Twins: 16/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
The clone cast a glance at Lois and then back at Clark, and Lois could see tears glimmering in his eyes. Clark took a short step toward them. "I don't want to fight you," he said quietly. "If I do, one of us, maybe both of us, would be hurt or killed, and I don't want that to happen. Do you remember what Luthor and Leek said two nights ago? In a few days you're going to start to lose your powers, and you'll die soon after that. It's already starting to happen." He took another step toward the clone. "We don't have much time to stop it," he said. "I told you the truth last night. You're my brother. I don't want you to die. I want to help you."
All at once, the fight seemed to drain out of the clone and Lois saw that tears were leaking from his eyes. Superman was suddenly beside them, and Lois found herself with his solid body between her and the clone. As she watched, her partner put his arm around the other Superman's shoulder.
"It's all right," he said. "You're not alone, and you don't have to be afraid anymore."
The clone wiped at his face with the back of his hand and sniffled, looking more like a little boy than ever, Lois thought. She reached past Superman and patted him on the arm. "Don't cry," she said, somewhat uncomfortably, at least to her own ears. "It's going to be all right."
**********
And now, Part 16:
The knot in Clark's stomach was slowly unwinding for the first time since he had discovered that his twin had taken Lois with him under false pretenses. When he had found them, he had heard her talking and realized what she was doing, so he had waited. Trying to rescue her as such would have put her in more danger than letting her try to talk her way out, and from what he could feel in his twin's mind, Luthor's Superman didn't really want to fight him. He was confused and scared, and didn't know what to do, but had felt that he didn't have a choice but to fight. He desperately wanted to live, and hoped that if he did his 'father's' bidding, the man might see fit to save him. And then, Lois had offered him real hope.
His brother was only a frightened little boy, in spite of his adult appearance, Clark thought. He desperately wanted someone to care about him and for him. Lex Luthor might have raised him, but he had only cared what his creation could do for him. Any child needed more than that.
"Come on," he said, keeping his arm around his twin's shoulders. "The sooner we get you to our friend, the sooner he can help you."
"We need to get him some other clothes first," Lois interrupted. "That costume is pretty noticeable. Lex is going to be expecting him back."
"He'll be angry," Clark's twin said. "I was supposed to kill you today -- I guess he wanted me to do it before I lost my powers."
"Well, now you don't have to kill anyone," Clark said. "Lois is right, though. We need to get you something else to wear." He paused. "What should we call you? We can't call you Superman, and calling you just 'brother' doesn't seem right."
"My father called me Superman," his twin said.
"Superman's not a name," Lois said. "Superman is a description. Wouldn't you rather have a real name?"
Clark turned to look at her in surprise, but she was regarding his twin thoughtfully. "How would you like to choose a name of your own?"
The other Superman wiped away tears with the heel of his hand. "I don't know any names."
"How about Brian? You kind of look like a Brian," Lois said. "What do you think, Superman?"
"I think it's up to him," Clark said. He looked at his twin. "What do you think?"
"Do you like it?"
"Yes, I do," he said with a smile, "and I think it would be good to be able to call you by your own name."
His brother nodded. "All right. I think I like it, too."
"Then it's official," Lois said. "Your name is Brian. Now, we need to get you some other clothes. Superman, do you think Clark would be willing to loan him an outfit? He's about the same size."
Brian opened his mouth, and Clark spoke quickly. "That's a good idea. Why don't I drop you off at the Planet? I'll take care of getting Brian something to wear and take him to Dr. Klein. We need to get started as soon as we can."
**********
It somehow seemed a lot longer than it had actually been when Lois walked into the newsroom a short time later -- probably, she thought, because of all that had happened in the relatively short time. Ralph gave her a dirty look as she passed him on the way to her desk. He had developed a spectacular black eye -- apparently a souvenir of the earlier accident -- and a piece of adhesive tape adorned the spot above his eyebrow where she had seen the half-inch cut some hours before.
Perry was in his office, and through the blinds she could see Jimmy sitting on the office couch. The young photographer/researcher/gofer was wearing a neck brace and speaking earnestly to the editor.
"Nice going, Lane," Ralph said, sourly. "After you gave the police that story about the accident, my insurance agent says the company's probably going to raise my rates. You could have kept your mouth shut."
Lois raised an eyebrow. "And let you blame Jimmy for the accident? I don't think so." She pulled out her desk chair and sat down, opening the drawer where she kept the pouch of documents that was her "Lex file". If she gave all this stuff to Henderson, he could probably get a warrant to search Fabian Leek's laboratory, and possibly Luthor's penthouse, but the last thing she and Clark needed was for the authorities to get hold of the hair that Leek had used to create his Superman clones. The cloning techniques were bound to get out eventually, but she had no wish for anyone to be able to produce yet another super-powered clone. She hoped Clark wouldn't take too long with Brian and Dr. Klein. She needed to talk to him about what to do next.
The phone on her desk chose that moment to ring and she picked it up. "Lois Lane."
"Lois, my dear!" It was Lex. "I just wanted to remind you of our dinner date tonight."
"I haven't forgotten," she said. "I'm looking forward to it."
"I'm looking forward to it as well. I'll send a car to pick you up at seven. We'll have dinner in the penthouse and then go on to the ballet. Will that be satisfactory?"
"That will be perfect," she assured him.
"Excellent. Until tonight, then."
After she had hung up, Lois's gaze went back to the thick document folder in her lap. Where was Lex likely to keep something as critical to his plans as the lock of Superman's hair? It would have to be in some place that he felt was safely under his control, and it would have to be preserved in such a way that the cells of the hair roots stayed alive, which probably meant some kind of cryogenic facility. The most likely location was almost certainly the penthouse itself. Lex was highly unlikely to trust such a precious possession to anyone else. And she was going to be there this evening.
In the distance, she heard a sonic boom that caused the newsroom's windows to shake slightly, and an instant later the door to the stairs opened and Clark stepped into the office. Lois closed the flap of the Lex file and got to her feet. This was going to take some planning.
Clark crossed the Pit to her desk with his usual businesslike stride with its understated bounce that left her trying not to smile. Her partner was really good at that -- and it was good thing he was, considering how dreadful his excuses to get away and be Superman were. It was amazing to her that he could be such a convincing actor and at the same time such an incredibly bad liar. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he didn't like to lie, so he had never developed any skill at it, she reflected. Well, that wasn't such a bad thing, was it? Claude had obviously developed great skill at lying. With Clark she would very likely never have to worry. She would be willing to bet that he didn't like even the necessary misdirection that kept his secret intact.
"Conference room," she said, as Clark arrived at her desk.
He blinked. "Okay." He followed her obediently to the conference room and waited as she turned the lock. "What's going on?"
"Clark, I've been thinking," she said. "Before we do anything about bringing the authorities into this, we need to get hold of that lock of Superman's hair."
"I know. I've been thinking about it," Clark said. "One way or another, the cloning technology isn't going to disappear. Even if the authorities hush it up for now, it will be developed independently somewhere, eventually. We don't want Superman's DNA available for anyone to create another clone of him."
"Exactly. And Lex has the lock of hair. He's certainly keeping it under his control somewhere. My guess is the penthouse. He's probably got it in liquid nitrogen, or something, there. Well, I'm having dinner with him at the penthouse, tonight."
"Lois, you can't go snooping around in Luthor's penthouse."
"No, but I can make sure the French windows to his study are unlocked!"
"Are you saying that Superman should break in and take it?" Clark asked.
"It won't really be breaking in if the doors are unlocked," Lois said. "Well, maybe technically, but can you think of any other way to get our hands on it?"
He opened his mouth as if to speak and then closed it again. "You're right. I just don't like the idea of you taking a risk like that."
"Clark, it's necessary. We can't let anyone else create another clone. If Dr. Klein manages to save Brian, we're going to have to figure out what to do with him. The last thing we need is for there to be more around. Can you see what would happen if some power-hungry would-be dictator somewhere gets hold of the technology and Superman's DNA?"
"Yeah. He'd have an army of supermen under his control." He looked unusually grim, and she could see the unmistakable "Superman" expression flash across his face. "There's one thing we can do now, though."
"What's that?"
"Superman should fly over LexTower and see if he can spot any place that something like that could be hidden. That way he'll have a better idea where to look, tonight."
She nodded. "That's a very good idea. Can you pass that along to him for me? If he agrees, I'll find a way to unlock the French windows, and after we've left, Superman can come in and get the lock of hair. Just tell him to be sure he doesn't leave any traces."
"I think he can probably manage that," Clark said. He looked at her oddly. "Lois, are you feeling all right?"
"Sure," she said. "Why?"
"It's just that ... I don't know; you've been so agreeable recently, I've sort of wondered if anything was wrong."
Oops! She would have to remember that in the future. "You mean, if I'm not biting your head off there must be something wrong with me?" she said, raising a challenging eyebrow.
"No," he said, backtracking hastily. "It's just that -- well -- um ..."
Lois enjoyed watching him flounder for several seconds before she decided to let him off the hook. "Take it easy, partner. I know what you meant. It's just too much fun to watch you when you stick your foot in your mouth and can't figure out how to get it out. No, nothing's wrong -- except this whole situation, I guess." She leaned back against the conference room table. "I didn't think even Lex could sink to something like this -- not that this situation ever would have occurred to me in a million years. I should have listened to you the first time you tried to tell me about him. I should have known that no matter how much you disliked someone, you'd never lie about him. I'm just sorry I misjudged you so badly back then. You're the best friend I've ever had -- the one person I can always count on."
She could see his neck turning red. Clark looked suddenly uncomfortable. She had been right, she thought. He wasn't happy deceiving her about his dual identity, which meant that he was extremely unlikely to lie to her about anything of lesser importance.
"What's the matter?" she asked. "You look like something's bothering you."
He looked at the toes of his shoes. "Nothing important. I think you and I need to go someplace private and talk; at least we should after things have quieted down some. In the meantime, I guess we'd better get moving. What time is Luthor picking you up tonight?"
"Seven," Lois said, checking her watch. "That gives us six hours."
"Okay. I need to go out for a bit. Can you cover for me?"
"Sure," Lois said. "If anyone asks, you've gone to meet a source. When you get a chance, you should take a look at this." She held out the folder containing the evidence that it had taken her months to acquire. "It's my information on Lex. You need to know what I've dug up on him."
He took the folder. "I'll read it the first chance I get. You might look at the top folder in my right bottom drawer while I'm gone. That's the stuff that Superman and I have managed to document on him. There isn't much, but it might be useful."
"I will," she promised. "And if Jimmy's feeling better, I'll ask him if he's managed to get that stuff on the Planet's advertisers for us. It could be very interesting reading."
**********
Clark took the stairs to the roof of the Planet. Once there, he stopped and riffled quickly through Lois's information. Besides the copies of the documents that they had acquired the night before at Fabian Leek's lab, and the micro-cassette containing the recording that he had made of Luthor and Leek at their meeting in LexTower, there were lists of events, their times, dates and the names of various subordinates of Lex Luthor who were involved in each; there were even photographs of the sort that nearly made his hair stand up on his head. Photographs of drug deals and transfers of weapons shipments taking place, apparently taken with a telephoto lens. There were no pictures of Lex Luthor in any of the transactions, but Nigel St. John figured prominently in several, and in more than one there were photos of men and women high in the city government in very incriminating situations as well. One photograph showed Luthor's exotic female assistant, Mrs. Cox, with a man known to Superman in his line of work; an individual who, it was rumored, ran the largest prostitution ring in the city.
But, of course, the evidence was all circumstantial. Without more solid proof, Luthor couldn't be connected with any of the crimes so documented. The legal staff that worked for the billionaire would see to that. The authorities might suspect, but they would be able to prove nothing without the cooperation of Luthor's subordinates, and Clark was quite sure that none of them would be willing to incriminate their boss. He understood at once why Lois hadn't taken this information to the authorities. It might have resulted in the arrests of a number of persons, but Lex Luthor would not have been among them, He would have walked away untouched, and he would then have been aware of her true loyalties. Instead, she had chosen to play a waiting game until she could find a way to tie him solidly to something major.
Closing the folder, he fastened the flap tightly, and spun quickly into his Superman outfit. It was time to take a quick cruise over to LexTower to see what he could see.
**********
"Superman said that he thinks he knows where it's kept," Clark told his partner some half an hour later. He was standing by Lois's desk in the Daily Planet newsroom, speaking to his partner in a low tone of voice so as not to be overheard. "There's a small vault in the room where Brian has been sleeping, that's been rigged for sub-zero refrigeration. It's lead-lined, too, so it looks like he wanted to be sure Superman wasn't going to get a look at its contents."
"And, of course, he knows Superman isn't going to break and enter," Lois said. "Only this time, I think he will."
"Well, maybe not break, but certainly enter," Clark said. "That lock of hair has to be destroyed, so it looks like Superman has no alternative this time."
"Besides," Lois said, as if it clinched the matter, "the hair isn't his, either. He stole it."
"Good point. Did you look at my Luthor collection?"
Lois nodded. "Yes. Besides Leek's tapes, the rest of it is about the same as mine. Lots of circumstantial evidence, but nothing that ties him directly to anything criminal. I wonder if Superman's testimony about the time Luthor threatened him would hold up in court?"
"Superman says not. He never actually came right out and said he was responsible. He just inferred it."
"Naturally," Lois said. "Besides, it would just be a case of he said -- he said."
"Exactly. He's not going to commit himself in front of witnesses."
"I guess Leek is our only hope," Lois said. "I hope he has the good sense to stay in Lex's good graces until we can tie everything together."
"Yeah," Clark said. "So do I."
**********
tbc
