Previously.... “I planted micro cameras in various locations – the entrance, the exit, and the long corridor leading to the executive offices - that are virtually undetectable. They are transmitting to a video feed in my hotel room as we speak. Whatever’s going on will take place at night, when the building is empty. I did see evidence that cloning research is underway.”
“Such as?”
“Seeing is believing. When we get back to the Regency, I’ll show you some of the footage,” Bruce said. And now,
Chapter 29 Romantic wasn't the word for the restaurant named Antiquity. Located in Albuquerque's historic district, it strived to bring patrons back in time to the Gold Rush era, where "men were men and women were (at least looked like) women". While Chloe and Dick clearly had a connection, Lois felt a bit uncomfortable sitting next to the very handsome - in a different way from Clark - Bruce Wayne. The man who masqueraded as the Dark Knight clearly had the polish and charm of one who came from money. It was hard to believe that a person of his means was so highly motivated to fight crime in his "spare" time.
The food was fabulous; Lois ordered salmon and steamed vegetables, in keeping with a healthy low-fat, high-protein diet. Bruce eyed her plate when it arrived and smirked a bit.
"What?" Lois asked.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Ms. Lane. I'm sorry to see that you've developed such low self-esteem. It’s apparent to me that you are really down on yourself. If you really want to ‘get in shape’", you can't do it by dieting alone. I would be happy to teach you martial arts. Not only is it great exercise, but it will develop all of your other senses as well," Bruce stated.
Lois considered this. "That actually sounds pretty great, Bruce. I may take you up on that," she replied. "Some of the guys that used me in the past deserved to have their butt kicked. Of course, being overweight, I wasn't too limber OR fast. Where would we train?"
Bruce considered this. "I was thinking about opening a chain of fitness clubs devoted to combining martial arts as well as traditional aerobic and weight training methods. I was considering making it a 24 hour franchise. Maybe call it “Round the Clock Fitness” or something like that. It's easier to buy an existing club and then tweak it to my requirements. The zoning is already approved and I can make a transition offer to existing members. The only thing that's stopping me is that I don't want it to be public knowledge that 'Bruce Wayne' is into working out or that he knows martial arts," he grinned. "Bad for my ‘carefree playboy’ image. Maybe you can give me some ideas on how to approach this, as well as be one of my first new members in the Metropolis area. You would be given a complimentary lifetime membership. Having a celebrity like you work out there would be like free advertising. Especially since, if you really want to, I can help you tone up and get down to whatever size you desire in no time."
"Well I will certainly give that some thought. That's quite a generous offer. I'm flattered that you would be willing to work with me, Bruce. That's so sweet. But right now I need to get through this 'date with Lex' problem."
"After dinner I'll explain my plan, Lois," Bruce said. "I think you will be happy. But I needed Dick with us to make it work. And your step sister," he continued, smiling across the table, "will be useful as well."
After a scrumptious dessert (Lois, with Bruce’s urging, ordered their famous Chocolate Mousse) and coffee, the foursome departed Antiquity Restaurant and drove their respective Corvettes to the Albuquerque Hyatt Regency, where of course, billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne had commandeered the penthouse suite – the entire 15th floor of the prestigious hotel. There were four bedrooms, each with their own bathroom, a living room, dining area, several fireplaces, and a large walkout patio, which was essentially the roof of the hotel. Even at night, the Rocky Mountains which surrounded the city were visible and very beautiful. The ladies freshened up in their own bedrooms while Bruce and Dick conferred in the living room.
“Dick, this is going to be a pretty dangerous operation. I haven’t told Lois the full scope of what’s really going on in that facility yet. What’s your take on Chloe? Can she help us without getting in the way?”
Dick’s smile disclosed that he wanted Chloe in his way a LOT. “Did you know she’s had martial arts training, Bruce? She’s smart, she’s beautiful, and I’m pretty sure she can handle whatever is thrown her way,” he enthused.
Bruce studied his ward’s facial expressions closely. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this before,” he observed. “I hope your obvious crush isn’t going to get in the way of the mission.”
Dick blushed a bit. “Not at all, Bruce. She’s like a mirror image of me. When she has a task to accomplish, nothing gets in her way.”
“Sounds like her older step sister, doesn’t it?” Bruce replied. “Well I’m going to trust you on this. Don’t let me down….”
Dick knew that Bruce couldn’t help himself. He would always be his guardian, his savior of sorts. Dick’s dream of being an equal with Bruce would probably never be realized. He might as well give up on it. Right now, it was a minor issue. He decided to focus on the task at hand.
Lois and Chloe entered the living area of the suite and took a seat on the sofa. Lois looked impatient and said, “OK, gentlemen. Let’s get down to business, shall we?”
Bruce motioned to Dick to sit on the opposing couch, which faced the ladies. “OK, Lois. As you know, I did some investigative work over at the Luthorcorp Research and Development plant near here. It looks like Luthor, with Tempus’ help, has obsessed over you. Not only are there a near army of clones of you, it appears that some of them may have Clark’s superpowers as well.”
Lois’ jaw dropped in reaction to this bombshell. “How?” she managed to spit out.
Chloe piped up. “He must have gotten his hands on the reddish Kryptonite. I told you, it has …unusual properties.”
Bruce started to take Dick’s crush a bit more seriously at this unexpected remark.
“Explain,” he said simply to her.
“Well, I did hack into the UCLA research department’s database, as I told Lois,” Chloe admitted. “And, of course, I read the analysis. Even though it appears that Kryptonite doesn’t affect humans, there was a hypothesis in the file that stated that the dust of the red K, injected into the bloodstream, could possibly give someone superhuman strength and other Superman-like abilities. In fact, my impression was that they had tested that theory on lab animals.”
Dick smiled, because he could see that Bruce was gaining newfound respect for his blond companion.
“Continue,” Bruce implored of her. “What makes you feel that way?”
“Well it appeared that a section of the report was missing, or had been cropped out. As if an illegal experiment had occurred or something. Their summation stated that the reddish version of Kryptonite could be useful in military applications, based on their findings. But they never explained what the findings WERE,” she explained. “And I have learned, from my experience as a student investigative reporter, that what isn’t there is usually more important than what is.”
Clearly, Bruce agreed with her, and was impressed. “Do you have a copy of this report?”
“Dr. Klein was sent a copy, and he is also receiving a specimen of the reddish K,” Chloe replied.
“Well, let’s watch this surveillance tape, and I believe all will be made clear,” said Bruce, pointing a remote at the television set up in the room. Lois, Chloe, and Dick rearranged their positions to watch the video about to begin.
The black and white video displayed a long, stark corridor in what looked like a basement area. A few individuals dressed in white lab coats appeared in the hallway, conferred, and then retreated through a door. All of a sudden, several blurs appeared. Bruce stopped the video, rewound it, and put it on slow motion. He stopped it and the trio watching it gasped. It was a Lois doppelganger – in mid-air – flying!
“That looks just like the Lois in the other world,” Lois breathed out. “She’s thinner than me – and what is that outfit she has on?”
“Keep watching,” Bruce said, pressing “play” on the remote. “It gets more interesting.”
Several more streaks appeared on the video. Abruptly, they landed, and were all Lois-clones, dressed in skin-tight leotard-type materials with matching capes. They had seemingly lost their ability to fly, and walked, in formation, over to the side of the wall. A man appeared in a lab coat and, one by one, he checked each Lois-clone’s vital signs and wrote some notes on a clipboard. He then motioned to them to follow him, and, in single file, military-style, the entourage disappeared off of the video screen.
Lois looked absolutely sick to her stomach. “There’s at least ten of them! What kind of a sick madman would do this?”
“I couldn’t agree with you more on that one, Lois,” Bruce said. “And, if the reddish Kryptonite has anything to do with their ability to fly, we can’t let Clark get anywhere near this facility.”
“Too late,” said a familiar voice that flew in through the open patio door.
“Clark!” yelped Lois, leaping off the sofa and rushing towards him. “You’re back from Japan already? How did you find me?”
“Your heartbeat. I memorized it a long time ago,” he admitted. “I appreciate you guys trying to give me ‘the bum’s rush’ on this escapade of yours, but anything that involves Lois, involves me too.”
“Clark, I appreciate your concern. But this is too dangerous. Look what happened to you back in Smallville, with that Kryptonite-laced field. We barely got you out of there in one piece,” Bruce reminded him.
“Well, let’s put our heads together and figure out a way for all of us to play a part, then. Once I heard Lois’ heartbeat, I overheard your conversation. And, I know in the other universe, Luthor had cloned Lois, so it doesn’t surprise me that our Luthor did as well. Although, it looks like he has taken it to a new level.”
“Clark, this is Dick. Dick Grayson,” Bruce said, realizing that Superman had yet to meet Nightwing. “Let’s get started with our game plan. It’s going to be a long night as it is,” he suggested, resigning himself to the fact that he wouldn’t get too far arguing with his new Kryptonian friend.
To be continued....For new readers of TGNA, here again is the TOC:
TGNA Table of Contents
