Twins: 5/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
"Looks that way," Clark said. His thick brows were drawn together as he scanned the paper again and for an instant as Lois watched him, the strange impression that had been present after the pheromone incident, the feeling that she was missing something, was back. "This guy is getting around."
"I guess finding him is going to be a matter of luck," she said.
"I suppose if Superman hears about him appearing at some rescue he could fly over to him, but how many emergencies like the jetliner are going to happen in the space of a few days?" Clark said.
"Probably not many," Lois said. "Maybe he'll decide to show up in Metropolis before long."
"Maybe," Clark said. "I'm not sure that's a good thing, either."
"Maybe he's friendly," Lois said.
"Let's hope so," Clark said. "I'd hate for someone with Superman's powers to be his enemy."
"So would I," Lois said, quietly.
**********
And now, Part 5:
The rest of the day yielded few further results. They went out to attend the mayor's press conference and Lois found herself wondering if the news elsewhere in the city could possibly be as dull as the mayor's blockbuster announcement of a redevelopment project in the rundown business district on Daisy Street. Somehow the news that the deteriorating shops were to be torn down and replaced with a strip mall failed to wring any enthusiasm from her soul. At her request, near quitting time Jimmy ran another search for super activity around the world, but other than a one-line report that he had broken up a jewel heist at Kimball's Jewelry in Metropolis, there was no further mention of Superman anywhere. Frustrated, she and Clark left the Daily Planet and headed for home.
The wind of this morning had subsided to a brisk breeze with a cold bite to it -- not a surprising circumstance since it was only the middle of March. Lois pulled her collar tight and glanced at her partner. His coat was buttoned up and he had thrust his hands into his pockets but he didn't appear particularly uncomfortable. Being a Kansas farm kid had probably hardened him to the cold, she thought a little enviously.
"Doing anything this evening?" she asked as they made their way toward Centennial Park, which cut several blocks off the walk to her apartment.
"Not much," he admitted. "I thought I'd watch the ball game that I had my VCR record this afternoon and then go to bed."
Lois nodded. "I don't know why, but I'm tired," she said. "Maybe it was from trying so hard to find something worth reporting on today."
He gave a faint chuckle. "I know what you mean," he agreed. "It was a slow news day. Oh well, maybe tomorrow we'll have better luck."
"And maybe there'll be more on the imposter tomorrow," she added. "He seems to have disappeared. Somehow, I doubt he's vanished for good, so maybe he's ready for his next move."
"You're probably right," Clark said. "What I'd like to know is what all that flurry of activity was about anyway. The guy must have rescued forty cats from trees everywhere from Scotland to Australia."
"Not to mention the Dachshund that managed to get on someone's roof," Lois said. "Explain that one to me."
"Sounds like whatever happened to put him there was more exciting than the rescue," Clark said.
She laughed. "That's for sure. You know, I wonder if maybe he was practicing."
"Practicing?"
"Well, sure. We've never seen this guy before and if there was someone else around with Superman's powers wouldn't he have shown up before this? You'd think Superman would have known if someone was going around impersonating him, don't you think?"
"Unless he kept a pretty low profile," Clark agreed. "Yeah, probably."
"Well, this is really wild, but what if he's new at this? What if he needed to practice to learn how to act like Superman? I mean," she pursued, "Superman was a little awkward with the media and so forth when he first appeared. I didn't realize it at first -- I guess," she admitted a little sheepishly, "that I was pretty dazzled by him. Who wouldn't be, the way he saved my life and all, when I first met him? But, thinking back, he was kind of shy and almost tongue-tied the first few times he actually talked to the media, and at that thing when they gave him the key to the city. Don't you remember?"
Clark nodded. "Kind of. Yeah."
"Well, this guy hasn't talked to the media at all, but he's been doing all kinds of stuff. I think he's practicing to act like Superman."
"You could be right," Clark said, "but we still don't know where he came from or how he got Superman's powers."
"Or why he looks like Superman," Lois agreed. "Judging by the pictures, he could be Superman's twin brother, but Superman doesn't have a twin brother as far as he knows. Is it possible there's someone else behind this?"
"Sure," Clark said, "I guess anything's possible, but who could be behind a second Superman? And how?"
Lois stuffed her hands in her coat pockets. "Let's forget the 'how' for the moment and concentrate on the 'who'. Who could be behind it? Who could have the kind of resources to work such an incredible thing as this?"
"Well ..." Clark was frowning at her admittedly tenuous logic. "Okay, since we don't have any idea how it could happen," he ventured, "if it's some kind of scheme or other, who would benefit from the appearance of a second Superman?"
"I'd say Lex would make a good candidate for the resources and the motivation," Lois said, "only that doesn't make sense. A second Superman would make things harder for him to conduct some of his 'business' than it is now. Of course, if it's a hoax, that might not be a problem."
"Well, he has the resources, I guess, if he wanted to pull off some kind of hoax," Clark agreed. "And if the guy's working for Luthor, he wouldn't get in the way of his 'business'. Still, how on Earth could he have managed that jumbo jet thing, if that's all it is?"
"You're back to wondering how again," Lois reminded him. "Shelve the 'how', Clark. We know this imposter's avoided Superman since his appearance. There has to be a reason. Maybe that's why. Maybe the guy is an actor or something, made up to look like Superman."
"I guess it's a possibility," Clark agreed, "and if it's a gigantic hoax, I can see Luthor being behind it, though we don't know why he'd do such a thing."
"That's not important," she said. "*If* he's in back of it, we know that it can't be for Superman's good. Of course there are plenty of other candidates, but he's the most obvious. He's Superman's enemy and wants to get rid of him. I think we should do a little checking into him and what he's been doing lately. If he's working some kind of scam there have to be some traces, no matter how carefully he's covered them up. I'll get Jimmy researching some of his recent finances tomorrow while you and I start digging in other places."
**********
Cruising above the city on the chilly evening breeze, Clark scanned and listened for anything below him that might require his intervention. Outside of a couple of random muggings and one purse snatching however, the city was relatively quiet. He had dealt with the crimes and the criminals and was on his last circuit before heading back to his apartment.
Usually his late evening patrol, when the last of the sunlight had faded from the sky and he was coasting through the air above the city lights, was a time when he could unwind somewhat from the events of the day. Flying had always been one of his most enjoyable pastimes and helped to wash away worry or stress, but tonight he wasn't able to relax completely. Something was prodding at him, so faintly that he almost attributed it to his imagination, but he found himself glancing frequently over his shoulder as he flew, scanning the air around him closely, looking for ... what? His neck prickled very faintly, as if something more instinctive than anything related to conscious thought was aware of what his thinking mind was not. It was almost as if he was being watched, but he couldn't identify the source.
Probably it was nothing more than nerves, he thought. This mystery man who was pretending to be him was getting to him more than he realized. Still, the theory that his partner had suggested on their walk home was a good starting point. The imposter hadn't come out of nowhere after all, and if Lex Luthor really was behind such an outlandish hoax it wouldn't be the first time he had come up with a scheme to harm Superman. There had been the tests when he first came to Metropolis, and, although he couldn't prove it, he'd be willing to bet his last nickel that the heat wave last November, caused by Luthor's nuclear power plant, had been another one. Something like the marine environment of the bay wouldn't matter to Luthor, if it got in the way of his plans.
And of course, he reminded himself, Luthor wasn't the only candidate out there. He was simply the one who came to mind first.
His neck was prickling more strongly; he could almost feel someone watching him.
It was just his imagination, he told himself. It wasn't as if he was psychic or anything. Besides, he was a thousand feet above the city. Who could possibly be watching him? Of *course* it was imagination.
"Hey you!" The voice was oddly familiar and coming from not far away. He spun in mid-air.
The figure in blue was "standing" a hundred yards away, his feet resting on nothing. Clark stared at him, unaware that his mouth was hanging open.
It wasn't like looking in a mirror at all. In a reflection, all the features are reversed. This man was exactly as he had seen himself in photographs, down to the smallest detail. Even the tiny birthmark on his upper lip was on the correct side. The dark brown, faintly Asian eyes watched him with a sparkle of unholy glee and the man's mobile lips were twisted in a mocking smile. As Clark stared, he assumed the classic Superman stance with his legs apart and arms folded across his chest. The expression on his face became a caricature of the stern expression that Clark assumed when speaking to the public, then disintegrated as he broke into gleeful laughter.
Clark managed to gather his scattered wits enough to propel himself forward, toward his double. The other man waited, assuming a pose as if he were leaning against a nonexistent wall. When they were only a few feet apart Clark stopped and the imposter stood upright with a leisurely motion and held his arms out from his sides in pantomime, with a look of wide-eyed innocence that was ruined by his twitching lips. He danced right and left and pirouetted to show himself from all sides, unperturbed by the fact that they were both several hundred feet in the air, then he began to slowly drop toward the pavement. Clark followed.
They touched down together. Clark hadn't taken his eyes from the other man's face. The imposter's eyes were full of wicked laughter and he had the fleeting impression of a child delighting in a game of his own invention. The other Superman danced a few steps, turning once again so that Clark could see him from all angles.
With an effort, Clark at last regained control of his vocal cords. "Who *are* you?" he asked.
The other man's lips turned down in a childish pout and his heavy eyebrows drew together. "I don't want to talk," he announced. "You're my enemy."
"What makes you say that?" Clark asked.
The other Superman folded his arms. "I am the most powerful man in the universe. You have outlived your usefulness."
"Who told you all these things?" Clark asked.
"My father," the other man said.
"Who's your father?"
A secretive smile. "I promised never to tell."
"I'm not your enemy," Clark said. "I want to be your friend. I want to know more about you, where you come from."
"I was born in the womb," the imposter said "My father took me out."
That was certainly an odd way to phrase it. "Okay. How old are you?"
"As old as you." A mischievous grin. "Catch me if you can!" He was in the air as he spoke, flashing away in the blink of an eye. Clark gave chase but it became obvious at once that his double had all of his speed and agility. The man led him through the city, around buildings, through tunnels, always just ahead. He glanced back once, gave a mocking laugh and poured on the power. Clark could have followed, but it was obvious that this could go on as long as the imposter wanted to play. He looked after the dark form as his doppelganger vanished into the sky. For several minutes he remained staring at the last place he had seen his double. Finally he shook his head and turned to fly slowly back toward Clark Kent's apartment but his mind was busy.
One thing he had learned from the short meeting. The other Superman was not a hoax or a figment of anyone's imagination. He was real and solid and possessed not only Clark's powers but his appearance as well, down to the last detail. His personality, however ...
Clark frowned, slowly replaying the meeting in his head. If he hadn't seen a man, he could have believed that he was speaking to a mischievous four-year-old boy. The double had seemed strangely childlike, for all his powers. Now that was very interesting.
Halfway home, he heard the bell in the Metropolis clock tower chime ten. He hesitated and then changed course. Maybe Lois would still be awake. He needed to talk to his partner.
**********
Lois picked up the remote and turned off the television in disgust. Somehow, "The Ivory Tower" just wasn't able to keep her attention tonight. The trials and tribulations of Gwendolyn, Vincent and Justin, her would-be lover, seemed forced and superficial.
She was tired, she thought, and obsessing over this "double' business. They had made a little progress, she told herself, and had developed a few possibilities to investigate in the morning, but how was she going to be sure of anything if the false Superman didn't show himself in Metropolis?
What if it was a gigantic hoax? It was tempting to believe that, but after all, she knew that a man could fly, after flying with Superman. She'd told Clark to forget the 'how' for the moment and concentrate on the 'who', and she knew it was probably the right approach to take, but the sheer impossibility of it nagged at her. How could anyone be like Superman, especially after what he'd told her? Superman was the only surviving member of his species, at least as far as he knew; the last Kryptonian, and he had been sent here by his parents so that he could survive among people who looked like him. Had his parents known that he would have such incredible powers when they had picked Earth as his destination? If the people of Krypton had known what they could be on Earth, wouldn't they have shown up here before now? Superman hadn't said; he might not know.
What must it be like, she wondered again, to know that you were the last of your kind -- that once you were gone, everything that your world had produced would be erased as if it had never been?
She shivered. It had to be an incredibly lonely feeling, and yet Superman never seemed particularly unhappy. Of course, she didn't see him that often. Did he have friends? Well, sure -- she was his friend, of course, and he had his adoptive family, wherever they were. She wondered if he might have human sisters and brothers, if he had a girlfriend, or a best friend; someone who knew who he was and to whom he could talk about the things that he did. Did he have someone to listen when a rescue went wrong? There weren't many of them, but she had seen him once pulling people out of a burning building, and the grim expression on his face had stayed with her for days.
Maybe he did, but he had come to her for help and it was frustrating that she and Clark had made so little progress today. Okay, many investigations took weeks, but this one looked as if they didn't have weeks to spare. If Lex Luthor was really behind this, what kind of scheme could he have in mind? Could it be a plan to try to discredit Superman? It was possible. After Clark had told her about Lex, and after she had seen his attempt to kill Clark while he still had the pheromone to blame, she had thought back to some of the more puzzling things that had happened in the last few months, things that had seemed like unfortunate accidents at the time. The business of the super boxers when Allie had been killed -- Lex had been surprisingly prominent during that time. He'd been a sponsor of that event and was a major source of the funding for her father's work with artificial limbs, she remembered. He had seemed genuinely horrified at what she and Clark had uncovered, but now she wondered. There had been the heat wave last November, too ... could any of that have been attempts by Lex to attack Superman? Looking back with the twenty-twenty vision of hindsight, it seemed more than likely that they had. So this super-double that had suddenly appeared could very well be another try, which meant that she and Clark had to get to the bottom of it as fast as they could.
The tapping on the window in the other room alerted her at once. She scrambled out of bed, grabbed her robe and hurried out of the bedroom.
Superman was standing at the window again, tapping urgently at the pane. She opened it quickly and he dropped into the room.
"I hope I didn't wake you," he said.
"Of course not ... but couldn't you tell?" she asked in surprise. "I mean, couldn't you check?"
"Lois, I wouldn't peek into your apartment," he said, in a slightly shocked tone. "If you were changing or something, it would be a little embarrassing and it sure wouldn't show much respect for you."
"I didn't mean ..." She found herself blushing at the thought. "Anyway, is something wrong or did you just come by to hear about our progress?"
"I had to talk to you, right away," he said. "I just met him."
"'Him'?" There was no question in her mind which 'him' he was referring to. "You mean the imposter? He's here in Metropolis? He's real?"
"As real as I am," he said. "He was standing right in front of me. He looks exactly like me, and he has my powers. At least," he amended, "he can certainly fly, and he's as fast as I am, and after the plane rescue yesterday I think we can assume that he's as strong, so he probably has the rest of them too. I wanted to let you know what happened. It was a little strange."
She couldn't help smiling a little. "I'd say it would be a lot strange," she said. "Sit down and we can talk. Would you like some coffee or tea?"
"Tea will be fine," he said, "but you don't need to ..."
"That's okay. I have tea bags, and I'll zap up some hot water in the microwave," she said, surprised at her lack of nervousness in his presence. It was as if his coming to her for help had changed their relationship somewhat -- put him more on a level with her. If he needed help then he wasn't all-powerful, no matter how incredible the things were that he could do.
He smiled. "Just bring the cups in here and I'll take care of it," he suggested. "It's faster. I want you to hear this. It was ... interesting."
"Superman, you seem to have a gift for understatement," she said, surprising herself. "I'll get the cups."
**********
tbc
