Degrees of Separation: 3/?
by Nan Smith

Previously:

"Mom says it's all right, as long as the others are there. But she'd like to meet you."

"Sure," Clark said. "I'll drop you off first, take the others home, and then come back, if that's all right."

"That would be great," Allynda said. Her gaze rested on his face. "I've seen your picture, and Ms. Lane's on those advertising things in the Daily Planet, so I'm not worried."

"Good," Clark said. "All right," he added to all three of his passengers. "Last one to the car is a rotten egg."

"Dad!" Marta exclaimed. "That's for kids!"

"I know. Keep an eye on the casserole while I'm gone; would you, Marta? Unless you want it Cajun-style tonight. It should come out in about fifteen minutes."

"I will," Marta said. "Bye, guys. See you tomorrow."

**********

And now, Part 3

Clark pulled the Cherokee up in front of the Michigan Dreams apartment complex. "Here you are. I'll be back in about fifteen minutes," he told Allynda.

"Thanks, Mr. Kent." Allynda opened the door and got out. Clark waited until she had entered the front door of the complex and then pulled away from the curb. Getting the other two home was only a matter of minutes. Wyatt lived only a block away, on Hibiscus Street, in the Silver Sky apartments, and Maria lived in a duplex two streets closer to the middle school. After dropping the two off, he turned the Jeep back toward the home of Allynda Myers and her mother.

The apartment was typical of such establishments in the area. The grounds seemed fairly well kept, and Clark noticed that there was a swimming pool and a tennis court at the opposite end of the compound from which he had entered.

The Myers apartment was on the second floor, not far from the gated entrance. He mounted the steps and found Apartment 2-B without difficulty. He had raised a hand to knock, when the door opened. Allynda stood there. "Hi, Mr. Kent. Come in."

Clark stepped into the room.

It was a small, sparsely furnished sitting room, considerably less affluent than the one he had occupied when he had still been a bachelor. A narrow counter separated it from a tiny cooking area and a short hallway opened in the rear wall, leading to a small bathroom and two tiny bedrooms.

A short, pretty black woman smiled at him from the kitchen and set a lid atop a skillet. She turned down the heat and came out from behind the narrow divider. "Mr. Kent? I'm Tanya Myers."

Clark extended a hand. "Clark Kent."

They shook hands. She gestured toward the armchair that graced one wall. "Won't you sit down?"

"Thank you." Clark took a seat, and Tanya and Allynda sat opposite to him.

"I'm glad to meet you," Clark said. "Your daughter stood up for my daughter this afternoon at the middle school. There are three girls there that she's been having a problem with."

"Ally told me what happened," Tanya said. "I'm glad she was able to help. So, you're the Clark Kent that writes for the Daily Planet?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then I won't worry about Allynda when she goes to visit," Tanya said. "We had a very bad experience three years ago, with my ex-husband. I've had to be very careful ever since."

"Mom --" Allynda said.

"I understand," Clark said.

"No, I don't think you do." Tanya Myers frowned. "Three years ago, my husband and I divorced. I was granted custody of my twins, and Morris took it badly. He kidnapped both Ally and Ben, and fled with them to another state. According to Ally, they moved several times around the country, avoiding the police. After a year, Ally got away with her brother's help and went to the police, but Morris escaped again, with Ben. I haven't seen my son for three years. I don't want to lose Ally, too."

"Your son is still missing?" Clark said.

"Yes." Tanya's mouth tightened. "I've hired a detective to try to find him, but --" She gestured around at their living quarters. "As you can see, it hasn't been easy. I can't give up, but private detectives cost a great deal."

"I know." Clark bit his lip. "Mrs. Myers, you can believe that when Allynda is with us we'll make sure that she's safe."

"Thank you," Tanya said. "I don't normally pour out my heart to strangers, but I wanted you to know why --"

"I do understand," Clark said. He glanced at Allynda. "Your brother helped you escape?"

Allynda nodded. "Dad always locked us in when he had to leave. We managed to break out, but he came back just as we got out of the room. We rushed him, and knocked him down. He chased us, of course, but couldn't catch us both. Ben tripped him and yelled at me to run. He caught Ben, but I was able to get away. By the time I brought the police back, they were gone." She glanced at her mother and then at Clark. "I wanted to ask you if there was any way *you* could help us find Ben."

"Ally," Tanya said. "Mr. Kent is a reporter, not a detective."

Clark smiled. "I may be just a reporter, but I do have a wide range of contacts around the country. I can put out some inquiries. It can't hurt to try. Do you have pictures of your son and ex-husband?"

Tanya Myers opened her mouth, as if to speak and suddenly nodded. "Yes. If someone finds out anything, he won't alert Morris, will he?"

"Of course not," Clark said quietly. "If I could borrow the pictures, just long enough to make copies, I'll return them tomorrow."

"I'll get them." Tanya got quickly to her feet and hurried toward her bedroom.

Allynda was staring at her lap. She glanced cautiously up at Clark and then looked down again. She said nothing.

Tanya returned, clutching several photographs in one hand. "The pictures of Ben are over three years old."

"I can have a friend of mine do some age-progression with his computer, to see what Ben would look like now," Clark said. He glanced at his watch. "I have to go or I'll be late for dinner. Would it be all right if I drop by tomorrow evening to return these?"

Tanya nodded. "I don't expect much to come of it," she said, "but thanks for trying to help."

"You never know," Clark said. "Less likely things have worked out. We'll do our best and see what happens."

Allynda accompanied him to the Cherokee. "Mr. Kent --"

"Yes, Allynda?"

She grimaced. "Call me Ally. Mom only calls me Allynda when I'm in trouble."

"All right."

"Anyway, thanks for trying to help. It's pretty important."

Clark looked closely at her. Allynda was staring at the ground again.

"What is it, Ally?" Clark asked finally.

She bit her lip. "I can't say anything about it out here," she said. "Can I talk to you tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"All right. Thanks." She turned and nearly ran back into the apartment complex.

**********

Dinner was ready when Clark returned to the townhouse. Lois was setting the glasses by each plate and glanced around as he shut the door. "How did it go?"

""It was -- different," Clark said. "I'll tell you about it after dinner, when a few little pitchers with long ears are asleep."

"I thought we'd be busy doing something else by that time."

"Oh, we will. You're not getting out of that," he said with a grin. "But I thought that maybe you'd like to take a short spin with me first. Somewhere that we can talk without being overheard. It looks to me like Lane and Kent are going to need to do some investigating."

"Sounds interesting." She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. "All right, everybody. Dinner!"

**********

"Hey, Jim," Clark said.

His colleague, James Olsen, Kerth-winning photo-journalist, computer expert and investigative reporter, turned at the call. "Yeah?"

"You're the best computer guru I know. I wonder if you can help me."

"Maybe," Jim said. "What's up?"

"Let's go into the conference room," Clark said.

Obediently, Jim Olsen pushed open the door to Conference Room One. Clark preceded him through and when he closed the door, Clark locked it. "Linda found another of the New Kryptonian kids," he said.

"That's great," Jimmy said. "But what does that have to do with me?"

Clark produced the photos that Tanya Myers had given him the evening before. "There's a story behind these. This kid is Benjamin Myers. The pictures were taken a little over three years ago. His twin sister is a new friend of Marta's, and Linda says she's one of the special kids. I checked, and she is. Anyway --"

Clark summarized the story that Allynda's mother had told him the night before. Jim listened closely, while examining the photographs. "So you want me to do an age progression on these pictures of Ben Myers?"

"Can you?"

"Sure. Nothing to it. As for the rest, I can contact my dad. He's a department head at the NSA these days. I'll see what he can tell us, and I can ask some of my friends around the country to do some searches for anything about this Morris Myers character. Maybe he's gotten a traffic ticket, or committed some minor infraction or other over the years. It's a long shot, but we can see what turns up."

"Thanks," Clark said. "I knew I could count on you, and, of course, I'll work at it from my end."

"What can you do?" Jim asked.

"Well, it's more what Superman can do," Clark said. "This kid is telepathic, whether he knows it or not, and so is his sister. Maybe we can attack it from that direction. There's still the mystery kid that Linda Lennox detected, three years ago, that we never found. And the one that accidentally overheard me talking to Wyatt, about the same time. Benjamin has got to be noticing things about himself by now. I certainly was by the time I was thirteen."

"Yeah," Jim said. "Okay, I'll scan these photos into my computer and give you back the originals. I should have some enhanced copies for you in a couple of hours."

"Thanks." Clark slapped him very lightly on the back. "It's nice to have friends in high places."

Jimmy snorted.

**********

It was barely an hour later that Jimmy dropped an envelope on his desk. "All done. I had a little more time than I thought, so I used it to do what you asked. Here you go."

"Thanks." Clark picked up the envelope. "I owe you."

"Yeah, sure. Just be sure that we get to your mom's for dinner on Thanksgiving, as usual. Sandi's mom is giving her a hard time again."

"Mom would kill me if I didn't make sure you came," Clark pointed out.

Jimmy grinned. "It isn't exactly a chore, you know. Now that Perry is nearly four and Alicia is walking, it's a great place for kids to learn a little more about life than living in the city is likely to teach them. Sandy says your parents' place reminds her of her grandparents' farm when she was growing up."

"Good, because Mom and Dad like having them there," Clark said. He opened the envelope and took out the photos.

The picture of Morris Myers showed a man in his late thirties or early forties, whom Clark was sure he had never seen before, but the picture of Benjamin Myers caught his attention at once. There was, again, familiarity in the features of the boy in the photo. He studied the picture of the child thus displayed. The similarity to someone he had once known was much more marked, and a memory from his past raised a picture in his mind.

He set the paper down on the desk. "Jimmy, who does Ben Myers remind you of?"

Jimmy also studied the picture. "I was thinking about that when the computer showed me how he looks now. Take away the darker skin and hair, give him squinty little blue eyes instead of big brown ones, and he looks a lot like --" He paused and dropped his voice. "Nor."

"Yeah," Clark said. "That's what I think. Better looking, though. And a much pleasanter expression."

"That's for sure," Jimmy said.

"And judging from what his sister said about him, he's a much better person," Clark added.

"Yeah," Jim agreed.

"Well, he let his dad catch him to let her get away," Clark said. "That says a lot about him. But we still need to find him."

"I've already talked to my dad and sent him the pictures," Jimmy said. "He said he'd get back to me if he finds out anything. I didn't let on that there was anything other than a kidnapped kid, though."

"Thanks. The last thing we need is for the government to find out that Cash's story about the half-Kryptonian kids was real, even if they aren't part of any plan to conquer the Earth."

"Yeah," Jim agreed. "Cash is a loon. Why would the New Kryptonians need to infiltrate Earth, when they were powerful enough to take over all by themselves. It isn't as if there's a lot we could do to stop them. There's not that much Kryptonite around."

"True," Clark said. "But try telling that to a fanatic. They know what they know, and nothing you can say is going to change their minds." He slipped the photos back into their envelope. "Thanks for the help."

"You know," Jim said, "with the speed that you learn things, I could teach you to do this stuff in no time."

"Maybe," Clark said, "but I don't think I'd ever pick up your instinct with a computer. That's something that can't be taught."

"I wouldn't say that," Jim said. "But I know. You've got your hands full as it is."

"Pretty much," Clark said. "You could always take some time and teach CJ, you know. He's already good with a computer."

"Where do you think he learned it?" Jim asked, raising an eyebrow at Clark. "And, considering who he is, don't tell me *you* can't learn it." That was said in a lowered voice. "That kid is going to succeed at anything he wants to do, and you could, too. I guess," he added, "that's why you're such a good investigative journalist. Anyway, if you need anything else, just ask." He glanced at his watch. "Oops. Gotta go. I'm almost late for an interview."

He grabbed up his camera case and made a beeline for the elevator. The doors opened as he was mounting the steps and Lois emerged. "Going somewhere?"

"Interview. Excuse me." Jim dodged past her into the car and punched the button. The doors closed.

"He was sure in a hurry," she remarked to Clark, when she reached her desk.

"I almost made him late," Clark said. "He did that stuff with the photos I asked. Take a look." He handed her the envelope.

Lois sat down at her desk and spread out the photos on its surface. "I guess this is Allynda's dad?"

"I'd say her stepdad. Take a look at the age-adjusted pictures of Ben."

Lois picked up the first one. Her eyes narrowed as she studied it. "Does he look like who I think he looks like?"

"Yeah."

"Nor was Allynda and Ben's father."

"I suspect so. Of course, it could just be a coincidence."

"Not likely."

"We have to find this kid," Lois said. "The last thing we need is Nor's son growing up with a twisted attitude or something."

"Well, Ally told me last night how Ben helped her to get away. He sounds like a good kid."

"Yeah, for now. But living too long the way he's living might not be very good for him. You need to talk to Allynda again -- teach her to use her telepathy. They're twins. Maybe she'll be able to help us, if she's got any kind of connection with her brother at all."

"That's a big maybe, but it's worth a shot," Clark agreed. "I'll talk to Perry about maybe getting these pictures out to some of our affiliates, and maybe we can see about getting them on milk cartons or something. Any kind of publicity to make things more difficult for Morris Myers to hide. First I should check with Tanya, though. Just to get her okay."

"And maybe Superman should pay her a visit," Lois said.

"Yeah, I'd say that's a given," Clark said.

**********
tbc