Barbarians at the Planet – Matchmaker Style
Rated – PG-13
Previously:
After his nap, Herb slid his feet into a pair of slippers and donned his glasses and said, "Lights on." Making his way to the sideboard he prepared a cup of tea and then moved to his desk. He smiled at the familiar creak as he sat in his chair and placed the teacup on his desk. Speaking to the air, in his British English accent, he said, "Computer?"
The reply was immediate, "Working."
"Shall we resume the playback?"
Before the computer began to comply, there was a beep and then the computer added, "Tickle file reminder. It has been three days since your last mission. There are two reminders. Reminder number one: You are scheduled to go to the year 2034 in the Prime universe to deliver a pendant to Heather McLeod Kent. (See First Love - Matchmaker Chronicles chapter 2) She and Sean will have been married for more than two years after living together prior to marriage. The modification of her physiology has reached a point where she will start to manifest powers, although not the full set with the pendant as yet. More time will be required before her metabolism is ready and she will enjoy the full set of powers. Reminder number two: You are scheduled to go to the year 2035 in the Prime universe to deliver a token to William Davidson, husband of Celeste Kent Davidson. (See First Love - Matchmaker Chronicles chapter 3) He and Celeste will have been married for more than two years after living together prior to marriage. The modification of his physiology has reached a point where he will start to manifest powers, although not the full set with the token as yet. More time will be required before his metabolism is ready and he will enjoy the full set of powers."
"Ah, thank you, computer. Yes, two more superheroes are ready to join the family business, as it were."
Opening the drawer of his desk he pulled out two boxes, one marked with Heather's name and the other with Bill's. Opening the two boxes he admired the two pieces of jewelry. The pendant was made of silver and was the shape of the crest of the family El. The token that was given to the male spouses was also silver and made to act as a belt buckle to be worn on their uniform. It was also embossed with the El crest. After a few moments perusal, he closed the boxes and set them aside. As he had sorted through he had seen the one marked for Lois Lane - Alpha -34 x Gamma 255 x Tau -225. He mused, "Herb 10 is the new designation." He pulled it out of the drawer and looked at it thoughtfully. Noting the date he took a pen and scratched it out and inscribed November 1995 in its place. He thought, <I wonder what would happen if she received this immediately before the Wishing Well incident. Would the Star Sapphire Kryptonite be activated in the attack and keep Clark from losing his powers as a result? When I went into her future she already had her powers and I did not think to inquire as to just when she acquired them. It's worth a try.> He placed the box back in the drawer and pushed it closed.
As he stood he addressed the computer, "Computer, as soon as I am dressed I will be departing for the deliveries to 2034 and 2035. Oh, and change the tickle file reminder for the Lois in Herb 10. The new date is November of 1995, just prior to the Wishing Well incident."
"Change to tickle file reminder accomplished."
He finished redressing, stuffed the boxes in his pockets. Picking up his TaDT (Time and Dimensional Transport) device he headed for the transport center. As he stepped out he said, "Lights off." The lights died as the door closed behind him.
He proceeded to the ground floor by lift, drifting down on the antii-grav field. Stepping out of the tube he started walking toward the transport center. He passed through the barrier field that maintained the ‘clean room' conditions needed for transport.
As he passed through the barrier he saw Andrus step from a portal onto a pad. He was dressed in an olive green uniform, but … with a white straw hat! Under the uniform he wore a clerical collar. He carried what appeared to be a canvas dispatch case slung over a shoulder. <Ah, yes. The historical research mission he was sent on. Mid-twentieth century I believe. A military conflict of some sort. He went in as a non-combatant. I hope he hasn't done anything to affect history as we know it. I see he went as a chaplain. Better that than a physician. Can't have him preserving a life that was supposed to end and change history in that way.>
As he stepped up on the pad, through the shimmer of the field he could make out Andrus as he passed under the TTEMPO logo above the main portal, ‘Only Time Will Tell' that he had adopted as the organization's motto. He smiled as the portal opened before him and he stepped through on his first mission.
And now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 2
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha -34 x Gamma 255 x Tau -225
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
In his penthouse office on top of LexTower, Lex Luthor was at his desk signing some documents. As he finished he depressed a switch on his intercom and summoned Mrs. Cox.
A minute later, the door opened and Mrs. Cox swayed in. Lex looked up in appreciation as she crossed the room. He moved the papers aside and addressed her, "Have you had any success tracking Nigel's whereabouts?"
"No, it's like he simply dropped off the face of the Earth. No one has seen him since the night of the hit on Kent."
"His disappearance is puzzling and I hate puzzles. Start checking countries that lack an extradition treaty with the USA. Send pictures. Have some pictures prepared with the beard removed and circulate those as well."
"What if he doesn't want to be found? With his background and contacts, if he doesn't want to be found, he won't be. He could have decided that his luck was running out. That he knew too much and you would decide that he was a liability because of his knowledge."
"I don't think so. I reward loyalty and both you and he have been very well rewarded for said loyalty. Continue the search."
Luthor paused to select a cigar from his humidor and prepared it. Mrs. Cox leaned in, positioning her body to allow Lex a view down the front of her blouse of her barely encumbered breasts, and clicked a lighter into flame. Lex leaned in, enjoyed the view and puffed his cigar alight. Once it was lit, he leaned back, keeping his eyes glued to her display and blew out a smoke ring that destroyed itself on her cleavage.
Setting down the lighter, Mrs. Cox straightened, throwing her shoulders back to thrust her breasts forward.
Lex smiled and said, "On the other matter, we have the information we need. Contract with some free-lancers to break into that facility and liberate what we want. Offer a reasonable fee, but keep it modest. If we offer too much they might get wise to how much I need that chunk of rock and raise the price."
"Right away, Lex." She turned and started to sway her way from the office. The leather micro skirt was barely covering her derriere and showed off her long well defined legs.
Before she got to the door, Lex stopped her, "Oh, and have Andre prepare a dinner for two. You'll join me, of course?"
She spun so that she was facing him striking a pose with one leg turned slightly out and said, with a sultry smile, "Of course," turned and resumed her trip from the office.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A few days later, at Homey Airport in the Nevada desert three men approached an old, dilapidated hanger. When they reached the back doors they saw that although the building looked old and dilapidated, the locks looked brand new and strong. The leader pulled a penlight from his pocket and used it to examine the lock. Seeing the kind of lock it was he swung it with force taking out his anger on the inanimate device. In a whisper he complained, "Hardened steel. Our cutter won't make a dent in it."
His second in command stepped forward and using a penlight examined the situation. His boss couldn't see his smile because of the dark, but he was smiling nonetheless. He said to the third member of the party, "Cutters."
The third guy delved into a bag and brought out a fourteen inch bolt cutter.
The leader snapped, "What do you think you're going to do with that? Those cutters won't cut through that lock."
As his second was positioning the cutters, he said, "We don't need to. We can't cut the lock, but -" there was a loud snip, "we can cut the hasp -" snip, "It runs through." With the second snip the lock and a section of the hasp fell to the ground.
The leader said, "You just earned yourself a bonus on this deal. Let's go see if we can find what we are looking for."
They entered the building and found that despite the appearance of the exterior the inside was well maintained. They split up and each using a penlight started going through the contents. There were piles of crates and bank after bank of file cabinets. They were ignoring the file cabinets and examining the markings on the crates. In the light from one of the flashlights the markings could be discerned. Stenciled on the top of many was the inscription,
Bureau 39.
The second in command found what he thought was the proper crate and called out, in a hushed tone, "Hey, Devane, I think I got somethin' here."
Devane joined him. In the backwash of the light his features were just visible, hard dark eyes with a shock of dark hair, cut very short in a military style. He read the inscription,
Smallville 1966. He nodded his head and brought the crowbar he held in his hand into play. He pried off the top of the crate and when he did the immediate vicinity was bathed in an eerie green glow. Reaching in, Devane pushed aside some excelsior and exposed the glowing green rock that was the object of his search. He stuffed it into his bag and the heavy material hid the green glow. He said, "Let's get out of here," and led the way back to their transportation, closing but unable to relock the door when they left.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A couple of days later, late in the afternoon, a private jet was winging its way across the Atlantic. On the side was painted, "LexCorp" in big red letters.
The occupants did not see the black clad figure that lay on the top of the fuselage.
Inside Lex Luthor was entertaining Lois Lane. He had a violinist playing and his steward was serving wine.
Lois looked around and said, "I don't think I've ever been in such a fancy plane before. Clark and I always flew coach." She thought <That is until I knew just who he was, from then on it was Superman Express all the time.>
Luthor smiled and waving a deprecating hand said, "Nothing, but the best."
Lois said, "When you said Italian I had no idea we were actually
going to Italy."
Luthor smiled and said, "My favorite restaurant is in Milano. Magnifico."
Lois took a sip of her wine and set the glass down. "What am I going to do with you?"
Lex had been bringing his glass to his lips when suddenly the plane dipped and he splashed the wine on his shirt. He shouted in surprise and dropped the glass as he looked in consternation at this shirt front, now stained purple. All thoughts of what he was going to say were lost in his embarrassment. "Pardon me. I need to change." Before he did however, he pushed a button on an intercom and said, "Roger, I thought you said it would be a smooth flight."
"It should be, Mr. Luthor. There is no weather in the area."
"Then what was that turbulence we hit a minute ago?"
"I can't explain it. It came out of nowhere. It felt like we were a bone in the jaws of a very large dog."
Lois barely suppressed a giggle.
Turning off the intercom, Lex stood and moved to a private compartment in the rear.
A few minutes later, Lex came back out and sat next to Lois. "Lois, I have something to ask." He knelt before her and brought out a ring box and opened it. "Lois Lane, will you marry me?"
"Lex, I appreciate it, I really do, but I am already married."
"But Kent is dead."
Lois brought up her left hand which had her wedding ring on it and said, "Missing and presumed dead. So far they haven't found a body. No body, no death. Until there is a final determination, I'm married."
Irritated, he asked, "Then why are you here with me? Why have you been seeing me?"
"Friends see each other. Friends eat meals together. There doesn't have to be a romantic component to it."
"Is that all I'll ever be to you, Lois, a friend?"
"I'm sorry, Lex, but until I have definite proof that Clark is dead, that's all we can be. Until then the Daily Planet is my life and the staff there, Perry, Jimmy even Cat, they are my family and of course, Clark's parents. I just believe that he's still alive and he will be coming back to me. When he does he had better have a very good explanation for his absence, I'll tell you."
"You speak of families. I believe in families, large families, but if you continue to wait for Kent to return, you could miss out on having a family of your own."
"Lex, I have to say that the last few weeks have been wonderful, but really, I'm technically still in mourning and shouldn't be just jetting off with you to God knows where. Besides, I hardly know you. I'd need to know you a lot better before I'd consider marriage."
"You only knew Kent for a few months when you were married."
"That was … different. A kind of … love at first sight. We just … clicked. In that short amount of time, I knew more about him than I know about you after all of this time." <Thanks to Herb Wells.>
Not to be denied, Lex pressed on, "All you need to know about me is that I love you."
Lois looked down, apparently being coy. She knew that Clark was there, probably listening in. She smiled a secret smile thinking about that 'turbulence' that had caused Lex to spill his wine all over his shirt. That had to have been Clark.
Misinterpreting her smile, Lex asked, "Is there something else, aside from the possibility that Kent is still alive, some other source of hesitation?"
Lois didn't even start to answer his question, choosing instead to maintain her silence.
Not liking her silence, Luthor challenged, "Would it have anything to do with, Superman?"
Her head snapped up and she asked, "Why do you ask that?"
Lex leaned in aggressively as if attacking. "Your dalliances with him are well known. Even while married to Kent you were seen being very cozy with the superhero. If Kent were dead, would you choose him over me?"
"That's not the kind of question that a gentleman should be asking."
"That's it, isn't it? You'd choose Superman over me." The tone of his voice left little doubt that he was sure that was the answer.
Her continued silence drove him on.
"Lois, you have to accept the fact that Kent is dead. He's never coming back and Superman is incapable of forming liaisons. You've thrown yourself at him time after time and he continues to remain aloof. Please tell me that you'll consider my proposal."
Lois finally answered, "I'll consider it." Thinking to herself, <The temperature in Hell would have to be sub-zero for me to give it
serious consideration.>
Her answer mollified Luthor, somewhat. Putting words in her mouth, he said, "So, it's ‘maybe' for now."
He didn't catch her hidden meaning as she said, "Maybe … maybe." He thought she was simply repeating thoughtfully, when she was actually saying maybe her answer was maybe, but not really. Looking at the ring he still held with sadness he slowly closed the box and returned it to his jacket pocket.
Lois made the comment, "It is a beautiful ring." He would be appalled if he knew what she was truly thinking, <Not as beautiful or meaningful as mine. It was Clark's grandmother's ring. There's a lot of sentiment attached to my ring that is lacking in that monstrosity. That
thing is far too ostentatious for my tastes. I hate that I have to play this part, but if we are ever going to ‘get the goods' on Luthor, I have to play along.>
Luthor was still trying to persuade her, "Without you, it's just a chunk of rock. On your hand, it's priceless to me, more important than any other object in my life."
Just then the co-pilot approached and whispered into his ear.
As he returned to the cockpit, Lex stood and said, "I have call to take in the office. Excuse me."
He stepped through a door and picked up a phone extension. "Hello."
Devane and his henchmen were sitting around a desk with the green rock sitting in the center. Devane said, "Your information was accurate, Luthor. I have the item you were interested in."
"When can I expect delivery?"
"I'll call you when I get back to Metropolis." He looked around at his associates. They nodded their agreement and he spoke again, "That price has gone up. It is now five million."
Luthor didn't even bat an eye as he said, "Done," and hung up. After hanging up he muttered, "Priceless."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lois knew that she was being watched. Ever since she had allowed Luthor to think she might be the slightest bit interested he'd had her followed. At least she felt comfortable at home and at Lucy's. Since they had found all of those bugs, Clark had been scanning both places on a regular basis. If he found anything, Bill Henderson was a phone call away and he would deal with it. It was becoming difficult for Lois and Clark to get together for ‘quality time' without being found out. Lois was spending a lot of time with Lucy and Lucy's ‘live-in-boyfriend', Charlie King. At least when she spent the night in the other bedroom, Lucy understood and let them have their privacy.
This weekend was going to be different; she and Clark were going away so she had to give her tail the slip.
It was a warm summer day when Lois left the apartment and she was wearing a short red skirt that showed off her legs with a sleeveless blue top. The strap of her taupe colored bag was over her shoulder as usual. Rather than the Jeep, she opted to catch a cab downtown.
Riding in the back of the cab, she pulled a compact from her bag and checked her make-up. In actuality she was checking to confirm that the black sedan was following the cab. Sure enough, he was there, right on schedule.
Reaching her destination, she alighted and paid off the cabbie. She took her time entering the building, pretending to be checking the address. Really it was to give her tail just enough time to park and follow her into the building, but not enough that he could enter the same elevator car with her.
Seeing her enter the elevator and the doors closing her tail dived into the stairwell. He ran up one flight and stuck his head out through the door and checked the elevator. The doors were closed and there was no one in the hallway so he hoofed it to the next floor.
When he checked that floor the results were the same. What he hadn't seen was the woman that boarded the elevator on the third floor. She was dressed in a dark green dress that reached her knees and had a matching floppy green hat on her head, covering her dark tresses.
As soon as the doors were closed the newcomer removed her hat and placed it on Lois's head. Then she quickly unzipped the green dress and removed it like a robe and handed it to Lois who quickly donned it. Lois removed a black patent leather purse from her taupe bag and handed the now empty taupe colored bag to Lucy. Lucy was now wearing a short red skirt and a sleeveless blue top. She threw the strap of the bag over her right shoulder and Lois corrected her, "Left shoulder, Sis."
Lucy moved the strap and gave Lois a quick kiss on the cheek. She said, "You and Clark have some fun. I'll lead this flunky a merry chase."
Lois returned her sister's kiss and in a heartfelt tone said, "Thanks, Luce. We owe you, big time."
Before the doors opened, Lucy was able to say, "I don't know how much longer your investigation is going to take, but take your time. I like having Clark around. He cooks my meals and does the cleaning. You're soooo lucky to have him. I'm jealous."
Just then the doors opened to the fifth floor. Lois and Lucy both stepped out. Lois moved to the other elevator and pushed the down button as Lucy sauntered off down the hall.
Lucy was half way down the hall when Lois's shadow exited the stairwell, huffing and puffing from the exertion. Spotting Lucy down the hall he started to walk, as inconspicuously as he could, after her. He passed within a couple of feet of Lois and as he did, the elevator doors opened and she stepped in. He didn't give her a second glance as he proceeded down the hall, his eyes on Lucy's back.
Lois took the elevator to the ground floor and exited the building. She walked two blocks to the Daily Planet and took the elevator to the top floor, bypassing the newsroom floor. Exiting, she headed for the stairwell to the roof. As she stepped out onto the roof, Superman was there waiting for her. With a suppressed squeal she threw herself into his arms. He picked her up and immediately took off, straight up until they were out of sight from the ground. Once they were at altitude he headed for Smallville.
A few minutes later they landed in the front yard of the Kent farm house. Clark spun into jeans and a top and they went in.
Martha was the only one in the house at the time and seeing Lois threw her arms around her in a warm hug which Lois returned. Martha said, "Lunch will be ready, shortly. Clark, your father is in the barn. Why don't you go see how close he is to coming in."
Nodding in understanding, he turned and headed for the barn. He knew that his mom wanted some time with Lois.
As Clark exited, Martha pulled Lois down on the sofa and asked, "How much longer is this investigation going to take?"
"Oh, Martha, I hope not much longer, but who can tell. Luthor is trying to court me, but I haven't been able to get into his office to look for evidence yet. The worst part is being away from Clark so much. When we leave here, we are heading to the island for some R and R. We need some uninterrupted time together. I see him frequently at Lucy's, but it's just not the same. You know what I mean."
"I understand, dear. I can just imagine being away from Jonathan like that and I don't like it. The two of you
need to be together."
"What makes it worse is I have to put up with Luthor's advances. It's hard walking that line. Keeping him interested, but keeping him from crossing the line. If he did, Clark would blow the whole deal and we'd lose all of the gains we've made. A few days ago, Luthor took me to Italy for dinner." Lois started to chuckle. "We were out over the Atlantic and we were about to drink some wine. Just as Lex was bring up his glass there was some turbulence, caused by you-know-who and he spilled his wine all over his shirt." Lois was now laughing outright. "It was all I could do not to laugh even though I knew what had happened."
"Well, I just hope you can wrap this up soon so that things can get back to normal."
"So do I. I think we're getting close."
comments go here TBC
