Clark and Lois – Two Universes - Matchmaker Chronicle Volume 7 11/32
By Ken Janney
Rating PG-13
Disclaimers: The characters in this story are property of DC, December 3rd productions and Warner Bros. No Copyright infringement is intended. I have just borrowed the characters for a short time.
This particular story takes place after Lois and Clarks.
* * denotes emphasis
< > denotes thoughts
(#) footnotes
/ “denotes telepathic communication”/
[ playback of a recording or TV Commentary]For reference purposes the following will hold true throughout.
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 004 x Tau -120 – Canon Lois and Clark universe also called – Prime
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 – Canon Alt Clark universe also called – Alt 1
Alpha -120 x Gamma 255 x Tau -190 – Common name – Alt 2
As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com)
Previously:
Lois had been looking for clues as to when Doctor Klein couldn’t hear the tone anymore because she couldn’t let on that her hearing was every bit as acute as Clark’s.
“No, it went beyond the range of human hearing. We are at about 30,000 Hertz. Here we go, higher. Don’t forget; let me know when you can’t hear it any longer.”
Dr Klein turned the knob some more and stopped. He asked, “You still hear that?”
“Yes, doctor.”
“Amazing! We have passed 60,000 Hertz. That is normally the top of the range for dogs. Let’s proceed with the test.”
He turned the knob some more and then stopped. He asked, “You’re sure you still hear the tone?”
“Yes, doctor. Is that a problem?”
Doctor Klein was almost clapping his hands in glee. This test was working out better than he had expected. He replied to Clark’s question, “No! No, not at all. We have exceeded the range of the dog and are into the range of the mouse. Now the mouse tops out at around 70,000 Hertz.” He turned the knob again. “Do you still hear the tone?”
“Loud and clear.”
“Incredible. We are now at 85,000 Hertz. Well into the range of the bat. My equipment isn’t built to go any higher.” Doctor Klein turned off his machine before he said, “Well, I think we know what we have to do. We need to create a device which will emit a sound in the range something above 60,000 Hertz so that dogs are not affected by the tone. That would alert whoever was near that there was a signal being generated. Mice and bats won’t matter. Now, does size matter?”
“It would need to be small enough that it can be carried and concealed easily.”
“How many would you need?”
“I think six would be a good start. I think that three could be for men. The other three should be something a woman would wear.”
“Let me see what I can come up with. Call me in a couple of days.”
They all stood up and shook hands. Lois and Clark exited and headed back to the Planet.
As they did, Lois sent, /”That went well, but, who is the third device for?”/
/”You, my dear.”/
/”But … I don’t need one! I’m not about to carry around some clunky electronic gadget!”/
/”No matter what it looks like you do need one, if only for appearances sake. We can’t treat you any differently from Lucy and Mayson.”/
/”Oh, right. Secret weapon.”/ As she thought this to him she had a sour expression on her face.
And Now:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 09 – Mr. Olsen Sells Out
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Universal Locator Designation
Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 - Local designation – Alt 1
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Jack had been working at the Planet for a little over a week and apparently he liked the work because he was eager for every assignment and was quick to accomplish whatever he was given to do.
Clark and Lois were going over some of the data that Lucy had gathered for them on Leslie Luckabee when Jack approached. “Mr. K, want a cup of java?”
“Sure Jack thanks. Are there any cake donuts left?”
“I’ll see, how about you, Ms. Lane? Coffee and a donut maybe?”
“Thanks, Jack. Are there any chocolate covered left? That’d sure be nice.”
He walked off whistling a tune returning a minute later with the coffees fixed just the way they liked them with a chocolate frosted donut for Lois and a cake donut for Clark. He smiled in return to Lois’ smile of appreciation at seeing the donut. He was depositing Clark’s on his desk and as Clark was thanking him he heard Denise in research calling him. He smiled and said, “Duty calls,” and headed in her direction.
Lois smiled as she watched him go. She sent, /”He’s just like our Jack, isn’t he.”/
He replied in kind, /”I’m glad we were able to help them. Denny’s settling in to school and seems to be doing okay. He has some catching up to do, but I think he can handle it and Jack has enrolled in night school. He could be ready to go for his GED within the year. I think I’ll talk to Murray and see about a Superman Foundation scholarship to college for him.”/
/”I know that Jack would appreciate it. Let’s talk after he has his GED.”/
A minute later Jack was back with a stack of printouts that he had picked up from Lucy.
Lois looked through the file and let out a rather unladylike snort which Clark heard. He moved over and perched on the corner of her desk. He asked, “Okay, what’s the problem?”
“Here, look for yourself. There’s nothing! We have some money moving around and changing hands, but no source and no history of Luckabee except for just before he came to the states. We *need* to go to Australia to check on him.”
“Okay, but before we do that we need to make sure that Lucy can handle Jack and Denny.”
Lois said, “I think all we need to do is give Lucy the keys to the car. I’m sure the guys will behave. She can oversee Denny’s homework while Jack is at school. She isn’t as good a cook as me, but I believe she could make them a meal, no problem.”
“Okay, you’ve convinced me. Let’s go talk to Lucy and Jack.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Now that the decision had been made, Lois made the hotel reservations while Clark called STAR Labs. After the call was transferred he spoke to Dr. Klein. “Dr. Klein, Clark Kent.”
“Hi Clark, I’ve been waiting for you to call. I think I have something for you. Do you want to stop by?”
“Sure doctor, Lois and I will be right over.”
Clark called over to Lois, “Doctor Klein has something. Want to go see what it is?”
In a somewhat irritated tone she said, “Okay, I guess so. What would something put together by that mad scientist look like? It’ll probably be a small box jammed with wires and electronic … stuff. I hope you don’t mind if I don’t wear it all the time. I might stick it in my bag and just forget about it.”
In a placating tone he replied, “It’s just for show, nothing more.”
She grumbled, “Okay, let’s go see what he has.”
They headed for the elevator and took it down to the lobby and exiting the building hailed a cab.
They didn’t know it but there was a watcher across the street.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When they arrived at STAR Labs they were sent on back. When they entered his lab Dr. Klein was beaming with pride. He said, “Welcome, welcome. I think you’re going to be pleased with what we have come up with. First, I need to take your picture, yours too Lois, if you don’t mind.”
Clark said, “Okay doctor, snap away.”
He had them each stand in front of a neutral background as he snapped several pictures. In one he even had them kissing.
Since he was using an instant camera the pictures were developed after just a few minutes. He took a pair of scissors, trimmed the pictures and disappeared for a minute. When he returned he had a jewelry tray and on it were several lockets and watches.
The watches were oversized sports watches and each had metal bands. The lockets were silver and gold tone. While they had been working on them Doctor Klein had gotten a list of recipients. Two of them had the initials ‘LL’ and one had ‘MS’ emblazoned on the face.
Dr Klein picked up one of the ‘LL’ lockets and handed it to Lois. He said, “This one is for Lois. Go ahead and open it.”
At first sight Lois had expressed her feelings by going “Oooooo.” Lois just held it and admired the workmanship. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry. She caressed the surface with her fingers feeling the engraving. When Lois opened it on one side was a picture of Clark and on the other was the picture of them kissing. She said, “Dr. Klein, I love it. You’re special. How did you know I’d like this?”
“Just an educated guess. The watch design was my idea. The idea for the locket design came from Isabella, one of the lab techs. That accounts for the outer surface and the picture area; the rest of it is a marvel of micro miniaturization.” Indicating the ring that the chain passed through he said, “Turn this one quarter turn and it will emit a signal at 80,000 Hertz. The battery will power the transmitter for ten hours before needing to be replaced.” He picked up one of the watches and handed it to Clark. “This looks like any other sports watch. It is shock proof, anti-magnetic and waterproof to 150 meters. It has a number of buttons for different functions.” He pointed to the button on the upper right. “Push this button in and it will emit a sound at 85,000 Hertz. Can you discriminate between those frequencies?”
“I was able to when we ran the tests.” Clark replied.
“I debated using the same frequency for all of the devices but decided to differentiate between the male and female signals. The battery in the watch will last longer because it is bigger.”
Lois looked at Clark and said, “Forget what I said before. I’m going to wear this all the time,” and so saying she immediately put on the necklace and the locket came to rest deep in her cleavage. Clark watched Lois do so with interest. It was then that he realized that her breasts seemed to be ever so slightly larger.
Lois said, “Doctor Klein, how can I thank you? Oh, I know!” She gave him a kiss on the cheek and said, “Thank you.”
Blushing, Dr. Klein said, “I made the chain extra long so that if you decide to keep the locket hidden, it can be worn under a top. If you want it seen you could wear something like what you have on or you could use a shorter chain.” Turning to Clark he said, “If you need any more, just let me know.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When they got back to the office Clark used an instant camera to take Lucy’s picture and after trimming them and placing them in the locket he gave it to her and explained how it worked. She also loved its appearance and promised to wear it all the time. When Mayson and Daniel returned from their honeymoon she would get hers, but hers would have a picture of Dan instead of Superman.
After presenting the locket to Lucy he called Jack over and said, “Jack, I have something here for you,” as he handed him a watch.
Jack’s eyes bugged out at the sight of this very fancy and obviously expensive watch. “I can’t accept that! That’s too much! I owe you a month’s salary already for these and Denny’s clothes. I could never afford a watch like that," he said as he handed the watch back.
Clark was smiling as Jack went through this. When he stopped, Clark said, “Don’t think of this as a present, think of it as a piece of equipment that is being assigned to you. You see, since you and Denny are now associated with me, you are now in some danger. Crooks might try to kidnap you in order to force me to work for them.”
Jack got a look of some disbelief as he said, “Just let ‘em try. They won’t be able to catch me.”
Clark chuckled at his bravado and said, “I don’t expect that they could, under normal circumstances, but let’s say that the circumstances aren’t exactly normal. That’s where this watch comes in.” He pointed to the upper right button and said, “When you push in on this button it will send out a sound that I will be able to hear and I can follow it to where you are. Look at it this way, if you are kidnapped and you trigger the signal, I’ll be able to catch the kidnappers and they can be put where they belong. You would like to have a hand in capturing the bad guys, wouldn’t you?”
Jack reached out for the watch and said, “Well, since you put it that way, sure, I’d be happy to wear that watch. What about Denny?”
Clark replied, “There’s a watch for Denny too.”
Jack started to grin, “That’s great. I guess we’re all part of the team now, huh?”
Clark smiled and said, “I guess you are.”
Just then Mr. Olsen called Lois and Clark to his office.
When they were in there with the door closed he said, “I’ve had a call from the people representing Luckabee. They are asking for my answer to the sale of the Planet.”
Lois asked, “Is there any way you could stall? We haven’t gotten nearly as far as we need to on the investigation. We do know that he has a criminal record. We aren’t sure yet what the beef was, but we hope to find out soon.”
“If his wasn’t the only offer I might be able to say that I need to consider all of the offers that are on the table.”
Lois got a shrewd look as she said, “Can you excuse us for a few minutes?”
“Sure, just let me know what you come up with.”
Lois led Clark into the conference room and after closing the door said, “We need to make an offer to buy the Planet.”
Clark was incredulous as he blurted out, “What?!?!?! How can we do that??? That would take millions!”
Lois was calm as she replied, “Between the two of us we can mine enough rare earths, gold, silver, platinum and gemstones to make it possible.”
Seeing where she was going with this he started thinking out loud, “I guess we could do that, but I don’t want to own the Planet.”
Lois replied, “We won’t have to. We could do it through a blind trust using the Superman Foundation as the trustee. Look at it this way; it will kill two birds with one stone. Mr. Olsen doesn’t want to be Lucy’s boss or ours for that matter when they are married and we can keep the Planet out of Luckabee’s hands. We can make sure that the Planet stays true to its founding principles.”
As Lois had been outlining the plan, he had started seeing the viability of her solution. He said, “That sounds like a good plan. Why don’t I go start doing that while you proceed with the investigation, but first I think we need to talk with Mr. Olsen.”
She nodded her agreement and they went back to his office. After they were seated Lois asked, “How many millions is his offer?”
Mr. Olsen looked at Lois and said, “I really shouldn’t be telling you this but, $45 million. What do you have up your sleeve?”
“How would an offer of $50 million sound?”
“What?? How could you do that?”
“Leave that up to us. You’ll have an offer of $50 million coming in shortly. Now, if you’ll excuse us, Clark has an errand to run and I’ve got an investigation to pursue.”
Still amazed at what he had heard he said, “Okay, if you say so. Who will the offer come from?”
“It will come from a blind trust which will hide the names of the principles. That way Luckabee will not know who his competition is.”
“What if he tries to out bid the offer?”
With a smile, Lois replied, “The resources of the trust are virtually unlimited. Don’t worry, he can’t bid high enough to out bid the trust.”
Looking at Lois with awe on his face, “If you guys can do that, why do you work here?”
Clark started to laugh as he replied, “Because we like to. We like the challenge of bringing the bad guys to justice. It’s what we live for.”
Shaking his head in disbelief he said, “Okay, well, I guess I’ll just wait to hear from this trust.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Later that afternoon, Murray, director of the Superman Foundation, called Mr. Olsen with an offer of $50 million as the administrator of a blind trust for the Daily Planet. He promised that the Foundation’s lawyers were preparing the paperwork and that the official hard copy would be forthcoming.
Mr. Olsen thanked him and looking out through his office window he saw Lois and Clark talking. He just shook his head and muttered, “I guess if they are working here because they like to and they could do this, who am I to say nay.” He picked up the phone and called the representatives of Leslie Luckabee to give them the bad news about their offer.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A little while later in the penthouse of the Plaza a very angry Smythe was again pacing the room while Leslie was behind the bar pouring himself another drink. And because of Smythe’s mood it was a stiff drink.
Luckabee asked, “Do you want a drink, mate? I think you need some amber fluid.” His head tracked left and right as he followed his boss’s movements.
Smythe stopped and with anger evident on his face as he glared at Luckabee he spat out, “Oh, what gave you a clue?”
“You’re pacing like a caged lion and you don’t have your bloody opera playing.”
Smythe strode up to the bar and struck it with his closed fist, emphasizing his frustration, needing to strike something. “We were just notified that we have been outbid for the Daily Planet. I told our representatives to up the offer to $47.5 million. I can’t afford to go any higher and that would be pushing it as it is. He couldn’t even tell me who it was that made the offer. He said it came from a blind trust. I suspect I know just who it is though, the trust administrator is the Superman Foundation.”
Luckabee slammed down his glass and choked out, “He’s on to us, is that it? Let’s get out while the going’s good. I don’t know about you, but I learnt from that other go that I really don’t want to tangle with him.”
Even though he wasn’t that calm himself, Smythe held up his hand in a calming gesture as he said, “Don’t panic! Keep your shirt on. We don’t know that he’s on to us. All we know is that he doesn’t want us to own the Daily Planet. We still have LNN, and we can start our campaign. There’s always the Metropolis Star, it doesn’t have the distribution or the reputation of the Daily Planet but we could still buy it. I’ll have to think about that.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Clark was at Lois’ desk and they were looking at the latest from Lucy when Mr. Olsen called to them. They moved to his office and saw the amused look on his face.
Noting his look, Clark started to smile also as he said, “Apparently you got some good news.”
Olsen’s smile grew wider as he said, “Oh, you could say that. Apparently the fact that they were out bid didn’t set very well. I just had a call upping their offer to $47.5 million. When I told them that the other offer was higher their rep was fit to be tied. The fact that they only upped the ante by a $2.5 mil tells me that they were being stretched and I don’t think they will make any further offers. How soon do you want to sign the papers and take ownership?”
Lois replied, “Whoa, hold on. Not so fast! We’re not in any hurry are you?”
“Well, no.”
“Then, why don’t we leave things as they are. Just because the offer is there and the money is guaranteed who says we have to complete the deal immediately. Let’s just carry on with things as they are.”
Olsen’s countenance lit up as understanding dawned, “It isn’t that you are unhappy with me having the Planet, you just didn’t want Luckabee to have it. Okay, how about we handle it this way. From now on we work together, I mean, you don’t work for me, we work together – partners. You are the de facto owners anytime I sign the papers.”
Clark said, “Before you sign the papers, we’d like to have another Editor-in-Chief waiting in the wings to take the reins.”
“Do you have someone in mind?”
Lois looked at Clark and asked, “How much longer is Perry’s term as mayor?”
Clark replied, “I think he has another year and a half until the next election. It would depend on if he decides to run for another term.”
“I think that if we offer him his old job back he’d jump at it. We can talk to him.”
“Does that mean I have to put off my plans?”
Lois asked, “You mean you and Lucy?”
With some concern in his voice he said, “Yeah.”
Lois said, “Well, now, let’s see, we are no longer in an employer/employee relationship since we are now partners, so it isn’t like I’d be working for my brother-in-law. That makes it a lot less awkward. Actually, I think we just removed a major roadblock.”
Mr. Olsen started to smile again, very broadly this time as he said, “Yeah, I guess we did. Well, in that case, Lois, as Lucy’s sister and closest relative can I ask her to marry me?”
Lois started to laugh. When she did his countenance fell, until she answered, “Odd that you should put it that way. Just the other day we were talking about a Bar-B-Q with you and our dad. It’ll give you a chance to meet him. He’s really the one you should ask.”
Hearing this Mr. Olsen’s expression brightened considerably. In a tone of relief he said, “Whew, you had me worried there. Sure, I’d love to meet him. And, since we are now partners and could be relatives soon, why don’t you both call me James.”
Cark said, “In private we will,” looking over his shoulder and nodding toward the bullpen he finished, “out there it’ll be Mr. Olsen. We don’t want it to look like there’s any favoritism being shown.”
Assuming an air of authority Mr. Olsen said, “Okay, if that’s all you’ve got, get back to work.” He winked at them.
They both nodded and said, loudly enough to be heard outside, “Anything you say, Mr. Olsen,” and turned to exit.
Clark picked up his phone and called Murray. “Murray, Clark Kent…. Yeah, the offer came in just fine…. Well, that’s the thing, the deal is there, but the transaction will not be completed for at least a year and a half…. Yeah, that’s right, you will have access to that money…. Yes, you can invest it at interest…. What??? … I don’t know about that. That wasn’t the purpose of that money…. Well, it would be nice to not live paycheck to paycheck. Okay, as long as legal agrees, that will be fine…. Okay, Thanks, Murray. We really appreciate it…. You’ll get back to us with the details? … That’s fine. Thanks again.” He hung up the phone and turned to Lois. “Murray just gave me a surprise. When I told him that the 50 mil would be in his care for a couple of years he proposed investing it at interest.”
“That sounds like good fiscal responsibility. He’s turned out to be a good manager.”
“That’s only part of it. He said that since the interest accrued isn’t coming in as royalties on memorabilia that he can’t mix it in with that income. According to him, the easiest way to handle it is to keep it totally separate.”
“That sounds reasonable. What does he propose to do with that money? The deal is for 50 mil. What will happen with that extra?”
“Murray is setting up a draw account for us. All of the interest generated from the investments will be ours to use to defray our expenses. He just cancelled the loan on the car and the mortgage. We are no longer in debt. The interest on the investments could amount to several million a year. With careful reinvestment of that interest by the end of the two years we could have a nice nest-egg, especially if we can live on our salaries otherwise.”
“Wow, that’s too much! You mean that we don’t have to worry about money any more?” She started to smile as she suggested, “Maybe we should do the same thing in the other universe.”
“In the other universe no one knows that Clark Kent is Superman. How could Clark Kent explain the influx of funds or access to Superman Foundation money?”
Disappointment in her tone, Lois said, “Yeah, well it was a thought.”
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