Everything was pain. Agony flooded her body, along with despair. Freedom had been a dream fueled by desperation. She was back in captivity. She had never left.
Periodically she would awaken and see Zara, seated at her side - but she was too weak and frightened to speak. Better to languish, dying, in whatever bed she lay than risk being summoned back to Lord Kal's presence.
And so she slept, praying never to awaken again.
“She's been asleep for two days,” Lex proclaimed boldly. “It's time for action. I am taking lead. These are, after all, my bunkers which protect and sustain us. Kal-El, are you ready to move forward?"
“I am ready to act, Lex. I am not comfortable doing so without informing Lois of our plans.”
“And if I demand otherwise? You said you would support the resistance. Has your intent changed?”
“My intent has not changed,” Kal-El responded calmly, keeping his tone even and his manner steady. He could tell that the others in the room were very nervous in his presence. All except for the four doppelgängers. “Lois Lane is the leader. I promised to abide her wishes.”
“Because you feel guilty,” Lex spat. “Believe me, she isn't the only victim of this godforsaken invasion. She's not even the only rape victim around here. There are many women in our ranks who were violated by your clone. The woman directly to your right, to start with -”
Lois's gasp cut him off. Her pallor was noticeable in the wake of his brutal words.
“How dare you harass Lois just to win a point against Kal-El,” Lane exploded angrily. “She's suffered enough.”
“It is not my intent to harass anyone,” Lex retorted angrily, even as Lois attempted to calm Lane down by placing a hand on her arm and speaking to her in a low voice. Kent and Clark were visibly agitated, but they remained silent, not wanting to make things worse.
“All I'm doing is reminding everyone our true purpose. Our goal is, and always will be, to free Earth from it's brutal overlords. Right at this moment, people are being tortured and killed. Delay means more people suffer, and more people die. Our only hope of success is if Kal-El can convince his people to stand down. And that is what we need to be discussing. Lois is sick. I'm sorry for that. I hope she gets better. But she is not the lynchpin.”
“How interesting that you are singing the praises of a plan you were so opposed to earlier,” Lane rejoined sarcastically.
“I had every reason to oppose this plan. Kal-El is my enemy's progenitor. He could have turned out to be exactly like his clone. But I'm not stupid. We are facing an enemy that can kill us casually with no weapons and no effort. We will not survive a fight – instead we have to hope that Kal-El can end this peacefully. I am trying to work with you all and not be the blockade and I have to call things as I see them. Kal-El is afraid of upsetting the Lois from my world. He's letting his guilt get in the way of forward progress and that isn't proper leadership. Kal-El, I'm sorry for your situation – I'm sorry you are having to deal with your people's actions – but this isn't about you, and it isn't about her. It's about us and securing our freedom.”
Lex's gaze was unwavering as he now regarded Kal-El with deceptive calm. Lane had nothing further to say, realizing that Lex was correct and her own reactions to him were tainted by her experiences with his doppelgänger. The tension amongst those gathered was high as they regarded Kal-El uneasily... all but the other doppelgängers.
“I will cooperate with you fully,” Kal-El said, his voice also steady and calm. “I apologize for allowing my own feelings of guilt to get in my way. I support the resistance. Freeing Earth is what matters.”
LL awoke to pain. She was hot, achy and thirsty. Her eyelids felt glued closed. And she wasn't alone. Terror raced her heart. She swallowed and bit back the urge to cry at the intense pain in her throat. Her bedside companion was Zara. Lord Kal-El's wife. Why was she here? Why was she acting as jailer today? Zara had never even glanced at her. She held no interest in the invasion, always seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. Why was she suddenly participating, and what did this mean for LL's well-being?
LL's rapid heart-rate alerted Zara to her wakeful state.
“I was beginning to think you would sleep another day,” Zara spoke kindly after standing and approaching the bed. She smiled, a rare thing for her, but LL was like a sister - a sister through shared suffering and sacrifice. For her, she would smile.
Her smile quickly faded at the terror in LL's eyes.
“What troubles you, Lois,” she asked gently, after looking around to ensure that nobody who might harm LL was nearby.
“Please,” LL croaked. “No more.”
“No more what?”
“No more,” LL began to cry.
Zara grasped her friend's hand urgently trying to comfort her, but LL pulled it away, frantic. Clearly terrified. Realizing something was very wrong, she let her go.
“Do you know who I am?”
LL nodded.
“Do you know where we are?”
LL nodded rigidly.
“Where are we?”
LL shut her eyes and shook her head, trying to deny the truth.
“Do you know who you are?”
LL opened her despairing gaze.
“I am his slave,” she said softly, knowing that her masters often taunted her with the truth of what she was. “I am nothing.”
“No, you are Lois,” Zara told her urgently. “And you are in the resistance headquarters. You are no longer a slave.”
“I know where I am. I know what I am,” she boldly defied her captor hoping at least that the woman wouldn't suddenly display the taste for cruelty so many of her people had.
“I need … to talk to some people. To help you to see,” Zara told her gently. “You are … safe. As safe as you can be, I suppose with the invasion still ongoing... however you need to know this.”
Zara left moving so quickly LL couldn't even see. She struggled to her feet, nearly passing out.
She staggered to the door, swaying on her feet.
She made her way through confusing hallways. This was not a Kryptonian ship. She had no idea where she was, but it did seem she was in an earth building. Desperate to escape, she came upon an elevator. Hating the idea of being trapped, but knowing she was too weak to climb stairs, she entered and jammed the button desperately trying to get the doors to close.
They were closing, and Zara suddenly blurred into existence into he elevator car. LL fell down in shock and looked up at Zara, awaiting reprisal.
“You can't go to the top, Lois! He thinks your dead. If you show your face outside, he will learn the truth and hunt you down.”
“No,” she began to cry, leaning against the wall, unable to believe her bid for freedom had ended.
“Please, Lois, I am your friend. You are no longer his prisoner. You are here in a resistance installation underground. We are close to mounting a political assault on the regime. Do you not remember that we discovered Lord Kal is actually a clone? We revived the real one – the one I knew as a friend and he is helping us in our goal to free Earth.”
“Why are you doing this,” LL raged at her, unable to take the mental torture. “Just kill me. End it.”
Zara walked into the car and sat down, hoping to appear less frightening. She left a clear path between Lois and the open door.
LL watched her warily, tensed to spring into action.
“You are no longer a prisoner,” Zara said quietly. “You are currently in an underground bunker owned by Lex Luthor. It is one of the many bunkers which house the resistance. You are the leader of the resistance.”
“I don't believe you,” LL shook her head. “That makes no sense. How could I have escaped? This is a trick.”
“Ching and I helped you escape.”
She shook her head.
“I don't believe you.”
“You are welcome to share my thoughts,” Zara replied gently.
“I can feel his presence,” LL said angrily. “I can feel him nearby.”
“You are sensing the real Kal-El. The one who harmed you is a clone. I did not know of this either until recently. We rescued him, and he is with us now. He has pledged to help free this world, or die trying.”
LL regarded Zara with a look of incredulous disgust. How could Zara think her so stupid?”
“Then why not have this mystery doppelganger come convince me,” she said laughing mirthlessly. It was a hard and bitter sound. She knew her chances of escape had passed her by and they were simply toying with her at this point. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
“If that is your wish, I am happy to oblige,” Zara sad.
Last edited by L; 07/03/14 10:15 AM.
