DISCLAIMER: I claim none of the characters. They are all DC's; a good majority of the characters are from the Superman comics, but there are a few of them from the Supergirl comic series. In short, they're not mine; I'm just borrowing them. I'll return them, I promise!
- - - -
Lois stirred and smiled as Clark leaned over and planted a tender kiss on her cheek, but she didn’t open her eyes. She and Clark had spent most of the day running - or flying, in some cases - around Australia, interview and legitimizing people who had dealt with Lex Luthor II before the young man left for Metropolis. Every single person checked out; no signs of anyone being paid off or anything, no matter how deep the reporters dug. They returned to their hotel room exhausted, ordered room service, ate, showered, and spent the past few hours catching up on some quality together time. Feeling refreshed, they started drifting off into a restful slumber. Of course, Clark didn’t need as much rest as Lois did, and he was getting a little bored doing nothing.
“Hi,” he said softly, planting kisses down her neck.
“Mmm,” Lois replied, smiling under his reassuring touch.
“I’m bored,” Clark said.
“I see,” Lois smiled. She was used to her husband’s quick reenergizing, and it never really bothered her. He’d always find something to do in his boredom that would lull her to sleep, something she found especially sweet. She heard her computer beeping, signaling an incoming email.
“I’ll take care of it,” Clark whispered. He carefully got out of bed and shrugged into his bathrobe as he shuffled over to the laptop on the desk across the room. He leaned over and typed a few commands.
“What is it?” Lois mumbled.
“It’s from Jimmy,” Clark replied, pulling out the chair and sitting down. “He got the information we were looking for.”
Lois turned over and opened her eyes, yawning. “You want any help?” she asked.
“No, I’ll take care of it,” Clark replied. “You get some rest.”
“You sure?”
Clark smiled at her. “If I run into any problems, I’ll wake you up.”
“You better,” Lois grinned as she settled under he covers and closed her eyes. Clark watched his wife as she drifted off to sleep, then he started working on the laptop as quietly as possible.
- - - -
“Should we say something?” Linda whispered. She and Jimmy were standing just inside Emil Hamilton’s lab, watching as the professor hovered over some chemicals on one of his tables, trying unsuccessfully to start the gas burner underneath a beaker filled with a red cabbage leaves in water.
“Uh, I’d wait,” Jimmy whispered back. “I have no idea what he’s doing, and I don’t want to startle him or anything.”
Hamilton adjusted his glasses as he continued trying to light the burner. The young couple watched for a few moments, then Linda could smell the faint odor of gas drifting from the burner. Before enough gas could accumulate in the air to pose a threat the young woman lowered her glasses slightly and focused on the burner. Two steady heat beams shot from her eyes over to the burner. A second later, a flame ignited. Startled, Hamilton jumped back, but he managed to keep from getting burned or upsetting anything.
“That was cool,” Jimmy whispered, grinning.
“Thanks,” Linda replied as she pushed her glasses back up on her nose.
Hamilton watched the beaker for a few seconds, then noticed the young visitors for the first time. He stood as tall as his stature would allow, straightening his coat and bowtie. “Well, that was a fine entrance. Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to sneak up on a man when he’s working?”
Linda met his eyes, matching his volume and tone. "Of course they did, but then most of the men I know can start a little bitty fire all by themselves. What’s wrong - did you miss your Boy Spout meeting that day?”
Jimmy tried to contain his snort as he leaned toward her slightly, muttering through his teeth, “Scout. It's Boy Scout.”
Hamilton almost bristled, but he took a deep breath and sighed, his expression softening. “I’m sorry. I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately; grants and all.” He walked over and held out his hand. “I’m Professor Emil Hamilton. Uh, but you already know that, or you wouldn’t be here, would you?”
Jimmy and Linda glanced at each other before Jimmy shook the offered hand. “I’m Jimmy Olsen,” he said. He nodded to Linda. “And this is, uh . . . my partner, Linda Lee. We’re from the Daily Planet, Professor.”
“I don’t recall making any appointments with the press,” Hamilton replied. “And even if I did, it would be with Lois Lane and Clark Kent.” He smiled apologetically. “No offense, but I’m more comfortable with them.”
“Well, they’re out of the country,” Jimmy replied, “and they asked us to look into something for them, and we really need to talk to you.”
“I’m sorry,” Hamiltorn replied, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “I’m really rather busy at the moment.”
“Would it help if we brought you some phenolphthalein?” Linda asked. Hamilton stopped and stared at her while Jimmy gave her an odd look.
“What makes you say that?” Hamilton asked her.
“Well, you’re in a chemistry laboratory,” Linda answered. “And you are boiling cabbage leaves; they contain flavin, which is used as an indicator for testing acids and bases. Now, normally, chemists use phenolphthalein, so I’m guessing you ran out and that’s why you’re boiling cabbage leaves, correct?”
A slow smile spread across Hamilton’s face. “Uh, that’s correct, Miss Lee,” he said slowly, impressed. “Uh, what is it you need to talk to me about?” He walked back to the setup on his table, but his body language clearly indicated he would also pay attention to them.
Jimmy gave her a smile that clearly said ‘That’s my girl.’ He turned to face Hamilton. “It has to deal with your cloning experiments from a couple years ago,” he replied.
Hamilton’s face darkened slightly. “That’s something I’d rather not discuss; it should have never happened in the first place. It caused a lot of problems for a lot of people.” He glanced over at them, his curiosity getting the better of him. “Why?”
“Because a couple nights ago,” Linda replied, “Supergirl fought with a costumed person who called himself the Guardian as she tried to protect five boys.”
“And what does that have to do with me?” Hamilton asked.
“Four of the five boys from that night looked exactly like four boys from the 1940s called the Newsboy Legion,” Linda answered. “We think that they’re clones. The Guardian character might be a clone too, since he associated with them in the 1940s as well.”
Hamilton asked, “And you think I might be responsible?”
“Are you?” Jimmy asked.
“No, I’m not, Mr. Olsen,” Hamilton replied. “I burned down my lab and destroyed all my notes after Capone and the others were arrested.”
“Did you have a partner?” Linda asked. “Anyone you worked with or shared your notes with?”
“No,” Hamilton answered. “My work was very sensitive; I shared nothing.” Linda and Jimmy looked at each other, thinking the same thing: another dead end. Hamilton saw their looks. “Uh, I think I still might be able to help you.”
“How?” Jimmy asked.
Hamilton looked hesitant. “Well, in the 80s, there were rumors about a geneticist working on a project similar to my cloning techniques, but involving something far more advanced.”
“Who was it?” Linda asked.
“Dabney Donovan,” Hamilton replied. “He had a theory that the DNA of any organism could be manipulated to produce new, genetically engineered species.”
“Did he do anything to prove his theories?”
Hamilton shook his head. “Donovan never produced any evidence to support his theories, so no one ever took him serious enough. Well, that and the fact that he was borderline psychotic.”
“What happened to him?” Jimmy asked.
Hamilton shrugged. “No one really knows; he disappeared in the mid eighties.”
Linda and Jimmy shared another look.
“What do you know about a Dr. Tommy Tompkins?” Jimmy asked. “He was into genetic researching as well.”
“Well, he and Donovan worked together,” Hamilton replied. “But Tompkins was more interested in decoding the human DNA strand to see what the structure of it was, to see if there was a way to decipher which traits were controlled by which combination of the four different nucleotides.”
“You sound like you can’t wait for it to happen, Professor” Linda said wryly.
“Well, you sound like you don’t want to see it happen,” Hamilton replied.
“Maybe it’s because I don’t see any good in it,” Linda retorted. “For one thing, it can backfire.” Jimmy put his hand on her shoulder, hoping to calm her down, but she was already angered past the point of no return, and the only thing to do was to let her frustration out. “You created criminals that terrorized my friends and ended up shooting my cousin; you’re lucky Superman was able to fix it all.”
“Don’t forget the time when Lex Luthor created clones of the President of the United States and Lois Lane,” Jimmy added.
“What?” Linda asked, jerking her head at her boyfriend. “When did *that* happen?”
“I’ll tell you later,” Jimmy replied.
Linda momentarily lost what she had planned to say by Jimmy’s revelation, but she quickly gathered her thoughts again and faced Hamilton, continuing her lambasting. “And, if *that’s* not enough proof, then there’s the possibility that genetic research is being used to create more characters from the 1940s, namely a crime fighter who might be genetically altered to be able to beat up Supergirl, because there’s no way he’d be able to unless he *had* superpowers, *plus* those five boys who were in the park as well - four of which Jimmy and I have a good feeling are clones, and possibly the fifth one as well, but of who, we don’t know yet. So, yeah, I’m not exactly thrilled with the thoughts of messing around with genetics, okay? Humans are screwed up enough as it is without anyone messing with their DNA.”
Jimmy and Hamilton just stared at the young woman for several moments, startled by her outburst, Jimmy more so than Hamilton.
“Um, did you say your cousin was shot by Al Capone and his men?” Hamilton asked after a few moments of silence.
“Yeah, why?” Linda asked.
“Well, the only person who was shot by them was Clark Kent,” Hamilton replied. “That would mean that he’s your cousin, right?”
“Yeah, he is.”
Hamilton looked almost guilty. “Oh, Miss Lee, you have to understand that the project wasn’t supposed to end that way; I was intending to eliminate bad behavior. It was naïve and idealistic, I know; I see that now. I had no idea it was going to cause so much grief.”
Linda’s expression softened. She sighed. “I know that, Professor, and I’m not mad at you. I just . . . any form of genetic manipulation, cloning especially, is a very sore subject for me. I didn’t mean to take my frustration out on you.” She held out her hand. “I’m sorry for being so vocal about my opinions; I’ve been so used to keeping my opinions to myself for so long that sometimes things just pop out.”
Hamilton smiled and took her hand, shaking it. “It’s perfectly understandable. You should always be allowed to express your opinions. This is, after all, the land of the free.”
“Well, thanks for your help, Professor,” Jimmy said suddenly. “We need to get going.” He smiled apologetically to Hamilton as he gently squeezed Linda’s shoulders, steering her towards the door. “Have fun with your cabbage juice.” He pushed Linda out of the laboratory, closing the door behind him.
“What was that about?” Linda asked as they walked down the hall.
“I don’t like him,” Jimmy replied.
“Why? I thought he seemed nice and very helpful.”
“I know; I was just talking about what he said to you about voicing your opinions.”
“What’s wrong with him saying that?”
Jimmy grinned. “He doesn’t have to work with you all day.”
Linda stopped and looked at Jimmy, hands on her hips. “And just what is that supposed to mean?”
Jimmy shrugged, smiling. “Nothing.”
Linda got in front of him, poking a finger in his chest. “Don’t ‘nothing’ me. Now talk.”
“No,” Jimmy replied.
“Jimmy, come on,” Linda almost pleaded. “Tell me. Please?”
Jimmy had to bite his bottom lip to keep from laughing. He was having too much fun with her. “You do have the right to express your opinions, Linda. Well, I have the right to keep my mouth shut.”
Linda opened her mouth, shocked by what Jimmy had said to her, and she was about ready to let loose with a snide comment, but Jimmy quickly silenced her by leaning over and pressing his lips to hers. Linda squeaked in surprise, but she quickly relaxed as she wrapped her arms around Jimmy’s neck, letting herself get lost in the kiss. By the time he pulled away, a few seconds later, she had completely lost her train of thought.
“Ready to go back to work?” Jimmy asked softly.
“Sure,” Linda replied dreamily. “But we have no leads.”
Jimmy chuckled. He felt good in a way, knowing that he could have that effect on the most powerful woman in the world. He took her hand, and the young couple walked down the hall, Linda resting her head on his shoulder. As they walked Jimmy gently let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist, resting his head on hers.
(Chapter 14)
