Twins: 13/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
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.
**********
And now, Part 13:
Lois huddled back under the desk and held perfectly still. Footsteps crossed the floor, headed toward the back of the room, and she heard various rattles and clinks as some sort of equipment was disturbed. She tried to breathe softly, and hoped that the frantic thrumming of her heart couldn't be heard by whoever had entered the laboratory.
More footsteps, and the unidentified intruder approached the desk. A pair of feet clad in brown leather shoes paused in front of her. If he found her now, Clark wouldn't be able to help her. She held her breath, praying that whoever it was would find what he wanted and go away.
A hand came within her range of vision, and an arm in a brown sleeve. The hand pulled a drawer open and removed a folder. Lois closed her eyes.
The unknown man -- it was a man, she was sure -- was muttering to himself.
Carefully, she took a breath, trying to make no sound at all. Above her on the desk top she could hear papers rustling, and then the hand reached down to open the drawer again. It deposited the folder back into the drawer and closed it with a click.
The feet turned away and disappeared from her range of vision, but she could still hear him moving around. Something creaked softly, and a pale, bluish light became visible. The faint beeping of which she had been aware, coming from the other room, grew louder. The footsteps retreated, but she could still hear movement. She breathed softly, not daring to peek out of her hiding place to see what was going on.
More clinking. Whoever had entered the room seemed to be at some distance from her now, but he was still present. Her nose began to itch, and a spot on one shoulder blade. She didn't dare try to reach it for fear she would make a sound and alert the man to her presence. She gritted her teeth and tried to concentrate on counting backward from a thousand.
The footsteps were approaching again. Lois held perfectly still, holding her breath as they stopped in front of the desk once more. A spot on top of her head had begun to itch as well, and the sensation spread until she could have sworn her entire scalp was crawling with insects.
The footsteps retreated once more. The door to Leek's office opened and closed with a decisive click.
Lois let out her breath softly and reached up to scratch her scalp thoroughly, but she didn't move from her hiding place just yet. The last thing she needed was for him to decide that he had forgotten something and return, just in time to catch her.
The chair in front of her hiding place was moved quietly away, and Clark's voice said, "He's gone."
She scooted out from under the desk and stood up, scratched her nose thoroughly and then reached futilely over her shoulder in an attempt to reach the spot on her shoulder blade. Clark observed her attempt and then extended a hand to scratch the offending itchy spot.
She gave a faint sigh of relief. "Thanks. Did you see who it was?"
He nodded. "Leek."
"What was he doing here?"
"Good question." He opened the drawer that Leek had opened minutes before and withdrew the folder. Lois adjusted her mini-mag to illuminate the page.
"Hmmm ..." Clark rapidly scanned the pages. "Looks like an autopsy report. 'Subject Alpha'."
"On one of the other clones?"
"Looks like it." His mouth looked grim. "The others are here, too. And ..." His eyebrows flew up. "This is interesting."
"What?"
"Looks like a very detailed report on Luthor's involvement." He withdrew a Manila envelope and shook several mini-cassettes and several photographs into his hand. "Look at this. 'Conversation with Luthor 1, Conversation with Luthor 2, Conversation with Luthor; Disposal of Clone 1' ...There's a bunch of them. 'Conversation with Luthor, Penthouse' ... and today's date."
"Looks like Dr. Leek doesn't trust his partner in crime," Lois said. "He may be a sleazebag, but he's not a fool."
"I'd say," Clark said. "I'd guess he's trying to protect himself just in case. I'm going to make copies of these papers. Turn on the table light there, would you?"
Lois obeyed. "While you're doing that, I want to see what's in the other room."
"Go ahead."
Lois turned away, hearing the faint clicking of the camera behind her, and hurried to open the second door. It swung open at her push, and she found herself looking at a small room filled with unidentified equipment. In the center, however, was a large cylinder, perhaps seven feet long, made of some kind of plastic and filled with a clear, pale blue fluid.
"Clark," she called softly.
He tucked the Manila envelope under his jacket, giving her a sharp look at the same time. "What's the matter?"
"Come here. I think I've found something."
He crossed the room quickly and stopped still, staring at the scene. "What do you suppose that is?"
"Could it be the thing they grew the clones in? I've never seen anything like it before."
"Maybe." He was looking at the scene with narrowed eyes.
Lois glanced uneasily over her shoulder. "It looks like something out of Frankenstein. Let's get out of this place, Clark. I want to get the frogs to Dr. Klein as fast as we can."
"All right. Just a minute, though."
"What?"
"I'm going to get some photographs."
**********
When Clark Kent returned to his apartment, it was almost four A.M. After dropping the frogs off with Dr. Klein, he had seen Lois home and then made a trip by the Daily Planet to make use of their duplicating equipment. A short time later, Superman had made a second foray into Fabian Leek's laboratory to return the pilfered items. He had no intention of alerting the scientist that someone was aware of his game in time for him to escape before the long arm of the law swooped down.
He had struggled with his conscience for some time after their discoveries in Leek's cloning lab, but he and his partner had finally decided that if they were to notify the police immediately, they would undoubtedly descend on Leek, and give Luthor enough warning to cover his tracks. They wanted to have all their evidence in hand before they involved the minions of the law and that, among a few other things, involved Dr. Klein's results.
He dropped into bed, more tired than he had ever been. This had been an emotionally exhausting night. He definitely needed a couple of hours' sleep before he went in to work this morning.
**********
"Here's the photos you wanted, Lois." Jimmy presented her with a thick envelope of photographs. "What is this stuff, anyway? Some sort of horror movie preview? This is pretty grisly."
"Tell me about it," she said. "Some of it is evidence. Some of it is information. Thanks." She took the photographs, glancing up at the monitors. They were showing a train derailment in New Jersey, and she could see the red and blue form of Superman whisking back and forth almost faster than the eye could follow as he assisted the emergency personnel. Quickly, she sorted through the photos, separating out the copies of Leek's notes. "I need you to fax these to Dr. Klein over at STAR Labs right away. Let him know that they're the notes that go with the samples we gave him last night. Got it?"
"Your wish is my command." Jimmy took the proffered notes. "What samples?"
"Never mind. Just get that stuff to Dr. Klein as fast as you can. He's waiting for the information."
"You got it," Jimmy said. He glanced at the monitors, where the cameras had zoomed in on Superman. "That kind of boggles my mind, y'know."
"What does?"
"Him." Jimmy pointed at the screen with a thumb. "A year ago nobody'd heard of him. Today everybody on Earth owes him his life. How many times has he just dropped out of nowhere and saved our lives? He pulled me out from in front of a truck last November." He was silent for a moment, studying the man on the screen. "We're lucky he's here, but why do you suppose he decided to live here in Metropolis? What's so special about it?"
"I don't know," she said. "But something must be. Maybe I should ask him that when I talk to him again." She turned away from the screens, which had shifted to downtown Metropolis, and now showed images of picketing employees at one of the new Cost Mart stores that were due to open soon in Metropolis. Lois had seen Cost Mart stores in places like New York but it hadn't been until recently that the international chain had moved into Metropolis. The grand opening was scheduled something like five or six months down the road but it looked as if they were already having labor troubles.
The door of the editor's office opened. Perry exited and headed across the office toward the exit.
"Hold down the fort," he said as he passed them. "I'm headed for lunch. Gonna try some of that blowfish sushi."
Jimmy's eyes widened. "The kind that can *kill* you?"
"Sayonara." Perry slung his jacket over one shoulder and breezed toward the elevator.
Jimmy stared after him. "I'm really worried about the Chief," he said, finally.
"Perry has a lot worrying him right now," Lois said.
"Yeah, but this ..." Jimmy watched as his boss disappeared into the elevator. "I mean, white water rafting, Death Valley hikes, blowfish sushi -- it's like he's trying to kill himself or something. Yesterday he said something about living on the edge."
"'Living on the edge'?"
"I heard him!"
Lois shook her head. "Perry's not going to kill himself," she said, "but he's getting a lot of pressure from upstairs over our advertisers dropping us. That's one of the reasons Clark wanted that information. He's trying to figure out what's going on."
Jimmy didn't look convinced. "I don't know. I think it might be something else."
"Well, if you find out what it is, let me know," Lois said, "but speaking of risk to life and limb, unless you want to risk yours, go fax that stuff to Dr. Klein. He needs it."
"Oh yeah. Sorry." Jimmy cast a last look at the elevators and departed.
**********
The sonic boom that rattled the windows in Smallville, Kansas, at the hour of seven A.M., announced the arrival of Clark Kent at his parents' farm.
Martha Kent looked up when the front door opened as her son, clad neatly in slacks and a smart sports jacket, stepped inside. "Clark! This is a surprise. Is everything all right?"
"Hi, Mom." He glanced around the living room. "You got new slip covers for the living room set."
"The old ones were ready for the rag bag." Martha recognized the tactic. Clark had always had difficulty saying so when something was bothering him, but the very fact that he was here so unexpectedly told her that that was the case. "Come on in the kitchen and have some tea."
That was also the old pattern. She would make him tea and let him figure out how to explain the problem to her, and they would talk. He followed her willingly into the kitchen and Martha went to get him a mug. "How are things at work?"
"So-so." Clark took a seat at the kitchen table. "Perry's worried because a bunch of our advertisers have suddenly dropped us. I'm trying to figure out why."
"Did you ever find out anything about the imposter?" she asked, setting the mug of water in the microwave.
"Yeah. I guess that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Where's Dad?"
"He went to buy feed. What's happened?" Casually she set a plate of chocolate chip cookies in front of him and watched in satisfaction as he automatically took one and bit into it.
"These are great," he remarked. "Well, after I talked to you, I thought it over and decided to ask Lois to help me -- as Superman." He finished the cookie and his hand went instantly back to the plate for a second one. "She's the best investigative reporter I've ever known, Mom. I figured that if anybody could help me, it would be her."
"And did she?"
He nodded. "Yeah. But it's turned into something else, now."
"What's happened?" The microwave beeped and she turned to take out the mug of hot water. "Here you go. Is Oolong all right?"
"It's fine," he said, taking the mug and the tea bag. Martha pushed the sugar container over next to him. "I had to tell her a little more about Superman's real history -- where I came from and how I got here. I trust her, Mom," he added. "She's not going to publish it or anything. Anyway, the next morning ..." The whole story came out. When he finished, Martha found herself staring at him with a sensation close to horror. "That poor boy!"
"I know. Dr. Klein is trying to find out if there's anything he can do to help him. Lois is determined to do everything she can, and so am I. I mean, he may look like an adult, and his super powers must have let him learn a lot of stuff pretty fast, but inside, he's just a little kid."
"This Lex Luthor is a monster," Martha said unequivocally. "And Leek isn't any better. They're murderers. They deserve to be sent to prison for the rest of their lives."
"Yeah, I know. We're doing our best. I wish I knew what to do." He swallowed scalding tea without a wince. "Do you know what Lois did, Mom? After that thing with the pheromone perfume last year, when she found out about Luthor, she's been investigating him. She was trying to *protect* me. She's been afraid he would try to kill me."
"It sounds to me like she cares a lot more for you than you realized," Martha said.
He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm starting to think maybe she does," he admitted, "but taking on Luthor single-handed! It scares the daylights out of me!"
"Then I guess you need to make sure that you help her," Martha said. "If you can get enough evidence to put him in prison, he won't be a danger to her anymore."
"That's what I'm trying to do," he said. "I have to admit, she's been more reasonable about that than I expected. When we broke into Leek's lab last night it worked really well, and we found a lot of information. We found photos, and a whole written record of what's been done so far. Equally important, Leek has been keeping a kind of journal of everything Luthor has had him do, how much he was paid, everything. There were even tape recordings of Leek's conversations with Luthor. Once we have Dr. Klein's report, it may be enough to take to Henderson."
"Are recordings admissible as evidence?" Martha asked. "I didn't think they allowed them."
"It depends on the state," Clark said. "They're admissible in New Troy as long as they're not the sole evidence against a defendant. There's the stuff that Lois has been collecting since November, and I think Leek will back us up against Luthor, when it comes to saving his own skin. Henderson could probably get an arrest warrant for Leek on the basis of Superman's recording but we don't want to warn Luthor and give him the chance to make Leek's evidence disappear. He went to a lot of trouble to document everything. I think he's afraid Luthor's going to leave him holding the bag if anything goes wrong. He's right, too."
"It sounds that way," Martha agreed. "Of course, if this Luthor is as amoral as you think he is, Leek's life could be in danger once he's of no more use to him. This man didn't get to be as powerful as he is by leaving witnesses around. Or have I been reading too many spy thrillers?"
Clark smiled slightly. "No, I think you're absolutely right. I suspect Dr. Leek knows it, too. He's going to need to be protected."
"Clark, have you thought about what's going to happen to the clone if you do manage to save him?" Martha asked suddenly.
Clark shrugged. "Kind of. Of course, we're not sure yet if we *can*. If Dr. Klein can figure out what's going wrong, and if there's anything he can do about it, I guess we'll have to find some way to take care of -- of him and teach him how to behave. I'm not sure how yet, but ..."
"He needs to be around someone who will teach him right from wrong," Martha said quietly. "If he's only a few months old, I doubt what he's been taught has really had time to become permanent, no matter how fast he absorbs information -- but you can't allow someone with your powers *not* to understand the difference."
"I know, and that's been worrying me, too. He's not bad, but he *is* a child. He wants to please his 'father'." Clark made a face. "A 'father' that doesn't care about him at all, except for how he can use him."
"I know." Martha bit her lip. The mere thought of Clark's twin in the hands of Lex Luthor not only frightened her, it broke her heart. A child needed love while he was growing up and learning what the world was about. This child, for that was what he really was, had a man in the place of his parent who, she thought, wasn't really capable of love. "If we can help, you know we will," she said.
"I know." He finished the tea with a single swallow, and glanced at his watch. "I need to go. They'll be expecting me back in the office in a few minutes. I'll call you and let you know what happens. And don't be surprised if I ask for advice," he added with a little smile. "Somehow, things are always at least a little clearer after I've talked to you and Dad."
**********
(tbc)
