Twins: 27/27
by Nan Smith
Previously:
"The point is," she said, "I've been thinking for a while that there might be more to our relationship than just friendship. Do you mind if we go slowly and -- and find out?"
In the dimness, she saw his teeth flash in a wide, delighted grin. "Do you mean it?"
She nodded. "Yes, I do."
"I don't mind a bit," he said, and she could hear the happiness in his voice. "It sounds great."
**********
And now, the last part:
Brian was waiting when Lois and Clark arrived at STAR Labs the following morning. He was wearing the jeans and T-shirt that Clark had loaned him, and Clark presented him with a leather jacket that Lois had reminded Clark to bring. After all, his brother was sensitive to the temperature now, in the manner of normal humans.
Bernard Klein shook hands with him as he prepared to leave. "Take care of yourself, Brian. And give me a call sometime, would you?"
Brian nodded, and then surprised the scientist for the second time with a hug. "Thanks, Bernie," he said.
"You're welcome." Dr. Klein hugged him back.
"We'll bring him back to see you -- after he's had a little time to learn about the way the rest of the world lives," Clark assured the scientist.
Dr. Klein extracted a handkerchief from the pocket of his lab coat and blew his nose. "I'll look forward to it. Good bye, Brian."
"You get to ride in Lois's Jeep today," Clark told his brother as the three of them left STAR Labs. He pointed at the silver Cherokee that was parked by the curb.
"Where are we going?" Brian wanted to know.
"Back to my place for now. There are two people there who want to meet you."
"Who?"
"My mom and dad," Clark said.
"Will they like me?" Brian asked.
Lois grinned and unlocked the passenger door. "You can sit in the front," she told him. "Clark and I told Martha and Jonathan all about you, and they wanted to meet you right away."
"Why?" Brian asked.
"Because you're Clark's brother. Clark never had a brother before," Lois said.
"Oh," Brian said, nodding wisely.
"Fasten your seatbelt," Clark told him. "Like this."
Brian did so, and tugged experimentally at the strap. "What's this for?"
"It's there to keep you from getting hurt if there's an accident," Lois said. "Everybody is supposed to wear them."
"Oh," Brian said. "All right."
Lois started the motor. Brian looked over his shoulder at Clark. "I feel a lot better today," he said. "I don't hurt anymore."
"That's because you're not sick anymore," Clark said. "You're like everybody else now."
The smile on Brian's face told him exactly how his brother felt about that. Clark forbore to mention that Dr. Klein had told him privately that Brian might actually be healthier than most humans, because it was highly unlikely that he would be susceptible to Earth's bacteria and viruses. There didn't seem to be any real reason to bring the fact to his attention at present, however.
Morning traffic was fairly light on a Saturday morning, and a short time later they were pulling up to Clark's apartment. As Lois cut the motor, the door flew open, and Martha and Jonathan Kent hurried down the steps. Brian managed to unfasten his seatbelt and opened the door, looking cautiously at the two older people. Clark hastily got out to make introductions.
"Brian," Clark said, "these are my mother and father, Martha and Jonathan Kent. Mom and Dad, this is Brian."
Martha stared at the two of them and Clark could see tears in her eyes, although she smiled and held out a hand. "We're *very* glad to meet you, Brian," she said, taking his hand. "Clark has told us all about you."
"That's right," Jonathan said. He stretched out a hand and shook Brian's. "Come on inside and have some breakfast. Martha thought you might be hungry."
Brian's eyes brightened at that. "I'm awfully hungry," he said.
"Then, come on, honey. We can talk while you eat. Have you had breakfast, Lois?"
"I had coffee," Lois said.
"In that case," Martha said firmly, "all of you come in and sit down. I *know* Clark hasn't had anything, either. I made coffee and pancakes while we were waiting, and bacon and eggs. French toast, too. Clark said Luthor told you you didn't have to eat, Brian. Is that right?"
Brian nodded, still looking unsure of himself.
"Well, that isn't true any longer. You have to eat to stay healthy, so this morning you get to have a proper breakfast. Do you like bacon and eggs?"
"Sure," Brian said. "What are they?"
"You'll find out," Clark said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Mom's a terrific cook. Come on, let's go eat."
Breakfast broke the ice. Within a few minutes Brian's shyness vanished, and he began to ask questions and chatter happily. By the time breakfast was over and Clark began to clear the table, Brian was listening to Jonathan talking about the Kansas farm, and his upcoming fishing trip, and Clark could tell he was hooked.
"I thought I'd take Brian to meet my friend, Bill Henderson, today," he said. "After that, we have to go to work, so maybe you could take him to a movie or something while I'm gone."
"Or something," Jonathan agreed. "Would that be okay, Brian?"
Brian nodded enthusiastically. "Sure!"
Lois's eyes met Clark's over Brian's head. It looked like the beginning of a great relationship.
**********
"Do you think Brian will be all right with your mom and dad?" Lois asked as she and Clark stepped into the Daily Planet newsroom. It was three o'clock, but they had informed Perry the evening before that they would be taking part of the day off after the events of the previous twenty-four hours.
The papers today were full of the death of Luthor, and the heroism and tragic death of the Superman clone. A preliminary inquiry into Luthor's records by the authorities was already showing signs of becoming a major investigation into the activities of LexCorp, and rumors were flying.
"Sure," Clark said. "If anybody knows how to handle kids, it's my mom."
"Hey, CK!" Jimmy waved a printout over his head. "Are you okay?"
"Sure," Clark said. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, you got thrown off LexTower yesterday."
"So did I," Lois said. "Aren't you worried about me?"
"Uh, well, sure, but you've fallen off buildings lots of times and always been okay," Jimmy said, uncomfortably.
Lois rolled her eyes. "Forget it. What did Perry think of the whole thing?"
"He liked it, after Clark told him you were all right," Jimmy said. "Oops! S'cuse me." He headed across the room apparently in answer to a summons.
"I wonder if Perry's still wearing that toupee," Lois murmured as they made their way toward their desks. Clark glanced in the direction of the editor's office.
"Yep," he confirmed. "And a three-piece suit."
"How do you -- oh, yeah." She grinned. "I forgot for a minute. Is this as weird for you as it is for me?"
"A little," Clark said. "We'll get used to it."
"Well, now that some of the major problems are solved, any ideas what Perry's up to?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," Clark said. "There's one little problem that we can solve for him, though. Do you still have that stuff on the money transfers from Lexel Investments into the accounts of those advertising execs?"
"Sure. Why?"
"What do you suppose those guys would say if we called them and mentioned the fact that we noticed they switched their accounts to other papers after questionable transactions with one of the companies now under investigation, and wondered if there had been some kind of mistake?"
Lois's eyebrows both went up. "Why, Mr. Kent, I think that's a wonderful idea. But would Superman sink to something like that?"
"No," Clark admitted. "But Clark Kent would. Let's get busy."
**********
It had taken some time to work their way through company red tape to the advertising executives in question, but four hours later, Clark put down the phone with a gesture of accomplishment. "Last one," he announced. "Ms. Adamson of Femme Fatale Cosmetics has assured me that it was nothing but a clerical error by a new employee, and that the problem has already been corrected. Isn't that a coincidence?"
"Amazing," Lois said. "Jay Timmons of Miller's Dry Goods said almost exactly the same thing. I guess it's impossible to find good help these days."
They grinned conspiratorially at each other.
Jimmy hurried past them to Perry's office, poked his head inside, and turned quickly to them.
"Where's Perry?"
"He left about fifteen minutes ago," Lois said.
"Oh no!" Jimmy wailed.
"What's going on?" Clark asked.
"I've been trying to figure out the new image thing, so I looked through his correspondence while he was out to lunch. He had his physical last week, and I think he might have got bad news. There's an entry in his calendar for tonight that says he's going to the Metropolis Bridge. I think he's going to jump!"
"Jimmy that's absurd," Lois said.
"I swear, I saw it!"
"Well --" Lois stood up. "I think you're wrong, but let's grab a cab. Someone's borrowing my car today. Come on."
She completely missed the astounded look on Jimmy's face as they hurried out.
There was a crowd gathered on the bridge when they arrived, all focussed on the man who stood at the very edge. Perry White turned to look at the assembled crowd, nodded and smiled, and dived into space.
"Chief!" Jimmy shouted. "No!"
They hurried to the edge to look over, Clark ready to spring into action if necessary, but the Bungee cord tied to the railing told the story. Lois began to laugh.
**********
"Fifty, huh?" Clark said.
"Yeah. The big 5-0," Perry said. They were seated on a bench placed by the pedestrian walk for those intrepid souls who chose to cross the Metropolis Bridge on foot. The crowd had disappeared.
"Well, congratulations, Chief," Jimmy said.
"Thank you," Perry said.
"If I were you, I'd lose the hair piece," Lois said. "It's not you."
"Alice says it turns her on," Perry said. He brushed his hand over the top of his head. "Anyhow, I left that sucker down at the bottom of the canyon. So much for my mid-life crisis."
He got to his feet and started to walk toward the convenience phone some distance away. Jimmy followed him. Perry slung an arm companionably over his junior employee's shoulders.
"I hope you learned your lesson, son," Perry said.
"Yeah," Jimmy said. "Never trust an old guy."
Perry's laugh drifted back to them on the cool night air.
Lois giggled. "Midlife crisis. Well, that's one more minor mystery solved."
Clark shook his head. "Looks like life is almost back to normal. We never did get to go to Jose's, though. Would you care to go to dinner with me, Ms. Lane? I could phone the apartment and tell them not to expect us. It will give Brian more time with Mom and Dad."
"Why Mr. Kent," Lois said, slipping her arm through his, "I think that's a great idea."
**********
Jonathan and Martha stayed in Metropolis three days, and Brian spent most of the time with them. They visited the Metropolis Zoo, the Bayside Amusement Park, the Spring Carnival and every other entertainment spot they could think of. Martha read him stories in the evening, and listened when he wanted to talk about the things that had happened to him in his short life. When the time approached that they prepared to return to Smallville, Brian tagged Martha around, looking dejected.
"What is it, Brian?" she asked. "Is something bothering you?"
"I don't want you to go!" he burst out.
"Jonathan and I have to go home," Martha explained gently. "We have the farm to take care of." She paused. "But I have an idea. Clark's apartment is pretty small for more than one person. I talked about it to Jonathan, and he thinks it would be nice if you could come with us."
Brian brightened immediately. "Could I?"
Martha nodded. "There's a lot of work on a farm," she said. "You'd have to help Jonathan with the animals and machinery and so forth, but you could have Clark's room for your own. We'd love to have you. After all ..." She hesitated, then ventured ahead, "Clark's our son, and that makes you our son, too. If you want to be."
"Would I ever get to see Clark and Lois again?" Brian asked.
"Of course. Clark visits every week, and now that Lois knows about Superman, he can bring her with him," Martha said.
Brian seemed to think that over. "I'd like to," he said finally. "I don't really like Metropolis much. There's too many people. It's kind of scary."
"Then you'll like Smallville, honey," Martha said.
"Can I call you 'Mom', like Clark does?"
"Sure," she said. "I'd like that. And if you want, you can call Jonathan 'Dad'."
The smile on Brian's face said it all.
**********
That evening, Lois and Clark accompanied Jonathan, Martha and Brian to the airport. It would be Brian's first time on a plane, and his excitement was contagious. Lois and Clark stayed until the flight was called, talking, and both promised to come for dinner the following week.
"That's us," Jonathan said, as a loudspeaker announced their flight.
All of them stood up. Clark shook hands with his father, hugged his mother and turned to Brian.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked.
Brian nodded. "It's okay if I have your room, isn't it?" he asked anxiously. "Mom said you wouldn't mind."
"I don't mind at all," Clark said. "You're my brother. That's where you belong. Be sure to help them, though. The farm is a lot of work for just two people."
"I will," Brian said. He hesitated and then threw his arms around Clark. "Thanks," he said. "Thanks for everything."
Clark hugged him back. "You don't have to thank me. That's what brothers do for each other."
Lois moved forward to hug him as well. "We'll see you next week," she said. "Be good."
"I will," Brian assured her.
"Time to go," Jonathan said. "We'll see you all on Tuesday."
"Bye, Dad," Clark said.
They walked away down the ramp amid a crowd of other people, Brian between Martha and Jonathan Kent, and towering over both of them. Clark and Lois stood at the window, watching until the boarding ramp retreated, the doors were closed, and the 727 taxied away to take its place in the queue of waiting planes.
"Shall we go?" Lois asked finally.
Clark nodded, and together they headed back to reclaim the Cherokee. Behind him, he heard the distinctive roar of the 727's engines as the plane bearing his parents and brother raced down the runway for takeoff.
The clone was dead, he thought with an inner smile. Long live Brian Kent.
The End
