Twins: 12/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
It seemed that Luthor was on the verge of leaving. Clark moved away from the door. "Lois!"
"What?"
"He's coming out. Step into the restroom there. He's bound to notice you with all this water all over the place!"
"What about *you*?"
"I'll hide. Go!"
Surprisingly, she didn't argue further. As she disappeared through the door of the restroom, Clark lowered his glasses and trained his heat vision on the section of floor in a direct path toward the exit.
There was a savage hiss and the corridor filled with water vapor as the liquid burst instantly into steam. Clark cleared the air with a quick blast of breath and with a burst of speed rearranged the cones to give Luthor a clear path toward the exit. That done, he busied himself with slowly moving the mop back and forth, soaking up the puddles in the still-wet section. Behind him the door opened and he heard Luthor's footsteps diminishing as he made his way down the hall the way he had come.
**********
And now, Part 12:
"He's going to be at Luthor's penthouse tonight," Clark said. "Apparently there's been some problem with the clones. Luthor wants to know how much time he has left before his Superman clone 'goes the way of the frogs'."
"He expects him to *die*?"
Clark nodded tightly. "Looks like it."
"Clark, we have to do something." Lois slammed the door of the Jeep and stuck the key in the ignition with unnecessary force. "I can't believe I ever thought that sleazeball was attractive."
Clark bit his lip, thinking back to the conversation he had heard. "There may not be anything we can do."
"Maybe not, but we have to try," Lois said.
"Oh, I agree," Clark said. "I'm open to suggestions."
Lois frowned at the dashboard of the Cherokee. "He said the cloned frogs died?"
"That's what he said," Clark said.
"We have to find out why."
"Why what?"
"Why the frogs died. There has to be a reason."
"How do you intend to do that?"
"Look, Leek hasn't even tried to find out, if what you said is right. We need some of the frogs. We can take them over to STAR Labs. Jimmy has a friend there -- a Dr. Klein. He says the guy's kind of an absent-minded professor, but he's really brilliant. He's a physicist, but from what I understand, he also has a degree in medicine and a master's in biochemistry. He'll help us if we tell him what's going on."
"Well, I suppose," Clark said doubtfully. "But --"
"Clark, if the Superman clone is going to die without help, we need to find out if there's anything we can do to help him!" She pulled sharply out of the parking space, causing the driver of a car waiting for the space to give a faint scream and blow his horn. Clark said nothing.
Lois ignored the horn, slammed the Jeep into forward and nearly peeled out of the parking lot. She was really upset, Clark thought. He didn't blame her a bit. Up until now he had regarded the clone as a complication at best and a danger at the worst, but now it looked as if he was simply one more unfortunate pawn in Luthor's ongoing campaign to attack Superman.
"And we need to find out what's going on at that meeting tonight." Lois continued as if there had been no interruptions. "Do you think Superman would be willing to listen in?"
"Since this involves him, probably," Clark said.
"Good. I want to know what's going on, before we go after some of the frogs. I'd like you to get hold of Superman and ask him to hang around LexTower tonight at ten, and eavesdrop. I want to know what those sleazebags are up to. After that, you and I are going to come back here -- about midnight, I think. By that time, the only people we'll have to look out for will be the security guards. We're going to collect some specimens." Lois passed a slow-moving truck, barely avoided an oncoming car, and cut back into her lane inches ahead of a city bus. Clark winced.
"Uhh ... Lois? Do you think you could concentrate on your driving? If you get us both killed we won't be around to help the clone."
She opened her mouth and then closed it again. "Sorry. You're right. It just makes me so *angry* ...!"
"It makes me angry, too," Clark said. "He's been alive just long enough to get a taste of life, and now he's going to die unless there's something we can do. Cloning a frog is one thing. Cloning a man is something else altogether."
"I'm going to put that ... that *louse* away for a thousand years," Lois said, although now she at least appeared to be paying closer attention to her driving. "Philanthropist my a ..." She broke off, glanced at Clark and then blew her horn savagely at a bicyclist who had had the poor judgement to try to cross the street in front of her, with nothing but a green light for permission. "He's going down, no matter what we have to do or how long it takes. And Leek, too. The guy doesn't deserve the title of 'human being'. He's created a little boy, turned him into a grown man, and now he's going to let him die without doing anything to try to stop it. Well, we're going to. And Leek's going to wish he'd never been born!"
Clark didn't doubt it for an instant.
**********
Lois Lane glanced at her watch for the tenth time in as many minutes. It was after eleven. Surely the meeting in the penthouse of LexTower was over by this time. Where was Superman? A gentle tapping on her window brought her around so fast she nearly fell over her own feet. Superman stood beyond the pane and she hurried to open it for him.
For an instant, she wondered if this was really Superman, but he put her doubts at rest at once.
"I kind of exceeded your instructions," Superman said, stepping lightly down into her living room. He handed her a recording cassette.
"What's this?"
"After I talked to Clark, I decided that we'll need all the hard evidence we could collect, so I borrowed some equipment and made a recording for you," Superman said. "I'm acquainted with Dr. Klein, so I went over to STAR Labs, explained the problem, and he loaned me a directional microphone and a recorder. It was a good thing I did, considering what I overheard tonight. And Dr. Klein is anxious to help if he can. He was pretty upset when he heard what was being done." He smiled mechanically. "I think his medical ethics are offended, as well as his human ones. He said to tell you that he'll be waiting tonight, and to bring the samples directly to him. He'll take it from there."
Lois felt her eyes widen. Evidently her influence was rubbing off on her partner, or possibly, she amended, he was simply so outraged by what they had discovered that he was willing to let Superman stretch some of his more annoying self-imposed rules for the sake of justice -- and to try to save a life. If anything would push Superman to such extremes, that would be it, she knew.
"You don't need to listen to the whole thing now," he added. "Basically, the clone's vitals and brain activity are within acceptable limits for now, but they're beginning to fluctuate somewhat. Leek estimates that he has another week, maybe two, before he starts to lose his powers. Plenty of time, in Luthor's own words, for him to kill me. There's plenty on there to incriminate both of them." He hesitated. "There's something else, too."
"What?"
"They're talking about making another clone from the sample of my hair. Apparently there were four before this one, but they only survived to childhood. Not long enough to develop super powers."
Lois nodded mutely. She shouldn't have been surprised, she knew. Lex had proven to her beyond any doubt by now that he was capable of any depravity while in pursuit of a goal, but the information was unexpectedly shocking anyway.
"Lois, are you all right?" Superman asked.
"Yeah." She cleared her throat. "Yes, I'm fine. Thanks, Superman. This should help a lot."
"You're welcome. Lois --" He hesitated for an instant. "If you need any more help, don't hesitate to ask. This has to be stopped. Not just for me. They're killing -- well, children, actually. Children who are my brothers."
"I know," she said. "I'll make a copy of this, and when we've got everything we need, I'll take it to Henderson -- along with my file on Lex. In the meantime, we need to get every bit of evidence we can."
"If you need my help," he said again, "just ask. You'll have it. And be careful tonight."
"We will," she said.
**********
Clark brought a camera and plenty of film, and a single-minded determination that what Luthor and Leek were doing had to be stopped, whatever it took. Lois might wonder about Superman's whole-hearted cooperation, but the information that he had seen in Leek's file cabinet had been enough to make him realize that what Luthor and the scientist were doing was nothing more or less than murder. That was where he had seen the documentation, and the entire history, of the experiments with the previous four clones, and that was when he had decided to get a record of the meeting in Luthor's penthouse this evening.
There was one thing that he hadn't told Lois about the time that he had spent floating silently above the penthouse. He had listened to the conversation between Lex Luthor and Fabian Leek with growing fury as they discussed the health of their clone. The clone, himself, was to all appearances asleep in a kind of clear chamber to one side of the semi-laboratory in which they had installed monitoring equipment and an armchair, where earlier he had watched and listened to Luthor as he told his "son" a bedtime story.
The two men had discussed the clone's life expectancy, and the intention to make another clone, now that they had managed to create a successful prototype. Well, somewhat, anyway. A clone who had made it to adulthood. The cold-blooded, clinical detachment of the two men had made him angrier than ever. The Superman clone wasn't just some specimen, as Leek referred to him. He was an intelligent creature with the mind and experience of a child. He wasn't a frog or even a dog or cat. He deserved to be treated as such, and certainly not used as a vehicle to commit murder, and then discard like so much garbage.
It was in the midst of his anger that he had become aware of another presence. There was no other word for it. Another set of thoughts that were not his own. It had left him momentarily disconcerted to feel a series of childlike thoughts and emotions that didn't belong to him, of a mind that was not yet aware of him, but definitely aware of Luthor and Leek and what they said.
There was confusion; a lack of understanding of much of what was said, but two things had been clear: anger and fear. The mind was afraid of dying, and afraid to ask what was in store for him, but he knew it wasn't good. Maybe if he pleased his father, his father would love him enough to help. The emotions had been very distinct, and it was then that Clark had realized that somehow he was picking up the thoughts and feelings of the clone, himself.
He had often wondered if he might possess some sort of ESP. He had always seemed to have a kind of awareness of others' feelings. Nothing clear; nothing more than a sense or hunch about their mental processes. He had wondered if it sprang from some sort of Kryptonian mental talent and if it would be stronger with others of his own kind, but this was the first time that he had actually had any real evidence of it. Even now, he wasn't sure whether it was because the clone was, like him, a Kryptonian, or whether it was because their brains were as close to identical as it was possible to get.
But he had known it the instant that the clone had become aware of him and waited, expecting his twin to betray him.
But he hadn't. He hadn't said a word.
**********
The laboratory loomed like a blot of darkness against the pale illumination of the Metropolis skyline. Clark's senses were tuned to their highest peak of alertness. He knew to the inch where each security guard was, where the alarm systems were, and what to do about them if necessary. He had marked out in his mind the quickest escape route, and had already settled in his own mind that if it came down to it that he would fly away rather than be caught, taking Lois with him. It was that important that they not be discovered here if they were to have the slightest chance of saving the life of the other Superman, and if they were not to alert Leek and Luthor that their game had been discovered.
He had decided after his venture in surveillance that he wasn't going to call the other Superman a clone anymore. That was to relegate him to a status less than that of a person. His twin was a child in the body of a man, but no less a person, for all that, and he deserved the acknowledgement that it was so.
"See anything?" Lois whispered.
"Not yet. Let's go."
Silently, they moved across the lawn in front of the laboratory, and flitted around to the side.
A security guard was coming through the parking lot that was situated beside the left wing of the building, and Clark and Lois ducked into the shadow of the hedge until the man went on by and rounded the corner of the lab into the front and out of sight.
Lois took the lead then, tracing a circuitous route that kept them concealed as much as possible, through the flowerbeds, stepping only on the decorative stones and then across the patch of grass between them and their goal: the side door that opened into the hallway outside of Leek's office. Clark had seen her sabotage the lock with a wad of chewing gum during their earlier foray, and wasn't in the least surprised that the door came open without the slightest fuss.
Lois peeked through the door, counting, and then ducked through and hugged the wall under the lens of the slowly swiveling videocamera. Clark was right on her heels. Backs tight against the wall to keep themselves out of its range, they waited until the camera turned to cover the opposite end of the hallway and then ran swiftly and silently in their rubber-soled shoes until they reached the corner and rounded it. A few feet further down was the door of Fabian Leek's office.
She had used gum to block the locking of the door here, too, and it had been equally successful, Clark saw. He had to admire his partner's expertise in the field of breaking and entering. It was just as well, he thought, as she carefully removed the evidence of her sabotage and tossed it into the trash receptacle that stood in the hall behind them, that she had chosen to become an investigative reporter instead of a jewel thief or something. The Metropolis PD would have been hopelessly outmatched. The barriers removed, they crept quietly into the scientist's office.
**********
Lois watched her partner's reactions as they crept through the short hallway to Leek's office. Clark's glasses were resting on his nose, and it was obvious to her that he was scanning the immediate area closely. Superman, it seemed, was making a very determined effort not to get caught.
Inside the office, Clark made a beeline for the file cabinet. "I'll search this; why don't you take the desk."
She nodded, content to let him find whatever it was that he had pinpointed earlier. The office had no windows, situated as it was away from the outer wall of the building. Probably a security measure, she thought. Without a pause, she turned the door's lock, threw her coat on the floor to cover the crack beneath the door and switched on the light. Then, she turned her attention to the scientist's desk.
The drawers were locked, but undoing the locks was only the work of a moment. Quickly and efficiently, she sorted through the various notes and folders that were apparently Leek's ongoing projects, carefully replacing them in the exact order in which she had found them and locking the drawer when she had assured herself that the papers she was checking had nothing to do with the clone.
It was in the bottom left drawer: a complete record of the creation of the Superman clone. Quickly and efficiently, she photographed each page, replaced the notes in the folder and returned the folder to the drawer.
Clark was standing beside her when she turned, a satisfied look on his face.
"Find anything?" she asked.
"Yeah. Tell you about it later." He reached out to switch off the light and Lois retrieved her coat. He gestured to the door that opened off the side of Leek's office. "According to the floor plan, this is his private lab."
She nodded. "I couldn't sabotage this one; I'm going to have to pick it," she told him in a whisper. "Keep an ear out, would you? If the security guard comes by and decides to check the office, I want plenty of warning."
He grinned, his teeth gleaming in the dimness. "Got your bag for frog collecting?"
"Right here. Go on!"
"Right," he replied softly. "Hurry."
Somehow, it was a lot easier to do the job now that she knew that it was Superman protecting her back. He would have more than enough warning for them to hide if anyone decided to intrude. She dealt summarily with the lock and pushed the door carefully open. The hinges squeaked a little, and the sound was like a siren to her ears, but in reality it couldn't have been heard outside the room.
Clark crossed the room to her so quietly that she could have sworn his feet hadn't touched the floor. "Guard coming," he whispered.
Together they slipped through the door and closed it softly after them.
**********
They stood in complete darkness, except for the tiny and wholly inadequate wall light, for several seconds, but at last she felt Clark relax and straighten up beside her. "He checked the office and went on," he whispered. "Let's not waste time, though."
Lois had removed the mini-mag from her pocket and now twisted it on.
The laboratory looked no different to her than any other lab she had seen in her career as a reporter. As a matter of fact, the single year of high school chemistry that she had taken had included a lab as well, and this looked like that one too. It was cluttered with equipment, the most of which meant nothing to her. A second door in the opposite wall stood slightly ajar, and from the room beyond, she could hear a faint beeping sound. She flashed her light around the room, looking for the frogs, but it was Clark who found what they were looking for in the very back of the room.
"Over here, Lois!" She wondered for a second how he had managed to find the frogs so quickly and then reprimanded herself sharply. Of course he would know where they were! If he didn't simply hear them, he had probably spotted them in the dark with his incredible eyesight. Could Superman see in the dark? Well, he hadn't been able to see the invisible men some months ago, but he had said that he needed visible light. He just hadn't said how much. Her flashlight had supplied a little, and that might be all he required. He had certainly reached the frogs quickly and unerringly enough.
She threaded her way quickly past the tables, lab equipment and a battered desk bearing a computer and a pile of folders and charts, and paused before Clark's discovery.
The table against the rear wall held several specimen boxes containing dead frogs, next to a terrarium where several frogs hopped listlessly about. A second one, labeled "1st Generation" beside it also contained several frogs, two of which were dead, several obviously in the last stages of life and six still moving about. One of the living frogs had five legs, and Lois grimaced.
It was the matter of a moment to transfer one of the dead frogs into a plastic bag brought for the purpose. She handed it to Clark.
"Take this. I'm going to take a couple of the live ones and --" she couldn't help a grimace -- "a couple of the sick ones. Dr. Klein is going to need plenty of samples."
"What if he misses them?"
"Put a few of the ones from the live tank in with the others. He'll never know the difference."
Clark shrugged and obeyed as she transferred her choices to a paper sack. "Okay, let's get out of here."
"Someone's coming," Clark whispered. "Under the desk, quick!"
She obeyed at once. "Where are you going to hide?"
"Shh!" He shoved the chair in front of her, and disappeared.
**********
tbc
