Yahoo, another part! I love this fic.
These weapons emitted red-radiation, not unlike the Kryptonian sun, and would render any Kryptonian powerless.
A nice change from kryptonite being the only weakness. As we all know, kryptonite might be a little difficult to come by. Having red-radiation weapons will probably go a long way in redressing the power imbalance. And it sounds as if the weapons are not fatal, just incapacitating.
"Jesus," one of the resistance members swore. "You weren't kidding."
All eyes were fixed in horror and fear on the two Kryptonian men.
Like LL, seeing these duplicates of the evil Lord Clone-El must figure in some of the resistance members' nightmares. Lord Clone-El has done a whole lot of damage to the Kal-El "brand" (speaking in marketing terms.)
"We came here to overthrow the clone," said Kent, knowing that Clark was far more upset about being here than he was. "As soon as you've decided that 'hazing time' is over, how about we work on that?"
LL raised her eyebrows at him, impressed at how he stood up for himself without being in any way threatening or demanding.
It would have to be Kent (canon Clark) who replies this way. He has the confidence that comes from a happy upbringing, his experience as an admired alien (Superman), and a loving marriage. Clark (alt-Clark of "Long, Strange Trip") would be a little less sure. He lost his parents when he was ten, and he's been "outed" as Superman. No doubt he's less confident.
"I understand," Lois continued. "I was filled with hate when I came home. It took me a long time to see who he really was, I was so blinded by visions of Lord Kal."
LL looked quickly over at Clark. She saw the flicker of something in his eyes- a kind of misery which spoke to her of a long and painful struggle, and she looked away, hating that in that moment she felt a surge of pity for him.
I love this. It shows that LL isn't totally lost. She still has the capability to empathize. She still can pity someone. She's not totally hardened and calloused. There is something left to save. (Of course, I'm looking ahead to the real Lord Kal-El of this world, who would be LL's soulmate.)
"You can't understand me," LL snarled. "Our lives may have been similar, but you escaped away from it. You're free, while we are all still suffering. And I can't understand you. You married him."
"Yes. I did," Lois said, ignoring the obvious disgust and shock from the gathered humans.
This is great too. To the assembled resistance members, the thought of a human actually marrying a Kryptonian by choice must seem like the worst kind of miscegenation. Admitting that she and Clark were married has probably just raised Lois's degree of difficulty by 500%.
No doubt the New Kryptonians would also feel that marrying a human would be a perversion. Keeping a human woman as a plaything and concubine - OK. Marrying one - not OK.
"I met Kryptonians back home," Kent said. "They came to earth looking for me to help them block Nor's rise to power in their society. Zara was one of them and she frequently offered forth criticism of how I was too human to gain credibility with the Kryptonian elders. If you want either of us to try to fool anyone, we will need coaching on how to act. It's not something we can just do."
Ah, the old nature-nurture debate! And here, Clark and Kent are firmly on the side of nurture. Despite their blood, they think of themselves as human when it comes right down to it.
"First on the plan is to introduce you to more of the resistance. If you are going to work with us, people have to get used to seeing you around. Are you up for that?"
Clark and Kent looked at each other.
"No. But let's do it anyway," said Kent.
Great ending! So Kent and Clark and the two Loises have to go around and meet the people who are predisposed to hate and fear them. (I'm sure the gossip about the Kryptonian-human marriage will travel at the speed of light.)
Are we sure that everyone in the resistance is trustworthy? Wouldn't a traitor in the ranks try very hard to get the news to Lord Clone-El about the two Kal-Els from parallel dimensions coming into their world?
I can't wait for more!
