Chapter 42
Superman entered the familiar laboratory at Star Labs only to find Dr. Hamilton seated at his desk talking to a familiar, pretty blonde.
"Chloe?" With that one word, Dr. Hamilton saw the complete transformation of Superman back into the much less imposing Clark Kent, despite the colorful costume.
"Hey, Clark," she smiled up at him.
"Don't tell me Oliver is making you undergo tests as well?"
"No, Dr. Hamilton and I are joining forces on the fact-finding side of all this."
Clark narrowed his eyes. "Fact-finding? About what?"
"I'll think I'll let the good doctor tell you about all that." She got up and picked up her purse. "But it's time for me to skedaddle, since your time here is a lot more valuable than mine." As she passed a very confused Clark on the way out the door, she patted him on the shoulder. "Have fun!"
From another doorway in the back of the room, Dr. Kline entered with his head down, looking up something in a book nearly six inches thick.
Dr. Hamilton watched Clark carefully and saw the necessary transformation back into Superman.
"Clark" straightened up visibly, his posture becoming more commanding, more formidable, and it added at least a full inch to his height. His chin came up, and his chest seemed to swell in size. Most of the innocence vanished from his eyes, replaced by a wary hardness. There were other little details that the doctor noticed and filed away mentally as interesting behavior, for the changes were merely superficial. The great hero standing there was really just Clark, a young man still with a great many insecurities that would lessen with maturity; the hero was just a disguise.
"I found it!" Dr. Kline announced excitedly, as he looked up and found Superman standing there. "Oh, hi, Superman." With every succeeding day, Dr. Kline had continued to relax in his presence and to treat him more casually.
"Hi, Dr. Kline." Superman had figured out by now that it was always easier to get information out of Dr. Kline than Dr. Hamilton. "What's so important?"
"Kryptonians!"
Superman blinked and took a step back from Dr. Kline.
"Superman, don't be concerned. We're just doing a bit of research into…" he paused before continuing, and chose his words carefully, "whether or not there may have been more Kryptonians who traveled here before you. Your mention to us of Dax-Ur gave us the idea."
"Dax-Ur?"
"Yes. You said he came here through a portal over one hundred years ago. You also said that those stones you used to form the crystal that created your fortress were located in places like Egypt and China. Someone from Krypton must have hidden them, and possibly hidden them a very long time ago. We were just wondering if any of those Kryptonians might have chosen to stay."
"Like Dax-Ur?" Superman nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose they could have."
"And from what we've learned of your DNA so far, it is possible for a combination to occur. It won't be easy, but it is possible."
Superman bit back a smile. "Really?" was all he said.
"Yes. In fact, the partial strands that we worked with actually seemed to polymerize with the human strands. Have you read about what polymerization is yet?"
"It has to do with the linkage between molecules with high molecular weights, like the bonds in plastics. Right?"
"Precisely. That kind of bonding is what makes plastic so resilient, so tough."
"So
you're thinking some of these Kryptonians, if any of them stayed
here, fathered children?
Superman shook his head, "No, Dax-Ur
used blue Kryptonite to take away his powers so he could be with his
wife, so—"
"Superman, he had that blue stone long before Krypton exploded, therefore it cannot be a true from of Kryptonite, not by the definition we've been using."
Dr. Hamilton spoke up from his desk. "Our thinking is that what you refer to as blue Kryptonite is actually just some kind of crystal indigenous to Krypton that inhibited our yellow sun's rays for any Kryptonian sent here. It was probably a requirement when someone used the portals. At least, if I were in charge of those portals on Krypton, that's what I would have done. Sending people to another planet, knowing they would gain powers like yours…" He shook his head. "Would a peaceful planet do such a thing without restrictions on that travel – to protect us?"
"I don't know how 'peaceful' Kryptonian society really was," Superman said seriously. "I haven't met that many, but some were not really…" His voice trailed away to nothing.
Dr. Kline, noticing the emotions play across the hero's face, let a few moments pass before asking cautiously, "Superman, do you think you could find some of that 'blue Kryptonite' and bring it to us? We want to expose the strands of your DNA to it before we combine them with strands from a human." He turned and retrieved a lead-lined box from a desk drawer and handed it to Superman.
"I suppose…" Superman stopped, suddenly realizing that the only place he knew to find such a specimen was probably going to be in the grave of Dax-Ur. A piece of jewelry that a man always wore would surely be buried along with him. "Oh, wow. I don't know."
"We could go through the proper channels to get it," Dr. Hamilton spoke up, "but since you think his wife might have had no idea of his heritage, I doubt she's going to consent. I know what we're asking you to do," he said softly.
"Brainiac might have taken it," Superman suggested.
"I doubt it. Brainiac would have known where to find it again, should he need it, and he had no need of it at that time. From your descriptions of him, I'm betting he always traveled lightly."
