The Nursery

Lois latched onto the word. A weird flutter went through her belly, though she knew it was too soon to actually feel anything.

"Show me the nursery," she said, a strange urgency in her voice.

With the reporter following close behind, the young woman led the way. It was weird to see the hospital so deserted...but with all the lights on, as though people might return at any moment. Lois Lane couldn't help but feel that they were being watched, though she couldn't see any cameras.

Slowly, as they moved through the corridors, it dawned on Lois that she could hear something...children, infants crying. The characteristic wail of new, hungry life. It set her teeth on edge, but more than that...it made her tits itch. She could feel something inside her breasts, and she absently rubbed them, trying to assuage the feeling. It was too early, far too early for her milk to come in, but a part of her desperately wanted a babe at her breast right now.

They entered a room of empty plastic cribs. Just like the nursery at a hospital, where the newly-born babies would wait for their parents. The crying was louder now, voices on voices, but...

"Where are the babies?" Lois wondered aloud.

"There aren't any. Yet."

A man's voice, smug, self-assured, dominant. Familiar. Lois spun, instinctively putting out an arm to shield Maria.

Lex Luthor stood behind them. He walked forward, and Lois gave ground, backing into the center of the room.

"Miss Lane. How good of you to join us," the smile on his face died at his eyes, which were cold and hard.

"What is this, Luthor?" She demanded, balling her hands into fists.

"The beating heart of my new enterprise: the Lex Luthor Surrogate Corps. The ultimate in solutions for declining birth rates, using next generation technology to assure delivery of new citizens in both quality and quantity. Willing women, eager to get pregnant and give birth to genetically perfect babies...and in far less than the traditional forty weeks of gestation."

Lois Lane's mouth dropped. "You're mad!"

"Not hardly," he said dryly. "You can hear the crying, can't you?"

"Y-yes..." Lois said.

"Specially synthesized to initialize and promote lactation in women. Normally we run it as a subliminal signal throughout the facility—you've been hearing it for quite some time. But if I increase the amplitude..."

The chorus of baby cries grew suddenly louder...and Lois Lane felt very strange.