I do not own any DC Characters used herein, and am only employing them in a story meant for entertainment purposes only.
Man Of Steel
Original Story By Twisted-Wun & LJ58
Edited and Reposted (With Permission) by LJ58
7
"Say, Ms. Lane, did you hear about that report of a flying boy buzzing the city last night," Jimmy asked with a grin.
"I've heard stranger things," Lois drawled. "That's not my concern right now. Finding Superman for a quote before Kent can scoop me again is," she added, looking up as she walked along the sidewalks, trying to figure out what might lure him back out without a genuine emergency of the sort he had been recently deputized to manage.
Word was, Maggie wasn't all that happy about a 'vigilante' in her city, but she was accepting that the now colorfully clad hero was able to save a lot of lives when her own men couldn't do the job.
She had the feeling that was what grated that tough-as-nails detective that had pretty much shoved her sexuality into the face of those that first felt a lesbian police captain couldn't handle the job of leading the Special Crimes Unit.
She really would have to try to get her whole story in ink someday. If the woman ever quit ducking the press.
"The Daily Star said he was streaking, so to speak. Say….? What do you call it if you're flying naked? Is that still streaking?"
"Jimmy, give it a rest," she complained, glancing back at her recent shadow. Bad enough Kent had to be assigned to her beat, now she had a wet-behind-the-ears photographer who didn't know how to shut up following her every time she took a step.
"Hey," someone stepped up behind them just as they passed a diner. "I think you dropped something, lady," a man told her.
Lois turned even as the taser was shoved into her chest. She never felt the rough hands pulling her into the alley before she could drop. Never saw the man that dropped Jimmy in the same instant. She was already out cold.
MoS
"General Lane," Lex drawled unpleasantly as he stepped out of the lab where the bulky, chalk-colored clone now lay on a large table, clad in a grayish facsimile of the alien hero's distinctive costume. A costume chosen potently by Lex who intended to make it appear the alien was doing his own experiments that might just…..go out of control before a more heroic Lex could intercede.
"Tell me I'm hearing things," Sam Lane demanded without preamble.
"That would be difficult to say until I know what's upset you this time," he told the man who had chosen to appear in person this time.
"Don't play coy with me, Dr. Luthor. I have already heard that X-3 broke out of containment last night. Now what the devil is going on around here?"
"It was simply an equipment failure. Some idiot forgot to compensate for a power surge earlier, and it apparently prematurely shocked the immature clone out of his hibernation. Rest assured, we are already moving to reacquire him."
"You haven't even reacquired X-1, and you think you can bring him back in without…..?"
"He'll be back. Once he realizes his best interests lie with us, he'll be back on his own. I'm certain of that. Recall, he's an immature clone, without guidance, or direction. Like any other wayward youth, he'll soon return to us for answers, at the least, and I'm confident we can reclaim him without issue at that time."
"You'd better hope so," he spat. "And what about X-1? I've been putting off our backers for over a week while keeping you out of jail, and so far all I've got to show for it is yet another fiasco."
"Eggs and omelets," he told General Lane with a somber smirk, though his eyes were cold and hostile to the intruder into what he felt was his arena. "Trust me, I have everything under control. In fact, we're just about to finish setting the bait to lure out our wannabe hero. With X-2 primed to contain him, we'll be will be able to finally pierce the alien's true secrets once and for all."
"You'd better hope so. If this one falls apart, Lex, not even I will be able to keep you out of federal prison."
"Please. Every great plan suffers some wrinkles. But I will succeed. Don't I always," he added blandly as Mercy walked into the lab just then, eyed the general, and then simply nodded.
"Lex….."
"I have to go now, General Lane. If you will excuse me, we're reaching a critical timing in our plans."
"Just keep me in the loop. I want to be there when you bring in X-1."
"As you say," Lex nodded as he let Harper take the man out again.
"You have her?"
"Her, and that pet photographer following her of late. We couldn't leave him behind for fear he might bring unwanted attention."
"Smart. And Kent?"
"He's still MIA. That man is harder to pin down than one of Intergang's hit men."
"Well, I don't have any time for any distractions. As we've found nothing in his background of importance, eliminate him. I will not have another successor to Lane causing me grief in my city."
"Then Lane isn't going to survive this one?"
"What do you think, Mercy," Lex smiled coldly. "In fact, I think the general may have outlived his usefulness, too. Frankly, with the power we can harness from the X-Project, we won't need him, or MRD any longer after this. I foresee taking LexCorp in whole new directions once we get into that alien fortress. I do believe we'll soon be looking at global domination of all markets. Maybe….just global domination," he smiled. "Yes, I like that. Global domination."
Mercy said nothing about his dreams. She shared quite a few of them herself.
MoS
"So, you're supposed to be the big guy?"
"And you're from Cadmus."
"In a roundabout way. I'm supposed to be your replacement. At least, that's what the brains back in that horror show I blazed from thought. Only I didn't stick around for the indoctrination part of the program," Connor declared as he sat on a mountaintop high in the Rockies with Kal-El himself standing before him.
He had barely buzzed Metropolis twice before the red and blue had been on top of him, and suggested they talk.
Kal-El absorbed all Connor told him, especially about another possible clone that might already be about to be be unleashed on him. One that was already programmed to obey only the docs that had created it.
"I got the feeling they are all focused on bringing you down, Supes," Connor told him, tugging at the leather jacket he now wore over a tee and jeans that the big guy had brought him after declaring he required more suitable garb even if he didn't really feel the chill.
Connor had not argued. It was pretty hard to be cool in the way that counted wearing a borrowed lab rat's coat.
Kal-El finally gave him the biggest surprise of all, though, when he made a suggestion Connor never expected.
"How would you like to see my place? I believe it might help you, and I need to pick up something there anyway that I suspect I might be needing. It should be ready by now."
"Your place? Is going to help me?"
"My father sent a special….tutorial along in my ship. I think it might aid you, too, if you want to try it. At the least, it will help you understand your place in this world a little better by understanding where we came from in the first place."
Connor shrugged.
"Long as you don't expect me to jump through hoops like those loopy docs, I'm in," he grinned.
"Follow me," he told him. "The atmospheric scrubbers should have filtered the radiation out of the area by now, so you should be fine if you have even a degree of my invulnerability."
"Radiation," Connor frowned just before Superman vanished in a blur of motion and color.
"Oh, it's a race," he grinned, and flung himself into the air after his apparent parent, genetically speaking.
MoS
"You're back early," Lex told Mercy disapprovingly as he turned from his work.
"Don't worry. Wherever Kent is, he'll be coming home to a very lethal surprise. One that will ensure no one else gets any ideas about aiming attention our way ever again," she smiled.
"Fine. Lane, and her companion are still out. I was just about to wake up X-2 now that his final programming is complete."
"You sure he won't turn on us like that kiddie clone?"
"Hardly. I fine-tuned the obedience program myself. He's going to be a bit simple, but he'll be completely tractable, and obey only me."
"Convenient," Mercy grinned.
"Simple efficiency. Why trust someone else to give the commands when I can manage the creature directly, and prevent any chance of betrayal?"
Mercy made a sound of understanding, but as she watched chalky lids flutter open, she wondered if the creature might even replace her if Lex decided it was more effective than her in handling his enemies. She frowned at that thought.
Surely not?
"So, how do we lure in the alien," she said, not voicing her doubts.
After all, if there was one thing she knew about her employer, it was that he was quick to exploit weakness if it was shown. Which was why Mercy had always made sure not to show the slightest weakness. The slightest hesitation.
You did not survive around Lex Luthor by being either squeamish, or hesitant. She had survived far longer than any of his other aides. She intended to survive long enough to retire.
One way, or the other.
Lex, unaware of how her mind was working, merely smiled.
"The usual way. With a baited trap. Which is why Lane, and her hapless companion are going to become a part of the plan. A shame about Kent, but I suppose any dilemmas he represents will soon die with him," he remarked, having complete faith in his aide's abilities.
"Count on it," she told him all the same.
MoS
It was well after midnight before he got back to Metropolis.
He had seen Connor settled into the Fortress, as it was deemed by now, and showed him how to operate the tutorials, and gave him access to all but the most critical functions of his sanctuary. He even allowed him to command several of the robotic drones to attend him should he require anything while Kal was away. He then headed back for Metropolis, knowing Clark Kent needed to show up if he was to maintain his civilian cover.
Since it was late, Kal-El chose to change to Clark, and headed for his apartment rented in his civilian guise's name. He might have messages he needed to tend, as he kept a phone there just for potential contacts to call.
Walking up to the door after he took a shortcut by jumping up to the fourth floor, and walking in the fire door, he closed the door behind him, and then headed down the hall to his apartment door.
It said something to the degree he was still distracted by Connor, and everything else going on that he didn't notice anything until he pushed the door open, and the telltale click of something pulling free behind the lock belatedly alerted him just barely a single second before the door exploded in his face.
Continued…