YAY! another part! It's been way to long, but I'm glad you're back!
LL emerged from the room hastily.
Clark and Lois regarded her worriedly. LL was pale and shaking, she wasn't even trying to hide her reaction. Her breath was coming in hard gasps.
LL would have PTSD flashbacks. It's sad, though. This is the Clark (or Kal-El) that she should be soulmates with. But she's been ruined, broken by Clone-El. It's even worse than the situation with alt-Clark and alt-Lois. At least alt-Lois came back to a world where alt-Clark was raised by humans and became Superman. LL has to deal with a soulmate who is alien not only by blood but by upbringing.
“My tormenter and my ...champions – wear the same faces.”
A fact that causes major angst - but a darn good story!
“I saw him. I saw who he's been... who he is, what he stands for... what he's gone through. I felt his terror – and his anger, and his own suffering... and it humbled me. I've been blaming him, but he's as much a victim as I am, or you are, Lois... he was raped too – in a different way, true, but nonetheless – he was violated. His life was stolen, he was rendered insensate... he was forced to endure his clone's life through telepathic sendings... he's felt the other's sick pleasure at hurting people. At hurting women. And his own moral code has processed what feel to be his own memories. And it's left him soul-sick at the very deepest level of his being. I felt this. Lois, I felt it. Did you?”
Wow. Damn. Wow.
OK, after that, maybe the shared suffering will give LL and Kal-El some sort of common bond they can talk about. Of course, talking about such traumatic events is probably the last thing in the world either of them want to do. But they need to. But they probably won't. LL doesn't want to be anywhere near Kal-El, and Kal-El would certainly never force her to do so.
I can't help but want to look ahead, though - perhaps it's like "Long Strange Trip" where circumstances will force LL and Kal-El to be together? Won't they have to work together to overthrow the reign of the evil Clone-El?
“Are you willing to trust him?”
“Yes. I mean no. But yes. I'm done. I … vote we – stop poisoning him, and move forward."
Yay! This is a huge step for LL. It makes sense that it took telepathic contact for her to get this far; I'm sure Kal-El was not able to lie telepathically (and he had no desire to tell an untruth, not in this situation.)
“They are choosing to trust you. You will no longer be poisoned. You will be allowed to gain strength and you will be part of strategizing meetings to consider our plan of attack.”
He exhaled, feeling immensely grateful to LL for deciding in his favor. He knew she was the leader.
See? See? Kal-El is the leader of the Kryptonians, and LL is the leader of the Earthlings. They'll have to talk together, and deal with each other. Perhaps they can find some common ground. (Don't mind me... I'm always looking for the romance and for L&C to get together.
)
“I am your -”
“No. You are not. I dissolve our union. It is my right as Lord.”
She flushed.
“You must be with Ching. We both know this to be true. And when this is over and we have won, I will name him a brother. And pass on the rulership to you both.”
OK, it's the royal divorce. So Kal-El is going to be a free agent, romantically speaking. This bodes well.
She felt the stirrings of the old pleasure in his company and smiled gratefully for his praise. His clone had never once said a kind word to her.
And one of the reasons why Clone-El is going to be faced with a coup d'etat in the near future.
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