The poor clone seems to be one of the least favorite characters.
She actually grew on me the more I watched the series.
*****
Is she dying?”
Dr. Klein shook his head. “It’s too soon to say. There are lots more tests I need to run. Blood composition, DNA. . .” his voice trailed off.
“So what do I do?”
Dr. Klein shrugged. “Take her home, I guess. For the immediate future, there’s no reason she needs to stay here.”
“I guess I can take her to my apartment. Maybe I can get her to talk to me. But every time I try to get her to talk. . . “
“She starts acting like a rebellious teenager. Good luck, Clark.” Dr. Klein turned back to his microscope.
What do I do now? Clark thought.
*****
“Mom, can you come? I’d come and get you, but I can’t leave her alone. Dr. Klein’s running tests, but we still don’t know anything. And I have to get to work on finding Lois!”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can get a flight, Clark. I hope Lois is all right.”
“Oh, Mom, I don’t know how I’ll live if-“
“Clark, someone took her for a reason. If they wanted her d. . . uh, out of the way, they wouldn’t have bothered with this elaborate scheme.”
“Luthor is involved, I’m sure of it. She denies that she knows Lex but she acts scared to death when I mention him. Luthor is obsessed with Lois. It has to be him. Maybe you can convince her to talk. I’m getting nowhere.”
*****
“Talk to me please. Tell me what you remember.”
“Why should I? You hurt me!”
“I’ve told you that I’m sorry for shaking you. I should not have done it.”
“Can we go back to the Planet?”
“What? Why?”
“I’m supposed to, I mean, I like being there. And that guy, Jimmy, said there is a novel on my computer. I want to read it.”
Clark felt his heart lift. At the Planet he could start digging through his research on Luthor and see if there was any information that indicated he was involved or even had an interest in human cloning. Surely this woman was too much like the real Lois to be anything else. And Doppelbuufo frogs. Lois had disappeared on Tuesday, so whoever took her had almost a week’s head start on him.
“Sure. As long as you promise to stay where I can see you and not wander off.”
“I’m not a child. Don’t treat me like one!”
He was about to tell her to quit acting like one then, but bit back the retort. Angering her would not get her to talk.
“You have to tell me one thing first though.”
“Oh, not this again. I don’t want to play this game any more.”
“Just one, and then we’ll go to the Planet and I’ll get Jimmy to help you find that story.”
She pursed her lips and tapped her foot. “Okay. One question. But I won’t answer it if I don’t want to.”
“You mentioned your father. Do you know his name?”
“Father.”
“But did he have another name?”
“That’s two questions,” she pouted.
“Actually, the second is related to the first so it’s really the same question.”
She looked confused. “It’s the same question?”
“Yes, I just worded it a different way.”
“Is that in the rules?”
“It is the way I play it.”
“Okay, but next time we play twenty questions, I get to ask you twenty-one.”
“Yes, fine. Anything. Do you know if your father had another name?”
“The doctor called him mister.”
“Mister what?”
“Is that-“
“Still the same question? Yes.” If it wasn’t so frustrating, it would be amusing. He could easily imagine a child of Lois’ acting like this. His chest felt suddenly very tight. Lois! where was she? Maybe there would never be any children in Lois’ future because she was-
“Saint.”
“What?”
“The doctor called him a saint.”
“Called him a saint, or called him Mr. Saint.”
“Mr. Saint”
“St. John?” Yes! He knew Luthor was involved.
“Oh, yeah, I forgot that part. Mr. St. John.”
Clark nodded. “Thank you. Now we can go to the Planet.” Luthor was not going to get away with this. He would find Lois and Luthor was going down.
“Did I do good?”
“Yes, you did very good, well, I mean. You did well.”
“Is that the same as good.”
“Yes.”
“Oh. Good. I mean, well.”
Clark couldn’t help but chuckle.
*****
Clark poured over his and Lois’ file on Lex Luthor trying to find anything that would lead him to Lois. He had sequestered them both in the conference room where they wouldn’t draw so much attention. She had read on the computer for a little while, but she had soon grown bored. Clark sought Jimmy’s help in finding her some games and he had also located some earphones so that she could listen to music. She was now happily bouncing in the chair and humming along. Despite his heavy heart, a smile twitched at his lips. Now that his mind wasn’t trying to make her into Lois, he actually liked this girl/woman. Except for the frog thing. Which made him think. . . He brought up the internet and typed in Doppelbuufo frogs. The search turned up numerous articles on buufo toads and frogs. Doppelbuufo frog cell nuclei contained DNA that when grafted onto the DNA from another animal helped to make perfect biological copies of whatever the second animal was. Several referred to a Dr. Mamba’s research in cloning several different species using Doppelbuufo DNA. He also found that Doppelbuufo have a very fast metabolism, due to some unusual enzymes, which made them hungry most of the time. A wry smile crossed Clark’s lips. That sounded all too familiar. He continued reading, “if they can't make enough of their own enzymes, they will cannibalize each other for them.” Clark’s stomach churned. By her own admission and the evidence he had seen for himself, this girl/woman had eaten several frogs because she *needed* them. He needed to get a copy of this information over to Dr. Klein.
“Oh, that’s the bad lady.”
Clark’s head swiveled to the look-a-like now standing at the end of the conference room table pointing to a picture of Mrs. Cox standing by Luthor and St. John when Luthor had announced he was buying the Planet. Was she volunteering information?
“You know her?”
She shook her head. “I saw her once. I don’t think she liked me. She called me a thing. Am I a thing, Clark?”
“No! No, you’re not a thing. You’re. . . well, you’re you.”
“Who am I?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is that why you’re asking me so many questions? Are you ingest, invert, oh, I forgot the word. It was in the novel. The person it is about is a private one of those.”
“Investigator?”
She nodded. “Are you investigatoring me?”
Clark smiled. “I am sort of investigating you. I’m investigating Lois too.”
“And you’re investigating the bad lady?”
“Yes, and your doctor and Mr. St. John.”
“Did they do something bad?”
“I think so.”
“I did something bad.”
“No, I’m sure you-“
She nodded vigorously. “I did. I took the frogs.”
“Took what frogs, when?”
“From the pet stores. I didn’t know it was bad. He didn’t give me any money, and I ran out of frogs. I needed them! Really, I did. So I took them.”
“You’re the one who broke into the pet stores?” Lois’ penchant for breaking and entering must be strong in her genes.
“Yes, I’m sorry. That was bad. I took other things too. Clark, if the police find out I did it, will they lock me up?”
“No. I won’t let them. Dr. Klein and I are going to help you.”
“Dr. Klein is a good doctor. He’s nice.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
“I did something else bad too.”
“What did you do that you think is bad?”
“I didn’t say, didn’t tell you, I told you I didn’t know Lex Luthor. That was a lie, wasn’t it?”
“It is if you do actually know him.”
“I lied,” she said mournfully.
“You didn’t know any better.”
“Lois said in her book that lies hurt people. That sometimes lies hurt people even more than bullets. Is that right, Clark?”
Lois said that? Oh, man, how was he ever going to explain to her why he had lied to her for years, if he ever even got the chance to explain? “I. . .I. . . yes, sometimes.”
“I don’t want to hurt you Clark.”
“When did you meet Lex?”
“Next Day.”
“Next Day?”
“The next day after the first day I remember.”
“Do you have any idea when that was? How many days?”
“No.”
“More days than you’ve known me?”
“Yes. There were some days before. I liked First Day. Father taught me letters and numbers and lots and lots of words.”
“You did all those things on. . . First Day?”
She nodded her head vigorously. “First Day was fun. But I didn’t like Next Day.”
“What happened on Next Day?
“Father told me about men and women and how a woman should act around a man. I wanted to keep reading and I wouldn’t pay attention so he showed me some books. I liked some of them at first. But after lunch on Next Day Father said I should practice what I had learned.”
“You met Lex.”
“Yes. Father said I should be nice to him. But I didn’t like him. He kept trying to hold my hand and kiss it. But the doctor said I had to pretend like it was okay or he wouldn’t give me any more frogs and I would die! I don’t want to die. I didn’t know what die meant, but the doctor took one of my frogs and he smashed it! It was all in pieces. He said that is what die means.”
“Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry. That was very mean of the doctor.“
“Was he lying, Clark? Is that what it means to die.”
Clark squirmed. Surely he had never asked his parents these hard questions. “I’m sure the frog was dead, but sometimes to die is just to go to sleep and never wake up. It’s not a bad thing. It is just part of life.”
“It’s not bad?”
“Things, people, are born and they die too. It is not bad to die, but we also hope to live a long time too, so that we can experience new and different things. And help people.”
“Oh. Hey, you called me a name! Other than Lois, I mean.”
“I did?”
“Sweetie, you called me sweetie. What does that mean?”
“It means. . . it’s an endearment.”
“What’s endearment?”
“It’s a name someone might use when they like you.”
“Do you like me? I didn’t think you did.”
“Yes, now that I know you’re you, I like you.”
“Will you call me Sweetie again?”
“Do you want me to?”
“Yes. I like it. My name is Sweetie.”
“Sweetie, can you tell me more about Lex?”
She nodded. “Yes. He was nice other than the touching, and he didn’t hurt me. He told me that he was going to marry me and that we would live in a beautiful place and I could have everything I ever dreamed of.”
“How many times did you see him?”
“I’m not sure. Lots of days. But the last time he was angry. He yelled at me! He said I was not Lois and he didn’t love me. I was afraid of him, but Father. . . Mr. St. John came and took me away. That’s when I met Mrs. Cox. She told Mr. St. John that they should have known that “that thing” was no substitute for the real Lois Lane-Kent. She said that Lex would never tell them anything unless they had the real one.”
It was true. Luthor had Lois. Only it sounded like St. John and Mrs. Cox were the bad guys in this picture.
“Did you ever see Lois?”
She shook her head. “No. After Lex yelled at me, Mr. St. John started telling me all about her. He made me memorize all the things about her. And then he took me to Lois’ apartment and left me there. He said I had to be Lois. But I didn’t want to, so I went for a walk. And I saw all these pretty things. I really wanted them and the lady at the desk said I could have them. I just filled out the form and she gave me whatever I asked for. The next store did the same thing. Not all the stores would let me fill out the paper. Some of them wanted money, but I didn’t have any. When I was done, I saw a cab outside. When I got in, the driver asked me “Home, or the Planet, Ms. Lane-Kent?” and I told him home. Mr. St. John was there and he said I had to come here the next day. But that was okay, because I met you!”
“That’s good, Sweetie. Do you remember your doctor’s name?”
She screwed up her face. “No. Mr. St. John just called him doctor. I'm helping you, aren't I?”
“Yeah, yeah, you are.”
“Does this mean you love me?”
“What?”
“I think I love you. See, um, I was reading about it in this magazine? How love is helping each other? I'm helping you and. . . well, maybe I love you. Do you love me, Clark?”
“Sweetie, there are different kinds of love. But, yes, I guess, I love you, in a way. Maybe not the way the magazine was talking about though.”
“There are different kinds of love? What does that mean?”
Could he get away with “I’ll tell you when you’re older”? Probably not. “Well, I love you differently than I love my mom and dad. And I love them differently than I love Perry or Jimmy.”
“Or Lois?”
“Definitely different than I love Lois.”
“Okay. Can we go get something to eat now? I’m really hungry.”
He had gained so much information in the last few minutes that he really wanted to settle in at his computer and pursue it, but she had been an invaluable help. “Sure. I’m guessing you want-“
“Frog legs,” they finished together.
*****
When they finished lunch, he decided to take Sweetie to his apartment. He wasn’t sure about the status of her health, he was afraid that Lex and his cohorts might try to reacquire their clone, and he was desperately afraid that he would lose this link to Lois before he had all the information that she could give him. He wasn’t going to let her out of his sight, or, at least, his mother’s.
She was sitting on his couch waiting for him. His lifeline, the woman he had run to for comfort for almost thirty years. “Mom.” His voice broke as he gathered her into a hug. She squeezed him back and Sweetie looked at them curiously.
He drew back, “Mom, this is Sweetie.”
She and Martha regarded each other for a moment. It was truly awkward. Sweetie looked just like the young woman that Martha loved fiercely but whom was missing.
“You’re his *mom*? That is so cool!” Sweetie launched herself at Martha. She hugged her exuberantly and then stepped back before Martha even had time to respond. “Clark’s the best. He’s so nice. I think it’s ‘cause he had a mom. I don’t have one and my father was not really my father. I just think moms are so neat!”
“It’s. . . it’s nice to meet you too,” Martha responded, a little shell-shocked.
“Oooh, Clark, I love your TV! It’s so big! Can I watch a DVD?”
Clark almost signed in relief. He had been wondering how to keep Sweetie busy while he had a heart to heart with his mom. “Sure. The DVDs are in the cabinet over there. Why don’t you pick one?”
After settling Sweetie on his couch with a light comedy and a big glass of water, he joined his mom at the kitchen table. His mother still did not seem able to keep her eyes from drifting to Sweetie.
“It’s uncanny, isn’t it?” he asked her.
“What?”
“She looks so much like Lois, her personality is very similar to Lois’, but she’s not. Sometimes she acts just like a grown woman, and other times, she’s like a toddler exploring the world.”
His mom turned to him, “You like her.”
He shook his head smiling, “I know. It’s weird. Once I knew she wasn’t Lois, all the sudden I felt very protective of her. Almost like. . . a father, maybe. She’s exactly like what I imagine a child of Lois’ would be.”
To the point, Martha said, “Clark, where is our Lois?”
“I don’t know. As far as I can figure, she’s been gone about a week. From what Sweetie has told me, Mrs. Cox and Nigel St. John were using Sweetie to get some information from Luthor. I can’t determine if Luthor was involved in her creation. But he did figure out that Sweetie wasn’t Lois. I don’t know why Lois is gone. I don’t think it was voluntary. Surely, she would have told me if she were chasing a story. We were working on the Luthor story together. I think. . . I think she was kidnapped for some reason.”
“What-“
“I don’t know. I don’t know! All I know is she’s gone and I have to find her. I need her! I was going to tell her everything, Mom, but I never did. I kept putting it off. I told myself I was just waiting for the perfect time, the perfect moment, but I was really just scared and making excuses. Oh, Mom, she’s gone and she never knew, I never told her-“
“She knew.”
“-I love her. And. . . what?”
“She knew.”
“She did? How? When?”
“She’s always known. But we just found out for sure last week. She swore your father and me to secrecy. She knew you wanted to tell her yourself.”
“She knew.” He couldn’t believe it. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one with secrets!
“Clark, let me tell you about it.”
*****
She watched Clark slowly fall to the ground as she and Bonnie Parker both cried out, “No!”
Why was he falling? Clark was Superman. Bullets wouldn’t harm him.
She fell to her knees beside him, beginning to sob as she searched for signs of life. Before she could satisfy herself that he was whole, rough hands began to pull him away.
“No! Please, don’t take him,” she begged. She fell across his body sobbing.
Small but firm hands pulled her from Clark. “He’s dead, honey. It’s life.”
She watched as the thugs uncaringly pulled Clark’s limp form up the stairs and out the door.
Shooting her a look of sympathy, Bonnie slipped out after them. As the sounds of the car faded into the night, the Metropolis Police arrived.
Everyone began to talk at once. Detective Wolfe took charge, “We’ll need statement from all of you, but we can only listen to one at a time. Who was the closest to the victim when the shooting took place?”
On her knees in the middle of the lobby, she lifted her head to look at him, “I was.”
“And you are?”
“Lois Lane-Kent, Daily Planet. Clark is my partner.”
He helped her to her feet. “And what were you and your partner doing here? Gambling is illegal inside the city limits of Metropolis.”
Her eyes sparked a warning, “We were here on a story. And judging me is not going to help you find the people that did this!”
“Why don’t you just tell me how your partner was killed then?”
*****
Perry arrived as she was filling in a few details to the report that Detective Wolfe had written out. Rumors of Clark’s death were already starting to reach the outside world. Lois could hear him arguing with the police guarding the entrance to the club to keep reporters and curious spectators from damaging the crime scene.
“It’s my boss,” she told Detective Wolfe.
He signaled to the guards, “Let him in.”
Perry rushed to her side, “Lois, honey, how are you?” He saw her shake and he shugged out of his overcoat and placed it around her. “Is it true, Lois, is Clark. . . gone?”
“I don’t know. I. . . Clyde Barrow fired three times. I think Clark was hit because he went down.”
She wasn’t sure what to say. In the face of Detective Wolfe’s expert questioning she had tried to make it sound as if she hadn’t quite seen what happened. Not that it would help. The other patrons were quite adamant that Clark had been shot point blank three times. But if the bullets were found later. . .
What if Clark was really dead? His body had been so still. What if-
“Ah, Lois, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. I’ll call his parents.”
“No! No, I should tell them. I was with him. I should tell them.”
“Honey, I don’t think-”
“I’ll do it, Perry,” she said with determination in her voice. She rose to her feet. “Can I leave now?” she asked Detective Wolfe.
“I guess so. I’ll bring your typed statement to your office tomorrow for you to sign.”
“No, Lois doesn’t need to come to work-” Perry began.
“I’ll be there.” She shrugged out of Perry’s coat, handed it to him, and exited the club.
Perry caught up with her. “Lois, you don’t need to come into work tomorrow. Take some time off. Go to Smallville.”
“I said, I’ll-”, she stopped. Smallville. Yes. She needed to go to Smallville. She had to know. And if Clark was alive, that is where he would go. “I’ll take the morning off. I’ll come in after lunch.”
“Lois, you don’t need to do that.”
“It’s my story, Chief. I’m going to find out why this happened.”
*****
As soon as Perry left her alone in her apartment, she picked up her phone. “Yes, I need your next flight to Kansas City.” Kansas City would put her within a few hours of Smallville.
*****
She made the trip from Kansas City to Smallville faster than she ever had. Still it was 2:00 before she ran up the stairs of the Kent farmhouse and flung open the door.
“Martha! Jonathan!” She hurried to the stairs and met Martha as she was heading down.
“Lois!”
“Just tell me he’s alive, please!”
“Who-”
“*Don’t*. Please, don’t. Just tell me he’s okay. I know he’s invulnerable, but we’ve been working on the Luthor story and what if Luthor uncovered some Kryptonite and used it on Superman. He wouldn’t have told me. And he just collapsed, right onto the floor! And they dragged him away! They took him away from me!”
“He’s okay.” Jonathan said softly.
Lois burst into fresh tears and Martha gathered her into her embrace and they cried together. Jonathan guided them off the stairs to settle them onto the couch. Finally her tears slowed.
“I was so afraid. I was afraid they killed him. I was afraid Clark was really dead!”
“Clark *is* dead,” Jonathan said.
“But you just said-”
“The man we love is alive, but Clark Kent was shot three times point blank. No ordinary man could survive that, Lois.”
“Clark was very upset when he left here,” Martha said. “I’m not sure what he is going to do, but he seemed pretty certain that his life as Clark Kent was over.”
“Where did he go?”
“He just said he had to get away,” Jonathan said shaking his head.
“That sounds like Clark.” Lois sighed and sank into the cushions of the couch. She closed her eyes for a moment. What a night it had been. Clones, shootings, flying, driving. . . but worth it have the peace of knowing that he really was okay.
She opened her eyes to see Jonathan and Martha looking a little guilty. “What?”
“Are you upset that we didn’t tell you about Clark?” Martha asked.
Lois shook her head. “Why would you tell a thirteen-year-old girl who was going to live with you for only a few weeks that your son was. . . unusual. And then when I came back, Clark was gone off to college. By the time we ended up working together at the Daily Planet, it really wasn’t your secret to tell.”
“How long have you known?” asked Jonathan.
“I’ve known that Clark was Superman since the first time I saw him in the suit. Before that,” Lois shrugged, “there were signs, if I had known how to read them. Anytime I began to wonder, I felt guilty for being suspicious of you all and I just pushed the thoughts away.”
“I had wondered if you knew.”
“Really, Martha?” Jonathan looked surprised.
“When Clark had amnesia after meeting up with the Nightfall asteroid, Lois was a little eager to give us time alone with Clark. I thought that was a little unusual given that Clark was Lois’ best friend and, as far as she was supposed to know, the world was coming to an end.”
“Well, I’m glad the secret is out,” Jonathan sighed. “We are so happy that you and Clark are together. Now that you know, Clark can relax. He’s scared of losing you.”
“Jonathan, you can’t tell him that I know. Clark needs to tell me himself.”
“But-” Martha began to protest.
“It’s Clark’s secret and I think he *needs* to tell me. He needs to trust me enough to make himself vulnerable. He has to want this to work out enough to tell me the truth. I feel it is a step in the path of our relationship that we can’t skip over. Please, promise me you won’t tell him, that you’ll let him tell me when he’s ready. I think it will be soon. We were supposed to be here now, you know. He asked me to come home to Smallville so we could talk. All this has just ruined his plans.”
“Lois, if you don’t tell him you know, you’re keeping secrets from him too,” Martha gently scolded.
“Please, promise me. It won’t be that much longer.”
*****
“So, we promised. She slept for an hour or two and then she drove back to the airport. She knew she had to be back in Metropolis to sign her statement. Even though Detective Wolff hadn’t told her not to leave town, she knew that she probably wasn’t supposed to. But it wasn’t something to be discussed over the phone.”
Clark had his head in his hands, “I’ve been such an idiot. I can’t believe she knew all along. Why couldn’t I see that?”
“Love is blind?” offered Martha.
“In my case, it’s also deaf, dumb, and stupid. I do love her, Mom, so much. She thinks she needs me, but she has no idea how much I need her. *I* didn’t even realize it until she was gone and there is just this dark aching void where there was so much happiness and hope. . . I can’t think about it because when I realize that she’s not here, I can hardly breathe. Without her kisses, her touch. . .”
“Oh, Clark.” Martha gathered him into her arms. It was as if the walls he had built around his grief were suddenly broken down and he couldn’t stop himself.
“I can’t live without her. Oh, my heart will still be beating. I’ll still be going through the motions of living, but she’s my world, my everything. And the funny thing is, she needs me too. We really are two halves of the same soul.”
“You’ll find her Clark. I know you will.”
“Can you help me with Sweetie? Dr. Klein is still studying the samples, but I can tell that it’s not good. I need to find Lois, but Sweetie has no one. I have to be there for her too.”
“Of course, Clark, anything.”
“I need to go over to Lex Towers and see if I can find out anything about Luthor’s whereabouts. Find out if he is even still on town. I need to track down Nigel St. John, Mrs. Cox, and a Dr. Mamba. She’ll be hungry soon-”
“Clark, one thing I can do it cook.”
“That’s a problem, because Sweetie almost exclusively eats. . . frogs.”
“What!”
Clark nodded.
“Wow.”
“I’m going to fly to South America and pick some up for her before I go, and I promise that I will just check things out and be right back.”
“That’s fine.”
He stood and walked over to Sweetie. “Sweetie, Mom’s going to stay with you. I need to go out for a little while.”
Sweetie snapped to attention. “Are you going to investigate? Can I come?”
“I’m sorry. I think it would be best if you stayed here. I’ll bring you some frogs to snack on, okay?”
Sweetie darted a look at Martha, “Clark, not in front of your mom.”
“I’ll put them in the bathroom. They’ll be there if you need them.”
“Okay. But I’d still rather go with you.”
“I promise, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
*****
After a short frog catching trip, Clark dressed in his nicest suit and tried to look nonchalant as he strolled into Lex Towers and made his way to Luthor’s set of suites as if he did so on a regular basis.
“Is Mr. Luthor in?” he asked the receptionist.
“Do you have an appointment?” she asked coldly.
“I was just in town and wanted to look him up. We’re. . . old friends.”
“I’m afraid Mr. Luthor is out of town.”
“Is his assistant available? I could leave a message.”
“Unfortunately, his assistant is also out of town.”
“*Both* of them?”
“Both of them.”
“Can you tell me when they left?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t-” she was buying his act, and she was thawing.
“Miss, I know as well as anyone that old Lex is now a real important guy. I am just very disappointed to miss him. It’s silly, but I just wondered if I missed him by a few hours or if he’s been gone longer than that. I spent the morning taking a look around Metropolis. Maybe if I had come in first thing-”
“No, that wouldn’t have helped. I’m not privy to Mr. Luthor’s schedule, but Mr. St. John sent down a memo last week saying that Mr. Luthor was going to be out of the country on business.”
Out of the country. Was that true or was that just a story they were giving out while they went to ground here in the States?
“Thank you, miss. I guess there’s no way I would have caught him then. I was out of the country myself last week.”
“Sorry.”
“I’m sure I’ll catch him another time. I’ll be in town for a few weeks.”
“You probably will, but . . .”
“Yes?”
“Well, Mr. St. John didn’t say when they were coming back. Usually he does.”
“It was probably just overlooked when the memo was sent out.”
She looked doubtful, but nodded.
“Thanks again for all your help.”
He exited the suites and walked back to the elevator. Hadn’t Lois said something one time about Luthor having a bunker under the tower? He entered the elevator doors and they shut behind him. How to get there without tripping some sort of security cameras. Clark swept the car for cameras. There was one. If he could short it out, climb out of the car, make his way to Luthor’s private elevator, could he check out the bunker and be back in this elevator by the time it arrived at the lobby? Worth a try. With a hand he adjusted his glasses, trying to look as if he were just rubbing his nose, and he sent a blast of heat vision at the camera. Then another thought occurred to him. He rocked the elevator causing it to creak and the emergency brakes caught.
He hurriedly pushed the emergency button, “Help! The elevator’s stopped!”
“This is Lex Tower’s security. Don’t worry. We’ll get you out as soon as possible.”
“Well, eh, I’m kindof claustrophobic. And when I get closed in, I usually end up . . . passed . . . out. . . “
“Please, don’t panic, we’ll get you as right away. Hello? Hello?”
Within seconds he was making his way down the shaft of Luthor’s elevator. The car was on the ground floor, so he entered it and forced the doors open, letting himself into the underground fortress. There were no lights and the air was stale. But while the bunker was lead lined, the inside was easily scanned and he noted that there was another exit at the end of the bunker. He was there in a flash. He checked out the seal on the door. It did appear that it had been opened recently. He breathed deeply. Yes, the air here was less stale here than at the other end of the tunnel. He could not see any reason to believe that opening the door would trip any alarms, so he pushed it open and walked out into the dark, damp tunnel beyond. He zipped down the tunnel and when he began to see daylight, he could also detect the distinctive smell of Hobbs Bay. They had left by boat.
He was back in the elevator car by the time that it began to move. He sat down on the floor, mussing his clothes and hair a little. He closed his eyes.
The doors opened on the ground floor.
“Sir, sir, are you okay?”
Clark pretended to rouse. “Is it over?”
“Yes, you’re safe now. We’re very sorry about that. The elevators were just inspected a few days ago. We don’t know why they would have acted up like this. Would you like to go to the first aid office and be checked out? Did you hit your head or anything?”
Clark waved them off. “I’m fine. Happens all the time. Old childhood trauma.”
They helped him to his feet and he brushed himself off and headed out of the building.
*****
“So what now, Clark?”
“I’m not sure, Mom. A missing persons report? Except that for all intents and purposes, until Dr. Klein can give us evidence otherwise, that’s Lois sleeping in there.” He pointed towards his bedroom.
She was beautiful lying there, but she wasn’t Lois. And he so wished it was Lois tucked up safe in his bed. He thought back to the night not so long ago when he and Lois had held each other in that bed and shared their fears. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Where could she be? Where would Luthor take her?
“So we wait for Dr. Klein.”
Clark nodded. “Meanwhile, I’m going to ask around and see if anyone saw anything unusual in Hobbs Bay. But usually it’s a don’t ask, don’t tell world over there.”
*****
As he had suspected, the Hobbs Bay residents weren’t much help. One homeless man was willing to part with information for a fifty, but all he would say was that he had seen some fancy cars pull up to a dock. There were three or four people and two of them had carried a large bag between them. He wasn’t sure exactly when he had seen this either, could have been 2 nights ago, but might have been more.
So, the limo driver? Could he get the driver to talk? Or maybe Superman could.
*****
He went back to check on his mom and Sweetie. Sweetie was watching Martha make fried chicken. One thing for sure, he would eat good tonight!
He picked up his phone and dialed, “Jimmy? It’s Clark. Can you get me a list of Luthor’s drivers?”
“Is this for your expose’ on Luthor? ‘Cause I want to do anything I can to help. He deserves it for trying to pin the Planet bombing on Jack.”
“Sort of. Can you get it?”
“Yeah. I’ll have it on your desk tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks, Jimmy.” His cell phone began to ring. “Gotta go, Jimmy. I’ll see you tomorrow. He hung up as he flipped open his cell phone. “Clark Kent.”
“Clark, it’s Dr. Klein. I’ve got some information on Sweetie.”
“Great!”
“Well, I’d rather not give it over the phone, so can you bring Sweetie and meet me at my lab?”
Sweetie really didn’t like Dr. Klein’s lab, and Dr. Klein’s voice was giving away the fact that it was not good news. “Dr. Klein, I have a better idea. How do you like fried chicken?”
*****
Dr. Klein was quite enthusiastic about the fried chicken. Sweetie agreed to try it and decided it tasted almost like frog legs, so she dug in with a hearty appetite. Martha and Clark were wary as to what Dr. Klein wanted to discuss so neither of them felt like eating. Not wanting to hurt his mom’s feelings, Clark managed to put on a good show of eating his fair share, so Martha was the only one left picking at her food.
Sweetie declined the apple pie and instead opted to help Martha with the dishes as Dr. Klein and Clark were left to consume the pie.
But when the dishes were finished, and Martha and Sweetie came back to sit at the table, Dr. Klein glanced at Sweetie and then to Clark. “Does she know why I’m here?”
Clark turned to Sweetie, “Dr. Klein wanted to talk about the samples that he took when we visited him at STAR Labs.”
“Can I go watch TV then?”
Did she have no clue or was she merely hoping that by avoiding the subject it would go away? Clark shook his head, “Sweetie, I think you need to listen to what Dr. Klein has to say.”
She slumped in her chair. “Okay.”
“I’m really sorry, I’m horrible at this, I don’t do bedside manner very well. That’s why I became a researcher,” Dr. Klein began to excuse himself.
“Perhaps you should just tell us,” Martha said matter-of-factly.
“Her cells are dying. Pretty quickly too,” Dr. Klein blurted out.
“What does that mean, exactly?” asked Clark.
“I can’t believe she hasn’t noticed already. Maybe the frogs rejuvenate her. . .”
“Notice what, Dr. Klein?” Clark prompted.
“Aging. She should be getting wrinkles and the regular aches and pains. I’d like to take some more samples, but I think that based on the ones we took last time, Sweetie is in her mid-forties now.”
“And last week she was about 30?” Martha queried.
“Yes. So, if I’m right, if she’s 40 now. . .”
“And female life expectancy in the US is 75, maybe 76. . .” Clark broke off.
“What? What are you guys talking about?” demanded Sweetie.
And both Martha and Dr. Klein looked at him. Me? I’m supposed to tell her she has three, maybe four weeks left to live!
“Dr. Klein, maybe we should check a newer set of samples-” he tried to stall.
“I want to know!” Sweetie stood and stomped her foot, reminding him once again of the teenage Lois he had known.
“Sweetie, let’s just let Dr. Klein check the tests again-”
“No, Clark! I know it’s something bad. Just tell me.”
Clark squirmed in his seat.
“*Please*, Clark.”
She sounded just like Lois. How could he bear it, to lose Lois and now to lose this part of her? She was too young. She hadn’t had a chance to live at all and now. . . “Dr. Klein’s testing shows that you are aging more quickly than a . . . an average human would. That means that you will also-”
“I’m going to die,” Sweetie finished his stumbling explanation.
Clark glanced at Dr. Klein, who nodded. Clark laid his hand on Sweetie’s arm. “Yes.”
“It’s okay, Clark.” She said, placing her hand on his.
“No. No, it’s not okay,” Clark said hoarsely.
“Yes, it is. You told me, Clark, that dying is part of life. That it is natural. That what was important was helping people and learning new and different things. Well, you said I helped you, Clark, and I’ve learned lots of new things. So I will just go to sleep and not wake up.”
How could such a child also be so mature? Clark stood and hugged Sweetie fiercely. She squirmed, “Clark, you’re squishing me.”
“You’re going to see lots of new and different things,” he promised. “I’m going to take you to see. . . everything.” With Dr. Klein there, he couldn’t say any more. It was ironic that when Lois most needed him, needed Superman to save her, he had another obligation that he could not ignore. And somehow he felt that Lois would understand. Sweetie hadn’t asked to be brought into this world. She hadn’t asked to have Lois’ life forced on her, though she had only had to live it for a few days. It wasn’t her fault that her life would be over before it every really begun, but he could at least give her some experiences that. . . that. . . That what, Clark, he asked himself, that she would never forget? She’s going to be dead.
No, he argued back, I’m going to help her live. And I’m going to be there for her when it ends. Because that is what Lois would want.
He didn’t need to sleep, so when he wasn’t with Sweetie, wasn’t answering a call for Superman, he would look for Lois. Somehow, he would be there for both of them.
*****
He called in the next morning and told Perry’s secretary to let Perry know that he and Lois would not be in. Then he took Dr. Klein’s test results to Henderson and shocked, but uncharacteristically compassionate, he helped Clark file the missing persons report. Next stop- Ellen Lane.
*****
She agreed to meet him for coffee. He caught the note of curiosity in her voice when she spoke. She had to be wondering why Clark would want to meet her without Lois.
He watched as Ellen Lane walked across the street towards him as he sat in a corner booth in the back of the café. Was it only ten years ago that this woman had been a pathetic alcoholic? She was the picture of confidence as she entered the café, removing her sunglasses and slipping them into her purse.
He raised his hand in greeting as she spotted him and Ellen hurried to his table.
“So, Clark Kent, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” she teased.
“Ellen, I. . . did Lois tell you. . . did you know Lois and I. . .”
“That you’re seeing each other? Romantically, I mean. Yes, we had lunch one day week before last and she told me. I’m thrilled, Clark. I know you’ll be good to her. Support her in her dreams. So if you want my permission to court her, you have it.”
“Thanks, Ellen. I’d never do anything to hurt Lois if I could help it, but that’s not why I asked to see you. Unfortunately.”
“Clark, what’s wrong?”
“Lois, didn’t come into work last Tuesday. It was odd that she hadn’t mentioned to me or Perry that she would be out, but we both just kindof passed it off when she came into work the next day. Except that, Ellen, it wasn’t Lois.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that Lois began to act oddly. I took her to see Dr. Klein and he ran some tests.”
“What kind of tests? Is my daughter dying, Clark?”
“The tests showed that this woman wasn’t Lois. She was a clone.”
“Clark, science is years away from cloning humans.”
Clark shook his head. “I’m afraid not. I’ve run into several. The gangster look-a-likes that were on the news last week? Not look-a-likes. They were actual clones of Al Capone, John Dillinger, and Bonnie and Clyde. And remember last year when Superman was a little rough on a few of the criminals he caught? Not Superman.”
“If this clone is living Lois’ life, then where is Lois?”
“Sweetie- uh, that’s what Lois’ clone wants to be called- told me that Luthor and two of his closet advisors had something to do with her being brought into existence. It sounds like St. John and Mrs. Cox wanted Sweetie to get some sort of information from Luthor and they thought she could get it from him.”
“Lois told me that Luthor was infatuated with her. Clark, you haven’t answered my question. Where is Lois?!”
“I. . . I don’t know.”
“Oh, God!”
He slid a copy of the missing persons report to her. “Once Dr. Klein had proof that Sweetie wasn’t Lois, I filed this. Metropolis PD will be looking for her and this will go out all over the world. And Superman will help. We’ll find her, Ellen, I won’t rest until we do.”
Ellen was weeping, “My little girl, I just saw her. She was so happy. Why? What can that man possibly want from her?”
“I’m hoping that Sweetie may be able to remember some more.” He didn’t want to talk to Ellen about Sweetie any more. Finding out Lois was missing was hard enough. She didn’t need the added burden of knowing any of the details about Sweetie’s short life.
“Clark, Lois loves you so much. I can’t tell you how it made me feel to see her so happy last week”
“I love her, too, Ellen. I promise you, I’ll find her and bring her home.”
“Oh, what about Lucy? How am I going to tell her? And Sam!”
“I’ll take care of it, if you want me to.”
*****
Telling Lucy was a repeat of his meeting with Ellen. He drove Lucy in her car to Ellen’s house and left them together.
He went home and checked on Martha and Sweetie. Martha had scrubbed the whole apartment- her form of therapy- and she and Sweetie were going to head to the Metropolis Zoo for the afternoon. “Come with us, Clark,” begged Sweetie.
“I wish I could, but I have a few things I have to do. Then I promise, I’ll be back and you and I are going to have along talk.”
*****
He called Sam Lane’s Chicago lab from his home after Martha and Sweetie left. Sam didn’t know Clark very well, and at first he was not at all amused with Clark’s ridiculous story, but after Clark faxed him the missing persons report and Dr. Klein’s results he began to make plans to fly to Metropolis.
With a heavy heart, Clark entered the Daily Planet building. Such a short time ago, he had first entered this building to meet with Perry White for the interview that Lois had set up for him. He stepped into the elevator. His eyes roamed the compartment remembering Lois’ sweet kiss the last time they had ridden in this car alone. The doors opened at the newsroom. His eyes flew to her desk where so many mornings he had seen her beautiful brunette head bent over research and recalling the last few weeks when she would lift her head as if sensing his presence. Then their eyes would meet and hers would dance with the knowledge of their secret.
“Clark!” Perry slapped him on the shoulder. “Thought you and Lois were taking the day off.”
“I need to talk to you, Perry.”
“Something wrong, Clark?”
“I think we should talk about it in your office.”
*****
“Great shades of Elvis! But if that girl’s not our Lois, then where is Lois?”
“I don’t know… I have to find her, Perry.”
“Of course you do, son.”
“Which is why I’m giving you my two weeks notice.”
“What?!”
“I have no idea how long it is going to take to find her. Luthor’s resources are virtually endless. She could be anywhere in the world. Superman and I will be working together to locate her. If we have to search every square inch of the planet, we’ll find her.”
“Clark, you don’t have to quit. Take some time off.”
“That’s not fair to you, Chief. With Lois gone, you’re already short handed. I’ve really loved working here.”
“Clark-”
“I’m sorry, Perry.”
“Look, Clark, you have vacation. Take it. We’ll talk more about this later. Meanwhile, this is a big story, Clark. What do you want me to do with this?”
“My first thought was to ask you to hold off on printing it, hoping that I could find out more information on Luthor if he didn’t know we were on to him yet. But I’m positive he has plants in the police department, so it is probably too late for that. Just assign it to someone who’ll do a good job, maybe inspire the readers to be on the look out for her.”
*****
Perry wrote the article himself, DAILY PLANET REPORTER MISSING. Perry came over that evening to see Clark.
“Clark, the Planet is getting thousands of calls and e-mails from readers across the globe who want to express their sorrow and best wishes for Lois’ safe return. In fact, the response is so overwhelming that Franklin Stern called to speak to me personally. As a result, Clark, we are refusing to accept your resignation. Instead, we would like to hire you to investigate Lex Luthor as well as any involvement he might have had in Lois’ disappearance. Luthor’s involvement in the Planet bombing was just the tip of the iceberg, I’m sure. Anything that you find along the way that will make a good story, write it up and send it to me. Stern wants to hold a press conference in a day or two announcing the efforts that the Planet is making to find Lois, including the offering of a $50,000 reward for information leading to her return. He’s talking radio and TV ads. One of the big alphabet stations has already contacted the Planet asking for interviews. We want you to handle that. PR will hire any additional staff if needed to field calls. Anyway, it may be a lot of work, but it will allow you time to look for Lois without losing your income. I will have to replace at least one of you at the city desk”
“Perry, that’s very generous, but-”
“Clark, a little advice, from an old newshound. Take it. And once you find Lois, I promise I’ll get you both positions in the newsroom again.”
“Perry, I have no training in PR. And I need all my time to take care of Sweetie and search for Lois!” And, honestly, Clark added to him self, he wasn’t that keen on Clark Kent making regular television appearances. What if someone noticed his similarity to Superman? And, obviously, Superman would be heavily involved in the search. Would anyone wonder why Clark and Superman never appeared together?
“Clark, you can handle the media. You *are* the media. And somewhere in all that education you have, I’m sure you have training that will assist you with dealing with the public. And Stern’s PR team is available to assist in any way they can.”
“You really think I should do this, Perry?”
“Just find her, son.” Perry said hoarsely as he slapped Clark on the back.
Could he make it clear that Superman wasn’t in Metropolis, thus would not be making any public appearances to plead for Lois’ return? If he did make finding Lois Superman’s full-time job, would the criminals in Metropolis take advantage of it?
“I. . . I’ll think about it, Perry. Try to figure out how I could work everything in.”
Perry nodded in satisfaction. “That’s all I ask. I know you’ll bring her home.”
*****
That evening Clark sat down with Martha and Sweetie and told them how he wanted to help Sweetie experience some of the life she should have had. “If there is anywhere you want to go, something you want to do, I’ll do my best to make it possible,” he promised Sweetie.
“Disneyland?!”
Clark laughed. “If that is where you want to go, sure. We’ll both have to disguise our appearance, because it won’t help my search to have Lois sightings reported, but I want you to have some of those experiences that we talked about.” Of course, Clark realized sadly, Sweetie would not have to disguise her resemblance to Lois for long. In only a week, maybe two, Sweetie’s accelerated aging would remove any traces of similarity.
“But, Clark, you have to find Lois! You said Mr. St. John and Mrs. Cox might have her. You have to find her.”
“I will. But-”
Martha broke into their conversation, “Sweetie, Clark will find Lois. But he can’t look for her 24 hours a day. I know my son, and he will try to do just that. Taking some time to spend with you will give him a few hours to relax. I’m sure he doesn’t look at it in that way, but Sweetie this is a way that you can help Clark too.”
“Mom-”
“Clark, I know you’re . . . *special*. But you can’t go 24/7 forever. You may not need to sleep as much as other people, but you do need to sleep. And for your emotional well-being, you are going to need to take some time off from your search, even after. . .”
After Sweetie was dead. Clark didn’t know a heart could ache so much. He also knew that as much as his mom was worried about Lois and Sweetie, she was worried about him.
He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Okay, Mom.” He turned to Sweetie. “So start making a list.”
“It’ll be so much fun!” she responded happily.
“What about your job at the Planet?” Martha asked.
“As you know, Perry came by. Franklin Stern wants me to head up the Planet’s investigation into Luthor and to find out what happened to Lois.”
“They want to pay you to do what you would do anyway?”
Clark nodded, “And I’ll keep pulling a paycheck while I do it. Which I need to keep this place.” He looked around his apartment. “For now, anyway. Most of the PR stuff is going to happen at the beginning. We’ll be getting ads into major newspapers and on TV stations world-wide. I’ll be tearing any records I can find on Luthor’s empire apart trying to find out where Lois might be and why she was taken, following up on any tips that are called in. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll grid out the entire globe and search it inch by inch until I do find her!”
“You’ll find her, Clark. And I’ll do anything I can to help.”
“Mom, I couldn’t do this without you. Without you here to be with. . .” He looked over at Sweetie who was busy clicking away at his computer looking for places she wanted to visit. She had certainly learned her way around a computer quickly! “If you weren’t here, Mom, I don’t know what I would do. I *have* to look for Lois, but. . . I have to be here for Sweetie too.”
“I’ll be here as long as you need me, *both* of you need me,” Martha assured him.
He gathered her in a fierce hug. “Thanks, Mom”
Clark spent the rest of the night in Chicago and then in New York at their respective branches of LexCorp looking for any places that Luthor might have hidden Lois, but as morning broke the sky he still had not found her or any clue to where she might be.
*****
Perry clapped Clark on the back, “It’s the right decision, son. Glad you took us up on it.”
“I still think you’re getting a raw deal, Perry.”
“Clark you’ve got motivation to find Lois that no one else in the world has. You’re the best one for this job. And getting Lois, and you, back in my newsroom sooner than later, well, that’s not a raw deal, Clark. That’s business. You two write the stories that make people buy this paper.”
Clark shook his head in amusement, “Right, Chief. Whatever you say.”
“Stern wants you to take one of those empty offices upstairs. IT can get you set up with whatever you need. Stern says whatever you need, get it.”
Clark’s eyebrows rose in surprise, “Upstairs? Why not stay here?”
“Aw, well, aw, Clark, you’ll have more room to spread out upstairs, of course.”
“Yes, and?”
“And I still have to put someone on the city beat and I don’t think you really want to see someone else working at your or Lois’ desks any more than I do,” Perry finished in a hurry.
“Right. Hadn’t thought of that.” What would it be like seeing someone else working at Lois’ desk? Doing Lois’ job? Perry was right. He really didn’t want to have to face that. “So. Upstairs. Can I borrow Jimmy for some research?”
“Sure. Just don’t give him so much to do, he can’t keep up down here.”
“Thanks, Chief.”
Perry cleared his throat, “Just find our girl.”
*****
He looked in the storage room and found a large box. He needed to move his things to his new office. . . and clean out Lois’ desk. Making his way to their desks, he paused by at Lois’ reaching out to touch her nameplate. Jimmy approached him.
“Aw, man, Clark. I don’t even know what to say. If there’s anything I can do to help. . .”
Clark put his arm around the younger man and squeezed his shoulder before dropping his arm. “Thanks, Jimmy, and I hope you mean that because Perry gave me permission to take advantage of your research skills as long as it doesn’t keep you from doing your job here.”
“Sure, C.K., anything.”
“To start with, can you get me a list of Luthor’s drivers? One of the people I talked to at Hobbs Bay thought he had seen some people in a limo with a large bag. Might be something. And a list of all the property that Luthor personally owns as well as his businesses. And mark which ones are used for scientific research. Maybe I can locate where the clone came from and make sure she’s the only one.” One more thing on his to do list.
“I’ll get started on it right away, C.K. What’s with the box?”
“Well, for the time being, finding Lois is my job, so I’m moving to a larger office upstairs. I have to clean out my. . . our desks.”
“Need any help?”
“That’d be great, but I’d rather you got started on that research. It’s going to be a huge help to me to know where to start looking.”
“I’m on it!”
*****
He located an office near the stairwell so it would be convenient for him to slip out if Superman was needed. The IT personnel helped him move his and Lois' computers into the new office and he was busy arranging all of their research on Lex Luthor. One thing, once he was all moved in, he would be able to shut the door allowing him to work at superspeed.
Franklin Stern called to talk to him, detailing what he planned to do to spread the news of Lois’ disappearance and encourage the search for her. PR called to give him the contact information for the network wanting to do the interview. He’d only had to make one quick trip out as Superman and the day quickly began to turn into night. He turned the computers off and locked the door to his office. He needed to get home so his mom and Sweetie wouldn’t worry about him.
He didn’t want the elevator to stop at the newsroom floor; he didn’t want to see Lois’ empty desk, but the elevator stopped to allow someone to enter. The newsroom looked fairly quiet. Almost against his will his eyes went to Lois’ desk. And there sat Perry White with his head in his hands. Clark felt the pain twist in his chest. Did Lois have any idea how much she was missed? No stone would be left unturned in the search for her.
