Superman: The Ark of Krypton
Chapter 53
by
Jason Richard
The clone, still in his rather sloppy, makeshift Superman outfit made from a sweatshirt, sweatpants and a bed sheet, flew back and forth within that control room, essentially pacing in Midair. He was bored, very bored, and wanted to do something.
"Braniac," said the Clone. "How long scan take?"
"A few more hours sir," said the AI. "DNA is a complicated structure, and interpreting all the data takes time."
"I bored," said the Clone, crossing his arms grumpily. "I want do something. Be hero. Save damsels in distress and pull kittens from trees."
Then the clone grinned and said, "I like kittens. They're cute."
"Kal-El requested that you to stay here," said the AI.
The Clone grunted and said, "He no boss of me. I save who I want!"
And the clone flew out, hoping to do what heroes do best.
…
Clark walked into Mr. White's office and saw two things that made him uncomfortable. Lois was there, looking smug, and Perry White had a big smile on his face. He'd only ever seen Mr. White smile like this when he thought no one could hear him listening to Elvis music. He'd never been this openly happy, and Clark didn't know what to make of it.
"Have a seat Kent," said Mr. White.
"What's going on?" asked Clark.
"The two of you," said White. "You brilliant people."
"Well I know what I did," said Lois, confused. "What did Kent do?"
"Well?" said Perry White. "Tell her."
"Um," said Clark. "I got a recording from Bruno Mannheim himself talking about some 'employer,' though not mentioned by name. He did mention that this employer was responsible for the creation of that thing that attacked Superman yesterday. A clone apparently."
Lois's jaw dropped, and Clark could hear her heartbeat getting faster. "I don't believe it," said Lois. "We've got him. Lex Luthor is going down!"
"Why…" Clark began…
"Because," said Lois. "One of the whistleblowers I've had working for me gave me solid proof that the Clone originated at Lexcorp. I mean cloning laws are something Luthor's lawyers can handle easily, but an indirect connection to Bruno Mannheim? Not so much."
She was right. They did have him. They had solid proof of Lex Luthor's corruption. There was only one other little detail that Mr. White had for them.
"So," said Perry White, "I want both of you to work on that article and get in on my desk pronto."
For a second Lois wasn't sure she heard that correctly. She was so caught up in finally catching Lex Luthor in the act that she'd forgotten Clark Kent had gotten half the incriminating evidence. It made sense that the article would be done by both of them.
But it still steamed her that she wasn't' getting it to herself.
"Mr. White…" she began.
"No Lois," grunted White. "You can't have the article to yourself. I know you've been working on this longer, but I don't care."
"If this is going to cause a problem…" Clark began, trying to be nice.
"It's not," said White, glaring at both of them. "Is it Lois?"
Lois had worked with Perry long enough to know when not to argue with it, so she swallowed her pride and said, "Understood." as robotically as possible.
Clark, meanwhile, stood back a little and started feeling very uncomfortable.
As they left Mr. White's office Lois didn't sit down at her desk but started pacing back and forth, fuming. Clark approached cautiously, knowing he was supposed to work on the new article with her. As Superman he could lift a building up and put it back in its place, but that seemed trivial compared to finding something to say to Lois Lane at that moment.
"Uh Lois…"
Lois put her hand up and said, "I know...I know...we've got a job to do...just give me a minute."
"I didn't mean to cause you any distress," said Clark. "I know this story means a lot to you."
Lois couldn't help it. She laughed at him, "Look at you. You get to share in one of the biggest stories of all time and you're apologizing for inconveniencing me. Good grief Clark, if I'd gotten a story this big this early in my career I would have jumped for joy."
"Well," said Clark hesitantly. "I'd hate to think that my success got in someone else's way."
"What a boy scout," said Lois, rolling her eyes. "Don't worry about me. I can recover from wounded pride." then Lois's eyes narrowed. "Say...just how did you manage to get a recording device into Bruno Mannheim's limo?"
Clark hesitated, and replied, "Very carefully."
"Uh huh…" said Lois suspiciously. "Well, we should get to work."
Clark got ready, hoping this awkwardness would blow over soon, until he heard something. It was a high pitched voice that nearly hurt his ears, but looking around no one else could seem to hear it.
"Forgive me sir," said JLAI 13. "I needed to contact you, so I'm using a frequency only you can hear. We have slight problem with your clone."
...
Martha Kent paced back and forth through the kitchen, her nerves all jittery. She'd been woken up to the sound of that clone bursting through the front door, and hadn't been able to calm down since. At least the Clone hadn't gotten her or Jonathan hurt, but it could have...easily...even without meaning to.
The poor thing would probably have been devastated if it had accidentally hurt someone.
Jonathan walked to to find her in that state, saying, "Finally got the door back on...Martha? Are you alright?"
"No," said Martha. "No I'm not. I'm both terrified of what that clone will do next...and worried for it. Him...I guess...Oh this is all so confusing."
Jonathan sighed and pulled Martha into a comforting embrace, saying, "I don't claim to understand what this means any more than you do, but I know what you mean. I'm just as worried for about it, and scared of it as you are. This whole situation is just so bizarre."
As Jonathan and Martha Kent comforted each other, little did they know that the very clone they spoke of was not that far away, listening to them with super hearing and feeling very, very sad because of what they said.