Clark and Lois -- The Lost Years Matchmaker Chronicle Volume 3 By KenJ Rated: PG-13 Submitted: March 2012 Summary: As Alt Clark and Herb are leaving canon Lois and Clark at the end of "Lois and Clarks," Herb offers his services in the search for Alt Lois. Herb moves Alt Clark into the past so that he can unite with Lois as she proceeds with the investigation, but things don't work out exactly as Herb planned. 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. Authors note: This is the third part of a multi-part saga. If you haven't done so as yet, please read the previous Volumes. You will have a better understanding of the fundamental premises of the set if you do. I wish to express my thanks to my Beta readers Ray Reynolds and Artemis for their invaluable help. I would especially like to thank Datasprite12 for her efforts in 'punching up' my French dialogue. My French is *very* rusty. I was close, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. This was a VERY rough draft when it first landed in their hands. Their patience with a rookie author has been exemplary. One *absolutely* critical point: In this entire series I will be dealing with time travel and multi-universe travel. It's therefore critical that you have the concept of alternate universes and are aware of which one the story is currently in at all times. I try to make sure you know where you are by using the "Universal Locator Designation" (See author's notes. A more complete explanation will be made in the Volume to be titled TTEMPO which will include the science behind it.). Some of the differences in ULDs will be very slight, changing only at the Tau value. If you don't keep this in mind, you will easily become confused as to what is happening and think I'm simply changing the story already presented in an earlier volume when it's actually another universe. As far as times, I will attempt to ensure that time markers are always present. This particular story takes place after "Lois and Clarks" and also before the series started. In some cases I will, of necessity, be going 'between' the episodes. In this Volume I'm using a number of flashbacks. In most cases the flashbacks are actual transcriptions of the dialog from the show. < denotes thoughts > *[ playback of a recording or TV Commentary]* / telepathic communications / (#) footnotes Also, please read the end notes. As always comments are welcome. (ken.janney@kjanney.com) OK, so you've already read a book, and you haven't even started the story yet. Thanks for your patience. Now, without further ado I present for your enjoyment: 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 Clark and Lois -- The Lost Years -- The Matchmaker Chronicles Volume 3 *** Chapter 1 -- Herb Makes an Offer March 1997 Herb left 348 Hyperion Avenue with the alternate Clark and proceeded to his time sled. It was parked at a short distance away, so he had a chance to talk to Clark while they walked. "My boy, what exactly have you done to try to find your Lois?" Still feeling bereft at losing Lois again, Clark was rather preoccupied with his own thoughts. He hadn't thought about that when Herb had approached him the other day asking if he could help out in the other universe. Herb had told him that Clark had been trapped in time, and he wasn't sure that he would be able to rescue him. All he actually thought about was the fact that he would be seeing Lois again, and if Clark couldn't be rescued -- maybe, just maybe he could stay, so he had jumped at the chance. Now everything was returned to normal. Lois had her Clark and vice versa, and he was going home alone. Herb, noting that Clark was rather preoccupied, repeated his question. "My boy, what exactly have you done to try to find your Lois?" Herb's question finally registered on his consciousness. Clark wondered at this question. He replied with a somewhat despondent tone, "Shortly after Lois left with you that time she was with me in my universe, I went to the Congo, and I personally searched the area. I had checked her itinerary, so I knew when she had arrived. It had been over three years earlier. I went to Brazzaville and followed, as best as I could, her movements from the airport where she landed. She had been following up on illegal gun shipments into the Congo being supplied to the rebel forces. She must have immediately gone undercover because I lost her when she left the airport. She must have gone into the jungle country following up on some leads, but I was never able to pick up her trail." With a satisfied expression on his face Herb decided that he was on the right track and decided to push the issue to confirm his suspicions. "What inquiries did you make to try to follow up on her trail?" Clark was starting to get irritated with all of these questions and asked in a sharp tone, "What are you getting at, Herb? I did everything I could think of to find her. Do you think I wouldn't have done everything possible? Can't you see that I wouldn't just give up?" With a somewhat dejected air he continued, "I went from village to village asking if anyone had seen a white woman. I had gone to the Daily Planet personnel office and found her old jacket. There was a passport size photo which I borrowed to show around. No one had any information. Eventually, I gave up. Shouldn't I have?" In his frustration Clark threw out his arms as if to encompass all that he had done and asked, "Did I give up too easily? She'd been missing for three years by the time I got there. The trail was cold. Could anyone have done better? Your questions seem to indicate that there was more I could have done." Maintaining his calm and trying to calm Clark, Herb said, "Patience, my boy, patience. All will be made clear shortly. Just bear with me for a few more questions. Did you inquire about a lone individual or one in company with others?" "Why would I ask that? Everyone knew that she always worked alone, so I always asked for a lone woman. Is that important?" "Let's make this hop, and then we can continue, okay?" They had reached the time sled, and both climbed aboard. This was Wells' original machine which had geographical as well as temporal movement capability. While Herb was setting the controls for the chosen destination, the conversation was placed on hold. Herb set the controls to take them to a particular alley in Metropolis from which he knew that he could move to Clark's alternate reality. This seemed to be the **only** spot from which he could move to the other Earth. He had been puzzling over this fact for some time and hadn't come to a resolution to that problem as yet. He wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that this was the alley that Tempus used when his malfunctioning time sled crossed the universe barrier? He needed to make a note of the longitude and latitude, so that he could find it in the future. Herb realized that it was going to require much more thought. Herb used this point to point transfer site to move to the alternate universe. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Universal Locator Designation Alpha 023 x Gamma 025 x Tau 036 Local designation -- Alt 1 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% While they had been in transit, Herb had been mulling over the information he had gotten from Clark. After they arrived, Herb came to a decision. He said to Clark, "My boy, as we were leaving Lois and Clark you said that finding your Lois was 'impossible'. Well, I never say -- impossible. Would you like me to assist in your quest to find your Lois?" Clark was somewhat startled by this question. He had accompanied Herb to the other universe and intellectually had been aware that Herb could move through time, but it had somehow never occurred to him to ask him to assist in finding his Lois. "Are you serious? How can you help? Could you?" Suddenly it dawned on him just what might be accomplished by going back in time. "Would you do that for me?" Herb said, "Tut, tut, my boy, of course I can and will do that. One of my goals in this life is to help move your universe in the direction of Utopia. Since the union of Clark Kent, or Superman, with his soul mate, Lois Lane is critical to that, I am more than happy to assist." Clark seeing hope spring anew said with growing enthusiasm, "I would appreciate any help you could give me, that's for sure. This is more than I ever could have hoped for. I never even thought to ask for your help." Herb thought back to when he was trying to help Lois and Clark defeat the curse. They had changed history back in the middle ages with disastrous consequences which they had to rectify. He replied, "In the past I have intervened, and it has changed the course of history, sometimes, but not always, with tragic effect, and I intend to avoid doing that again. That being the case I will not simply take you back, so that you can rescue her and bring her back immediately. For one thing you have not at that time as yet revealed yourself. For another we do not know what actions taken by Lois have had an impact on the current day." As they were getting out of the time sled Herb broached his idea "I realize that you have looked for her yourself, but I can take you back to the point when she arrived. You were looking for her three years after she had disappeared and that was after the Congolese wars. There were probably less than a thousand Americans in the country, and most of them would have been in Brazzaville. That would have improved your odds of locating her. What I propose is this. Since you know her time and location of arrival in the Congo, I can take you to that time and place." Herb continued to explain his thoughts on the matter as they walked to Clark's apartment. "You asked if my question about your seeking a lone woman or one in company was important. You replied that you were always looking for a woman alone and lost the trail. That substantiates, to me at least, that perhaps she wasn't alone and **that** is **why** you lost her. She was **accompanied** by someone -- **you**." Clark got a hopeful expression on his face as he thought about this. "You know, you could be right! I never thought to ask for any **party** with a woman in it. Could I have really been with her??? Will I be with her??? With Lois, **my** Lois?" After they had entered Clark's apartment, Herb continued, "Perhaps you could meet her and then manage to accompany her on her investigation. You will need to keep in mind that for part of this time you would currently be in Metropolis as Clark Kent, working at the Daily Planet and you have not been revealed to the world as Superman. You would need to assume an alias and keep your powers concealed. During this period your revelation will occur so in order to avoid a conflict with that you must ensure that Lois is unaware of your powers unless and until you're sure of your relationship, and she is prepared to be told all of the truth." "I'll do whatever I need to do to be with her. Don't you know that by now, Herb?" "By taking you back to join her in her investigation, we **may** be altering things **slightly**." Herb said, "However, I'm of the opinion that what we see as the current state of things **includes** any activities you may have taken part in while in the past. Your activities will simply be a part of what we now know as the past." Clark was shocked at this possibility. With wonder in his voice he said, "Wow, I wonder what we did. Well, I guess I'll just have to wait and see. One thing I do know, that story was never filed. What could have prevented us from filing that story?" Herb thought for a few seconds before continuing. "Ideally, we should go back to sometime **before** her arrival so that you can establish yourself. When she arrives you should be ready to meet her, either as a colleague or casually. That will be up to you." Thinking over the alternatives for a few seconds before continuing, Herb finally said, "I'll leave you at that point. I'll return at one year intervals. I'll make the date easy to remember, let's meet on your birthday, February 28th, each year and meet at Livingston Falls. I'll be there from noon until 3 PM local. Keep in mind that this is going to be a long trip, possibly as much as five years, however, you will be able to return immediately after we depart openly and hopefully have Lois with you. To all intents and purposes, you will have only been gone a couple of minutes as far as any observer could determine. The time we just spent helping Lois and Clark in the other universe did not translate to an equal amount of time here in your universe. If you check you will find that we returned about five minutes after we left even though we were in their universe for several days. During this period you will need to avoid any overt paradoxes. You know where and when you performed your search, and you should make a concerted effort to avoid meeting yourself at those times." Clark gave the offered plan some consideration and saw the wisdom displayed in it. And with a nod Clark accepted the offered advice. He had this nagging feeling nibbling around the edges of his mind. It finally crystallized into a thought which he was able to express. "Wait a minute. If I come back to my own time and Lois is with me just minutes after I left, how do I explain it? She was missing and presumed dead, and suddenly she is back home with me at the same age as when she left? Surely you don't want time travel to be public knowledge? A super-powered man openly flaunting his abilities is one thing but a time-traveling one is another." Reaching up Herb removed his bowler hat and moving his hands around the rim spun it in his hands. Obviously this was a nervous habit that Herb had developed over the years and was done without thought. After mulling over Clark's statement for a time he admitted, "By Jove, that was a good thought there. Time-travel confuses even me sometimes." Never being one to pace Herb walked over to Clark's easy chair and sat down. With a frown creasing his brow he thought for a while and then jumping back up faced Clark again. "How's this? We'll bring you both back to the present perhaps a week later. You can say you found her in present day Republic of the Congo. By then she'll know about your special abilities, and you two can make up a story about what she was doing during those five years?" This idea seemed to resolve the problem, but Clark worried that he had found a fatal flaw in Herb's plan even before he could execute it, and he stood there looking apprehensive. After he had had a chance to mull over Herb's suggestion for some time, he sighed in relief, and a huge smile broke out on his face. "Good enough for me, I'm sure we can come up with something believable. Maybe she had amnesia or she was confined in a hospital due to illness," he exclaimed. Now wishing to convey his good wishes on this endeavor Herb continued with a very upbeat tone in his voice, "I envy you, my boy, on the adventure you are undertaking. Just think, for the next five years you will have the opportunity to get to know the Lois Lane of this world. You will have the opportunity to be her friend, confidant, and protector. Who knows but that by the end of that time, you may even be married and return as husband and wife? Stranger things have happened." Clark was becoming more and more enthusiastic as Herb continued to talk. "This is really going to work! I'll be able to be with her. I wonder how she will react to me. I know that with the other Lois I felt a connection. It's hard to describe, you know, but when we touched, I didn't want to let go." As Clark thought about this a bemused expression came over his features, Herb, noting the expression on Clark's face wondered exactly what he was thinking but decided not to pry. He cleared his throat to get Clark's attention and then said, "Clark, I need a new supply of gold for the time sled. While you're mining that for me, you should probably mine some for yourself. You will not have a source of income in 1992. You may wish to consider finding some precious gems as well. Pound for pound they are more valuable than gold, and you can easily convert gems into currency" Clark flew off and returned in about an hour with several bags full of gold nuggets and a smaller bag full of uncut gem stones. Herb said that a part of one bag would be adequate for his needs and that he should carry the remainder with him to deposit in a bank when they arrived in the proper time. Clark then started packing for the trip. He was thinking exclusively of tropical clothing and so packed suitable suits and casual clothes. He added a driver's license and passport in the name of Charles King which he had commonly used when going undercover. He also had Daily Planet ID in that name, so he could be a colleague if he chose to be. Once these preparations were completed, they were ready to go. Herb didn't need to be a keen observer to see the level of excitement being manifested by Clark, and he felt the need to caution him. "Clark, your dream is about to come true, your dream of being united with your Lois. I'm glad that I can do this for you. I just hope that it turns out all right. But I must caution you that we are in uncharted territory here. I have made some assumptions, but I cannot be sure how this will affect history. My assumptions may or may not be the case. Only time will tell. That has always seemed an odd aphorism to me but how true it is. Only **time* *will** tell how this will turn out and how it will affect history." Herb set the time and space coordinates to a little more than two months prior to Lois' arrival at Brazzaville and for the outskirts of that city, and they set off. One of the things about the time sled that Herb liked was the fact that you could see where you were and what was happening outside of the time bubble created by the flux facilitator. They were able to observe as the Atlantic Ocean was crossed and laughed at the aircraft and ships that they saw moving in reverse as they traveled backwards in time. When they reached the vicinity of Brazzaville, Herb made a side trip. By keeping the flux facilitator active and manipulating the geo controls, he was able to move them to Livingston Falls so that they could select a meeting spot for the future. "Remember, I will be here sometime between noon and 3 PM local time on February 28 each year." They then returned to Brazzaville and 'parked' on the outskirts. *** Chapter 2 -- The Daily Planet -- Brazzaville Monday December 30, 1991 As they stepped out of the time sled Herb said to Clark, "Today is December 30, 1991. I believe you told me that Lois is due in on March 11, 1992. We used the time sled to come to Brazzaville so that you could not possibly be observed flying here yourself. I would recommend that you go to a local bank and have the gold you currently possess converted into the local currency. I would hold back at least some of the gems as a reserve. You may have need of them later." At times Herb reverted to old habits from his years at Henley House School and assumed a lecturing tone, "Always keep in mind that there currently are two of you in this time period and that you have not been exposed as Superman as yet. You must be very diligent in avoiding revealing your powers." Herb extended his hand to Clark and as they shook hands Herb, in a very sincere tone said, "My boy, I envy you this opportunity. You have the chance to not only be united with your soul mate but to possibly rescue her from whatever terrible end she could have suffered." Clark nearly moved to tears by gratitude, and the thought that in a relatively short time he would be with **his** Lois Lane took Herb's hand in his and shaking it replied, "I really don't know how to thank you Herb for all that you're doing for me." Herb was very moved at Clark's obvious emotion and replied in a somewhat somber tone, "My boy, all the thanks I need is for you to succeed in this mission, to see you happily united with your Lois, and to see this universe move to Utopia as so many of the others have. If that happens, that will be thanks enough. Good luck to you, my boy." With that Herb took his leave, and the time sled disappeared from view. *** Clark had studied the history of the Congo when he had first looked for Lois. One of the key items he had noticed was the French influence. It had been a French colony some years before, and that influence remained to this day. French was still the primary language in the major cities. English was the second in usage. Dialects of the Bantu language dominated in the northern regions among the nationals. The first thing that Clark did was to go to a jeweler and have some of the gems graded and valued. He didn't realize it as he did so, but he had stumbled on the shop where he had been greeted as Charlie while he was looking for Lois. When this realization hit him, it did so like a ton of bricks. Here was confirmation that he was on the right track. The owner of the shop, m. Jean-Luc Artois, a jeweler of some forty years experience worked with him. "I have a selection of various gemstones I would like to have valued. Could you help me?" Clark poured out the gems which he had selected onto a black velvet covered pad on the counter. M. Artois, by observing his clothing, had known that this customer was an American even before he said anything, so he asked in his accented English, "Might I to ask where you came by zeese gemstones?" In as sincere a tone as he could manage Clark explained, "I have been interested in mineralogy and gemology from my childhood. I have taken trips to numerous mine fields over the years. Thus I have accumulated them over a period of time. You may check the stolen gem international registry. I am sure that you will find no entries for any of these gems as being stolen. I mined them myself in various locations." "I am sure zat you will par-do me, but I am reequir-ed by zee law to check zee registry." The jeweler first separated them by size and type and then pulled out a sheaf of papers and leafed through it. Once he was satisfied that none of the gems had been reported as stolen he heaved a sigh of relief. "What may I do pour you? What do you weesh to do wiss zeese gems?" "M. Artois, I wish to sell the group I have presented. Could you value them? I'm aware that there will be waste in cutting, but I believe you will find that all are of high quality." The jeweler weighed, measured, and analyzed all of the stones. When he had finished, he presented Clark with his valuation. Clark said, "If you would be in the market to purchase this group, I will accept your offer minus ten percent as a commission. Would that be acceptable?" "I would be will-ing to pay zee full val-ue." "No, I insist that you take a commission on the purchase." The jeweler held out his hand and said, "Sank you. I can geeve you zee cashier's check." Clark asked, "Do you deal with an international bank?" "Mais oui, Yes, I do. Why?" "I need to establish an account and would ask what bank you would recommend." "My bank eet ees just down zee strit. We could go zare, and I could zimply transfer zee funds to any account zat you estableesh." "That would be very kind of you." M. Artois shouted through a door behind the counter, "Henri, venez a l'avant vous occuper du comptoir. Je serai de retour sous peu." (tr: "Henri, come out front and tend the counter. I will be back shortly.") They went down the street, Clark opened an account under the name of Charles King, and the jeweler transferred the funds for his purchase. Clark thanked him, and he returned to his shop. Next Clark went to a local assayer who analyzed the gold for quality and quantity and offered Clark a sum which he found to be very reasonable. He completed that deal and then went to deposit these funds into his account. After purchasing a used Land Rover at a local car dealership, Clark loaded his luggage in it and looked for a hotel. A hotel named the Bonne Nuit de Sommeil attracted his attention because of the name "The Good Night's Rest", so he took a suite on the 5th floor, number 501. He paid in advance for the suite for a three-month stay. After he moved his luggage up to his suite and made himself at home, he bought a copy of the local French edition of the Daily Planet and read through it to get a flavor for how things were being handled here. Some of the headlines and stories were: "Le maire D'arnet congedie le directeur general et porte des accusations de detournement de fonds." "Le maire *Jacques* D'Arnet, recemment elu, donne suite a sa declaration promettant de reduire la corruption presente au sein de l'administration municipale. Avec une initiative audacieuse, il a congedie son directeur municipal et l'a remplace par son adjoint. Les rumeurs indiquent que le directeur general aurait siphonne plusieurs millions de Francs Congolais des caisses de la ville sous l'administration precedente. Il fait maintenant face a des accusations -- " (tr: "Mayor D'Arnet dismisses city manager and files charges of misappropriation of city funds." "The recently elected mayor m. Jacques D'Arnet is following through on his promises of dealing with corruption within the city administration. In a bold move he has fired the city manager and replaced him with his assistant. It is said that the city manager had siphoned off millions of Congo Francs from the city treasury under the previous administration. He now faces charges -- ") *** "Le maire nomme un nouveau chef de la police, invoquant la corruption au sein de du corps policier." Poursuivant l'implementation de ses promesse electorales, le maire D'Arnet a licencie le chef de police *Robert* Roteliet et promu le chef adjoint *Phillipe* Jordan pour combler le poste temporairement. Depuis le remaniement du personnel administratif de la police, le nombre d'arrestations a augmente de vingt cinq pour cent -- " (tr: "Mayor appoints new Chief of Police, cites corruption within force." "Following through on more of his promises, the reformer, Mayor D'Arnet, had removed Chief of Police Robert Roteliet and promoted Assistant Chief Phillipe Jordan to fill the position temporarily. Since the change of police administration arrests have gone up by twenty five percent -- ") *** "Le maire redemarre les projets de travaux urbains." "Certains projets qui avaient ete arretes en raison de manque de fonds ont reprit en raison de l'afflux de liquidites recuperees des comptes bancaires des fonctionnaires corrompus -- " (tr:"Mayor restarts city works projects." "A number of projects which had been stopped because of lack of funding have been restarted due to an influx of cash being recovered from the bank accounts of corrupt officials -- ") Clark knew that his French was good enough to pass as a native so he read with total comprehension. After reading these articles he felt that the reporting was adequate although he thought he could do better. He also thought that his phraseology might be just a little bit better than what he was reading. If the local office drafted him into reporting on any stories, he knew that he could handle it. It might be a way to fill in some time if he had any time to spare. He had no idea at this point just how much of his time would be occupied with the investigation. After the New Year's celebrations he sought out the local branch of the Daily Planet which Clark found in a high rise office building. The main office was listed as number 1000 indicating that they had the entire floor. When he got off the elevator, he saw a door marked main office and walked over and opening the door let himself in. As he opened the door, he saw that just to his left there was a pair of desks at right angles to each other with a pair of young women sitting at them. As soon as he opened the door, the one with her back to the wall with the door saw the door opening out of the corner of her eye and turned to see who was entering. When she got a good look, she muttered, "Ooo la la." At this comment the other girl, who had been working on a paste up of the society page for the Sunday edition, looked up to see the cause of her sister's excitement. She turned around and catching sight of Clark echoed her sister's exclamation, "Ooo -- la -- la!" with feeling. Derek Price, the office manager, saw him enter and moved over to greet the visitor. "My name is Derek Price. How may I help you?" "Mr. Price, My name is Charlie King. I work for the Daily Planet in Metropolis." Charlie flashed his ID. "I'm over here on assignment. I'll be here for a while, so I thought I'd stop in and introduce myself." Derek said, "That's odd, I wasn't notified that you were coming." "That's not too surprising; this is a very sensitive investigation. It is really on a 'need to know' basis. It was my option as to whether to come in to the office or not. I chose to because, frankly, I need access to some support services that will only be available here." Derek replied, "Okay, I can see that. Well, welcome to the Congo. How long will you be here?" "That is yet to be determined, Mr. Price." Before he got any farther, Derek interrupted, "Please call me Derek." "Thanks, I appreciate that. By the same token I'm Charlie." "OK, Charlie, please, let me take you around and introduce you to my staff. We don't own the building the way the main office does in Metropolis. We lease these offices and because of that the staff are scattered around in several offices." Charlie asked, "How does that work for you? In Metropolis we have a main 'bullpen' where most of the reporters have their desks and can interact freely. With your staff separated into different offices, how do they collaborate?" Derek replied, "We have the entire floor, but our lease does not allow us to do the kind of remodeling that would be required to accommodate that floor plan. We'd have to knock out walls and such to accommodate that, and it just isn't allowed. To be perfectly honest we have less going on than you do in Metropolis. I have a smaller staff. A lot of what we print comes from the wire services anyhow. In this office we have Suzanne and Colette Black. They have an advice column, and they also take care of the Society pages." Suzanne and Colette were identical twins in their early twenties, raven haired beauties with knock out figures. It was obvious that Derek had an appreciative eye for the women. Suzanne and Colette had both forgotten whatever they had been doing as soon as Clark had entered the office and were both watching with interest as this gorgeous hunk talked with Derek. (Authors note: French being the native language of most of the staff, they are actually thinking in French. For the sake of the reader, their thoughts will be translated and simply written in English. However, when spoken the French will be displayed, and the translation will appear separately.) As Derek called her over to introduce her, Suzanne stood up and brought her hands up and starting beside her breasts she slowly, sensuously, ran her hands down her sides, emphasizing her curves, smoothing her dress down. It was a tight fitting little black number with a skirt that came to just about mid-thigh. With a very sexy sway to her hips, she approached Charlie and presented her hand to him while saying warmly, "'ello. Please to call moi Suzanne." Charlie wondered how he should respond to these women. He thought <'When in Rome or Congo -- > Charlie took her hand and bending at the waist slightly, kissed the back of it, and replied with all the charm he could muster, "**Hello**, Suzanne." Next it was Colette's turn. Not to be outdone by her sister when she stood up, she gave a little shimmy which wiggled her loose skirt back into place. She had on a form fitting knit top with a scoop neckline and a loose skirt that was even shorter than her sister's. Her shimmy did more than shake her skirt back into place, it also set her breasts quivering with earthquake like aftershocks. She walked over and presented her hand while saying with open admiration, "'ello, I am please to met you. Please to call moi Colette." Charlie took the proffered hand and bending over slightly, kissed the back of it while replying again with charm, "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Colette." The girls each gave him a very appraising look as they each headed back to their desks. Charlie could hear their private comments to each other as they continued glancing at him out of the corner of their eyes. In a hushed tone Colette said, "Il est tellement beau!" (tr: He's so good looking! ) Suzanne whispered in return, "Il est vraiment grand." (tr: He's so big) With some awe in her tone Colette whispered her agreement, "Oui, tres grand." (tr: Yes, very big.) Still in a whisper Suzanne speculated, "Je me demande si c'est pareil pour le reste de son anatomie?" (tr: : I wonder if he's that big all over.) Still in an awed tone Colette said, "Regardez son physique!" (tr: Look at his physique!) With some anticipation in her tone and conviction that everything she said would happen Suzanne said, "J'ai hate de decouvrir son corps!" (tr: I can't wait to check out his body!) Whispering back and taking the stakes up a notch Colette replied, "J'ai hate de le voir nu!" (tr: I can't wait to see him naked!) Suzanne snapped, "Attendre ton tour." (Tr: Wait your turn.) The last comment was being made by Suzanne to exercising her privilege. She was the older twin by about 10 minutes and felt that she had first dibs on the men that came into their sphere of influence. Any other man wouldn't have been able to hear these comments. He had a smile on his face as he thought about what the girls were saying. For one thing they didn't know that he spoke fluent French. For another they thought they were speaking softly enough that he wouldn't hear them. Still, their comments were making him blush, so he turned away from them so that they wouldn't see it. The only other reporter there was Claude Rocheret. At work Clark normally wore the GQ style suits whereas Claude had a dissipated somewhat slovenly look about him, almost as if he drank to excess. Claude had been watching the twins as they had made their overtures to Charlie, and he didn't like it. Claude took an active and immediate dislike to Charlie because he resented the fact that the twins had never made over him in that fashion. After all, Claude saw himself as quite the ladies man, suave and sophisticated; yet every time he had approached either of the twins, he had been rebuffed. Derek introduced Charlie to Claude. With a disapproving look on his face, Claude had refused to even shake hands with Charlie. Barely grunting an acknowledgement of the introduction by Derek, Claude sullenly turned away and went back to work. Charlie was surprised at the obvious disrespect with which he had been treated by Claude and with a questioning look turned to Derek. Derek just gave a shrug and a shake of the head as if to say that he wasn't going to excuse his behavior but didn't like it either. Charlie decided to get down to business. In a lower, conspiratorial tone he said, "Derek, I have heard some rumors of illegal shipments of arms to the rebels. I'm over here to check it out." He answered himself, Claude was sitting with his back to them, but he overheard and thought, He swung around in his chair to confront Charlie and spoke up with more than a little irritation in his voice, "You should 'ave just notified us and let us 'andle eet. Zare was no need for you to come 'ere. Zis ees our region of responsibility." Claude tried to add an ingratiating tone to his voice. "Zince you are 'ere, per'aps I could be of zum assistance. I do know zis region af-tair all." Charlie replied stiffly "This investigation started in Metropolis, so **I'm** following through on it. I'm expecting to be joined later, and I don't think we'll need any help." Claude saw that he probably wasn't going to be able to worm his way in on the story, so with a resentful look on his face, he returned to what he had been doing before Charlie had entered the office, thinking as he turned that he needed to find out more about Mr. Charles King. Derek considered for a minute. He knew some of the hazards Charlie would be facing. He thought that he might be doing him a favor by discouraging him. "Well, Charlie, most of the rebels are located up in the Bantu country. You would have to go there and find them in the jungle in order to get more information about those kinds of things. That would be a difficult trip to start with and could take some time. If the shipment you're expecting to check on is due within, say, three months, you may not be able to get there, get the information, and get back in time, if you can **get** the information **at all* *and** if you can get out **alive**. I don't think that the rebels are going to be very cooperative in your investigation." Charlie chuckled and said, "I have some sources of information that may be adequate to the task. Can I use this office as a home base, and do you have access to the internet or fax capability to the Metropolis office when I need it?" He said that knowing that he really was not going to need the fax, but the internet access could come in handy. Derek replied, "Yes to both. Of course the internet access is done through a trans oceanic telephone line so there is some lag, but it gets the job done." Charlie smiled in acknowledgement at the information, and then asked, "Is there a desk that isn't currently in use where I can 'hang my hat'?" Derek, seeing that Charlie didn't wear a hat but realizing that it was simply a figure of speech, pointed to a desk in the corner with a telephone and an old typewriter on it and said, "That desk is unoccupied at the moment. You can use it." Charlie said, "Thanks. I probably won't be keeping a strict schedule. It'll all depend on where the investigation leads. If I'm going to be gone for an extended period I'll try to let you know in advance. I plan to start trying to establish a group of informants. I'll keep you apprised of my progress." He started toward the door and said, "I'll see you later." And with that he departed. After Charlie left, Derek was called out on business. Claude used this opportunity to compose and send a FAX to the Metropolis office. He was going to find out about this Charlie King. *** Chapter 3 -- The Mission Begins Friday, January 3, 1992 Friday night Charlie started going around to some of the nightspots in Brazzaville. He planned to listen in on conversations in an attempt to find someone associated with the rebel cause. The first cabaret he went into was something of a disappointment. It was a real dive, frequented by a lower class of individual. The tour continued with the quality of establishment varying widely. He had some moderate success in the fifth cabaret he went into. He identified a couple of men in a corner booth speaking in hushed tones. They were talking about arms shipments. He couldn't determine if they were legal or otherwise, but he decided to follow up on them. Charlie was able to hear every word that was spoken and committed the appearance of each and the names mentioned to memory. Then Charlie approached the bartender and asked about the men he had observed. Two 1000 CFA Franc bills, about $40, changed hands as a bribe and got him the information he was after. It turned out that both men worked at an import company called L&M Enterprises, Inc. Charlie couldn't get over the fact that he had hit pay dirt so quickly. . The next Monday Charlie went in to the office and asked, "Derek, I'd like to use a computer to do some internet research. Are there any available? "We only have a couple, and it looks like they are both in use. How urgent is this research?" "It deals with the gun running investigation, but I guess it really isn't exactly what you would call urgent. Would you mind if I brought in another computer?" "No. I wouldn't mind at all. Would you mind if we use it when you aren't here?" "I wouldn't mind that at all. In fact, when I return to Metropolis, I'll leave it here for your use." "That would be greatly appreciated. We're like the unwelcome step-child out here. They don't fund us very well." "I promise that when I return to Metropolis, I'll talk to the powers that be about that. Since I've been here and seen what you do first hand and they are sitting over there in their ivory tower, I can give them an 'on the scene' report. I can't guarantee that it will make a difference, but I'll see just what I can do." "Any help would be appreciated." "You've got it. Right now I think I'll go see what I can find in the way of a computer." So saying, he exited. Charlie went to an electronics store and found a desk top computer for sale and bought it. When he got back to the office Derek helped him get it configured so that he had internet access. Once the system was set up on his desk, Suzanne brought a chair over beside him and cozied up to him. Today she was wearing a bright red dress with a scoop neck which barely contained her breasts and a skirt so short that when she sat down and crossed her legs a small patch of white lace was visible at the junction of her legs. The supposedly business-like instructions were conveyed in a husky contralto. She leaned against him as she typed in the number. "Charlot, Zee internet ees accessed wiss zee modem line. Zee number ees," she typed in the international telephone number. "Zee username ees 'reporter' and zee password ees 'Planet'." Furthermore, because of where she was sitting, next to him, she had to lean over to type in the commands which gave him a view down her top of her breasts. She obviously was there for more than one reason. Charlie was amazed. Trying desperately not to react overtly, he said, "Thank you Suzanne for helping me get started. I think I can handle it from here." With a look of disappointment on her face, she said, "Charlot, eef you need anysang, anysang at all, please to let moi know." "I'll be sure to do that. Thanks again." Suzanne returned to her desk and pretended to resume her work, but really she was surreptitiously watching Charlie and anticipating a reaction from him. Now that most of the distraction had been removed he was able to research L&M Enterprises, Inc. Being from 1997 when the information age had really been exploding, and it was possible to find just about anything with just a few mouse clicks, it was beyond frustrating to have to search and search and often wind up in a blind alley. To frequently not have the information available at all was really trying his patience. It took a while, but he eventually found out that L&M was incorporated in the US, and he found that they were headquartered in Metropolis. Since the arms shipment had originated in the port of Metropolis, this was no real surprise. He continued digging. L&M had an office and warehouses here in Brazzaville and port and warehouse facilities in Pointe Noire. Eventually he was able to get the names of the officers of the corporation. Among the names listed were Lex Luthor and Miranda Michaels, '**L**' and '**M**'. Charlie stopped at this point and thought for a while. He had had some opportunities with Lois in both universes for her to tell him some of her and Clark's history in that universe. Knowing that Lex had been behind most of the rackets in Metropolis and was also involved in some international criminal activities, it made sense that he would be behind this. He was convinced that he had hit pay dirt with this particular piece of information. Now he needed to get more definitive information on the shipment in question. For that it would be necessary to find the rebel stronghold. Charlie made the rounds of the cabarets again that night. This time he didn't pick up any useful information. The next day Charlie spent the day in the office doing more research. He was trying to find a ship date for the arms departing Metropolis without any success. At lunchtime he was approached by Suzanne. She slinked over to his desk and leaned back against the edge with her bottom on the edge and her hands propped against the top. In this pose because her bottom was on his desk, her skirt rode up to a point just below the junction of her legs. She knew that she had a beautiful pair of legs, and she wanted to show off their full lusciousness, so she crossed them slowly and sensually. She thrust her breasts out and gave him a coy look as she asked, "Charlot, would you accompany moi for zee lunch? I can show you zum of zee nicair places to eat." Charlie thought, and took her up on her offer. They had a pleasant lunch together. At one point she had slipped off her shoe and used her bare foot to stroke his leg, wiggling her toes up under his pants leg. He had had a startled expression at this contact, and she had a sly expression on her face as she watched his reaction. As they finished the meal, she leaned over the table giving him an unencumbered view of her plenteous charms as she asked "Af'tair work eef you 'ave nosing else to do, would you like to come to my apartment wis moi?" Charlie was flustered as he thought, Charlie said, "Merci, mais j'ai d'autres choses a faire ce soir. Peut-etre une autre fois." (Tr: "Thank you, but I have some other things I have to do this evening. Perhaps another time.) Suzanne looked at him with a startled expression on her face. She said, "Charlot, vous parlez Francais!" (Charlie, you speak French!) Charlie paid for the lunch, and they returned to the office. When they returned, it was Colette's turn. "Charlot, would you like to 'ave zee eeevening meal wiss moi?" "Colette, I have something else to do this evening. Perhaps we could have lunch together tomorrow?" "Tres Bien, we weel have zee lunch tomorrow zen. Merci." Suzanne pulled Colette aside, and they spoke in whispers occasionally looking over at Charlie as they did. Charlie studiously avoided listening in on this conversation since it was obvious what, or actually **who** it was about. At close of business he went out and had a meal and then went back to his suite. After it got dark he changed into some dark clothes -- black slacks and a black turtle neck polo shirt. To this he added a black ski mask. Where he was going, he needed to be invisible against the night sky. Dressed this way, unless he passed between someone looking up and a star that they were looking at he would be nearly invisible. Clark had done his research before coming to the Congo and knew that the Congo River was the ninth longest river in the world, behind the Nile, the Amazon, and the Mississippi. That still made it a very long river. It drained the central African rainforest into the Atlantic Ocean. Like the Nile it had its cataracts, but unlike the Nile the cataracts of the Congo were all at the Atlantic end which blocked traffic upriver from the sea. Livingstone Falls were not as spectacular as Niagara, but they were still formidable. Taking off from the roof of his hotel, he flew northeast until he crossed the Sangha River. Once he crossed the river, he started his search. He remembered from his research that the area was predominately jungle, so it wouldn't take much to hide even a large encampment. He established a grid pattern for his search which would thoroughly cover the area. The problem was that to thoroughly cover the area without allowing large swaths to be overlooked would take a considerable amount of time, even at superspeed, and superspeed was out of the question. Because of the jungle growth, he would be straining his vision powers the entire time. He was limited to less than half his normal superspeed so that he wouldn't miss anything. Well, there was nothing for it but to get started. First he followed the north bank of the Sangha River from the point at which it flowed into the Congo River North Westward. He figured that if the rebels were going to be shipping in the goods, they might be located on the river so that they could move them easily. After crisscrossing the area above the river to a distance of ten kilometers, he had to call it a night and return to Brazzaville. The next day Colette wasn't going to let him forget that they had a date for lunch. She had decided that since her sister had failed to entice him to her apartment after work that she would have to try harder. Accordingly she wore a dress which was extremely short and had a deeply scooped neckline. She knew that she looked very attractive, and with her legs, which were second only to Suzanne in beauty, shown off to good effect, considerable decolletage, and no bra, she thought that she had a chance of enticing Charlie back to her apartment after work. Charlie was a prize that she was willing to go a considerable distance to obtain. When she saw him arrive, she made sure that he was looking her way as she crossed her legs which hiked the hem of her dress just that much higher, practically giving him a view of her undergarments. Charlie, for his part, was more than somewhat flustered by this and found himself staring. Seeing him stare at her, Colette couldn't repress a smile. She had made her point. Maybe she would succeed where her sister had failed. She muttered to herself, "Je pense avoir finalement accroche mon poisson -- Maintenant, je dois l'embobiner." (Loosely translated that would be "I think I have hooked my fish. Now I need to reel him in.") At lunch Charlie was very distracted. Not only was she making sure that he was noticing her legs, but every movement she made showed off not only her cleavage but because she was braless, her breasts moved and swayed with every movement of her body. Because of the cut of her neckline a considerable portion of breast was visible as well. Charlie was beginning to sweat by the end of lunch. As they were finishing up she leaned over which allowed him an unobstructed view of both breasts. In a very sultry tone she asked, "Charlot, do you like what you zee, mon petit chou? You know, you could zee even more. I would like to show you, everysang. Would you like to come to my apartment wiss moi ziss evening? We could have zum fun, we could make zee love togezaire." Charlie had a hard time removing his eyes from the display to look into her eyes, but he finally managed. He stammered out, "J -- J'aim -- J'aimerais beaucoup, mais j'ai deja quelque chose pour ce soir. Une autre fois peut-etre?" (tr: "I would love to, but I have something else I must attend to this evening. Perhaps another time?") Colette was clearly very disappointed. As she spoke she gave several little shimmies which sent seismic ripples through her breasts. "Charlot, tu ne sais pas ce que tu manques. Je pourrais te rendre tres heureux." (Tr: Charlie, you don't know what you're missing. I could make you very happy.") "Je suis certain que vous pourriez, mais j'ai vraiment quelque chose a faire." (Tr: "I'm sure you could, but I do have something else to do.") Her disappointment was evident in her expression; she had thought that she had succeeded where her sister had failed, but the fish had slipped the hook. Charlie paid for the lunch, and they returned to the office. Suzanne and Colette had another conference in hushed tones. Charlie could tell that they were planning their next moves. The first night had been rather frustrating because he saw that this search could take an inordinate amount of time, but lacking any other alternative, he need to keep on going. The second night was a repeat of the first night with the exception being that he travelled along the southern bank of the river and inland for approximately ten kilometers. Again he had no success. For over two weeks he continued in this manner. Occasionally he would stop in the office to see if he could get a line on the arrival date of the shipment in question. Each day that he did was spent with Suzanne and Collette taking turns trying to get him home and in bed. Each night he would increase the distance from the river so that he would move farther inland. Each night his frustration at not finding the rebel base increased. He was starting to despair of finding the rebel camp before Lois arrived. < In order to cover more ground in the limited time I have available, I'll have to either open out the space between passes, which would mean skipping dozens of square kilometers on each pass or taking a radically different approach. I think it's time for a different approach. Since I had so much success when I cruised the bars in Brazzaville, I think I'll try that approach farther up river.> *** Friday January 24, 1992 *** That night he tried going into Impfondo on the Oubangui River. After landing on the outskirts and walking into the town, he started going into the bars hoping to overhear a conversation about the rebels. He didn't have the same amount of luck here that he had had in Brazzaville, which made some sense since Impfondo was a smaller town. When he had failed in Impfondo, he had decided that the next night he would move further up river to Dongou. Here he hit pay dirt. The third cabaret he went into was a real dive. Still he stuck it out and was rewarded for his diligence. He overheard a conversation about the rebels' plans being carried on in hushed tones. Deciding to try a different approach, Charlie descended to 'wave top' level and followed the river north from Impfondo to above Dongou and this time scanned the north west river bank looking for a dock or pier. He was ten kilometers north of Dongou when he found it. It was a small pier, and it had a camouflage net strung over it so that it would be hard to see from the air. Once he spotted it he zoomed up higher and looked down on it. Now that he knew what he was looking for it was easy to spot. He then scanned the jungle immediately inland and was able to detect a track or trail through the undergrowth. It looked like it hadn't been used recently, but it had been used frequently enough that it hadn't grown back over. It hadn't been made by any vehicles. It was obviously a footpath as it was not wide enough for anything other than a motorcycle. Unfortunately it was time to return to Brazzaville. He would have to return the following night. Since Charlie had found the pier the previous night and identified the trail he needed to follow, he was able to return to it easily. He thought that logically, all he needed to do was follow the trail to the camp. How hard could that be? Much to his frustration once he had picked it up again, it wasn't as easy as he had thought it would be. There were a number of side trails branching off of the main trail, and it was difficult to know which one was the main trail to follow. He decided to stick to the trail that appeared to be the heaviest traveled. If that didn't lead directly to the rebel camp he could always come back and follow the side trails. From altitude it was easier to follow the trail. He followed it west from the river for almost one hundred kilometers, through the jungle and across the grasslands and almost into the foothills where he finally came across the camp. Not surprisingly as it turned out it was the most direct route to the river and the pier was at the point of closest approach. He was relieved. He needed to return to Brazzaville before there was a chance he would be seen as he wasn't dressed for daytime spying. In his dark outfit he would be easy to spot against the brightening sky. *** Chapter 4 -- Mayson Drake Lois wasn't due in for another six and a half weeks. He thought, Since everyone knows that dining and touring is more pleasant when in company than when alone, he decided that he should have some company. Personal experience had taught him about being alone in a very painful way. Ever since being exposed as Superman he had been basically alone and lonely. The only woman he had opened up to about who he was and what he could do had insisted that he deny all of that and be 'normal'. Lois had returned to her universe, and then there was Mayson. This caused him to start to reminisce. *** 1996 and 1997 When the other Lois had shown him how to be Superman, Lana had flipped out. She had given him an ultimatum -- it was her or Superman. Since he couldn't deny who and what he was, she had called off the wedding and had left him. Soon after that the other Lois had left as well. He could actually understand her desire to return to her own Clark, but that didn't prevent him from wanting her to stay there with him. That was the point when he had become truly **alone**. Shortly after Lois' departure with H. G. Wells, Clark had determined to try to find his Lois. In between rescues, captures, and work at the Daily Planet, he would press his investigation in the Congo. Fortunately the time change made this very convenient. Most of the time when it was night in Metropolis, it was daytime in the Congo. Clark went to the HR department of the Planet and obtained a copy of her employee photo which was a passport sized picture. He started his inquiry at the airport and confirmed her arrival but that was as far as he was able to follow her. It was like she disappeared into thin air. He knew the bare bones of the story so he proceeded into the Bantu country and pressed his inquiry there, coming up empty everywhere he asked. He checked in every native village in the area. No one had seen a woman looking like the one in the photo. Not a single hotel desk clerk was able to confirm her presence after looking at the picture. He failed to take into account the various shifts at the desk. If he had checked every clerk working at each hotel, specifically the Bonne Nuit de Sommeil, he might have talked to the clerk that actually was on duty when Charlie took the room for Lois. There were a couple of possibilities. The first one would be that he was off shift when Clark came through. The second would be that he might have moved on to other employment. It was a hasty visit, and if he had lingered, someone on staff **might** have recognized him as Charlie King, the man who had rented 501 for so long. All in all a rather simple check but his anxiety and lack of sleep were making him sloppy. There was one unusual incident. Well into the second month of his search he was passing a shop, and the proprietor hailed him. "Charlot, mon ami, I 'aven't zeen you een years. Where 'ave you been?" "I'm sorry. I'm sure you have mistaken me for someone else. My name is Clark." "Mon Dieu, but you look yust lak a zerry good customer of mine. Ah well, zay say zat everyone 'as a tween." Clark started to wonder if perhaps a Clark from another universe had visited here previously but passed it off as a case of mistaken identity. Actually the lack of sleep brought about by his nocturnal activities was taking a toll on his performance. If he had been more on his game, he might have followed up on that chance encounter and found out that the Charlie that was being greeted was Charlie King, his undercover name, which might have just led him to show the shop owner the photo of Lois. Still determined to keep up the search he continued, but after something over two months as far as he could determine, there were no stones left to turn over, so he finally gave up. He didn't realize it, but he had missed a number of clues. Clark continued with this activity for a number of months. When he finally gave up and started getting some rest, things didn't improve; in fact he went into a not-so-mild state of depression. He lost interest in eating. He rarely socialized with anyone, even Perry and Alice White. They did invite him over for the occasional dinner. Most of the time he just begged off claiming that he needed to be available for rescues or some other flimsy excuse. He would spend the majority of his time brooding in his apartment. He found himself thinking a lot about Lois, the only Lois he actually knew. Even knowing that that Lois was unattainable didn't dim the attraction he felt for her. If there had been a way to travel to the other universe and snatch her away from his doppelganger and make her happy, he would have done it. But there was the problem, making her happy. How to do that was the problem. She was equally or even perhaps, based on what she had told him, more strongly attracted to his doppelganger than to him. He would sit for hours and dwell on the time that they had had together. How she had cared for him and had saved him from the Kryptonite. How she had trusted him and believed in him. How she had taught him to be true to himself. The more he thought about her, the more depressed he got, knowing that **she** was never to be his and that he had not been able to find **his** Lois. Clark threw himself even more completely into his work. He still had 'friends' of a sort. There was still Mayor White and some of the staff at the Planet, but there was absolutely no one that he was what you would call close to. Perry noted his demeanor and mentioned it a few times and tried to draw him out to no avail. Because of his powers, most people were in awe of him and were very standoffish. They weren't sure that they could trust him with his powers, even though up until he was outted by Tempus, he had passed as totally human and was even engaged to be married! People could be so myopic at times. The ultimate result had been that he didn't have anyone that he could rely on; there was no one that he could talk to about personal matters when he needed to. At work it was like he was being tolerated and watched all the time. It was as if his coworkers were just waiting to see him do something super. Each time that he got up from his desk and ran into the stairwell they knew that he was going off on a rescue or to break up a robbery or some such other super activity. Within seconds of his entering the stairwell, they would often hear a sonic boom indicating that he was on his way to the rescue. Everyone knew that when he returned he would be typing up another Superman story for the front page. He tried to keep the two sides of his life separate, making sure that he never did anything super when in his civilian clothes, which was difficult at times, but he did his best. That actually was one of the hardest things to accomplish. When he had been with Lana before the suit, he had been in the habit of just operating from concealment. In fact, just before Lois came on the scene, he had ducked into an alley and used his heat vision to flatten the tires of a getaway car so that the police could make the capture. He sometimes still found himself doing those kinds of things just to avoid some of the notoriety of being who he was. Even with that there was the other side of the coin. There were women that wanted him **because** of what he was. They were no better or worse than the groupies that follow rock bands around the country on tour. Actually he guessed that he probably had more than his fair share of those. He would see them at every announced appearance clamoring for an autograph or just to touch him. Sometimes it got a little rough with the women jostling for position. Sometimes, fortunately not very frequently, some would even bare their breasts like the women at rock concerts and throw their bras at him. Those incidents only served to reinforce to him the fact that Clark was really normal or perhaps super-normal human because like any other man he was very attracted to the female form, and when opportunities such at that presented themselves, his eyes were drawn to the display although he tried not to stare overtly. At times he was concerned that he was going to embarrass himself with his very physical response. That spandex suit wasn't very good at concealing that. He was very careful when using his supervision that he didn't intrude on anyone's privacy. It would be so easy to abuse his powers in that way, but the only woman he really **wanted** and longed to look at was his Lois. Clark got a lot of fan mail. He tried to answer all of it, especially that letters he got from kids. When answering those, he always tried to encourage them to set high ideals, be good to others and help out wherever they could. If they wrote to him about being bullied, he encouraged them, not to fight but still not to give in, telling them that they should let those in authority know what was happening and not take matters into their own hands. He got a lot of mail from unmarried and sometimes even married women which frequently contained a piece of intimate apparel with an offer of a sexual liaison. These letters he did **not** answer. He would usually collect these items of apparel for a time and then anonymously donate them to a women's shelter. There had been a few occasions where nubile young women had put themselves into precarious situations and yelled for his help just so that he would rescue them. Oftentimes while he had them in his arms, they would start to kiss him, and he had a hard time getting free of them, but there were no meaningful relationships, and he had always held out the hope that he could still find **his** Lois. That had even clouded the relationship that had started to develop with Mayson Drake. Clark had partially pulled out of his depression by throwing himself into his work. As a result he had been working very closely with the police department on an organized crime case both as an investigative reporter and as Superman. Mayson Drake had been the assistant DA sent over as liaison for that case. Initially she had made no bones about the fact that she didn't like vigilantism and one vigilante in particular. However, since the police seemed to appreciate his assistance, she was tolerating his presence, but she limited very severely her interaction with him. As far as she was concerned, the less she had to deal with him the better. Any interaction she had with him was rather stilted and formal. It was always Mr. Kent since he always showed up in his civilian clothes. Over the course of the case, however, she saw just how closely he cooperated with the police and how he was very diligent to follow the rules of evidence. So slowly her opinion was changed, and she stopped seeing him as a vigilante and more as an adjunct police officer without credential. *** Flashback July 31, 1996 *** Mayson and Clark had been in her office going over some of the depositions which had been collected one day. She still had some reservations about his activities and decided to beard the lion in his den, so to speak since it was **her** office. Seeing that it was after twelve noon she asked, "Mr. Kent, I would like to discuss some things with you. Could we possibly take a break and have the discussion over lunch?" "If that's what you would like to do Ms. Drake, that's fine with me. Do we need to take any of these files with us?" Looking down at the materials spread out on her desk she thought about that for a few seconds and replied, "No, I don't think so. We can get back to this later." Clark offered, "Around the corner is a little place called 'Travaglini's' that has some of the best Linguini with clam sauce I've ever had. Do you feel like having pasta?" Mayson replied, "I simply adore Travaglini's. Sure, let's go." A short time later Clark Kent and Mayson Drake were sitting at a sidewalk cafe table. As their waiter approached the table, Mayson stood up. The waiter threw his arms around her and gave her a kiss. He said, "Hey, Mayson where ya been? I ain't seed youze in a couple'o weeks." Mayson started to laugh, "I've been busy on a case, Tony." Tony looked at Clark and said, "Ain't I seed youze around here b'for?" Turning back to address Mayson he asked, "Is he workin' wid you or is dis social?" Laughing even harder Mayson looked at Clark and then back at Tony and said, "A little bit of both." Tony gave Clark the eye and then said to him, "Youze better take good care 'o her or you answer to me. Capice?" By this point Mayson was laughing so hard she could hardly speak, but she managed to get out, "Tony, it's not like that. Besides, do you know who this is? This is **Clark Kent**, you know, **Superman**." Tony replied, "I don't care 'oo 'e is. If 'e don't treat you nice, 'e'll answer t' me." Mayson turned to Clark and said "Clark Kent, please allow me to introduce Tony Travaglini, my cousin." She slugged him in the arm and said, "Tony is a little over protective, if you know what I mean, and he thinks it's funny to give people the impression that an ADA has relatives in the Mafia. He doesn't really talk like that, it's all a put on." Clark stuck out his hand and said "Pleased to meet you Tony. I assure you that my intentions are honorable." Tony replied, "Nice to meet you. I can't help it; I like to tease Mayson. We practically grew up together; she's more like a sister than a cousin. We're all kinda proud of her, being an Assistant DA and all." Turning to Mayson he said, "What'll it be, your usual?" "Sure Tony, the usual." "What would you like Superman?" Clark said, "Please call me Clark. I'll have the linguini with clam sauce, please." Tony left them alone. Tony came out a couple of minutes later with a bottle of Chianti which he put it on the table and said, "Compliments of the house." While waiting for the food to be delivered Mayson asked, "Okay, what should I call you? In the office I usually use your name, but **is** that appropriate? You just told Tony to call you Clark, so do I call you Mr. Kent or Clark or Superman?" He laughed at the question and replied, "Actually, I get that a lot. The simple explanation is Clark Kent is who I am, and Superman is what I can do. I grew up being just Clark Kent, so if I'm in my street clothes, I'm Clark Kent. If I'm in the uniform, I'm Superman. If you want to, you can call me Clark." Mayson waited while Clark took the time to open the Chianti bottle and pour two glasses before asking, "Okay, Clark, you say that Superman is what you can do. But, **why** do you do it? What drives you to **be** Superman? What's your -- motivation?" Just about that time, Tony delivered their orders. When the orders arrived, Mayson had spaghetti with red sauce and meat balls. After Tony left they resumed the conversation. "Well, Mayson; may I call you Mayson?" She nodded her approval. "Well Mayson, I was raised on a farm in Kansas. I guess that you could say that I simply have the values of a Kansas farmer. Help your neighbor. Be good to others. Obey the law and be a good citizen. A rather simplistic set of values, but ones that if more people adopted them, wouldn't the world be a better place?" Mayson had speared one of her meatballs with her fork and cut it in two before putting a portion in her mouth. While she chewed, she thought about what he had said. Finally she answered, "I can't argue with that philosophy at all. But, **why** do you get yourself involved? You could just sit on the sidelines and watch us as we destroy ourselves." Clark had taken a forkful of the linguini and swallowed before answering. "Mayson, when I first started to develop my powers, my parents were concerned that the government would lock me away in a lab and study me, so they urged me to hide what I could do. As more of my powers developed, it became harder and harder for me to sit back and do nothing when I knew that I could do something positive which would end up preventing serious injury or death. I feel that my powers are a gift but not to me, to all mankind. I feel that I was sent here to help. As long as I am able to, that is exactly what I'll do, help in any way that I can." Mayson took a sip of her Chianti before she asked, "Okay, I can see that, but why the vigilante route? Why not go into crime fighting, full time by becoming a member of the force?" Clark sat his fork down. In some respects he displayed some Italian characteristics in that he used his hands a lot to emphasize what her was saying. "That would actually limit me in what I could do. There are so many things that I do that are not associated with law enforcement that limiting myself to police work would make me feel like I was neglecting the other aspects of what I see as my part time job." He started ticking off items on his fingers as he started enumerating them. "Rescuing people from burning structures, from collapsing buildings, from mud slides, from hurricanes, and tornados -- I could go on and on." He threw his arms out as if to encompass the world. "There is also the fact that if I became a member of the force I could be perceived as a representative of the U. S. whenever I assist in international incidents. In that respect I must remain neutral, not representing any single country but mankind in general." This had been a new revelation to Mayson, and she said in a somewhat awed tone, "I guess I can see that. Wow, all of those activities, all those rescues, it must actually make you feel good when you save so many lives." "It is tremendously rewarding in and of itself. The satisfaction in knowing that as a result of my actions this individual will live to see another day, it's extremely gratifying." After having had another sip of her wine, she sat the glass down. She had been thinking about all of the reports of his activities. She seemed to recall some reports of dead bodies being recovered. Mayson got a somewhat concerned expression as she asked, "But -- you don't **always** get there in time, **do** you? I mean -- you can't **always** get there before someone has died, **do** you?" A very sad look came over his face as he answered, "No Mayson, no -- I don't. No matter **how** much I try sometimes I'm just not there soon enough -- or I'm not **fast** enough to get to everyone in time. Sometimes there are just too **many**. No matter how **hard** I try -- sometimes it just isn't enough." Mayson could see the unshed tears well up in his eyes and moved by his apparent sadness reached out and placed her hand on his arm and said, "Nobody's perfect. You expect too much of yourself if you expect to rescue **everyone** **every** time. You need to cut yourself some slack. You can only do so much and whatever you **can** do has to be enough. Look at it this way, if you **hadn't** been there **at all**, how many of those you did save **would** have died? I have to admit that you do a lot of good. I've been more than a little down on you because of your apparent vigilantism, but I think I'm starting to see things more from **your** point of view now. You do a tremendous lot of good, and you get very little recognition for the good that you do. I wish that there was something I could do for you. You are obviously a very caring person. I can see that from what you've said. I can see that it tears you up when someone **dies** because of your self-perceived failings. Do you have **anyone** that you can talk to? You know, when things don't go quite right. Do you have any close friends -- a girlfriend perhaps?" Mayson could see the sadness in his expression as he replied, "No, Mayson, I don't. I **was** engaged to be married, but she broke it off when I decided to go public with what I could do. It hurt when she did that, but what else could I do? There is only so much I could do from the shadows, and it wasn't enough. Too many people **died** -- because I was afraid to come out in the open. It was a -- a sacrifice -- that I had to make." These revelations had given Mayson new insight into this man she was with. She took another sip of her wine while she thought. Now she was seeing him as less a vigilante and more as a selfless, caring man who felt a compulsion to help in any way that he could and considering just who he was and what he could do, that was a lot. He had been very correct when he had said that if more people lived by his values that the world would be a better place, it could almost be called Utopia. They had both managed to finish up at about the same time. Clark called for the check. Tony came over and said, "The management, namely me, has decided that since you were here with Mayson, this meal was on the house." Clark replied, "Thank you, Tony. The meal was delicious." "Tell your friends. We depend on word of mouth advertising." "I'll do that. Thanks again." Reverting to his Mafia style speech he replied, "Doan mention it," and laughed as he turned away with the dirty dishes in hand. As a result of this time with him and their discussion, Mayson had gotten a new perspective on this man, and she came to a decision. She asked, "Clark, would you consider me very forward if I invited you to dinner?" "To discuss the case?" "No -- I'd like to discuss **you** some more. I'd like to get to **know** you better." "Uh, Mayson, I don't know if that would be a real good idea. You might be very disappointed." Mayson thought about his statement for a few seconds before answering. "No, I **don't** think I will be." She took out one of her business cards and wrote her address on the back. Handing it to him she said, "Can you come over at 7:30 Friday? I make a mean lasagna. It's from an old family recipe." "I think I'd like that. Okay, 7:30 Friday." He pocketed the card. Flashback TBC *** Chapter 5 -- Dating Mayson Flashback continues -- Friday August 2, 1996 Clark arrived promptly at 7:30. As Mayson opened the door to greet him, the delicious smells of pasta wafted out to greet him. He held out a bottle of wine to her. Mayson reached out to take the bottle of wine from his hands and taking his hand in her free one pulled him into the foyer. She looked at the wine, "Italian red?" "I stopped on my way and picked it up at a little shop I know in Rome." He took a deep sniff, "I detect an absolutely delicious aroma." "If you think it smells good, just wait until you have a taste. You're going to think you've died and gone to heaven, even if I do say so myself." "If it tastes half as good as it smells, I'm sure that'll be the case." "Flattery? Is that the Kansas farm boy talking or the Metropolis sophisticate?" Laughing he replied, "Kansas farm boy all the way! A Kansas farm boy can appreciate good food just like any gourmet." "Well, okay mister Kansas farm boy gourmet, let's eat. Why don't you open the wine while I get the lasagna?" To her amazement Clark took the bottle and gave it a blast with his supercold breath to chill it and then opened the wine and poured two glasses as they sat down to the meal. At his first forkful Clark simply closed his eyes and got a very dreamy expression on his face. His appreciation of the lasagna was evident. "This is absolutely the **best** lasagna I have **ever** tasted." "More flattery?" "By no means! Superman **always** speaks the truth. In my considered opinion I have never tasted better and that's the truth!" Laughing she said, "Then I guess I have to accept your statement as fact." They enjoyed a pleasant meal, and they both enjoyed the conversation during which they maintained the earlier somewhat bantering tone. After dinner they relaxed on her couch. Mayson started the conversation in a somewhat more serious tone, "At lunch you told me that you had been engaged. So, Clark, tell me about your engagement. How did you feel when she broke it off?" "Well, I was engaged to Lana Lang, my high school sweetheart. She was afraid that if the government found out what I could do that they would lock me away and study me. She was afraid to lose me to the government after we were married and wanted me to hide what I could do, but I just couldn't do that. I found myself helping from the shadows. We were planning the wedding when Lois showed up. I felt a strange attraction to her. It was like she was the woman I was supposed to be with, not Lana. Lois had worked at the Planet and had been missing for a number of years on assignment. She suddenly reappeared and inexplicably knew about me. She's the one that made the suit for me and helped with my debut. When I went public, Lana couldn't handle it and called off the wedding. This Lois was actually from another dimension and shortly after my debut she left. The day she left was the saddest day of my life. Even worse than the day my parents were killed. It felt like my heart had been ripped out." Mayson looked on him with empathy in her eyes. He continued, "I have to admit that this has been a very lonely time for me. My fiancee had left me, and the woman I was attracted to like no other had left. I literally had no one. It's been quite a few months. I also have to admit I have been spending a lot of time dwelling on it. I've been doing my job at the Planet, helping the police on this investigation, and pursuing rescues. A lot of nights I still spend flying to the Congo and searching for Lois Lane." "Why are you looking for her in the Congo? Is that where she went when she left? Why are you spending so much time looking for her?" "It gets complicated. When I met Lois I felt an immediate attraction to her like the way iron filings are attracted to a magnet. She assured me that if I ever found her again that we would be drawn together by an even stronger pull. I decided that I needed to find her, and I've been looking and looking. I'm beginning to give up hope. She's been missing for over three years. The trail has been stone cold." "Isn't there anyone else that you can be attracted to?" "I don't know. All I know is what I felt when I was in the presence of the one I was with for that short time." Somewhat shyly she asked, "How about me? Would I have a chance?" "I don't know, Mayson. At this point we don't know each other very well. I do like you, but it's not the same thing. We could give it a try, but I can't promise anything." "I'm not asking for any promises. I'm starting to like you, and I just want to see how things can work out. If you're willing to give it a try, so am I." They spent the next couple of hours talking and then Clark heard an emergency call for a fire in Suicide Slum and had to depart. As he was about to leave Mayson said, "I've enjoyed our time together. Let's do it again." Clark replied, "Next time I'll have you over to my place. I make a pretty decent stir fry. How about Sunday at 7:30?" "It's a date. I'll see you then." "Maybe I should pick you up. I can get us into my place without the paparazzi spotting you. I don't think you want the notoriety of being seen dating me." "Does that mean that I get a chance to fly with you?" "Yeah, of course it means that." "Good, I'll look forward to it. I'll see you Sunday, bye!" "I'll pick you up, bye." That had started a relationship which had grown over the course of the months. *** One Friday evening Mayson was at home and had just finished her shower and was in the process of dressing for their date. So far they had managed to keep their relationship a secret by either him coming to her place for dinner or him picking her up to fly back to his place or else to some more remote location where he was less likely to be recognized. Tonight Clark was going to be picking her up, so she was putting on the finishing touches, a little dab of perfume here and there. She had the TV on LNN in the background when the abrupt change of scene caught her eye. She grabbed the remote and turned up the volume when she saw that they were reporting on Superman. She saw Clark as he was rescuing peons from a mud slide which had occurred in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. A number of the hovels of the peons had been washed right down the hillside with the occupants. Clark had already rescued over a dozen and was digging for more. After rescuing over twenty, what he started bringing out were not survivors but dead bodies. She watched in horror as he started bringing out a family, parents and six children, all dead. Her worst fear had come to pass. She had known, ever since that first lunch, just how sensitive he was to failed rescues and most especially children. She knew that he would be late returning and that their date would be postponed, but she also realized that he was going to need someone to comfort him after this event. Just on the off chance that she would need it, he had given her a key to his apartment, and she knew that this was the time for her to use it. She would be there waiting for him when he returned and be a shoulder for him to cry on. She also knew that she would never be able to get past the paparazzi, and their secret would be compromised, but his welfare was more important to her than their secret. She would deal with the notoriety, but she had to be there for him when he got back. She grabbed her coat and bag and headed out the door. She drove up and parked in front of his apartment, and as soon as she got out of the car, she was mobbed by the paparazzi, snapping her picture and shouting questions. Many of them were shouting to get her name until one of the reporters who had been on the courthouse beat recognized her. As she reached the top of the steps leading up to his apartment and she pulled out her key he shouted, "Assistant DA Drake, are you dating Superman? How long have the two of you been dating? How did you meet? Are you getting serious? Are the two of you getting married?" She turned around after unlocking his door and addressed the crowd, "Yes, I'm dating **Clark* *Kent**." She emphasized the use of his name. As soon as she had started speaking a hush had fallen over the crowd of paparazzi gathered at the bottom of the stairs as they gave her their full attention. She continued, "and we have been seeing one another for a while now. Right now I need to go into the apartment and get ready for him to return. He's in Honduras right now on a very difficult rescue, and when he returns he is going to need to be comforted." "Your crowd really disgusts me! You hound him and hound him! You don't care anything about him aside from a sensational story like is he dating someone, and if he is, who is it? You don't care anything about the man inside the suit. The very caring and compassionate man in the suit that suffers greatly when he has to deal with death, death that he blames himself for, even though he isn't responsible. He beats himself up every time he can't get there soon enough, or he isn't fast enough to keep **everyone** safe. He blames himself unnecessarily, but he still blames himself. If you want a real story, tell about his compassion, how much he cares for all of us and is torn up every time someone dies. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to be there for him when he returns." She turned and entered his apartment closing the door behind her. As soon as the door was closed, she just leaned back against it to try to calm her jitters, and the tears came. She had been able to hold them at bay while she addressed the hounds, but now she was able to release the floodgates. She had been shaking with the emotion she had been putting into her statement to the paparazzi. After a few minutes she was able to leave the support of the door and move down the steps into his living room. Fortunately there was a banister for her to hold on to for support and guidance while her vision cleared. She dropped her coat over the back of a chair and her bag on top of it and grabbing the remote turned on the TV and tuned in to LNN. She saw that he was still pulling dead bodies out of the mud. At this point there were almost as many dead as there were alive. The local network providing the feed for LNN was able to zoom in on Superman for a close up of his face as he was bringing out one of the final bodies, that of a child, a girl of about eight years of age. The look of anguish on his face tore into her heart. She hadn't said anything about it to him, keeping her feelings to herself, not trusting her emotions, but seeing him and his anguish, her heart went out to him, and she realized that she was actually falling in love with him. She resolved that she wouldn't tell him, at least not yet, and she settled in to watch and wait. She didn't want to add yet another burden to his already staggering load. After another half hour she saw that the rescue effort was coming to an end. Superman was conferring with local rescue officials, and after a couple of minutes she saw him lift off into the sky, and she knew that he was on his way home. Intuitively she knew she needed to calm herself and dry her tears so that she could present a brave front for him and allow him to vent. Five minutes later she heard him land on the balcony. She got up from the couch where she had been watching the TV and moved to his bedroom just as he was coming in through the French doors. He had heard the TV, but the meaning really hadn't registered, and until she was standing there in front of him, he didn't realize that he wasn't alone. As soon as he saw her, he reacted to her presence by looking toward the living room where she had come from with a questioning look. "I saw what you were doing on LNN and came over to be here for you." Stepping closer she put her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a kiss. He tried to keep her from doing it saying, "Don't Mayson, I'm covered in mud." Disregarding his remark and her finery, moving closer she tightened her arms around his neck and pulled herself in closer and initiated a kiss. Clark relented and kissed her in relief. Mayson then deepened the kiss, which was rapidly turning into a raging inferno. By the time they broke from the kiss, Mayson was almost as muddy as Superman, but she didn't care. She took his hand and led him to the bathroom. She unzipped his suit and took it off of him and then removed her soiled dress. Standing there in her bra, panties, and slip she said, "Do you need an engraved invitation? We both need a shower. You can go first or I can -- or -- we could share. What'll it be?" Chapter 6 -- Clark's Birthday Flashback continues -- Friday August 2, 1996 Reaching in he turned on the water, and the next thing she knew, she was naked in the shower with an equally naked Clark with the water pouring over her. She stepped up to him and put her arms around him again and just held him close while the water cascaded over her back. After a few minutes she grabbed the soap and lathered up her hands and started washing him. This delicate and yet intimate contact did a lot to wash away the anguish he had felt during the rescue, and he allowed her to continue with her ministrations. When she had explored all of his body, it was his turn, and taking the soap from her, he lathered up his hands and started washing her. He lingered over her breasts and as his hands traveled down across her stomach, he leaned in claiming her lips again. After a time they rinsed off and took turns drying each other with fluffy towels and then dressing in robes moved into the living room. They cuddled for a time on his couch. After a time he said, "Sorry about dinner. How did you get in past the paparazzi?" "I'm afraid I blew our secret, but I had to be here for you and that was more important." "I'm glad you were here. I can't tell you how much better I feel." "Do you want to talk about it?" She could tell that he was thinking about what he had been through because she could see the tears welling up in his eyes even before he said a single word. Finally he said, "It never gets any easier, no matter how many times I get there and find that there are fatalities. The kids are the worst. They're never going to grow up and love and have children of their own. Their lives have been snuffed out far too soon." He was openly crying by this point, and she pulled him down into an embrace and simply patted his back as he vented his emotions comforting him as best she could. Eventually he calmed down and pulled back, looking her in the eyes he said, "Thank you." Just that but it carried a whole lot of meaning beyond the obvious. After a few more minutes he said, "Sorry about our date, I'm afraid I've ruined your dress." "It'll wash up. That's not important. What was important was being here for you." "I can at least make you some dinner, stir fry okay?" "I'd love it." They had moved ahead but had not crossed the intimacy barrier. *** Friday, February 28, 1997 *** On Friday Mayson was supposed to be at Clark's for dinner to celebrate his birthday. A deposition had taken longer than anticipated, and so she had been delayed at the office. She decided that since she was so late that she didn't have time to go home and change before showing up at Clark's apartment, so she drove directly there from the office. Dressed as she was in her business suit, the paparazzi almost didn't give her a second look. After all she wasn't dressed for a date; she was dressed like an assistant DA for heaven's sake. After she made it through the paparazzi gauntlet, and Clark had let her in, she let out a relieved sigh. As soon as the door was closed behind her she threw her arms around his neck, and they kissed. They just stood there just inside the door kissing for several minutes. Mayson broke the kiss only long enough to say, "Happy Birthday." When they broke from their clinch Clark said, "Why don't we move to the couch? It should be more comfortable than standing here in front of the door." They proceeded to cuddle on the couch for a while. They had progressed to the point where they were doing a lot of petting, but they had not crossed that intimacy threshold, and she was starting to feel some frustration with that. She had been trying to think of a way to move their relationship ahead to that next level. Clark asked, "How hungry are you?" She said, "I could stand to wait a while, but I could do with a glass of wine." "Comin' right up." He went into the kitchen and returned with a couple of glasses and a bottle of red wine. He knew that Mayson always got a kick out of this little trick, so he gave it a blast of supercold breath to chill it before he opened it, and then he poured two glasses and they settled in with her leaning against his chest. His arm was draped over her shoulder, the tips of his fingers just brushing the swell of her right breast. After finishing that first one, he had refilled the glasses. She started feeling rather mellow. She said, "I came straight from the office, so I didn't have time to change. Could I borrow something of yours to change into so that I could be a little more comfortable?" "Sure, I have sweats and stuff in the bedroom. Help yourself. I'll go start the stir fry." While Clark went into the kitchen, Mayson went into the bedroom and started going through his drawers. She found his sweats and such but decided that that wasn't what she wanted to put on. She went to his closet and found one of his button down shirts hanging up. She took it off the hanger and held it up in front of herself and looked in the mirror. She removed her suit, and after thinking about it for a couple of minutes, she went into his bathroom and took a quick shower. When she had dried off, she pulled on his shirt and only buttoned the bottom two buttons. Then she rolled the sleeves up to her elbows. Standing in front of the mirror, she admired herself. The shirttails came down just far enough to cover her pubic area and not much more, and the sides revealed all of her legs to the hip. The front gaped open revealing her cleavage and the inner swell of both breasts. Barefoot she padded into the kitchen and stepped up behind Clark. She put her arms around his waist locking her hands in the front. He said, "Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes." "That's okay, I can wait." She stretched up and started kissing the back of his neck. He finished the stir fry and turned to put it on the plates. When she released her hold on him and stepped back so that he could dish the meal out, he stopped in his tracks. He was frozen in place by the sight of her. She was sexy and enticing, and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. He hadn't expected this in the slightest. Mayson in sweats, yes, Mayson nearly naked, no. Obviously pleased with the effect her attire had had on him, she chuckled as she said, "The stir fry is going to get cold." He shook himself and brought his mind back to what he was supposed to be doing. He ladled out the stir fry onto their plates, and she carried them to the table. He watched her legs as she walked to the table the shirt swaying with her movements. As she sat down the shirt gaped open even more than it had been, and he could see the majority of her breasts. He started to sweat, and he had a hard time concentrating on his meal because his eyes were on her the entire time. When they finished up and cleared the plates, Mayson took his hand and led him to his bedroom. She grasped the hem of his shirt and pulled it off of him, and then reaching down she pushed his sweats down around his ankles. He stepped out of them automatically his eyes on her the entire time. She lay down on his bed and pulled him down beside her. She said, "I think it's past time that we moved this relationship to the next level." As she said this, she unbuttoned the two buttons at the bottom of the shirt and pulled it open. She took his hands and placed them on her breasts, and as she did, she let out a contented sigh. Reaching down she insinuated one of her hands under the waistband of his briefs. With her other hand she pulled his face down to hers, and she initiated a deep kiss which took both of their breaths away for a time. All during this time their hands had been busy. Mayson knew that he was just as excited as she was and attempted to entice him into further action, however he demurred. He said, "I'm sorry, I just can't do this. I want to, but I can't," and returned his hand to its ministrations. Weeping in frustration she said, "Clark, you can't do this to me. I want you, I need you. Please, love me." Clark moved his hand back to her center and said, "I'm sorry Mayson, I want to, it's just, it's just not right. I like you -- I like you a **lot**, but it's just not the same. Mayson, I'm sorry, but if we did this, it would just be sex, it wouldn't be -- love. That's not what I want. I want it to be love." He started almost weeping, He attempted to give her satisfaction, however it was less than the satisfaction she desired. They had cuddled some more and then moved to the living room and watched a movie. Just over a week later on March 9th, Herb showed up with a request for assistance in the other universe. Herb assured him that he wouldn't be gone any time at all, so he didn't bother to call Mayson and cancel their date for that following Friday. However, when they returned from that trip, Herb had offered to take him in search of his Lois. While he was packing for his trip to the Congo, he took a few minutes and flew to her office to see her and told her that he was going on a long trip. Clark was rather nervous about this meeting. He was looking forward to being with his Lois, but what if things didn't work out? What if he couldn't keep her from dying? He liked Mayson, but if Lois returned with him, how would she take it? He thought that after what had happened on Friday that Mayson may not want to see him anymore and that would also be a disappointment, but it would make things easier if Lois did return with him. He'd just have to bite the bullet and tell her he was leaving and let the chips fall where they may. Clark's nervousness was evident in his voice and his hesitancy when speaking. "Mayson, I don't know how to tell you this. I'm going on a, a mission of sorts. I'm leaving immediately. You won't have any way to contact me. I'll be sort of, well I guess, out of cell phone range would be the best description. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. I may be gone only five minutes or five years, I don't know. What I need to say is, if you don't see me back here shortly, you may not see me at all. If I don't come back -- I just needed to tell you, you know, just in case, well, I've enjoyed the time we've had together." "Clark, what kind of mission is this? It sounds like it's going to be very dangerous. How could you not come back? You can't be hurt! How could you not come back to me?" "Mayson, remember I told you about how I've traveled in time and across dimensions, well I'm going to be doing more of that. There is always the possibility of getting lost." Mayson reached for his hand and held it. "Then take me with you. Maybe I could help. I don't want to lose you." "No, Mayson, that wouldn't work. You have a life here. You have responsibilities, your job, your family. I, on the other hand have nothing to lose, except you. My life for a long time has been one of sacrifice. I had to sacrifice my engagement in order to help. Now, I find I have to sacrifice our relationship for the greater good. Mayson, I want you to know that I'll always cherish the time we've had together, but we just couldn't really go any farther in this relationship, and I think you know that. If Friday didn't make that clear to you, I don't know what would. I'm sorry that we couldn't move to the next level, but it just wasn't meant to be. Mayson, I have to be honest with you. The reason that we failed on Friday was nothing to do with you. It had everything to do with -- Lois." "But, she's missing! You weren't able to find her. How could she come between us?" "Mayson, all I can say is that she did. The truth is that she is **the** woman that I am supposed to be with. I can't get away from that fact. There really **can** be no other. I can wish it wasn't that way all I want, but it won't change the fact that she's the one. This mission -- this mission is to travel back through time to find her. If I return at all, it will probably be with her. I'm sorry, Mayson, that's the way it has to be." "Clark, I don't want you to go away, but if I know anything about you, it's that you are duty driven, and if you feel you must, then you must. I won't lie to you, I **was** disappointed on Friday, but if this mission will help you move ahead, then go with my blessing. I want you to remember two things, first, if you don't find her, I'm here for you, and second -- " Gulping she decided that the time had come. She had kept her feelings secret all this time, but she decided that she had to tell him just how she felt. Her voice lowered, and she said the rest somewhat shyly, "I think I'm in love with you." It was the first time either of them had expressed that to the other. Clark was shocked to hear it from her. "Mayson, I'm sorry, I can't say the same to you. I don't know what I feel. I know I like you, I like you a lot, but I don't know about love. Maybe I'll know better when I return." Mayson reached up and put her hand behind his head and pulled him down into a kiss. "Just remember what I said." "I will. Good bye -- Mayson." He turned and left her office. End Flashback *** Chapter 7 -- Spying on the Rebels Clark had been spending some time reminiscing about the past, about his life as Superman, about Lana and Lois, and especially about Mayson. Now he started thinking about the present and about the twins. He really liked the girls. He always enjoyed his time with them. They were bright and pleasant company and full of life. Even with their attempts to tempt him into their beds, being with them brightened his days. It made him feel like a man again, and it was so unlike the time since the departure of Lois. He realized now just how depressed he had been since her departure. The stark contrast between his life now and what it had been for so long after Lois' departure were very apparent. He knew that any kind of permanent relationship between him and the twins was not possible. But there was absolutely no reason to lead the life of a hermit, which was what he had almost become when Lois left and before Mayson. He was enjoying his life and looking forward to the day when it would be filled with his Lois and that day was approaching. In the mean time he would continue to enjoy his time with the twins. There was another reason he was enjoying his association with the sisters. They didn't know what he was. They had never heard of Superman so they were not pursuing him because he was Superman. They were attracted to the man, Charlie King (Charlot to them. Charlot is the French for Charlie.), not the powers. They were so young and alive and **French**. Thinking that he might as well make learning about Brazzaville and its environs a pleasant experience, he decided to enlist the aid of Suzanne and Colette. They were more than anxious to go with him anywhere he wanted to go. They always insisted on one at a time and always entertained the hope that they would wind up at one or the other's apartment even though he didn't encourage them in this. He tried to make it clear that all he wanted was companionship on these outings not a fling. However, the twins were not to be deterred. It devolved to a test of will power. Was Charlie's will power strong enough to resist the efforts of the twins and remain loyal to a woman he hadn't even met yet, or would the twins be able to beat down his defenses and get him into their bed? He hoped his will power was strong enough to resist because he sincerely wanted Lois to be his first experience. He learned what cafes were nice and which ones were not-so-nice. Which ones had a decent dance floor and which didn't have any entertainment at all. Suzanne preferred the clubs with the dance floors, and she insisted that Charlie join her on the floor, especially for the slow numbers when she could get her hands on his body, and no one would think twice about it. She danced in a very sultry style, rubbing as much of her body against his as she could. It was almost like vertical sex with clothes on. Charlie was surprised that they didn't become the center of attention with the way they were dancing until he remembered the French influence. This was the **expected norm**. After a night on the town when he would take the one he was with home, he would take her as far as her door. It was an expected thing that when saying goodnight that they would kiss. Each of the girls would do their best to use their kisses to entice him to enter the apartment. Suzanne was the more expert of the two. She would open her door and turn to him for her kiss. She would wrap her arms around his neck and give it all she had while she tried to move both of them through the door. She had Charlie so distracted that she almost succeeded a couple of times. Each time he would reaffirm that all he wanted was companionship. Suzanne and Colette were not put off by this. Even though they were sisters, perhaps especially because they were twin sisters they went all out in their battle to be the first to succeed with Charlot. They just thought he was playing hard to get. That made him a challenge. Daily it was a contest as to who would have the sexiest appearance. Both eschewed the use of the bra, and the competition devolved to who had the shortest skirts and more revealing tops. To be truthful, Charlie was enjoying the competition. After all he **was** a man and one that had never had women throwing themselves at his non-super self. Lana and Mayson had both been aware of his powers, so it couldn't be stated that they were only interested in his non-super self. The same could not be said of the twins. They knew nothing about his powers. To them he was simply Charlot King, reporter. Being a country boy from Smallville, his girlfriends had been few in number, especially since he had been in the foster care system. Eventually he had wound up in the Lang home for a period, and he and Lana were considered a 'thing' for quite a while. After he came of age and left the foster care system, they had continued to date. Admittedly when they first started to date, Lana did not know about his powers, but when he had opened up to her about them, she had insisted that he hide what he could do. She was afraid for him in that she didn't want the government to grab him and study him. In vain Lana attempted to make him stop using his powers to help the police secretly, fearing that one day he would be seen and exposed, but he felt compelled to do what he could to help. He was just careful that he wouldn't be seen. It had seemed inevitable that he and Lana would be married, and they **did** become engaged. That all ended when he met Lois. He had never met her before, but somehow she knew all about him and what he could do. He had been blown away when she revealed her knowledge of him and had a hard time accepting her explanation that she and Herb were from another dimension. He didn't really come to accept her explanation as reality until she showed him the pictures in her wallet, pictures of herself and his doppelganger and especially a picture of him with his parents. That had really hit him. 'His' parents -- alive. Then she had shown him a way that he could help openly. It was just a shame that it was all a set up by Tempus to use him as an enemy to focus the people on so that he could win an election. Actually after Tempus exposed him, he felt freer than he had felt all of his life, knowing that he didn't have to hide what he could do anymore. The only problem was that Lois had left. She had returned to her own Clark. One morning he went in to the office to check on the cargo shipment again. When he got there, the only people present were Suzanne and Colette. Derek was out sick and Claude was in another city on an assignment. Charlie had been working on the computer a short while when the girls sprang their trap. Colette and Suzanne had been waiting for just such a time as this. Suzanne had some time ago developed a little game. She called it 'Organe de presse' which loosely translated would be 'Pressy Bod'. Suzanne and Colette had been using this game to show difficult men just what they were missing. Colette had been looking forward to the time that she and Suzanne would play the game with Charlot, and now that time had come. Suzanne was going to do the honors after all it **was** her game, and besides she was the more expert. Colette had tried playing it several times and hadn't had quite the success that Suzanne seemed to enjoy **every time** she played it. Colette just didn't quite have the control of her body that Suzanne did. So with a smile on her lips in anticipation of what was to happen, Colette got up and walked over behind Charlot and started massaging his neck and shoulders. For his part Charlie tensed up at the contact initially. The seeming innocence of the behavior belied his apprehensions though, and he began to relax sitting up and pushing back from the desk slightly. Colette was thinking, < Charlot is so like a wild stallion fighting the bridle and the saddle. Suzanne will break him to the bridle and her saddle. She will ride him. She will have him eating out of her -- whatever.> The thought of the whatever distracted her. She softened the massage so that it was more sensual and less therapeutic. The thought of what she could have him do with his tongue caused her knees to go weak. This was what Suzanne had been waiting for. When Suzanne saw Charlot push back from the desk, she moved over and sat in his lap, facing him with her legs straddling his. In this position her skirt was up around her hips. She was wearing a lacy scrap of almost nothing which barely covered her nether regions. She leaned in for an open mouthed kiss. Charlie thought, To think is to do, so Charlie gave himself over to the pleasure of the kiss. After a while a somewhat breathless Suzanne pulled back and said, "Charlot, tu embrasses tres bien! J'aime t'embrasser. Pourquoi est-ce que tu m'evite, mon cheri? Tu n'aimes pas me regardez? Tu ne me trouve pas attirante? Aimes-tu ce que je fais? Voudrais-tu que je continue, Charlot?" (Tr: Charlie, you kiss very well! I like kissing you. Why are you avoiding me, my dear? Don't you like to look at me? Am I not attractive? Do you like what I'm doing? Do you wish me to continue Charlie?") She pulled on the neckline of her top and released her breasts from their confinement. She reached down and grasped Charlot's hands and placed one on each of her breasts. Charlie thought back to his last date with Mayson and how it has ended so disastrously. He knew that he could handle this situation as long as he concentrated on Lois. He didn't want to outright reject Suzanne and hurt her feelings in that way, so he searched for a way to turn her down, gently. Charlie finally came up with a plan. He decided to turn the tables on her. He broke the kiss and pushed her away somewhat. She turned her head slightly and started kissing his neck and the side of his face. She said "Charlot, s'il te plait, fais l'amour avec moi ce soir. Si tu ne le fait pas, je vais mourir! Tu dois le faire. J'ai tellement envie de toi." (Tr: "Charlie, please, you have to make love to me tonight. If you don't, I'll die. You must. I need you so much.") Colette couldn't believe what she had seen and was hearing. Charlot had beaten Suzanne at her own game, and now she was literally begging him to make love to her. Now she was pleading with, no, she was begging him to take her home and make love to her. Not just trying to entice him for the fun, a sincere need. For this to happen to her sister was unthinkable. He was something really special. How could she resist him if her sister couldn't? Charlie replied, "Suzanne, il n'y a aucun doute que vous etes une tres belle femme. J'ai apprecie notre baiser de tout a l'heure et j'aime vous regarder mais il y a quelqu'un d'autre." (Tr: Suzanne, you are a very beautiful woman; there is no doubt of that. I enjoyed our kiss just now, and I do like to look at you, but there is someone else.) Suzanne tried to persuade him, "Ah, c'est pour ca que tu as joue le difficile? Est-elle ici? Non? Et moi si! Ayons du plaisir ensemble. Charlot, couche avec moi ce soir. Elle ne le saura jamais." (Tr: "Ah, so that's why you have been playing so hard to get? Is she here? No, I'm here! Let's have some fun together. Charlie, do you want to sleep with me tonight? She will never know.") Charlie replied, "Mais, vous voyez, je le saurai. Elle a deja mon coeur. Je ne peux le donner a aucune autre." (Tr: "But you see, I would know. She already has my heart. I can give it to no other.") Reluctantly Suzanne got off of his lap. She smoothed her skirt back down. She realized that neither she nor her sister were going to get anywhere with him, at least not right now. His heart was already taken. But she wasn't going to give up completely. Maybe she could wear him down yet. With that she and Colette both returned to their desks and went back to work. Suzanne had given it her best shot, and Charlot had won the battle of wills and had remained loyal to Lois. A week or so later he researched cargo movement within the country. He couldn't find anything on the internet, so he called the ministry of transportation. From them he learned that moving a shipment like they were expecting could take up to three months to go from the coast to the interior. Charlie found that the most likely course that the shipment would follow was by ship to Pointe Noire. It would then go by rail to Kinshasa. A ferry would bring it across the Congo River to Brazzaville so that it could be checked by L&M before it was shipped to the customer. From there it would be transshipped onto a river boat for transport upriver. The easiest place to locate the shipment when it arrived was the port at Pointe Noire. He needed to find out when it was expected. In order to get this information, he would need to spy in the rebel camp. The next night Charlie dressed in the black outfit, packed his cammies in his black back pack, and flew out shortly before dawn. After he arrived at the foothills, he found a spot that would overlook the camp and spun into the cammies for the daytime spying effort. Clark had never been required to participate in the military, but as he had 'bounced around' in the foster care system after the deaths of his parents, he had wound up in homes of widely variant characters. In one of the homes he had stayed in, the father had been a Vietnam War vet and had a lot of military memorabilia and books. Clark had had an opportunity to read a lot of the books while he lived with them and had many talks with him about his experiences during the war and jungle warfare. Some of the books had described various battles and campaigns. Seeing this camp below him brought a lot of what he had read and heard to the forefront of his memory. From his concealed spot in the foothills adjacent to the rebel camp, he observed their activities. He watched as they had rifle marksmanship training. He watched as they practiced moving techniques such as bounding overwatch. That was a technique where fire teams would 'leapfrog' forward. One team covered the other as they moved and then they traded responsibilities. This spoke of a sophisticated organization. He watched as they practiced with crew served weapons such as the Jeep mounted recoilless rifle. He watched them crawl under barbed wire while machine guns fired over their heads. Charlie had noticed that there were some different uniforms mixed in among the trainers. Seeing this he looked more closely. There were Communist advisers acting as trainers to the rebels. Charlie had heard of the Communist sympathies of the rebels and this confirmed it. He also watched the encampment itself. He saw that there was one tent near the middle of the compound that was somewhat larger than the others. The amount of traffic in and out would lead one to believe that it was a Command Post (CP). All through the day the sides would be rolled up for air. In the evenings the sides came down. Most evenings large groups of what were probably officers gathered there and stayed for long periods of time. Presumably they were having meetings, and these were what he was after. But he would need to get closer to be able to hear. Even he couldn't filter out all the ambient noise generated in a camp of this size to zero in on the meeting from this distance. *** Monday February 3, 1992 After over a week of observation during which he was monitoring the guard strength and routine, he had a good idea as to how he could get in close enough to listen.