Superman and The Shadow Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 0.5 2/26
Rated PG-13 for violence
Submitted:2017.
Disclaimers: Some of the characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros. Others are Street & Smith Publications. No Copyright infringement is intended. I have just borrowed the characters for a short time. The rest are mine.
The Shadow stories that inspired this one were
“Murder By The Dead”, originally broadcast on October 10, 1937
“The Silent Avenger”, originally broadcast on March 13, 1938
and
League of Terror originally broadcast on January 9, 1938
although they have been adapted rather heavily.
In memoriam – William Christopher - Father Francis Mulcahy / Andrus - 10/20/1932 – 12/31/2016
I wish to express my thanks to my Beta readers Artemis (Welcome back, Artemis!), Ray Reynolds (Welcome back Ray!) and Morgana for their invaluable help. This was a VERY rough draft when it first landed in their collective hands.
/ “text”/ indicates telepathic communication
*text* indicates bold
<text> indicates thoughts
{text} indicates over the telephone
Universal Locator designation Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 – Prime
Universal Locator designation Alpha 025 x Gamma - 086 x Tau 142 Alt 25 Shadow
Author’s note:
I have been a fan of Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Spidey, The Shadow, Doc. Savage, The Avenger and the other comic book and pulp heroes almost all of my life. When the Shadow series came out in paperback in the sixties I collected and read them.
(Yes, I am not quite old enough to have read them when first published, almost, but not quite.) In recent years I have become an aficionado of Old Time Radio, with The Shadow being one of the shows I have collected. That being said, I believe that I am well steeped in the traditions of The Shadow.
I now offer for your enjoyment my tribute to both Superman and a superhero from the thirties, The Shadow. I hope to give you the flavor of the times by adding musical clips that you can play in the background as you read. Frankly, some of the comments the characters make will be more understandable if you do.
As much as possible I have stayed true to The Shadow canon combining the early pulp stories with the later radio dramas. In this particular story I do take some license.
In my Matchmaker series canon, this story should be volume 0.5 would fit in as a prelude to Volume 1. .
And now, without further ado, we go back in time to a period before television, when radio was king, the time of - The ShadowBeware of ads on the you tube link.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 2 –
New York 1937
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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Universal Locator designation
Alpha 025 x Gamma - 086 x Tau 142 Shadow
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
It was 8:30 in the morning and Margot Lane had overslept. She realized that when she saw the clock on her bedside table. The alarm hadn’t awakened her, it had been the telephone bell and it was still ringing. She sat up, stretched and swung her feet over the side of the bed. She slipped into a pair of mules, grabbed a silken robe and donned it as she moved into the sitting room to answer the phone. Picking it up, she lifted the earpiece and held it near her ear as she spoke into the horn in her pleasant contralto, “Hello.”
{Good morning, Margot. Did I awaken you?”}
“Good morning, Lamont. Yes, but it’s okay, I needed to get up anyhow. I was out late for the museum benefit. We had some very wealthy and generous guests. Our ladies’ club raised $25,000. You should have been there. I missed you.”
{"Unfortunately, I had other commitments to fulfill."}
"I understand. How did it go last night?”
{It went well. The counterfeiters have been caught.}
“That’s good news. What about Mary Sullivan?”
{Safe. Michael Sullivan will be released today and she will pick him up. He will be returning to his family and his store.}
“Why are you calling?”
{I wanted to remind you of our dinner tonight at
The Savoy with Commissioner Weston and his wife. I have made arrangements for Shrevvy to pick you up. He’ll be at his usual spot in three hours.}
Smiling, she replied, “I hadn’t forgotten, in fact I’m looking forward to it. I always
love the band at
The Savoy. We
are going to dance,
aren’t we?”
She could just imagine his smile as he said, {I feel certain that I would not be able to keep you off the dance floor and that I will be accompanying you.}
Laughing, she replied, “I’m looking forward to it. I’ll meet Shrevvy at the appointed time.”
{I’ll see you in a little while then.}
“In a little while. Bye.”
{Bye, Margot.}
She decided that she would have to ask Lamont for the details later as she hung up the phone.
Margot thought about the previous day and the adventure it had brought their way.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
They had been in the courtroom when Michael Sullivan had been called to the stand.
The DA had been questioning him and for some reason, he had been evasive in his answers. The DA in frustration said, “With the court’s permission, I’ll rephrase that question.” Directing his question to the witness, he asked, “Mr. Sullivan, do you know how these counterfeit five and ten dollar bills came to be in the cash register in your grocery store?”
“I … uh … I got them from customers, I guess.”
“Michael Sullivan, you are a witness in a federal trial, under oath to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing, but the truth. Do you know you can be sent to prison for perjury?”
Sullenly, he answered, “Yes, I know it well enough.”
“Before this trial began you testified that the defendants in this case, Slader and Murino, entered your store and forced you to buy counterfeit five and ten dollar bills to be passed out as change to your unsuspecting customers. Why have you changed your testimony? Why?”
“I was mistaken, that’s all,” was his sullen answer.
“That’s a lie, Michael Sullivan, a lie.”
At the DA’s direct accusation there was a stir in the courtroom and the judge had to bang his gavel and shout, “Order. Order in the court!” He then directed his next statement, “Mr. Prosecutor?”
“Yes, your honor.”
“It is quite apparent that your witness has received a threat, either to himself or his family if he testified against the defendants in this case. If he will not repeat his sworn testimony against these defendants I have no alternative, but to dismiss the charges.” He banged his gavel and said, “Case dismissed.”
This created another stir in the courtroom. He banged his gavel several times as he said, “Order. Order in the court!”
The prosecutor said, “Your honor, I demand that Michael Sullivan be held on a charge of perjury.”
In reply, the judge declared, “Michael Sullivan, much as the court might sympathize with your reasons and motives for shielding these criminals who prey on the unsuspecting public in the wholesale commerce of worthless counterfeit money, I have no alternative, but to sentence you to one year in prison.”
Michael Sullivan was stunned and stammered, “One … one year in prison … But your honor, there’s my wife and my daughter, Mary. I’m afraid of what they will do to them if I tell the truth.”
“I’m sorry, Michael Sullivan, but unless you testify…”
Desperation was in his voice as he cried, “I can’t. I tell you. I can’t.”
“Then the sentence of one year in prison must stand. Court’s adjourned.”
“It ain’t fair! It ain’t right! I get a year in prison for tryin’ to protect my family and the real crooks go free! Look at ‘em walkin’ outta the courtroom, free as the air to go on with their dirty business.”
With the courtroom astir around them, Lamont Cranston and Margot Lane had a private conversation in low tones.
“Lamont, of all the unfair, unjust sentences…”
“I know, Margot. It seems cruel and harsh, but our whole legal system is being undermined by threats and intimidation of witnesses.”
“Isn’t there something we could do, Lamont? Some way of helping Michael Sullivan?”
Lamont replied, “Michael Sullivan isn’t the only one who is suffering from the operation of this counterfeit ring. Small businessmen, shopkeepers, poor people who can’t afford to get bad money…”
“A counterfeit five dollar bill probably means the difference between eating and not eating to a lot of those people over in Sullivan’s neighborhood.”
“Exactly, Margot. They are preying on poor people who can’t defend themselves.”
“Lamont, are you going to take up the case as the Shadow?”
“Well, perhaps, but right now, Margot, Lamont Cranston and Margot Lane can help by doing a little shopping in Michael Sullivan’s grocery store.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
They arrived just as a poor woman was leaving, counting the five one dollar bills she had received in exchange for the counterfeit five dollar bill she had received in change the day before.
As they approached the shop, Margot noted a man watching the shop from across the street.
As they entered the shop, Lamont said, “Ah, here we are, Margot.”
Mary said, “I’ll be with you in just a moment.”
Lamont replied, “Thank you.”
And then Mary addressed Mrs. Jovani, “If you hear of anyone else who has any of these bad bills that father had to give out, let me know, Mrs. Jovani. I’ll make them good if it takes every cent we’ve got.
“I will. Well, good-a-bye.”
“Goodbye, Mrs. Jovani.”
Turning to Lamont, she said, suspiciously, “Good evening. What do you want?”
Margot replied, ”A couple cans of corn and perhaps some string beans."
Lamont added, “A loaf of bread … perhaps with some butter.”
Mary asked, ”You’re strangers in this neighborhood?”
Lamont added, “Ah … yes, and get some peaches.”
Margot said, “Yes, two large cans of peaches.”
Mary challenged, “Strangers don’t come way over here to this section to buy groceries.” She reached for the gun under the counter and challenged, “
Who are ya, and whaddya want?”
Lamont ordered, “Miss Sullivan, put away that gun. You’re a courageous, but a rather
foolish young woman.”
“Maybe so, but I don’t have anyone to think of beside myself. I’m not like my dad who was afraid because he had a family.”
Margot injected herself into the conversation, “Please Miss Sullivan, we’re not members of the counterfeit ring that’s been terrorizing your father.”
“How do I know that,” she challenged.
Lamont answered, “If we were members of that ring, Miss Sullivan, you would have been shot long before you could have pulled out that gun. It’s very obvious.”
“Well, what do ya want?”
“For appearances sake, because this door is being watched. I suggest that you give us the groceries we ordered.”
“All right. What was it now?”
Margot replied, “Corn, string beans and peaches.”
As she set the cans on the counter, Mary said, “Here’s the corn. Who are you, newspaper reporters or the police?”
Lamont challenged, “Would you like to save your father from that year in prison?"
"Yes, anything. It’s killing my mother. Who are you? How can you save my father?”
Lamont turned to Mary and said, “Now, the other things. Keep moving … listen to me.”
“Yes, sir?”
“You’re a brave girl, Miss Sullivan, but your life won’t be worth one of those counterfeit bills unless you use your head.”
“Whaddya mean?”
“Do you know enough about this counterfeit ring … how they operate and who they are to make them fear you would talk?”
“I know how they operate, but Slader and Murino were the only ones that came here.”
“Slader and Murino will be out of the picture for the present. Get me anything, anything at all. Make a package.”
"My father never saw anyone else, at least none of the big shots. I’ll put this stuff in a paper bag.”
Margot had been acting as lookout and said, “There are two men now in that doorway across the street.
“Now, Miss Sullivan, I can’t tell you who I am or exactly why I’m here except that I was in court today. I want to help you. I can, if you are willing to take a great risk to help your father.”
“I’ll do anything for Dad. If I don’t get him out, I’m afraid my mother will die. If I only knew who was behind Slader and Murino. Who was their boss?”
“You can find out, but you know what happens to those who know too much.”
“I’ll take that risk. How can I find out who they are?”
“By pretending to know more than you do.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Those men across the street will undoubtedly come in her the minute we leave. They’ll question you. Pretend you know how they operate.”
“Yes?”
“But you want to be paid to keep quiet.”
“Yes?”
“They’ll take you to a higher up. Maybe not the ringleader, but someone who knows the real leader.”
Margot interjected, “But they’ll kill her.”
“Not until they find out how much she knows and who else shares that knowledge.”
“It’s all right. I don’t care.”
“It’s only fair to warn you … you’re taking a desperate chance.”
“What’ve I got to lose? They’ll probably try to put me out of the way anyhow. They all know how I feel about ‘em. I said I’d kill ‘em for what they did to my father if I ever found out who they were.”
Margot pointed out, “Those men … they’ve started across the street.”
“We have to go, Miss Sullivan … better think over what I said before you act.”
“I’ll do it. My mind’s made up.”
“Come on, Margot.” Lamont and Margot exited the store to the accompaniment of the bell on the door.
Once they were in the car, Margot accosted Lamont, “Lamont, aren’t you letting that girl take a terrible risk?”
“Margot, that girl was marked for death before we came here.”
“What are we going to do? Look, those men, they’re going into the store.”
At that point, Lamont directed her, “Margot, get a taxi and get out of this district. Make sure you are not followed. I believe you have a benefit to attend, unfortunately, I will not be able to be there with you. Make your way there. If I need assistance, I’ll use a radio to call Burbank.”
“But won’t you tell me what you’re going to do?”
“There’s no time, Margot. I have to see where they take her. From now on, the fate of Mary Sullivan … is in the hands of … The Shadow.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Even though she was worried about Lamont going up against the counterfeiter gang alone, Margot had followed his instructions to the letter. She had hailed a cab and given an address. Just in case she was being followed, she had paid the fare and left the cab when it had been stopped in traffic. She had gone around a corner and taken another cab. She repeated this once more and being fairly certain that she could not have been followed, she had finally given the address of her apartment. After changing clothes, she had contacted Burbank and asked that Shrevvy pick her up to take her to the benefit.
When she got home from the benefit she called Burbank, but he had not heard from Lamont and that only served to increase her worry.
Eventually she went to bed for a fitful night’s sleep only to be awakened by Lamont’s phone call and him acting like nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. As if she shouldn’t have been worried about him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After the call she had spent a leisurely couple of hours in her apartment. She had the
radio on in the background playing swing. She liked classical, some of it anyhow, but
swing was her
passion. Whenever she and Lamont went out to a club, they spent time on the dancefloor and that was exactly what she was looking forward to because tonight they were going to
The Savoy and they always had a hot swing band playing.
She had ordered her breakfast and eaten it while she had scanned the newspaper. She noted an article about the capture of the counterfeiting ring. The Harbor Patrol had been called and they had found two dead mobsters, the leader of the gang and the presses on a yacht. Ballistics reports said that one of the mobsters had been killed by the gang leader. Inspector Cardona admitted that the tipoff had been received by radio from The Shadow. Lamont had been
very busy last night. After finishing breakfast and the paper she had taken her time getting dressed for the day.
She was humming along with a song as she was going through her closet, she thought, <I really need to pick up a few new things. Lamont has seen all of these things so often, I’m sure he’s growing tired of seeing me in them.>
She finally decided on what to wear and after dressing, headed out to meet Shrevvy. When she stepped out of the apartment building, she was dressed in morning attire, a light weight, mid-calf length, beige, floral print, crepe skirt, short sleeve rust colored silk blouse and brown pumps. On her head rested a beige pillbox hat and over her shoulder was the strap of her bag. Since Shrevvy didn’t take regular fares he couldn’t park at the regular cab stand in front of her apartment building, so he would be parked just around the corner.
She had taken too long dressing and was now a few minutes late, so she was rushing down the street. She would be changing at the penthouse later, because they were going to be having dinner with Commissioner Ralph Weston and his wife. Also present would be Inspector Cardona, another one of the highest ranking police officials in the city.
Afterward Lamont might be going to visit the state penitentiary. An inmate had been executed and Lamont wanted to follow up on it.
She had realized that she was late and was looking at her watch to see just how late as she rushed on and didn’t see the doorway that opened in front of her and she stumbled through. As she did she bumped into someone moving in the other direction. Once the universe stopped moving and she had her bearings again, she started to mutter an apology to the person she had bumped, but there was no one there, just a shadow filled alley Turning around she saw the back of a man as he was hurrying away.
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Universal Locator designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 – Prime
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Metropolis November 1995
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Margot was shocked and dazed from the unexpected time travel, although she didn’t know that was what it was, and the unfamiliar sights and sounds. There was a constant roar of traffic and car horns. To top it all off, the horns all sounded strange. She found herself spinning slightly, trying to stabilize herself because she was still somewhat dazed, she stumbled backwards, into the street. When she finally stopped she looked up to see a yellow painted vehicle with its horn blaring, bearing down on her at a rapid speed. An involuntary scream was torn from her throat, “
HELP!”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
When Clark had left the bullpen a short time before lunch, it was because Superman had been called away to respond to a traffic accident. When he had arrived, he had found a middle aged black woman trapped in the damaged car. He had swooped down and landed next to the car just as the Fire/Rescue arrived. He evaluated the wreck and decided that because of the crumpled quarter panel, the driver’s door would have to be removed to get her out so stepping forward, he grasped the door frame where the window was down and yanked. The door came off cleanly in his hand.
Once the door had been removed, he reached in and unclasped her seatbelt. He offered his hand to assist the woman to exit the vehicle. She was crying too hard to notice. He did a quick x-ray and determined that there were no broken bones. Faced with this unknown situation he asked, “Is there anything I can do?”
She answered, “No …
yes, you can get me away from here to some safe place.”
“Why is that?”
“We just
got this car! We had to replace our last one when I had a wreck and Ultra Woman had to rip the door off
that one. My husband threatened to
sue Ultra Woman, he’s going to
kill me.”
Just then an ambulance pulled up and Superman led her over to it. As he assisted her inside he said to the attendant, “No broken bones, but she is emotionally upset, very upset. Perhaps observation.”
“Sure thing, Superman. Thanks. For your help.
As he stepped back preparatory to taking off he said, “Don’t mention it.”
The woman he had just rescued had mentioned Ultra Woman so as he soared into the air, Clark was thinking of Lois and the time she had spent as Ultra Woman. It had been a difficult time on both of them, but especially on Lois. She had needed to learn how to control her powers and also make decisions about who to help, but more importantly, who not to help. A smile came to his lips as he thought about the outcome. After Lois had seen just what it was like to be him, she had rescinded her refusal to his proposal by proposing to him. Now they were engaged to be married and he was the happiest man on this or any planet.
He spotted a clock on the outside of a building and realized that it was almost lunchtime. If he hurried he might make it back to the Planet before Lois left for lunch and they could go together. Thus thinking, Clark changed his heading and started for the Planet.
As he approached the Planet he was using his telescopic vision to check the roof to make sure that there was no one there to see him change, but as he neared the roof his hearing picked up Lois’s voice shouting for help. A quick scan found her. He was confused for an instant because she apparently had changed clothes. He quickly overcame his confusion because she was in the middle of the street with a Metrocab bearing down on her. Putting on a burst of speed, he landed right behind her. He was only on the ground for an instant, but in that time he placed his arms around her and took off again, his precious cargo wrapped up in them.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Margot had been frozen to the spot and it seemed inevitable that the vehicle would hit her when suddenly, she was snatched from the jaws of death and whisked skyward. That tore another scream from her throat, “Whaaaaattttttt????” just before she passed out.
When she came back to her senses she could feel a cool breeze on her cheek. She felt herself being carried and looking around saw that she was up in the air. She started to scream again, but a very familiar voice stopped her when she heard, “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”
Sill panicky, her eyes wide in shock, she screamed in terror, “You’ve got me!?! But Lamont, who’s got you???”
In a soothing tone, he asked “Lois, are you okay?”
Still panicked, but puzzled, she asked, “Lois? Who’s Lois?”
Now
he was puzzled. “Aren’t you Lois Lane?”
Calming somewhat, she replied, “You got the Lane part right, but the name’s Margot,
Margot Lane. Do you mean to tell me that you’re not Lamont?”
“Lamont? Who’s Lamont?”
“Lamont Cranston, my boyfriend.” She looked around and said, “I don’t see the Empire State Building. I was in New York. This is a strange city. Where am I?”
“This is Metropolis.”
“Metropolis, where’s that?”
“New Troy.”
“New Troy? Never heard of it. How did I get here? The last thing I remember, I was going to meet Shrevvy. Lamont was supposed to be taking me to dinner. I remember, I was looking at my watch. The next thing I knew I was on a strange sidewalk. If you’re not Lamont, who are you?”
“I’m Superman.”
“Seems a bit ostentatious.”
Shrugging off her comment, Clark said, “I think we have to talk. You need to tell me what happened to Lois.”
“I don’t know any Lois.”
“You’ll have to pardon me if I don’t believe you.” At this point he was starting to think that something strange had happened. Using his x-ray vision he scanned the Planet building and didn’t spot Lois. Then he used his super-nearing. When he did, the heartbeat of the woman in his arms was that of his fiancée. An explanation for what had happened was forming in his mind so he shaped his course for his apartment.
When they landed on the balcony, Margot broke free of him and challenged, “Why have you brought me here, wherever here is?”
“Sorry, but this is the first place I thought of. We need privacy and we will have it here.” He decided to test his theory, “Now, why don’t you tell me just who you are and what you have done with Lois.”
Confusion evident on her face, she squeaked out, “What have
I done with
Lois? What have
you done with
me?” Her voice firmed on the final question. “
Why did you bring me here?”
“I told you, this is my apartment.”
“I don’t mean that. Why did you bring me
here … to Metropolis?”
“
I didn’t bring you to Metropolis.”
Margot was becoming exasperated and her tone began to rise. “If you didn’t bring me here, then how
did I get here?”
Trying to calm her, Superman asked, “What’s the last thing you remember?”
With asperity in her tone, she replied, “I told you, I was hurrying down a sidewalk in New York City and then I looked up and I was here, in Metropolis, wherever that is and something, I guess it was a car, was trying to run me down. That was a car, wasn’t it? It looked very strange and … yellow. Look, I need you to send me back. Lamont needs me and I need him.”
This was all confirming his hypothesis. There was one sure way to be confirm his suspicion, he said, “I
think I have an idea as to what has happened. Why don’t we go inside, sit down and discuss this situation.”
Margot shivered because she was dressed for New York in the late summer and it was now November in Metropolis. She wrapped her arms around herself and said, “That sounds like a good idea. It’s chilly out here.”
They stepped in through the French doors into Clark’s bedroom, passed through that into his living room.
Margot looked around and gasped.
That was what Clark had been waiting for, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
She turned on him and in an indignant tone, she accused, “How dare you … you … thief!” She flung out an arm and pointed at Clark’s African tribal mask and said, “Why did you steal Lamont’s mask? That was a souvenir of his travels. Then she caught a glimpse of his fertility idol and shifting her pointing finger added, “And his fertility idol!”
Clark nodded in understanding at this confirmation and then said, “I think I know what has happened and I
think I can explain to your satisfaction. Won’t you please have a seat? Would you like a cup of coffee?” In an encouraging tone, he added, “It’ll warm you up.”
Looking around for other items, several caught her eye and distractedly she dropped onto the couch and said, “Coffee? Sure. Two sugars and milk, please.”
“Sugar or artificial sweetener?”
“Artificial sweetener? What’s that?”
“Never mind. Coffee with two sugars coming right up.” Clark quickly fixed two cups of coffee and bringing them in, set them on the coffee table.
As he seated himself, he indicated his souvenirs and began, “Believe it or not, those are mine and I gathered them on my world travels.”
“But they’re the same as the ones Lamont has.”
“I don’t doubt that in the slightest. Look at it this way; I mistook you for Lois Lane. You mistook me for Lamont Cranston. You look like her and I must look like him. What I propose is this, a swap has been made. Lois, my Lois is now in your New York and you, Margot Lane are now in her Metropolis. An old nemesis of mine, Tempus, has to be the one that did this.”
“With what you can do, the flying thing, why don’t you just take me to New York and pick her up? Another thing, since you can fly, why have I never heard of you?”
“I’d love to if it was that simple, but it isn’t. This is the hard part, Tempus didn’t just move you from one city to another. He has moved you from one reality, one universe, to another. Think of an onion, many thin layers side-by-side making up the whole. The universes are like that, many of them side-by-side. What Tempus has done is move you from one layer to another. You haven’t heard of me because … I apparently don’t exist in your reality. This is one of his most nefarious schemes.”
As she listened, she had picked up her cup and sipped and when he had finished, asked, “Tempus?”
“A man from the future. The future of this planet is a utopia, a utopia that he is disgusted with and wants to destroy. Tempus has made many attempts to do just that. He is able to do this because he has a time travel device that he stole from Herb Wells.” Clark smiled and continued, “I don’t think he planned on this switch and that may just be our ace in the hole. It is just possible that the way I found you, your Lamont may find Lois. If that’s the case, one or the other team might just find a way to correct the situation.”
Margot seemed out of her depth as she asked, “But how can we do that? I don’t even know how I got here. If we don’t know how I got here, how can we reverse it?”
“Ah, you see, we don’t have to know
how you got here. All we need to know is
who brought you here. I’m pretty sure that would be Tempus. The easiest way to find him is to let him find us.”
Mystified, she asked, “What do you mean?”
“Tempus’s main motivation is to keep me and my fiancée apart because he believes that will prevent utopia from being formed. I think the easiest way to make him come to us is if we make him believe that he failed and we are still together.”
Margot looked confused, but then admitted, “Sounds reasonable. I guess.”
“Do you think you could pretend to be my fiancée?”
“Now, wait just a dog gone minute. If you think we are going to play patty cake just to convince this guy that he failed, well, you need to think again.”
Mystified, Clark asked, “What did you think I meant?”
“Look, we’re grown-ups, but I draw the line at…”
Clark was mystified as to just what she was implying, but then he got it and slapping his forehead, said, “Oh, I see, well, we don’t … that is to say we aren’t having … we
are engaged, but we haven’t
consummated our relationship. We decided to wait until we are married for that.”
Relief was obvious in her voice as she replied, “Well, all right. Lamont and I aren’t engaged yet and we haven’t… If you were going to ask that, I’d have had to say … no.”
“I understand completely. I need to make a call. I’m going to call my editor and tell him that Lois isn’t feeling well and we will be working from home for a couple of days.”
“What do you do?”
“Lois and I are investigative reporters for a major metropolitan newspaper. I couldn’t just take you in there and introduce you as Lois. You wouldn’t know the people we work with. Your cover would be blown right away. I’ll have to coach you.”
“You work as a reporter? Dressed like that?”
He looked down at himself and realized that he had forgotten to change. He smiled and said, “Uh, well, no. I wear civilian clothes for that. This is a costume I use to protect my secret identity.”
Margot relaxed some more. “That I can relate to.”
Hearing her comment, Clark decided that he would need to follow up on it. “Be back in a second.” He stepped into the bedroom and did a spin change, and reappeared in his business suit.
She let out an “Ooohh” and then said, “I like the cut of that suit. Is that a new style?”
“No, this style has been around for a few years.”
“I’m used to double-breasted suits. I might just suggest glasses to Lamont.”
“Double breasted suits went out of fashion some time ago. This may seem like a foolish question, but please bear with me, what year was it before you found yourself here?”
“It was September 25, 1937 when I got up this morning.”
“That confirms it. Today is November 15, 1995. Tempus not only moved you from your city, New York and presumably your world, he also moved you ahead about fifty-eight years.”
She gasped and dropped back onto the sofa. “Fifty-eight years? How did that happen?”
“Tempus is a time traveler. He has a device that facilitates his movement through time and space.”
“Well, how does all of this get me home?”
“By convincing him that he made a mistake. That should draw him out. In order to do that, I will need to coach you on how to be Lois Lane.”
“Sounds like you’ve got your work cut out for you. How long has she known these people?”
In a deflated tone he said, “Years. She was an intern with the paper before she made the promotion to reporter.”
Her eyes went wide in disbelief, “You expect me to develop years of familiarity with these people in just a few days?”
Snapping his fingers, Clark said, “I know, the almost accident you just had. We can say that Superman saved you, but because of the closeness of the incident, you have hysterical amnesia and that your memory is hazy, but should return eventually.”
She replied, “That might get us by. I guess we have no other option. We have to try it.”
“First thing I need to do is use the keys that Lois gave me to her apartment so that you can change your clothes. Right now fashion is all over the place, but predominately, skirt lengths are a lot shorter than what you have on.”
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