Lois watched as the nurse set up the IV drip and injected medication into it. The pain meds the ER doctor had given her earlier had only taken the edge off. Her mind still wouldn’t settle down enough for her to sleep. She imagined she could still feel the shattered ends of bones rubbing against one another inside her immobilized hand.
Lucy would be here soon, she hoped.
The nurse tucked the covers in around her and dimmed the lights. Lois was thirsty but she knew that if she was scheduled for surgery in the morning no one was going to give her anything to drink – besides, what she wanted was something a lot stronger than water or soda.
Her thoughts went back to Clark. It was like a broken tooth her tongue couldn’t stay away from.
The EMT’s took Clark away. He wasn’t dead but he hadn’t regained consciousness either.
The crime scene unit was going over her apartment with a fine tooth comb to determine what ‘really’ happened. She knew they didn’t believe her story about Superman attacking Clark Kent but they couldn’t figure out how she, or any other mere human, could have done so much damage to her apartment – at least not without getting hurt themselves.
“Lois, want to tell me what happened?” MPD Inspector Henderson asked. He was a late arrival but she was sure he had been briefed on the situation. She had seen him in deep conversation with Lundy, the detective in charge.
“I’ve told Detective Lundy everything that happened.”
“Humor me.”
“You know what happened at the Merchant’s Bank,” she began.
He nodded and she went on. “Well, I tried to talk to Superman and it was like he didn’t know me. But later in the afternoon, a messenger gave me letter supposedly from Superman saying he’d be here about nine.”
Unlike Lundy, Henderson didn’t interrupt.
She described Superman’s arrival, his childish behavior, and Clark coming to her rescue.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Henderson asked. “Did Superman hurt you?”
Lois shook her head. “Not exactly. He kissed me.”
Henderson’s eyebrows threatened to climb into his hairline. “Superman kissed you?”
Lois was on the defensive again. “Listen Henderson, I've kissed Superman before. I know what it feels like. I don't know who hurt Clark and flew out that window, but I'll tell you one thing: that was definitely not Superman.”
Henderson nodded solemnly.
“You don’t believe me,” she said.
He sighed. “I do believe you. But what I’m going to ask you to do now goes against every professional and personal instinct you have. I want you to forget what you just told me about there being a second Superman.”
“I’m a reporter,” Lois reminded him. “It’s my job to let the public know about this.”
“And what do you think the public’s reaction will be to finding out there’s a rogue super-being out there who has no compunction about hurting innocent people?” Henderson asked, keeping his voice low.
“The public has a right to know what’s going on,” Lois responded.
“I’m not asking you to cover it up forever,” Henderson said. “I’m asking you to be discrete until we get a handle on this situation. If you won’t do it for me, do it for Clark?”
“Clark would agree with me,” Lois stated. It hit her… “Oh my god, Clark challenged Superman. He must have been out of his mind.”
Henderson didn’t say anything.
Then it clicked – almost audibly. Clark had challenged Superman. Clark had been surprised when he got hurt. Clark had fought Superman and lived…
She sat down hard on one of the chairs at the dining table. It all fit. All the weird excuses and disappearances... All the inside knowledge on Superman... All the little things that Superman knew about her and the Daily Planet…‘My mom made it…’
“Omigod,” Lois murmured. It all fit. And the rat hadn’t told her.
“Lois, did you hear what I said?” Henderson asked.
Lois looked up at him. “I’m sorry…”
“The report we’re going to release is that you and Clark were having a late dinner. He answered the door for you and was clubbed down by a man wearing a Superman costume,” Henderson said patiently. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make a liar out of me.”
“I’m still going to look into who it really was that attacked Clark,” Lois told him.
“I can’t stop you as much as I’d like to,” Henderson said. “Just keep me apprised of what you find, okay? And don’t go after him yourself. That’s what the police are for.”
“And do you honestly think you could handle a rogue Superman?”
“Do you think you can?”
-o-o-o-
Lois spent a fitful night at the Lexor Hotel. Between the fight and the police, her apartment was in shambles. It was going to take days, if not weeks, to get all the damage taken care of. She wasn’t sure what her insurance company was going to say – was having your partner attacked and almost killed an act of terrorism or an accident covered under her renter’s policy.
And Clark… It was obvious now that she looked at the facts. It really had been Clark who had saved the utility worker from the explosion on Clark’s first day at the Planet. It was Clark who had saved her and Jimmy when EPRAD’s warehouse exploded. It was Clark who had lifted an entire spaceship into orbit wearing a silly costume his mother made for him.
Lois couldn’t begin to count how many times in the past few months that she’d been saved from certain death by what seemed like remarkable coincidences when it had been Clark all along. Had Trask known that Clark was Superman back in Smallville? He certainly hadn’t known when he barged into the Daily Planet newsroom demanding information they didn’t have, but maybe toward the end when Trask was beating Clark and then pulled a gun on him. Maybe Trask had known then – before Rachel Harris put a bullet in him...
Wait… Trask had actually beaten Clark bloody that day. And Clark had gotten a paper cut just the day before. That didn’t make sense unless Trask was right about there being a substance capable of neutralizing Superman. Unless kryptonite was real...
Morning came too soon. Lois felt like she hadn’t slept a wink.
She called Metropolis General Hospital to check on Clark’s condition but claimed they didn’t have a patient by that name. She was certain that was where Clark would have been taken – Met Gen housed the regional trauma center and was where injured police officers and fire-fighters were taken.
She didn’t have time to call the other hospitals in case he was taken elsewhere. Did his superpowers include super healing? Lois didn’t know. Maybe he was already out of the hospital, resting at home.
She called Clark’s apartment. His answering machine picked up. No joy there.
Clark, please be okay…
Lois barely made into the newsroom on time. She looked like hell and she knew it but there was no helping it. Perry was sitting at Clark’s desk. He was pale, staring out into the distance.
“Perry?”
Her words seemed to bring him back into the here and now. “Hon’, are you okay?”
Lois shrugged. “Considering everything that happened last night, yeah. I don’t know where they took Clark though. I thought I’d check on that, see how…”
Perry’s eyes widen and he took on a stricken look. “You don’t know?”
“Know what?” she asked, afraid of the answer.
“Clark didn’t make it,” Perry said.
Lois sat down at her own desk as he continued. “I tried to call his parents this morning but there was no answer. I’m guessing that someone contacted them last night and they’re already on their way to…” His voice faltered and he looked like he might be ready to cry. “That’s the call no parent ever wants to get.”
“It’s not fair, you know,” Jimmy said. He had a banker’s box in his hands. Obviously Jimmy had been tapped to clear out Clark’s desk. “It’s not right for somebody to check out before he’s thirty,” he added.
“He was one of the best journalists I’ve ever had the privilege to work with,” Perry said. He smiled sadly. “I remember the first time he walked in here looking for a job, full of that confidence you get when you don't know any better. I remember thinking... this kid is me. And now...” He blinked the tears away and looked over at Lois, his expression hardening. “So, what have we got on the monster that did this?”
“He was wearing a Superman costume,” Lois said. “He was fast and very strong and he looked exactly like Superman.”
“Are you saying Superman did it?” Perry asked.
Lois shook her head. “Whoever, whatever he was, he wasn’t Superman.”
“If it wasn’t Superman, then where was Superman?” Jimmy asked.
“I don’t know, Jimmy,” Lois lied.
-o-o-o-
“A clone?” Lois repeated Jimmy’s suggestion in disbelief. Perry assigned him to help her on research. Jimmy was great with computers but sometimes he let his imagination get away from him.
He didn’t seem fazed by her disbelief. “There's no technology in the world that could produce a robot like that. I mean, your dad’s research came close, but there was still a human underneath the prosthetics, right?”
“Right,” Lois agreed.
“All the known Superman impersonators have alibis, plus you’d know the difference and we know Superman doesn't have a twin,” Jimmy went on.
“Also right,” Lois said.
“So there's only one possibility,” Jimmy stated triumphantly. “Someone has cloned Superman. Made an exact genetic copy.
Lois stared at him. “How? They can't do that yet. We're not that advanced.”
“We may be more advanced than you think,” Jimmy said. He opened one of the magazines that he’d piled on Clark’s desk and handed it to Lois.
She skimmed the article then picked up her phone and dialed. “Yes. I'd like the number for a Doctor Fabian Leek.”
“Lois!” a familiar voice called out as Lois noted down the number and hung up her phone. Lex Luthor.
He walked up to her and took her hands into his own. “I came as soon as I heard about what happened to you last night. It must have been horrible for you…”
“It was worse for Clark,” she said. Before, she’d been flattered by Luthor’s attention but now there seemed to be a ‘wrongness’ to it, as though he had no idea as to what her feelings might be and was simply mouthing platitudes.
A flicker of confusion crossed his face at her comment, then his expression smoothed back into its normal urbane suaveness. “Yes, quite so. But still, if there’s anything I can do. Anything at all.”
“Can you bring Clark back?” she asked.
“I’m powerful,” Lex said. “But not that powerful. I meant, if there was anything you needed, a shoulder to cry on…”
“You can tell me why I received a letter yesterday, supposedly from Superman, written on your personal stationery?” Lois asked.
He actually seemed surprised. “On my… May I see the letter?”
“The police have it,” Lois told him. “They’re hoping they may be able to get some clues from it. Like who actually wrote it.”
Lex looked troubled. “You don’t believe Superman wrote it?”
“Do you honestly believe that Superman would write me a letter on your stationery?”
Lex had no answer, but the troubled look didn’t leave his face.
‘He knows something,’ Lois realized. “But if Superman didn’t write it, do you have any idea who might have done it?” she asked.
“My dear Lois, there are dozens of people who could have had access to my office stationery. But I’ll check with my staff in the event one of them had the bad taste to send you a letter purporting to be from our local… super-hero.”
“Thanks, Lex.”
He began to reach for her hand again but thought better of it. “I’ll call you. Perhaps we can have dinner.”
“Perhaps,” Lois said. She watched as he walked away, making sure the elevator doors had closed behind him before turning back to Jimmy. “Get me everything you can on Fabian Leek. I want to be prepared when we go to see him at the University.”
-o-o-o-
The interview with Leek hadn’t brought forth any new information. The man had lived down to his reputation as a skirt-chasing sleazeball. He had spent his time ogling her and doing his best to peer down her blouse. Answering her questions on his research was, at best, a tertiary consideration.
“That guy is a piece of work. A lying sleazy piece of work,” Lois fumed as she and Jimmy headed back to her jeep.
“Yeah,” Jimmy agreed. “He completely reversed himself on all of his recent published work. Only last year he announced he had successfully cloned a cat and the only things standing in the way of human cloning were legal issues, not technical ones.”
“Still... in order to even begin to make a clone, they would have to have used cells from Superman's body,” Lois said. “The man's invulnerable so... How?”
“I don't know, Lois,” Jimmy said. “But somebody figured it out.”
A few hours later, Jimmy hurried over to Lois’s desk. “I found it!” he announced. “Actually, I found two. Superman donated a lock of hair for a charity auction a couple months ago.”
“Yeah… Who bought it?”
“A Mrs. Doyle Alexander,” Jimmy told her. “I called her and she said that there was a break-in at her house the day after the auction. The lock of hair was stolen. Nothing else. Never found out who took it. Never got it back. But get this. Superman also donated some cells to StarLabs for their research. It took some doing but I finally got someone who admitted those cultures had also disappeared. And guess who was working as a consultant at StarLabs at the time?”
“Doctor Leek?”
Jimmy nodded. “And guess who’s funding his latest research, and not in that lab at the University?”
“I give up,” Lois said. She wasn’t in the mood for games. Keeping busy tracking down Clark’s killer kept her from falling apart but she was fraying around the edges.
Jimmy seemed to sense her mood and continued more seriously. “Leek is being funded by Lexcorp. According to the department secretary, Leek started spending a lot of time off-campus about two months ago. The contact number she had for him goes to a Lexcorp exchange. Also, normally a man in Leek’s position at the University has grad students working for him, doing the actual scut work? Well, Leek cut them off cold. For all intents and purposes he unilaterally cancelled the doctoral program in genetics six weeks ago and the University was threatening to take legal action, until Lex offered to build them a new, state of the art, genetics lab.”
“Which implies that Lex is up to his neck in whatever Leek is up to,” Lois said.
“That’s how I see it.”
“It’s a good start. Thanks, Jimmy.”
Jimmy smiled then his expression turned forlorn again. “Lois, if you need someone to talk to… or if you just want some company… Clark was my friend too.”
“Thanks, Jimmy. I appreciate the offer, but I think it really hasn’t sunk in for me, yet,” she said. “Mean, he died and I never got a chance…” She let her voice fade as she realized what she was saying. ‘I never got a chance to tell him… I wanted him to be more than just a friend.’
-o-o-o-
The next three days were little more than a blur to Lois as she and Jimmy ran through every lead they had to identify Clark Kent’s killer. Every hint, every trail, led back to either Leek or Luthor – but never anything direct. The money trails that ended with Leek began with LexLab managers who were not available to talk, or were not available period – they had been transferred overseas. One of them was dead. Their supervisors denied knowing Leek even worked for them, even though Leek was being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars and his lab cost even more.
Lois was finally appreciating why Clark had mistrusted Lex so much and why he couldn’t say why: Clark hadn’t been able to pin anything on Luthor even though there were massive indications that the billionaire was into things no honest businessman would have been.
Finally, she admitted she was at an impasse. She was going to have to talk to Luthor.
“Lois, you’re going to Perry’s tonight for Clark’s wake, aren’t you?” Jimmy asked, interrupting her unsavory train of thought.
Lois nodded. She still hadn’t been able to reach Clark’s parents and her calls to the ME’s office to see about claiming Clark’s body for burial had led nowhere. The OCME hadn’t issued a death certificate yet and the autopsy report wasn’t being released until the police investigation was complete.
Without a death certificate there could be no funeral or burial either in Metropolis or Kansas.
Perry’s solution was a wake, a celebration of Clark’s life. Lois just hoped she wouldn’t call completely to pieces in front of everyone. She was better in the daytime, when she could keep busy. The nighttimes were bad – she kept remembering that night.
“Lois,” Clark said. “You have to stop him.”
“And how am I supposed to do that?” she asked.
“I don’t know. But you have to try.”
