Twins: 22/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
As he disappeared into the bedroom, Clark regarded Lois with a little smile. "Sometimes you surprise me," he said. "No, I take that back. You surprise me most of the time. We still need to talk tomorrow. I guess you can yell at me then."
"*Yell* at you?" Lois said. Then she recalled that Clark still didn't know exactly *when* she had discovered his other identity. "Oh yeah. We'll talk about it when we have more time. I kind of have the feeling that tomorrow is going to be pretty busy."
"So do I," Clark said. He glanced around as Brian emerged from the bedroom dressed again in his Superman regalia. "I'm going to try to get a little sleep for whatever is left of tonight," he said. "Good night, Lois."
"Good night," she said.
**********
And now, Part 22:
Bernard Klein was in his lab when Clark and Brian walked into the scientist's office the next morning. Clark could see him through the clear window, peering into the eyepiece of a microscope and apparently muttering under his breath.
He couldn't hear what the man was saying, however. Clark's super powers were still largely in abeyance, exactly the way it had been the day after his first acquaintance with the poisonous substance in Smallville, but this time he was less worried. He couldn't be sure, of course, but he had at least a reasonable expectation that the powers would return within a day or two. In the meantime, however, Superman was on vacation. The less that Metropolis saw of him, the better, anyway. If Superman effectively vanished for a time, it would leave Lex Luthor in some doubt of exactly what had occurred the previous night, and in limbo concerning his own Superman. Then he had to explain to Brian what he meant by limbo. In any case, if Luthor thought that the two Supermen might have encountered each other sometime during the night, he could draw his own conclusions over the fate of his creation. If he were to think that Superman and his double had killed each other, so much the better.
To this, Brian enthusiastically agreed. If he had to make some kind of rescue, he promised, he would try to do so in a way that didn't reveal his presence to witnesses. As Clark had noted before, Brian learned fast.
"Sit down," he said, waving to one of the leather chairs that Dr. Klein had squeezed into the crowded little office. "As soon as he's finished with whatever he's doing, we'll find out what he wants to tell us."
The door from the lab opened and Bernard Klein entered. He looked slightly taken aback at the sight of Clark. "Mr. Kent!" he said. "I expected Superman."
"Superman had an emergency," Clark explained, getting to his feet. "He asked me to bring Brian over in his place, and find out about the complication you mentioned to him last night." He added, as Klein looked doubtful, "Lois and I are working on this whole business with him, as you probably know. If there's any problem, you can count on us not to print it."
"Oh, of course not!" Klein said. "I hadn't even considered that angle. Still, since Brian is the patient here, if you have his permission, I suppose it's all right."
Clark glanced at Brian, who had also risen to his feet. "Is it all right with you?" he asked.
His brother nodded. "I guess so." He swallowed. "Nobody ever asked me what *I* wanted before. At least until ..."
Clark put an arm around the boy. "Brian, you have the same rights as anyone else. I should have explained that before, but things have been happening pretty fast."
Brian gulped and nodded. "*Am* I going to be okay?" he asked, turning to look at Bernard Klein. "I don't want to die!"
"You're not going to die!" Klein looked appalled. "There's one small problem, but it isn't that!"
"Maybe if you explained, it would help," Clark suggested.
"Uh ... right." Klein picked up a folder and opened it. "These are all the results of the tests I ran yesterday," he said. "The complication I spoke of relates to the interaction of the frog DNA and the Kryptonian ability to absorb sunlight. The location of the extra strand of DNA interferes with the ability. As long as the accelerated growth enzyme is active, there isn't any problem, but once it's inactivated, the ability to absorb sunlight is largely inhibited."
"And this means ..." Clark prompted.
"Once we inhibit the enzyme, Brian will be unable to absorb enough sunlight to energize his super powers," Dr. Klein explained. "I'm sorry, son, but there's nothing I can do about it. It's the super powers or your life."
Clark bit his lip. If he had to give up his super powers to save his own life, he knew what his choice would be, but Brian might not see things the same way. Would his brother be willing to sacrifice his super powers to live? Brian was a child. He wasn't really capable of reasoning like an adult -- at least yet.
"Brian?" he said.
His twin was frowning as he worked out what the scientist had said. "You mean," he said finally, "that I'd be like everybody else?"
"I'm afraid so," Dr. Klein said. "It's that, or letting the enzyme remain active ... which will kill you in a very short time. I'm sorry."
To Clark's astonishment, the boy's face broke into a wide grin. "If I'm like everybody else, my father won't want me anymore," he said. "I don't want the super powers." Impulsively, he threw his arms around Bernard Klein and hugged him, much to the scientist's surprise. "Thank you!"
Klein emerged from the embrace looking somewhat ruffled, but pleased. "Uh ... you're welcome, Brian. I'm glad you're happy. I shouldn't say there won't be *anything* left of the powers. There may be a residual ability to absorb sunlight, but at the most it will be minimal. You may retain traces of the super powers -- It's possible that you'll be slightly faster and stronger than most ordinary humans, perhaps your hearing and eyesight will be more acute -- but only slightly. Eventually your body is going to reject the foreign DNA. Apparently the Kryptonian immune system won't tolerate it for more than a short time; I'm already seeing indications that that's beginning to occur, but unfortunately it wouldn't be in time to save your life, and in any case, the alteration is permanent. The powers would still disappear as the frog DNA was rejected and the growth factor diminished."
Brian obviously hadn't understood that last caveat at all, but it didn't really matter, Clark thought. His brother understood the most important point -- that he would no longer be super-powered. He clapped Brian lightly on the shoulder. "I guess you feel better now, huh?"
The boy nodded vigorously, and it was impossible to misinterpret the joyful smile that hadn't disappeared from his face. "Yeah!"
Dr. Klein nodded. "I guess I shouldn't have worried," he said. "I'd like Brian to stay here for a few hours while I run a few more measurements and tests. Our window of time is going to be fairly limited, so I want to be ready the instant the invulnerability fades."
"Is that all right?" Clark asked his brother. "Lois and I have some things to do this morning, so if you'll be all right here ..."
"Sure," Brian said. "I like Bernie. He was explaining all the things he was doing yesterday. This science stuff is really interesting!"
Bernard Klein nodded seriously. "He has a real aptitude for it," he said to Clark. "Maybe he should look at it as a possible career someday."
"Maybe," Clark agreed. "We can talk about it at least. Brian wants to stay at my place again tonight, so I'll pick him up this afternoon, if that's all right."
"That's fine," Dr. Klein said. "Come by at about five."
**********
Waiting for the taxi outside STAR Labs, Clark found himself scowling at nothing. Brian didn't want super powers because they made him the target of Lex Luthor and Fabian Leek. The trouble was, once Luthor found out that the lock of hair had vanished, he was going to be desperate to find his clone, if he was alive, as the only remaining source of Kryptonian DNA. True, they could probably hide Brian, but Luthor's resources were vast. Brian wasn't practiced at concealing his identity and it was conceivable that Luthor's minions could find him. Clark didn't like the idea of the boy, defenseless without his super powers, in the hands of his ruthless "father". Brian was also going to need a place to stay, and people who had the resources to teach him how to be an adult.
Clark shoved his hands into his pockets. He needed the council of his mother and father, he decided. Martha and Jonathan Kent might not be able to solve the problem, but just talking a complicated situation over with them often helped him to see solutions that hadn't been obvious to him before. He couldn't fly out to see them at the moment, but there was no reason he couldn't make a phone call.
**********
"Hello?" Martha Kent's voice brought a wave of relief. He hadn't realized until this minute how much he had been fretting over the problem represented by Brian.
"Hi, Mom," he said.
"Clark! We've been worrying about you and ... everything. Is everything all right?"
"Well -- mostly. I have a problem I wanted to discuss with you," Clark said. "Is Dad around?"
"Right here," his father's voice said.
"Um ... is either of you on a cordless phone?" Clark asked. Normally the possibility of eavesdroppers wouldn't have bothered him, but in dealing with Lex Luthor, it was safer to be a little paranoid.
"I am," his mother said.
"Could you go into the other room and pick up the regular one?"
"That kind of problem, huh? Just a minute." There was the sound of the phone clicking off, and a few seconds later, a receiver being picked up. "All right," she said, "what's going on? I guess there's a good reason you're being so careful."
"Yes," Clark said. "That's why I'm calling from a pay phone."
"Why don't you just ... come out and we can talk in person?" his father asked.
"I can't," Clark said. "Remember that stuff that Wayne found on his property? He sent a piece of it to a lab in Wichita, where it disappeared. I found it."
A faint gasp. "Are you all right?"
"More or less -- but I can't make it out there right now."
"Where ... did you find it?"
"I'm coming to that," Clark said. "Remember, the other day I said I might come to you for advice, Mom? Well, a lot has happened since then ..."
His parents were silent while he described what had happened since his last visit to Smallville. When he had finished, he said, "So, that's the situation right now. Dr. Klein says he can save Brian, but he won't have any powers afterwards. If Luthor gets his hands on him, he's not going to be able to protect himself. Plus, I need to find somewhere for him to stay, and someone who can teach him how to take care of himself. I figured you'd probably be able to give me some suggestions. I'll be more than happy to help with that part, but I want to get him out of Metropolis as soon as I can, for his own safety."
"That's for sure!" his mother said. "I don't want that terrible man to get anywhere near the poor child again. Clark, this is your brother we're talking about. We're your parents; we're his parents too. It's only logical."
"Mom ..."
"Don't argue, Clark," his mother told him in the tone of voice that said she'd made up her mind. "Unless there's a better arrangement, he can stay with us. I raised you; I can certainly teach your brother how to behave."
"I just don't want you to have to take on a responsibility like that," Clark protested. "Brian isn't a little boy. Physically, he's a grown man."
"Maybe, but in every other way he's a child," Martha said in her "no argument" tone. "Your father and I have already talked about this, and decided if your scientist friend was able to save him, he could come stay with us. Brian is part of the family. We Kents have always taken care of our family."
"Now that that part is settled," his father said, "how about Lois? If she saved you from the Kryptonite ..."
"She knows," Clark admitted. "I could hardly expect her not to figure it out. Lois isn't stupid."
"Clark, she's a reporter."
"I haven't really had a chance to talk to her about it yet," Clark said. "I'm going to try to make the time today, if nothing else comes up. She wasn't mad, though -- at least, she didn't seem to be. I can't figure her out most days, anyway," he added. "She's not going to tell anyone, though. I'm sure of that." He gave a snort of amusement. "I guess I was lucky that Brian was there, or she'd probably have killed me."
His mother laughed. "Lois is a woman after my own heart, honey. I guess you're going to have to take your medicine like a man."
"I guess so," Clark said. He glanced at his watch. "I have to go. Perry is going to wonder where I am if I don't show up pretty soon."
"Call us and let us know what happens," his mother ordered. "And talk to Brian. Tell him that we want to meet him."
"I promise," Clark said. "I'll talk to you soon."
**********
Perry was wearing the Armani suit again this morning, Lois noticed when she walked into the newsroom, and through the blinds she could see him fussing with his toupee. The minor mystery of her boss's behavior tickled at her curiosity, and if the last few days had been anywhere near normal, she'd undoubtedly have been snooping around trying to figure out the cause. As it was, anything short of a dead body found in the copy room was unlikely to get her undivided attention.
Jimmy was working at his computer, probably doing research for someone -- possibly even for Clark and her. Lois dropped hastily into her desk chair, opened the bottom drawer of her desk and removed her "Lex file". Slowly and carefully she began to sort through the information it contained, organizing the evidence along with her notes, and adding the small amount that Clark had been able to gather as well. Some of his evidence, she noted, dovetailed nicely with her own. Henderson might very well be able to pin more than one crime on Lex by the time he got through, she thought, but the stuff they had copied from Fabian Leek's laboratory would undoubtedly be the best, at least for now, when -- and if, she reminded herself -- Henderson managed to lay his hands on the originals. Of course, Superman's recording was original. That, if nothing else, should spur him into action.
The elevator door opened, and Clark stepped out. Considering the fact that he usually made use of the stairs, at least when he was alone, this probably meant that his powers still hadn't returned, she thought, with a little pang of concern. She would have to ask him how long that particular state of affairs was likely to continue -- but not until they were alone. She still had to show him that she was trustworthy.
Last night had shown her something else, she thought, watching him as he descended the ramp and crossed the floor toward her. Judging from a couple of his remarks, he had expected something different from her when his secret had been exposed so brutally. He'd seemed surprised that she continued to treat him as she always had instead of immediately going into her former, highly embarrassing behavior toward Superman, or flying off the handle. That wasn't very flattering, but she had to admit that he had some reason to expect one or the other.
Of course, he couldn't know that she had gotten past both those reactions within a few minutes of seeing him with Brian, days ago. Still, she thought she understood now. Clark didn't want to be treated like a celebrity. It made him uncomfortable. He didn't want the adulation of the masses, and most especially he didn't want it from her. Judging from what she knew of her partner, she thought she knew now what he did want, but she was going to have to be very careful. If he thought for a moment that she wanted Clark Kent because of Superman, it would hurt him terribly and make any future relationship between them much more difficult. Very well then, since he seemed to like her best when she treated him as she had been doing since they met, that was the way she would deal with him ... at least, within the newer boundaries she had set herself. He was Clark Kent, a mild-mannered journalist with a really strange hobby. They needed to find time for a completely honest discussion eventually, she knew -- but she still hadn't decided what to say. Well, maybe she could stall it off for a little while longer. After all, there was a lot to do today ...
She replaced the contents of her "Lex file" in its folder and got to her feet as he arrived beside her. "I take it everything went well," she said.
"Brian is with Dr. Klein," Clark said. "I also gave my parents a call."
"Oh?"
"Asking for advice," Clark elaborated. "They surprised me. I'll tell you later. Anyway, we still have to talk."
"You know, Clark," Lois said, "'talking' is highly overrated. It'll keep. Let's just deal with Henderson right now, and when we aren't as rushed we'll 'talk'. All right?"
He cast her a worried look. "All right."
She patted his arm. "Give me time, Clark. I'm still working on it. Let's take this stuff over to Henderson."
**********
tbc
