Season Six episode one

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BUMP!!!!

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[DailyPlanetFan]

SMALLVILLE: Season Six; Episode XVII: TRIAL



The rain was pelting the windows of Lex’s office on the thirty-eighth floor of the LexCorp Plaza tower. Unfinished paperwork sat atop the cluttered desk, the Newton’s Cradle clicking back-and-forth, back-and-forth. The rain and the clicking were the only sounds Lex Luthor was allowing himself to take in. He stood with his back to the rest of the office, gazing out the window to the city below. His city, Metropolis. Slowly, Lex raised his arm and clicked the button to his right. The machine lining the window above him whirred quietly and the blinds split in two, peeling back to reveal an unobstructed view of the impressive skyline, lights in the windows of each skyscraper still burning brightly into the harsh dark night. A slight frown curved the left side of Lex’s mouth ever so slightly, as a sudden chilly feeling came over him.
Six hours since Grant had left this very office after delivering the news of Brown’s treachery. Six hours, and Lex had been staring out this window ever since. For the first time in a very long while, Lex wasn’t sure what to do next. Clark’s story was sure to be hitting the newsstands come sun-up; that would need cleaning up. And a massive amount of dangerous meteor rock had just been swiped from under him, the thief missing and the liability disastrously huge. And if Clark, or the Planet, or Lois Lane, or anyone started to sniff around for that shipment and come too close to the truth—Lex would be finished. At the very least he’d have a lot of explaining to do. And Metropolis wasn’t quite yet ready for what he had to say, for what he had to do.
But Lex had to do something now.
He took a deep breath. That felt good. Another. Yes, he was ready to act.
He turned, for the first time in six hours, and hit the intercom on his desk.
“Sir?” Mercy was tired, but loyal to the bitter end. She’d stayed.
“Call the car.”
“Paul’s gone home for the—”
“You’re driving.”
“Yes sir. Destination?”
“Smallville.”

Two hours later, the sleek black Cadillac zoomed past the last field of corn before hitting the open land that belonged to the Luthors. The shiny black metal that was the roof of the old fertilizer plant was glinting in the dawn light, and Lex gazed at it as he had when he was nine years old, tagging along on one of Lionel’s interminable business trips. The massive garage door leading to the underground reluctantly opened and Mercy guided the Caddy into the darkness below.
The skeleton security crew had been called ahead of time, and were ready and waiting when Lex arrived. Mercy opened his door and he stepped out into the dank atmosphere of the underground lair. The chief lab tech—Lex couldn’t recall the man’s name—shuffled toward him nervously.
“Mr. Luthor, this is such an unexpected pleasure.”
Lex passed him up, Mercy waving her key card at the locking mechanism of the door leading into the lab. Lex strode past her, entering the facility, followed closing by the chief and his team.
“We’ve encountered a problem,” Lex quipped. “What’s your name?”
“Taylor, sir. Peter Taylor.”
“Brown’s missing, Dr. Taylor, and he took a **** ton of my meteor rock with him.”
The four other scientists trailing behind them had their mouths agape, stunned to the same silence that plagued Taylor. The group took a sharp right. Lex picked up the pace, the rest followed suit.
Taylor finally put words together: “How-how did he—?”
A left turn; the female scientist behind them tripped over her own heel, but managed to stay upright. Lex was headed for the large metal door at the end of this hall. The scientists around him tensed, knowing what they were about to see.
“That doesn’t matter,” Lex hissed. “What matters now is that we find him. And end him.”
He stopped at the door. Everyone else abruptly halted, save for Mercy, who stepped up with her key card once again.
“Yes sir,” Taylor managed to mumble.
Mercy gave Lex a small smile as the door swished open and she stepped aside. Lex allowed her a nod and then moved into the room that awaited.
He remembered this room vividly. This room was what used to be the crop testing room. Then it was Level Three. Then it was cleared out by Lionel. Then it was almost Lex and Clark’s grave, the day that crazy lunatic had broken in, taking Clark’s high school class hostage and almost exploding the entire lab so many years ago. It had held corn, and then it had held secrets, and then it had almost held bodies.
Now it held something else entirely. The culmination of both Lionel and Lex’s efforts.
Lex nodded again to Mercy and she flicked a switch on the far wall. One by one, fluorescent lights thirty feet above them began to flick on, revealing the terrible masterpiece in center of the room.
“We get him back, we end him,” Lex muttered as the last light fluttered to life, “and then we turn these things on.”
Lined in rows by the hundreds sat an entire clone army, genetically engineered and battle-ready. They lay dormant until the day their master called them to duty. Until the day Lex was ready to put his master plan into action—the day his fleet of fighters got their jet fuel.
All he needed was that damn meteor rock.

*

The night rain had done wonders for the early morning air. Crisp and fresh, it stung Martha Kent’s nose as she inhaled deeply, squeezing her eyes tight, fighting the tears that battled for victory over her eyelids. Jonathan’s grave had had one weed growing over it, Clark had plucked it up immediately, tossing it away. He’d smoothed his hand over the cool stone then, so as to almost comfort Jonathan, letting his dad know the weed would not bother him again. Now Martha placed her palm against the cold rock and let the tears flow. Clark’s strong hand was on her shoulder, squeezing lightly to let her know she could still lean on him. She was so proud of the man Clark had become. Even though she knew he was frustrated, heartbroken, she knew he was going to be okay. She and Jonathan had raised a strong man—a righteous man, good-hearted, a survivor. Even in Clark’s pain, he was here for her, to be her shoulder and rock. And she needed him now more than ever.
“A year and half since he was taken,” Martha finally said.
Clark nodded. He hadn’t said much all morning. She knew that guilt was coming back to haunt him; she wished she could shake him out of it. This isn’t your fault, Clark! She wanted to scream. She knew it was a burden he’d carried since that night at the farm. It weighed on him so. Martha didn’t know how to make it go away. So she just rose and hugged him, clutched him tight.
“He loved you so much, honey,” she said softly. “He was so proud of you.”
A single tear fell from Clark’s face to the ground, and he shifted uncomfortably under her. Martha released him. He turned his face from her.
“I miss him,” he finally said. “I miss him so much, Mom.”
“Me too, sweetheart.”
A silence. He wanted to be alone. More tears, she tried to fight them, couldn’t.
“I’ll wait for you at the truck,” she managed, before kissing her hand and pressing it once more to the headstone. Jonathan.
It took her all to let him go again, turn, and walk away. Clark needed his dad.
She would wait for him at the truck.

Once Martha was gone, Clark sank to his knees, throwing his arms around the headstone. The tears came freely, but he was quiet.
“I don’t know what to do, Dad,” he gasped. “They’re gone. Everyone’s gone. Chloe, Pete, Lana, Lex. Everything’s changing and I need you to tell me what to do.”
Anything. He’d do anything for another hug, another football pass, another talk, another anything.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I’m so, so sorry for what I did.”
Clark, he could hear Jonathan say as if he was right next to him now, this wasn’t your fault. You did what you thought was right; you saved Lana’s life. Don’t you ever think you did the wrong thing. You are my son; I love you and I’m proud of you. And you have things to do. Now get up.
Clark nodded to himself, wiping his nose and rising to his feet. He took a breath, fought one last burst of guilt-ridden sadness, then raised his head and squared his shoulders.
“I miss you Dad,” he said quietly. “Goodbye.”
He knew it was what Jonathan would have said, and Clark wouldn’t have believed any more than he believed it now. But he did have things to do. There was a threat out there, a threat bigger than Clark’s guilt and grief. And it had to be dealt with.
And Clark was the only one who could deal with it.
He turned and started the walk back to Martha and the truck, not daring to look back.

*

“You never came home last night,” Lana was sitting in his chair at LexCorp.
She rose and greeted him as he came through the door.
“Lex, you look terrible. Did you sleep here?”
“Something came up—”
“I know. Have you seen the papers?”
She moved to the desk, picked up the Planet’s latest edition. There was the headline:

NOMINAL HEAD OF LEXCORP STEALS FROM OWN BUSINESS

“Unbelievable,” Lex said through gritted teeth.
He flung the paper across the room, the sheets separating and scattering all over the floor.
“Lex, I’m so sorry,” Lana offered.
“Clark, that bastard,” Lex seethed. “He was at the mansion last night, rubbing this in my face.”
Lana pulled him into a hug.
“You can turn this around,” she said. “You can make this right.”
“Of course I can,” Lex said, pushing her away and moving to the couch. He plopped down, defeated. “It’s just going to take time and money, the latter of which I have plenty of. The first, not so much. I’m supposed to be starting a presidential campaign, not chasing down renegade CEOs.”
Lana course corrected, slinking down to her knees before him, laying her hands suggestively on his knees. That got his attention. Lex met her eyes with his own.
“Lex, the people of Metropolis need to know they’re putting their faith in the right man. Let me organize a press conference. Every reporter in the city will be there. You can put the city’s doubts and fears to rest. All it will take is one speech.”
She was massaging his thighs now. Lex smiled in spite of himself, closing his eyes and resting his head on the back of the couch.
“I appreciate it, Lana, but I have people who can organize things like that for me. I can have the whole of the city on our doorstep in half an hour.”
Lana gripped his belt buckle and pulled, the force lifting his back and bringing him forward so that their faces were inches from each other.
“I want to help you,” she cooed. “And the speech shouldn’t be here. Do it in the legal district, the heart of downtown. People don’t want their senator selling platitudes from his ivory tower, they want him on their level, he’s got to be one of them.”
His belt was undone. Her hands were on the button of his pants.
“Lana—”
“I’ll get everything together, don’t worry about it.”
Her hands were on him now, Lex’s hips shifted beneath her; Lana smiled up at him.
“You just relax, darling. Let me help you.”
Lex kissed her, hard and quick. And then he leaned back, placing his hands behind his head, letting her do her work.
“Schedule it for two o’ clock,” he said. “It’s good to have you back.”
Lana smiled.
The sex was good.

*

Lois stood under the hot water, letting it rush over her, feeling the last remnants of fear and tension from the night of the attack being rinsed away. Sykes had been quiet for the past couple of days; ever since his ominous declaration of war on Lex, it was like the lion had turned into a mouse. She hadn’t even seen him. His silence, however, had given Intergang the chance it needed to recuperate. There were only thirteen of them left, including Lois. Their numbers were smaller; if they were in fact going to go for a hit on Lex, they were going to have to be strategic and smart—smarter than they were the night of the attempted hijacking.
The confusion still swirled. Lois had tried to find the connection between Intergang and Lex, yet it remained frustratingly elusive. Why had Sykes been out for vengeance? Was Lex behind Intergang after all? If so, how would she ever get the proof she needed to put Lex and his wicked team away for good? And where the hell was Griggs? Ever since—
The water suddenly stopped and cold air hit her like a brick. One of the members of the team, West, was standing at the door. Lois grabbed her towel and wrapped it around herself quickly.
“Knock much, jackass?” she quipped.
“Sykes wants to see you. Now.”

Donned in dark skinny jeans and a leather jacket, damp hair pulled up into a ponytail, Lois entered Sykes’ makeshift office and cleared her throat, making herself known. Sykes looked up from the table he was leaning over. Papers, looked like blueprints, architectural scribble, building plans, were scattered all over it, some had sunk to the floor and were lying in a heap at his feet.
“Kent,” he said.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Come in, wanna talk to you about something.”
A tingle of fear ran down Lois’ spine as she closed the door behind her and took a few steps further into the room.
“What’s going on?” she tried.
“Plan’s in place. We bring Luthor down today.”
He shoved one of the papers toward her. Lois flattened it out against the table, smoothing the edges and looking it over. Before her was the floor plan for what looked to be a large airplane hangar. Seventy-two thousand square feet to do with whatever you wanted. On the top right corner of the sheet, in small block letters was written: ‘L33.1’.
“What exactly am I looking at here, Sykes?”
“This,” he jabbed a finger into the paper, “this is where it’s all supposed to happen for him. And we’re going to blow it to kingdom come.”
That was it. It was now or never. Lois tossed the paper back onto the table and folded her arms over her breasts. Inhaled a sharp breath, let half of it out, went for it.
“I want you to tell me what’s going on,” she said quickly. “I want to know everything. What’s your history with Luthor?”
Sykes gave her a hard sideways look. He wasn’t going to talk. Moment of truth. Lois squared her jaw and matched his look with her own.
“Tell me or I walk.”
Sykes sneered, smiling at her. “You’re a persistent *****, aren’t you?”
Lois smirked right back.
“A persistent ***** that’s proved she’s part of this group. But if that trust isn’t going to go both ways, maybe I’ll find another group.”
Sykes was quiet for a beat, taking her in. Then he moved into an at-ease stance, hands behind his back, raised his chin.
“Alright Kent. I trust you.” Lois let out the rest of her breath. “What do you want to know?”
He hadn’t heard the click of the digital recorder Lois had hidden in her jacket before coming in here; that had been lucky. Now she just had to be careful to get close enough, but not too close. She could do it. She took a step forward, arms open.
“What’s our connection to Luthor?”



*

Perry White leaned back in his desk chair, tee-peeing his fingertips and looking at Clark warily.
“Look Kent, I understand you’re still upset about what happened to Sullivan. Hell, we all are. Haven’t seen Olsen in days. But I’m not here to babysit you, or be your friggin’ therapist—”
“I want to come at the Clancy Brown story from another angle,” Clark interjected.
Perry sat up. “What?”
“I have a hunch that Lex is behind Brown’s disappearance.”
“We just printed a story—written by you—that says Brown acted on his own, robbed Lex blind. Now you’re telling me big bad Luthor is behind it? What, you think he killed Brown?”
“Wouldn’t put it past him.”
“Kent. Theories are nice, but if you’re going to start spouting accusations, I’m going to need to see some proof. Besides, Luthor’s not one to be messed with.”
Clark was taken aback.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Perry shifted in his seat.
“Look. Brown disappeared, took Luthor’s property with him. You got the story first, it went to print, we’re selling out all over town. This is what’s typically called a happy ending. I want you to drop it.”
“Perry, you have a reporter—”
“—copy boy, junior reporter at best—”
“—you promoted me—”
“—and I’m seriously considering revoking it—”
“—coming to you with something huge. Something that could change this city—”
“No. You’re coming at me with a theory, Kent. A theory with no facts to back it up. A theory that accuses the senator of Kansas of nefarious activity.”
“I’m not asking you to print anything, I’m asking you to let me pursue it.”
“What’s your lead?”
“What?”
“Welcome to Journalism 101. You need leads to have a story, kid. What’s yours?”
Clark went silent. Thought. Perry was about to tell him to get out of his office when Clark looked him square in the eye.
“My lead is five years of friendship with Lex, and an intimate knowledge of his dark side.”
Clark was so earnest all Perry could do was look at him.
“I’m going after this story. Demote me, fire me if you want, but I’m doing this.”
Perry released the breath he’d been holding and shook his head.
“You’re stubborn, just like Sullivan was. Fine, you want to kill your career with this crap, be my guest. You can get started this afternoon at the courthouse.”
“What’s going on at the courthouse?”
“Luthor’s holding a press conference to explain the Brown situation. It’s happening at two, and you better be there.”

*

The legal district of Metropolis was located right in the heart of the city. Four blocks away from the courthouse and coliseum sat LexCorp Plaza, the Daily Planet right beside it, giant golden globe spinning in the sun. Head four blocks in the other direction and you were smack dab in the middle of the warehouse district.
Lana gazed down the street, hand in her pocket, grasping the key that would unlock the answers to the questions she had. The key that would rid her of Lex forever. Her freedom was four blocks away. She stood on the raised platform jutting out from the steps leading up to the courthouse. The maintenance crew were just finishing placing the podium, electrical guy was finishing up wiring the sound system. Lana had released a statement from Lex’s office after they’d finished up, the entire city’s press would be there to hear Lex speak. A small crowd of pedestrians and passer-bys was already amassing at the base of the steps on the street. And, of course, the speech was being written right now. It would be powerful, hopeful, charismatic, and reassuring. The media hounds would lap it up like warm milk, and then regurgitate it all over the city. The people of Metropolis would look up to their savior, Lex Luthor, and feel safe again. Good for them.
While Lex was giving his speech, Lana would be four blocks away, hopefully securing the evidence she needed to turn this entire city against him, and to finally be rid of him forever.

*

“It’s a beautiful speech,” Lex said to Mercy, slipping the sheets of paper into his briefcase and running the last few lines through his head again, “like I wrote it myself.”
“Any doubt the people of this city have in you will be put to rest,” Mercy said, smiling. “I must say, Mrs. Luthor’s idea is a brilliant one.”
Lex was about to agree when the door opened and in walked Grant, flanked by two others. Hair was askew, rings under his eyes, clothes disheveled; the man hadn’t slept. Good.
“What do you have for me?” Lex snapped.
“Eyewitness reports of a man fitting Brown’s description in Kansas City.”
“And?”
“I sent an army over there, no sign of him.”
Lex picked up the Newton’s Cradle and chucked it at Grant, who ducked. The thing shattered against the far wall.
“Then what the hell are you doing here?!” Lex yelled.
“Sir, the trail’s cold. Brown is an elderly man, supposedly transporting several tons of refined meteor rock—it’s not really something you can hide.”
“You’re not helping yourself, Grant.”
“Mr. Luthor—Brown has disappeared. He has no family history, no work record, no home address, no phone number. All of his information is gone. It’s like he’s literally vanished off the map.”
Lex charged Grant, grabbing the man by the lapels and twisting him down until his face was smashed into the clean glass of Lex’s desk. Lex lowered himself until his mouth was right next to Grant’s ear.
“Then find yourself a spaceship and bring me back my meteor rock,” Lex hissed.
Then he looked up at Mercy and the other two.
“Get out!” he shouted.
They were gone in seconds. Lex pulled Grant up and pushed him back.
“You’ve failed me one too many times, Grant. This…this is unforgivable.”
“Mr. Luthor—”
“Don’t. Speak.”
Grant fell silent, and his gaze fell to the floor. Lex straightened his own suit coat, made sure his tie was in place, picked up his briefcase.
“I’m giving a speech at the courthouse in thirty minutes. Lana will be there with me. I want you to escort her there and keep an eye on her. She set this whole thing up, and I don’t trust it. You will stand there, and make sure she doesn’t wander off, do you understand me?”
Grant was silent, afraid to speak.
“You can talk now, ass.”
“Yes sir. I understand.”
“And once this speech is over, and Lana is back in Smallville, you are going to go back out there, and you’re going to find Brown, and you’re going to bring his head to me on a silver platter. If you can’t do that for me, Grant,” Lex moved to leave, “it’ll be yours on a paper plate.”

*

The crowd standing at the foot of the steps of the courthouse bustled about in the chilly mid-morning air. Clark stood in the center of it all, tapping his pen to the pad of paper in his other hand. It kind of strange, gearing up for one of Senator Luthor’s speeches and not having Jimmy or Lois here. Or Chloe. It had been ages it seemed since they’d all been together and happy. So much had happened in just a short amount of time. And now Chloe was gone.
Clark was snapped out of his thoughts as the crowd’s bustling became more focused. Lex’s motorcade was pulling up. A fancy black Cadillac pulled right up to the edge of the crowd. A leggy woman popped out of the driver’s seat and ran around open the rear passenger door. Out stepped Lex, smiling and waving to the crowd. Flanked by two security officers, he made his way through the crowd, shaking hands, taking pictures, even signing autographs. Clark huffed and watched as sexy driver shut Lex’s door and moved back to the driver’s side. The Cadillac circled around toward the back of the courthouse as Lex took his place on the stage.

Lana hopped out of the Cadillac and made her way toward the back entrance. They had set up some refreshments in the reception hall of the adjacent building. Officially, she would be overseeing the set-up of the hall, making sure everything was in its perfect place for the meet-and-greet with the press later. Unofficially, she would be giving the staff the slip, escaping to the car waiting for her on the other side of the building, and rushing over to the LexCorp warehouse before Lex’s speech was over. She had timed it just right, she could do this—
Lana’s heart sank as the door opened for her and there was Grant. He looked tired, disheveled, disappointed. But he still gave her a hard stare as she came to a stop in front of him.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Luthor,” he said. “We’ve got a small detail inside to keep an eye on you, at Mr. Luthor’s request. Can never be too safe at events like this.”
“No,” Lana bit out, “I guess you can’t.”
She stepped inside and he closed the door behind them.

*

Lois was reeling. Sykes had told her everything. The partnership with Lex, the crimes against the city, Chloe, her infiltration, her murder, Lex’s break from them to cover his tracks. And now Intergang’s quest for revenge. Lois felt sick, she couldn’t breathe, it was like air refused to enter her lungs. She tried to back up normally, but knew it looked like a stagger.
Sykes was sitting at the table, arms crossed over his chest, looking at her.
“Not half the guys out there know what you know,” he said. “I’m trusting you Kent. Because I like you. You’ve got what it takes. You’re going to help me take Intergang to the next level.”
Lois gulped. Had to keep it together. Had to keep this going.
“Starting with this,” she managed, pointing to the blueprint.
“Starting with this,” Sykes repeated, nodding, leaning forward, “Luthor’s precious pet project.”
“Which is what, exactly?”
Sykes smiled wickedly.
“You’ll find out tonight. And you’re not going to believe it.”
This was the one thing he was keeping from her. Whether it was because what they were going to attack was so huge he didn’t trust anybody with it, or he just wanted to surprise and impress her, she wasn’t sure. But then Sykes rose and came over to her. Then his arms were around her waist, and Lois positioned herself so that the recorder in her jacket was as far away from him as possible. This was gross, but it was happening, and Lois had to play along. She smiled up at him.
“I’m not going to believe it?” she asked coyly.
He stole a kiss from her. He tasted like beer and cigarettes. Delicious. But Lois kissed him back. Then she put her hand to his chest and pushed him back.
“Careful boss,” she breathed. “I’m going to think you’re favoring me.”
“Shut up,” Sykes growled.
He pushed her down onto the desk. Lois was sure the sound of the recorder hitting the hard wood of the table could be heard clear to China. She flinched and pushed him off instinctively.
“Easy there, big boy,” she said, rising, adjusting herself, pushing away.
“Come on, Kent,” Sykes said, starting to follow her, “I want you.”
Now this was getting annoying. But Lois just smiled, and suddenly grabbed his balls. Sykes gasped in surprise. Lois massaged them softly, tenderly, and Sykes smiled at her.
“I know,” Lois cooed. “But let’s save it. I want you to have me while Luthor’s empire is literally crumbling to dust right in front of us.”
She left then, leaving him standing in the middle of the room. She moved back down the hall to her own room, tearing off her jacket, retreating to the bathroom and throwing up into the sink, because she couldn’t make it to the toilet.

*

Lex’s speech was due to start at any moment. The food was out on the tables, the flowers had been checked twice, the staff was all ready to go. And Grant hadn’t left her side since the moment she entered the place. Lana was standing by the bar, tapping her foot lightly. A chance like this wouldn’t come again for awhile. She had the key, she was amazed Lex hadn’t missed it as it was. She had to make her move.
“Alright everyone, everything’s great in here,” she announced. “Make sure you’re ready—this place is going to be swarmed in about fifteen minutes.”
The staff began to make themselves busy, and Lana began to make a beeline for the bathroom. Grant was two steps behind her. She addressed him over her shoulder.
“I’m going to run to the ladies’ room, and then I’ll make my appearance outside. Wait for me at the door?”
“I think it’d be better if we just headed outside right now, Mrs. Luthor. The senator—”
Lana stopped dead in her tracks and turned on her heel, squarely facing him.
“Grant. Last I checked, you were head of security. That falls under the category of employee, am I correct?”
Grant set his jaw. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Well your employer just asked you to wait at the door.”
Grant took a step in to her.
“Two minutes,” he said, then took his place by the bathroom door.
Lana held his gaze until the door had shut. She whirled around, kicking off her heels, and made her way to the window. This was going to be tricky.

Lex’s speech was going well. He was feeding the public and press some spiel about Brown being a misguided, misinformed blah-blah-blah; Clark decided it was time to take a look around. He edged his way to the back of the crowd and super sped around the side of the building in the direction the black Cadillac had gone. He discovered the sexy driver standing outside, leaning against the hood, puffing on a cigarette. A quick X-ray of the car informed Clark that no one was inside. Then he saw the sign hanging above the door of the adjacent building: this was where the press would mingle after the speech. Clark sped inside, blowing out the driver’s cigarette as he passed. The woman looked around incredulously, wondering where that freak gust of wind had suddenly come from.

She’d made it to the car without incident. Revved the engine, took off down the street. Traffic had been blocked off due to Lex’s appearance at the courthouse, it would take Lana about five minutes to reach her destination. She shot one furtive glance into the rearview mirror, sure that Grant would be chasing her down, but there was no one there. She wasn’t sure how she was going to explain all of this to Grant and later to Lex, she’d panicked; but she kept telling herself that if she could just get into that warehouse, if she could just find the truth, everything would be okay. She glanced into the rearview mirror one more time, then turned her attention back to the road ahead and pressed down on the gas.

A security officer was banging on the bathroom door. Violently. And he was shouting. Clark approached cautiously, listening.
“Lana!” the man screamed, ramming his shoulder into the door again, “Lana, you *****! Open the door!”
Clark’s eyes went wide. What was going on? Then the man was raising a walkie to his mouth. He was going to signal the rest of the security team to come help him. Clark super sped over and delivered a light slap to the back of the security officer’s head. The man fell limp into Clark’s arms. Clark easily tapped the bathroom door closed and dragged the man inside.
Sitting the guy down on one of the toilets, Clark surveyed the bathroom quickly. A pair of heels on the floor, and the window above the sink was open. Lana had run away from this man. Clark moved to the window and peered outside. Nothing. He grabbed the security guy’s walkie and crushed it in his hand, leaving the bathroom and locking the door behind him.
Once outside, he tuned his hearing. Lex was still delivering the speech, the crowd cheering after almost every sentence. Then he picked up something else. It was the driver, talking into a cell phone. She sounded worried.
“What do you mean Griggs was compromised?” she asked, breathless.
“Lost contact with him at three this morning,” the panicky voice on the other end of the line said. “First time in two months he hasn’t called in. Something’s wrong.”
“Don’t do anything until I’ve informed Mr. Luthor,” the driver instructed, and then she hung up the phone.
What was that all about? Clark made a mental note to look into it later, right now he had to make sure Lana was okay. Tilting his head slightly, Clark listened in the other direction. There it was, the sound of a car speeding away, toward the warehouse district. The traffic had been blocked travelling toward the neighboring district in preparation for Lex’s appearance. It had to be Lana. After a quick look around to make sure no one was watching, Clark disappeared in a burst of lightning-fast speed.

*

“Gear up, rookie, we’re leaving in ten.”
Lois looked up. West was back at her door.
“Got it,” she replied.
West turned to go, and Lois had a thought. She hurried after him.
“Hey,” she said, and West turned. “Griggs coming with?”
There was something ever so slightly off about the way he replied. Maybe it was the weird twisted smile. Maybe it was the way it almost came out as a chuckle. Maybe Lois was just going crazy, but there definitely was something not right with the way he said, “Oh yeah, Griggs is coming with.”

To Be Continued...

[DailyPlanetFan]

SMALLVILLE: Season Six; Episode XVII: TRIAL (Part 2)

Lana parked the car and threw open the door. The gravel parking lot stung the bottoms of her feet as she hurried over to the large door. Inserted the key, twisted it, felt the lock click. She took a breath and was just about to heave up when—
“Lana.”
Clark’s voice. She spun to see him standing by the car. He was dressed in a suit and tie, his reporter’s badge clipped to his lapel. Damn him for being so handsome all the time.
“Clark, what are you doing here?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing. Back at the courthouse—”
She didn’t have time for this. She turned back to the door and heaved up. The door was heavy, it didn’t budge.
“I can’t explain right now, Clark. Help me.”
Surprisingly, he didn’t fight or argue, he just stepped up and pushed the door open for her. Lana smiled, the dark warehouse was before her. The truth was only a few footsteps away. She glanced down at her watch. She’d been gone seven minutes. Lex was probably about halfway through his speech. No doubt Grant was causing a scene. She didn’t have much time.
“Lana, tell me what’s going on,” Clark was looking at her hard.
“Clark, I’ll tell you everything, I swear I will. But right now you just need to let me do this. And I need you to not ask any questions, we don’t have any time.”
She stepped into the darkness, Clark grabbed her arm. She looked up at him, praying that he could see the plea in her eyes. She couldn’t sit down and tell him everything she knew, she couldn’t take the time to let him hold her while she cried about all the terrible mistakes she’d made. Maybe one day, they’d have that luxury, but right now, they didn’t have time.
But Clark’s eyes filled with understanding, just like they always did, and he nodded to her.
“I’ll help you,” he said.
Together, they stepped into the warehouse, and Clark closed the door behind them.

Clark found the power to the lights pretty quickly, and the dim lighting revealed a large room lined with racks and racks of all sorts of things. Boxes filled with who knew what, old sculptures that no doubt once had a home in the gardens at Luthor Mansion in Smallville, rows of old computer systems, hard drives, stacks and stacks of paperwork.
Lana moved through the rows quickly, her eyes scanning each and every piece property. Her fingers brushed along the items, sometimes stopping to get a closer look, deciding that wasn’t what she was looking for, cursing under her breath, and moving on. Clark followed her through the warehouse, wondering at this woman before him. She was on a mission.
“What are we looking for?” he finally asked.
“I’m not sure,” Lana muttered over her shoulder. “But Lex had this key hidden. He hides things for a reason.”
“Lex?” Clark said, more to himself than to her. “Lana, what have you gotten yourself into—”
He cut off suddenly when something caught his eye. They were on the opposite side of the place by now; they’d moved quickly. It was a laptop computer, stuffed haphazardly into a rough and tired-looking cardboard box, along with other things—one of which was a reporter’s press badge from the Daily Planet. It was just like Clark’s: a small photo framed in a fancy rendering of the Planet globe.
The picture in the frame was Chloe Sullivan’s.
The badge was sitting on top of the laptop, it’s lanyard caught between the screen and the keyboard. Clark’s breath caught in his throat and he had to gulp to get air. Finally, he managed:
“That’s Chloe’s computer.”
Lana, a few steps up the row from him, stopped short. She hurried back and followed his gaze to the computer. A second later and she was grabbing the laptop from the box, which fell loudly to the floor, scattering a purse, a tazer, other of Chloe’s things all over the ground.
“Why would Chloe’s stuff be in here?” Clark asked absently.
Lana had the laptop open and was trying the power button.
“Damn, it’s dead,” she said. She grabbed the cardboard box and dug inside. “Do you see an outlet anywhere? Or a power source of any kind?”
Clark blinked, coming back. He x-rayed the room and found an outlet a few rows down. Lana pulled the power cord for the laptop from the box.
“This way,” Clark said, leading her over to the outlet.
They plugged the computer in and waited as it booted up. Clark gazed at Lana, who was staring at the computer, willing it to work faster. She looked at her watch and wrung her hands. Clark placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched.
“Lana, tell me what’s going on,” he said firmly.
She looked at him and then took a breath, gathered herself. Finally, she was going to tell him.
“Clark—”
The computer binged to life and both of their attentions returned to the device. Pretty soon, Lana was going over every file, every document, checking every inch of the hard drive’s memory. Annoyed at the lack of information, Clark rose and moved off in another direction. If Lana wasn’t going to talk to him, he wasn’t just going to sit there like an obedient lap dog. He moved off and headed a couple rows down, glancing at everything from portraits of the Mona Lisa to outdated security motherboards.
What he saw at the far end of the warehouse stopped him dead in his tracks.

Nothing in the documents but old stories and personal journal entries. Chloe had always been a fascinatingly good writer. Lana moved to e-mails; no Internet connection here, but the hard drive had copies of sent mail saved to its memory. She scanned them quickly, the clock in the back of her mind ticking away madly, taunting her with the time she was wasting. Old e-mails to Lois, Perry White at the Planet, Pete, Jimmy—many to Jimmy—Clark, Lois, Perry, Jimmy, one to Pete, old friends from Smallville High…and then there was one to Lana. It was the last e-mail Chloe had sent out. Ever. And Lana had never received it on her end.
Lana clicked to open the file and gasped at what she saw.

Memories of Lionel handing him a mysterious key through prison bears three years ago. Walking to find that his life had been under a microscope the entire time he and Lex had been friends. Three months later, Lex had shown him the remains of his old Porsche promising Clark that any investigation into him or his family was over.
Now Clark knew that had been a lie. Lex hadn’t gotten rid of anything.
All of it was sitting right in front of him right now, in this warehouse. The meteor rock fragments, the pictures, the files, all of it was here. Anger boiled inside Clark. Lex—that monster had continued to keep tabs on him, and his family.
“Clark!” Lana’s voice a few rows down.
Clark turned to see her hurrying towards him, laptop turned toward him.
“You’re not going to believe this,” she said.
Then she saw. She stopped and her eyes went wide. Clark immediately went into defensive mode. As of right now, both Lex and Lana were way too close to his secret.
“What’d you find?” Clark asked quickly.
“What is this?” Lana breathed, stepping toward a large picture of Clark, touching it lightly. “Lex is investigating you?”
Clark took the laptop computer from her and scanned what was written there. Chloe, Intergang, Lex, the attacks on the city. Everything someone needed to put Lex behind bars for good.

Lana stared at the files on Clark before her. Two big discoveries in one day: the first that her husband, the senator of Kansas, was also the city’s biggest crime lord; the second, that her husband also had a weird, almost sick obsession with Clark Kent. It always comes back to Clark, she thought. All of the secrets, the lies. The questions, the excuses. Who was Clark Kent? She turned to look at him. He was scanning Chloe’s e-mail, his eyes flying left to right, getting wider and wider as they read.
“Lana, do you realize what this means?” Clark said softly.
“Chloe put it all together,” Lana replied. “She had proof that Lex was behind Intergang.”
“There’s one name here, it’s mentioned a lot. John Griggs,” Clark was still reading. “He was her source. Lana, it says this was sent to you?”
“I never got it,” and then the realization hit her like a two-ton truck. “Oh God, Clark.”

“Lex killed Chloe,” Clark muttered. “That bastard murdered her.”
It was too much. The investigation into him, Intergang, the murder of Chloe. Then, both Clark and Lana were hit with two separate realizations.
“I have to go,” Lana said, grabbing the laptop away from him.
“John Griggs,” Clark said out loud, letting her take it. “He’s in trouble.”
John Griggs, Chloe’s contact. John Griggs who, according to Legs the Driver, had been compromised. Somehow, this Griggs was involved with both Lex and Intergang, and now he was in trouble. More importantly, Griggs could lead Clark to Intergang. And that meant Clark could stop them forever. His anger, his confusion—Lex would have to wait. Intergang was a bigger and much more immediate problem. He had to solve it. But then there was Lana.

Lex’s speech was over, no doubt about it. She had to get back. Lana closed the laptop and wrapped up the power cord.
“I can’t let you go back to him,” Clark said.
“Don’t worry about me, Clark,” Lana said. “I can handle Lex.”
“Listen, Lana. I’m not going to stop you. Intergang’s out there, I have to stop them.” They were moving toward the door. “But I want you to be careful.”
“I will be,” she said, hurrying to her car.
She made a split-second decision to involve him. Somehow she knew Clark would protect her. If Clark was involved, everything was going to be okay.
So she said, “I’ll meet you at the barn tonight, ten o’ clock.”
And then she was in the car and gone.

*

The crowd was cheering. Lex had officially won them over. He raised his arms and the cheers grew more intense. He smiled and gave a swift wave, and then a security guard was in his ear.
“Let’s get you down to the meet-and-greet, Senator.”
Lex nodded and was escorted off the stage. A line of reporters, cameras, and microphones was waiting for him. Questions were thrown left and right all the way to the entrance of the adjacent building with the sign for press hanging over the doorway.
Same security guard in his ear: “It’s just an appearance, a few minutes, and you and the Missus will be out of here in no time.”
Lex nodded his understanding once again and then they were inside. And then Grant was running up to him, nursing a sore head and looking very, very scared. And that made Lex very, very annoyed.
“What is it?” he snapped.
“Sir, we’ve got a problem,” Grant said.
“A recurring theme of our relationship.”
“It’s Mrs. Luthor, sir. She’s—”
“Lex.”
A petite hand slipped through Lex’s arm and grabbed his hand, squeezing gently. Lex turned to see Lana smiling up at him.
“Hey,” he said through a smile, planting a small kiss on her lips.
“Mr. Luthor—” Grant again.
Lex gave him a cold look.
“I need you back at the mansion, Grant. Go secure the library or something.”
He pulled Lana away and the two security members that were flanking them made sure Grant found his exit.

Lana let out a slow, even breath as she watched Grant get pushed out of the building before he had a chance to speak. Once he was gone, she raised her lips to Lex’s ear.
“I think it’s time to let Grant go,” she purred.
Lex shrugged.
“He’s an idiot, but he’s always been loyal. He did bring you back to me.”
Lana gulped that one down, reminded herself that not too long from now Lex would be rotting in a federal prison, hopefully for the rest of his miserable life. So she just smiled.
“You’re right, darling.”
The press was starting to shuffle in. Music started right on cue, people began eating. It was like brunch on Sunday. Lana looked around in spite of herself, making sure everyone was in their place, doing their job. Of course, things were going off without a hitch. And Lex was smiling, chatting, being the life of the party. The bastard. Let him revel in the spotlight—for now. Lana found herself holding back a wicked cackle at the notion that Lex had no idea what was about to happen to him. All it was going to take was one phone call to one reporter, and he would be finished forever. And all because of Chloe. A sharp stab of sadness hit Lana hard and she almost lost her grip on Lex’s hand.
Suddenly, Mercy was marching up to them, pulling them aside, her face white, eyes darting around the room to make sure they weren’t being watched.
“Sir,” Mercy whispered harshly, “Griggs has been compromised.”
Lex’s smile instantly disappeared.

*

Sykes was driving the van. Lois was riding shotgun. Another van followed behind them, carrying the remaining eleven members of Intergang. They were doing forty down Route 8 in Smallville. The ride had been pretty quiet—things were awkward after their encounter in Sykes’ office earlier. Lois shifted in her seat and cleared her throat.
“You ready for this?” Sykes asked, eyes on the road.
“Of course,” Lois replied quickly. “Any chance we have to take Luthor down, I’m ready for.”
“Good.”
“You’re pretty quiet over there.”
“Focused.”
Silence. Then:
“Let me ask you something, Kent.”
“Go for it.”
“How long?”
“How long what?”
Suddenly, Sykes hit the brakes and jerked the van swerved violently to the left. Lois grabbed the dash as they crossed the far lane and pulled off into the dirt.
“What the hell are you doing?” Lois yelled.
But then Sykes had a gun in his hand, and he was pointing it right at her face.
“How long,” his voice was steady, calm, “did you have to plan, map out how you’d infiltrate us.”
Lois gulped. This was bad. And then Sykes hit her hard on the face with the butt of the gun. Lois fell back against her window, seeing stars. She couldn’t even yelp out in pain, it hurt so bad, and she was so scared. This was really bad.
“Get out of the car, *****,” Sykes muttered, opening his own door.
Lois couldn’t have done anything if she wanted. She grabbed her forehead, felt the sting, moved her hand in front of her face and saw the blood. Her door was yanked open and Sykes grabbed her by the hair, pulling her out into the chilly night air and forcing her to the ground. He shoved the gun into the back of her head and Lois found her voice, she cried out in fear.
“I should kill you right now,” Sykes said through gritted teeth. “Miss Lane.”
He knew everything. How could he know everything? Then Lois’ mind came back to her, and she started thinking. He wasn’t going for the recorder, which was in her pocket, so he didn’t know about that. Her mind reeled with solutions—he was attracted to her. She’d work that.
“Reggie—”
A swift kick to her gut killed that possibility. Sykes wasn’t having it.
“Don’t talk! Griggs did enough of that for the both of you.”
So Griggs had sold her out. No doubt they’d killed him, probably tortured him before doing the deed. The icy realization that she was going to die a very, very bad death hit Lois hard, and she tried frantically to get up, to run, to get away, but Sykes delivered another kick to her gut, and she was back down, moaning in pain. Then he pulled her up and dragged her around the van to the back. He pulled open the doors and hurled her inside. She landed hard on her backside.
“I’m going to kill you,” Sykes said coldly.
Then he slammed the doors and locked them. She heard him walk around to the driver’s side door, get in, start up the engine. Then the van was moving again.
It took Lois two seconds to realize she wasn’t alone in the van. She looked to her left to see a hulking figure sitting not three feet from her.
“Hi Lois.”
It was Griggs.

*

The pieces were coming together. Mercy had informed them that they had a tracer on Griggs and they’d pinpointed his position: he was in Smallville, on Route 8, and he was travelling, presumably with the remaining members of Intergang. Lex was busy trying to figure out the situation with Mercy and two other members of his security team. Lana mumbled something about attending to the guests and excused herself. Lex barely noticed. She hurried over to a quiet corner and pulled out her cell, dialing Clark’s number and looking back to make sure Lex was still busy. He was. The phone rang.

*

John Griggs was dead. Clark rubbed his eyes in frustration, cursing his computer silently. He was sitting at his desk at the Planet. He’d come back here immediately after Lana left, confident he would track down Griggs quickly and Intergang would be a thing of the past. He’d logged on, expecting an address and criminal history. What he’d gotten instead was a coroner’s report. John Griggs had died after being hit by an unknown vehicle at forty miles per hour just one month ago. If that was so, who was this Griggs that had been compromised, who was connected to Lex? None of it made any sense—
Perry White stuck his head out of his office door.
“Kent, you seen Olsen?”
“No sir.”
“Still chasing that lead?”
“Yes sir.”
“How’s that going for you?”
“A good story is worth the challenge.”
“Did I say that?”
“At some point, I’m sure.”
“Well forget I did. Not gonna happen, Clark.”
“Goodnight chief.”
Perry disappeared back into his office and Clark’s phone rang. It was Lana.
“Lana, are you okay?”
“I don’t have long. Clark—I know where Griggs is.”
“What?”
“Long story, but he’s in Smallville. Route 8 heading north. Hurry, Clark.”
“Lana, call the police.”
The papers on Clark’s desk flew everywhere as he super sped out the door.

*

“You son of a *****!”
Lois went for the tackle, Griggs overpowered her easily. He pinned her to the floor of the van, his face inches from her own.
“Shut up!” he said harshly. “They were going to kill me, I didn’t have a choice.”
“You wanted this to stop, you wanted Intergang exposed—”
“Yes.”
“You just killed the chance of that ever happening!”
“They killed my brother!” Griggs’ voice cracked, and he released her.
Lois pushed him off her, backing away. He sat, huddled in the dark. He was crying, fighting the tears. Lois grabbed her head as a sharp pain ran down her neck.
“What?” she gasped. “What do you mean they killed your brother?”
“Johnny and I joined up together,” Griggs said. “But things got too intense, after we attacked Senator Kent. Johnny wanted out. I wasn’t so sure. I told him to keep quiet, we’d just keep our heads down, and find a way out naturally. But that wasn’t good enough for him, so Johnny goes to this reporter. But then Sykes found out and…and—”
New sobs overtook him again. Lois shook her head, ignoring the pain for two seconds. This was too much. A brother, a reporter, murder—and now she was in the back of a van. What the hell.
“So I decided to bring these bastards down,” Griggs continued. “I wanted to make them pay. I thought you were my ticket. We’d bring them down from the inside. But they figured out I was still reporting back to Luthor, and—”
“You work for Lex?”
“Used to be on his security detail, before he was mayor. How do you think me and Johnny got involved with Intergang in the first place? But when **** started to get too real for us, we went to Luthor, asked him to get us out. But then he broke up with Intergang. Still paid us to keep him informed though. The bastard. Anything to keep his power.”
“Bastard is right,” Lois snorted.
“Sykes had been suspicious of you since the beginning, and they knew I had brought you in, so me informing Lex kind of confirmed all suspicions.”
Lois nodded, taking it all in. Basically, they were screwed. No two ways about it. The van came to an abrupt stop, and they braced themselves. Doors closed, footsteps approached the van. It was all going to be over soon. Lois offered Griggs a slight smile.
“I’m sorry about your brother,” she said.
Then the doors opened and rough hands grabbed them, pulling them out into the night air.

They were in Mayor’s Field. Their hands were tied behind their backs, and they were forced to their knees in the dirt, surrounded by the ten Intergang members. Sykes circled them, twirling his gun on his finger. Lois shivered in the cold. Her hair had fallen into her face, she jerked her head to get it out of her eyes. Beside her, Griggs was still, his eyes closed, head down. He’d accepted his fate. Good thing, too, because the first thing Sykes did was place the barrel of his pistol against the back of Griggs’ head and pull the trigger.
The sound of the shot echoed across the field and blood spurted into Lois’ eyes as she screamed. Griggs’ body hit the ground. Sykes crouched before her, pressing the hot tip of the barrel under Lois chin. Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision. She shook her head furiously.
“You don’t have to do this,” she stammered. “Please.”
Sykes smirked, then reached into her jacket and pulled out the digital recorder. No. He tossed it to West, who promptly destroyed it under his foot. Lois watched as justice was squashed into the dirt, disappearing into the earth. Vanishing, just like her chances for actually surviving this.
Then Sykes kissed her. Lois spat on him. A couple of the others chuckled. Sykes wiped the spit from his face, then licked his fingers. Lois grimaced. He grabbed her by her hair and dug the barrel of the gun in.
“Go to hell,” he whispered, and Lois squeezed her eyes shut.

Even as Clark delivered a punch to the guy with the gun’s face, sending him flying thirty feet into the air, his eyes were on Lois. As Reggie Sykes landed hard in the dirt, Clark grabbed Lois, lifting her up and not placing her back down until she was a safe distance away from what was about to happen.

Lois felt strong arms grab her around the waist. Suddenly, she was airborne, zooming away from Intergang, away from Sykes and his gun. Then she was back on the ground, settled gently, and her bonds were cut. Then she had the chance to open her eyes. In the dark night, all she could see was a dark blur piling the Intergang members, unconscious, on top of one another faster than she went for the coffee pot in the morning. Wait—it was him! It was her guardian angel! A smile lit up her face. He was here for her again, protecting her.
Then the blur dropped a groggy and gun-less Sykes at her feet, and then the blur was gone. Lois scanned the field, hoping to catch a glimpse of him once again, but there was nothing.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Sykes stirred. Lois gave him a hard kick to the balls. He groaned in pain, so she gave him another one for good measure.
“That’s for Griggs,” she muttered.
In the distance, police sirens could be heard. Help was on the way.

*

Lex placed the phone back in its cradle. He was once again in his office at LexCorp. Mercy had called. Intergang had been arrested by Smallville PD. They were in a transport on their way to Metropolis, where they would be held separately until their trial. Lex smiled.
The gas leak would look like an accident. The transport would explode, killing Sykes and the rest of the team. And Intergang would be gone. He glanced at his watch. It was happening right now. Relief. There was just one thing. Apparently Lois Lane had been at the scene, Mercy had told him that she’d been investigating Intergang, they’d discovered her and had taken her captive. When Sykes lost control of the van he’d been driving, Lois had taken her chance and caused some serious damage.
Lex didn’t know what Lois knew, but it was a problem easily dealt with. He’d find out soon enough, and deal with Lois accordingly. Just like he’d dealt with Chloe, and Pete, and Lana, and Lionel. And Metropolis itself. Lex always got what he wanted. And he deserved it. But right now, he had to gear up for his first presidential campaign coming up. It was two days from now. He’d be ready.
The search for Clancy Brown continued. The events of the evening had forestalled any serious movement, but now that Intergang was a thing of the past, priorities could shift. Brown would be found soon enough, Lex would have the meteor rock, and his army would be alive. Then he’d become president of the United States, and his plan for change would be put into motion.
He stared out the window at the city below. This city was his.

*

“And Lois is okay?” Martha asked, handing Clark his hot cup of fresh coffee.
Clark leaned forward on the couch. The fire was roaring in the fireplace. The Kent house was as warm and inviting as always. Clark nodded, taking a sip.
“Yes, she gave her statement to the police and left. I’m sure she got a story out of it.”
“It was reckless of her to do that without telling anyone,” Martha said. “If you hadn’t been there, Clark—”
“She thought that Intergang had killed Chloe. She was trying to do the right thing,” Clark countered. “She was trying to avenge Chloe. But she was wrong—we all were. Intergang didn’t kill Chloe. Lex did.”
Martha shuddered. She’d never seen that look on Clark’s face before. It was cold, hate-filled. Not her son. Not Clark Kent. But it wasn’t going away either.
“Clark,” Martha said softly. “Lex will be found out. Justice will be served.”
“Lex doesn’t deserve justice,” Clark stated bitterly. “Justice is too good for him.”
Martha was at a loss for words, and someone was knocking on the front door.

Lana was standing in his doorway. Alone.
“Hi Lana,” Martha said. “It’s ten o’clock.”
“I’m sorry for the late hour, Mrs. Kent,” Lana said. “But I was hoping I could talk to Clark.”
“Of course,” Martha said, giving Clark a look as she turned and retreated up the stairs.
Clark looked at her expectantly.
“Let’s go for a walk,” Lana said.

“No security detail?” Clark asked.
They crunched over the gravel driveway, walking along the fence slowly.
“They’re waiting for me at the front gate.”
“And Lex?”
“Thinks I’m out on an ice cream run. He’s had a busy evening.”
“Haven’t we all.”
“Intergang.”
“Done.”
Lana nodded. Then:
“I called Lois, left a voicemail. I’m meeting with her tomorrow morning. She’ll use Chloe’s evidence, print the story, Lex will be behind bars by the end of the week.”
Clark stopped walking.
“That makes sense, but why haven’t you called the police?”
“Because I want justice for Chloe. Clark, she died trying to bring him to justice. I want him in prison because of what she did. I want him to know he didn’t beat her, that he didn’t win.”
She was crying. She was crying because she knew she had to tell him. And she knew what it was going to do to him. The same thing it had done to her.
“Lana, what is it?”
“Clark,” a lump in her throat. She swallowed it down. “Clark. Lex killed Pete.”
It hit him like a freight train. He stumbled back, grabbed the fence to support himself. He turned from her, gripping the fence with both hands. Lowered his head, tears dropping to the ground below him. She didn’t think; Lana wrapped her arms around his torso, laying her head on his back, and cried with him.
“I’m sorry, Clark,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

Lex was going to die. The wooden fence cracked beneath his grip. His rage couldn’t be contained anymore. Lex was going to pay for what he did. For a moment, it didn’t matter that Lana was here, it didn’t matter what Jonathan and Martha had taught him, it didn’t matter that Lois and Lana were going to make sure Lex was going to prison. Right now, all that mattered was that Clark’s two closest friends were dead—and Lex was to blame.
He was going to kill Lex.
The fence broke, and Clark pushed Lana off of him.
“Clark,” she called.
But he didn’t hear. He was about to go into super speed, when a searing, high-pitched tone rang out, piercing the night air and exploding in Clark’s ears. The sound was overwhelming; Clark fell to his knees, clutching his head, writhing back and forth in pain.
“Clark!” Lana called again, concern in her voice. She ran to him, kneeling down, hands on his shoulders. “Clark, are you okay?”
It was Jor-El’s call. The Fortress in the arctic. His father was beckoning him. All thoughts of Lex were gone, the pain in his head was too great. Jor-El had complete control. Clark had to go.
“Leave, Lana,” he muttered, struggling to his feet and stumbling toward the barn.
“Clark.”
“Go away!” he yelled.
And then he was in the barn, out of her sight. And then he was gone.

Lana stared after him incredulously. He was devastated. Clark disappeared into the barn, and Lana realized it was time to go. She wiped her own tears away, turning and walking quickly down the driveway back to the car that awaited. She would meet with Lois tomorrow, she would give Lois everything she had on Lex. Lois would write the story, it’d be printed, the police would be informed, and Lex would be out of her life forever. He’d get what he deserved. And Lana would be able to sleep again.
And then she and Clark could figure things out.
She’d reached the car.
The two men assigned to protect her were on the ground, dead. Bullets in their heads.
And then strong hands grabbed her from behind.
A hard blow to the back of her head.
And everything went black.



End Episode XVII

[DailyPlanetFan]

SMALLVILLE: Season Six; Episode XVIII: FORTRESS







The sound was deafening. His ears were beginning to bleed. Clark zoomed across Smallville, clutching the ship key tightly in his right hand. Milliseconds later, he was in the caves, hundreds of feet below the town. His super speed gave out just as he made it inside, the buzzing in his ears killing his concentration. He staggered through the cave, all the way to the rear alcove, where the stone table—the portal to his Fortress of Solitude—was located. He fumbled trying to insert the key into the slot in the center of the table; it slipped, he tried again.
Suddenly, the buzzing was gone, and he was enveloped in a blinding white light.

*

Lex Luthor muttered a curse when his phone beeped, bringing him out of his doze. He’d fallen asleep at his desk, pen in his hand, working on his support speech. He checked the Caller ID; it was the head of the surveillance detail in Smallville. He raised the phone to his ear.
“What?”
“Mr. Luthor, you wanted to be informed of any activity at the caves in Smallville.”
An order he’d issued a long time ago.
“Yes.”
“Sir, the sensors have picked up movement.”
Lex shot up. It was time to move.

*

Standing in the center of the Fortress, Clark realized just how long it had been since he’d last been there. Not since Brainiac and General Zod’s attempted takeover, months ago. So it was no wonder he was once again swept up in the absolute beauty of the ice palace. The ice pillars stretched thousands of feet up into the night sky; the unearthly glow that permeated the place warmed what should have been sub-zero temperatures to a comfortable level. Two years ago, when Clark had put the Stones of Knowledge together and first built this place, Jor-El had told him it was built to resemble Krypton itself. The Fortress was home.
But right now Clark was pissed.
He took a step toward the glowing control console and planted his feet.
“Jor-El!” he called.
“My son.”
His Kryptonian father’s voice boomed throughout the Fortress, cutting through the chilly air with a power and authority only years of leadership could instill in a person. The ground shook, Clark stood firm. Yes, he was upset that Jor-El picked the worst possible moment ever to pull him away from Smallville, but if Clark had learned anything since meeting his father, it was that Jor-El only called for a reason, and those reasons were typically pretty important to not only Clark’s safety, but that of mankind. So Clark kept his cool; he was mad, but he wasn’t stupid.
“Why have you called me here?” he softened his tone.
“You have neglected me, Kal-El,” Jor-El answered.
It was true, it’d been a long time, but Clark had been busy.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been here more. I’ve been trying to make a life for myself on Earth.”
“I have been watching. You should be proud of the things you have accomplished, my son.”
Clark scoffed at that.
“What have I accomplished? My two best friends are dead. Lana’s married to my worst enemy, and Lex…” Clark paused, a wave of nostalgia coursing through his mind. “…Lex is gone. I’ve failed him.”
“Your attachment to this human race is one of your greatest traits, my son,” Jor-El responded. “But, as I feared, it has also become your greatest weakness.”
Clark’s resolve at showing this disembodied voice some respect was quickly waning. He didn’t want to hear another lecture about the frailty of the human race again. He and Jor-El had already had that conversation. He didn’t have time, not when Lex was out there.
But Jor-El wasn’t done.
“The humans have distracted you too long, Kal-El. Your obsession with their toil has halted your training here, with me. You will never be fit to rule this world, if you have not accepted your Kryptonian heritage and gained all the knowledge contained within this Fortress.”
“You still don’t get it!” Clark shouted. “I don’t want to rule! Earth is my home, more than Krypton ever was. I care for this race and I’m not going to apologize for it anymore!”
The ground shuddered with Jor-El’s rage, the icy columns around Clark shaking with the pressure.
“You have lost your focus!” Jor-El boomed. “Even now, a great evil threatens the very existence of your beloved human race, but you are too blind to see it!”
Clark paused. What evil? There was only one answer, as far as Clark was concerned.
“Lex,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Lex Luthor will be but a footnote on the pages of Earth’s history. His time on Earth will be significant, but small compared to yours, my son.”
“That’s not good enough!” Clark argued. “Do you understand what Lex has done? He needs to be stopped, Jor-El! Before it’s too late.”
“You must release your anger towards him, Kal-El,” Jor-El said harshly. “His threat is a human one, and it is nothing compared to the threat that is coming.”
Releasing his anger toward Lex was like asking Clark to raise the dead—impossible. But this threat Jor-El was talking about was serious. But Clark was aggravated. Lex was an immediate evil that needed to be stopped. Sure, Lana and Lois were inches away from making sure Lex never hurt anyone again, but Clark wanted to be sure—he trusted only himself to get the job done.
“Let it go, my son,” Jor-El repeated. “Before it’s too late.”
“Then who?” Clark rushed the console, as if approaching it would prove his urgency. “What evil are you talking about?”
A pause. The wind howled; even Clark’s invincible skin was chilled.
“The Brain Interactive Construct,” Jor-El said. “It has returned. And it means to destroy you.”

*

The control bunker for the cave surveillance was a couple miles east of the actual cave itself. Mercy, as Lex ordered, had sped the entire drive over. The Cadillac kicked up a small cloud of dust and dirt as it screeched to a halt outside of the small building planted neatly in a small valley about twenty minutes outside of Smallville proper. Lex didn’t wait for her to jog around and get his door; he hopped out before the car completed its stop and was making his way up the steps to the door two at a time before Mercy shifted into park.
The skeleton crew were two men in their late twenties—Lex couldn’t remember their names, but they hopped into action as soon as he came through the door.
“Mr. Luthor, we didn’t think—” one of them, a short, stocky kid with pimples on his face, tried.
“What do we have?” Lex cut him off, gazing at the wall of monitors before him.
A year and a half ago, after the second meteor shower, Lex had had cameras stationed in the caves at various places, providing a multi-angled view of every crevice and rock face. All of those angles were at Lex’s disposal now. But there were at least twenty of them, a maze of pixels and light that Lex didn’t have time for. His fascination with the caves, the Kawatche, the cryptic symbols—all of it—had never died. What he wanted now were answers.
“Well just a moment ago all the power went down; it was actually pretty incredible. The system’s never shot out like that before,” the other, tall, lanky, bespectacled offered. “But after we got everything back online, we took a look and it looks like the tech might have just malfunctioned.”
“What?” Lex seethed.
They hadn’t seriously called him all the way to this hick town to tell him they’d made a mistake. Mercy came through the door. Both of the kids got very nervous. Lex turned on them, hatred in his eyes.
“What are you saying?” he hissed. “That this is a false alarm?”
Stocky was braver. “No sir, there was movement. We just haven’t tracked down the source—”
“Call Taylor,” Lex spat over his shoulder to Mercy; he was done with these two. “Get a team in there, with all the equipment necessary. This could be the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for.”

*

Clark shook his head. “No, that’s impossible. I defeated Brainiac last year, after he unleashed his virus. It was right here. You had possessed Lionel, I destroyed the ship—we beat him!”
“He is a computer system, Kal-El,” Jor-El countered. “He is a product of Kryptonian genius; a program created to run endlessly, to survive. And to carry out his purpose, no matter the opposition.”
“But I—” Clark tried, but Jor-El wouldn’t allow it.
“Destroying his ship merely gave him pause. He has been gathering power, my son, and even now he is collecting the tools he needs to defeat you.”
Clark looked down, squaring his jaw. He’d made a mistake, and Jor-El knew it. After the disaster of Brainiac’s virus, and the havoc it had wreaked on the city, Clark had wanted to put it all behind him, start new, forgetting all about Krypton, and Brainiac, and Zod. But in his efforts to really assimilate on Earth, to find his place, he’d overlooked the very thing that could bring it all to an end. Brainiac was out there, right now, plotting to destroy mankind forever—and Clark was the only one who could stop him.
“I’ll find him,” he finally said, raising his head and staring up to the crystal ceiling confidently. “Tell me where he is. I’ll find him, and I’ll make sure he never hurts anyone again.”
“His movements are erratic, I have not been able to locate him for some time now,” Jor-El said, almost apologetically, “The time for my help has passed. This is a challenge you must face alone. His strength has surely multiplied; he will be more powerful than even you, Kal-El.”
Didn’t necessarily fill Clark with the confidence he would have liked.
“I’ll stop him,” Clark repeated anyway. “No matter what.”
He turned to go.
“Kal-El,” Jor-El’s voice stopped him. “Promise me you will return to me when Brainiac is destroyed. Promise me you’ll complete your training. Become who you were born to be.”
Clark didn’t answer; that wasn’t a promise he was ready to make.
Then a blinding white light overtook him, and he realized Jor-El was transporting him back to the cave. A split-second of intense pressure, and then he disappeared, and the Fortress was empty once again.

*

Lois Lane let out a groan, yanked her earphones out, and fell back onto the bed in her dorm room. It had been a hell of a long night. Immediately after her mysterious rescuer had saved her from Intergang, she’d returned to MetU and typed out her story, Whitesnake blasting in her ears the entire time.
Three and a half hours later, she’d gotten a pretty good rough draft out of her system. The truth was, there were a ton of holes in the piece. She didn’t have all the details, and now she didn’t really have the opportunity to get the rest of the answers. Intergang would be so locked down in legal affairs the chances of a reporter with absolutely zero clout getting in to ask them a few questions were slim to never-gonna-happen. Sure, Lois had scored Batman, and Catwoman, and the death of a major political player, and that creepy kid back in Smallville, but those were all stories printed by the—being honest, here—joke, the Inquisitor, the ‘least likely to be taken seriously’ tabloid.
But Lois had already made up her mind to take the story, upon completion, to the Daily Planet, in honor of Chloe, the real reporter hero of this story.
Lois looked around the empty dorm room. How far college days seemed to be behind her. The campus was barely home anymore really, and it was strange to be here without Chloe. God, she missed her cousin. Lois shook off the wave of sadness that threatened to overtake her and sat back up, grabbing her cell phone. She hadn’t checked it since getting back. She had just one missed call and a voicemail, and she perked up when she saw who it had been.
Lana.

*

The blinding light dissipated and Clark was back in the recess of the Kawatche Cave. Pocketing the key, he gave the stone table a good look and drew in a deep breath. He’d start at the Planet. Brainiac fed on power—and if the wicked Kryptonian computer had in fact been weakened by that tussle in the snow months ago, Brainiac would need recharging. Clark would look into any strange electrical surges in the United States. It was flimsy, and he wasn’t even sure it was the right direction to go in. But it was a direction. Giving the small recess one last glance, he turned to go.
And knew almost immediately something was wrong.
The pain hit him sharply in the gut, and he could instantly feel his blood superheat and begin to boil. Kryptonite. But in the caves? Confusion gave way to panic as Clark’s knees buckled. This was hitting him like no other—the Kryptonite had to be a concentrated amount—and there was a lot of it.
He heard voices echo throughout the cave.
“We’ve got movement!”
“Scanners picked up—”
“The recess!”
Booted footfalls, the sounds of gun safeties being clicked off. Ten men, at least, coming toward him. Clark tried to wheeze in some air, but it seemed as if his lungs had closed off. He struggled to stand up, but the pain was like a giant wall pressing down on him, refusing him an escape.
His mind swirled. Who was here? Why did they have Kryptonite? What was going on?
Suddenly, a swift kick to his gut and Clark tried to fold himself in half, coughing up blood into the dirt. He looked up to see the silhouettes of five big men, wearing black military-style gear—and all of them holding guns to Clark’s head.
“Who are you?” the leader asked gruffly. “How did you get in here?”
Clark tried to tell them this was all a misunderstanding, that he was a Metropolis University student doing a paper on the old Indian tribe of Smallville, but words wouldn’t form and all that came out of his mouth was more blood to mix with the dust in his face.
Then a shorter man stepped forward, a bookworm of a fellow who looked very out of place next to the commandos holding Clark prisoner. The bookworm peered down at Clark and then raised some kind of fancy-looking walkie-talkie to his mouth.
“We’ve got an intruder here, sir,” the man breathed. “Could be the source of the disturbance.”
The walkie crackled, and then an all-too familiar voice filled the recess and sent a new jolt of fear down Clark’s spine.
The unmistakable voice of Lex Luthor said, “Take him.”
One of the commandos shoved the butt of his rifle into Clark’s face and everything went dark.


To Be Continued...

[DailyPlanetFan]

SMALLVILLE: Season Six; Episode XVIII: FORTRESS (Part 2)



She didn't know if she was still in Smallville; she had no idea where she was, but she did know she was sitting in the living room of a simple apartment. To her left was a small kitchen, complete with dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave. The kitchen narrowed into a hallway, which led back to the bedroom, beyond that was the bathroom. To her left, was the front door—freedom.
The sun was rising, the light pouring through the open window into Lana’s eyes. Her wrists were numb and raw from fighting the binds that held her to the uncomfortable chair. The duct tape wrapped around her head held her mouth firmly closed, the neighbors, if there were any, would never hear any grunts or screams for help. It had been a few hours, she was pretty sure. No one had come to look for her. Lex probably wasn’t even aware of her absence—he was too busy trying to take over the world, no doubt.
The truth of the matter was that she was in trouble. A lot of trouble.
The front door opened and her kidnapper walked in, a bag of groceries in his arm. He locked the door behind him and moved into the kitchen, unloading a loaf of bread and some lunchmeat from the bag. Then he looked up at her and Lana tensed.
“Maybe, if you’re good, you’ll get a sandwich,” Grant said. “If you’re good.”
He grabbed a chair from the kitchen table and sat down in front of her. His eyes moved over her face, taking in every detail and making Lana squirm. And then very quickly his hands were on the duct tape around her face.
“If I take this off, you’re not going to scream are you?” he asked, almost politely. “If you do scream, I’m going to cut out your tongue. Are you going to scream?”
Lana shook her head furiously: no, she would not scream. Grant gave a satisfied nod and then carefully unwound the duct tape. Once Lana’s head was free, he bunched up the tape and placed it gingerly on the floor beside him, dusting his hands off on his pants and then giving her another affirmative nod.
“Is that better?” he asked.
Lana nodded, not sure if speaking would upset him. There was an awkward silence as they just stared at each other. He was studying her, Lana was afraid of what he was going to do next. Grant had been very violent with her in the past, now he was acting docile and even courteous. He was being unpredictable, and that frightened Lana more than if he were to be physically abusive.
Finally the silence became too much and Lana had to speak.
“Grant,” she said softly. “What did you do to the two security men?”
“Their bodies are buried in a field in Smallville,” Grant returned quickly, matter-of-factly. “The Smallville Sheriff, even Lex, will have a hard time tracking them down for at least a few days.”
Lana gulped that one down. “Why are you doing this?” she asked.
Grant smiled, his eyes shifting to the left of her, out the window. He gazed into the sunlight, his eyes watering. His far-off look told Lana that Grant had lost it somewhere, sanity was now foreign to him.
“It’s simple, really,” Grant breathed. “I’m going to show Lex my loyalty once and for all.”
So he was feeling undervalued. Well, after Lex’s cold display at the press reception yesterday Lana could understand why. She decided it would be best to encourage him.
“Grant, Lex does not doubt you’re loyalty. You brought me back from Europe because he asked you to. You’ve done everything he’s wanted. He knows you’re a good employee. He wouldn’t make just anybody the head of his security.”
Grant’s eyes returned to her, harsh. “You see, that’s what I thought, too. When I got the promotion, when he invited me into his inner circle, I thought my life was complete. I thought I’d finally gained his trust. You don’t understand how hard I’ve worked—” he reached into his pocket, pulling out a folded-up, yellow-around-the edges photograph and shoving it in her face.
Before Lana was Grant, standing next to a beautiful woman. They were smiling big, and huddled over a tiny baby in its crib. His family.
“—my wife left me, took my son,” Grant continued, crumpling the photo and throwing it to the ground. “She said I was obsessed, that I cared more about pleasing Lex than I did about taking care of my family. So that ***** took my son.”
He was crying. Lana didn’t know what to say, so she remained quiet, watching him.
“Then I realized she was right,” Grant sniffed, looking down, his eyes hidden from her. “I realized I would do anything for him. I love Lex. I thought it was only a matter of time until he loved me back.”
He looked up at her, eyes big and crazed, and Lana knew this wasn’t going to end well.
“And then there was you,” Grant bit out. “And you were all he cared about, all he could think about. And then my life became about you, about keeping you safe, about keeping you his. It wasn’t fair! I tried to make him see—see that you don’t love him, you don’t respect him the way I do. You never will. You ran away from him. And still he doesn’t understand that you’re not what he needs. I am.”
Lana was shaking. “Grant—”
“Shut up!” he yelled.
He pushed his face close to hers, his breath blowing her hair back with every exhale.
“But now,” he said. “I finally understand that I can’t get to Lex by telling him. I have to show him. I have to rid him of the distraction so he can finally see the one who really loves him.”
Lana’s heart sank and she felt a scream surging up in her throat. Grant smiled at her wickedly.
“So I’m going to kill you, Lana. Then he’ll be mine.”

*

Lex entered the Kawatche cave, trailed by Mercy and Dr. Taylor. After Lex had ordered his men to hold the intruder, Taylor had provided a full description—Lex hadn’t been surprised to learn it was Clark Kent. Back when Clark was still in high school, when he and Lex were still friends, Clark had been as obsessed with these caves as Lex was. Lex couldn’t even count the times he’d discovered Clark down here, snooping around, even after Lionel had ordered no one in without clearance. Part of Lex had defended Clark and allowed the boy access because they truly were friends, but then there was the other part that was aware Clark knew more than he was telling, and Lex wanted to find out what it was. Now, all these years later, he was going to get his chance.
Lex, Mercy, and Taylor rounded a turn and came into the large main cavern. The hand-painted walls were now covered in lights—it was bright as day in the cave now. Large tech and digging equipment filled the place. Fifteen men and women, scientists and security, milled about, trying to look busy now that the boss was here. In the center of it all was Lex’s masterpiece: a ten-foot meteor rock-fueled drill. It sat in the center of the cave; it’s metal body glistening in the sanitary light, the tank of liquidized meteor rock sitting at its base.
And then Lex looked over to the far corner, by the recess in the rear of the cave that had mysteriously opened after the second meteor shower, and saw Clark Kent.
The man was sitting on his butt, legs outstretched, hands tied behind his back. His hair was matted with sweat and blood, which had dripped onto his torn and dusty flannel shirt. Clark’s head drooped—he was unconscious, but every few seconds, his body would jerk violently.
“Jesus, what’d you do to him?” Lex said. “I didn’t tell you to kill him!”
“He tried to put up a fight,” Taylor said. “The men had a bit of a rough time getting him tied down. He eventually stopped struggling.”
One of the security team handed Mercy a small plastic bag, muttering something in her ear. Mercy stepped up to Lex, handing him her prize.
“This is all he had on him, Lex,” Mercy said.
Lex took the bag and held it up so he could see inside. He gasped at what he saw.
It was the metallic disc, the octagon. The key.

Consciousness was returning slowly. The pain was searing, the slightest tilt of his head and fire shot up the veins in his neck, sending a bolt of electric hurt into his skull. Clark coughed, and his stomach burned. The drill in the center of the cave was killing him. All of his powers were gone, victims to the Kryptonite. But he could hear Lex’s voice; Lex was here, in the cave with him now. Clark forced his eyes open and looked up—there Lex was, standing next to the scientist that had called him in and the sexy driver Clark had seen the day before, receiving the call about Griggs and Intergang.
And Lex had the key in his hand.
Clark didn’t even remember being searched. And now the literal key to all his secrets was in the hands of Lex Luthor.
“I want to talk to him,” Lex announced. “Everybody out!”
“Mr. Luthor, I would strongly advise—” the scientist started.
“Out!” Lex yelled. “I want guards stationed at the cave entrance. I’ll call when I’m ready for the drilling to begin. But right now I need to have a talk with our guest.”
Within minutes, the cave was cleared, and Clark and Lex, for the first time in a long time, were alone together. Clark struggled to straighten his back, tried not to look so pathetic in Lex’s eyes. This was going to be hard—and Kryptonite or not, he was going to have to be strong. Lex sauntered over, flipping the key in his fingers, and crouched in front of Clark.
“Hello Clark,” he said. “Long time, no see.”

*

Three unreturned phone calls later and Lois was pacing in her room, her laptop open on the bed before her. Lana’s tantalizing voicemail had teased secrets about Lex, Chloe’s story, Intergang, answers. Answers from the inside—Lex’s wife, for goodness’ sake—that would fill the holes in her story and send Lex behind bars for good. Lana had set the meeting for seven-thirty this morning at the Talon. Lois looked at her watch. It was six now; she was going to be late to the meeting; that’s why she’d been trying to get a hold of Lana, but Lana wasn’t picking up her phone. Lois stopped pacing and stared at her laptop. The story of a lifetime, sitting right on her dorm room bed.
Lana would understand her lateness. Lois grabbed her car keys and moved to the door.

*

Jimmy Olsen rushed out of the elevator and hurried into the newsroom of the Planet, camera hanging from his neck and stacks of papers and data clutched in his arms. He made it to his desk just as everything escaped his grasp, and he sprawled out, catching everything and keeping it close. He found his chair, eased his camera over his head and placed it gingerly on his desk, sorted the paperwork, readjusted his glasses, grabbed for a cup of coffee that wasn’t there, and finally took a deep breath.
“Olsen!” Perry’s voice.
Jimmy whirled, exhaling harshly. “Yessir?”
Perry White was standing in the aisle between desk rows, arms folded across his chest, his face cold stone and terrifying. A strange hush fell over the usually rowdy office as other members of the staff stared on in nervous excitement, a few brave ones daring to whisper questions to each other about Jimmy’s fate. Jimmy gave the entire office a glance before gulping down his excitement. None of it mattered. He’d just made a massive breakthrough. If only Chloe could see him now.
“Where the hell have you been?” Perry spat, taking slow steps toward Jimmy’s desk.
“Boss, you’re not going to believe what I—”
“Do you realize it’s been forty-eight hours since anyone here has seen you? Senator Luthor gave a speech yesterday. Would have been great to have some photographs for the front page. Too bad my photographer was nowhere to be found. Oh yeah—that’s you.”
Perry was close now. Jimmy was grabbing for papers.
“Perry—”
“Whatever you’re fiddling with better be nuclear or I swear to God I’ll have your press badge in the trash can so fast—”
“I think I found Clancy Brown!” Jimmy yelled.
The hush deepened. Now everyone was blatantly staring. This was big news. Perry’s face got redder. He took one more step toward Jimmy, his eyes glancing over the papers.
“Are you serious?”
Jimmy made a show of ruffling papers as he explained. “After Brown disappeared it looked like Clark was just going to give up on finding him. Didn’t sit to well with me so I did some digging. I narrowed Brown’s possible escape routes to three main roads leading away from the LexCorp factory. You’ve got Seventh, Oscar, and the 8, Route 8.”
“Seventh leads right into downtown, so he didn’t take that one. Oscar would have dead-ended in Suicide Slums—some other thief would have picked up his cargo. Brown was bound to know that, so his only viable option would have been Route 8, which takes you on a bee line out of the city right through Smallville and out of the county,” Perry was tapping his foot, “and besides all that, how do you know he didn’t have another exit strategy? How do you know that only these three streets were the possible routes he could have chosen?”
“Well that’s the thing, I didn’t,” Jimmy said, and then he grabbed the sheet of paper he was looking for and shoved it at Perry. “Until I saw this.”
Perry looked down at what was most certainly a road map of the county. The blue Route 8 line was highlighted in yellow, it’s Metropolis-to-Smallville-to-Granville-to-out-of-state path dotted with red ‘x’ marks made by, he was assuming, Jimmy. About halfway to Smallville, the red ‘x’s jutted off the main route, heading east, away from Smallville, rounding the town and then continuing west, toward Granville. The staff was crowding; they were all now just as thoroughly intrigued as Perry was, though he’d never admit it.
“What am I looking at now, Olsen?”
“Brown’s escape route,” Jimmy had swelled with pride for his grand reveal. “Perry: the red ‘x’s are spikes of unusually high amounts electric current being produced.”
“What does electric currents have to do with Brown?”
“Well, given what he was carrying, it’s only safe to assume—”
“You know what he was carrying?”
“What, Clark didn’t tell you?”
Perry dropped the paper back onto the desk. “No.”
Jimmy gulped. “Oh. I thought you two had made the decision not to print the product together.”
“You thought,” Perry snapped. “What did Brown steal?”
“Meteor rock.”
Perry half-smiled. “Meteor rock?”
Jimmy nodded. “And if you spent two minutes on Google reading up on that stuff you’d know what kind of crazy it produces. I mean, even Chloe’s old articles in the Torch would tell you everything you need to know. Strange things happen when meteor rock comes into play. Now, these electric pulses—I called every power company from here to Colorado, nobody could explain it. And look at the trajectory—” he spun the paper around on the desk so Perry, and now half the staff, could see, and pointed at the halfway point between the city and Smallville, where the red ‘x’s began their curve—“see how it curves around Smallville, starting here? I cross-referenced the pulse at the top of the curve with the time of Intergang’s attack on the vans and they line up perfectly. They were happening at the same time. Brown sent the empty vans as a decoy so he could go around Smallville unnoticed.”
Now Perry was following the rest of the highlighted line to its destination.
Jimmy was full-steam ahead now: “I’ve been tracking the pulses ever since and they’ve been popping up pretty consistently. The last one happened about thirty minutes ago. I came right over because it happened in the same location the last one did. I think Brown has finally stopped running.”
Perry was excited now. He pulled the map close to his face.
“So according to this, Brown’s on the outskirts of Granville right now!”
“Yes sir!” Jimmy gasped, pumping his fists into the air victoriously.
Some of the staff actually cheered and started to applaud him. Jimmy couldn’t believe it. He beamed uncontrollably and soaked in the praise. But then Perry shot his head up.
“Back to work! All of you!”
They dispersed immediately and Jimmy put his hands back down. Perry grabbed him by the shoulder and started pulling him toward the editorial suite.
“Olsen, I gotta say, I didn’t think you had it in you, but you sure as hell proved me wrong. You really came through, buddy.”
Jimmy nodded excitedly, expecting this. Now for the real question. He wanted to go after Brown—he wanted to be the one that got the story, that uncovered the truth, had a hand in bringing the bad guy to justice. He was hoping that after proving himself with doing all the footwork, Perry would finally give him the chance—
“We’re going to send Lombard down there immediately,” Perry continued, crushing Jimmy’s dreams. “We’ve got twenty-four hours before we have to report this to Sawyer and the MPD; that should give Lombard enough time to see what’s going on and get something typed up for the morning edition.”
“Actually, Boss, I was hoping that I—”
But Perry was already waving him off, Jimmy’s map still in his hand, moving through the newsroom toward reporter Steve Lombard’s desk. And just like that, it was over. Jimmy’s moment was passing him by, soon to be gone just as quickly as he’d achieved it.
Jimmy huffed. Like hell it was. He hurried for Lombard’s desk.

*

Clark shivered in the cold of the cave as Lex eyed him in a strange silence.
“It’s interesting,” Lex mused. “There’s literally been no activity down in these caves for almost two years. Then, when my surveillance team finally picks up some movement, you’re what I find.”
Clark shifted. Lex was providing a kind of barrier form the Kryptonite. It wasn’t enough to make Clark fly, but it certainly didn’t hurt as bad as it had two minutes ago.
“Some coincidence,” Clark offered.
“What you doing down here, Clark?”
“I think the question that needs to be answered here is why your guys felt they could beat me to a pulp, tie me up, and hold me for questioning.”
“You’re trespassing. These caves and the land above are the property of LexCorp.”
“Lex, listen to yourself. Do you understand that you have kidnapped me? You’re holding me against my will. When I get out of here, I’m going to report you to the authorities, you’re going to pay for what you’re doing.”
“I don’t think you understand. You’re trespassing on the Senator of Kansas’ property, Clark. I am the authority. And you’re not leaving until you answer my questions. Now: what are you doing down here? Just tell me the truth and we’ll put this behind us.”
The fact that everything Lex had said made actual sense made Clark sick to his stomach, more than Kryptonite ever could. He spit some blood and saliva into the dirt and looked into Lex’s eyes. Who was this person? How could it even be possible that they had been friends once upon a time? The man before Clark was not the man he’d saved on that bridge so many years ago. This man was a twisted, maniacal villain—bordering on psychopath. He’d murdered Chloe and Pete in cold blood; God only knew what he was doing to Lana to keep her in that mansion. And now he had manipulated and cheated his way into public office. Lex was a madman.
“I came down here to think, Lex. To get some quiet. That’s all.”
Lex smirked. “I don’t buy it, Clark. Come on. Are you forgetting the history you and I have with this place? How many times have inexplicable things happened down here—you at the center of it all? The days of you brushing it off and me letting you are over. Tell me the truth.”
“You’re just as obsessive as you’ve always been, Lex,” Clark countered. “You’re delusional—you want these caves to be something more so badly you’re willing to tie me up to make it a reality. Let it go.”
Lex rose and marched over to the nearest wall. He placed his hand on one of the Kawatche symbols etched into the stone and pointed with his other hand at Clark.
“So what about Professor Willowbrook? The Kawatche legend. You’re telling me you believe it’s all just myth and folklore? Clark, you’re just as obsessed with those stories as I am, don’t try to deny it. A few years ago, we were working together on unlocking its secrets—”
“That was before I realized you were more interested in investigating my family behind our backs. You pretended to be my friend so that you could, what, study me?”
“Why do you think I did that?” Lex knelt back down in front of Clark. “You weren’t being honest about the caves. I knew you were hiding things from me; I tried to get you to be honest with me. I tried to be your friend, but you wouldn’t open up; I had no other choice.”
Clark shook his head, looking away. Lex sat back on his haunches.
“You’ve always hid things from me, Clark,” he said. “Ever since that day on the bridge, you’ve had your secrets. Why couldn’t you just be honest with me?”
“Because, Lex,” Clark met his eyes again. “I never knew who I was talking to. Sometimes you were my friend, other times you were this completely different person. You’ve always had a darkness in you, Lex, you know it. I never knew if I could trust you.”
“Sounds familiar,” Lex shot back. “I used to think your friendship was the one thing keeping that darkness at bay. Now I realize how naïve I was. Clark, all I ever wanted was to be your friend. But for some reason, that wasn’t good enough for you. You turned your back on me.”
Clark shook his head. “Don’t make your downfall my fault, Lex. You’re responsible for your actions, not me.”
“Downfall?” Lex laughed. “Clark—I’m on top of the world. LexCorp is number one, I’m the Senator of Kansas, for Christ’s sake!” He leaned in then, getting right in Clark’s face. “And Lana’s my wife. She married me. So I think I’m doing pretty well.”
Clark fell silent and squared his jaw. That was a low blow, and Lex knew it.
“And let’s take a look at that, shall we?” Lex continued. “Why do you think Lana came to me in the first place? Oh yeah, because you were driving her crazy, Clark. You were never honest with her either. Do you know how many times she came to me, frustrated, angry, confused? Because of you.”
“And you played the role of the shoulder to cry on brilliantly,” Clark said. “You made sure you were always there to listen, to offer your advice. You were just waiting for me to get out of the way so you could slide in and make your move.”
“It’s incredible how self-righteous you are!” Lex yelled. “Nobody’s as good as Clark Kent! I didn’t steal Lana from you, Clark. You did a pretty great job of pushing her away all by yourself.”
Lex shot to his feet and moved a few paces away, wiping his mouth with his hand, the other on his hip. The man was angry.
“And what makes you so righteous, Lex?” Clark said quietly.
Chloe. Pete. Intergang. All Lex’s doing, Lex’s fault, and Clark knew it. His finger was a trigger, but he wasn’t sure he could pull it just yet. He didn’t know if Lana and Lois had printed the story, if the police were chasing down Lex at this very moment. If they weren’t, revealing to Lex what he knew could put Lana in danger.
Suddenly Lex was back in his face.
“I’m sick of this run around,” Lex breathed, grabbing Clark by the collar. “You’re going to tell me what you’re doing down here. You’re going to tell me, or I’m going to hurt you.”

*

The Talon was bustling with activity, its bright interior filled with coffee-deprived patrons desperate for their caffeine fix. Lois scanned the crowded shop quickly, searching for Lana.
She wasn’t here.
Lois looked at her watch. She had been an hour and a half late—morning traffic in Metropolis was a *****. She sighed, unsure of what to do for a second. She pulled her phone from her purse and checked for missed calls or messages. Nothing. Lana’s message had sounded urgent, and not one call to make sure Lois would make their meeting? And now, when Lois actually showed up, Lana was a no-show? Something was definitely up, and it gave Lois an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She wondered if Lana was okay, if something had happened, and the more she thought about it the more worried she got.
“Can I help you?”
The waitress’ accommodating voice broke into Lois’ thoughts and brought her back to reality. The young girl was standing there in her green apron, pad and pen at the ready. Her name, Tracy, was on her nametag in bubble letters. No doubt she was a Smallville high student. Memories of Lois’ brief stint at the Talon came back to her as she shook her head.
“No thanks.”
Tracy smiled and turned to go.
“Actually,” Lois touched her shoulder lightly, the girl turned. “Do you happen to know if Lana Luthor was in here this morning?”
“Lana Luthor?” Tracy asked, then her eyes lit up. “Oh, Lana! The girl who opened this place.”
“Now married to Lex Luthor,” Lois finished. “Was she here?”
Tracy shook her head absently. “Haven’t seen her.”


To Be Continued...

[DailyPlanetFan]

SMALLVILLE: Season Six; Episode XVIII: FORTRESS (Part 3)

WELCOME TO GRANVILLE

Jimmy snapped a picture from the passenger’s seat in Steve Lombard’s Porsche.
“The sign? Really?” Lombard sighed, eyeing Jimmy over his Ray Bans.
“Just getting my focus set,” Jimmy mumbled.
True, he was nervous, and Lombard wasn’t exactly great company. They were nearing the location Jimmy’s research told him Brown would be.
“Looks like it’s an old farm property,” Lombard said as he turned the Porsche down a dirt road. “Listen up, Olsen. I get that you hauled ass and figured out where exactly this guy is, but I don’t need you getting territorial while we’re breaking this thing. No offense, but I’m the ace reporter and you’re…a junior photographer. So, no hard feelings but I’ve got lead on this. Clear?”
“It’s cool man,” Jimmy said, gazing out the window, “your name’s on the byline, I get it.”
“Good.” Lombard shifted into park and shut off the engine. “Let’s do this.”
The farmhouse looked old and abandoned. The corn fields on either side of the house were dead and dusty, and there was no car in the drive. Could Brown have already vacated? Jimmy hoped not—even if Lombard did get the byline and the glory, there was no removing Jimmy from the story. He needed this. He wanted to make Chloe proud.
They made their way toward the front porch. It was eerily quiet and no sounds were coming from inside the house. Lombard was undeterred, he hopped up the front steps and knocked on the door three times. Jimmy looked around tentatively, something wasn’t right but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Why would Brown steal a bunch of meteor rock and then escape to Granville? Why here? What was his plan?
There was no answer.
“Stick with me buddy,” Lombard said, pocketing his Ray Bans, “we’re going in.”
He tried the door—unlocked. He pushed it open and they tip-toed inside.
The house was empty. No furniture, no appliances in the kitchen, just dust and that strange chill you get in an abandoned house. Jimmy tried to fight the sinking feeling in his stomach—they were too late. And it looked like Lombard could tell.
“Waste of time,” he said after one look at the place. “You led us straight to a dead end, Olsen.”
Then—something. Jimmy froze where he stood. Underneath them, a rumbling.
“Wait,” he put his hand up to Lombard, signaling him to freeze, “do you feel that?”
“Feel what?” Lombard spat impatiently, but he did freeze.
There it was again, a vibration underneath their feet. Jimmy could swear it was happening. He looked up at Lombard, who met his eyes with an understanding; he’d felt it too.
“Basement,” they whispered in unison.

*

No one was picking up at the Kent farm. Lois stood on Main Street, tapping her foot impatiently as Martha’s cheery voice invited her to leave a message and they’d call her right back.
“Where is everybody?” she said aloud in frustration.
She was beginning to get a bad feeling about Lana, and it was making her uneasy. She figured if anyone maybe knew about what was going on, Clark would. But she couldn’t reach him. And the ever-present feeling of the clock ticking was in the back of her mind—she needed to get her Lex story out as soon as possible.
Maybe Clark was out in the fields doing chores. It was only a twenty-minute drive, and it would beat driving into the city to see if he was at the Planet.
Lois hurried to her car.

*

“Tell me what this is.”
Lex was holding out the key, right under Clark’s nose. The pain from the Kryptonite was unbearable, and Clark was struggling to keep the key and Lex in focus.
“Paper weight?” he managed with a slight grin.
“Don’t!” Lex sneered. “Don’t do that. Why. Why? Why do you keep lying?”
“You asked me about that thing years ago and I didn’t know then. What makes you think I’m going to know anything more about it now? Why do you keep trying to turn things into something they’re not?” Clark countered.
“Roger Nixon certainly thought it was something,” Lex said, rising to his feet and beginning to pace back and forth in the dim light of the cave. “Remember him? The man I shot to save your life? He was convinced that you were more than you claimed to be, and that this key had a hell of a lot to do with it all.”
“So did you father, Lex,” Clark panted. “And look what he did—”
“Don’t—”
“He sent you to a mental institution—”
“Don’t talk to me about my father—”
“He put you through electro-shock therapy and treated you like an animal—”
“To protect you!” Lex threw the key at him. It bounced off the wall directly beside Clark and fell to the ground with a sharp ding. “All those years I spent begging for his acceptance; trying to make him happy. None of it mattered. He chose you. He loved you.”
Lex’s head dropped suddenly and the cave was filled with a heavy silence. Clark watched as his old friend drew in a ragged breath. For the briefest of moments, it was almost like it had been when he was younger. When Lex had trusted him. Before he’d killed the people most important to Clark.
“Lionel didn’t love me more than you, Lex,” Clark finally said. “Maybe he just knew he could trust me.”
Lex laughed at that, raising his head, and Clark could see the tears in his eyes.
“Right,” Lex said. “He could trust you. Everybody can trust Clark Kent. You’re the perfect one. You’re the hero. Makes me wonder, though…why did Jonathan Kent always seem so stressed? For being such a perfect son, you sure seemed to have quite an effect on his heart.”
In spite of the Kryptonite, Clark’s blood ran cold. This murderer, this liar, this villain was accusing him of his own father’s death?
“Who do you think you are?” Clark spat. “I’m not the killer here, Lex. You are. I know what you’ve done.”
He’d said it without thinking. He’d shown his hand. There was a flicker in Lex’s eyes and Clark knew that he’d said too much. Another sharp pain coursed through his body and the green glow of the Kryptonite hit Lex’s face as he smiled, it was a sickening image.
“What are you talking about, Clark?”
And Clark was done. If he was going to die in this cave, he was going to have the truth.
“You’re sick of lies, Lex? Then let’s be honest here. Tell me what happened to Pete. Tell me what happened to Chloe. And tell me what you’re doing to Lana.”
“You sound insane.”
“Says the man who’s got me tied up in a cave. They’re dead, Lex. They’re gone. Are you seriously going to look me in the eye and tell me you had nothing to do with it? Are you that lost?”
“If I’m anything, you have no one to blame but yourself. Can you imagine what it feels like looking at your best friend every day and knowing that he’s lying to you? Do you know what that does to a person? All I’ve ever tried to be is your friend, Clark.”
“You can blame me all you want; doesn’t change the fact you killed them.”
Lex actually looked hurt.
“I didn’t kill anyone Clark.”
“Now who’s the liar?”
Lex’s face changed; it twisted into the purest form of hate Clark had ever seen. And then suddenly Lex lunged at him, grabbing Clark’s face in his hands and squeezing hard. Their eyes were centimeters from each other, and any semblance of the friend Clark had once known was gone as Lex hissed:
“You don’t get it, do you? This is Smallville. Meteor freaks, cryptic symbols, alien ships. These things are real, Clark. Someone has to protect us, someone has to take control.”
“And you think that’s you? You think that justifies killing innocent people?”
“I told you I didn’t kill anyone.”
“Stop lying, Lex.”
“You’re the liar!”
And then Lex hit him. Clark felt the sting in his jaw and his mouth filling with blood. Lex hit him again. And again.
“You’re the liar!” he shouted once more.
“Lex—”
Another punch to his face; it split open and blood went into Clark’s eyes.
Lex was going to kill him.

*

She didn’t know if she was still in Smallville; she actually had no idea where she was, but she did know she was sitting in some kind of basement. Directly in front of her was a folding chair, identical to the one to which she was bound. To her left was a washing machine, complete with dryer, some cardboard boxes with scribbling on them. Beyond that darkness, but she could just make out the steps leading up to a door—freedom.
Her wrists were numb and raw from fighting the binds that held her to the uncomfortable chair. The duct tape wrapped around her head held her mouth firmly closed, the neighbors, if there were any, would never hear any grunts or screams for help from down here. It had been a few hours, she was pretty sure. No one had come to look for her. Lex probably wasn’t even aware of her absence—he was too busy trying to take over the world, no doubt.
The truth of the matter was that she was in trouble. A lot of trouble.
The door above her opened light poured into the basement. Her kidnapper walked in, a bag of groceries in his arm. He locked the door behind him and trudged down the stairs, unloading a loaf of bread and some lunchmeat from the bag. Then he looked at her and Lana tensed.
“Maybe, if you’re good, you’ll get a sandwich,” Grant said. “If you’re good.”
He grabbed the other chair and sat down in front of her. His eyes moved over her face, taking in every detail and making Lana squirm. And then his hands were on the duct tape around her face.
“If I take this off, you’re not going to scream are you?” he asked, almost politely. “If you do scream, I’m going to cut out your tongue. Are you going to scream?”
Lana shook her head furiously: no, she would not scream. Grant gave a satisfied nod and then carefully unwound the duct tape. Once Lana’s head was free, he bunched up the tape and placed it gingerly on the floor beside him, dusting his hands off on his pants and then giving her another affirmative nod.
“Is that better?” he asked.
Lana nodded, not sure if speaking would upset him. There was an awkward silence as they just stared at each other. He was studying her, Lana was afraid of what he was going to do next. Grant had been very violent with her in the past, now he was acting docile and even courteous. He was being unpredictable, and that frightened Lana more than if he were to be physically abusive.
Finally the silence became too much and Lana had to speak.
“Grant,” she said softly. “What did you do to the two security men?”
“Their bodies are buried in a field,” Grant returned quickly, matter-of-factly. “The Smallville Sheriff, even Lex, will have a hard time tracking them down for at least a few days.”
Lana gulped that one down. “Why are you doing this?” she asked.
Grant smiled, his eyes shifting to the left of her, out the window. He gazed into the sunlight, his eyes watering. His far-off look told Lana that Grant had lost it somewhere, sanity was now foreign to him.
“It’s simple, really,” Grant breathed. “I’m going to show Lex my loyalty once and for all.”
So he was feeling undervalued. Well, after Lex’s cold display at the press reception yesterday Lana could understand why. She decided it would be best to encourage him.
“Grant, Lex does not doubt your loyalty. You brought me back from Europe because he asked you to. You’ve done everything he’s wanted. He knows you’re a good employee. He wouldn’t make just anybody the head of his security.”
Grant’s eyes returned to her, harsh. “You see, that’s what I thought, too. When I got the promotion, when he invited me into his inner circle, I thought my life was complete. I thought I’d finally gained his trust. You don’t understand how hard I’ve worked—” he reached into his pocket, pulling out a folded-up, yellow-around-the edges photograph and shoving it in her face.
Before Lana was Grant, standing next to a beautiful woman. They were smiling big, and huddled over a tiny baby in its crib. His family.
“—my wife left me, took my son,” Grant continued, crumpling the photo and throwing it to the ground. “She said I was obsessed, that I cared more about pleasing Lex than I did about taking care of my family. So that ***** took my son.”
He was crying. Lana didn’t know what to say, so she remained quiet, watching him.
“Then I realized she was right,” Grant sniffed, looking down, his eyes hidden from her. “I realized I would do anything for him. I love Lex. I thought it was only a matter of time until he loved me back.”
He looked up at her, eyes big and crazed, and Lana knew this wasn’t going to end well.
“And then there was you,” Grant bit out. “And you were all he cared about, all he could think about. And then my life became about you, about keeping you safe, about keeping you his. It wasn’t fair! I tried to make him see—see that you don’t love him, you don’t respect him the way I do. You never will. You ran away from him. And still he doesn’t understand that you’re not what he needs. I am.”
Lana was shaking. “Grant—”
“Shut up!” he yelled.
He pushed his face close to hers, his breath blowing her hair back with every exhale.
“But now,” he said. “I finally understand that I can’t get to Lex by telling him. I have to show him. I have to rid him of the distraction so he can finally see the one who really loves him.”
Lana’s heart sank and she felt a scream surging up in her throat. Grant smiled at her wickedly.
“So I’m going to kill you, Lana. Then he’ll be mine.”
She barely registered that he’d pulled a very large knife before she moved.
With a gasp, she pulled up her legs and shoved her feet into him as hard as he could. The impact knocked them both backwards; she heard the knife go sliding across the cement floor of the basement as her back took the brunt of her own fall. The pain took her breath away, but she knew she didn’t have much time. Her wrists still tightly bound to the chair, Lana rolled to her right as hard as she could. She teetered, then fell once more onto her back. She tried again; there it was; she was on her knees now—but so was Grant. She was smaller and a bit nimbler though. She ran straight for him, tackling him to the ground once more. They both fell; but this time her chair slammed into the cement wall. It broke on impact, the seat coming off the arms and suddenly Lana had a weapon.
Grant was crawling for the knife—Lana flipped the back of her chair into her hands and delivered a sharp smack to the back of his head. Grant yelped in pain, kicked out blindly. His foot connected with her left knee and Lana fell. He turned back to grab the knife—Lana swept her good leg right into his crotch. Grant let out a deflated cry and Lana was up. She kicked him again, grabbed the knife. He had a fistful of her hair—she brought the knife down with a scream—
—right into his left palm. Grant howled a blood-curdling scream and Lana was running, knife in hand, up the stairs, tried the door—he’d locked it. She fumbled with the lock—she could hear him rising to his feet.
“I’m gonna kill you,” he shouted.
The door was unlocked. Lana flung it open and stepped into her childhood home.
He’d brought her to her old house.
Literally only a mile from where he’d kidnapped her.
The Kents were next door.
Grant was close behind her. Lana slammed the door shut and bolted for the kitchen, it was only a few paces away. She barely had time to register the bodies of the new owners—Grant had slain them to take control of the house; their faces white, dead, cold eyes wide with terror and confusion—she was looking for the phone; oh please let it still be here!
Then she saw it. There it was, still on the kitchen counter next to the stove.
She heard the basement door bang open as she sprinted for the phone.

*

“Hey Lois! What are you doing all the way out here?”
Martha had greeted her at the door, Shelby at her heels. Lois tried to ignore the tickle in her nose and smiled.
“Hey, Mrs. Kent. I’m actually looking for Clark; is he around?”
“I haven’t seen him since last night, figured he went back to campus. Is he not answering his cell phone? Come on in.”
“He’s not,” Lois followed her into the farmhouse. The phone in the kitchen was ringing.
“Give me one sec, sorry,” Martha said, hurrying into the kitchen.
“Of course,” Lois said.
Martha picked up the phone and her face almost immediately changed.
“Lana?”
Lois could hear Lana over the phone:
“Help me! Help, I need Clark!”
“Lana is that you?”
“Mrs. Kent, I’m next door—”
“Lana—”
“He’s after me, please help!”
“Lana!”
A gurgled cry, then the line went dead. Martha looked at Lois.
“Oh my God,” she said.
Lois was already headed for the door.
“Mrs. Kent, call the police.”

*

He had a fistful of her hair and the knife was against her neck, she felt fresh blood trickle down from the small cut developing on her throat and watched as it hit the kitchen floor. The strangest of flashes as she remembered spilling spaghetti on that same floor years ago. Nell had thrown a fit.
He pushed her up against the counter.
“You stupid *****. Who did you call?” he hissed into her ear, his breath hot.
“Grant—” she tried.
“No—” he grunted, shoving her harder into the counter, “—no more talking.”
She gripped the arm that was around her throat, the one holding the knife, and threw her head backward as hard as she could. A loud CRACK as the back of her skull collided with his nose. He shouted again, loosened his grip just enough—
—Lana elbowed him hard in the gut and made a run for it. Out the kitchen door, into the bright sunny day, down the drive and into the field that would lead her a mile over to the Kent house. He was right behind her.
“Lana!” he screamed. “You can’t run forever!”
He was right, she couldn’t. She could already feel her legs giving up due to exhaustion, her body ached from the beatings she’d already taken. And she could hear him gaining.
For a split second, she gave herself over to the thought that maybe this was it. Maybe Clark wasn’t coming this time. Maybe this was how she died. Kind of full circle, in a way. Alone at her childhood home, abandoned by all the people who mattered. Still the little girl in a fairy princess costume who needed to be saved but somehow never managed to get that rescue she so desperately wanted.
He got her.
He’d leapt, his arms wrapped around her lower legs. With a sick thud, Lana hit the ground. She felt the knife enter her right hamstring. She screamed out in pain. He yanked her by the shoulder so she was on her back, gazing up at him, horrifically backlit by the sun as he raised the knife again.
No.
This wasn’t it. This wasn’t how she was going to die.
Maybe for once she didn’t need to be rescued.
Maybe this time she could rescue herself.
The knife was coming down toward her heart. At the last second she caught his arm in her hands, freezing him in place, the knife just inches from her chest.
“Not like this,” she heard herself mutter.
“He’s…mine,” Grant spat as he struggled against her vice grip.
Maybe she could hold on just a second longer. Maybe she could redirect the knife. Maybe—
BANG!
Grant’s head exploded.
Blood and brain matter splattered all over her. The knife fell to the ground; what was left of Grant’s body went limp and toppled on top of her.
Lana let out a guttural cry of shock and rage and release and pushed the body off her, used her arms to push herself backward away from it. Someone was grabbing her arm. She looked up—it was Lois. She was holding Jonathan Kent’s old shotgun, the one that he’d kept above the hutch in the Kent Farm kitchen. The barrel was smoking.
“Lana, oh my God,” Lois was saying. “Your leg.”
Lois dropped the shotgun, wrapped her hands around Lana’s leg and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. In the distance, Lana could hear police sirens approaching.
“They’re coming!” Martha Kent’s voice now, she was running toward them, her eyes wide.
Finally, she found her voice: “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you.”
“It’s okay,” Lois said. “It’s over now. You’re going to be okay.”

*

Clark’s face was beaten to a pulp, blood was in his eyes and his mind was fuzzy so he barely noticed when the key lit up and lifted off the ground. He didn’t see it until it had zoomed across the cave—right in front of Lex’s face—and into the wall with the octagonal hole in it. Lex stopped beating him and turned to gaze at the key as it lit up the cave wall. Suddenly, a large rumbling overtook the cave. Rocks started to loosen from the walls and caverns above them.
It was Jor-El. He was here, causing the cave to collapse so that Clark could escape Lex and the Kryptonite. So that Clark could find Brainiac and get down to the cosmic business at hand.
Of more immediate importance—the cave was collapsing.
Lex jumped as a huge boulder fell from above and landed right next to them.
“What’s happening?” he cried out.
“Lex, we gotta get outta here,” Clark said softly, spitting out blood. “Help me.”

Lex looked at Clark, a bloody mess, and then back to the key that had just flown through the air and lodged itself into the far wall. It was undeniable that that’s what was causing this mayhem now. All around them, rocks and dust were flying, crashing to the ground. The entire cave was collapsing.
They had to get out.
Lex looked back at the key. He looked back at Clark. It occurred to him that this choice should have been harder, but for some reason it wasn’t. It was actually almost instinctual.
But he grabbed Clark, freed him of his binds, pulled him up, and started dragging him out of the cave. Away from the key, away from the meteor rock, away from the years of mysteries and secrets that had plagued him for so long. Just as he pulled Clark up, the wall he’d been chained to collapsed and the two men stumbled as they cleared it just in time and avoided being trapped under the rubble forever.
He supported Clark’s weight as much as he could and pulled them toward the entrance to the cave together. His security team was rushing toward them now, including Mercy and Dr. Taylor. They met them halfway and took Clark away from him, pushing them toward the exit. Just before he escaped, Lex risked one look back. There was no saving it, this cave was going to be gone forever. He caught one last glance of a particular drawing before he felt Mercy grab his arm and pull him out into the hot afternoon air.
It was the drawing of Naman and Sageeth.

As soon as the sun hit his skin, Clark instantly began to feel better. He could feel his blood cool and the cuts and bruises on his face begin to fade. He looked back and saw that entrance to the Kawatche cave had completely collapsed, no doubt the cave below was filled in and would never be entered again. By humans, anyway.
The men who had beaten him just an hour earlier held his arms now. It occurred to Clark as he saw Lex stumble out of the dust, accompanied by his driver and the doctor, that there was a chance Lex still didn’t plan on letting him go. After all, Clark had revealed that he knew the darkest secrets Lex had hidden away—not exactly the most strategic move.
They locked eyes in that moment, and Clark decided he was done with strategy. He easily wrenched his arms from the security guards’ grasps, squared his shoulders and held Lex’s gaze.
“I’m walking out of here,” he said matter-of-factly.
Lex hesitated a second too long before saying, “Clark—”
But Clark had had enough. He turned his back and began to walk away. The security guards moved to stop him.
“No,” Lex’s voice. “Let him go.”
“Sir,” the driver said.
“I said let him go,” Lex repeated.
Clark didn’t look back.

“What happened?” Mercy asked quietly after Clark was out of view.
“Just a talk with an old friend,” Lex said, almost wistfully.
Then he turned to Mercy, his eyes steel.
“We’ve got some cleaning up to do.”

*

Strange how familiar the Smallville Medical Center had become to her, Lana was thinking as she shifted in her bed, trying to get comfortable and keep pressure off her injured leg. The drab greens and purples were almost a comfort at this point, a reminder of times both good and bad with people she loved. Her parents, Nell. Chloe, Pete. Even Clark…and Lex.
“Coffee always makes me feel better,” Lois entered, placed a hot cup on the bedside table and pulled up a chair. “Figured the caffeine might do you some good.”
“Thanks, Lois,” Lana smiled. “For everything. If you hadn’t been there…”
“I’m just glad you left me that voicemail,” Lois said. “I don’t want to think about what would have happened had I not gone on my one-woman crusade to find you today.”
“Well I’m glad you did.”
“So this guy—friend of yours?”
“Let’s call him a disgruntled employee.”
“Not surprised, given the employer.”
And with that mention, the entire mood of the room changed.
“My voicemail,” Lana said. “You heard it.”
“Every word,” Lois said. “Paired with my own research, I can have the truth on the front page come tomorrow morning.”
Lana couldn’t believe it. This was actually happening. The truth was going to come out, and the world would finally know Lex for who he truly was. As happy as she was, a pang of fear still tingled in her fingertips. She looked at Lois hard.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked. “Lex is so dangerous, and this is going to put you right in his crosshairs.”
“I’m not afraid of Lex,” Lois said. “Nothing is going to stop me from getting justice for Chloe, and everyone else that bastard’s hurt. I’m worried about you. Nobody knows how dangerous Lex is more than you. Are you sure you want to do this?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Lana nodded.
“Lex is evil,” she said. “He has to be brought down. We’re the only ones who can do it.”

*

“He really is beyond help now.”
Clark and Martha were sitting in the living room of the Kent Farm. Untouched water glasses on the coffee table before them. Clark had told her everything that had happened in the Fortress, of Jor-El’s warning, how he needed to find Brainiac and end the machine for good. He’d also told her everything that happened in the cave.
“Lex needs to be put away,” Clark said.
“From the sound of things, Lois and Lana are going to make sure that happens,” Martha said, placing her hand reassuringly on his arm. “Lex will be punished for what he’s done.”
“I hope you’re right,” Clark said, staring down at the coffee table. “Because I’m not going to let him escape again. The line’s been drawn. Next time, it’s Lex or me.”
Martha opened her mouth to say something, changed her mind, and Clark summoned the courage to ask the question that had been plaguing him since Lex pulled him out of the cave.
“Mom.”
“Yes, sweetie.”
“When we were down there—me and Lex. And I told him what I knew, that I know what he’s done. He said…he said that I’m the one to blame. That I made him the way he is.”
“No, Clark,” Martha said sternly, “no. You aren’t responsible for the choices other people make. How could you possibly be to blame for the villain Lex has become? You tried to be his friend, you defended him even when your father forbid your friendship. Lex made his own choices, and he’ll have to deal with the consequences.”
“I know,” Clark said, standing, shoving his hands into his pockets. “But still…Lex wasn’t wrong when he said that I’ve been lying to him, to Lana. Mom, I was so worried about protecting my secret, making sure our family was safe—I never really thought about how damaging those lies can be. What if I had trusted him? What if I had told him the truth? Maybe I could have helped him.”
Martha was at a loss. “Clark—” she tried.
“Mom,” Clark said softly, and she could have sworn she saw a tear in his eye, “what if part of what Lex has become…is because of me?”

*

The rumbling intensified as Jimmy Olsen and Steve Lombard eased their way quietly and carefully down the steps toward the basement. The door at the bottom was shaking violently, a brilliant green hue lined its frame. Jimmy couldn’t tell if his chattering teeth were the result of nerves or the rumbling that was shaking the house, but he didn’t have time to figure it out. Lombard was like a giddy schoolboy, a huge grin plastered on his face as they reached the door.
“Get your camera ready,” he said to Jimmy as loud as he dared. “On three.”
Jimmy nodded reluctant agreement and hoisted his camera up, ready to snap. Lombard counted down silently from three, and then much faster than Jimmy was prepared for, threw open the door.
First—almost as if on cue, the rumbling stopped. The brilliant green hue faded, and Jimmy and Lombard looked into the basement to find it dark and empty.
Second—from behind, a cool, calm voice.
“Gentlemen.”
Jimmy and Lombard whirled around to find a tall, slender man standing behind them. This wasn’t Clancy Brown at all. This man was younger, in dark clothes, with a harsh angular face. He was smiling.
And before Jimmy could blink, the man flicked his hands; some kind of metallic alloy shot from his palms and up towards Jimmy’s face.
The last thing he remembered was a sharp pain in the back of his neck and then everything went white.



END EPISODE XVIII

[DailyPlanetFan]

SMALLVILLE: Season Six; Episode XIX: SHOWDOWN

Clark Kent pushed open the doors of the Smallville Medical Center and rushed to the reception desk as fast as he humanly could. The pretty nurse sitting there looked up at him and smiled.
“How can I help you, sir?”
“I’m Clark Kent, my boss Perry White called me; I’m looking for Jimmy Olsen—”
“Clark.”
Clark turned to see Perry White standing there. Perry’s hair was askew and there were bags under his eyes. Looked like he hadn’t slept all night.
“They’re this way, follow me,” he said, turning back toward the rooms without waiting for Clark.

Seconds later, Clark was looking down at Jimmy Olsen and Steve Lombard, both unconscious and hooked up to breathing tubes.
“What happened?” Clark managed.
“They’re both in comas,” Perry said. “They were found on Route 8 in Granville; police brought them in just over an hour ago. I’ve contacted Steve’s wife. The only people Jimmy had listed as emergency contacts were me and—Sullivan.”
“What were they doing in Granville?” Clark said, “I haven’t seen Jimmy in days.”
“He’d gotten a lead on the Brown story; a really good one, actually,” Perry said. “He’d done his research and managed to track him down. I’d given the story to Lombard, but I guess Olsen tagged along. This is my fault, Kent.”
“No it’s not, Chief,” Clark said quickly, trying to sound reassuring.
So Jimmy had found Brown, and he hadn’t told Clark? Clark remembered brushing Jimmy off when he’d pressed on the matter, so he wasn’t too surprised Jimmy had continued to pursue it without telling him. What could have possibly happened, though? Brown was an aging man with back problems. How could he have possibly injured two young men—
Jimmy and Lombard’s eyes shot open and they both sat up at the same moment. Perry jumped a mile. Alarms from the machines around their beds began to go off. Neither of them moved, and Clark could see that their eyes were covered in some kind of milky white cataracts. They were in some kind of trance. Clark grabbed Jimmy’s shoulders.
“Jimmy, it’s Clark,” he tried. “Jimmy, wake up!”
Eyes unblinking, Jimmy’s mouth began to move ever-so-slightly. Clark looked over at Lombard, same thing. Were they saying something? Clark tuned his hearing, straining to pick up any possible volume. He could hear the nurses running from down the hall toward the room, he could hear Perry’s ragged breathing—and then, just faintly, he could make out the words Jimmy and Lombard were saying in a robotic, almost sing-song chorus.
“Kal-El,” Jimmy said.
“Son of Jor-El,” Lombard said.
“The last survivor of Krypton.”
“Kal-El.”
“Begin sequence.”
“You cannot stop me.”
“Initiating 33.1 procedure.”
“Three-nine-five-zero-nine-eight-three-five.”
“You’re too late, Kal-El.”
“Locate subject: Luthor.”
“In the name of General Zod.”
The nurses were in the room now. Perry was beside Clark.
“What’s wrong with them?” he said.
“Sir,” one of the nurses was trying to push them back, “move away now.”
Clark was still listening:
“Begin sequence. 33.1 procedure.”
“Three-nine-five-zero-nine-eight-three-five.”
“Locate subject: Luthor.”
And then they said in unison: “In the name of General Zod!”
Suddenly, Jimmy and Lombard both slammed back down onto their beds, the hospital staff around them recoiled. Then their eyes began to flutter and return to normal—they were regaining consciousness.
“What…what happened?” Jimmy groaned, and Clark and Perry rushed to him.
“Jimmy, are you alright?” Clark said.
“We were worried about you guys,” Perry said to both of them. “What happened?”
Jimmy and Lombard looked at each other blankly, then looked up at Clark and Perry.
“I can’t remember anything,” Jimmy said, looking at Lombard again.
“Last thing I know we were parking outside an abandoned farmhouse in Granville,” Lombard said.
“Alright guys,” one of the nurses said to Clark and Perry, “we need you to clear out so we can take a look at these two. You can wait out in reception, okay? Please clear the room.”
Clark’s mind was reeling. General Zod, locate subject Luthor, 33.1? His mind snapped to the warning from Jor-El he’d received in the Fortress only yesterday about Brainiac’s return.
You’re too late, Kal-El.
“Jimmy,” Clark said, allowing himself to be pushed out of the room by a tiny nurse, “Jimmy, what do you remember. What do you remem—”
The nurse slammed the door in his face.

*

The papers of his speech rattled in his shaking hands. Lex Luthor looked out from his office at LexCorp Plaza down below, to the front steps of the building where a crowd had gathered for his first support speech in his presidential campaign. He’d never been this nervous before in his life.
Or maybe he was just blaming it on the nerves.
The truth was he couldn’t get the events of last night out of his head. The confrontation he’d had with Clark, the caves collapsing. The fact he’d chosen Clark over the answers he so desperately craved. He’d surprised even himself with that move—so what did it mean?
The door opened behind him and he turned to see Lana making her way toward him. She looked beautiful, but was hobbling with a cane. She smiled as he walked toward her.
“Lana,” he said. “You didn’t have to come.”
“I wanted to be here,” she said, accepting his kiss on her cheek. “Can’t miss your big speech.”
“Are you okay?” Lex asked, looking down at the cane.
“I’m okay, Lex. The doctor said I’ll be able to walk on my own in a few days. I’m fine.”
“I still can’t believe that Grant—what he did to you. I’m so sorry, Lana.”
And he meant it. After what had happened last night, with Clark, if Lex had come home to find out Lana had been killed by the head of his own security…Lex wasn’t sure what he would have done. He tried to push these thoughts out of his mind. He had a speech to give. He had things to do. This whole year, he’d been so focused, so intent on getting what he wanted, no matter the cost. The lengths he had gone to—
—no, he couldn’t think about that now. He had to concentrate on the task immediately before him. If he could just win this election, if he could make this work. Maybe it’d all be worth it, then. He stared into Lana’s eyes. His wife’s eyes. The woman he’d fought so hard for. The woman he’d do anything for.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said quietly, smiling.

Lana stared up at the man before her, the genuine smile on his face and the way he was looking at her—it was as if he really meant it. As if the love he’d professed over and over again was actually genuine and not some kind of sick power play, a domination tactic only a Luthor could use and employ when they absolutely had to get what they wanted.
For just this second, he was making her believe that maybe—maybe—he really did love her.
The door behind them opened and Mercy walked in.
“Mr. Luthor, we’re ready for you,” she said.
“Thanks Mercy,” Lex said. To Lana: “Let’s go?”
And Lana forced herself to remember. She remembered the body of Genevieve Teague. She remembered the beatings, the mind games, the chase across the world. She remembered Pete’s terrified voice as he assured her everything would be fine. She remembered laughing with Chloe at the Talon and the Torch in high school, and she remembered how she’d never see either of them ever again.
And she remembered the flash drive that was in her pocket right now. The flash drive that would end all of this. That would free her.
So she looked up at Lex and gave him just as convincing a smile as she’d just received.
And she said, “Let’s go.”

*

Things at the Medical Center had calmed down. Perry had returned to the Planet. Lombard’s wife had shown up and he’d been transferred to a different room. Clark was sitting in Jimmy’s room now.
“I’m sorry I didn’t count on you,” Clark said. “But what you did was really dangerous, Jimmy.”
“Par for the course, though, don’t you think?” Jimmy grinned wryly, “given our line of work? I’m just upset we lost Brown’s trail.”
“And you’re sure you can’t remember anything else?”
“Wish I could, CK, but it’s all just a blur. Whatever Brown did wiped it completely.”
Clark tried a different tactic, “How did you find him in the first place?”
Jimmy’s eyes lit up, he knew he’d be telling this story for at least the next month.
“Power surges, man. Brown was stealing meteor rock, right? That stuff is highly unstable, and I had noticed this strange surges happening across the state, heading through Smallville toward Granville. And there was that heist that happened in Smallville—remember that night? And the van had been empty. I put two and two together and realized it’d been a decoy, to throw Lex off the scent of where Brown was actually going with the Kryptonite. Gotta admit, it was a good plan, but I saw right through it.”
But Clark had stopped listening after he heard ‘power surges’.
It was Brainiac, there was no doubt about it now. Clark’s theory of tracing power surges had been correct. He didn’t know what Brainiac was doing with large quantities of Kryptonite, but whatever it was, it certainly didn’t bode well. He needed to move now.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better, Jimmy. What was the address of that farm in Granville?”
But Jimmy’s eyes had trailed over to the wall-mounted TV across the room.
“Looks like our newest presidential hopeful is about to make his big debut,” he snorted.
Clark followed his gaze. The TV was set to KNS. They were at LexCorp plaza in Metropolis. Lex was about to give the first speech of his presidential campaign.
“How much you wanna bet he’s already bought the election?” Jimmy said.
But something else had caught Clark’s eye. It had been brief, just a flash, but maybe—
—the camera moved again and there he was. Standing there, in the crowd on the steps of LexCorp, was Milton Fine. Brainiac.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better, Jimmy,” Clark said, already heading for the door.
“Yeah, I guess you better get down there, huh?” Jimmy called after him. “I’ll just be here.”
Clark was already down the hall and super-speeding away.

Jimmy sighed. Guess it didn’t mean much that he’d been the one to track down Brown after all. He grabbed the remote on the side of his bed to turn up the volume on the TV—
—out of nowhere, a searing pain raced through his head. He dropped the remote, grabbing his face and crying out in pain. Then, visions. Not even visions, really, words: 33.1, run sequence, subject Luthor, Zod. And numbers: three-nine-five-zero-nine-eight-three-five. What the hell did that mean?
And then, just like that, the pain was gone.
What in the world had just happened? And now Jimmy couldn’t get those words out of his head, or those numbers. Maybe this had something to do with his missing time? His mind began to race. What if Brown had done something to him? With the meteor rock? Chloe had always told him about the strange things those space rocks had been responsible for in Smallville. What if Brown had done some kind of…experiment on him? Panic began to rise from his gut into his throat, and the only thing Jimmy could do to fight it was to grab a paper and pen and begin to furiously jot down everything that had just raced through his mind.

*

Lois Lane rushed past the pandemonium that was happening outside of LexCorp and made her way through the revolving doors into the Daily Planet. She’d been here so many times before with Chloe that this place almost felt like home, but the weight of what brought her here today was hitting her like a ton of bricks. She entered the elevator, gripping the thumb drive in her pocket hard, as if holding onto it would give her the courage she needed to do what she was about to do.
The elevator dinged. She was on the top floor, the penthouse offices. There was a girl at reception, she was blonde and looked bubbly. The placard on her desk read: Cat Grant, Receptionist. Beyond Cat’s desk was the office of Editor in Chief, Perry White.
Cat Grant shouldn’t be a problem.
Lois marched forward.
“Hi there,” Cat said, a slight southern twang in her voice. “How can I help you today—where are you going?”
“Business with the big guy, lady,” Lois said, “I’ll let myself in.”
“Do you have an appointment?” Cat said, rising from her desk. She tittered over, her heels clicking on the marble floor. “You can’t just—security!”
But Lois had already reached Perry’s door. She didn’t knock, she just swung it open. There was Perry White himself, seated at his desk looking over today’s paper. He looked at her with raised eyebrows.
“I’m so sorry, sir,” Cat was behind her, “security is on their way.”
“Mr. White,” Lois said, her voice strong.
“How can I help you?” Perry sounded amused. “Miss…?”
“Lane. Lois Lane. My cousin was Chloe Sullivan.”
She could hear the footsteps of two big security guys coming toward her. Perry had gotten to his feet.
“Ah yes, Lois Lane. I know who you are,” he said, “Miss Grant, thanks for your hard work, but I’ll be alright. You can leave us.”
“Yes, sir,” Cat said, obvious disdain in her voice. She called off her hounds and closed the door behind her, leaving Lois and Perry alone in the office.
“You know who I am?” Lois asked.
“Your cousin always spoke very highly of you, Miss Lane,” Perry said, motioning for her to have a seat. “And I make it a point to know the name of every reporter in this town. Especially reporters who are real competition. In your brief time at the Inquisitor, you actually managed to bring that paper some cred.”
Lois actually almost blushed as they both sat down.
“Chloe Sullivan could have been one of the greatest reporters this world had ever seen,” Perry said. “She had passion, brains, talent, and the reporter’s backbone to back it all up. It’s tragic we lost her too early. I’m very sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Lois said. “But I’m not here to grieve. I have a story for you. You’re going to want to clear your front page.”
“Color me intrigued,” Perry said. “What have you got?”
“‘Metropolis Golden Boy hides high crime’,” Lois announced, “…I’m still working on the headline. I’ve got Lex Luthor attached to the biggest crime gang this city has seen since the 30s. He’s behind Intergang. The guy giving his first campaign speech next door is actually the biggest crime boss in Metropolis. And—” her voice caught, she recovered quickly, “—he murdered my cousin.”
She slapped the thumb drive onto Perry’s desk. He stared at it for a long time in silence, so much so that Lois shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
“We’ve got to get this into the papers immediately,” she said. “This could be the biggest story the Planet’s ever printed, and Chloe was the one to start it. I’m doing this for her.”
Perry finally looked up at her, and he had tears in his eyes.
Finally he said, “Do you drink, Miss Lane?”

*

Lex gave one last smile back to Lana before he stepped up to the podium. As the cheers quieted, he pulled his speech from his pocket and smoothed the paper before looking up at the crowd.
“Ladies and gentlemen—”
Something was off.
The crowd became suddenly silent, and everyone around him froze—as if someone had hit pause on the world. Lex looked back at Lana and Mercy and his security team and staff. None of them were moving; they were all stuck in time. What the—?
“Hello, Lex.”
He knew that voice. Lex spun back around to find Professor Milton Fine standing before him.
“You—” Lex gasped.
“Long time,” Fine smiled at him.
Lex wanted to run, wanted to cry for help, but suddenly Fine flicked his wrist, transforming his hand into a long metal blade, and he stuck the point right under Lex’s chin.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Lex,” he said. “But I need you to listen for just a few minutes.”
“Wh-what did you do to everyone?” Lex stammered.
“They’re fine. I’m just trying to give us a moment, then you can finish your speech.”
“Go to hell,” Lex spat. He was finding his nerve. “You tried to kill me.”
“That’s not true. You’ve been misinformed. I’ve always been impressed with you, Lex. I’d like to continue our partnership. Pick up where we left off. Believe me, you’re going to want to after you hear what I have to say.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Lex, I know what you’re planning. I know about the facility in Smallville. I know about the army.”
It was impossible to hide his surprise. How could Fine possibly know about 33.1?
“How…how could you—”
“Just listen, Lex,” Fine cooed. “Just listen. I need you to understand how important the work you’ve been doing is, and not just to you, Lex, to the world. Earth is in very, very grave danger. And this army that you’ve created, these clones? They are the only thing that’s going to be able to stop what’s coming. They are the only thing that’s going to be able to save you.”
“What’s coming?” Lex said.
“A being so powerful, no human can stop him. He can shoot fire from his eyes, run faster than a speeding bullet, he can lift skyscrapers like they’re toothpicks. He can soar above the clouds. And he will destroy Earth. But you,” Fine lowered his blade and stepped closer to Lex, “you, Lex. You are the only human on Earth with the foresight to create a force that could stand against him. That could even stand a chance.”
It was a lot to take in, but Lex wasn’t buying it. He’d been fooled once before.
“Why should I believe you? You had me collect the world’s most dangerous poisons to protect us from some foreign invader before. And then you turned on me. You turned on Earth. You don’t want to help us. You want to kill us.”
“A minor squabble compared to what’s coming. You have to understand, Lex. He’ll destroy us all. The only way we can stop him is if we do it together. You need to unleash your army now.”
“Even if I believed you, it’s not possible. The only thing capable of powering a bio-engineered army of that size is the meteor rock, and it’s gone, it was stolen from me.”
Fine chuckled. “Oh Lex. That was me.”
A shiver of fear ran down Lex’s spine anew.
“You…you’re Clancy Brown? That was you?”
“Yes. And I wasn’t stealing your meteor rock, Lex. I was borrowing it. You see, you were missing a key ingredient, an ingredient only I can provide.”
This was crazy, Lex blinked back the fear and tried to make sense of it all. His mind was telling him that Fine could not be trusted, after all, he’d tried to kill Lex before. But his gut was telling him that maybe this was what it was all for. Maybe this was why he’d gone over the edge so many times before.
Maybe Milton Fine was finally showing him his purpose. He’d said it to Clark just yesterday. For their whole lives, they’d been plagued by alien ships, cryptic symbols, meteor freaks. Someone had to take control, someone had to protect the world.
This is what he was meant to do.
“This being,” Lex said. “Who is he?”
“His name,” Fine muttered, “is Kal-El.”

Clark super-sped to the back of the crowd outside LexCorp and knew almost immediately that something was wrong. Lex was standing at the podium, but he was stock still and staring out in an almost catatonic state. His mouth was agape, his eyes wide, but filled with blankness.
Clark could see Lana rushing up to him, supporting herself with a cane. Someone else rushed up to the microphone as security guards half carried and half led Lex and Lana off the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen, obviously Mr. Luthor is experiencing some sort of trauma, we’re going to get him out of here and get him some medical attention…” the damage controller was saying.
Clark and Lana’s eyes met for just a brief second before she and Lex were enveloped by security and escorted into the building.

“Lex! Lex! Why isn’t he answering me?” Lana yelled at no one in particular as they were pushed into the elevator. “What’s happening to him?”
“Someone get Dr. Yang over here immediately!” Mercy was shouting orders. “Let’s get Mr. Luthor into his office.”

Lex was still on the stage, standing at the podium.
“Kal-El?” he repeated.
“Yes, and he’s coming soon,” Fine said. “So I need the system password to access your army’s database. We have to stop him, Lex. We’re the only ones who can.”
And Lex decided to believe him. There were too many unanswered questions. There wasn’t enough time. And everything Fine was saying aligned with what Lex believed to be his destiny. This was the only way. He had to do this.
So he said, “Julian. The password is Julian. Do it.”
And Fine smiled.
“Thank you, Lex. That’s all I needed.”
Then a sharp CRACK and Fine was gone.
Lex blinked.
Suddenly he was in his LexCorp office. Lana was there, holding him.
“Lex, you’re awake!”
“Lana?”
Mercy and his security staff were there, and so was Dr. Yang.
“What happened?” Lana said.
But Lex ignored her, looking at Mercy.
“We have to get to Smallville.”

The street was a mess and Clark was searching frantically for Brainiac, convinced he’d had something to do with Lex’s state. Reporters and news crews were milling about, various stories of the confusing mess and Lex’s catatonia were in the air. Clark was circling the building. If he could get to Lex and Lana, maybe he could figure out—
“Kal-El.”
Clark didn’t waste any time, he turned, his eyes burning bright with his heat vision. The beam shot straight into Brainiac’s chest, sending him flying backward and into the building across the street. He bounced off the brick wall and landed with a thud onto the pavement, but he was laughing.
“It’s good to see you again, too,” he said, brushing dust off his shoulders and standing. “We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”
“I don’t know how you survived,” Clark said, “but I’m not gonna let you hurt anyone else.”
“You can delete a computer program, but that doesn’t mean it’s gone forever,” Brainiac said coolly, “now, let’s talk.”
And he super-sped directly at Clark, catching him off guard. Brainiac pummeled into him, pushing him up and back, over the skyscrapers of Metropolis and through the air until they were falling again.
The two super beings crashed down in the middle of nowhere, somewhere between Metropolis and Smallville, creating a small crater. Clark didn’t lose hold of Brainiac, and delivered a blow to his face before Brainiac parried, tossing Clark out of the crater.
“How’s your flying these days, Kal?” he snarked.
And then Brainiac was up in the air, over Clark’s head. Clark grimaced. He hadn’t flown since that night with Lois so long ago. It was still coming and going for him; mostly going, and he couldn’t—
Brainiac dive bombed him and everything went a little fuzzy. Clark couldn’t get his bearings and stumbled back in a daze.
“I’m disappointed,” Brainiac said. “I expected more from the son of Jor-El.”
For a second, Brainiac came into focus and Clark threw a punch. Brainiac dodged easily and countered, delivering a harsh blow across Clark’s face. Then he grabbed a fistful of Clark’s hair and spun Clark around to face him. He raised his hand, hovered it directly in front of Clark’s eyes.
“Here, let me show you something,” Brainiac said.
And then his fingers turned into metallic syringes, and they shot from Brainiac’s hands directly into Clark’s pupils. The pain was searing. Clark cried out, and then everything went black.

*

Perry had pulled a bottle of scotch from his bottom desk drawer. He poured out a shot for himself and one for Lois, handed her the glass. Downed his, and poured another. Lois set hers on the desk.
“A few months ago,” Perry started slowly, staring down at his drink, “Chloe came to me with a story. It was a scathing exposé, one of the best I’ve ever read in my entire career. ‘Mayor of Metropolis behind biggest crime gang in the city’. She’d infiltrated Intergang and gotten to the bottom of Lex Luthor’s connection with them. When she brought me the copy…I hadn’t seen that kind of passion and excitement in a journalist in a long time. Reminded me of myself, back in my glory days.”
Lois blinked.
“So. What you’re saying is—”
“I didn’t print it, obviously,” Perry said quickly, downing another drink and pouring again.
“You didn’t.”
He shook his head, and Lois could see that his hand was shaking.
“No, no I didn’t. I had dealt with the Luthors before, long ago. In my young ignorance and pride, I’d come right up against Lionel Luthor, when he was at the height of his career. Back then I thought printing the truth was the only thing that was important. He ruined my career, my life. It took me years to get back here—as you can see, I’m not exactly a young man anymore.”
Lois sat in silence, her drink still untouched.
“So, when Sullivan brings me this story—I can see it all happening again. I can see Lex coming after her, after me. I can see the fallout of what a story like this can do. And I got scared. I wanted to protect her. I wanted to make sure that what happened to me wouldn’t happen to her. So I told her the story wouldn’t go to print, that it would never see the light of day on Daily Planet paper.”
“And she quit,” Lois said harshly.
“Yes, she did. Called me a snake, I believe. Threw her press badge at me.”
“Good for her,” Lois said.
Perry took that in for a second, then repeated, “Good for her.”
Lois picked up her drink.
“Well,” she downed it in one gulp, “I hope you’re happy.”
She snatched up the thumb drive, rose to her feet.
“I’ll go to the Chronicle. I’ll go to Gotham, Star City. I’ll start a damn blog. This story’s getting out, whether it’s in the Planet or not. Chloe gave her life for this. She’s braver than you ever were.”
“You misunderstand me, Lane,” Perry said, and he poured her another drink.
He rose to his feet, holding the full glass out for her.
“We’re going to print this story. We’re going to run it on the front page, the biggest headline we can possibly print. We’re going to show the world who Luthor is. And we’re going to bring that bastard down.”
His hand wasn’t shaking anymore. Lois took the glass from him, set the thumb drive back down on his desk. Clinked her glass against his.
“For Chloe,” she said.
“For Chloe,” he said.
They downed their drinks.
Then Perry picked up the still mostly full bottle and threw it in the trash. Off Lois’ quizzical stare he said, “I don’t drink anymore.”

*

A giant meteor swooped down from the heavens, parting the clouds and filling the sky with horrifying black ash. In one cataclysmic moment, it hurtled down to earth, missing Clark by millimeters and destroying a sign that read: WELCOME TO SMALLVILLE in a giant blaze.
He looked up and saw more meteors coming, the sky looked as if it was on fire.
“No,” Clark said. “No!”
Another meteor shower? How could that be?
Then Brainiac was beside him.
“Don’t you remember this, Kal-El? Don’t you know when you are?”
And then suddenly they were on the main street of Smallville. People all around them were running, screaming, trying to hide from the falling meteors. Clark realized that this was the day he first came to Earth. This was the day Jonathan and Martha had found him.
A little girl’s scream cut into his thoughts, and he turned to see a woman huddled in an alley, holding a little girl with dark hair, wearing a fairy princess costume.
It was Lana. She couldn’t be more than three years old. Her face was stained with soot and tears.
Her parents had just died.
“Lana,” Clark said. “I’m so sorry.”
He blinked again and now they were in the middle of a field. Decimated cornstalks littered the ground. It seemed to stretch on for miles, Clark couldn’t see anything else.
“Lex!” a voice behind him.
He turned to see Lionel, looking very much alive and much younger, running through the field. “Lex, where are you?” he called.
A faint cry at Clark’s feet. Lionel ran straight through Clark, as if he was a ghost, and toppled to the ground, throwing stalks away and revealing a small boy dressed in a boarding school coat and tie, shivering on the ground, his hair was gone, save for one red strand he was clutching to his chest, shaking uncontrollably.
It was Lex.
“No!” Clark cried again. He looked at Brainiac. “Why are you showing me this! What have you done to me? Why are we here?”
“I need to show you, Kal,” Brainiac said calmly. “I need to show you when the lies started. I need to show you how Jor-El has deceived you.”
Another flash, and Clark was flying over Smallville, away from the farms and corn and cows, up into the clouds, over the sky. He couldn’t see Brainiac any more, but his voice still rang in his ears.
“Jor-El sent you here to rule the humans,” Brainiac hissed, “but you must see that the only way for Krypton to continue is for humankind to be eradicated forever. You must re-create Krypton on Earth. You must free General Zod.”
BOOM
Clark was in New York City. Manhattan. The observatory.
“Hello, Clark,” a familiar voice rang out behind him.
It was Dr. Virgil Swann.
“This is Kal-El of Krypton, our infant son, our last hope,” Swann’s voice seemed to reverberate around him, enveloping him in its message, “please protect him and deliver him from evil.”
And then he was in the storm cellar, with Jonathan, gazing down into the ship that had carried him across the stars. More voices:
“You will be a god among men. They are a flawed race, rule them with strength my son—”
“No—” Clark said.
“That is where your greatness lies,” Jor-El’s booming voice overtook him.
“No!” Clark shouted. “I’m not here to conquer!”
“Even Jor-El was too merciful in his last days,” he could hear Brainiac again in his head. “he couldn’t tell you what needed to be done.”
Another BOOM, and Clark was being transported through space. He zoomed through the stars, the Milky Way galaxy left behind, planets and suns and moons passed by him at lightning speed, he could feel his body being stretched to its very limits—he blinked.
Now he was in a palace of ice, for a moment he thought it might have been his own Fortress.
But no—he was on Krypton.
Before him were two people, handsome and stately, dressed in flowing robes foreign to Clark’s earthly eyes. They were holding a baby and crouched over a small spaceship—Clark’s spaceship.
This was Jor-El and Lara. His birth parents.
“Put him inside, Lara. Our time has passed.”
“What if they don’t love him?”
“Lara, his destiny is set. As is ours.”
“Goodbye, my sweet Kal-El…” his mother’s voice.
“Lara!” Clark screamed. “Lara!”
“She knows, Clark,” Martha’s voice now, “a mother’s love never dies.”
“Mom?” Clark called out into a black void now.
He was in nothingness.
How he wished to be in his mother’s arms once more. Jor-El had sent him to conquer, but Lara had only ever wanted love for him. She’d feared her son wouldn’t be loved. That was the truth, wasn’t it?
“These people have brought you nothing but pain,” Brainiac was back, and Clark felt strong hands on his shoulders as he was suddenly yanked backward.
Lana was standing before him, hatred in her eyes.
“You’ve never trusted me, have you?” she asked. “I don’t know how I could have ever loved you.”
And she disappeared, Clark reached out for her, but the memory was vapor in his hands.
“I am the villain of the story,” a gunshot rang out as Lex’s voice boomed in his ears.
“No!” Clark yelled. “Stop it!”
“You have to see,” Brainiac ignored his pleas. “You must be taught.”
And then Clark was lost in a blinding flash of white.

END PART ONE

[DailyPlanetFan]

SMALLVILLE: Season Six; Episode XIX: SHOWDOWN (Part 2)

The story would hit newsstands the next morning. Lois breathed a sigh of relief as she walked into the Smallville Medical Center. She was here to tell Jimmy everything, and to assure him that Chloe’s legacy would remain intact. She wanted to give him that.
But when she entered his room, she was shocked at what she saw.
Jimmy was up, pacing around the room—which was lined with sheets of notebook paper, scribblings and scrawling all over them. Jimmy was wide-eyed and lost in his own head, he muttered to himself as he walked back and forth in the small space.
“Jimmy?” Lois tried. “What’s going on?”
Her voice seemed to break him of his trance. His eyes shot to hers.
“Lois. You’re here.”
“Uh, yeah. What’s with the wallpaper?”
“The voices, Lois, the words,” Jimmy said through a smile, “I have to put it all together. It has to mean something. It has to.”
This wasn’t good. Lois took another look around the room. Most of the writing on the papers was illegible. Something had cracked in Jimmy, he wasn’t right.
“Jimmy, why don’t you sit back down, okay? I’ll call the nurse.”
“No!” Jimmy grabbed her arm, pulled her deeper into the room, “look! I’m not crazy, Lois. I’m not. Just look.”
He led her around the room, gesturing wildly to each paper as he went.
“Don’t you see?” he said. “Look—Clancy Brown, he must have done something to me. I can’t get these words out of my mind. 33.1, subject Luthor, begin process. 33.1 again, Luthor—Luthor, Lois!”
“You mean Lex?” Lois said, half to get her bearings and half to calm him.
“Brown was stealing huge amounts of meteor rock from Lex. There’s something about 33.1, something Lex was trying to do—I know it. It has to be.”
“Jimmy—” Lois tried.
“Lois, I’m not crazy!” Jimmy stared her down. “This has to mean something.”
“Jimmy, you’ve been through a trauma, I don’t think you’re thinking straight. Sit down at least, please. I have something I need to tell you.”
He hesitated for a moment, and then finally sat down right on the floor.
“Well, I guess this is what we’re doing,” Lois said, and she joined him, cross-legged on the floor. “Jimmy. I just gave a story to Perry White. It’s about Lex, it’s going to put him away. He’s going to be arrested. Lana is in on it, we’re putting him away for good.”
“What are you talking about?” Jimmy said.
“Lex was behind Intergang,” Lois said. This next bit was going to be hard, and she was trying to be gentle. “Do you remember when Chloe came to see us at the Inquisitor? She wanted to tell us something. Chloe knew, Jimmy. She knew the whole story. She’s the one who broke it. I just followed her lead. She knew Lex had formed Intergang and that he was behind the attacks on the city, the attacks on Martha Kent. He was behind all of it.”
Jimmy was smiling, tears were forming in his eyes.
“Of course Chloe knew,” he said. “If anybody could have figured that out and gotten the proof against Lex, it would be Chloe.”
“Jimmy,” Lois’ voice cracked. She need it so badly not to, “Lex killed Chloe.”
And then time seemed to slow way down as Lois watched that information hit Jimmy in multiple waves. He got very still and very quiet. His eyes left hers, and he stared at the floor for a long time.
Lois didn’t know what else to do, so she kept going.
“He’s responsible for a lot of death. But Chloe was going to expose him. I literally picked up the story where she left off. And Lana, Lana knows too, and Lex has done things to her—unspeakable things—she’s helping me. We’re going to make sure Lex doesn’t hurt anyone ever again. We’re going to get him, Jimmy.”
She wanted that to help him, but she knew it never would. Chloe had been taken from, just as she’d been taken from Lois. Nothing either of them or Lana or anyone did would ever bring her back.
Jimmy suddenly rose and went back to his scribblings.
“Then you have to help me,” he said. “If you really want to stop everything Lex is doing, you have to help me figure this out.”
“Jimmy—”
“Please, Lois. Please.”
Lois decided that if this was what Jimmy needed, then she was going to do everything she could to help him. She rose to her feet.
“Okay, what have you got?”
He smiled at her. He told her about how he and Clark had been tracking Clancy Brown, the nominal head of LexCorp, how they’d discovered he’d been stealing the meteor rock, how Jimmy and Steve Lombard had tracked him down to Granville, how something had happened and Jimmy’s mind had been wiped. He took her through the words that had been filling his mind: Luthor, 33.1, begin sequence—
“—and the numbers.”
“Numbers?”
He grabbed a piece of paper and handed it to her. Scribbled in ink were a sequence of numbers:

3 9 5 0 9 8 3 5

“These numbers repeat over and over in my head,” Jimmy said. “I don’t know if they’re a sequence number, or some kind of code. I don’t know if they have any relation to this 33.1 number…I don’t know.”
“Wait,” Lois said suddenly. “Hand me a pen.”
Jimmy handed her a pen. It was just a hunch. Maybe it was crazy. It didn’t make any sense.
But Lois hadn’t spent her entire life as an Army brat for nothing.
She made some dashes with her pen and turned the paper around to show Jimmy:

39°50′N 98°35′W

“Thank General Sam Lane,” she said, smiling. “Latitude and longitude. Could they be coordinates?”
Jimmy’s eyes went wide and he grabbed his phone from his hospital bed. Typed in the numbers, let out a small laugh and showed the phone to Lois.
He had a GPS system open, and in the dead center of the screen was the LexCorp facility in Smallville. The numbers were a location—they were leading them to LexCorp.
“Outstanding,” Lois said in spite of herself.
“We gotta go check this out,” Jimmy said.
“Tell me Jimmy,” Lois said mischievously, “ever snuck out of a medical center before?”

*

“Mercy, bring the car around,” Lex said; he was tapping a number into his cell phone. “I want Taylor ready for my arrival.”
Mercy nodded and left the office.
“Lex, tell me what’s going on,” Lana said.
“There’s no time,” he said, raising the phone to his ear. Someone on the other end picked up. “I’m going to be in Smallville in three hours. Be ready for me. It’s time to go.”
Lex slipped his phone into his pocket and headed for the door. Lana glanced at her watch. It was now or never. She stepped in front of Lex.
“What are you doing?” he said. “Lana, I have to go.”
“I need a moment with my husband,” Lana announced to the various security and staff still in the office. “Could you give us five minutes?”
“Lana—”
“Please,” Lana said again, harder.
The room started to clear.
“It’s just five minutes,” she said to Lex. “We need to talk.”

*

The world was very still and cold and Clark realized he was standing outside his own barn at the Kent Farm. The wind whipped at his jacket; it shouldn’t have affected him but Clark shivered.
Suddenly he was in the barn. He saw his father, Jonathan, deliver a punch to Lionel Luthor, and then throw him over a work table to the ground.
“Dad—” Clark said, though he knew Jonathan couldn’t hear him.
“We can withstand anything you bring down on us,” Jonathan said to Lionel. “Because we have each other.” Jonathan’s breath was ragged, and Clark knew what was happening. “That’s what will always separate the Kents from the Luthors.”
“No, no, no,” Clark begged. “Please no.”
And then he saw Jonathan fall into Martha’s arms outside.
“Please not yet!” he heard his mother scream.
“Why are you doing this to me?” Clark yelled out in anguish. “Please…stop.”
“Jonathan!” Martha’s scream tore through Clark’s heart.
And then quick flashes:
Metallo—John Corben—killing Lionel. Pete being murdered in Venice. He saw Lex standing over Chloe, a gun to her head—he closed his eyes as Lex pulled the trigger—
—when he opened them, he was underwater.
And his hands were around Chieng’s throat.
Clark recoiled back in horror, screaming, but the water muffled his voice.
“You did what had to be done,” he heard Brainiac say.
Clark tried to stop, tried to wrench his hands away, tried to take back what he’d done, but no matter how hard he tried, he watched the life leave Chieng’s eyes all over again.
“NOOOOOOO!” he screamed.
And then suddenly he was back in the nothing. But he wasn’t alone. Brainiac approached him now. Clark fell to his knees.
No.
“You see what they’ve taken from you,” Brainiac said. “All they know is pain and misery and grief. All they know is harm. All they bring to each other is death. You can’t save them, Kal-El. Their destiny is set. The only thing left for the human race is extinction.”
Clark couldn’t see any reason to argue. He was beaten. Everything Brainiac was saying was true. Ever since Clark had come to Earth, the lives of the people closest to him had been filled with nothing but pain and loss. He thought of Lana, of Lex. Martha. Chloe, Pete. Jonathan. He’d hurt and lost them all. Maybe the best way for it to end was to end it. But—
“Please,” he finally managed. “Please stop.”
“Do you see now why I have to do what I’m about to do?” Brainiac said, crouching down and taking Clark’s head into his hands. “This is the only way, Kal-El.”
“Please…” Clark whispered.
“I’m going to leave you here for now,” Brainiac said. “I’ll go get things started.”
And Clark could see that he was in a large warehouse, before him, lined in rows and rows as far as the eye could see, what looked like sleeping men.
A clone army. Hundreds of them.
And now Clark could see the entrance to the warehouse, a sign above the door: 33.1
“Lex has given us everything we need,” Brainiac said. “All we have to do is end it.”
“No—” Clark said again, but it was feeble and even he didn’t believe it.
“Stay here, Kal-El. I’ll be back for you,” Brainiac said.
And then everything went black.

*

“Lana, I don’t have time for this. You don’t understand what’s about to happen—”
Lana laid the flash drive on Lex’s desk and cross her arms over her breasts. Lex looked from her to the drive and back.
“Are you going to tell me what this is?” he said.
“There was a time I thought I loved you,” Lana said. “There was a time I thought you were the only person in the world I could trust. The only person who really knew me.”
“Lana, what is that?”
“Then you showed me what you really are. You showed me the monster underneath.”
“Lana—”
“This flash drive contains all the proof necessary to make sure you never hurt anyone else the way you hurt me.”
“What did you do?”
“This time tomorrow, the story will be everywhere.”
Lex’s eyes changed as the realization hit him. He stared at her. Lana smiled.
“It’s over Lex.”
Even from the thirty-eighth floor of LexCorp plaza, they both could hear the sirens of the police cars as they approached the building. Lana saw a flash of surprise in Lex’s face, and then he looked at her hard, his voice tense.
“What did you do.”
“Did you really think you could trap me forever, Lex? Did you really think I’d just be silent forever?”
“Lana, you don’t understand.”
“Tell me this one thing. How did it feel to stand over Chloe with a loaded gun? How did it feel to pull the trigger and know you silenced her forever?”
She was stepping toward him, determined not to blink, determined to make sure he felt every single one of her words.
“How does a person do that, exactly?” she said.
They were close now, inches apart.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lex said through clenched teeth.
“Don’t lie, Lex. It’s too late.”
Suddenly he grabbed her.
“Lana, don’t you see that I love you?”
She slapped him. He released her and stumbled back.
“Don’t you ever touch me again,” she spat.
The doors to the office swung open and Maggie Sawyer, accompanied by three deputies, marched in, guns drawn.
“Lex Luthor,” Sawyer said. “You’re under arrest.”
Lex looked at the police, and then slowly turned his head to lock eyes with Lana. She could see the confusion in his eyes, the pain on his face. It was glorious.
“Lana, listen to me,” he said.
Sawyer nodded to one of the deputies and he moved toward Lex.
“Lana, you have to leave Smallville. You have to get out,” Lex said.
The deputy grabbed his arms and shoved them behind his back, locked the cuffs in place. They began to drag him out. Lex still hadn’t looked away from Lana.
“You have to leave! They’re coming, Lana! You have to get out!” he shouted.
Lana didn’t care. She watched as Lex was dragged from the room, dragged out of her life. Sawyer gave her a reassuring nod and then Lana was alone in the office. It was very quiet.
Lex was gone.
It was over.
Lana closed her eyes.
For the first time in what felt like forever, she felt she could breathe again.

*

Sneaking into the facility itself had been relatively simple. Security was limited, and in Lois’ experience, that usually meant whatever was happening there was intended to be kept under wraps.
But so far, the payoff had been disappointing. She and Jimmy crept along yet another dimly lit corridor in the mostly empty warehouse. Lois wasn’t exactly sure what she’d expected to find here, but it wasn’t this. She could sense Jimmy’s disappointment as well.
“I don’t know about this,” she finally said. “Seems like just another empty warehouse to me.”
“We have to keep looking,” Jimmy countered. “Just for a little while longer.”
They came to the end of the corridor, where a lone elevator waited. Jimmy pressed the call button.
“I don’t know, Jimmy,” Lois said. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
The elevators doors slid open and it was clear Jimmy was going with or without her, so she stepped inside and the doors closed. There were three available buttons, Jimmy pushed the farthest one down and the elevator whirred to life. They began their descent.
“I love snooping around in creepy warehouses as much as the next girl,” Lois said, “but I’ve already got the story of a lifetime. It hits newsstands tomorrow morning.”
“Why have a story when you could have a whole series?” Jimmy said.
He had her there.
The doors opened and they could hear voices not far away. There was another hall leading down into a much, much more wide open space. Lois and Jimmy crept out of the elevator and carefully made their way down the hall. As they got closer, the voices became clear.
“I want everything up and running by the time Mr. Luthor walks through the door,” a nasally voice called out. “Let’s move people, chop-chop!”
The corridor ended and Lois and Jimmy found themselves in a laboratory of sorts. There were about six men in white lab coats moving around the space, bringing up computer systems and turning lights on. They were excited about something.
Behind them, the elevator dinged again. Someone was coming, and they had no cover. Lois looked around frantically—but Jimmy beat her to it. He’d found a door. He grabbed her arm and they pushed the it open together, tumbling inside.
She could tell they were in a large space, but it was pitch black. The air was cold.
There was something else inside.
Lois reached out her hand tentatively. She grasped at the air, and then her fingers connected with something. Something cold, clammy.
Something with a face.
She yanked her hand back and let out a small cry. Jimmy shushed her frantically. Lois pulled her phone out of her pocket and pressed the ‘home’ button. She held her phone out, the dim light illuminating the space directly in front of them.
It was a face, indeed. The face of a man she didn’t recognize. His eyes were closed, his head drooped. He looked almost lifeless. He wore a grey jumpsuit with a number stitched into the chest: 33.1 002.
And then Lois looked to the left. There was another man there, eyes closed and head drooped.
They were identical. The number on that man’s chest: 33.1 003.
And then Lois’ eyes began to adjust and she could sense that there were more lifeless men in the room. A lot more. Hundreds more. She looked over at Jimmy and saw that he could see it now, too.
“What the hell?” Lois muttered.

*

The elevator doors opened and Brainiac stepped out. He moved deftly down the corridor and walked into the lab. Lex’s research team were busying themselves, getting everything ready for their leader’s imminent arrival. If only they’d known. The head scientist, Dr. Taylor his name badge read, turned and looked at him.
“Who are you?” he said.
“Hello, doctor,” Brainiac said.
And then he shot a metallic blade from his hand and sliced the doctor’s neck open.

Screams from the other side of the door. Lois and Jimmy jumped.
“What’s going on out there?” Jimmy whispered frantically.
Now Lois shushed him, and she creaked the door open just an inch—
—what she saw terrified her.
There was a man moving through the lab, a long sword-like blade protruding from his right arm. He was slicing through the scientists. Blood was everywhere. The lone survivor was running toward her.
But there was no escaping the assailant. Just as the scientist was about to reach the door, the blade shot clean through him, splattering the door with blood.
Lois closed the door.
“We have to get out of here,” she whispered.

With the scientists dispatched, Brainiac moved to the main control console of the lab. He flicked a switch—

Jimmy and Lois looked up as the lights above them came on. For just a second, they forgot about the attacker on the other side of the door as they saw the space illuminate hundreds and hundreds more of the lifeless men, each of them in grey jumpsuits, each of them with a corresponding 33.1 number.
“This is not good,” Jimmy said.

J-U-L-I-A-N.
Brainiac typed the code into the system’s computer.
“Project 33.1 online,” the computer said in a sing-song voice.
“Initiate sequence,” Brainiac said out loud.
Then he lowered a finger into the computer mainframe and entered the system himself. The Kryptonite from Lex’s lab had given him all the power he needed to hack the mainframe and upload his own code. The code that would allow him to control this super army at will. He could feel the human-made computer give itself over to his system as he took over the controls and even more power flooded his body.
“Welcome,” the computer said. “Waiting for command.”
“Bring them online,” Brainiac said, grinning wickedly.

Next to Lois, the eyes of 33.1 026 shot open and the man lurched to life.

*

Ten miles away, in a field in Smallville, Clark Kent lay motionless on the ground. His body was rigid and his eyes were wide open, but he was unconscious.
His mind was trapped in Brainiac’s prison.

*

Lois and Jimmy huddled together as all around them the men began waking up. Hundreds of soldiers, it seemed at the ready. They were all released from plugs connecting them to the larger mainframe, they all stood at attention, awaiting a command.
Lois gulped.

Inside the lab, Brainiac smiled.
“Now,” he said wickedly, “let’s get to work.”

END EPISODE XIX

[DailyPlanetFan]

SMALLVILLE: Season Six; Episode XX: LEAGUE

“Clark.”
Jonathan Kent’s voice ripped through the darkness, penetrating Brainiac’s program and reaching Clark’s mind. Clark tried to answer, tried to call back, but he couldn’t move his mouth—it’s like his mind was telling him one thing and his body wasn’t allowing another.
So instead, Clark focused only on his mind.
“Dad?” he called out wordlessly. “Dad, I’m here. Help me.”
“You don’t need my help son.”
If Clark could have smiled, he would. To hear his father’s voice again…it was like coming home.
“Clark, you have to get up.”
“I can’t. Brainiac has a hold on me.”
“That’s not why you’re stuck, Clark.”
“What?”
“What’s the real reason you’re lying here when you have work to do? You can tell your old man. Be honest with yourself.”
Jonathan could always tell what Clark was thinking. The irony of that statement wasn’t lost on Clark, and he could actually feel his lips curling up into a smile, but then the truth set in, and the smile faded as quickly as it had appeared.
“Everything he showed me, Dad. Everything Brainiac said. I’m so confused. Jor-El sent me here to conquer. Lara just wanted me to be loved. All that I’ve caused since I’ve gotten here is pain.”
“Clark Kent, that’s not true.”
“Yes, it is. Dad…you died for me. I took you away from Mom. Chloe, Pete, Lana. Lex. I’ve hurt you all. Without me, your lives would have been so much better.”
“Clark, listen to me. This is going to be hard for you to understand, but you brought so much light and happiness into our home. When you found us in that cornfield, Clark…it was like your mother and I woke up. Think of all the people you’ve saved, think of everyone you’ve helped. Clark Kent, you were sent to this Earth to be a force for good. No one—I don’t care who they are—no one can tell you who you are or what you’re meant to be. You choose your destiny, Clark. And I have no doubt you will choose to do the right thing. But first, son. You’ve got to get up.”
“Dad—”
“I love you son.”
“I miss you Dad, please don’t go—”
“Now get UP.”

A white light burst the darkness as Clark suddenly sat up and he realized he was back in the Fortress of Solitude in the arctic.
The sound of his father’s voice echoed in his mind, “I’ll always be with you, Clark.”
Clark rose to his feet.
“Jor-El!” he called out.
“My son,” Jor-El’s voice echoed throughout the Fortress. “Your Earth father’s memory freed your mind from the hold the Brain Interactive Construct placed on you.”
“He freed me,” Clark said.
“You doubted your purpose,” Jor-El said. “He freed you from your own doubt.”
“I know you had your reasons for sending me here, for sending me to Earth,” Clark said, walking toward the ice console, watching its glow intensify as he moved closer. “But Earth is my home now, and I decide how I choose to live here. I decide my fate.”
“I have waited so long to hear you say those words, my son,” Jor-El’s voice softened ever-so-slightly. “We have been down a long road, my son. One paved with difficult trials. You have finally come to embrace who you are. The Kryptonian and the human. Any father can only hope that he is one day humbled by the feats of his son. You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards, Kal-El. They will race behind you. They will stumble, they will fall. You are the one who will lead them to the sun.”
CRAAAAAACK
Clark turned to see the ice behind him shifting and dissolving away. And from underneath it, something was rising—a kind of ice chamber was bursting through the ice floor to the surface. There was something inside of it, encased in the ice.
It was a Kryptonian suit, royal blue and framed by a brilliant red cape.
On the chest of the suit was an emblazoned Kryptonian symbol, in the form of a human ‘S’. In Kryptonian, it meant hope.
Clark stared at it in awe and wonder. The last piece of his Kryptonian heritage was there before him, saved by Jor-El until the moment he was ready.
“Go now, my son,” Jor-El’s voice boomed proudly. “Vanquish the threat of the Brain Interactive Construct and then return here to claim your destiny. I will be waiting for you.”
Clark turned back to the console, then looked up into the sky.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
Then, without thinking, without even a moment’s hesitation, he burst up, up and away into the sky.
He was flying.
Like it was second nature.
He couldn’t help but grin as he zoomed through the clouds back toward Smallville.

*

The army of soldiers began to move as one, falling into formation, prepared to march. At the far end of the warehouse, a large door opened.
Lois and Jimmy peered out from behind a pile of boxes and equipment.
“Oh my God,” Lois said. “He’s going to let them out.”
“What do we do?” Jimmy asked frantically.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Lois said. “Right now.”
“Do you think we can make it?” Jimmy said.
Suddenly, the large supply crate they were hiding behind was lifted into the air, and five of the soldiers were staring right at them. The leader, 33.1 008, looked Lois up and down.
“Intruder,” he said.
And then he grabbed them.

*

Martha was heading for the truck when Clark literally dropped out of the sky.
“So flying’s becoming a thing now, I see,” she said, smiling.
“Mom, something’s wrong,” Clark said.
“What is it?”
But Clark was zoning her out and honing his super-hearing. Brainiac had to be close. He strained his ears and tuned out the noises of nature, of the neighboring farms, Metropolis miles away, the sound of an airplane high above—
There.
“Intruder.”
“Let me go!” Lois’ voice.
Lois was in trouble.
“Clark?” Martha’s voice.
Clark snapped back to reality and looked at Martha.
“Mom, I need you to make some phone calls.”

*

Lois and Jimmy were being escorted by 008 to the control lab, where the man who had massacred the research team awaited. 008 marched them up the steps onto the command platform. It didn’t take long for Lois to realize that this wasn’t just a man. His fingers weren’t fingers, where they should have been were instead long metallic-looking spikes he had inserted into the computer mainframe. He was controlling this army with…himself?
“Lois Lane,” he said, smiling at her, “it’s been too long.”
“Do I know you?” Lois asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
“You wouldn’t remember,” he replied. “I will deal with you in just a second.”
He flicked his wrist ever so slightly, and in the space below them, the army started to move. There had to be at least six hundred of them, and they were pouring out of the warehouse now into the open air.
“Where are you sending them?” Lois said.
“Metropolis to start,” the man replied. “Soon the world.”
Soon the warehouse was empty, and it was just the leader, 008, and two other soldiers on the platform with Lois and Jimmy.
“What are you going to do with us?” Jimmy asked shakily.
The man looked them both over.
“You are irrelevant,” he said. Then, to 008: “Kill them.”
“Am I late to the party?”
Before 008 could move, a dark figure dropped from the ceiling right on top of him.
“Batman!” Lois shouted, and then she grabbed Jimmy and pulled him back.
008 threw Batman off easily, and the Bat landed with a thud on the other side of the room.
“Unexpected,” the man at the computer said, and then he nodded at the other two soldiers.
Two arrows flew through the air and lodged themselves into the chests of the two soldiers. Something beeped, and then the arrows exploded, sending the soldiers flying through the air. Then Batman was back up, placing himself between the soldiers and Lois and Jimmy. Another man swung down from the ceiling, dressed in green and wearing a hood.
“Green Arrow!” Jimmy yelled.
“And Flash!”
A smaller guy dressed in all red and wearing a mask zoomed up next to Lois and stopped 008 from retaliating. He grabbed 008’s hand and then zoom backward, ripping the soldier’s bio-engineered arm right off. Then he was suddenly back by Lois’ side. He grabbed her arm, and grabbed Jimmy’s as well.
“Hold on tight,” he said.
Not even a second later, and Lois and Jimmy were back outside, by Lois’ car. They stood there in stunned shock for a beat, and then Jimmy promptly threw up all over her front right tire.
“What the hell was that?” he finally said.
“The story of a lifetime. Two in one week!”
Lois already had her phone out of her pocket. Her dad’s number was on speed dial.

Batman and Green Arrow were closing in on Brainiac, who used his other hand to shoot a metallic blade out at both of them. Batman dodged left, Arrow dodged right. They rolled away. Batman ran right into 008, who came swinging at him with his good arm.
“These guys aren’t easy to kill!” Flash called out from across the room, he was super-speed dodging the attacks of the other two.
All of a sudden, the door behind them blew open and Clark was there. He super-sped to one of the soldiers attacking Flash and delivered a hard right hook to his jaw. The soldier went flying, landed with a thud against the computer console and didn’t get back up.
“You gotta hit them hard,” Clark said.
“Kal-El!” Brainiac screamed.
From the elevator, Victor Stone and Arthur Curry appeared.
Clark, Batman, Green Arrow, Flash, Arthur, and Victor formed a semi-circle around Brainiac. Batman shoved a taser into 008’s mouth and the man lurched before dropping to the ground in a smoking heap. Arthur body-slammed the remaining soldier and delivered three kicks to his head.
Now it was just them and Brainiac, who looked directly at Clark.
“You and your friends are too late,” he said.
Then he began to melt, turning into black goo and disappearing into the console itself.
“No!” Victor cried.
He raced forward, a metallic spike emerging from his own arm and following the black goo into the console.
“I’ve got him,” he said. “He’s fighting me, but I’m in.”
“Good,” Batman said. “Can you reverse the programming and shut down the army?”
“He’s already pretty deep and his firewalls are intense. It’s going to take some time,” Victor said, the glow of his red eye lighting up the room.
“Well there’s six hundred super soldiers heading for Metropolis right now,” Arthur said. “How much time are we talking?”
“We’ve got to get to Metropolis,” Clark said. “I can get there fast.”
“Not faster than me,” Bart Allen said. “Race ya.”
“Slow down there, speedy,” Arrow quipped. “And you, Boy Scout,” he said to Clark. “I know you’re used to flying solo but you called us for a reason.”
“I’m glad you guys are here,” Clark said. “but we don’t have time to argue about who’s in charge.”
“There’s no argument—I am,” Batman said. “Here’s the plan. Cyborg,” he motioned to Victor, “get through those firewalls as fast as you can. It’s up to you to get Brainiac shut down, it’s the only way to control the soldiers. Aquaman,” to Arthur, “we’re pretty landlocked, so you’ll stay here and provide cover for Cyborg.”
“You serious?” Arthur scoffed.
“Sucks to suck, fish stick,” Bart laughed.
Batman turned to look at Clark.
“You’re our strongest,” he said. He turned to Bart, “you’re our fastest. Arrow and I will be there as soon as we can to provide backup. We’ve got to minimize the threat to the city for as long as it takes for Cyborg to hack the system.”
“I’ll see you when you get there,” Clark said.
He looked at Victor, “Cyborg?”
Victor shrugged.
And then Clark took off into the sky.
“Show-off,” Flash grinned and he was gone before anyone could blink.
Batman looked at Green Arrow. “You’re with me.”
“We walking?”
Batman hit a button on his belt and the Bat-Wing zoomed in through the open warehouse doors.
“Of course we’ll take that,” Arrow said lightly.
Batman turned back to Cyborg one last time, “We’re counting on you.”
Then they loaded up and were gone.

*

The police cruiser carrying Lex Luthor barreled down a side street of Metropolis. They were avoiding main roads and highways; it was no doubt news of his arrest had already leaked to press and there were would be reporters on the trail before too long—best to miss as many of them as they could.
Cuffed in the backseat, Lex reeled. He didn’t know what to be panicked about anymore. Milton Fine’s ominous warnings or the fact that Lana had just had him arrested.
He cycled through many scenarios in his head. He’d been so careful, he’d planned for every contingency. How could she have possibly gotten the proof she needed in order for the authorities to make a full-fledged arrest?
No doubt Mercy was on it—she’d call the attorneys and see to his affairs. Ideally, he’d be out on bail in less than forty-eight hours, then he could go home and deal with Lana—
“Holy ****!”
The squad car violently swerved to the right, throwing Lex across the seat and into the window.
For a split second, a dark figure flashed by the car. The squad car came to a screeching halt. The two deputies in the front looking around wildly as more and more dark figures flashed by.
“What the hell is that?” one of them muttered. “Get Sawyer on the horn.”
“They’re heading for the heart of the city,” the other deputy said almost absently as he hailed dispatch. “What is going on?”
But the in back seat, Lex was hunkering down and smiling to himself.
Fine had released the troops.

*

Back in the Smallville facility, Aquaman tapped his foot impatiently. Cyborg was silent, standing before the console, his red eye glowing in the dim light, his body jerking every few seconds as he digitally fought with Clark’s strange enemy—Brainiac, he’d called him.
“Really feeling like a hero over here,” he muttered to himself.
Suddenly, Cyborg came out of his reverie and looked directly at him.
“Arthur,” he called. “I’m picking up several readings. He’d sending some back to deal with us.”
“Alright!” Aquaman said confidently. “Bring it on.”
“Incoming,” Cyborg said, then he was back in the console.
And then there was a very loud BANG on the warehouse door, and Aquaman tensed for battle.

*

Lana was in Lex’s office when an alarm sounded. Suddenly, three security men led by Mercy burst into the room.
“The city is being overrun,” Mercy said. “We’ve got to get you out of here.”
“What are you talking about?” Lana said.
No answer; two of the men grabbed her by the arms and led her out of the room.
“Lock down the tower,” Mercy barked at the third. “We’ll get her to the roof.”
Lana managed a look out a window as she was shoved down the hall.
The city had been flooded with hundreds of men wearing grey jumpsuits.

*

Flash super-speed down Main street. An explosion rocked the shop next to him as he leapt, pulling a small girl from the clutches of one of the soldiers, setting her down safely hundreds of feet away and a millisecond later grabbing the soldier’s neck and turning slightly—meaning very, very quickly in super speed. The soldier’s neck snapped easily and he fell to the ground, neutralized.
He placed his palm to his ear and said, “there’s a lot of these guys down here, Bats.”
“On it,” he heard the gravelly voice on the other end say.
Above, him, the Bat-Wing zoomed low, dispatching ten more of the soldiers with its guns.
“That’s what I’m talking about!” Flash cried, and then he was off again.

*

The Bat-Wing was coming up on the Daily Planet.
“Drop me on the roof,” Green Arrow said from the backseat. “I’m just sitting pretty back here.”
“Hold on tight,” Batman said.
Then he hit the eject button.
The canopy detached and Arrow was shot into the sky.
Batman turned the wheel and the Wing dipped down, flying about twenty feet above street level. All around him, he could see soldiers attacking innocents, invading shops and businesses and causing destruction and chaos.
“Make sure to minimize civilian casualty and damage to the city,” he said into the open comm team channel. “We’re here to help, not escalate, understood?”
“Got it,” he heard Flash say.
“Brainiac sent a detachment back here to try to stop Cyborg,” Aquaman grunted into the comm. “I might need some help.”
“We’re busy over here,” Arrow shot back. “You got this, Wetness.”
“Don’t call me Wetness.”
“Lord of the seven seas is kind of a mouthful.”
“Up yours.”
“Cut the chatter,” Batman said.
He fired onto the ground; three more soldiers went up in smoke.

Arrow tumbled onto the roof of the Planet, barrel-rolling up, bowstring drawn. There. He let fly an arrow, it made contact with the chest of a soldier on the ground chasing a small family. Electric shocks flew from the soldier, who fell to the ground, writhing wildly.
“Gotchya,” Arrow smirked.
He turned, saw Flash taking out two more. The kid was good, but sloppy. Another soldier was coming up behind him, Flash hadn’t noticed.
Green Arrow handled it. Flash jumped, saw the fallen the soldier, looked up, nodded. Green Arrow nodded back. He turned and let fly another arrow.

*

There were five of them total. They were fast, and super strong. Aquaman dodged a hit as another of them flew toward Cyborg, who was incapacitated as long as he was fighting Brainiac.
He grabbed the arm of the soldier he’d just dodged and flung him into his cohort. Cyborg remained untouched, still jerking every few seconds.
“How we doing?” he called out, receiving a punch to the gut that threw him across the warehouse space.
“His firewalls are intense,” Cyborg retorted. “Doing my best.”
“I need your best to be the best,” Aquaman said, flying through the air and delivering a hard judo kick to the chest of another soldier. It went down and didn’t get back up.
“Working on it,” Cyborg said harshly.

*

The city was in ruins—Lana flashbacked to the day she’d been on this roof with Lex, watching as Metropolis was enveloped in flames. She shuddered.
On the ground, grey-clad soldiers were chasing down civilians, flipping cars, destroying buildings.
“What is happening?” she said.
One of the security team’s walkie was buzzing.
“—they’ve broken through!” the voice on the other end cried. “they’re in the building!”
A buzz of static white noise, and then silence. The two security men looked at Mercy.
“Get down there!” she barked. “I’ll keep an eye on Mrs. Luthor. Go!”
They went. Mercy locked the door behind them.
“It’s not going to be long before they make it up here,” Lana said, looking down at the chaos on the street again. “What are we going to do?”
And then Mercy punched her right in the face.
Lana stumbled back, grabbing her face.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Mr. Luthor loved you,” Mercy said, kicking Lana in the gut and sending her to the ground. “My loyalty is to him, not you.”
Oh, hell no.
Lana was up. She dodged Mercy’s next blow, parried, spin-kicked her in the back. Mercy stumbled forward.
“You’ve always been so loyal,” Lana said. “The perfect bodyguard.”
Mercy lunged at Lana again, she dodged.
“Soon you’ll see just how much of a monster he is,” Lana said.
“Nothing could ever change the way I feel about Lex,” Mercy spat.
The next few things happened almost at the same time:
Mercy leapt at Lana. The door leading to the stairwell burst open and one of the grey-suited soldiers burst from the inside, grabbing Mercy and flinging her off the roof to the chaos below.
All Lana could do was stare ahead in shock as Mercy’s helpless scream faded into nothing.
But then the soldier was coming after her. Lana screamed as she felt his strong hands grab her in a vice grip. He was lifting her up. She could see the edge of the roof. He was going to throw her over.
“No!” she screamed.
But he let her go and Lana was thrown out into nothingness.

Clark took out another soldier, threw it to the side.
He heard her scream.
Looking up, he saw Lana falling from the roof of LexCorp plaza.
And he didn’t think.
He lifted off the ground, zooming up in flight.
And he caught her.

Lana felt strong arms wrap around her and suddenly she wasn’t falling anymore. She was floating, flying, back up to the safety roof. Those arms were in a red jacket and blue shirt.
It was—
“Clark,” she whispered, and then laid her head against his chest as they flew up and back to the roof.

Clark set Lana down—she was staring at him, her eyes wide—and picked up the soldier around the neck. He quickly ripped the bio-engineered machine’s head off, tossed it off the roof, and then used the rest of the body to jam the door to the building shut. No other soldiers would be coming for Lana now.
He turned back to her.
“Clark—” she said.
“You’re safe now,” he said.
They had so much to talk about. But the city was on fire.
“Stay here,” he said. “I’ll come back to get you—”
Just then, a helicopter zoomed past them, picking up the air, whipping Lana’s hair around her face.
It was a military helicopter. Clark and Lana rushed to the edge of the roof and looked down. The United States Army had moved into the city and were advancing on the rest of Lex’s army.
“That will help,” Clark said.
He looked at Lana once more, and saw understanding fill her eyes. She nodded at him.
Go.
He took back off into the sky.

From his seat in General Sam Lane’s chopper, Jimmy snapped a photo of a red and blue blur taking off from the roof of LexCorp. Something caught his eye on the Daily Planet roof next door. He snapped another shot of the Green Arrow firing off arrows from his perch, taking out members of the 33.1 army one by one. Then below him on the street, he saw a red flash zoom through the streets, saving civilians and rounding up 33.1 soldiers one by one; stopping fires and securing area after area.
And then, right in front of them, a giant flying machine swooped up and around them, firing down onto the ground and destroying even more members of Luthor’s army.
“What’s this?” General Lane shouted from the co-pilot chair.
“Batman!” Lois, seated next to Jimmy, shouted back.
“The city’s filled with heroes!” Jimmy said.
“You better be getting all of this!” Lois yelled at him, pointing at his camera.
The pilot said, “We’re driving them back, sir.”
“Good, keep pushing. Clear the city of these freaks,” General Lane replied.

Batman was soaring high above the city, looking down to see the US Army working in tandem with Flash and Green Arrow to drive back and destroy the remaining 33.1 soldiers.
Suddenly, Clark was next to him, flying in time with the Wing.
“Lois called in the army,” Clark said through the comm, smiling wide. “The city’s clearing.”
“We’re not out of this yet,” Batman replied. “Cyborg, tell me we’re close.”

*

Cyborg could feel his systems overheating when Batman’s question came over the comm. He could sense Aquaman finishing up with the soldiers who had attacked them.
It was all up to him now.
Brainiac’s defenses were well-supported, but the evil program was growing tired. Cyborg had breached thousands of firewalls at this point—he was getting close to accessing Brainiac’s programming and shutting him down.
“I’m almost there,” he muttered. “I need two minutes.”
Then a line of code caught his attention. Brainiac was issuing one last desperate command.
He was sending a soldier, 33.1 009, to kill Clark’s mother.

“Boy Scout,” Cyborg’s voice on the comm. “Get to Smallville. Brainiac is sending one of them after Martha. Hurry!”
Clark’s heart skipped a beat. He changed course immediately, zooming away from the city and breaking the sound barrier as he zipped toward Smallville.
He couldn’t lose Martha.
“Do you have its location?” Clark tried to hide the desperation in his voice. “Tell me what’s happening.”
“He’s closing in Clark, you have to hurry,” Cyborg responded.
Then the comms went dead.

General Lane’s helicopter landed in the center of the city. Lois and Jimmy hopped out of the chopper and ran up to a ragtag KNS group who were reporting on the attack. Lois grabbed the mic from the young reporter.
“Lois Lane, reporter,” she said. “Do you want some ratings?”


*

Brainiac was focusing all his efforts on stopping Cyborg now, he could feel it. He felt the cold liquid metal of Brainiac’s being unlatch itself from the computer console and wrap around Cyborg himself. The metal was entering his own mainframe and twisting around his system settings.
He could feel it squeezing down on him, trying to turn his own body against him.
Then he breached the final firewall.
It was him and Brainiac now.
But Brainiac was winning. Cyborg knew he couldn’t fight a virus that was already inside him too long. Then a thought occurred to him.
“Arthur!” he shouted.
Aquaman looked up, raced over.
“I need you…to throw my self-destruct,” Cyborg grunted.
“But you’ll—won’t you die?” Aquaman said.
“Just—do it!”

*

Batman set the Bat-Wing down on the Daily Planet roof. Metropolis’ streets were safe once again. Most of Luthor’s army had been destroyed, the rest were being detained and handled by General Lane’s troops. He hopped out of the wing and joined Green Arrow and Flash, who zoomed up the side of the building. All of them were listening intently to the comms.
“Do it!” Cyborg was shouting.
“Bats, are you hearing this?” Aquaman said. “He wants me to—”
“I know what he wants,” Batman said. “Cyborg, is this the only way?”
“Yes, I can’t hold him anymore,” Cyborg said. “Do it!”
“Do it!” Arrow yelled.
“Do it,” Batman agreed.
Flash gulped.

*

“This is Lois Lane reporting live from the streets of Metropolis…”
Martha watched the TV in the living room of the Kent Farm, her hands over her mouth. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“…it appears that Luthor’s army has been sufficiently pushed back by the US Army, as well as the group of masked heroes that arrived out of seemingly nowhere to protect Metropolis.”
Martha was sure Clark had had something to do with that—
—the roof above her caved in. Wood and plaster went everywhere. Martha was pushed to the ground, coughing. She’d been hit in the head, blood was running down from her scalp and falling into her eyes. She looked up—
—it was one of Lex’s soldiers. His shirt read 33.1 009. He gazed her with a cold hard stare and started moving toward her.
“Target acquired,” he said in a dead tone, “terminating now.”
“No!”
Martha screamed.
Just as the soldier was about to grab her throat—out of nowhere—Clark flew into the house, grabbing the soldier and carrying him outside, away from Martha, into the open field.

*

In the Smallville facility, Aquaman pried open the back of Cyborg’s skull and flipped the switch. Jolts of electricity shot out of Victor Stone’s eyes and mouth, and then his chest exploded into a ball of flame and he fell to the ground, unmoving.

*

Clark threw the lifeless body of 33.1 009 onto the ground and watched as his eyes went from human hybrid, to black, to white and lifeless. Clark looked back at Martha, peeking out from the porch of the farmhouse.
It was over.

*

All around Metropolis, the bodies of the 33.1 soldiers, surrounded by the US Army soldiers, dropped to the ground, offline and lifeless.
The citizens of Metropolis crawled out from their hiding places and began to cheer in victory. The US troops raised their guns in the air and chanted cries of victory.
Lois and Jimmy hugged each other in relief.

*

Black other-worldly metal oozed out of Cyborg’s body and collected into a tiny black ball the size of a marble. It hissed once, and then hardened and froze still.
Aquaman picked it up and eyed it warily. It didn’t move. It was a lifeless orb of technology.
Brainiac was defeated.

*

On the roof of the Planet, Batman, Green Arrow, and Flash surveyed the city below them.
“Good work team,” Batman said. “Clark…everything okay?”
Clark’s voice came through clear: “Everything’s okay in Smallville.”
Flash fist pumped the air. Green Arrow nodded in relief. Batman let a long breath out.
“Aquaman?”
A long silence. Then:
“Man down.”
The team fell quiet.

*

Metropolis was returning to some form of normalcy. The streets had been cleared of the bodies of the 33.1 army. Lana Lang had gone public with her separation from Lex and his arrest. She promised the citizens of Metropolis that while LexCorp was in her care, she’d make sure all of Lex’s nefarious projects would be shut down as soon as possible. The hold he’d had over the city would be abolished forever.
And then Lois Lane’s story in the Daily Planet hit newsstands.
“Congratulations, kid.”
Lois was in Perry White’s office. They were looking at a copy of the day’s edition, Lois’ story centered on the front page.
“I think you just became the most famous person in the city,” Perry said. “You blew the thing wide open.”
“It wouldn’t have happened without Chloe,” Lois said quietly. “This was for her.”
Perry allowed a moment for that, nodded, then slammed the paper down on his desk.
“So, you’re gonna make me ask then?” he said.
“Ask what?”
“Got a desk with your name on it,” Perry said. “You want it.”
Lois took a breath.
“You offering me a job?”
Perry held out his hand.
“Welcome to the Daily Planet, Miss Lane.”
Lois rose to her feet, shoot his hand vigorously.
“Thanks, Chief,” she said. “Thank you!”
The door opened and Jimmy burst in, a folder in his hands.
“Chief! Lois! You’re gonna want to see these.”
Before Lois or Perry could say anything, Jimmy had the folder open and was spreading several photographs onto Perry’s desk. Lois leaned over the desk, taking a good look.
She saw Batman. And Green Arrow. A blurry photograph of what looked like who people were calling ‘The Flash’. And then the one, over LexCorp plaza, in midair.
The only hero that had flown that day.
“Figured you could use some shots for your next story,” Jimmy said.
Lois smiled at him.
“Good work, Olsen,” Perry said.
He picked up the red and blue blur photo and held it up for Jimmy and Lois to see.
“Who is this guy?”
“My guardian angel,” Lois said, without thinking.
“Excuse me?”
Lois couldn’t stop smiling.
“It’s a long story.”

*

At the Kent Farm, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, Arthur Curry, and Bart Allen gathered in the field. Arthur was holding the black Brainiac orb and Bruce was holding another disk—Victor Stone’s operating system.
“You’re sure Victor can be repaired?” Clark said.
“I’m sure Alfred has something up his sleeve,” Bruce said. “We’ll make sure he’s alright.”
“He saved us all,” Arthur said quietly, then he held out the Brainiac orb to Clark.
“Clark, this belongs to you.”
“Thanks,” Clark said, taking it from him and holding it gingerly.
“What will you do with it?” Oliver asked.
“I’ll take it up to my Fortress,” Clark said. “My father will know what to do with him.”
The other men looked at him blankly.
“Fortress…father?” Bart chuckled. “I don’t get you, dude.”
“I can’t thank all of you enough for showing up for me,” Clark said. “I couldn’t have saved Metropolis without you.”
“We’re, like, a real team of heroes, though,” Bart said excitedly. “We saved Metropolis!”
“Easy there,” Oliver chided. “Maybe you need to go run a mile to cool down.”
“Just saying,” Bart said. “We need a name or something. Something cool.”
“A name?” Clark said.
“Yeah, man!” Bart replied. “Something like…”
He was really taking this seriously. Then, a revelation:
“Justice League.”
The group took that in. Then Oliver snorted.
“That’s stupid,” he said.
“I don’t hate it, actually,” Bruce said. “Could work.”
Bart put his hands up.
“Just think about it,” he said.
“Seriously,” Clark said, “thank you.”
“Somebody has to be the line of defense against forces like that,” Bruce said, pointing down at the orb. “We’re the ones on that line.”
“The Justice League,” Bart said, and Oliver slapped him upside the head.
Bruce looked at Clark.
“Can we count on you?” he said.
Clark took a moment.
“I want to be a part of this, I really do,” he said finally. “But with Brainiac neutralized and Lex behind bars…there’s something I have to do first.”
Bruce nodded. “This is only the beginning. We’ll save you a spot.”
He held out his hand; Clark smiled and shook it.
“Until then,” Bruce said.

Martha and Shelby joined Clark on the gravel drive as the League departed.
“Pretty amazing,” Martha said.
“What?” Clark asked.
“Most of those guys wouldn’t be where they are now if it wasn’t for you,” Martha smiled. “I’m so proud of you, Clark.”
She pulled him into a hug.
“Your dad would be so proud, too.”

*

The door to Lex’s old office opened and there was Lana.
How much they both had changed was not lost on Clark as he stepped inside. Long gone were the days of his nervous approaches in the Talon. Falling down around her at Smallville High. Long tearful talks in the loft. They were adults now. And now she knew his secret.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi,” he said. “You’re still here.”
“Just long enough to make sure all of the programs Lex set into motion won’t hurt anyone else,” Lana said. “Then I’ll put this place—and the Luthor name—far, far behind me.”
A long silence.
Finally, Lana started, “So—”
“You probably have a million questions,” Clark said.
“Actually…no. Honestly, so many things now just make a lot more sense,” Lana laughed. “I guess I always kind of knew.”
“There were so many times I wanted to tell you,” Clark said. “You have no idea.”
“I get it, Clark,” Lana said. “Given the history of meteor freaks in this town—”
“Actually,” Clark gulped. “I’m not a meteor freak.”
That caught Lana off-guard.
“Okay,” she said. “Then…?”
All of the fears Clark had ever had. The truth about himself. His part in the death of her parents. All of those washed away and he took a deep breath.
“I’m from a planet called Krypton,” he said. “But it was destroyed. My parents’ last act was to send me here, to Earth. They saved me.”
Lana stared at him. He watched her take that in, saw the realization wash over her beautiful face. She took a step toward him.
“So, you’re a…” she couldn’t finish it.
“An alien,” Clark said. “Yes.”
She took another step toward him.
“All those times you saved me. All the times you were there.”
“I’ve wanted to tell you for so long,” Clark said, and his voice broke.
She was close to him now, staring deeply into his eyes. Almost as if she was searching for something. And then she seemed to find it, because she took his hand in her hands and gave him a kiss.
“You’re still the same Clark Kent to me,” she said softly.
Clark smiled and suddenly, he could breathe again. She moved in for another kiss, but Clark backed away. Dug into his pocket.
“This belongs to you,” he said.
He pulled her necklace, the Kryptonite necklace, out of his pocket. It was clear now, having been drained by his ship so many years ago. Lana looked at it incredulously.
“Where did you…” she trailed off, seeming to accept that there were things that no longer needed to be explained. “Thank you,” she finished, taking it from him and twirling it in her fingers.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” Clark said. “I’m glad Lex is behind bars and you’re safe now.”
“Why does it feel like you’re saying goodbye?” Lana said.
“I have to go away for a while, there’s something I have to do,” Clark said.
Lana took that in, nodded. Her face was unreadable. She smiled at Clark.
“I understand,” Lana said. “You don’t love me anymore.”
Clark opened his mouth to say something, changed his mind. Then:
“I’ll always love you, Lana. But…so much has happened. We’ve been through so much—put each other through so much. I take responsibility for my part in it. I should have been honest with you a long time ago. And there will always be a part of me that loves you. But I don’t think it could ever be the way it was.”
Tears were forming in her eyes, but Lana held strong. She looked down briefly, nodding. Looked back up at him.
“I’m glad you finally trusted me,” she said. “The truth was all I ever wanted. And I understand that things have changed, and you have things you have to do. But I’m always going to love you, Clark. Always.”
Clark didn’t know what to say to that, so he just smiled. It was clear that Lana could sense he was at a loss for words, so she helped him:
“I’ll miss you, Clark. And I’ll be here when you get back.”
“Goodbye, Lana,” he said.
And then he turned and walked out of the office.

Lana stood alone, looked down at her necklace. A single tear fell from her eyes into her hand, right next to the Kryptonite jewel. She smiled, in spite of herself. In spite of everything.
Lex was gone. She was free.
Clark had been honest with her. She knew him now.
Now there was work to be done.
She clasped the necklace onto her neck, held the jewel for a just a second, thought of her parents.
And then she got to work.

*

He was in a padded cell in Metropolis lock-up.
He hadn’t seen anyone else in twenty-four hours.
Lex rocked back and forth, his arms folded around himself. He was cold, he was hungry.
The guards had told him about the failure about the army. How it had been dismantled. How Lois Lane’s article had been punished. How Lana had vilified him in the press. How Metropolis now saw him as a villain. How Clark had been right about him.
Lex laughed to himself.
Clark had been right about him.
Clark had been right.
Clark—
And Lana. Lana had betrayed him. Lana had fooled him into thinking she loved him. He’d done everything for her. Had made sure she would be his forever—be protected, close and safe.
Lana had betrayed him.
Lana had left him.
Lana—
He jerked his head to the right. Hard. Banged it against the padded wall. Hit it against the wall again. Maybe that would rid his mind of the memories of his friends. But all he could hear were their voices in his ears. All he could hear was Clark admonishing him, telling him to beware the darkness. Lana looking up at him with hate in her eyes, don’t you ever touch me again.
Milton Fine’s warning.
The being on its way to Earth to conquer and destroy.
Kal-El.
No, no, no. Lex was right. He had been right.
Someone had to take control. Someone had to protect Earth.
Clark and Lana—they were wrong. They’d put him away when the world needed him more than ever. They were the villains here, not him. They couldn’t see the danger they were in. The world was in.
Clark and Lana were part of the problem. They had to be stopped. They had to be ended.
“Lex,” his father’s voice.
Lionel’s cold, cutting voice intruded his mind and took over.
“My son,” he said.
“Get out of my head!” Lex shouted. “Leave me alone!”
“You’ll never be rid of me, son,” Lionel chuckled.
Lex tried to cover his ears, he curled up into a ball and rocked back and forth.
“You killed me,” Lionel taunted.
“No—” Lex tried, but he knew Lionel was right. “I just wanted you—”
“What?” Lionel sneered. “What did you want?”
“I just wanted you to love me!” Lex screamed. “You were my father!”
“I still am your father!” Lionel screamed back. “Look at you, you’re pathetic.”
“Please…” Lex cried. “Please, father.”
“You,” Lionel said, “are a Luthor.”
“Please—”
“You’re a Luthor.”
“Father—”
“You are a Luthor!” Lionel repeated.
“I’m a Luthor!” Lex yelled back.
Clark and Lana were dead to him. They were keeping him from protecting Earth. Someone had to stop Kal-El. Lex was the only one who could. And if Clark and Lana couldn’t see that—
—they’d have to be destroyed.
“I’m a Luthor,” Lex said again.
“Good,” he could hear his father say. “Now. Get up.”

*

The sun would rise soon. Clark had been flying, embracing his new power and learning to master it. He was ready now. Ready to leave Smallville and enter the Fortress of Solitude. Begin his training with Jor-El. It was time to go.
He landed in front of the barn and gave one last look to his childhood home. So many memories here, so many things he’d learned. He’d miss it terribly.
He thought of saying goodbye to his mother and almost couldn’t take it. How could he say goodbye to the one person who had been there with him through everything? It would be the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he had to do it. He took a step toward the farmhouse—
—behind him, the barn exploded.
Clark was thrown forward, sprawled out onto the gravel.
“Kal-El!”
Clark’s blood ran cold as he turned to see Brainiac floating in the air above him.
He was damaged greatly, some parts unformed and only black liquid metal—but he was here, with hate in his eyes, which were glowing a dangerous red.
“You haven’t killed me yet!” he shouted.
And then he flew at Clark, grabbing him by the shirt and flipping him over, throwing him out into the field. Clark could feel the grass and corn ripping at his clothes as he slid across the dirt, finally coming to stop. Brainiac still had a hold of him, and he delivered a harsh blow to Clark’s jaw. Clark could feel blood fill his mouth.
“You’ll never be rid of me!” Brainiac said maniacally. “And now—now I’m going to destroy everything you love!”
And then they were flying up, into the air, past the clouds, into the upper atmosphere. Clark could see the stars and the sun peaking over the curve of the planet.
This was it.
It was Brainiac or him this time.

END EPISODE XX

[DailyPlanetFan]

SMALLVILLE: Season Six; Episode XXI: DENOUEMENT

It was still pretty dark outside when Lois’ phone rang.
It was Perry: “Lane, where are you right now?”
“At home. Sleeping. Like a normal person.”
“Well you better wake up. Lex Luthor is being transported to Belle Reeve today. He tried to kill himself last night.”
“And this warrants you waking me up at five AM…how?”
“He hasn’t spoken to anyone in the last twenty-four hours, but exactly fifteen minutes ago he told police that the only person he’d talk to is you.”

Exactly forty-two minutes later, Lois Lane was walking into Metropolis lock-up. She hadn’t been exactly sure how to dress for a sunrise interview with the most well-known criminal in the city, so she’d thrown on some jeans and boots and brushed her hair.
The guard buzzed her in and she walked through a metal detector. They took her recorder and cell phone away, allowing only her notepad and pencil inside. She had to flash both her driver’s license and her press badge—Perry had just had it made for her yesterday—and then she was ushered through another electric door and was being escorted down the hall by a rather large and tired-looking prison guard. Lois double-timed it to keep his pace as he rattled off her instructions:
“He’s been on suicide watch since last night so he will be restrained. There is a chair preset for you, you will sit in that chair and leave it where it is, which will be six feet away from him. He will be on the floor, there will be no table. It will be just you and him in the room, but there will be a two-way mirror, we’ll have eyes on you the whole time. You have fifteen minutes and then Belle Reeve’s people will be here to pick him up. Do you have any questions?”
“Nope,” Lois replied.
“Good. If at any point you feel uncomfortable, just signal to us through the mirror and we’ll come get you. Here we go.”
They made a left turn and stopped in front of a large white door. The big guard—Lois got a flash of his nametag as he turned to grab his keys, Otis was his name—unlocked the door and led her inside.
It was a padded cell, a bit larger than she was expecting. She immediately saw Lex Luthor on the floor at the far end of the room. He was bound in a straitjacket and was sitting cross-legged, his head down. Otis walked over to him, double-checked his bonds roughly.
“Your reporter is here,” he said. “You gonna do anything stupid, Luthor?”
A brief pause, then Lex said, without looking up, “I just want to talk to her.”
“I said,” Otis elbowed Luthor in the back, “are you going to do anything stupid?”
“No, I’m not going to do anything stupid,” Lex finally said, and Lois didn’t think she’d ever heard someone more defeated.
“You have fifteen minutes,” Otis said to both of them and then he left the room.
Maybe if it wasn’t six o’clock in the morning, maybe if she wasn’t nervous about the interview, maybe if she hadn’t been quite so green a reporter—maybe Lois would have noticed the odd tone in Otis’ voice as he left the cell, closed the door and locked it behind him.
Now it was just her and Lex.
His head rose slowly to look at her. Dark circles framed his eyes, which were glassy and watering. He looked terrible, and he’d only been in here a day.
“Hello, Lois,” he said.
“Hi, Lex,” she replied, and she took her seat.
“Thank you for coming,” Lex said, almost sheepishly, as if he hadn’t expected her to show.
“Well, when the world’s most famous bad guy calls you for an interview right before he’s carted off to the looney bin, you can’t turn that down.”
“Congratulations, by the way. On your article. I’m sure it was exactly the big break you needed for your burgeoning career in journalism.”
“Lex, you killed my cousin,” Lois was having a hard time keeping her cool. He was too calm, too assured. He was treating this like they were having Sunday brunch—not like he was responsible for all the terrible things he’d done. “Why the hell did you ask me here?”
“Because Lois, I think your writing is fantastic,” Lex was smiling now, and something about the it made Lois’ skin crawl. “And I want you to be the one to write my side of the story.”
Gunshots rang out from the other side of the two-way mirror. Lois jumped, dropping her pencil.
“What the hell was that?” she said.
She rose to her feet and in one terrifying moment realized Lex was doing the same thing. In one fluid movement, he stripped off the straitjacket and came running towards her. Lois backed up to the door, banging on it with all her might.
“Help—”
But then Lex’s arms were around her, she could see the bandages from where he’d cut his wrists the night before, and he was spinning her around to face him.
“Let’s give you a real story,” Lex said.
The door behind her opened, Lex whirled her around, his arms still tight around her.
Otis was there, gun drawn, face white, save for a few dots of blood on his right cheek. He looked at Lois, then at Lex.
“Let’s go,” he said.
The knot in Lois’ stomach grew tighter as she realized Otis was in on it. He was helping Lex escape.
And Lois was their hostage.
Lex tossed her to Otis, who quickly put handcuffs on her wrists and tightened them until they were digging into her skin. Lex took the key from him and put it in his pocket. They pulled her out into the hallway and a wave of nausea hit Lois as she saw the dead and bloody bodies of the other guards sprawled out on the ground. They hadn’t known what hit them.
Lex knelt by one of the bodies, took the gun off the man’s hip, cocked it. Looked at Otis.
“Let’s move,” he said.
They raced down the hall, toward the first of the electric doors. Otis had already opened them, they passed through with little trouble. Then three more guards were coming toward them, blocking their way to the front door. Their guns were drawn.
Otis pulled Lois close to him, using her as a shield as he brought his gun up and fired. One of the guards went down and Lois screamed. Lex fired next, taking out the other. The last guy got a shot off, it nicked Lex’s left shoulder and he cried out in pain, blood spurting. Otis and Lois dove in front of Lex, Otis firing wildly, and the last guard hit the floor, dead.
“Son of a *****!” Lex yelled, grasping his shoulder.
“Let me see,” Otis said, keeping one hand tight around Lois’ arm and using the other to take a peek at Lex’s wound. “It’s just a flesh wound, you’ll be alright.”
“Then let’s go.”
All too quickly they were outside in the cool morning air, racing toward an old beat up Buick. Lois assumed it was Otis’ car. Sure enough, Otis pulled the keys out of his pocket, threw open the door, tossed Lois into the passenger seat.
Sirens.
Otis and Lex looked up to see three MPD cars zooming into the parking lot. They stopped about twenty feet away from Otis’ car and six deputies jumped out, guns drawn.
“Put down your weapons!” one of them called out. “Put your hands up!”
“Gimme the keys, Otis,” Lex said.
“Lex—”
“Now!”
Otis tossed Lex the keys and Lex dove for the car. At the same time, Otis brought up his gun and the deputies opened fire. In a haze of chaos, Lois saw Otis get hit and go down and Lex revved the engine and they were taking off, away from the gunfire and the police.
“Is he dead?” Lois gasped and Lex swore.
The police were firing after them, but the old Buick was moving pretty quickly and soon they were out onto the city streets, careening down the road toward the highway.
“Lex, what are you doing?” Lois finally was able to ask.
She was trying to stay upright as Lex rocked the car back and forth, her arms handcuffed behind her made it hard for her to keep her balance.
“You’re going to see, Lois. You’re going to make sure the world knows why I did the things I did. Something terrible is coming,” Lex said, as he swerved onto the highway.
They were heading back to Smallville.
“Something terrible is coming and I have to stop it.”
“You let that man die,” Lois said. “Why was he helping you?”
“I have a lot of money, Lois,” Lex chuckled. “And everyone has a price.”
“Lex, you have to let me go. You can’t do this.”
“Shut up! I’m not going to hurt you. You’re my witness. You’re going to tell everyone that what I’m about to do is justified. It’s the only way to protect us.”
“What are you about to do?” Lois asked, her blood cold.
Then Lex looked her right in the eyes.
“I have to kill Lana. And Clark.”

*

Clark’s vision came back to him and he caught Brainiac’s fist before he could deliver a second blow. Just as he caught it, the fist morphed into a black metal blade, Clark jerked his head to the left and dodged the stab at the last second. Then he pushed Brainiac off of him, up into the sky, and he plummeted into gravel drive with a thud.
Martha came racing out of the farmhouse onto the porch.
“Clark!” she screamed.
No.
Brainiac was up, looking at Martha, his eyes glowing red. Clark went into super-speed.
Bright red, super-heat burst from Brainiac’s eyes toward Martha. She dove to the ground as the beam destroyed the farmhouse porch. Then Clark grabbed Brainiac’s head from behind, wrenched it away, and yanked Brainiac up into the sky, flying away. He risked a look back to see Martha rise from the ground, watching as her son flew away.
She was okay.
They were far away from the Kent Farm now, and Clark punched Brainiac in the face.
“You think you can threaten my mother?!” he yelled, punching him again.
And then he slammed Brainiac down into the ground below. He didn’t let up. He followed him down, body-slamming him with all the force he could. Clark grabbed his neck, delivering another punch. Brainiac was smiling up at him maniacally, black liquid leaking from his eyes, nose and mouth.
“She’s not the one I’m after,” he hissed, then heat vision beams burst from his eyes once again and Clark was blown back a hundred feet.
When he got back up, Brainiac was gone.
The sun was rising now.
She’s not the one I’m after.
Who could he be—
“Lana.”
Clark took a breath, honed his hearing, strained to hear Lana’s voice, her footsteps, her heartbeat, anything. He couldn’t let Brainiac reach her.
He had to get to her first.

*

The nice girl named Tracy handed her the coffee cup.
“Thanks,” Lana smiled at her.
“No problem, it’s always good to see you in here,” Tracy smiled back.
Lana took a moment to glance around the Talon. She had about a million things to do and she really needed to get back to LexCorp in Metropolis, but she couldn’t resist the wave of nostalgia hitting her as she looked at the colorful walls, the faux-Egyptian décor, the plush couches and chairs.
This place had been her identity for so long. It had gotten her through so much of the loneliness that had defined her for most of her early life. This is where she’d spent so much time with Pete, Chloe…Clark. This was also the place she’d first really gotten to know Lex. She’d been his partner. This place had been the center of her life for so long, and now it was kind of the center of her memories, her past. The life she was determined now, more than ever, to leave behind.
Maybe after she was done at LexCorp she’d leave Metropolis. Maybe she’d leave Kansas? Return to Paris, or travel Europe, or go to Africa. She was free, and she had her entire future before her. No more ties to Lex, no more ties to Clark.
Clark.
The hope of a reunion still nagged at her. Maybe, just maybe, Clark would return from wherever he was going one day, and she’d return from wherever she was going one day, and maybe they’d find each other again. True, his destiny was great. True, there was so much he could give to the world, and there was no doubt in her mind that he would.
But maybe her destiny would be great as well.
And, maybe, there could still be some space for her and Clark—
She shook the thoughts from her mind and stepped out into the chilly morning air. She took a breath. Everything would be okay. She could figure it out later—
An old, beat up Buick careened down Main street and came to a screeching stop right in front of the Talon. Lana jumped back, dropping her coffee. Then she could hear sirens, and she looked back up the street to see a glut of Metropolis Police squad cars racing toward her, red and blue lights blazing.
“Lana!” a voice from the Buick.
It was Lois. She was in the passenger seat.
“Lana, run!” Lois screamed.
And Lana saw him.
Lex was in the front seat. His eyes were wild and crazy. He had a gun in his hand.
He was looking right at her. He’d come for her.
“Run!” Lois screamed again.
And then Lex hit her with the butt of his gun and Lois went still, unconscious. Lana wanted to run to her, help her—wanted to run away from Lex. He was opening his door. The MPD cars were getting closer but they seemed forever away.
And then none of it mattered, because out of the sky dropped someone else. Someone Lana had never seen before. He stood between her and Lex and smiled at her with black eyes and she saw the liquid oozing from his nose and mouth, saw the patches in his skin that were liquid metal.
“Lana,” he said.
“Who are you?” Lana said.
“Fine!” she could hear Lex scream.
But then the man had grabbed her tight, pulled her to him.
“Brainiac, no!”
Clark’s voice. He was there. He was going to save her. Her captor whirled her around and she could see Clark, in his blue shirt and red jacket. His eyes were filled with fear.
“Let her go!” he yelled.
“Clark!” Lex screamed.
And Lex raised his gun.
“No!” Lana shouted.
The MPD cars were screeching to a halt. Clark was tensing.
But then her captor—Brainiac—turned toward the Talon and fire shot from his eyes.
In one blinding moment, the Talon exploded into a huge ball of flame. And Lana could feel Brainiac pull her up, into the sky—they were flying, flying away. Below her, she could see police scrambling as the fire from what used to be the Talon raged, and she could see Lex dive back into the Buick and take off down Main street, chasing her.
But she couldn’t see Clark.
Brainiac tightened his grip on her as they flew through the air towards the fields of Smallville.

Lex shifted into gear and took off down Main street. Clark had disappeared, maybe he’d been lost in the explosion, but he could just make out a small blur in the sky, Fine had taken Lana. It looked they were headed out into the farmlands, towards Miller’s Field. Lex looked back at the Talon—the MPD were in a bind as they scrambled to deal with the flames. It’d give him enough of a head start. He looked to his right and saw Lois unconscious in the front seat. She was already stirring.
He’d meet Fine wherever he was taking Lana.
And then he’d finish the job.

It only took seconds—precious seconds—but Clark super-breathed into the flames, lessening their intensity, before taking off once again. Brainiac was weakened, and with Lana in tow he’d be slower than usual—there was a chance Clark could catch up.
Soon downtown Smallville was behind him and he was above open farmland.
There they were. Brainiac was taking Lana up higher.
They were above Miller’s Field. Where Clark’s ship had crashed. Where Jonathan and Martha had found him. Where it had all began.

They were so high up, the fields and cornstalks were little dots on the ground below. Brainiac was still now, his grip on her as tight as ever.
“What do you want?” Lana breathed.
“Your death will hurt him more than I ever could,” Brainiac said.
And then he let her go.

Clark heard Lana scream as Brainiac dropped her. He flew faster than he ever had before. She was falling fast, hurtling towards the ground. Clark could hear Brainiac’s maniacal laugh.
He caught her.
“Hold onto me,” he said, and she clung to him as he dipped out of their fall, evening out.
But then Brainiac was after them. His eyes were red, he was shooting heat vision at them. Clark dodged as he flew, left and then right, shooting up, dropping back down. Brainiac was right behind them. Lana let out a small scream as they went into a free-fall. Clark turned, blasting his own heat vision back at Brainiac. The beam hit him square in the chest and Brainiac was blown back.
Clark had to find a safe place for Lana, he couldn’t keep her up here with him.
Suddenly, Brainiac was back, and he was grabbing onto Lana’s arm, pulling her towards him.
“No!” Clark shouted as Lana screamed.
He wrenched her away from Brainiac and he felt her throw her arms back around him. But Brainiac was right on top of them now, and he delivered a harsh blow to the back of Clark’s head.
They dropped about twenty feet.
Another hit.
Another twenty feet down.
“Clark!” Lana gasped.
He pulled up at the last second, gripped Brainiac’s jacket with his free hand, flung him backwards. Turned, fired his heat vision wildly. He couldn’t tell if he’d hit Brainiac, but he had to keep flying.
But then Brainiac popped up right in front of them, heat vision blasting.
Clark tried to turn as much as he could to shield Lana from the blast. He could hear her scream as he felt the beam hit his back and then they were plummeting to Miller’s Field below.

“Where are we?” Lois was awake.
Lex slammed the Buick to a stop, checked to make sure he still had bullets in his gun.
“Stay here,” he said absently to Lois as he poured out of the car.
“No, Lex—Lex, don’t leave me here!” Lois screamed.
But he was off, running out into the field.
And then Lois saw a figure falling out of the sky at great speed, hurtling towards the field below. And another figure above them, still flying in the sky.
And then she looked down and saw the key that had fallen out of Lex’s pocket in the driver’s seat right in front of her.

Clark managed to turn once more and took the brunt of the impact on his back. Lana was on top of him, safe. He held onto her as they slid and slid through the dirt and grass of the field, finally coming to a stop. Lana looked up at him, her eyes wide.
“You okay?” he said.
She nodded, thought it was clear she was very much not. Clark got her up.
“You have to run,” he said.
“Clark,” Lana said, her gaze behind him.
Clark turned. Brainiac was standing there.

Lex ran through brush and corn, finally coming into a clearing.
There was Clark, he was standing in front of Lana. Fine was about thirty feet from them.
“It’s over, Kal-El,” Fine said. “You can’t protect them anymore. This Earth will become New Krypton. Join me now, or I’ll end you forever.”
It took Lex a full second to realize that Fine was talking to Clark. He’d called him Kal-El.
Clark was Kal-El.
Lex quavered, the gun in his hand shaking.

“This fight is between you and me,” Clark called to Brainiac. “The people of Earth are innocent. She is innocent. If you want to finish this—then let’s finish it. You and me.”
“Clark—” Lana breathed.
“It’ll be okay, Lana,” Clark said, not looking away from Brainiac. “Run.”
“You and me,” Brainiac said.
This was it. Only one of them was going to survive this. Clark felt his whole body tense, and then he pushed off the ground, zooming at Brainiac in super-speed, his eyes hot as he fired heat vision toward his enemy. Brainiac was off the ground too, zooming at him just as fast. Their heat beams met before they did, and they used the momentum to push up and slammed into each other hard, flying up into the upper atmosphere.

Lex blinked as he watched Clark take off into the sky with Fine.
All this time.
The threat coming to Earth.
The secrets. The lies. The excuses.
It had been Clark.
Never had a betrayal felt so real, so malicious. Clark had lied to him for years. Pretending to be his friend, pretending to be a ****ing farm boy…when all along he was really here to destroy the planet.
And then he looked down to see Lana standing alone in the field.
The woman who loved Clark—who loved Kal-El.
Who had betrayed Lex. Who had chosen this creature over him.
She was alone.

It took some maneuvering, but Lois finally got her arms around her feet and sighed with relief when they were in front of her as opposed to behind. She grabbed the key from the driver’s seat and went to work on getting the cuffs off.
In the distance, she could hear sirens. The Metropolis police were coming.

“You fool,” Brainiac said. “You’d give your life to protect humans.”
They were out of the atmosphere now, they had flown up into space. Just them, the stars, and blackness. Clark looked into Brainiac’s black eyes and knew that he had to end this now.
“I’ll kill you,” Brainiac hissed. “And then I’ll kill the woman you love. I’ll destroy all of them. And then General Zod will re-create our home on this planet. Krypton will rise again, without you, a pathetic farm boy. Goodbye, Clark.”
“I am Kal-El, son of Jor-El,” Clark said. “The last survivor of Krypton, and you will never hurt anyone ever again.”
And then Clark punched through Brainiac’s chest, grabbing the thing that felt closest to a heart, and squeezed. He watched Brainiac’s eyes go wide and black liquid spill out, crystallizing once they hit open space.
“No—” Brainiac grunted.
And then Clark ripped his hand out of the machine’s body, pulling his heart out. He crushed it in his hand. Brainiac blinked repeatedly a dozen times, his inner systems were shutting down. His head jerked violently. Clark pushed him away, out into space.
And then he felt his eyes get hot as he shot heat vision into Brainiac’s lifeless body. Slowly and strangely, Brainiac began to dissolve, melting from the super-heat but freezing at the same time.
And in one brilliant moment, Brainiac exploded into a million tiny pieces and floated away into space. Clark released the heart, the core, and watched that float away as well.
He felt the sun hit his skin and he breathed a huge sigh of relief.
It was over.
Finally, Brainiac was defeated.
He was gone. Forever.
Lana.
Clark turned and flew back towards Earth.

Lana scanned the sky, searching for a sign that Clark was coming back.
“Lana!”
She turned. Lex was there. He had his gun up and pointed directly at her.
And Lana knew this was the end.
“Lex—” she said.
He pulled the trigger.

“Follow me!” Lois said, waving to Maggie Sawyer and about ten other deputies.
Miller’s Field was just on the other side of this small patch of brush and corn.
A gunshot rang out.
Everyone froze for a second, and then moved very quickly.

Clark landed.
Miller’s Field was quiet.
Something was wrong.
Lex was there, holding a gun. He was standing over—
No. No, this couldn’t be.
Without thinking, Clark super-sped to Lana, took her into his arms.
“Lana,” Clark said. “Lana!”
She was unmoving. There was a small hole in her heart. A small trickle of blood was creeping out of her mouth. Then she coughed.
“Lana!” Clark yelled.
He looked up at Lex, whose was staring back at them in a state of shock. His eyes were watering. He dropped the gun.

Lois, Sawyer, and the police ran into the clearing. She could see Lex standing there, next to what looked like Clark cradling someone in his arms.
It was Lana.
“Oh, God,” Lois muttered.
The police surged forward.

“Lex, what have you done,” Clark said.
He X-rayed Lana. Her heart was bleeding so fast.
“Clark,” Lana’s voice. It sounded so small.
She put her hand on his face. He looked down at her.
“Lana,” he said. “Lana, I—”
She shushed him softly.
“I love you, Clark,” she said.
“Lana, I’m going to—”
“Promise me,” she was struggling. “Promise me you’ll do good.”
“I will,” Clark said. “I promise, I will.”
But then her eyes closed. Her body went limp in his arms.
Lana was dead.
“Lana, no! Lana, please!” Clark cried.
But there was nothing he could do. Even with all of his powers, he couldn’t save her this time.
And then he looked up at Lex, who was staring down at her as well. He was in a state of shock, his eyes wide and watery. He dropped the gun.
“You killed her,” Clark said. “You killed her.”
“Clark—” Lex said.
Four police officers tackled Lex to the ground. Clark rose to his feet, Lana still in his arms.
“You killed her!” he shouted.
He could feel his muscles tensing, could feel his eyes getting hot. Lex was still staring at him.
“I had to, Clark, I had to!” Lex was yelling. “I had to do it!”
He kept saying it over and over again.
“I had to do it, Clark!”
Clark didn’t care that people were here. He didn’t care that Lex was a human, he didn’t care about his moral code, the way killing humans made him feel. Lex had taken Lana from him. He had to pay. He was going to pay.
“Clark!” Lois’ voice.
And that made him pause. He looked up to see her running toward him.
“Oh, God, Clark,” there were tears in her eyes.
And then he couldn’t do it anymore. He fell to his knees, still holding Lana tight.
“I always knew,” he could hear Lex saying, and he looked up one last time, their eyes meeting. “I always knew it was you, Clark. I always knew it was you.”
He held Lex’s gaze until they couldn’t see each other anymore, until Lex was gone.
He heard someone calling for an ambulance from seemingly a million miles away.
He looked down once more at Lana’s lifeless face.
And then he looked up into the sky and let loose a cry of anguish so great it echoed across the entire field.

Lex heard Clark’s cry as he was forced into the back of another police car.
“I had to…” he said again. “I had to.”

Lois watched as Clark cradled Lana in his arms. He stood, slowly, staggering only slightly, never losing his grip on her. She wanted to help him, but knew he wouldn’t accept it.
So she stood and watched as Clark carried Lana’s body away.

*

The funeral was a small affair. Just the preacher, Clark, Martha, Nell, and Lois were in attendance. The preacher read from Scripture and Lana was lowered into the ground. She was buried next to her parents. Clark clutched the Kryptonite necklace in his palm as the preacher moved away. A sobbing Nell was escorted away by Martha. Lois stood a moment longer with Clark, placed her hand silently on his arm. Then she left him, too. Clark silently stepped up to the grave, held the necklace out over the coffin.
“I will do good,” he whispered. “I promise.”
He dropped the necklace onto the coffin.

*

Three days later, Clark walked into Perry White’s office, press badge in hand.
“Given everything that’s happened, I can’t blame you for taking a leave of absence,” Perry said as gently as he could. “We’ll miss you here, Kent.”
“Thanks, Mr. White,” Clark said. “Thanks for understanding.”
“I haven’t forgotten that favor I owe you,” Perry said, shaking Clark’s hand. “You’ll always have a desk here, as far as I’m concerned. I hope to see you again.”
Clark nodded and walked out of the office.
He bumped into Lois and Jimmy in the bullpen.
“CK!” Jimmy said, giving him an awkward hug. “Word from above is you’re leaving us.”
“You’re leaving?” Lois was surprised.
“For a little while,” Clark said. “I have some things I need to take care of…” and off of Lois’ knowing look, he added, “…and I just need to take some time.”
“We’ll miss you,” Jimmy said. “Won’t be the same without you here.”
“Will you be back?” Lois said, more softly than he would have imagined.
“Maybe,” he said, and he meant it.
She gave him a soft punch to the arm.
“Well, when you get back I’ll have a Pulitzer on my desk, just watch,” she said.
He smiled a slight smile, “I don’t doubt it.”
He nodded at them both and then turned to leave.
“Clark,” Lois called after him.
He turned back to look at her.
“Come back,” she said.
He smiled at her again. She smiled back.
And then he was gone.

*

Martha placed a single dandelion on Jonathan’s grave and grabbed Clark’s hand. They stood there for a moment in silence, no sound save the wind in the trees.
“I can never thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me,” Clark said, his voice breaking. “I love you, Mom.”
She wrapped him up in a big hug.
“I love you, Clark,” she said. “We always knew this day would come. I’ve never been more proud of you, and I know your dad would be proud, too.”
She released him from the hug but kept her hands on his arms. She didn’t want to let him go, but she knew she had to.
“Just remember, you can always come home,” she said through tears.
“I know, Mom,” Clark said.
They hugged once more, and then he walked away from her. Walked away from them. His parents, the ones who’d raised him. Who’d loved him and cared for him. Who’d accepted him. And who would always be there for him, always.
The time to begin his training had come.
But he had one more stop to make.

*

The electric door buzzed and Clark Kent stepped into the holding chamber. There was a thick chain-link fence separating them but Lex Luthor could see his friend clearly.
“Clark,” he said. “You’re here.”
“I came to say goodbye, Lex,” Clark said, looking him square in the eye. “I wanted to make sure you were locked away for good before I never see you again.”
It stung, but so did the years of lies and betrayal.
“You’re still angry at me,” Lex said.
“Angry is such a small word,” Clark said through gritted teeth. “There is no word for how I feel towards you.”
“And how do you think I feel?” Lex spat. “Don’t you think I’m hurt, too?!”
He ran up to Clark, as close as he could get to him, grabbing the chain-link fence and staring deep into Clark’s eyes.
“I know who you are,” Lex whispered. “I always have.”
“You’re crazy, Lex,” Clark said. “And you’re going to rot in here until the day you die.”
Clark turned his back.
“I loved you like a brother, Clark,” Lex said finally, and Clark stopped. “I’m sorry it has to end this way.”
There was a long moment of silence filled with the history and love the two had shared, that was now destroyed and replaced with something else. Something cold. Something sad.
Then Clark said, “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you, Lex.”
The door opened and Clark walked out.
“I know, Clark!” Lex called after him. “I know who you are! I won’t forget! I know who you are!”
The door slammed closed and Lex Luthor was alone.

*

The icy spires of the Fortress of Solitude beamed in the bright sun as Clark stepped inside. He felt the cold wind hit his face as the console began to glow.
Everything he’d been through. Everyone he’d lost. All the battles he’d fought. All the people he’d saved. And the ones he’d failed. Everything he’d accomplished. Everyone—Martha, Lois, Jimmy—he loved waiting for him back in Smallville.
It had all brought him here, to this moment.
“Jor-El!” he said. “I’m ready.”
“Welcome home, my son,” Jor-El’s great voice boomed through the Fortress. “At last, your training can begin.”
And Clark was enveloped in a sheet of blinding white light.

END EPISODE XXI

[DailyPlanetFan]

SMALLVILLE: Season Six; Episode XXII: FINALE


Five Years Later


“Lex Luthor escapes!”
The headlines were everywhere. After five years of silence from the murderous millionaire, suddenly Lex Luthor had staged an elaborate breakout from Belle Reeve Sanitarium.
Metropolis was on high alert. Luthor was about as high profile a criminal as you could get. LexCorp had been given over to its board of directors after Lois Lane’s exposé had been printed in the Daily Planet and Luthor himself had murdered his own wife, Lana Lang. It hadn’t taken long for the company to have been completely dismantled, so it wasn’t like Luthor was coming back to anything in particular.
So he was simply on the run. Anonymous. Out there somewhere, possibly never to be found again.

*

The sun was just beginning to set when Martha Kent closed up the barn for the night. She lowered the latch and left her palm on the big red door for a just a moment longer than she usually did. She had been struck by a pang of nostalgia, and visions of Jonathan and Clark filled her mind; these were the moments she liked to allow herself to get lost in for a bit.
Shelby barked from the porch of the house.
“I’m coming,” Martha called happily, leaving her thoughts behind and walking across the gravel driveway to feed her hungry dog.
Shelby had been her boon companion these last five years. Ever since Clark had gone away, the dog was all Martha really had left. Every week or so Ben Hubbard would come by to check up on her, but other than that and the random trip into town, Martha was left alone with her memories and her thoughts.
Martha poured herself a cup of tea while Shelby chowed down on his kibble, and she started a fire in the living room and sat down in her chair.
Another day had gone by and still Clark hadn’t come home.
Martha whispered a prayer for her son and took a sip.

The farm looked as it always had. The red barn warm in the sun, the windows to his loft still hanging open—Clark could see his old telescope still standing where he’d left it. Martha had planted fresh daisies only a few days ago it looked like, they lined the fence leading up to the sunny farmhouse itself. He could see the kitchen light was on, and there was a fire going, smoke flowing up from the chimney.
He hefted his bag onto his shoulder and walked up to the farmhouse.

Martha saw him coming before he could reach the door. Her tea was forgotten and she was up, racing to the front door, throwing it open.
There was her son.
“Clark,” she breathed.
“Hi, Mom,” he smiled.
She bounded down the steps and enveloped him in a hug only a mother can give.
“Oh, Clark!” she cried. “You’re home!”

An hour later, they were seated on the couch in front of the fire. Martha had made him tea. Shelby was at his feet, panting quietly. Martha kept eyeing him.
“You’re different,” she said finally.
“I suppose I am,” Clark replied.
“You’ve been with Jor-El? This whole time?”
Clark nodded, “I’ve learned everything I can from him.”
“I can’t imagine what that was like,” Martha said. “But I’m glad you’re home now.”
“Me too,” Clark smiled at her, “I missed you so much.”
She took his hand, fought back tears.
“So,” she said. “What will you do now?”
“Well,” Clark said, and he pushed his bag over to her, unzipping it. “I have a few ideas.”
He held open the bag so Martha could see inside.
It was a suit—made of some kind of synthetic material. Royal blue surrounded by a brilliant red cape, a golden ‘S’ emblazoned on the chest.
“It means hope,” Clark said.
Martha brushed her fingers against the suit gingerly.
“Of course it does,” she said softly.
Clark gave her a quizzical look. She smiled.
“When you found us in that field, so long ago,” she said. “You were our hope, Clark. Now it’s time for you to give the world that same hope.”
There were tears in both their eyes now, and Clark hugged Martha tight.

*

“I don’t care how many Pulitzers you have, I’m not running some editorial piece about your ‘guardian angel’.”
Lois Lane crossed her arms over her breasts and sat back in her chair. Across the desk, Perry White did the same thing.
“We all remember when these guys made their debut,” Lois said. “Batman, Green Arrow, The Flash, Aquaman. And now we’ve got guys like Cyborg, Hawkman—there are whispers of some kind of ‘Wonder Woman’ in the Middle East. The only one who hasn’t stepped forward is the guy who saved my life multiple times five years ago. Public interest is at a high, Perry, and my reputation is solid. If you want to sell papers, run the story.”
“You’ve got memories of some reckless life-and-death situations you got yourself into, some half-conscious fuzzy sightings and a blurry picture from Olsen,” Perry said. “People will say you’re insane.”
“When have I ever let you down?” Lois leaned forward. “Come on, Perry. Trust me.”
“Never gonna happen,” Perry smiled at her. “Now please, leave me alone.”
Lois rolled her eyes, stood, walked to the door.
“I’m not letting this go,” she said over her shoulder.
“I’m not running the story,” Perry replied.
She slammed the door on her way out.
“Didn’t go well, Lois?” Cat Grant was making her way towards Perry’s office.
“Nothing for the gossip column, Cat,” Lois muttered.
From receptionist to gossip byline on the front page—Lois couldn’t fault her. Lois’ own career had seen a meteoric rise ever since her scathing exposé on Lex Luthor. But no amount of talent would change how loathsome Cat was. They eyed each other menacingly as Cat opened Perry’s door and slinked into his office. Gross.
Lois marched into the bullpen.
“Jimmy!” she called.
Jimmy Olsen’s head popped up from his desk. He hurried over to her, carrying a manila folder.
“What have you got for me?” Lois said.
“Contact at Belle Reeve says Lex had people on the inside, they’re still conducting the investigation and are hoping to get some names by the end of the week,” Jimmy rattled off.
“Fat chance,” Lois snorted. “What’s this?”
He handed her the folder. She flipped it open to find a picture. It was grainy, looked like freeze-framed security cam footage.
It was Lex.
He was dressed in the blue uniform of a Belle Reeve patient. He was staring directly into the camera. Those eyes still made Lois shudder.
“This is the last sighting of him,” Jimmy said. “Taken just before he escaped.”
“I’m going to need to get down there myself and ask some questions,” Lois said, closing the folder and handing it back to Jimmy. “Wanna come?”
“Always,” Jimmy smiled. “Let me grab my stuff.”
Jimmy hurried to his desk and Lois turned to run back to her office—
—there was a box on his desk.
By his, she meant Clark Kent. Even after five years, Perry had never filled Clark’s old desk. It sat in an oft-forgotten corner of the bullpen, collecting dust but never being claimed or taken by anyone else, Perry wouldn’t allow it.
So why was there a box of stuff—stapler, laptop, pencil sharpener, was that a Smallville High pendant?—on it now? Lois marched over to the desk.
“Excuse me!” she called out to no one in particular. “Whose crap is this?”
“New guy,” Steve Lombard called out from his desk. “Perry brought in him in this morning.”
“New guy?” Lois said. “Well, he can’t have this desk, this desk belongs to—”
“Hi, Lois.”
She turned to find Perry White standing there. Next to him was a six-foot-five, hulking mass of a dude. Sharp suit, if not a little too big on him, broad strong shoulders, dark hair, handsome face, piercing eyes…hidden behind dark-rimmed, kind of dorky glasses. He had the body of a football star but the mannerism of a computer geek.
Then it struck her. That face, those eyes—oh, God. It was—
“Clark?” she gasped.
“Long time,” he smiled at her, almost goofily.
“You’re back,” she finally managed.
“And he’d like his desk back,” Perry said.
“Right,” Lois said, and she stepped out of the way.
“Thanks,” Clark smiled.
He moved to set his briefcase down on the desk but missed. It dropped to the floor and burst open, scattering papers everywhere.
“My mistake,” Clark mumbled, and he bent to retrieve his papers.
“Okay,” Perry said. “Lois, I’m sure you’ll help Clark get reacquainted. Figured he could partner with you on the Luthor escape.”
“Right,” Lois said again, and she bent to help Clark collect his things as Perry walked away back toward his office.
“Sorry about that,” Clark chuckled nervously as she handed him the rest of the papers.
“I can’t believe you’re back,” Lois said. “It’s been—”
“Five years, yeah,” Clark said, and he stood.
So Lois stood. God, he was tall.
“Did you…find what you were looking for?” she asked.
“Uh, yeah. I guess I did.”
“You have glasses now.”
“Yes,” he nudged them up on his nose, “Blind as a bat, turns out.”
“I didn’t recognize you at first.”
“Well, five years is a long time.”
“Yeah, it really is.”
All this time and then boom—he was back. It was funny, too, because he felt different, but Lois found herself having troubling remembering him any other way.
“So Lex escaped,” Clark said.
“Yeah, few days ago, the Planet ran a special edition,” Lois said. “I was about to head over to Belle Reeve and get some answers.”
“Well I’m ready when you are. I don’t have a car though, so you’ll have to drive. Or we could get a cab, I suppose, I could pay. But I think I may have left my wallet in my apartment, so if you wouldn’t mind picking that up, I could pay you back at some point—”
God, he was talking a lot.
“Clark—” Lois interjected. “I can drive.”
“Great,” Clark smiled.
“Same old Smallville,” Lois laughed, giving him a light punch to his arm. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Lois,” Clark said softly.
“CK?” Jimmy was running up to them. “CK, you’re back!”
“Hey Jimmy,” Clark said.
They shared an awkward hug and it struck Lois that she hadn’t hugged him.
“It’s so good to see you!” Jimmy said, grinning wide.
“You too,” Clark said, very aww-shucks.
Suddenly, Steve Lombard hopped up from his desk.
“There’s been an explosion at Metropolis City Hall!” he cried.
Perry’s head was out his office door before anyone could blink.
“Lombard, I want you on the ground, get moving. Lane—”
Clark, Lois, and Jimmy turned to look at him.
“Get to the helipad, I want you there ASAP. Luthor will have to wait.”
“You got it, Chief,” Lois said.
She turned to the boys.
“Gotta run—it’s good to see you again, Clark.”
And then she turned and ran for the elevator as fast as her pencil skirt and heels could take her.

Clark watched her go, her long dark hair bouncing as she ran. He felt a pang in his chest. He hadn’t expected seeing Lois again to feel this good—to feel so much like coming home.
But now he had work to do.
“Ah, Lois,” Jimmy was saying. “Always on the move. So how about it Clark, when can I hear all your exciting stories from your world travels?”
“Afraid there’s not that many to tell,” Clark said. “Excuse me. Bathroom.”
“You got it,” Jimmy said.
Clark hurried down the hall to the stairwell. He made sure the door closed behind him and then super-sped down to the ground floor. The stairwell exit led out to the alley between the Daily Planet and the old LexCorp building.
Clark made sure no one was watching as he ran down the alleyway. He threw off his glasses.
And then he ripped open his shirt, revealing the ‘S’ underneath.

The wind whipped at her hair and skirt and Lois could see the smoke billowing from City Hall several blocks away. The Planet helicopter’s blades were already spinning wildly and the pilot beckoned to her from inside the cockpit. She ran over, yanked open the door and climbed inside.
“How’s it going today, Miss Lane?” the pilot said into his microphone as Lois pulled on her headphones.
“Good, let’s get moving,” Lois said.
“Alright then,” the pilot said.
He eased up on the foot pedal and pulled back on the stick and the helicopter slowly began rising.
She hadn’t gotten a chance to buckle in yet.
Almost immediately—Lois could tell something was wrong.
They were caught on something. Before they could lift off, there was a hard jerk downward, and the helicopter dipped harshly.
“Woah,” Lois heard herself say.
But then the pilot panicked, he jerked the wheel a little too hard and the helicopter began to spin wildly out of control. Lois clung to her seat for dear life as the left side of the chopper shot up, turning the helicopter almost completely onto its right side, the floor of the roof dangerously close to Lois’ face.
They were still in a spin.
The spinning blades made contact with the roof and sparks shot into the sky.
The helicopter was still turning, and suddenly Lois found herself dangling over the edge of the roof, the only thing keeping her from falling out of the helicopter down to the ground many, many stories below was her own grip on her seat.
She screamed.
The blades were dead now and the helicopter’s systems were shutting down. The pilot, whose side of the chopper was still planted on the roof, saw his chance and jumped out. He reached back, offering his hand.
“Come on, Miss Lane!” he called. “Take my hand.”
Lois reached for it, but giving up her grip on the seat meant she couldn’t hold on any longer.
And suddenly, she was out of the helicopter and tumbling through the sky down toward the street below.

Clark heard the scream and looked up.
There was Lois—something had gone wrong with the Planet helicopter and now she was falling from the roof! Without even thinking, he shot up into the sky, flying toward her as fast as he could.
And then he caught her.

Suddenly, Lois was in the arms of a strong man wearing a blue suit and a red cape. She watched as the ground went from close to far away again. There was a crowd of people gathered on the street below, some were pointing up into the sky at her and her savior, cheering and smiling.
And then she looked up and her eyes met his.
“I’ve got you,” he said.
Somehow she knew. She could feel it.
It was him. It was her guardian angel. He’d come back.
He’d come back to save her.
“You—” Lois gasped, and she held on tight as he flew them back up to the roof of the Daily Planet.
He landed softly, she was still in his arms.
“You’ll be alright now,” he said.
“Thank you,” Lois breathed.
“I hope this hasn’t put you off flying,” he said. “Statistically speaking, it’s still the safest way to travel.”
Lois could only look at him shock, before understanding he was joking with her. She half laughed.
“Right,” she said.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. After all these years, here he was. But then she noticed he was kind of looking at her funny.
“I should probably…” he trailed off, nodding towards the helicopter that was still partly hanging off the roof.
“Oh!” Lois said, and he put her down. “Right, go, do your thing.”
And she watched as he grabbed the helicopter like it was a paper weight and pulled it back safely over the ledge and settled it back onto the roof. He turned back towards her and she saw the big ‘S’ on his chest. He smiled at her and Lois felt herself actually get weak in the knees—and it wasn’t just because of what she’d been through.
“You saved me,” she managed to say.
“I’ve got to go see about that explosion,” he said to her. “Will you be okay here?”
Lois tried to say something, but couldn’t. She was smitten completely. Finally, she managed to give him a small nod. He nodded back.
“I’ll see you around, Miss Lane.”
And then as quickly as he’d saved her, he was up in the air again, flying away to go save the day.
“Thank you,” Lois managed to whisper.

Everyone on the ground was quite taken with the dramatic rescue of the beautiful reporter by the handsome hero in a cape. Everyone was looking up and cheering as he got her safely back to the roof.
So no one was paying particularly close attention to the alley between the Daily Planet and the old LexCorp building. Nobody was very interested in the fire escape that was still there.
And almost definitely no one saw the lone man that was perched there.
The man who was wearing a big trench coat, dark glasses, and a hat to cover his bald held.
The man who had just seen Clark Kent rip off his suit and tie to reveal a blue super suit and red cape underneath. Who had just flown to save Lois Lane from falling off the roof of the Daily Planet. Who had just become Metropolis’ newest hero.
Lex Luthor took off his glasses so he could watch his old friend fly across the sky unfiltered.
“Clark,” he muttered. “You’re back.”

Lois heard the door open behind her and she was joined by Perry, Jimmy, Cat and a few others as she watched her hero in red and blue fly away.
“Clark’s gonna be mad he missed this,” Jimmy said, snapping a photo.
“Who the hell was that?” Perry said.
Maybe it was the fact she’d felt so safe in his arms. Maybe it was the big ‘S’ on his chest. Maybe it was just because of the way he’d made her feel—but somehow, deep down, Lois knew this wouldn’t be the last time she’d say her hero’s name as she whispered, “Superman.”

Above the spires of Metropolis, a new hero soared through the clouds to save the day, clad in red and blue and delivering hope to the people down below.
Nobody yet knew he was an alien immigrant from a distant planet called Krypton. Nobody yet knew that he’d been raised as a humble farm boy in a little town called Smallville.
But right now, he was the hope the people needed. He was the beacon to show them the way.
He was—Superman.

END EPISODE XXII


END OF SERIES

[DailyPlanetFan]

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I started writing this story when I was 15 years old in high School. I wrote it during class, when I should have been focusing on actual schoolwork. It would be fifteen years later that it would finally be finished.


SMALLVILLE, the show, provided such an escape for me as a kid. It was fun to grow up with those characters and face life’s challenges alongside them. But more importantly, looking back now—the Superman story is one of HOPE, and if just a smidgen of that is imparted to you, dear Reader, by coming along on my silly little take on this story, that will have made fifteen years and all of the words (so many words) so very worth it.

Thanks for reading.


DailyPlanetFan