The bulk of the fake belly made running difficult, but she finally got to her car. The long drive passed by in a blur as her mind raced through everything she'd learned. They weren't dead. Lex had lied. Again. But why? Why would Lex lie about his children being dead? Her brain began the difficult task of accumulating the evidence, and she could almost see Good Lana and Bad Lana sorting through the files.
Slam! The metal filing cabinet bangs shut. "Yep," says Bad Lana with a triumphant smirk. "He's evil."
"I object!" shouts Good Lana from the stand.
"You would!" counters Bad Lana Lawyer from the desk in front of her. "Your honor, I would like to offer the court evidence," she requested, pushing her glasses up on her nose. "Proceed," says Bad Lana the Judge.
"Hey!" shouts Good Lana from the stand. "Why do you get to be the judge too?"
Bad Lana just smiles, and rolls the metal filing cabinet over to the middle of the room. "Just go with it babe," she says with a wink.
Good Lana is annoyed, but she sits back in her booth and waits. "Your honor, I offer exhibit A," Bad Lana says as she removes a file and flips it open. . .
"Mr. Luthor. We've been able to slow down the age accelerator to manageable levels. Intelligence seems to be nearing peak. Strength tests conclude that subject is close to being invulnerable to harm. If it gets much stronger, we will have a hard time keeping it contained. Please advice on next step."
"Now Lana," the lawyer says, strolling up to her. "Why would babies in glass artificial wombs need help being contained?"
Good Lana just stares, her mouth dropping open to speak, but no words come out. "I . . ." she tries to say.
"Indeed," says Bad Lana, continuing. "And how exactly would one measure their intelligence? I assume that if a baby doesn't spend all day playing with his newly formed penis, he may in fact be a bit ahead of the pack, but that doesn't really seem to be noteworthy does it?"
"Well . . ."
"And, if the 'subject' were invulnerable to harm, then how can the babies keep 'dying?'"
"Lionel could have been lying," Good Lana attempts weakly. "He does that you know."
Bad Lana sighs, and gives an annoyed look at the judge, who just smiles, offering her a quick thumbs up. "Have you no other explanation for this evidence?" Bad Lana asks, redirecting her comments to Good Lana, who looks nervous.
"No," she answers quietly.
"Then we'll move on your honor to exhibit B." Bad Lana leans down into the bottom cabinet drawer, shaking her fanny a bit for the viewing pleasure of the Lana jury, who giggle at the sight. "Ah, here we are," she says, standing straight, file clasped in her hand.
"Lana, I think you have to prepare yourself for the possibility that not all of the babies are going to make it. Their mortality rate has actually been quite high. I'll keep trying, but I can't guarantee that any of them right now will survive full term."
"But most of them are fine, Lex. Even the girl is doing better, and the boys seem completely healthy."
"I guess it is too late to ask that you not get too attached."
"I believe the evidence here shows that Lex never intended to actually let us have any of the babies. Remember this look?" She holds up a picture of Lex's face when he walked in on Lana re-doing the original babies nursery. "He was horrified that we were wanting to re-decorate the nursery for the babies. Why? Because we were too attached, and he knew that the nursery wouldn't be needed."
"I think that as usual, you're jumping to conclusions," Good Lana objected, raising her voice. "Lex may have just been upset at the original nursery being taken apart because he loved the first baby, and didn't want it's memory disassembled like that." The Lana jury murmured to each other rapidly in agreement.
"Order," shouts Bad Lana Judge, slamming her gavel against the desk. Bad Lana Lawyer looks nervous for a second, having lost a bit of her momentum.
"I would like to take this opportunity to cross examine the witness," steps up Good Lana Lawyer with a grin. "What?" she says to the surprised looks. "I can't play too?"
The judge nods finally, and Good Lana Lawyer walks over to the cabinet and pulls out a few files of her own. "Then let's get started shall we?" she asks. "Your honor, I would like to enter into evidence the case of Evan."
"I object!" yells Bad Lana Lawyer from her desk.
"Oh pipe down princess, you had your turn," Good Lana Lawyer responds, not waiting for the Judge. "Now Evan was a baby cursed with a rapidly aging body. He grew so much so fast, that he eventually exploded." She paused for a moment, letting the memory sink in for the courtroom, whose mood had become sad. "Lex is the one who had a team of scientists try to stop the aging process, and during that was gifted with an enormous amount of information. No doubt, he used at least some of what he knew in his efforts with the babies." She looked around a silent courtroom, and continued. "It is our opinion that even though he tried, Lex failed to properly stop the rapid aging."
"And your question would be . . ." prompted the Judge.
"My question to you Lana, is what will you do about it?"
Lana pulled into the drive, and stopped the car, taking a moment first to focus. She rubbed her temples slowly, and concentrated on her breathing. Lex lied again and it made her crazy, but she couldn't help wondering why. As she sat in the car trying to decide what to do, she watched the old run down building, not really seeing it. The hour was late, and soon it would be dark. The day shift had already ended, leaving only the two lab techs on call. She would start with them first.
Exiting the car, Lana stepped up to the door and inserted her key into the lock. She entered like normal, making her way quickly upstairs to the lab. The techs smiled at her as she walked in, and she smiled back, turning her gaze to first check on the babies. A quick count, and it was obvious that two more were now gone.
"I guess we lost a few more today," she said off handedly, as if used to the idea.
"Yes ma'am, I'm sorry," said Robert, one of the techs. He usually brought her coffee and a pastry from Starbucks on Fridays. She held his eye, and under the scrutiny, he became a little nervous, immersing himself into his charts and calculations.
"I was wondering if I might be able to attend the burial," she asked casually, and both Robert and Julie, the other tech, looked up at her in surprise.
"Ma'am?" he asked quizzically.
"The burial. I want to be there when my children are buried," she clarified.
Robert and Julie looked at each other briefly, and then Julie said, "I'm sorry, but I believe that they have already been buried."
"Oh. Well then, where should I take their flowers?"
Another look, and Lana was sure that Lionel had been right. The babies weren't dead at all, and Bad Lana wanted to get to the bottom of it. Robert picked up his cell phone, and began punching in numbers. "Perhaps we should call Mr. Luthor," he said.
"Perhaps you should hang up your phone," Lana informed him with a deadly look on her face. The gun she pulled from her purse and pointed at him was convincing, and he did as she asked. Robert glanced up at the camera overhead, and Lana snickered. "We're not in direct view from over here, so why don't you do me a favor hmmm? Take that plastic tubing there, and tie Julie to her chair."
"You're not serious," he gasped.
"I couldn't be more serious," she chirped. "Maybe it's the fact that you're lying to me, or maybe I'm just hormonal," she said with a laugh, rubbing her fake belly. "Who knows? Now do what I say."
"Ouch!" cried out Robert, as Lana pulled the tubing tight around his wrists behind him.
"Yeah, I think that'll hold," she said, getting up and moving in front of them. "Well, now that we're comfortable, why don't you tell me what you know?"
Julie exhaled in annoyance, and glared at her. "All we have to do is scream, and the security will be here in seconds. You have no leverage."
"Hmm," thought Lana out loud. "True, but all I have to do is shoot you, and you'll be dead. And the security can't touch me, so what was that you mentioned about leverage?" She arched a brow at Julie, who looked away in defeat and frustration. "Right," Lana continued. "Now tell me where my babies are."
"We don't know anything about that," Robert answered.
"And yet you still knew enough to tell me that they had already been buried? Try again."
"We're not made privy to everything that goes on around here," Julie spat at her.
"The babies are being moved during the night while you're on duty. Tell me where they take them," Lana growled. The anger welling inside of her began to grow to unmanageable levels, and she felt herself spiraling apart.
"We don't know . . ." started Julie, and Lana exploded, slapping her across the face as hard as she could. The action surprised even her, and the sting in her hand pulsed with warmth and pain. Julie looked up at her in horror, her bottom lip slightly cracked and red from the blow.
"I am loosing my patience with you," Lana said, as if it weren't obvious. "Tell me what I want to know right now."
"They don't leave here," Robert said quickly. They move them downstairs, but I'm not sure where."
Lana composed herself, and stood up straight, smoothing her hair back and putting her gun back in her purse. "Thank you," she said politely. "Please do keep your voices down while I'm away. I am privy to your personal information, you know." She left the room with the threat still hanging in the air, and made her way downstairs. She'd seen security personnel coming in and out of a door to the left of the main entrance, and she knew that to be the surveillance room. All other rooms in this huge building were suspect, but Lana decided that the other lab, or whatever it was, would probably not be located so near to where it smelled like urine. She followed her nose, and took hallways and paths that smelled the freshest, hoping to run into a big, flashing neon sign that read, "LANA! THIS WAY!"
What she found instead was a new working elevator, and that seemed good enough. As she rode down to B1, Lana was halfway surprised that she hadn't been stopped yet by security. No doubt they were watching her, and she turned towards the elevator camera to smile at them. Lex would most likely be here soon, but till then . . .
She exited at the ding and walked down a singular hallway to a set of double doors. A key card was required to enter here, and she shook the handle in frustration. It didn't budge.
"May I help you Mrs. Luthor?" came a voice behind her. Finally the Men in Black had arrived.
"Yes, I seem to be having trouble getting this door open," she told him innocently.
He strode forward cautiously, and smiled a little. "I'm sorry Ma'am, but this room is for authorized personnel only."
"Authorized by whom?" she asked in mock sweetness, feeling the anger rise again. Seriously, why did these people even try to get in her way?
"Mr. Luthor will be here shortly, and he's asked me to escort you upstairs until he arrives."
"Has he then?" Lana asked. The muscles in her neck became very tight.
"Yes Ma'am, so if you would follow me please." He gestured towards the elevator.
"No, I don't think so," she told him in an unwavering voice. "I think you should open this door for me."
"No ma'am, I'm sorry."
"Do it right now," she insisted.
"Ma'am, if you'll just follow me everything will be alright."
"I'm not leaving here until you open this door."
"Ma'am," he said sounding desperate.
"Now!"
Bad Lana reached into her purse and pulled out her gun, aiming it at the man's chest.
"Oh for Fuck's sake, just shoot him already," she said, and Lana did. She watched as the man clutched his chest and slumped to the ground as the fog of gunpowder smoke dissipated. Lana took a moment to register properly what happened and compose herself again, turning her face towards the hall camera. "Now open this door," she said to it.
She stared into the lens for about thirty long seconds before the doors buzzed behind her. Taking her leave, Lana put her gun back in her purse and stepped through the doors.
The white room was so bright that it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. There were no people that she could see, but it was hardly empty. Computer stations and refrigerated shelves lined the walls, with dozens of papers and equipment covering tables. The place was obviously very busy during the day. The refrigerated shelves had dozens of vials of blood and other liquids behind their glass doors, all labeled with familiar numbers. Aside from all of the computer and research equipment, there were also curious contraptions that might have passed for some type of exercise and endurance machinery. Though she would have liked to examine these further, her time was running out. Lex would be here very soon, and she still hadn't located the babies yet.
Signs posted above the doors were certainly convenient. Considering how difficult it had been navigating the upper floors, seeing such obvious directions were a shock. She stepped through the door that said "DORMITORY." The long, straight hallway was dark, with very little light to illuminate her path. It opened up to dozens of doors all in a row with tiny windows in their centers. She peered through the windows anxiously, but could see nothing in the darkness. It was all very quiet. Perhaps they were sleeping?
Disappointed, Lana continued to check the doors, and by the time she was almost to the end of the hall, a small beam of light caught her attention. She ran over to the window it came from, and saw a man in an all white room, doing push ups on the floor. What? Lana leaned back to check the number his door was labeled with and surprised to read one she had never seen before. 0300-01. It was the first of the clones.
Glancing back to the window, she was surprised to see the man's face staring back at her. "Oh!" she screamed, throwing a hand over her mouth to stifle it. The man jerked as if frightened as well, and then he reached down and turned the handle to open his door. She could say nothing as the door opened, only stare. Who was this man?
Deep inside, she knew the answer, but her rational mind wouldn't hear of it. He could not be her child. He was a grown man, perhaps even older than her, though not by much. This had to be a trick. Some crazy idea of Lex's to be sure . . .
"Who are you?" the man asked, interrupting her thoughts. He looked concerned, and she realized that she must look crazy or something. She attempted to smile, but that only seemed to make him even more uneasy. Thank goodness there was no mirror to capture her bulging eyes and insane expression.
"I," she tried to say, but nothing would come out. Not even Good and Bad Lana had a fricking clue.
"Here, sit," he said, offering her his only chair. She took it, if only to keep herself from falling down, and he sat opposite her on the bed. Her mind kept reeling, but she finally began to process what she saw. The room they sat in was all white, like the lab had been, as were his clothes. He had a small desk and chair, a bedside table and a twin bed that he now sat in. On the table appeared to be his only book: a battered copy of "The Time Machine," by H.G. Wells.
"You're not a doctor," the man said to her in an astonished voice, bringing her gaze back to his face. His eyes were a clear crystal blue, strong jaw and straight nose framed by dark brown hair, cut short. His skin tone was olive; hands thin and smooth looking, and fingernails neat. He was beautiful.
"No," she finally croaked out. "I am not a doctor."
"Then who are you?" he asked, with wonder in his eyes.
"She is your mother," said Lex from the doorway. Tears welled and fell down Lana's face as she looked up at Lex in shock and fear. His expression was calm and loving.
"My mother," repeated the man in a thick voice, full of emotion. Her eyes moved back to his to see tears there as well. She shook her head a little and covered her face with her hands in an attempt to block out what she didn't want to hear. Gentle sobs shook her body as she came to the realization that there would be no babies for her. That all of this was wrong.
"Why are you crying Mother?" the man asked carefully.
"She is a little overwhelmed," Lex told him, dropping down to Lana's side. "Go and get her a cup of tea to make her feel better." The man jumped up and ran out of the room to do as he was asked while Lex attempted to wrap his arms around Lana to console her.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked in a small, hitching voice.
Lex sighed. "Because you were so happy and excited about the babies. I wanted you to stay that way."
"You knew I would find out. You should have told me."
"I thought that I would be able to have a baby for you by the time you were ready for it," he told her, gesturing towards the fake belly.
"They're all grown men?"
"No, the youngest is about 12," he said, and she choked on another sob. "My team is very optimistic about the most recent subjects."
"Is that what they are to you Lex? Subjects?" She laughed then, and feared that she might be close to hysteria. "They're our children! Grown children walking around the same age as us. You've created people Lex that we can never publicly even claim as our offspring. What are you planning to do with them?"
He decided to skip that question. "Once they were born, they just grew so rapidly, that we couldn't stop it fast enough. This one is the oldest; the only survivor from that first batch."
She stopped sobbing, and he brushed her tears away, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket for her to use. "So, some of them really have died?" she asked.
Lex nodded. "Not every pregnancy is viable. Most of the mortalities have occurred in the first few days." He looked around the room a little, as if seeing it for the first time. "How did you know to look for them?" he asked.
"Your father told me, but he said that none of them had died."
"My father shouldn't even know anything about this place. I don't know where he's getting his information."
"You mean that somebody else knows about the babies?" she asked feeling alarmed.
"It would seem that way."
She wanted to ask more, but the man, her son, walked back into the room with a hot cup of tea for her. He set it down on the little table in front of her, and re-seated himself on the bed, a look of worry still marring his face. He looked at Lex, who gave a tight lipped smile and stood up to sit next to him. It struck Lana suddenly just how similar they looked, and even though a scream rose in her throat, she clamped down on it hard. The situation became awkward, and feeling that she needed to say something to break the silence, Lana asked, "What is your name?"
The man looked puzzled at first, and then a little sad. "I haven't got a name," he answered in a soft voice.
Lana looked accusingly at Lex, who nodded. "Perhaps your mother will give you a name," he offered. At first she felt angry at Lex for heaving such a responsibility at her, but then relaxed, realizing that it is a job that parents always do. Still, the situation as it were was not in any way normal. This wasn't a new baby that she would get to teach to walk and talk, it was a man who would have to be taught to go out into the world soon. Could he even do such a thing?
"Oh, I don't know," she said nervously. "You can probably just pick one that you like."
"Please," he begged. "Choose a name for me, Mother."
Lana sighed and leaned down to pick up her tea, her eyes falling on the book beside it. How appropriate that this man had no name, she thought. As she stirred her tea, she tried to think of a name that he might like. She finally settled on David.
"David," he repeated, trying it out.
"If you don't like it . . ., " she said quickly.
"No!" he answered. "I like it. It is my name." She watched his face light up, and the scene conjured up an image in her head of Pinocchio, come to life. He was finally a real live boy.