Almost Partners (Chapter Ten)

Clark moved into the darkened lab after Dr. Takamoto. Jimmy and Dan shuffled in after, looking hesitant, even more so when the lights were on. "It's okay," he said. "I'll explain everything."

"Like when?" Dan asked, eying the machinery, wires, giving what looked like a metal helmet a very wary look.

"Be cool," Jimmy hissed at him. "I mean, we're hanging with Superman." He nodded at Clark, smiling. "What's up?"

Clark almost smiled. He'd been too jealous of Jimmy, more than even he would admit, to realize how much he actually liked the guy. "Just give me a minute." He moved to the table where Murray was sitting, already eating pie. He sat down and lowered his voice. "Sorry about the late night thing, Murray, but I guess I just... had to. I need your help on this."

"Of course," Murray said, his mouth full. He swallowed quickly. "Does your mother use real sugar or that artificial..."

"She uses raw sugar," Clark said quickly. "You told me about your prosthesis that follows the brain's commands."

"For the article? Well, yes, but it's hardly ready. If you want to see a mock-up..."

"No. Not that exactly. But you said you were monitoring the brain activity on those amputees with these electrodes that..."

"Oh, that." He waved a hand. "Just an EEG reading. It's fairly simple, but... why?"

"Do you remember how we talked about a Doctor Grady and his treatment?"

"You mean with the memories and the... I thought you were going to track down Grady."

"I can't. It's like he's just disappeared." He nodded to Jimmy and Dan. "But these are two of the people he messed with."

"Hmmm. I remember. His treatment seems to bring on a sort of dissociative amnesia- usually something psychotherapy works to remove in cases of trauma so the patient can deal with said trauma." He pursed his lips. "A gray area, that one." He shook his head. "I'm not a psychiatrist, Cl... Superman. I know what he did could be unethical, but to undo might be just as bad. Besides that, I don't know what could."

"I'm not asking you to. I just want you to find out what causes the headaches."

"Headaches?"

"Yes," he said, starting to feel frantic again at the mention of them. "She gets these headaches and..."

"She?" He looked at Jimmy and Dan. "Who is this she?"

Clark ran a hand over his face. He'd told Takamoto about Grady, but he'd never told him why. "Never mind that. That doesn't matter now. What does matter is that what he did to this person, what he took from her... It's worse than what he's done to them. Any small memory triggers these awful headaches. Now... maybe we can't get their minds back the way they were, but... if we could find out what exactly causes the headaches, not just the memory, but what's actually happening..."

"Then we can control them," Murray finished. He bit at an already abused thumbnail. "It's a thought."

"So... could you?"

Murray sighed. "I'll try."

Clark patted his shoulder and moved toward Jimmy and Dan. Jimmy stood up. "What's the deal, here, Supes?"

"Is that what you call a minute?"

He looked at Dan. "Look, you have every right to be mad. I probably should have explained this before we came." he took a deep breath. "Something was done to you, both of you, by Doctor Kevin Grady."

Dan looked down, but Jimmy looked harder at Clark. "Again... I'm not clear who..."

Clark shook his head. If Jimmy didn't even remember him, explaining would be harder than ever... "He is, or was, a psychiatrist who worked with people dealing with memory loss. He had an office in..."

"Oh, him!" Jimmy snapped his fingers. "Okay. Yeah. Uh... Lois and I went to check him out this one time, but I think I'd know if he... huh..." Jimmy stared off. "I mean, we talked, but..."

"I know what Kevin Grady did," Dan said, his face hard. "And I'm... not entirely happy. At the same time, he... He's not like you're thinking. He's not a criminal... I think he thought..."

"Dan, I'm not going after him like he's a criminal. I just think he should try to make this right."

Dan looked everywhere but at Clark. "All of it?" he asked, his voice slightly choked. "I don't know all of what he took, but from what I... Sometimes I think I'd rather... not..."

Clark suddenly remembered what Grady had told him about Dan -- not just the drugs and the prostitution, but the childhood... "I'm not changing anything," he said softly. "I just want to find out what's going on for you two from a more... well..."

"A neurological standpoint," Doctor Takamoto said from behind him. Clark was glad for Murray and his giant brain. This would all sound better coming from a doctor than from the flying man in tights. Clark nodded and Murray went on. "I'm going to take an electroencephalogram just to check for abnormalities." He looked at Clark. "Now that I think about it, I nearly wish I had all of his patients in here. It's best to be safe."

Clark thought of Lois and wondered if something awful was happening inside her as a result of this. He swallowed hard. "They'll do for now."

Dan stood up. "But I'm fine. Wouldn't I have had some symptoms if I had a tumor or..."

"It's not as simple as that," Clark said, nearing impatience again. "What about the headaches? It isn't healthy to..."

"What headaches?"

He stared at Dan, then at Jimmy. "The headaches. They happen whenever you remember..."

Dan shook his head. "I don't get headaches. I mean, I do, but not more than any normal person."

Jimmy tilted his head. "Same here. Should I be..."

"Jimmy, you said..." He took another deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Clark told me that you get headaches. From what Grady did to you."

"That's the thing. I don't think Grady actually did..."

"Do you get headaches?" Clark said, trying not to snap at him.

"Well... yeah. But I switched contacts and I'm fine. Went for soft lenses and..." Clark drew back, massaging his temples and Jimmy looked around. "What did I say?"

Clark backed away, not sure if he wanted to scream or fly away from all of this. "So... what you're saying is that you... don't?" Murray touched his shoulder and he felt himself being pulled backward, away from Jimmy and Dan, both looking at him like he was a little crazy. He felt a little crazy at the moment. "Was this all for nothing?"

"No." Murray pulled him to the supply closet and closed the door. "Clark," he hissed. "Calm down. You don't look well."

He was shaking. "How am I supposed to look? Murray, something's happening with her that's not happening with them." He'd never felt so powerless. "All this was for nothing."

"It's not for nothing." Murray shook him lightly. "I'm glad you brought them here, Clark. At least we can find out what's going on in there, if any damage was done. This is a good thing."

"But what about..."

"Whoever this person is, bring her to me."

"I can't. She won't... She'd never listen and..."

"Clark, I understand that you're upset, but nobody should see Superman panic. Just... let me work on them. Then you can take them home and... well, you can formulate a new plan."

He stiffened, realizing that Murray was right. Clark could fall apart. Superman couldn't. He straightened his shoulders and strode out. "Let's do this."

*******************************

"You can do this," Lois growled. "Come on."

She was on her bed now. She'd taken her laptop to her room. She couldn't sit at the rolltop desk anymore. Sitting up had became as laborious as reading.

She squinted at the screen. It wasn't just this article, from what she could read, about a girl that could teleport. It was a steady pain that grew worse with each word she read. It wasn't just what she found on the disks. The copies on paper were just as hard. She leaned back against the headboard and closed her eyes, trying to breathe deeply, trying not to go for the bottle of wine in her fridge. Wine seemed to numb the headaches only to bring on headaches of a different kind. Hangover headaches that tightened around her scalp like a clamp as opposed to this -- which shot through her eyes and made her dizzy, weak...

She closed the window and rubbed her eyes. All she could gather is that her cousin had some far out ideas on truth. All of it seemed impossible, And yet... She just couldn't stop. She swallowed her pain and focused on the next title: Localboydiscoversindiancaves.pdf

She shook slightly as she clicked. It started with the picture. A smiling boy near a rock wall with paintings. Why should such a thing make her so... She shook harder, trying to move past the pain. But the boy with the slightly wavy hair. It fell into his eyes and he seemed so much like...

Her legs stiffened at the next burst of pain and her laptop fell from her lap and clattered to the floor with a final crunching noise that couldn't be good.

And yet she couldn't bring herself to care. Her mind shut down as her body curled up tight on the bed. "No more," she cried softly. "Please no more."

*********************************

Clark watched numbly as Murray removed the electrodes from Jimmy's temples and forehead.

"Nothing seems to be wrong," Murray said, relief clear in his voice. "No real abnormalities."

"That's what I was telling you, Superman." Jimmy wiped a little jelly from his temple with a grimace. "I mean, maybe you're thinking of someone else this Grady messed with. Besides, it all seems a little screwy." He laughed slightly. "You really think someone could steal memories?"

Clark looked toward the corner where Dan sat, staring ahead of him at nothing. He turned back to Jimmy. "I do."

Jimmy shrugged. "Well, if a guy can fly without a plane...

Clark stared at him, trying not to let the fact that his insides were crumbling show. "I'm sorry I put you through all this..."

"No," Jimmy cut in quickly. "It's totally cool. I mean, how many people get to take a flight with you, big guy?" He punched Clark's shouder, then took his hand back, shaking it slightly. "So... uh..." He shifted on his feet.

Clark stared back tiredly. "Yes?"

"I'm just jazzed we had this time and all, hanging and... stuff. It's kind of like we're..." Jimmy smiled sort of hesitantly. "Friends," he finished.

Clark sighed, giving him a small smile. "Yeah. Friends."

Jimmy's grin grew wider. "Cool. Because any time you need my help I'm right there. Seriously. I know some people. I keep my ears to the ground and all and..."

"Thanks, Jimmy," he cut in. "I appreciate that." He'd appreciate it more, this whole moment, if he could just enjoy it. Of course he was glad nothing was harming Jimmy and Dan. It probably spoke well for Grady's other patients. But Lois... He wondered if Lex was suffering anything similar. He certainly wasn't going to get too close to him as Superman, but... "Jimmy," he began, his brows drawing together. "Would you be able to do a little research for me?" As well as he had been going along in his work at The Planet, he knew he wouldn't be able to add another task to his plate.

Jimmy's eyes widened. "Sure. Definitely. You just say the word and..."

"Lex Luthor," he broke in. "Could you possibly ask around, see if you can find out if he's been seeing a doctor of some sort? And what kind?"

"I'm on it." Jimmy pointed at him. "I'm so on it, but... How would I get the info to you?"

"I'll find you," he said. "I'm always around." And if he wasn't, Clark would be.

"Okay. Cool."

Clark looked to the corner again, where Dan still sat, pale and silent. "Could you do me a favor right now?" he asked Jimmy, who nodded, his face dead serious. "Could you step outside for a second?"

"Oh... Uh... Yes. Going. I'll meet you out there." He started away, then turned back. "Buddy," he added, grinning again before he moved into the hallway.

Clark smiled despite himself. Was it weird that he liked Jimmy looking up to him? Things had been tense between them, off and on, since they met. It was nice to feel like someone was on his team. He hadn't had many close male friends. There'd been Lex, though that had ended as badly and bitterly as it possibly could. There was Pete, who had a new life free from the danger he brought. He couldn't let himself intrude there. He looked across the room where Murray was putting away his equipment, sending what was left of the pie longing glances. There was Murray, his mother, Oliver, Victor, A.C., Bart... even Linda, sometimes. It was almost ungrateful to let hopelessness consume him when so many were standing by him. Yet there it was, sapping all the energy he'd started this night with.

He moved toward Murray. "I hope you like the pie," he said. "And I'm sorry for waking you. I thought I'd have answers, but I have... nothing."

"Not nothing." Murray shook his head. "I suppose, as a scientist, I see this entire experience as fraught with something more important than answers."

"Like what?" Clark asked, dejected.

"Better questions." Murray leaned forward. "We now know that his treatment of this person you spoke of, this she person, had a little side affect that theirs didn't. So there's a why to be found."

Clark tried to agree that this was good, but he coudn't bring himself to. His chances of finding that why were extremely slim, considering he had so many other whys and hows and whens in the air as it was.

He turned to Dan, who stood alone. He moved toward him, taking the chair next to him. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know. I don't know if I ever was okay. I don't know if I ever will be." He sniffed slightly and leaned back. "On the one hand, I feel like I pushed him away and it was unfair. He thought he was doing something good for me, taking away what I was, what I... I don't even know it all. It comes to me sometimes, but so hazy, like something I saw in a movie." He laughed bitterly. "And then I'm glad, because the feelings that come are so bad, I just want to numb them." He looked over at Clark. "That's what I used to do. I was a junkie. Found that out." He looked away again. "Not from him, though. It's when I met people, people from my old life and... It all fell together and I... I hated him. But I... I can't hate him anymore. I... still care about him. Although, I guess I can't love him. Seeing him would bring back what he did, which would bring back what I was, and... I don't want that." He sighed. "Does that make me selfish?"

"No," Clark assured him. It would be selfish of Grady to push himself back into Dan's life. It had been selfish of him to push himself back into Lois' life. And yet... It was as right as it was selfish. She needed him as surely as he needed her. Why else would she be drawn to him, both of him?

"I feel selfish," Dan went on. "I hang up every time he..." He broke off and stood. "Could we go?"

Clark stood as well, stepping in front of Dan. "Every time he what?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm fine now. I've actually been seeing a real therapist. One who really..."

"Do you know where he is, Dan?" Clark pleaded.

"Why? So you can fly him off to some mental institution? That's what they've done to people like him. I know that much."

"I... I don't know, but..."

"He's not insane."

"I don't think he is, not really," Clark admitted. "But... even though he's done some good. There's one patient he's... hurt. Maybe he didn't mean to, but..."

"I don't know where he is," Dan said firmly. "He only called my cell a few times. All I know is that he's... okay." Dan shook his head. "Or that he was, as well as a little drunk. The last phone call was weeks ago and..."

Clark felt a surge of hope run though him. "If we could get your records, we could..."

"No," Dan insisted. "I don't want anything to happen to him. I still... I still care that much. He didn't even want to do it, not all of it. I heard him telling them..."

"Them?" Clark's mind was whirring into action. He could hardly breathe his next words. "What do you mean by them?"

"I don't know," Dan snapped. "There are gaps, even of my time with him." He took a shaky breath. "One night, I was in the kitchen and I heard him on the phone. He was drunk. He... kind of started drinking towards the end. He was saying. 'I did what you said. Just leave me alone. I'm finished with both of them.' And then he hung up. He wouldn't tell me who it was. That's all I have." He turned a pleading gaze to Clark. "I just want to be left out of this. I can't be involved with you, with him, any of it. I just want what's left of me, of my life, to be peaceful. I think I deserve it."

Clark stared at him. He sighed. "You do. And... I'm sorry to have dragged you all the way out here."

Dan shook his head. "It's fine. I'm glad nothing's wrong with me physically. At least I got that much." He adjusted his jacket and looked across the room at Murray. "Thanks for the check-up, Doc."

"No problem," Murray mumbled, his mouth full.

Dan started out the door, but Clark stumbled slightly against him. "Sorry," he muttered.

Dan rolled his eyes. "I guess super reflexes aren't part of the package."

Clark forced a laugh. "Guess not." He nodded to the door. "I'll be out in a moment to get you two home."

Dan shrugged. "We've waited this long..."

Clark watched him close the door as Murray came up beside him. "I'm sorry you didn't get your answers," Murray said, squeezing his arm.

Clark glanced at him. "Well, maybe not answers, but I did get something more important." He pulled his left hand from behind him, staring at Dan's cell phone.

Murray squinted at it. "Meaning?"

He opened the cell. He'd put it back in Dan's pocket before they got back, but first... He dialed his own cell number quickly. "Better questions," he said, flicking it shut.

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