recovering from an ordeal

[slayers_desire]

Clark and April had stayed in her home universe. It had been a day since the whole ordeal with the kidnapping and everything. April was still not talking about anything.

In fact, for the last couple of hours, she had stayed in the guest bed that the others had given the couple.

Comments

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"That looks like the Luthor family crest," Tess says once April is finished.

"Lionel branded him?" Clark asks, a little horrified by the idea.

[slayers_desire]

April shrugs, she doesn't know who made the scar. Just that it was the one thing that made them different.

"And he would act different too. He had a hard time pretending to be happy with a simple farm life."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"He was raised a Luthor. All his clothes probably cost more than I make in a year. Being on a farm is miles below that."

[slayers_desire]

"He acts like it too. You can see it... even if he tries to pretend otherwise. He was offended I asked him about breakfast." April is not sure any of this will help. She didn't spend much time with Luthor.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"So we can hope to trip him up by making him spend time with us 'commoners,'" Tess says. She doesn't sound very impressed by Clark Luthor.

"We could set up a kind of question to ask me every time we meet, that he wouldn't know the answer to," Clark suggests. "Actually... we should probably do that for everyone. There's no promise that he's the only alternate who might find his way here." And while April can tell the difference, if she's not around, or she's the one to get switched with an alternate, they would have no way of confirming their suspicions.

[slayers_desire]

"Maybe a codeword that we can tell all the Leaguers."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"Everyone should have their own codeword," Tess agrees.

"The only danger would be that if an alternate had telepathy, they could 'steal' that codeword and none of us would be the wiser," Clark says, thinking about the possibility of an alternate of April. Or J'onn. "But I can't think of a better solution."

[slayers_desire]

"Not if we all properly block the codeword in our heads. I can train the others, so they will know if someone tries to force that word from them."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"It's worked well for me," Clark agrees. "Looks like you have a project."

[slayers_desire]

"I will get on that. It will be best if each person chooses something their own word. Make it unique."

[smallvillains]

"I already know mine," Tess says. "Mercy."

[slayers_desire]

"Are you going to let me in your head to help you keep it safe?"

[smallvillains]

There's that nervousness again. "Yes... but I have something else I need to tell you first."

[slayers_desire]

"Okay." April wonders what else Tess could tell her. What is the secret that has her so scared?

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"I didn't want to tell you. I was hoping he would grow up better, normal... I didn't do it because I was trying to hurt either of you."

"Tess, what are you talking about?" Clark asks, frowning.

Tess steels herself. "Clark, when Zod... burned me, and I woke up healed? I was taken to one of Lex's old research facilities called Cadmus Labs. They were experimenting in regeneration, and cloning."

[slayers_desire]

"He?"

Hearing where she woke up healed, April frowned. "A clone of Lex?"

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"Yes," Tess admits. "He was only a little boy. He was innocent. But growing up too fast... and he started to change. He remembers things that Lex knew. Clark... he was obsessed with you."

Doctor Fate said he would be my ultimate opponent. Clark is not surprised, but he is dismayed. "Where is he now?"

"I don't know. He ran away. At the rate he was growing... he's probably a teenager now."

[slayers_desire]

Lex is back... and obsessed with you? This is not good...

"Do you have something of his? Maybe I can get a read off him."

[smallvillains]

"I have his clothes from before he grew out of them. Some of his favorite books... what will you do if you find him?" Tess is worried about him, and not just because it turns out she's his half-sister.

[slayers_desire]

"We have to find out if he is a danger to us. To anyone." But technically, if this clone has done now harm yet... they wouldn't attack him.

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"And if he is?"

"We're not going to kill him," Clark tells her. "But we need to know."

[slayers_desire]

"Please Tess... I know you care for him. But we just wanted to help him..."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"I wanted to help him too. I failed. I thought I could raise him right..."

"It wasn't your fault," Clark says. "Lex... if he has the memories of his adult self, he hasn't been on the right path for a very long time."

[slayers_desire]

"We can bring him back to you Tess. And together, we can help him deal with these memories."

[kalel_ofkrypton]

"I don't think going after him is a good idea," Tess says, glad that they aren't blaming her for keeping this a secret, but so worried about the clone. "He'll see it as kidnapping... maybe his memories need time to settle..."

"We won't," Clark promises. "Unless he's planning to hurt someone. Once April knows what he feels like, she can find him again. We can keep tabs on him."