And freedom of choice is granted.
It's said All is foreseen, and freedom of choice is granted. It's also being said that history will always correct itself, like there is a system in the universe that making sure that certain things will happened, that certain people will be born and others will die in the correct time and way and that certain people will meet, fall in love and change the world. And if that means that a planet will die and a little baby will send to another planet than that's what will happen. But what happens when things deteriorate, when the correct order of things goes wrong, and people don't meet when they should or in certain case don't come back to life when they should? Well, there's no harm in asking for help, right?
This story describes what happened when history in two universes goes wrong and the gods are willing to look the other way when universes are at risk.
1
Metropolis. Earth-W
Dr. Hamilton stared in horror at the upper screens. The older man dressed in clothes from the early 20th century standing next to her checked his pocket watch. Behind them in the lab stood sooty machine remains. Red lights were flashing. Hamilton went to the computers and began programming new instructions, sending occasional worried looks to the screens.
"Are you sure it will work?" saying.
"She's our last chance, his." Said her interlocutor.
"And what if he finds out?"
"It's a price I have to pay. It's a price I'm willing to pay." Hamilton sighed in completion.
"Bring this watch here."
Lois Lane's apartment, Metropolis. Earth-D
Lois sat by the island in her kitchen looking out through the large living room windows. Her coffee had cooled down an hour ago. Her fingers kept playing with the engagement ring on her left hand. She had long since stopped trying to stop the tears. She could not go on like this. Every place in this damn city reminded her of him and now this. She straightened up in the chair, remembering what Perry had informed her this morning. Lex Luthor Jr. bought the Daily Planet from Franklin Stern. Perry could not look her in the eye when he said that. The Daily Planet was the only thing left for her besides her sister Lucy and the Kents. The newspaper was her home more than her apartment, it was Clark's home. What will she do now?
She got up and put on her coat and left the apartment.
Suddenly a wind began to blow in the alley. The nearby power pole was covered in electric sparks. In the air a tear was created that grew to the size of a door as if some child had drawn in colored pencil on reality. In the doorway passed an elderly man, dressed in clothes from the beginning of the twentieth century. He looked around and looked at a gold pocket watch he had put back in his pocket. He turned toward the doorway, looking at it as it closed. With a determined step he exited the alley into the streets of Metropolis. He saw the golden planet of the Daily Planet in the distance and advanced toward it. He passed a newsstand and bought an issue of the Daily Planet. One of the articles on the main page was a description of the events of a few days earlier and how the Joker killed several policemen in Gotham. The reporter was Lois Lane. The man moved on and reached New Troy where he found a public telephone booth with a phone book. He flipped through until he found the address he was looking for. He started walking.
It did not take him long to find the apartment building. He saw her coming out of the building. She passed him and he noticed her tears wet face. He followed her to Centennial Park and stood stunned in front of a huge statue, a few feet tall, of a smiling man dressed in a cape with the letter S on his chest, his hand outstretched and an American eagle standing on it, spreading its wings. The woman advanced to the base of the statue, the monument, realized the man, and disappeared into an opening in the side. Hesitantly he advanced after her. He stood in the doorway looking inside. A glass cabinet was placed on a concrete block inside the alcove. Inside the coffin lay the man who inspired the statue. Lois stood by the coffin, placing her hand on the glass coffin. She talked to the man in the coffin and the older man felt like he was invading her privacy but was unable to bring himself to get away.
"Hey, Clark. Every time I come here, I hope it's just a nightmare and that you will not be in the coffin, that you will suddenly appear smiling, that you will sweep me into the sky again and say it was all a mistake Doomsday did not show up and ruin our whole lives." She stopped wiping her eyes, sniffed, and continued, "I have bad news, more bad news. Lex bought the Planet." She walked away from the closet, hugging herself. "I have to get out of this city, Clark." She sat down on the floor, her back to the concrete cube and her head between her hands.
"Ms. Lane." Said the man quietly. Lois looked up sharply and looked at him. "I ..." she got up quickly. "I'm sorry to interrupt but I have come a long way to talk to you. You're our only hope."
"And this is your way of asking, eavesdropping on private conversations?"
"It's about him." She froze in place. "Sort of."
"What do you mean?"
"My name is H. G. Wells."
"The science fiction writer? The one who died in 1946?"
"Yeah. I know that does not make sense but it's the truth, Ms. Lane."
"Okay, I'm willing to let you enjoy the doubt. I have no strength to try to make sense now."
"I come from a parallel world." Lois started laughing but Wells continued, "Our Lois Lane disappeared years ago." Lois stopped laughing and looked at him, "and he never left the farm."
"He didn't leave the farm?" She looked at the closet.
"The Clark Kent of my world is different from yours."
"What did he do? Married Lana Lang?"
"No. Lana Lang is married to Lex Luthor, they have three children. They will celebrate ten years of marriage at the end of the year."
"Three kids..."
"Yes."
"Why did he stay on the farm?"
"I do not know. I'm not sure he can speak now."
"What?"
"You see, Ms. Lane. About two years ago a man named Milton Fine appeared in Metropolis. In collaboration with Lex Luthor, he exercises terrorist rule over Metropolis and the United States. Several attempts were made to kill him and none of them succeeded. He searched for Kal El." Wells looked at the man in the closet, "Kal El turned himself in after months of terror. He has not been seen since. Two months ago, my friend Dr. Emilia Hamilton found him unconscious in an alley near her lab. He is a broken man. We have not yet figured out how he escaped, and he refuses to speak." Lois turned pale.
"Lex knows he's Clark Kent?"
"Lex has never lived in Smallville. He's never met him before."
"What about the Justice League?"
"Who?"
"Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash ..." she stopped at the sight of the misunderstanding on Wells' face. "The other heroes, Mr. Wells."
"We have no other heroes, Miss Lane."
"So how?"
"How do we know about you?" She nodded, "A woman named Chloe Sullivan has turned to us for help. For the past six months she has been dreaming very vivid dreams and she could not stop them. She tried to stop sleeping and the dreams started appearing when she was awake. She said it was like watching two movies on each other at the same time. "The people on the street and other people on the same street but different. With her consent we put her in a trance and then it became clear that what she sees is a different world, a few other worlds.
"Chloe Sullivan was my cousin. She died when she was six." There was silence in the concrete burial cave.
"We know about the family connection. Ms. Sullivan told us about the connection between you and Kal El." The place sank into silence again.
"The only one who can kill Milton Fine is Clark. Milton Fine is a machine; he is not human in any sense of the word." She looked at the man in the closet and then came back to Wells, "So what do you need from me?"
"Chloe Sullivan claims you're the only one who can help him, help us."
"What happened to your Lois Lane? Why don't you turn to her?"
"We can't find her. That's how Dr. Hamilton contacted me. I travel in time, and she managed to get my attention. She was not specifically looking for me just someone who understands time travel. She hoped to go back in time and find her before she was gone. After she found me and convinced me to help, I searched for her and did not find her. She just disappeared, as if someone had deleted her."
"So, you came here."
"Yes. I'm here to beg you to help us, Ms. Lane. You're our only hope." He looked at her and his voice softened, "What happened to him?"
"He fought Doomsday, an ancient Krypton monster, six months ago."
"Did he lose?"
"No. He won. The monster died. But he died a few minutes later. The world became darker afterwards, more violent, more desperate." Wells hesitated.
"Chloe Sullivan saw him alive. She saw him fight the monster, died, and was resurrected a few weeks later. She still has nightmares from the battle."
"Clark stays dead."
"Ms. Lane ..."
"I will come with you but there are some things I need to take with me. I need to say goodbye to some people."
"We will bring you back when it's all over, no one will feel you left." Lois smiled an ironic smile.
"Assuming we succeed, assuming nothing goes wrong." Mr. Wells looked embarrassed. "Don't worry, Mr. Wells. We should go. The lunatics will come at any moment."
"Crazy?"
"Cult members. They refer to him as a god."
The little red suitcase was waiting in the middle of the apartment. Lying on it at an angle was a computer bag. Mr. Wells was sitting in the living room looking at Lois talking on the phone.
"It's just a vacation, Martha. I have to get out of Metropolis."
"But to resign from the Planet? Lois."
"I'm not going to work for Lex even if it's going to be the last job in the world."
"Are you sure about that? You never taken a vacation before."
"Clark has not died before." She said quietly. "I'm sorry, I ..."
"No, you're right, Lois. Try to have fun, and do not forget we're here for you."
"Thank you, Martha." She hung up the phone.
She looked around, checking that she had not forgotten anything and then looked at her engagement ring. No. She will not leave it behind. She went to the jewelry box and hesitantly took out a bracelet. She has not worn it since the funeral. She was wearing it now. She suddenly felt better, as if she had received Clark's approval. Her eyes filled with tears, but Lois quickly wiped them away and looked at Wells.
"let's go." She held the suitcase, put the computer bag on her shoulder and looked at him expectantly.
Wells got up from his seat, opened the pocket watch and moved the hands while standing next to Lois. A door-sized opening opened in front of them, sparks spread from the opening in all directions. Wells opened the door as far as possible from any electrical appliance and Lois' computer was turned off. Lois looked at him and he nodded. She passed through the doorway and Mr. Wells followed her.
Lois has passed several times in the league's transporter; it has never been as smooth as the move in that opening. One moment she was in her apartment, a moment later she was in the lab. The place was completely messy. Dr. Hamilton, at least Lois assumed it was Dr. Hamilton, was a young woman with rectangular glasses who looked at her stunned. She shifted her gaze from her to Wells who appeared after her and then returned to her.
"Lois Lane, I guess."
"Dr. Hamilton."
"Call me Emilia." Said the woman with a smile.
"Emilia," Lois smiled politely, "if you show me where I can put my things, I want to see him."
"Oh, yeah, sure. Hmmm ... come after me. We'll catch up while walking." She advanced toward the door and the other two followed.
"How long has it been since I left?" Hamilton asked.
"About half an hour."
"Very good. We manage to tune the machine better every time."
"Indeed."
"Did something happen when I was absent?"
"We were able to hide the lab from the Luther team inspection."
"Sorry?" Said Lois.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Lane. It's a lab within a lab. There's a large isolation area between the two. The Luther team is Lex Luthor's private police force. They have the right to inspect any lab at any time and they're looking for Kal El. "
"Why are they inspecting labs?"
"Mr. Luther makes sure LexCorp Labs will remain the most advanced labs. Knowledge is power. This lab contains a lot of things Mr. Luther would love to see destroyed. Like the Daily Planet's Golden Globe. The building itself was mysteriously destroyed three years ago. Perry White is still putting out the newspaper in the underground. "
"Perry is here?"
"No. Too dangerous. I just keep the knowledge." Hamilton led Lois to a small, windowless room but with a large, thin screen. "Sorry for the lack of scenery, Ms. Lane. We are deep underground. There is also a bathroom here if you would like to freshen up."
Lois placed the suitcase next to the bed and the computer bag on the desk and looked around.
"No, I'm fine." Dr. Hamilton handed her a magnetic card.
"That's the key to the room." Lois put the key in her jacket pocket and looked at Hamilton waiting. "Oh, yes. Kal El. Come with me."
Hamilton led her down the hall and then stood next to a young woman with short blond hair standing, her hand resting on the glass in front of her, in front of a huge, large window overlooking a narrow, long cell lit by soft, cold fluorescent light. Next to the window was a white pillar with a stone that glowed green. The room was upholstered and had no furniture at all. Across the room sat a black-haired man staring at the wall in front of him. He was wearing white scrubs. Lois had no doubt who he was. She looked at the three.
"I want to get in."
"Ms. Lane! He's an alien!" Said Dr. Hamilton in shock.
"You brought me in to help him so open the door and let me in."
"You can talk to him from here." Said the blonde woman.
"Open the door or bring me back to my universe." Dr. Hamilton looked at Wells who nodded.
Dr. Hamilton pressed a button and a small keyboard that combines letters and numbers was exposed. She typed code that Lois did not try to memorize. The armored glass opened. Lois stepped inside and grabbed the stone and tossed it to the other side of the hallway.
"Ms. Lane!" Said Dr. Hamilton.
"If you're afraid for your life you can close the glass behind me, Hamilton." Lois turned her back on them and heard the door close in a whisper behind her.
Lois advanced to the other side of the cell and then sat down in front of him. He kept staring as if she was not there. There were scars on his face. She saw a faint glow at the edges of one of the ugliest scars that disappeared after a moment. He needed the sun.
"Hey." She said with a smile. No response. "I'm Lois." Still no response. "It's okay. You do not have to say anything. I did not ask them what happened to your parents, and I don't assume you will tell me." She looked into his eyes, looking for some response, "Well, it's no big difference than talking to a coffin. My Clark is dead and stuck in a glass coffin like he was Snow White, and you died inside." He does not even blink, "You do not know me. I can talk for hours and in the end, I manage to erode even the silences of kryptonians who grew up on Earth." He blinked. "Only they're in a bit of a hurry. It's hard to blame them. You're probably in the same position for two months and they're eager to overthrow Lex's tyrannical regime." She reached out and pulled his hair away from his face. He recoiled but Lois did not recoil. He blinked again. "So, Lex and Brainiac," he blinked at the name and looked at her for the first time, "tried to get you to volunteer your body as a tool for General Zod." In a quick motion he grabbed her hand which was still stroking his hair.
"Ms. Lane?" Said Wells from the doorway.
"I'm fine. He's never going to hurt me."
"You're very confident." His voice was very low.
"They're listening to everything in this room, eh?" She smiled. He looked out of the corner of his eye to door and then looked back at her. Lois touched the pin on her jacket. Blue Egyptian beetle. He sent a questioning look at the pin and then at her. "They did not hear anything from what we said from the moment I entered." He released her hand. "You managed to escape Brainiac just to live in your biggest nightmare, to be imprisoned in a lab." He did not have to say anything, everything was in his eyes. "How many of your abilities have come back to you?"
"Not enough." He touched the ugly scar on his face.
"You need sun."
"It is not possible."
"Because Lex is looking for you? Because this lab is underground?" She saw the confirmation in his eyes.
"Miss Lane, what are you saying there?" Hamilton asked from the door. Lois ignored her.
"Is that what you wanted? Why did you run away from Brainiac?" He did not look at her. "My Clark is dead. The people in my world are losing hope every day. They came to me and asked me to give hope to another world. They asked me to help you, to save their world. I agreed to help you, to be here for you, whatever you decide to do. I am not here for them, I don't care what they want to, not if they lock you in a cell without the sun and with kryptonite. " He looked at her again, "What do you want to do?"
"Your Clark, how did he die?" Lois knew this question would come, she took a newspaper clipping out of her pocket and gave it to him.
"He tried to save Metropolis from a monster named Doomsday. He succeeded but died immediately afterwards."
"Did he kill it?"
"Yeah, for the first time in his life he killed someone. There was no other choice and believe me he tried. It also doesn't really matter. What kills Doomsday strengthens him." He looked up at her from the newspaper, "They sent him into deep space, Doomsday, tied to a block of stone. Before I got here, we heard he was on another planet wreaking havoc."
"And if I tell you I do not want to be a hero like him? That I just want to be left to my own devices?"
"I'm going to ask why you surrender yourself in the first place?" He is silent, returning the newspaper to her. Lois folded the newspaper clipping and put it in her pocket.
"I want to bring down Lex."
"Ok."
"I can't do it alone."
"I'll help you."
"Lois and Clark against the world?" Lois smiled.
"Not enough for you, Smallville?"
"Smallville ?!"
"I'm sorry, it just came out. That's what I call him. I called him." He put his hand on hers, feeling the ring under his fingers.
"It's okay. No one has given me an affectionate nickname before. I like it but if it's hard for you ..." they were silent.
"Anyway, we'll find more people to help." He nodded, not taking his eyes off her, "We'll start by getting you out in the sun." She gently removed his hand from hers and stood up.
"They're afraid of me." There was a pain in his voice, "They will not let me out."
"How much do you want to bring down Lex?" He looked up at her. She sat back down.
"When I got out of there all I wanted was to get away, to escape. That's the only thing I could think of. I do not know Metropolis and I was not even sure I was in Metropolis. I'm still not sure." Lois nodded, "I collapsed in the alley. It took me a few days to remember everything when I woke up and then I was already here."
"In this cell?" He nodded.
"Dr. Emilia Hamilton was working for Lex when I surrender myself." Lois stopped the urge to look at the woman in the doorway. "And by the time the blonde girl showed up I thought they had caught me again. I'm still not sure she's not working for Lex."
"That way she knew you were not from Earth and knew how to use kryptonite."
"They don't know about Krypton or Brainiac or General Zod. Lex doesn't know either."
"That's what made you relate to me."
"Yes, that and you were not afraid to touch me. I trust you; I do not know why."
"You may have to scare them more to get out of here."
"I do not want to hurt anyone."
"If Hamilton does not agree to open the door, will not agree to let you out, you will have to break that glass."
"I tried." He whispered, "There was a power outage, and the air was starting to run out, I tried."
"You did not succeed." He shook his head. "What about the wall on the side? Where is the keyboard, will you be able to reveal the contacts?"
"I think I will can."
"It's good enough for me."
"All they'll need is to bring the kryptonite you threw away."
"And you'll have to hold on." He looked at her carefully, "I can't cover you with lead and the nearest lead box I know of is in my suitcase, down the hall."
"Will you really help me against them? I'm not human."
"Because you were born on another planet? Being human is not just biology. You did nothing to justify your imprisonment in a cell with poison that could kill you. Even if you had three heads and fifty arms." He smiled for the first time and Lois had to try and prevent the tears from breaking out. He was not her Clark, but he was still Clark, she could not let him stay in the position he was. Her hands trembled.
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault."
"If I hadn't been hiding on the farm maybe all this would have been avoided."
"But he was still dead."
"Maybe, but you did not have to deal with me."
"I think, I think the role of Lois Lane in every universe is to help Clark Kent in every universe carry a burden. Sometimes it requires running him out of labs."
"Even if it's a different universe?"
"Yes." She took his hand and stood up. "Come on." He got up.
"Lois and Clark against the World."
"The world doesn't have a chance." She smiled at him. She touched the beetle.
They progressed to door. Hamilton, holding the kryptonite, stood pale on the other side of the glass. Lois pulled Clark behind her.
"Ms. Lane! What are you doing?"
"Helping him." Hamilton swallowed saliva in fear. "Emilia," said Lois softly, "He surrendered himself so people would not get hurt. He suffered at Lex's labs for more than a year. He would not hurt anyone."
"But..."
"In my universe he is the greatest hero. If what Mr. Wells told me is true you need such a hero here, I only talked to him for a few minutes, Emilia, and I can see that there is this hero in him. You have to trust him so he can help." Wells looked at Lois and then said
"Dr. Hamilton, why did you leave LexCorp?" Dr. Hamilton looked down at the kryptonite in her hand.
She looked at Clark's scarred face and then at Lois and nodded. She touched the adjacent wall, a drawer opened, and she put the kryptonite inside. Lois heard Clark sigh in relief behind her. Hamilton typed the code and the glass opened. The three retreated and Lois and Clark went outside. Hamilton looked at Lois that Clark had chosen to stay behind her.
"What now?"
"He needs sun to get his abilities back, for his injuries to heal."
"it's impossible."
"Dr. Hamilton."
"Do not get me wrong, Ms. Lane, I released him because I decided to trust him and I understand that to help him he will have to be at his full strength but I can't let him out. It is too dangerous for him."
"I don't understand."
"Ms. Lane," said Mr. Wells, "We are below what was once the Daily Planet. Lexcorp has built their security center almost above us. Hamilton Laboratories is right in front of Lexcorp."
"He needs solar energy." There was a moment of silence.
"Dr. Hamilton, what about the Greenhouse project?" Said the blonde.
"Ms. Sullivan, that could very well be the solution." Hamilton said with a smile, "Come with me."
"Wait. What's the Greenhouse project?" Lois asked.
"We grow our own food. It's a matter of safety. The food is cleaner, cheaper ..."
"And no one out there knows how many people are here."
"Exactly." Hamilton confirmed, "There was a need for a solar source and this facility was really insulated so we created a pocket universe."
"Sorry?" Said Clark, speaking for the first time.
"It's the technology that allowed Mr. Wells to bring Miss Lane here, K ... Mr. Kent."
"Did you create a pocket universe just to grow food? Why not put the whole lab in there?" Hamilton looked at him as if he had grown another head and Clark moved uncomfortably behind Lois, "Sorry, that must be a stupid question."
"No, Mr. Kent. Definitely not a stupid question. It's going to save us a lot of headaches and a lot of energy to do what you described. I had to think about it myself." She looked at him reassessing, "Come after me."
Dr. Hamilton led the way, Mr. Wells followed her. Ms. Sullivan walked next to Lois and Clark was in the end. Sullivan glanced at Lois all the way, not daring to speak. Lois just smiled to herself. They went up another floor and came to a door that all that was written on it were the letters G.H. Dr. Hamilton passed a magnetic card very similar to the magnetic card that opened Lois' room and opened the door. Cleaning products, mops and brooms were neatly placed on shelves and hooks. They went inside.
"Mr. Kent, make sure, please, to close the door well behind you." Said Hamilton.
Clark did as he was told, and she passed another card on one of the shelves. At a glance the groove looks like a space between two shelves. The wall with the shelves moved backwards and then to the side and a yellow light illuminated the room from the doorway. They followed Hamilton through the opening. Lois felt like she was in Kansas now. Extensive fields of wheat and corn spread out in every direction and a warm yellow sun spread light and heat to the whole area. The four turned and looked at Clark, the last one to pass through the doorway.
At first it was almost imperceptible, Lois who expecting it noticed it but she doubted that the others noticed. His skin began to glow. Clark took a deep breath, taking a deep breath of the clean, fragrant air around him. As the scars on his face began to disappear, Sullivan, Wells and Hamilton held their breath in amazement. Lois smiled. His eyes shone and he looked full of energy.
"Can you fly?" She asked with a smile.
"Fly?!" He looked at her in amazement.
"My Clark loves the most ... loved to fly. He always said it was the most amazing freedom."
"I never tried."
"There is no time like the present. Move away a little and try. Up, up and away!"
He was a few feet away from them, his eyes not leaving Lois. He looked at the ground, at the red dirt path that separated the fields and then looked at the cloudless blue sky above him and then came back and looked at Lois. He took a deep breath, bent his knees, and leaped into the sky. He jumped high and to his surprise stayed in the air, he looked around, turned around, looked down and saw Lois smiling, and the other three looking at him with open mouths. She was right, it was a perfect sense of freedom. He tried to fly a bit, moving from place to place and could not understand why he had not tried it before. He went lower, standing in the air a few feet above their heads.
"How does it feel?" Lois asked.
"Amazing. Will you join me?" Her smile grew.
"Maybe, when you learn to land."
"How hard can this already be?"
"For you, not at all but I do not want to break a hand or a neck."
He decided to try to land and created a huge crater in the nearby wheat field. Lois and Chloe giggled. Clark stood up and looked at them. He was embarrassed but all the embarrassment in the world could not erase the silly huge smile that spread across his face. Lois' smile grew as she looked at him. The white clothes he was wearing got dirty from the dirt and Lois suddenly struggled with a strong urge to hug him only she could not, she just could not. She escaped through the opening through which they reached the pocket universe and entered the equipment room, but she did not know how to get out of there. Mr. Wells who was standing by the doorway entered after her and without saying a word opened the door back to the lab. Lois looked at him gratefully and fled into the hallway, the door slamming shut behind her. Wells turned in time to stop Clark from following her.
"Mr. Kent ..."
"I am..."
"You listened to her, right? She lost the love of her life half a year ago, but she still has a hard time remembering to talk about him in the past tense. It's not your fault you are alive, and he is not but it must be very painful to see you. She is a very strong, very special woman. Other women in her situation would have broken up earlier, probably not being able to confront Dr. Hamilton like that, maybe even hating you because you are alive, and he is not. But she cares about you and she's trying to help you honestly just that it's easy to forget you're not him and let the friendship turn into something more than that. "
"And is that bad? That I should give her the comfort she so desperately needs?"
"Yes, Mr. Kent, I'm sorry but it would be bad, for her it would be bad because you are not him. Because you do not have the history they shared. Because she will notice it immediately and then she will feel she is cheating on him. Do you want to force to go through that?"
"No. But, Mr. Wells, I can't see her suffering and do nothing about it."
"Be her friend as she tries to be your friend and no matter how hard it is for you, make sure you stay friends and don't get hurt, do not show her that you are hurt when she escapes like this. For her part she gave up her world to help you, doesn't she deserve for you to give up your attraction to her so she will she be able to be with you in the same room? And when she returns to her world, if we can do everything we planned and bring her back, maybe she's able to go a week without visiting his monument, maybe she can live in the city they lived in together."
"Monument..."
"Yes. In her world people do not know he is Clark Kent, so even there she is unable to mourn properly. Give her time, Mr. Kent. We will find you suitable clothes, Dr. Hamilton will be given the opportunity to find you a more dignified living space from a padded cell." Clark nodded.