something of an author. You may have read one or two of my books."
Clark was curious, "What titles?"
With a slight cough to cover his embarrassment, Herb replied, "The uh,
’The Time Machine’, ‘War of the Worlds’, ‘To the Moon and Back’, to name a few."
Lois was startled and blurted out, "
The Time Machine? That was written by H. G. Wells. Wait a minute; you said your name was Herbert George Wells. Are you saying that you are H. G. Wells?"
"Indubitably."
Clark sputtered out, "But … but that's … that's impossible! H. G. Wells is dead."
"To quote a friend of mine, Sam Clemens, ‘The rumors of my death are greatly exaggerated.' " He gave a small chuckle at the humor before he continued, "Yes, as a matter of fact, I am dead, just not as yet."
Clark was confused, "Huh?"
"Let me put it this way, I am dead, dead and buried, oh, about fifty years ago, but because of the vagaries of time travel that hasn't happened as yet. You see, not only did I write about time travel, I do travel in time."
Lois and Clark both looked at him like he had lost his mind. Thinking that he might need to assure Lois’s safety, in a subtle move, Clark placed himself between Lois and the visitor. After a few seconds and yet another close appraisal, Clark invited Herb to have a seat. Herb sat in an easy chair across the coffee table from them as they sat side by side in the sofa.
After they were all seated, Herb continued, "I can see that you will need some convincing, not only that I am not insane, but that I am who I purport to be. Let me see, how to convince you. Perhaps I should tell you something of your past. Something that a casual researcher would not know."
Lois and Clark feeling on safe ground said, "Okay, tell us something only we would know."
"Right, yes, okay. How about this, you Mr. Clark Kent have a secret. The best kept secret in the world."
Clark and Lois both started to become apprehensive.
Herb continued, "There is something that aside from you and your immediate family I know and that is the fact that, how do you put it, ah, yes, ‘You are not from around here.' By around here, you are actually not speaking of a city; you are in fact speaking of the Earth."
Clark and Lois's first instinct was to deny, but before they had the chance, Herb continued, "As I said, I am a time traveler. I have been to the future, your future and I can assure you that you have a long and prosperous life. Both you and Lois, together will have many adventures."
"I'm not sure about this. What exactly are you accusing me of?"
"Oh, my dear Clark, I'm not accusing you of anything, I am stating that you are in very fact, Superman. You came here from the Planet Krypton in a small spaceship. The Kent's found you in Schuster's field, removed you from the ship, adopted you and raised you as their only son." Herb mused for a few seconds before he continued, "Your powers started to develop when you were approximately ten years old -"
Clark cut him off, "Okay, you've convinced me that you know who and what I am, but … time travel?"
Herb smiled and said, "I do have a lot to tell you." Looking back and forth between Lois and Clark, he continued, "Yours is a special destiny, but I have begun to live by a motto of sorts. It goes like this, ‘Too much information, too soon, is not good' so you will have to bear with me if it seems like I am not giving you all of the information which you desire. Suffice it to say that you have a special destiny here in this universe."
Lois interrupted, "Universe? Why do you call it that?"
"Ah, the famous Lois Lane inquisitiveness. It manifests itself in every universe I have visited. Yes, I said universe. Let me ask you, have you read about alternate realities, or dimensions?"
Clark replied, "I've read about such in science fiction. It sounded … unbelievable."
"Oh, trust me, it is believable. You see, I am from what you could call an alternate dimension. There are many alternate dimensions, or as we have chosen to call them, alternate universes. In almost all of them there is a Clark Kent and a Lois Lane. I have interacted with many of them in my travels. It is my mission, as they say, to facilitate their union as a couple in each universe, if at all possible. I guess that's a little hard to accept, but true, nonetheless. I have been to your past. While there I witnessed you, Lois, as you waited for the ship to dock in Point Noir. In one universe, I took that Clark to Brazzaville so that he could meet his Lois. It was there at the docks that he revealed himself to her. In other universes that had been a death trap. In some I had to step in and summon the authorities to intervene. In your case it was still a trap, a very subtle one, but the outcome could have been the same."
Lois was shocked, "Trap? I wasn't trapped, least of all in a death trap. The ship never docked. It was lost at sea in a storm."
"Yes, that was the story you were told. Do you recall any storm coming ashore while you were there?"
"No, but that doesn't mean anything. It could have come ashore farther up or down the coast."
"In point of fact there was no storm. The ship stood off the coast for three days before coming in to dock. The reason for that was specifically so that you would not have the story. The shipper was warned to delay the delivery just as you were given the tip about the shipment and by the same person, I might add. The person that made those calls is named, Tempus."
Lois was stunned and blurted out, "But why? What was this trap?"
"The tip you received was simply to get you to travel out of the country and violate your agreement with the INS. That was the trap. Tempus’s intent was that you should violate your agreement with the INS and be deported so that you couldn't meet Clark. However, he didn't count on the inefficiency of the bureaucracy involved, nor did he count on your resourcefulness."
In a surprised tone, Lois blurted out, "He was trying to keep Clark and me apart? That trip actually brought us together. If I hadn’t gone on that rip I wouldn’t have met the twins. They wouldn’t have told me about Coquinos and the gecko story. I wouldn’t have overheard Perry reading it and recognize it and helped Clark get the job."
"Precisely my point. Those were the unforeseen consequences of Tempus’s actions. He was trying to keep you apart and only succeeded in bringing you together, sooner.”
Lois and Clark both looked abashed at this.
“Yes, you see, you and Clark are, as I said, a very special couple. In the future there will be a utopian society and it will be founded by you and your descendants. Imagine a society based on the foundational principles of Superman. I am sorry to say that the individual that did this is a citizen from that utopia. One who finds that society … tedious? He has attempted to disrupt the course of history in many universes in an attempt to destroy that utopia. Yours is just the latest we have found. The reason I did not interfere in your case as I have done in others was the fact that the trap was not so apparent."
"But what could you have done?"
"Oh, there are a number of things I could have done. I could have intercepted you as soon as you stepped off the plane and taken you back to the minute after you boarded the plane so that it would appear as though you had never left. I could have told you the true story right after you received the call from Tempus and told you about the trap, preventing your departure, but his trap was far too subtle and I didn't catch on until it was far too late and I couldn't risk the creation of yet another universe."
"How would that have happened?"
"I'm afraid I am getting into much more detail that I had planned. It is sufficient that you are now married and you have foiled Tempus's plan." Reaching into a pocket, Herb pulled out a velvet covered box. As he held it he had a thoughtful expression. Finally making up his mind, he offered the box to Lois as he said, "Please accept this as a wedding gift."
Lois took the box and after looking at Clark for permission and receiving his nod, opened it. When she did, she gasped out, "Oooooo, it's beautiful!"
In the box was a silver necklace with a pendant in the shape of Superman's crest. It had blue star sapphires imbedded in the surface.
She said, "I cannot accept this. It … it's just too much."
Herb held up a hand and said, "Please allow me to explain. That is a very special pendant. Most of the Lois Lanes are now wearing them as are the spouses of her married children." He thought for a second before he continued, "While you were in Smallville you became aware of a glowing green crystalline rock. You never named it, but in other universes it was dubbed 'Kryptonite.' The green variety can negate your powers and possibly even kill you, but there are other forms of Kryptonite. Contained within that pendant are two very special forms of Kryptonite."
At that word, Clark jumped back.
Herb, quickly said, "They will not affect you, Clark. These are forms that only affect Earth human spouses of Kryptonian humans. Lois, you should wear or at least carry that pendant on your person at all times."
"Why?"
"As I said, within the matrix of this pendant are two special forms of Kryptonite, a red and also a very rare blue star sapphire Kryptonite. There will come a time, in the near future when you will thank me for giving you this gift. It will protect both of you when Clark is attacked with a laser."
Clark smirked, "A laser can't hurt me." As he was speaking, Lois donned the pendant and when she did it came to rest deep in her cleavage.
Herb countered, "This one can. The rod used to focus the laser beam will be made from a form of red Kryptonite. This pendant will protect both of you and prevent any harm befalling you. I cannot tell you any more than that and in fact I may be telling you too much already."
"When will this attack occur?"
"I'm sorry. I must resort to my motto, ‘Too much information, too soon is not good.' Suffice it to say that it will be in the not too distant future and you will know when it happens. Because of this pendant, your attacker may be surprised at the outcome of the attack."
Hesitantly, Lois asked, "You say there are other couples … like … us. How many?"
Herb chuckled and replied, "You would be surprised at how many there are and there are more being created all of the time. It is a cosmic phenomenon."
"Are they all … together … like us? You know … married?"
"I am happy to say that in almost all cases they are and happily. I think I need to tell you about yourselves."
Mystified, Lois asked, "Tell us about … us?"
"Yes, my dear, about you. You are a very special couple." Turning to Clark he asked, "Have you ever wondered just why you were so attracted to Lois as soon as you met her?"
"Well, yeah. It had never happened before. In the past, I did have a relationship with Lana, but it was nothing like this. With Lois as soon as I saw her, I fell in love with her. It was the classic love at first sight."
As the discussion had progressed, Lois and Clark had begun to relax. Lois had leaned back into him and the crossing her right leg over her left displayed her leg.
Looking up at Clark, Lois added, "I have to admit that I was attracted to Clark the very first minute. I was afraid of relationships so I suppressed it. It was hard because I was so attracted to him. I was both happy and afraid when Perry teamed us up. I was so happy that I sent a note to my girlfriends in Brazzaville to let them know, but I was so scared that I tried, at least initially, to keep him at arm's length and assume the dominant role in the partnership."
"Yeah, she let me know in no uncertain terms that she was the boss, the top banana. That didn’t last too long though. We actually started to get rather close. I was disappointed when she shied away."
"That attraction is what I need to explain. There are certain individuals that are simply meant to be together. They are what I call soul-mates. I have made the acquaintance of a number of Lois and Clark couples in the various universes and it is invariably the same. In one case, I used a device called a soul-tracker to go back into their past lives and we found that in each life, they were mated. In those worlds where they are mated eventually a utopian society develops based upon the example that Superman and the Superman family present."
"Then we
will have children! Will they be superbabies?"
With a chuckle at Lois's eagerness, Herb said, "Yes, the Kryptonian genes are dominant. You will have superbabies."
Lois was practically bouncing in her seat as she asked, "How many?" Lois actually surprised herself with this. Because of what had happened to her family after her father's actions, Lois had never wanted to get married and if she did she wouldn't want to risk doing to her children what her parents had done to her and Lucy so she had decided long ago that she would never have children. Now that she was married to Clark and realizing his commitment to the marriage she had undergone a total shift in her attitude. Now, more than anything, she wanted to share her body with her husband and have his babies. Babies that were from her body and with their shared DNA.
Herb smiled and said, "I think it is best if I don't tell you everything. Let's leave some things to be surprises, shall we?"
Lois thought about it and then started to get a serious look as she thought out loud, "How will I be able to cope with a superbaby?"
Herb calmed her fears when he replied, "At first they will be just like any other child. Like Clark, they will not start to develop their powers until their teen years. By then, I don't think you will have any problems."
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Herb spent a pleasant evening with them, gathering information from them and giving some in return before he left.
Pulling a small device from his pocket, he started entering coordinates. As he did, he said, "Well, I must be toddling along. If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to visit, occasionally, just to see how you are getting along. If you wouldn't mind."
With her hand over her pendant, feeling it with the palm of her hand, Lois spoke up, "That would be fine. We'd like to see you again. Maybe you can tell us about some of the adventures that other Supermen have had."
Herb hesitated and said, "One last thing before I go. In the not too distant future the Earth will be threatened by a giant asteroid. A word of advice, don't try to destroy it by flying directly into it. Be prepared. Have a space suit of some sort ready. When the time comes, push it out of its orbit. If you crash into it there will be dire consequences both for you and the Earth. In other universes Superman has crashed into it in an attempt to destroy it and he was injured. He had amnesia. Aside from that, some of the larger fragments made landfall and caused significant destruction."
Thoughtfully, Clark said, "Thanks for the warning, Herb. I'll be on the lookout."
"Oh, I need to ask, is there a Doctor Bernard Klein in your universe?"
"Yeah, Bernie Klein works at Star Labs. We interviewed him when we were looking for the invisible man."
"Excellent. Bernie Klein is a man of integrity in every universe. You can trust him. I'm sure he could help with the space suit, among other things. He is a good friend to other Lois and Clark couples."
"Thanks, we'll work on developing that friendship."
As he hit the final combination, Herb said, "You are quite welcome. Well, ciao," and stepped through the portal that had popped into existence.
Once he had disappeared, Clark asked, "Do you want some ice cream?"
"Yeah, chocolate, chocolate chip. How did you know?"
"We've been married for a little over two months. I think I know some things about my wife by now. That was a lot to take in."
"I'll say. I think we need to arrange a meeting with Doctor Klein, tomorrow. Let's not wait until the last minute."
"I agree. We need to start preparing for that asteroid."
"I don't want my husband forgetting his wife."
"I don't want to forget my wife any more than she does. Now that we are married, I want it to last a long time and I want to remember every minute."
As Clark headed for the kitchen to get the ice cream, Lois started to smile as she muttered, just loud enough that Clark could hear her with his super-hearing, "Superbabies. I'm gonna have superbabies." After a second he also heard the rustle of clothing.
With Lois, to think is to do. Even as she was thinking about having superbabies, she was determined to begin the process and crossing her arms in front of herself, she grasped the hem of her top and whipped it off. As soon as it had hit the sofa that she was standing next to her fingers found the single button that held her wrap skirt closed and released it. As it also hit the sofa, she called to Clark, “Honey, forget the ice cream. I’ve got a better idea.”
When he turned around, he saw her standing there in her lacy wisp of a bra and matching bikini panties.
“Let’s make ourselves a baby … a superbaby.” She twirled her finger, but this time she wasn’t telling him to change into the Superman uniform she was telling him to get undressed.
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