Vatman - Matchmaker Style
Rated PG-13
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Previously
As the cops dispersed, Lois, in a desire to get a closer look at the imposter, slowly moved in his direction.
He saw her approach and turned toward her. He was staring at her, but there was no recognition in his eyes cementing the knowledge that this was indeed the imposter. She asked, "Superman?"
As he replied he was looking her over like a hormone driven teen checking out a co-ed classmate, "Yes?"
She decided to see just how much like Clark he actually was and so she said, "It's me. Lois."
There was still no spark of recognition, but there was a lustful look before he smirked and taking off, flew away at high speed.
Lois watched him depart and had a puzzled expression on her face as she wondered where Clark was.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jimmy had been doing some research for Cat and was at her desk, delivering the latest results. As they discussed the results the sound of voices at the elevator attracted their attention. When they looked up they saw Perry talking with a couple of visitors.
In an aside to Jimmy, Cat commented, "Well, whatever the reason, I, for one, like his new look. I think he's sexy."
Jimmy was surprised and barely kept his voice low enough that it wouldn't be heard at the elevator, "Mr. White? Sexy?"
Cat looked at Jimmy in disbelief and said, "Very. I mean, he always had that aura of power, but now he's mixing it with a little style. Why do you think women flocked around Henry Kissinger? Because he had tight buns?"
Jimmy shook his head, <Women.> he thought and then said, "Still, there's something going on. He's never acted like this before." He thought for a second and then continued, like a cop analyzing a crime scene, "Ever since last week ... half the time he's poring over the brochures I got him ..."
Curious as her namesake, Cat asked, "Brochures?"
Jimmy ran off the litany of what he had provided, "White water rafting, tent safaris, Death Valley hikes ... a far cry from his usual two weeks in the Catskills with the Mrs. and yesterday he said something about 'living on the edge.'"
Picking up on Jimmy's concern, Cat replied, "Perry? The man's a permanent fixture in the slow lane." Her investigative instincts kicked in and she asked, "Anything happen last week that was unusual?"
Jimmy became lost in thought for a second and then he said, "I've been trying to think .... there was an awards dinner, stockholder's meeting, his annual medical check-up." Jimmy stopped abruptly and a look of fear came over his features. Cat's investigative instincts must have deserted her at that time because she did not pick up on the look or the statement.
She offered, "Well, let me know if you need any snooping around. I'm good at that.
Very good." When she finished speaking she turned back to the printouts that Jimmy had just given her.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Perry had finished his conversation and returned to his office. A few minutes later, he came out and as he was passing Jimmy on his way to the elevator he said, "I'm history, Jimmy."
Jimmy was surprised at the terminology and asked, "Where are you going?"
Breezily, Perry replied, "Lunch. Thought I'd try some of that Japanese delicacy -- blowfish sushi."
Jimmy was alarmed and blurted out, "Isn't that the kind that can kill you?"
Perry smiled and said, "Sayonara," in his southern accent.
Jimmy watched Perry disappear into the elevator and decided that some investigating was in order so he headed for Perry's office.
Once he was in Perry's office he started looking at the items that he had left on his desk. He was surprised to see a hand mirror in amongst the loose papers. Finally his eyes lighted on his desk calendar. There was nothing on the current page so he started flipping through. He had been going backward in time and came finally came across a notation, "Doctor Zohar. Annual physical, 10:00 a.m." He remembered that appointment, but wondered if that was the cause of the Chief's changes. Thinking that that was past and that there might be some future event that all of this was pointing to he started flipping through again. This time he went forward in time. A few pages, or days, from the current day was a notation, "Metropolis Bridge. Jump. 11:00 p.m."
Even more concerned now, but not knowing just what to make of it, Jimmy returned the calendar to today's date and left Perry's office. As he did he puzzled over what he had read, "Metropolis Bridge?
Jump?"
And now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 5
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A few minutes later, Lois came in. Agitatedly she looked around for Clark. Her disappointment was obvious when he wasn't there to greet her on her arrival. She thought, <Maybe he's following the imposter, I hope.>
A few minutes later, Clark exited the stairwell, straightening his tie as he walked. Lois stood and met him as he hit the bottom of the ramp. Without saying a word, she grabbed his arm and practically dragged him to the conference room. Once the door was closed, she challenged, "Where were you?"
"By the time I got there, he was already on scene. I didn't think it would be a good idea for both of us to be seen at the same event so I hid."
"Well, he certainly isn't you. He isn't gentle and caring the way you are. He's harsh and almost brutal. I watched him toss this robbery suspect into a police van from twenty feet away. Knocked the guy out cold. You wouldn't do that. And another thing ... when he looked at me, it was almost as if he didn't recognize me so he may look like you, but he doesn't have your memories. In fact, he smirked at me. Superman doesn't smirk. It's like ..."
"Like what? What was your impression of him?"
"I don't know. He's just ... bizarro, that's all. I wish I could talk to him in private. Maybe he'd talk to me where he wouldn't to you."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Shortly after the incident at the bank, the imposter was back ‘home' in the laboratory. He was sitting stiffly in a high backed chair while his ‘father', Luthor, paced back and forth before him. It appeared as though Luthor was indoctrinating his ‘son' with his own ends in mind. "Once again. Why must the old Superman die?"
Almost like a child learning a catechism and replying with answers learned by frequent repetition, he replied, "Because he's outlived his usefulness."
Luthor was pleased with his response and went on to question number 34, "And why is he our enemy?"
He knew the answer to this one as well, "Because he stands between us and unlimited power."
Spying a framed photograph of Lois Lane on a shelf near Luthor's shoulder the imposter said, "I saw her there today."
The change of topic took Luthor by surprise. Seeing where the imposter was looking he glanced sideways. Realizing that he was speaking of Lois, he said, "Oh. Lois Lane."
The imposter started to leer at the picture as he said, "What a babe!"
Luthor pulled the picture off the shelf and looked at it adoringly as he said, "Yes, indeed. Also, she is a brilliant investigative reporter for the Daily Planet."
With a somewhat puzzled expression the imposter said, "She talked to me like I was supposed to know her." He thought for a few seconds, weighing the pros and cons of his next question. Finally his hormones spoke for him, "Dad? Can I see her again?"
Luthor flipped the picture around and said, harshly, "You stay away from her." He flipped the picture back around, looked at it adoringly again and then placed it back on the shelf.
Feeling that enough had been done for one day and needing to return to his office, Luthor walked out. He didn't notice that the imposter was continuing to stare at the photo.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Early that afternoon a messenger walked up to Lois's desk at the Planet. She was busily typing up her report of the bank holdup/hostage situation on her computer and wasn't aware of his presence until he noisily cleared his throat. When she looked up he asked, "Lois Lane?"
Lois wasn't expecting anything, so warily she said, "Yes."
He handed her an envelope and offering her a clipboard said, "Sign – here," as he pointed to a line.
She signed on the line and set the envelope he handed over to her on her desk. Mentally dismissing the transaction she immediately returned to the story … until the messenger cleared his throat again. She looked up and realized for the first time that he hadn't left. She asked, "What?"
He replied, "I'm supposed to wait for a response."
“Oh, okay,” she nodded and picked up the envelope. It wasn't even sealed so she opened the flap and extracted a sheet of paper. She read –
"Dear Lois: Please forgive me my behavior today. I have so much to tell you. May I see you tonight? I could be at your place at nine. Please say yes. Yours, Superman."She looked up at the messenger and said, "The answer is a definite, yes."
The messenger nodded and left to deliver her message.
Lois caught Clark's eye and standing up, walked over to his desk.
She handed Clark the note to read.
He said, "Well, it looks like we don't have to keep searching for him. He's going to come to us."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
That evening, in order not to scare him off, Clark allowed Lois to be alone in the apartment while he stayed nearby dressed as Clark.
Knowing that this was simply a trap so that Clark could talk to the imposter, Lois went about preparing a dinner that she and Clark would share after the imposter left. She made it look like she didn't know that he was not the real Superman and also made it look like she was preparing for a special encounter. She was darting back and forth between the kitchen and the bedroom. Her hair was up in curlers and she was wearing a very daring dress, low cut and short. As it neared the time for his arrival she was putting on her heels, hopping on one bare foot while slipping one on and then hopping on the heel while she put on the other as she continued to move from the bedroom to the kitchen.
She was making a pasta dish and decided to test the noodles. She used a fork to pick out a single noodle and holding it up tilted her face ceilingward and slowly dropped it in, chewed and swallowed. Still not sure, she picked out another one and flung it against the ceiling. When it stuck she reached over and turned off the heat.
Moving over to the table she picked up the lighter and started to light the candles as she heard a whoosh. She looked up to see the front door swinging closed and Superman standing in the living room. She said, "Oh. Hello. You're a little early."
Chagrined, he asked, "Is that okay?"
Looking around, Lois saw that she was actually finished and said, "Sure. Everything's ready." She still couldn't get over how much he looked like Clark and her brain was puzzling on this. She knew that she had to keep him here and try to get him to talk, so she asked, "Would you like something to drink?"
He hadn't been around much so most of this was very new to him. He tried to give an acceptable answer, "Drink? I guess so. I mean, I don't really need to."
They had discussed this beforehand and decided that they should explore the limits of his similarity. What if he wasn't invulnerable? What if alcohol affected him? So Lois lifted a chilled bottle of champagne from the ice bucket and said, "Well, nobody needs champagne, but that's what makes life interesting, n'est pas?"
In a Superman-like response, he said, "Life is interesting."
Lois very expertly removed the wire and popped the cork on the champagne, but even the most expert won't be able to avoid the fountain of bubbles that escaped.
As she was working on the bottle, Superman had moved in close to her. He said, "You spilled some."
Ignoring the spilled liquid, Lois poured each of them a glass.
He was leering at her as she did, he said, "You look really hot."
Taken aback, not exactly insulted, but not appreciating the crassness of the comment, Lois said, "Oh. Thanks."
Superman asked, "Can we sit on the sofa?"
Hesitantly, Lois said, "Okay." She was wondering just how soon Clark was going to make his appearance.
As they sat down, the imposter pulled a teen-ager trick, he faked a yawn and stretch putting his arm around Lois. Lois was thinking, <Where are you, Clark? Get in here!>, but she didn't say anything.
He brought his arm off the back of the couch and laid it on her shoulders circling his hand around her upper arm. He asked, "Do you like me?"
Lois needed to stall so she replied, "Of course. You know I do. Although, I am a little concerned about your behavior lately." She knew she was treading on shaky ground.
He was surprised and said, defensively, "I haven't done anything wrong."
Lois knew that she was taking a chance, but she had to challenge him, "It's just that ... I saw you throw that man and ..." Lois faltered, fearful that she could be going too far.
He replied, without thinking with the response that he had been catechized to repeat, "Might is right." He leered at her again and asked, "How about a kiss?"
Lois was surprised at this turn of events and said, "Huh?"
Before she could say anymore or even move out of the way, he grabbed her shoulders, pulled her in close and kissed her. He was eager and in his exuberance a little too forceful, possibly because he lacked experience.
Lois finally collected herself and placing her hands on his chest tried to push him away, but he was holding her tightly and she couldn't overcome his strength.
Just then, Superman zoomed in and asked, "Am I interrupting?"
The imposter was startled by the intrusion and relaxed his grip on Lois so she was able to escape and jump off of the couch. As soon as she was free she breathed in relief, "Superman," and ran to him. He put an arm around her shoulder, protectively and moved her slightly behind, placing himself between them.
The imposter stood and faced Superman. He had an angry expression as he said, commandingly, "Go away."
Superman replied, "I think Lois wants me to stay."
Lois stuttered, "Yes! Yes, I do! Please stay. Clark would want you to stay too."
The imposter approached Superman and raised his hand to grab Lois to take her away from Superman, but Superman grabbed his wrist and prevented him from doing so.
The imposter had to have known that Superman would be as strong as he, but Luthor's indoctrination had convinced him that he would be superior and the fact that he was displaying equal strength surprised him.
"What's so important about Clark wanting you to stay?"
"Didn't you know that Lois is a married woman? She's married to Clark Kent."
Confused, the imposter blurted out, "But she invited me to dinner."
Lois spoke up, "Yes, but as a friend! Not a potential boyfriend or lover. Superman and I have been friends for a long time and Clark is his best friend."
Superman was about to start questioning the imposter when he broke it off. With a disgusted look he pulled his arm from Superman's grasp. He turned away and said, "I have to go now. It's almost ten." He looked specifically at Superman and said, significantly, "I'll be seeing you again." As soon as he finished speaking he zipped out the front door, up and away, too fast for Clark to follow. He felt that he needed to stay there with Lois, just in case it was a feint to draw him away so he decided to stay and protect her. He spun into his Clark clothes and took Lois in his arms.
Seeing the imposter leave, Lois had started to relax. She looked up into Clark's face and asked, "Well, wha'd'ya know about that. It looks like his father has given him a curfew. Hungry?"
Clark pushed Lois away slightly so that he could place his hands on her shoulders, look her straight in the eye and ask, with a worried tone in his voice, "Did he hurt you?"
"No, not really. He kissed me. What took you so long?"
"There was a mugging in Centennial Park."
"You deserted me?!?!?"
"I knew you could handle him and I didn't think he intended you any harm." He chuckled and said, "I was surprised to see that he had both arms."
"It's a good thing you got here when you did. He was about to lose one. He was like a teen-ager with raging hormones. I was afraid that I would be responsible for you losing your virginity … again. Unbelievable. You know, if in no other way, when he kissed me, I knew he wasn't you. It just didn't feel anything like you."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Early the next morning, before Lois and Clark arrived; Jimmy was knocking on Perry's office door. He didn't wait for him to call out, but simply opened the door and entered. When he did he saw Perry, leaning back in his chair, staring out of the window. He asked, "Chief? You wanted to see me?"
Perry's voice had lost some of its gruffness as he asked, "Run an errand for me, will you, son? I'd like some of those taquitos with the green sauce from Manny's."
Jimmy was shocked and it was in his voice as he replied, "Mr. White, it's eight in the morning!"
Some of the gruffness returned to Perry's voice as he replied, "So what? Sometimes you've got to go for the gusto and damn the consequences. Life's too damn short."
The pieces of the puzzle all started to fall into place. This was just too much for Jimmy and tears started to form in his eyes, "It's … happening soon, isn't it?"
Perry was taken aback. He asked, "How'd you find out?"
"I put two and two together like you always taught me."
Perry swiveled around and pointed his finger at Jimmy's face as he said, "I don't want any to-do. And I don't want anyone else in on it either. Got it?" Perry lowered his finger having made his point. He finished in a wistful tone, "A man goes his whole life saying 'later.' 'Later I'll do this, experience that.' Then, you run out of 'laters.'"
Jimmy was very moved, emotionally and suppressed a sob, before he replied, "I understand, Chief." He sniffed and continued, "I just want you to know that I think you're the bravest man I've ever met. You're handling this with such grace, such dignity."
Perry waxed philosophical, "Well, time marches on, kid. You either accept life's process, or ... not."
"Chief. There's something else." Jimmy paused to wipe at a tear, "You've always been like a father to me. I ... love you."
Perry was touched by this sentiment, but puzzled as to why Jimmy would be getting so emotional, he asked, "Jimmy? You okay?"
Jimmy was in awe, "Me? Oh, Chief, you're too much. Too much."
Perry watched in consternation as Jimmy slowly walked away closing the door behind him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A little later in the day, Lois and Clark had been researching possibilities for an explanation of the imposter. They had been brainstorming when she suddenly stopped her pacing and blurted out, "That's it!"
Clark quickly moved to her side. In a quiet tone, he asked, "What'd you find?"
She lowered her tone and looked around before saying what she thought, "A clone."
He matched her subdued tone as he replied, "You really think he could be a clone?"
She said, "Yes, it's so obvious. You suggested the possibility that he was a robot, but there's no technology in the world that could produce a robot like that." She paused and lowered her voice further, "And we know Superman doesn't have a twin. We learned that from the globe."
"Why couldn't he be a robot?"
She lowered her tone even more and said, "Come on, Clark. Give me a little credit. I'd know the difference between flesh and blood and a robot. He kissed me, remember? Those were flesh and blood lips. Besides, who would program a robot to act like a hormone driven teenager on his first date? That leaves only one possibility. That means that someone has cloned Superman. They've made an exact genetic copy."
Clark was still not convinced, "How? They can't do that yet. We're not that advanced."
Lois countered, "Maybe we are. I read an article in the Metropolis Science Magazine ..." She shifted focus and spotting Jimmy, shouted, "Jimmy!"
He looked up from his monitor as she issued her orders, "Down to the stacks. Metropolis Science Magazine. Sometime last year, oh, the last three months of the year. An article on cloning."
He didn't budge from his desk as he replied, "I'll get right on it."
Frustrated that he wasn't moving fast enough for her, she said, "Jimmy, I need it, yesterday!"
Somewhat panicked, he jumped up and started to jog away, "Right away."
Lois had a smug look as she folded her arms across her chest and turned back to Clark, "We'll see."
Ten minutes later Lois had the magazine in her hands. She quickly re-read the article to refresh her memory and then lifting the phone dialed information, "Yes. I'd like the number for a Doctor Fabian Leek." She gave Clark a look that said, "Am I good, or what?"
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