~*~Tasha~*~
1st June 2006, 03:33
Sacrifices For Love - (1) The Beginning Of The End
By ~*~Tasha~*~
Chapter Summary: (Rated from T) *PG-13* This starts near the end of the Season 5 finale episode "Vessel". My evil and taunting human muse Peggy challenged me to do this fic after she gave me a couple plot points. Evil Peggy, blame her. {Chuckles}
Author's Note: Season 5 unfortunately happened as it did on the show for the purposes of this fic. I have just changed some scenes in "Vessel" a little bit as a prelude to the end where I pick up and continue the end of the episode. We'll never see this for the Season 6 premiere, but hey that is what fanon is for. Hope you enjoy it. Quotes are taken or manipulated from the Season 5 Finale "Vessel".
Author's Note #2: There was some discussion about when Chloe actually came to Smallville. I had wanted to write the one scene as an earlier time in her life, but because of the discrepancies in age I set the scene for later. Thank you to everyone for their responses to my inquiry.
Disclaimer: These characters, and some of the bits of dialogue, are the property of the WB, CW or whatever they are calling themselves now. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.
'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.
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"Chloe!" Clark picked up his speed on his descent down the stairs. Chaos had erupted in Metropolis. All the lights were out, and everyone scrambled to get out of the building. "Chloe!" He sighed in relief when he spotted her. "What's going on? All the street lights are out."
Chloe pulled the small silver box close to her when someone tried to grab the old radio away from her. She hastily grabbed some batteries for it, and she walked up to Clark. "You tell me?" She turned her lap top screen around for Clark to see. She knew enough about Kryptonian symbols to recognize they were the source.
"It's already reached Metropolis." Clark frowned.
"You know where it started?" Chloe hoped Clark had a good idea how to stop everything from going topsy turvy before too many were hurt. She'd seen a dozen fights already break out while people evacuated.
"Smallville." Clark looked down at the screen again. "Fine did something to one of Lex's computers."
'Just great. I guess the world does revolve around Luthor Corp,' Chloe thought to herself. The irony of the situation was not lost on her.
"I thought if anyone could figure out what it was, it would be you." Clark followed Chloe from one desk to another. 'This is not good. If Chloe looks that perplexed about a computer issue, we’re in trouble.'
"It's some sort of electronic virus, and it's spreading faster than I can track it." Chloe continued to work on the radio in front of her. She hated being cut off from the world. It was one of the reasons that she relied on technology so much. She hated being kept in the dark. "After it scaled every firewall and knocked out all high-tech communication, it's now infecting most of the city's infrastructure."
"All because of me," Clark said resignedly. 'Can I make any decision right lately?' He sighed. "I refused to release Zod."
"No time for a pity party, Kent," Chloe said with a hint of sarcasm mixed with teasing. She finally finished with the radio, and she fiddled with the dials to see if she could pick up any reports at all.
"Now Fine's trying to force my hand." Clark practically growled out the words. 'What good is being so powerful, if I can't even protect the people I care about from destruction?'
"Well, he's definitely playing hard ball." Chloe slapped the side of the radio. "Elevators, gas mains, subways ... the entire city is shutting down. It's like Y2K on acid." Her father always warned her that one day technology might be their downfall. He was being proven right in a big way.
Clark and Chloe listened to a sketchy news report that crackled over the radio. The signal wavered in and out because of the interference and connection losses.
Chloe's face rippled to show the fear she felt. "Clark, if this continues, every major city in the world is going to be infiltrated." She was interrupted by the frighteningly close sound of tires squealing.
Clark and Chloe both looked over at the street level stained glass window. Clark knew before Chloe that the police car was coming through. With his lightning fast reflexes he grabbed Chloe, wrapped his body around hers for protection, and swung them around to stop the car with his hand. Glass shattered all around them, but neither of them were cut or injured.
Chloe and Clark stared at the car for a few moments after it settled before Clark tried to take off. Chloe grabbed his arm. "Clark, it's no use. You can't save everyone."
"And I can't release, Zod," Clark sad adamantly.
"What if Jor-El was right?" Chloe was frustrated. "What if the only way to stop Zod, stop Fine, stop all of this is to destroy Le ... that vessel?" She caught herself before she said Lex's name.
Clark may have been blind to the feelings of the women in his life many times, but he hadn't missed Chloe's snatch and grab to pull back Lex's name from her lips. From the moment they found out that the vessel had to be Lex, he'd watched his friend seem to crawl back inside herself. Chloe put up a brave front, but he knew that the idea of killing Lex hurt her.
Chloe's eyes pleaded with Clark to understand. She knew he didn't want to kill Lex either, but it would be wrong of either of them to sacrifice the rest of the planet to save one man. She felt physically ill at the idea of Lex's funeral. She tried to force that image, and the tears that threatened to fall, away.
"What if something goes wrong? I don't want to leave you here." Clark didn't want to leave his best friend to fend for herself. He knew she was strong, but he wanted to keep her safe.
"You have to." Something stirred within Chloe when Clark started to walk away again. She followed his movements with her eyes, but something made her stop him before he left her completely.
"Clark?" Chloe twisted her hands together. "I may never see you again." A part of Chloe wanted to kiss him soundly to show herself that amidst all the chaos and pain, someone still felt something for her. She knew that wasn't the right thing to do. It wasn’t fair to either of them to betray the ones they really loved. No matter how much pain he'd caused her, or that he was going to die soon, Lex was the only man she'd ever want anymore.
Clark turned around to face Chloe. He gulped hard. Would this be the last time that he ever saw her? An instant later he had an armful of his best friend.
Chloe leaned up and kissed Clark chastely on the cheek, a sign of friendship not romance. She pulled back to touch his cheek with her fingertips. The tips glowed for a few seconds, but Chloe passed it off as a flicker of light from the police car half lodged into the building. "Be careful, Clark." She worried about who would win the battle that Clark was going to have to face. Who would she lose? Clark or Lex?
Clark and Chloe jumped a little at a noise and stared at the phone. It was ringing. Clark walked over to it and put the receiver up to his ear. "Hello?"
"Hello Clark. I heard you wanted to see me," Lex Luthor was on the other end of the line. The sardonic smirk that he usually wore was conveyed even in his words on the line.
'God, why does it have to be a choice between the two?' Chloe asked herself, followed by a small barely existent voice in the back of her head that said, 'Be careful, Kal-el.'
Clark sped off to meet up with Lex. He knew right where to find him now.
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Clark reached the Kent farm in record time, even for him. He carefully looked around the family barn. He felt something strange. He heard the heartbeat, and he turned around to face his once friend and now enemy.
Lex emerged from the shadows slowly. He acted like he wasn't in any danger from Clark or anyone else. He took his time. "So what did you decide?" He opened his hands out away from his sides with the palms up. "Are you gonna kill me?"
"You can't blame me for this Lex." Clark gulped. He wondered how Lex knew about Clark's duty. "You did this to yourself."
"Oh come on, Clark. You love it." Lex turned and started moving closer to Clark all swagger and guts. "Ever since that day on the bridge, you've always seen yourself as my savior." He practically rolled his eyes over the word. "You'd be the one thing that pulled me off the dark path I had started. So, that's why you've clung to the idea that there is still some good in me."
Clark had seen Lex's more devious sides. He'd seen him at what he thought was his best and his worst. No matter what Lex said to him, Clark could see the hint of trepidation. Lex was all bluster on the outside, but he refused to believe that his heart was that twisted on the inside.
"You don't want to face the fact that you might have failed." Lex loved being able to stick it to Clark. He'd lived in Clark's shadow almost as much as his father's, and he was sick and tired of it. He felt strong and powerful. It was about time Clark realized that.
"Or maybe I just can't believe that someone would have so little will power," Clark countered and advanced closer to Lex.
"It's real hard to compete with the iron will power that it takes to kill one of your best friends." Lex knew a lot about Clark, even if he didn't know Clark's secret. One of Clark's weaknesses was always his martyr complex for the good of everything. He moved closer to Clark until he stood toe to toe with him.
Clark watched Lex very carefully. He had the dagger with him, but he kept searching for a way to keep from using it.
"How did you know I was going to come back like this?" That knowledge puzzled Lex. From what Lana told him, Clark and Chloe seemed to know exactly how he would come back. He tried to ignore the pang of pain that entered his heart when he found out that Chloe knew about his change and Clark’s mission, but she didn’t tell Lex about it.
"You don't realize how much danger you're in." Clark tried to reason with Lex. Somehow he had to get Lex to refuse anything else Fine would offer him.
Lex smirked and looked off to the side. He looked like he was contemplating Clark's words, but instead he was grinning with delight on the inside. 'Ever the hero, Clark.' It was time to put Clark in his place once and for all.
"I used to think you had this strong inner core," Lex began. He shook his head a little. "You were so virtuous." He nibbled on his lower lip. "And yet you lie ...” He paused to get closer into his face, and his eyes turned flinty. “… All the time." Now he was starting to get angry again. "To me, to Lana, to all the people who cared about you. What kind of sick person would do that?"
Clark stood amazingly firm and strong of will. This was one time that he wouldn't let Lex sway him into a battle of words. He had to remain calm. "If you thought this friendship was so doomed from the beginning, why did you fight so hard to keep it?"
"Because I wanted everything you had: the family, the inconspicuous life, the loyal girlfriend ..."
Clark eyes narrowed. He let Lana go to try and protect her. He never thought that she would fall into Lex's arms. Now it seemed that Lana was in even more danger than she would have been if she stayed with him.
"Well, at least I walked away with the part you loved the most." Lex stared directly into Clark's eyes with a twinkle of delight. He doubted that Lana really loved him. Lana enjoyed status and attention. He gave her both. She was a means to an end for Lex, to get revenge on Clark for abandoning him.
Clark almost lost it. His jaw clenched, and his blood bubbled in anger. The moment before he struck, a calm filled him that he didn't recognize. "You're not yourself," He found himself saying.
"Or maybe I finally am." Lex was tired of the chit chat. It was time to take some action. He would show Clark once and for all who the better man was. He grabbed Clark by the lapels of his jacket and swung him around.
Clark crashed through a beam to the lofts before he was able to gain headway again. He had no choice but to reveal himself for what he truly was. He twisted Lex around and threw him up into the hayloft with force.
Hay and wood shattered to the floor, but a body never fell. A rush of wind was the only sound to alert anyone to Lex's movements. "I always knew there was something different about you." Lex picked up Clark and threw him against the opposite side of the barn. 'The secret is finally out. I know what you are, Clark.'
Clark tried to pick himself up off the loft, but Lex was right there trying to strangle him. Clark, who had more experience with the strengths of his abilities, flipped Lex over. In one smooth move, one of Clark's hands was on Lex's shoulder, and the dagger was held at Lex's throat with Clark's other hand.
Lex nearly cried out. His body was able to withstand more pressure, but Clark was evenly matched to him in strength. So, the blows hurt. He looked up at Clark with worry in his eyes. A part of him, some part that knew what Fine was doing, realized that if Clark used that dagger it would kill him.
Both of them were distracted from their decisions by another voice in the barn. "Do it, Clark."
Clark turned his head long enough to tell that Fine was behind him. 'As if I needed another Kryptonian to deal with.' He refocused on Lex. The dagger started to glow, and it emitted a higher pitched tone.
"Let's see if you really are your father's son," Fine sneered.
Clark's hand shook, as well as the dagger. He was not a murderer, and right now Lex was still human. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't kill Lex.
Lex grinned at Clark. His heart actually ached at the pain he saw in Clark's eyes. 'Why doesn't he do it? Why doesn't he end it?' He whispered a soft, "Please" that only Clark could hear. He had seen what power did to his father. He wanted revenge on Clark in the worst way, but something told him that Clark wouldn't be the only one to suffer from Fine's plans.
"NO!" Clark snapped around, threw the dagger, and watched as it embedded itself in Fine's chest.
Fine hit the floor. His face, though in pain, was a mask of glee. 'I knew he wouldn't do it.' He delighted in the weakness that would allow Zod to enter this realm.
"What have I done?" Clark cursed Jor-El for asking something of him that he could not do. He watched the dagger glow in Fine's chest, and he cursed himself for not listening to Jor-El this time.
Lex stood up behind Clark. He had been prepared to house the Kryptonian mind. He already knew things that he never should have known. His mind told his body to freeze and wait for what was to come. He wasn't able to do anything now but watch as his fate unfolded before him.
"You've opened the portal for Zod." Fine felt the power flow through him, and the red beam that entered his body snapped to redirect itself into Lex's body.
The force of the beam's contact sent Clark flying away from Lex. He watched immobile while Lex screamed and shook. The full brunt of the beam attacked Lex until it snapped gone, and Fine disappeared with it.
"Lex?" Clark slowly stood up. "Lex?" He tried to get Lex's attention again. He carefully walked down a few steps from where he landed to get closer to Lex.
Lex, who had remained facing away from Clark since the beam hit him, turned around in a daze. He tilted his head a little, as if looking at Clark with curiosity and not familiarity.
Clark watched Lex move in his direction. He counter circled his movements because he was unsure of who he was really going to be speaking to now. Fine wouldn't have disappeared if the ritual wasn't finished.
Lex raised his hand to Clark's face. Before he could touch it, Clark edged back a little. He smirked. "You have your father's eyes."
Clark gulped in fear. Jonathan Kent was the man he thought of as his true father, but they definitely didn't have the same eyes. 'That should be the only father Lex knows about.'
Clark's fears were substantiated when Lex said, "Hello Kal-El."
"Where's Lex?" Clark asked. 'Have I still killed Lex by not killing him when I had the chance?'
"Lex is dead." Zod, now alive and well in Lex Luthor's body, didn't care if the vessel's spirit was alive or not. He was in control now. A voice at the back of Zod's mind screamed out to be free. 'I'm not dead. I'm not dead!' Zod forced the voice further back into the recesses of his mind.
"Why are you here?" Clark's chest heaved with the extra breaths he took to try and calm himself. His emotions were all twisted inside, and he couldn't let them free now.
"For the same reason as anyone who'd been imprisoned like a beast," Neither Lex's voice or stare showed any emotion. Even so, the tension surrounding him was palpable. "Revenge."
Zod turned away from Clark and walked up higher into the loft towards the upper barn door. "Your father banished me to an eternal Hell trying to save a doomed race. In the end the only survivor of his pathetic crusade," He turned around to face Clark, "Was his son."
"Then this is between us," Clark walked as he talked. "This people did nothing to harm you."
"No, but you feel no pain greater than to see others in agony." Zod smirked. His battle with Kal-El was won before it really started. "I have his memories, Kal-El. I know your weakness."
"I won't let you destroy this planet like you did Krypton." Clark's resolve strengthened. If he had to die in order to kill Zod, he would do it. Zod killed Lex, and now it was time to do his duty.
"You don't have a choice." Zod wondered what it would take to gain Clark's compliance. Maybe if he offered to save these people in exchange for Clark's allegiance, he'd accept it. "Unless you join me."
"I'll never join you."
'Oh well. It was worth a try. It would have been so much fun to corrupt Jor-El's son.' Zod walked away from Clark. "Well, I hope that's a decision you'll be able to live with. Forever." He removed a silver bracelet with Kryptonian symbols from his wrist. 'Justice will be sweet and sure. He will suffer, as I suffered.' He released the band into the air.
There was something familiar to Clark about the object. He tried to get a better look at it when it stopped a moment in front of his face, but it flew into the night sky too fast for him to see it. Clark felt the pull a couple seconds after the object disappeared. 'Oh no, the shape. It's ...'
Zod nodded to Kal-El. He saw the panic on the Kal-El's face just before he vanished, and it would delight Zod for years to come to see that look on the great Jor-El's son's face. His lips twitched into a dark grin.
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Chloe dashed back and forth along the chaotic streets of Metropolis. She dodged a trashcan that flew at her, and she twisted away from someone that tried to pull her into an alley. She fought her way through the mob. Instead of finding an outlet to freedom, she was stopped by advancing Metropolis police in riot gear.
Chloe ducked back through the mob the way she came. She plastered herself against a chain link fence, praying that she'd survive the nightmare. Her prayers seemed to have been answered because she noticed a very familiar license plate on a long black limousine. 'Lionel Luthor.'
Chloe ran up to the back of the limo and beat on it. "Help! Please help me. Let me in, please."
Lionel Luthor swung open the door of the hardly moving car. "Get in." She slammed the door shut behind Chloe. "Ron, get us out of here."
The driver's window was smashed from the outside, and several people from the mob pulled the driver out of the limo.
"Ron! Ron!" Lionel called out. The car rocked back and forth, and rioters were breaking every window to get to the car's occupants.
Lionel was pulled out of the car next. "Mr. Luthor!" Chloe screamed. Glass shattered around her, and her clothing was torn when it caught on some of the broken glass on the way out the window.
Lionel Luthor tried to fight off his attackers. He was a businessman, not a boxer. He fought as best he could, but he was losing.
Chloe kicked and screamed trying to dislodge her attackers. They pushed her to the ground and started pulling at her clothes. She fought harder. There was no way they were getting any of THAT from her.
Lionel jerked upright and screamed. Power surged through his veins. His eyes clouded over, and the whites of his eyes became all that was seen. In the next moment rioters were sent flying away from Lionel. He fought his way over to where he hoped Chloe was. When he finally reached her, he threw everyone near her away.
Chloe shivered. Her adrenaline rushed through her, and she was bleeding on her face and arms. "Thank you, Mr." Her voice froze. It wasn't exactly only Lionel Luthor standing before her. She jerked back when he reached his hand out towards her.
"Don't worry, my dear. You will understand soon." Lionel Luthor caressed Chloe's cheek. A soft glow radiated from his hand onto her face. Chloe promptly passed out. Lionel stood guard pushing and kicking anyone away that got near her. He knew it wouldn't take long for her to rise.
Chloe blinked open her eyes after 30 seconds. She looked around at chaotic surroundings and frowned. 'This looks familiar.’ She sighed. ‘Pandemonium and chaos.' She pushed herself up off the ground and stood. She tilted her head to the left a little and smiled. "Jor-El?" It may not be his body before her, but she recognized his spirit. She felt invigorated by the power that flowed from their essences and into their vessels.
"Hello again, Kara." Jor-El smiled briefly. "It's been a long time."
Chloe nodded. Memories rushed back to the front of her mind instead of where they had been lodged for years. During one of Chloe's many excursions to the Kent farm in her Freshmen year of High School, she came across something that she had forgotten about until now.
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(Freshmen Year of High School at the Kent Farm)
"Hide and seek?" Clark raised a brow at Chloe. "You've got to be kidding me, right? We're 15 Chloe."
Pete laughed next to Clark. "Are you afraid that you are just too tall to hide any more Clark?" He bounced on the heels of his feet. Chloe's idea sounded silly, but it also sounded like fun.
"Let go a little, Clark." Chloe loved to tease Clark. She'd only been living in Smallville for a year and a half, but she really felt like it was home to her. Clark helped her right from the beginning, and she loved him for it. He was like a big brother, a cousin or another family member. "Just because we're in high school doesn't mean we have to put away all the fun games. Can you think of something better to do?"
Clark shook his head with a laugh. "All right, Chloe. If you say so."
"Good." Chloe clapped her hands together. "You two hide, and I'll count to 200. A little over 3 minutes should be long enough to hide."
"Any rules on where we can't hide?" Pete asked.
"Nothing beyond the driveway fence line at the road or into the fields. Anything else, go for it." Chloe was excited to play the game. She needed a stress release right now, and this was just the thing to give it to her ... harmless frivolity. She closed her eyes and started counting, "1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ..."
As soon as Chloe's eyes were shut, Pete and Clark took off in separate directions. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.
A short time later, "198 ... 199 ... 200! Ready or not here I come," Chloe shouted. She whirled around. She headed for the house first. After a thorough search that amused Martha and Jonathan Kent, she headed back outside.
Chloe put her hands on her hips. "I wonder where those two could be."
Jonathan opened the door of the house and spoke directly to Chloe, "I know they aren't in the storm cellar. So, you don't have to bother with there."
"Oh, okay. Thank you, Mr. Kent." Chloe grinned. 'Well if that wasn't a hint, I don't know what is.' She raced off in the direction of the barn.
'Whew.' Jonathan Kent stepped back into the house. 'That could have been a big mess. She is far too curious for her own good.'
Chloe darted off towards the storm cellar after only a cursory glance around the barn. Mr. Kent seemed like he was trying to be helpful. So, she was going to take full advantage of it.
Chloe pulled on the storm cellar door. It was secured awfully tight, and she had to put her full weight into it. She tripped over the entryway because she was off balanced still from opening the door. She peered into the darkness. "Come out, come out, wherever you are." She giggled.
Nothing and no one answered Chloe back. She was just about to turn around and leave when a strange humming sound caught her attention. "You don't have to be mean and play with me cause I missed you," She called out into the darkness and followed the hum.
A few steps further and Chloe's mouth dropped open. "Oh my God." She cautiously got closer to the large black object. It was the source of the humming, and it glowed a little bit. 'What in the world are the Kent's hiding in here?'
Chloe stretched out her hand in front of her. Her fingertips barely grazed the surface of the ship, but it was enough contact to set it off. A bright flash of light filled the storm cellar, and Chloe hit the ground.
Jonathan Kent walked out to see how the teenagers were doing. He hoped they weren't hiding around some of the dangerous equipment. He doubted that either of the other two would be immune to hurting themselves like Clark was. The flash from the cellar caught his eye, and he ran into it. He found Chloe on the floor, passed out.
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(Present Time)
Later when Chloe came to, Jonathan and Clark asked Chloe about the storm cellar. All Chloe was able to remember was that she tripped coming in the doorway, and she must have hit her head and passed out. Now, she knew the truth that had been suppressed from her active thoughts that day.
Chloe's eyes looked up into the white and cloudy eyes of Jor-El. She knew who he was, and she knew why he was here. She spoke two words in question to make sure she was right, "It's time?"
Kara, the spirit and essence of Kal-El's cousin that rested in his spacecraft until Chloe touched it, was awake and alive in Chloe Sullivan. Although she had hoped never to be needed, she knew what duty she had to perform. She had all the memories of Chloe Sullivan and those of her own on Krypton. "He wasn't able to kill the vessel?"
"No, he did not." Jor-El sighed unhappily. "He never listens to me."
"Did you honestly think he would this time, Uncle?" Kara touched Jor-El's arm reassuringly. "He is confused about our ways, but his heart will not allow him to harm another in that way."
Jor-El nodded. "And now it has come to this." He clasped Kara's hand in his. "We must finish this."
Kara and Jor-El looked skyward. Their bodies lifted off the ground effortlessly, and they shot over the top of the building and back onto the rooftop.
Zod, long black leather duster rippling in the wind, turned around on the ledge of the Luthor Corp building to face the new arrivals. He'd felt their presence the moment their essences emerged. He knew they would try to stop him, but he wasn't going to go down easily. "I wondered if you were going to show up." He hopped off of the ledge.
"You never should have made it here, Zod," Kara's brave voice spoke for her Uncle and herself. It pained her to see Zod, even more so than it did her Uncle. Zod betrayed all of Krypton, but he'd used her to help him.
Kara had been the envy of her friends to garner the “romantic” attention of the great Zod, but it was only a ruse to gain her trust. What teenager wouldn't be overcome with the attention given to her by an older man, especially one as handsome as Zod was? Now she could redeem herself. She couldn't stop what Zod started on Krypton, but she could stop him from destroying this planet.
"Look who thinks she's all grown up." Zod brought himself closer to Kara. "I must say that you have chosen a nicely shaped vessel, Kara." He sized Chloe's body up and down. "It seems that my vessel has thought about that body of yours quite often. Shame on him." He laughed. "Though I can't blame him too much. You do look tasty." He reached out a hand to tuck a bit of Chloe's hair behind her ear.
Kara gripped Zod's arm and squeezed tightly. "Don't you even think about touching me."
"I plan on doing much more than that." Zod's eyes reflected the threat of retribution and pain if Kara didn't back down. The two stood close enough to appear in an intimate embrace.
The door from the main building onto the rooftop opened. Lana Lang emerged from behind the metal door. "Lex?" She covered her mouth with her hand. "Chloe? What are you doing touching her like that Lex?"
Kara growled. She knew that voice, and she bubbled over with anger at the woman named Lana Lang. Her vessel was furious, and she felt that Lana was a threat. Kara kicked Zod in the chest and pushed him away from herself. She sped over to Lana, pushed her up against the door and clutched her throat.
Zod laughed darkly. Lana Lang was nothing but a trivial cog in his plans for the planet Earth. She was of no consequence to him if Kara wanted to end her life. He had no idea what other plans Fine had set in motion for Lana.
"Ch ... Chloe?" Lana choked out.
Kara's eyes narrowed. She knew this woman's devious and yet seemingly innocent ways. She would make sure that Lana Lang did not get in the way of returning Zod back to the phantom zone.
Jor-El looked up into the night sky. Then, he narrowed his gaze on Zod. "You took my son from me again, didn't you?"
"With pleasure," Zod sneered. "I'll do it as many times as it is necessary to make you understand that I am the superior force, not you."
"You will never learn, but you will pay." Jor-El attacked Zod head on. The pair threw each other back and forth across the rooftop. Sometimes one would sail off the roof only to return to begin once again.
Lana watched Lionel and Lex Luthor go at each other like two lions. She shrieked when one of them sailed over the edge of the rooftop. She stared at them petrified when she realized that neither of them were dead but still on the roof. "Hhh ... How?"
"You've lived in Smallville all your life, and you never noticed?" Kara fought herself to stay back and let Jor-El do what needed to be done. "Are you that blind?"
"No, but you are." Lana broke free of Kara's hold and an otherworldly look flashed in Lana's eyes. "Did you really think he would come back without me?"
Kara growled. "I had hoped he would." She traded kicks and slashes with the possessed Lana Lang. Somehow, maybe because the girl had so much personal contact with Kryptonite all those years, Lana's body became a portal to Zod's female counterpart, Ursa.
Secretly Milton Fine had added things to the bottled water purchased by Lana after she saw his craft and then later at the Luthor mansion. He had a keen eye, and he knew that only Lex and Lana drank the shipped in water. The chemicals would do nothing to alter Lana's genetic make up, as the serum did when administered to Lex, but it would help to channel the right energy when he needed it. His Master was not a happy man, alone. No one on this planet would be worthy enough to be his second in command. So, he'd help to make one worthy.
If anyone had the time or inclination to pay attention to the roof of Luthor Corp - Metropolis, they wouldn't believe their eyes. Two women fought with supernatural speed, grace, and agility. They were vicious in their attacks. The battle was personal to each of them, both for their essences and their vessels. There was a lot of frustration that needed to get released.
Likewise, two males flew from one side of the rooftop to the other at breakneck speed. They rammed fists, heads, and bodies into each other in an attempt to knock the other one off balance.
Cuts healed instantaneously, bruises never appeared, and no one was out of breath as the fight raged on. It seemed like days took place when it was only a matter of hours before Jor-El pinned Zod against the door and clamped a device to his wrist.
"Our lives for our sons," Jor-El spoke. "Justice be served on Zod." He opened his hand skyward. A beam of blue light shot from his fingertips into the atmosphere. The zone that held Clark Kent captive shattered, and he fell back to earth.
Jor-El and Zod were sucked into a newly created section of the zone. Lionel and Lex Luthor's bodies went with them. Zod's screams rent the air into nothingness. Ursa's screams followed. She wouldn't be left behind this time. Hell with Zod was better than Hell without him. She let herself go and took the chance that her essence was released into the atmosphere soon enough to reach the zone.
Lana's body slumped to the ground for a minute or two. Then, she noticed Clark laying on the ground. She shook her head back and forth trying to remember what happened. She ran over to Clark as quickly as she could and collapsed next to him, holding him.
Kara grinned snidely. "How easily your affections change, isn't it?" She watched Lana Lang hover over Kal-El's body. She knew that Lana was the woman that Kal-El had once chosen for his own, but it made her sick to envision him with someone so fickle.
Clark Kent, Kal-el to his Kryptonian family, blinked open his eyes. He let Lana help him up, but his eyes were on Chloe. "Who are you?"
"Clark, that's Chloe. Did you hit your head?" Lana asked.
"He fell from the sky and hit solid concrete." Kara rolled her eyes. "Don't you think he hit his head a little?"
Clark chuckled. 'Chloe's attitude, but there is something different about her eyes.' Just like before with Lex in the barn, he felt a presence from her that he hadn't noticed before.
"I am Kara, your cousin." Kara smiled at Kal-El, but her smile soon turned into a frown. "I wish I had more time, but I have to save him."
Clark frowned. He looked up into the twisting plane that was like a mirror into the Phantom Zone. He saw Lex and Lionel Luthor screaming from inside the zone. A flash of light and Lex's body dropped from the sky onto the roof.
"Lex!" Lana started to run towards Lex.
"Oh for the love of Krypton." Kara yanked Lana away from Lex's unconscious form and knocked the woman flat on her ass and out cold. Kara dusted off her hands. "Sorry, but she was getting on my nerves."
"She does that sometimes." Clark didn't know if he should try to help Lex or not. He looked over at Kara with a frown. She was looking up into the zone again. Lex's face was gone, and Zod's true face was revealed.
Kara looked back down at Clark. She could see the pain in his eyes. She smiled warmly and cupped his cheek. "He needs my help, Kal-El. I can't leave him unprotected and alone with Zod."
Clark nodded his head in understanding. "He gave his life for mine." He may have hated many things about his father, but Jor-El had willingly given up the last of his freedom to save his son. "Be careful." He stepped away from Kara to make sure he wasn't pulled back in.
Kara looked up into the zone once more. She closed her eyes and ascended into it. At the moment that she disappeared into the zone, another body flew back onto the rooftop. "A life for a life. A spirit for a spirit. The father sacrifices for the son." A voice from the zone echoed. "What once was chained has now been freed. Live well, Kal-El."
Clark Kent helped a very displaced Lionel Luthor up off the ground. He saw the moment Kara's spirit left Chloe's body, and he knew that Chloe was back in control once more.
"Where am I?" Lionel looked around him. It seemed that he was up on the Luthor Corp building, but the last thing he remembered was being on the street with Chloe. He looked around at all the broken signs, utilities and vents on the roof. Then, he looked over at Clark. "Did we win?"
Clark chuckled. "Yes, we won."
Chloe crawled over to Lex's body. She felt like she just went 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. Her head throbbed, and she had so many bits of information and memories floating around that she was getting lost. She started repeating to herself, "I am Chloe Sullivan. I am Chloe Sullivan."
"Are you sure about that?" A groggy Lex Luthor mumbled. "Because I could have sworn that you were a hot little number named Kara." He groaned. He was disorientated, and his head was swimming with knowledge and memories that he shouldn't posses.
"Um ... yeah. I think that was still me, Lex." Chloe crawled the rest of the way over to Lex. Whatever strength had infused her body previously left her when Kara's essence and spirit did. She grinned to herself at the memory of choking Lana. She looked over to make sure Lana was still passed out, and her grin widened. 'That felt good to do.'
Lex pulled Chloe closer to him. He remembered everything about the fight, and he'd seen the tenacity that Kara showed. He knew that Kara was only showing the fire that already burned bright in Chloe.
Chloe gazed longingly into Lex's hypnotic eyes. He seemed different, more like the man she'd thought was gone.
"I know that look Chloe Sullivan, and I'm not going to tell you why yet." Lex half laughed. He was sore, but no cuts were visible on his body. He looked down at his unmarred hand and furrowed his brow. 'I should be black and blue from that beating.' He looked up at his father and noticed that Lionel's face was littered with cuts, scratches and bruises.
Clark lifted Lana into his arms. He walked over to Chloe and Lex with Lionel at his side.
"Clark?" Lex looked up at Clark. "I don't think he's gone." He pushed himself off the ground and stood up far too easily for the beating he'd been given.
"He's gone Lex." Clark reassured him.
"But ..." Lex stomped his foot onto the room, and he kicked a hole into the concrete. "I still know everything about him, and that was not a normal Lex Luthor move." He pointed at the hole in the roof.
Chloe slowly eased herself up off the ground. "Fine changed you on a molecular level, even before Zod took up residence."
Lex helped her up the last few inches and drew Chloe into his arms. "His memories?"
"I hate to say it, but I think you are stuck with them." Chloe looked over at Lionel Luthor. "I don't know about Mr. Luthor, but I've got a full set of someone else in my noggin now too."
"I almost envy you that, Miss Sullivan." Lionel sighed. "I always remember nothing when the transformation occurs."
"You knew about this?" Lex questioned his father. "That's why you kept warning me to stay away from Fine, isn't it?"
"I didn't know exactly what would happen," Lionel lectured his son. "I don't remember anything once I come out of it. All I had were the writings, and in your state of mind I couldn't show them to you."
"You still don't trust me. You never have." Lex grumbled.
"And what if I had showed them to you, Lex?" Lionel reasoned with Lex. "We would all be dead before a single punch could have risen to stop you. Fine tried to have me killed when he realized just how close I was."
Clark nodded. He shifted the dead weight of the unconscious Lana in his arms. "Fine made himself look like Jonathan Kent to try to get me to kill your father. It almost worked."
"This is like an episode of the Twilight Zone." Lex rubbed his face over his hands. "I keep hoping I'm going to wake up." A lot of things had happened to him in the last 6 months, and he wondered how much of it was his own thoughts and how much he was manipulated. He'd left himself open for the manipulation by his own quest for superiority over his father and Clark Kent.
Lex walked over to the ledge and looked down at the darkened city below. This was where his quest took him. All of Zod's memories were twisting around his own. Zod destroyed an entire civilization in his quest for superiority. Was it too late for Lex to turn around before he did the same thing to Earth?
Chloe faltered a few feet away from Lex. Her body was weak, and her mind weary. She nearly fell to the ground, but Lex caught her with his fast reflexes. He cradled Chloe in his arms much like Clark held Lana.
"I think we should take this off the roof." Lionel put a reassuring hand on the lower backs of both Clark and Lex. He felt more connected to both of them and nurturing which was a strange feeling for him. "We have to figure out a way to undo the damage that Fine caused with the computers. No one is safe until we do."
Clark and Lex carried their precious cargos into the main building. They found the cleanest room possible and laid their women down on separate couches. Given how Lana became unconscious, they didn't think it was wise to put them together.
They had a lot to figure out. Their lives were in chaos, and so was the world around them. Zod was safely locked away, but they still had a world to save.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(To Be Continued)
By ~*~Tasha~*~
Chapter Summary: (Rated from T) *PG-13* This starts near the end of the Season 5 finale episode "Vessel". My evil and taunting human muse Peggy challenged me to do this fic after she gave me a couple plot points. Evil Peggy, blame her. {Chuckles}
Author's Note: Season 5 unfortunately happened as it did on the show for the purposes of this fic. I have just changed some scenes in "Vessel" a little bit as a prelude to the end where I pick up and continue the end of the episode. We'll never see this for the Season 6 premiere, but hey that is what fanon is for. Hope you enjoy it. Quotes are taken or manipulated from the Season 5 Finale "Vessel".
Author's Note #2: There was some discussion about when Chloe actually came to Smallville. I had wanted to write the one scene as an earlier time in her life, but because of the discrepancies in age I set the scene for later. Thank you to everyone for their responses to my inquiry.
Disclaimer: These characters, and some of the bits of dialogue, are the property of the WB, CW or whatever they are calling themselves now. A lot of time is involved in my writing, but your feedback is the only form of "payment" that I receive. I have only the hope that you will enjoy what I come up for our heroes, heroines, and villains.
'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Chloe!" Clark picked up his speed on his descent down the stairs. Chaos had erupted in Metropolis. All the lights were out, and everyone scrambled to get out of the building. "Chloe!" He sighed in relief when he spotted her. "What's going on? All the street lights are out."
Chloe pulled the small silver box close to her when someone tried to grab the old radio away from her. She hastily grabbed some batteries for it, and she walked up to Clark. "You tell me?" She turned her lap top screen around for Clark to see. She knew enough about Kryptonian symbols to recognize they were the source.
"It's already reached Metropolis." Clark frowned.
"You know where it started?" Chloe hoped Clark had a good idea how to stop everything from going topsy turvy before too many were hurt. She'd seen a dozen fights already break out while people evacuated.
"Smallville." Clark looked down at the screen again. "Fine did something to one of Lex's computers."
'Just great. I guess the world does revolve around Luthor Corp,' Chloe thought to herself. The irony of the situation was not lost on her.
"I thought if anyone could figure out what it was, it would be you." Clark followed Chloe from one desk to another. 'This is not good. If Chloe looks that perplexed about a computer issue, we’re in trouble.'
"It's some sort of electronic virus, and it's spreading faster than I can track it." Chloe continued to work on the radio in front of her. She hated being cut off from the world. It was one of the reasons that she relied on technology so much. She hated being kept in the dark. "After it scaled every firewall and knocked out all high-tech communication, it's now infecting most of the city's infrastructure."
"All because of me," Clark said resignedly. 'Can I make any decision right lately?' He sighed. "I refused to release Zod."
"No time for a pity party, Kent," Chloe said with a hint of sarcasm mixed with teasing. She finally finished with the radio, and she fiddled with the dials to see if she could pick up any reports at all.
"Now Fine's trying to force my hand." Clark practically growled out the words. 'What good is being so powerful, if I can't even protect the people I care about from destruction?'
"Well, he's definitely playing hard ball." Chloe slapped the side of the radio. "Elevators, gas mains, subways ... the entire city is shutting down. It's like Y2K on acid." Her father always warned her that one day technology might be their downfall. He was being proven right in a big way.
Clark and Chloe listened to a sketchy news report that crackled over the radio. The signal wavered in and out because of the interference and connection losses.
Chloe's face rippled to show the fear she felt. "Clark, if this continues, every major city in the world is going to be infiltrated." She was interrupted by the frighteningly close sound of tires squealing.
Clark and Chloe both looked over at the street level stained glass window. Clark knew before Chloe that the police car was coming through. With his lightning fast reflexes he grabbed Chloe, wrapped his body around hers for protection, and swung them around to stop the car with his hand. Glass shattered all around them, but neither of them were cut or injured.
Chloe and Clark stared at the car for a few moments after it settled before Clark tried to take off. Chloe grabbed his arm. "Clark, it's no use. You can't save everyone."
"And I can't release, Zod," Clark sad adamantly.
"What if Jor-El was right?" Chloe was frustrated. "What if the only way to stop Zod, stop Fine, stop all of this is to destroy Le ... that vessel?" She caught herself before she said Lex's name.
Clark may have been blind to the feelings of the women in his life many times, but he hadn't missed Chloe's snatch and grab to pull back Lex's name from her lips. From the moment they found out that the vessel had to be Lex, he'd watched his friend seem to crawl back inside herself. Chloe put up a brave front, but he knew that the idea of killing Lex hurt her.
Chloe's eyes pleaded with Clark to understand. She knew he didn't want to kill Lex either, but it would be wrong of either of them to sacrifice the rest of the planet to save one man. She felt physically ill at the idea of Lex's funeral. She tried to force that image, and the tears that threatened to fall, away.
"What if something goes wrong? I don't want to leave you here." Clark didn't want to leave his best friend to fend for herself. He knew she was strong, but he wanted to keep her safe.
"You have to." Something stirred within Chloe when Clark started to walk away again. She followed his movements with her eyes, but something made her stop him before he left her completely.
"Clark?" Chloe twisted her hands together. "I may never see you again." A part of Chloe wanted to kiss him soundly to show herself that amidst all the chaos and pain, someone still felt something for her. She knew that wasn't the right thing to do. It wasn’t fair to either of them to betray the ones they really loved. No matter how much pain he'd caused her, or that he was going to die soon, Lex was the only man she'd ever want anymore.
Clark turned around to face Chloe. He gulped hard. Would this be the last time that he ever saw her? An instant later he had an armful of his best friend.
Chloe leaned up and kissed Clark chastely on the cheek, a sign of friendship not romance. She pulled back to touch his cheek with her fingertips. The tips glowed for a few seconds, but Chloe passed it off as a flicker of light from the police car half lodged into the building. "Be careful, Clark." She worried about who would win the battle that Clark was going to have to face. Who would she lose? Clark or Lex?
Clark and Chloe jumped a little at a noise and stared at the phone. It was ringing. Clark walked over to it and put the receiver up to his ear. "Hello?"
"Hello Clark. I heard you wanted to see me," Lex Luthor was on the other end of the line. The sardonic smirk that he usually wore was conveyed even in his words on the line.
'God, why does it have to be a choice between the two?' Chloe asked herself, followed by a small barely existent voice in the back of her head that said, 'Be careful, Kal-el.'
Clark sped off to meet up with Lex. He knew right where to find him now.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Clark reached the Kent farm in record time, even for him. He carefully looked around the family barn. He felt something strange. He heard the heartbeat, and he turned around to face his once friend and now enemy.
Lex emerged from the shadows slowly. He acted like he wasn't in any danger from Clark or anyone else. He took his time. "So what did you decide?" He opened his hands out away from his sides with the palms up. "Are you gonna kill me?"
"You can't blame me for this Lex." Clark gulped. He wondered how Lex knew about Clark's duty. "You did this to yourself."
"Oh come on, Clark. You love it." Lex turned and started moving closer to Clark all swagger and guts. "Ever since that day on the bridge, you've always seen yourself as my savior." He practically rolled his eyes over the word. "You'd be the one thing that pulled me off the dark path I had started. So, that's why you've clung to the idea that there is still some good in me."
Clark had seen Lex's more devious sides. He'd seen him at what he thought was his best and his worst. No matter what Lex said to him, Clark could see the hint of trepidation. Lex was all bluster on the outside, but he refused to believe that his heart was that twisted on the inside.
"You don't want to face the fact that you might have failed." Lex loved being able to stick it to Clark. He'd lived in Clark's shadow almost as much as his father's, and he was sick and tired of it. He felt strong and powerful. It was about time Clark realized that.
"Or maybe I just can't believe that someone would have so little will power," Clark countered and advanced closer to Lex.
"It's real hard to compete with the iron will power that it takes to kill one of your best friends." Lex knew a lot about Clark, even if he didn't know Clark's secret. One of Clark's weaknesses was always his martyr complex for the good of everything. He moved closer to Clark until he stood toe to toe with him.
Clark watched Lex very carefully. He had the dagger with him, but he kept searching for a way to keep from using it.
"How did you know I was going to come back like this?" That knowledge puzzled Lex. From what Lana told him, Clark and Chloe seemed to know exactly how he would come back. He tried to ignore the pang of pain that entered his heart when he found out that Chloe knew about his change and Clark’s mission, but she didn’t tell Lex about it.
"You don't realize how much danger you're in." Clark tried to reason with Lex. Somehow he had to get Lex to refuse anything else Fine would offer him.
Lex smirked and looked off to the side. He looked like he was contemplating Clark's words, but instead he was grinning with delight on the inside. 'Ever the hero, Clark.' It was time to put Clark in his place once and for all.
"I used to think you had this strong inner core," Lex began. He shook his head a little. "You were so virtuous." He nibbled on his lower lip. "And yet you lie ...” He paused to get closer into his face, and his eyes turned flinty. “… All the time." Now he was starting to get angry again. "To me, to Lana, to all the people who cared about you. What kind of sick person would do that?"
Clark stood amazingly firm and strong of will. This was one time that he wouldn't let Lex sway him into a battle of words. He had to remain calm. "If you thought this friendship was so doomed from the beginning, why did you fight so hard to keep it?"
"Because I wanted everything you had: the family, the inconspicuous life, the loyal girlfriend ..."
Clark eyes narrowed. He let Lana go to try and protect her. He never thought that she would fall into Lex's arms. Now it seemed that Lana was in even more danger than she would have been if she stayed with him.
"Well, at least I walked away with the part you loved the most." Lex stared directly into Clark's eyes with a twinkle of delight. He doubted that Lana really loved him. Lana enjoyed status and attention. He gave her both. She was a means to an end for Lex, to get revenge on Clark for abandoning him.
Clark almost lost it. His jaw clenched, and his blood bubbled in anger. The moment before he struck, a calm filled him that he didn't recognize. "You're not yourself," He found himself saying.
"Or maybe I finally am." Lex was tired of the chit chat. It was time to take some action. He would show Clark once and for all who the better man was. He grabbed Clark by the lapels of his jacket and swung him around.
Clark crashed through a beam to the lofts before he was able to gain headway again. He had no choice but to reveal himself for what he truly was. He twisted Lex around and threw him up into the hayloft with force.
Hay and wood shattered to the floor, but a body never fell. A rush of wind was the only sound to alert anyone to Lex's movements. "I always knew there was something different about you." Lex picked up Clark and threw him against the opposite side of the barn. 'The secret is finally out. I know what you are, Clark.'
Clark tried to pick himself up off the loft, but Lex was right there trying to strangle him. Clark, who had more experience with the strengths of his abilities, flipped Lex over. In one smooth move, one of Clark's hands was on Lex's shoulder, and the dagger was held at Lex's throat with Clark's other hand.
Lex nearly cried out. His body was able to withstand more pressure, but Clark was evenly matched to him in strength. So, the blows hurt. He looked up at Clark with worry in his eyes. A part of him, some part that knew what Fine was doing, realized that if Clark used that dagger it would kill him.
Both of them were distracted from their decisions by another voice in the barn. "Do it, Clark."
Clark turned his head long enough to tell that Fine was behind him. 'As if I needed another Kryptonian to deal with.' He refocused on Lex. The dagger started to glow, and it emitted a higher pitched tone.
"Let's see if you really are your father's son," Fine sneered.
Clark's hand shook, as well as the dagger. He was not a murderer, and right now Lex was still human. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't kill Lex.
Lex grinned at Clark. His heart actually ached at the pain he saw in Clark's eyes. 'Why doesn't he do it? Why doesn't he end it?' He whispered a soft, "Please" that only Clark could hear. He had seen what power did to his father. He wanted revenge on Clark in the worst way, but something told him that Clark wouldn't be the only one to suffer from Fine's plans.
"NO!" Clark snapped around, threw the dagger, and watched as it embedded itself in Fine's chest.
Fine hit the floor. His face, though in pain, was a mask of glee. 'I knew he wouldn't do it.' He delighted in the weakness that would allow Zod to enter this realm.
"What have I done?" Clark cursed Jor-El for asking something of him that he could not do. He watched the dagger glow in Fine's chest, and he cursed himself for not listening to Jor-El this time.
Lex stood up behind Clark. He had been prepared to house the Kryptonian mind. He already knew things that he never should have known. His mind told his body to freeze and wait for what was to come. He wasn't able to do anything now but watch as his fate unfolded before him.
"You've opened the portal for Zod." Fine felt the power flow through him, and the red beam that entered his body snapped to redirect itself into Lex's body.
The force of the beam's contact sent Clark flying away from Lex. He watched immobile while Lex screamed and shook. The full brunt of the beam attacked Lex until it snapped gone, and Fine disappeared with it.
"Lex?" Clark slowly stood up. "Lex?" He tried to get Lex's attention again. He carefully walked down a few steps from where he landed to get closer to Lex.
Lex, who had remained facing away from Clark since the beam hit him, turned around in a daze. He tilted his head a little, as if looking at Clark with curiosity and not familiarity.
Clark watched Lex move in his direction. He counter circled his movements because he was unsure of who he was really going to be speaking to now. Fine wouldn't have disappeared if the ritual wasn't finished.
Lex raised his hand to Clark's face. Before he could touch it, Clark edged back a little. He smirked. "You have your father's eyes."
Clark gulped in fear. Jonathan Kent was the man he thought of as his true father, but they definitely didn't have the same eyes. 'That should be the only father Lex knows about.'
Clark's fears were substantiated when Lex said, "Hello Kal-El."
"Where's Lex?" Clark asked. 'Have I still killed Lex by not killing him when I had the chance?'
"Lex is dead." Zod, now alive and well in Lex Luthor's body, didn't care if the vessel's spirit was alive or not. He was in control now. A voice at the back of Zod's mind screamed out to be free. 'I'm not dead. I'm not dead!' Zod forced the voice further back into the recesses of his mind.
"Why are you here?" Clark's chest heaved with the extra breaths he took to try and calm himself. His emotions were all twisted inside, and he couldn't let them free now.
"For the same reason as anyone who'd been imprisoned like a beast," Neither Lex's voice or stare showed any emotion. Even so, the tension surrounding him was palpable. "Revenge."
Zod turned away from Clark and walked up higher into the loft towards the upper barn door. "Your father banished me to an eternal Hell trying to save a doomed race. In the end the only survivor of his pathetic crusade," He turned around to face Clark, "Was his son."
"Then this is between us," Clark walked as he talked. "This people did nothing to harm you."
"No, but you feel no pain greater than to see others in agony." Zod smirked. His battle with Kal-El was won before it really started. "I have his memories, Kal-El. I know your weakness."
"I won't let you destroy this planet like you did Krypton." Clark's resolve strengthened. If he had to die in order to kill Zod, he would do it. Zod killed Lex, and now it was time to do his duty.
"You don't have a choice." Zod wondered what it would take to gain Clark's compliance. Maybe if he offered to save these people in exchange for Clark's allegiance, he'd accept it. "Unless you join me."
"I'll never join you."
'Oh well. It was worth a try. It would have been so much fun to corrupt Jor-El's son.' Zod walked away from Clark. "Well, I hope that's a decision you'll be able to live with. Forever." He removed a silver bracelet with Kryptonian symbols from his wrist. 'Justice will be sweet and sure. He will suffer, as I suffered.' He released the band into the air.
There was something familiar to Clark about the object. He tried to get a better look at it when it stopped a moment in front of his face, but it flew into the night sky too fast for him to see it. Clark felt the pull a couple seconds after the object disappeared. 'Oh no, the shape. It's ...'
Zod nodded to Kal-El. He saw the panic on the Kal-El's face just before he vanished, and it would delight Zod for years to come to see that look on the great Jor-El's son's face. His lips twitched into a dark grin.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chloe dashed back and forth along the chaotic streets of Metropolis. She dodged a trashcan that flew at her, and she twisted away from someone that tried to pull her into an alley. She fought her way through the mob. Instead of finding an outlet to freedom, she was stopped by advancing Metropolis police in riot gear.
Chloe ducked back through the mob the way she came. She plastered herself against a chain link fence, praying that she'd survive the nightmare. Her prayers seemed to have been answered because she noticed a very familiar license plate on a long black limousine. 'Lionel Luthor.'
Chloe ran up to the back of the limo and beat on it. "Help! Please help me. Let me in, please."
Lionel Luthor swung open the door of the hardly moving car. "Get in." She slammed the door shut behind Chloe. "Ron, get us out of here."
The driver's window was smashed from the outside, and several people from the mob pulled the driver out of the limo.
"Ron! Ron!" Lionel called out. The car rocked back and forth, and rioters were breaking every window to get to the car's occupants.
Lionel was pulled out of the car next. "Mr. Luthor!" Chloe screamed. Glass shattered around her, and her clothing was torn when it caught on some of the broken glass on the way out the window.
Lionel Luthor tried to fight off his attackers. He was a businessman, not a boxer. He fought as best he could, but he was losing.
Chloe kicked and screamed trying to dislodge her attackers. They pushed her to the ground and started pulling at her clothes. She fought harder. There was no way they were getting any of THAT from her.
Lionel jerked upright and screamed. Power surged through his veins. His eyes clouded over, and the whites of his eyes became all that was seen. In the next moment rioters were sent flying away from Lionel. He fought his way over to where he hoped Chloe was. When he finally reached her, he threw everyone near her away.
Chloe shivered. Her adrenaline rushed through her, and she was bleeding on her face and arms. "Thank you, Mr." Her voice froze. It wasn't exactly only Lionel Luthor standing before her. She jerked back when he reached his hand out towards her.
"Don't worry, my dear. You will understand soon." Lionel Luthor caressed Chloe's cheek. A soft glow radiated from his hand onto her face. Chloe promptly passed out. Lionel stood guard pushing and kicking anyone away that got near her. He knew it wouldn't take long for her to rise.
Chloe blinked open her eyes after 30 seconds. She looked around at chaotic surroundings and frowned. 'This looks familiar.’ She sighed. ‘Pandemonium and chaos.' She pushed herself up off the ground and stood. She tilted her head to the left a little and smiled. "Jor-El?" It may not be his body before her, but she recognized his spirit. She felt invigorated by the power that flowed from their essences and into their vessels.
"Hello again, Kara." Jor-El smiled briefly. "It's been a long time."
Chloe nodded. Memories rushed back to the front of her mind instead of where they had been lodged for years. During one of Chloe's many excursions to the Kent farm in her Freshmen year of High School, she came across something that she had forgotten about until now.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Freshmen Year of High School at the Kent Farm)
"Hide and seek?" Clark raised a brow at Chloe. "You've got to be kidding me, right? We're 15 Chloe."
Pete laughed next to Clark. "Are you afraid that you are just too tall to hide any more Clark?" He bounced on the heels of his feet. Chloe's idea sounded silly, but it also sounded like fun.
"Let go a little, Clark." Chloe loved to tease Clark. She'd only been living in Smallville for a year and a half, but she really felt like it was home to her. Clark helped her right from the beginning, and she loved him for it. He was like a big brother, a cousin or another family member. "Just because we're in high school doesn't mean we have to put away all the fun games. Can you think of something better to do?"
Clark shook his head with a laugh. "All right, Chloe. If you say so."
"Good." Chloe clapped her hands together. "You two hide, and I'll count to 200. A little over 3 minutes should be long enough to hide."
"Any rules on where we can't hide?" Pete asked.
"Nothing beyond the driveway fence line at the road or into the fields. Anything else, go for it." Chloe was excited to play the game. She needed a stress release right now, and this was just the thing to give it to her ... harmless frivolity. She closed her eyes and started counting, "1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ..."
As soon as Chloe's eyes were shut, Pete and Clark took off in separate directions. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.
A short time later, "198 ... 199 ... 200! Ready or not here I come," Chloe shouted. She whirled around. She headed for the house first. After a thorough search that amused Martha and Jonathan Kent, she headed back outside.
Chloe put her hands on her hips. "I wonder where those two could be."
Jonathan opened the door of the house and spoke directly to Chloe, "I know they aren't in the storm cellar. So, you don't have to bother with there."
"Oh, okay. Thank you, Mr. Kent." Chloe grinned. 'Well if that wasn't a hint, I don't know what is.' She raced off in the direction of the barn.
'Whew.' Jonathan Kent stepped back into the house. 'That could have been a big mess. She is far too curious for her own good.'
Chloe darted off towards the storm cellar after only a cursory glance around the barn. Mr. Kent seemed like he was trying to be helpful. So, she was going to take full advantage of it.
Chloe pulled on the storm cellar door. It was secured awfully tight, and she had to put her full weight into it. She tripped over the entryway because she was off balanced still from opening the door. She peered into the darkness. "Come out, come out, wherever you are." She giggled.
Nothing and no one answered Chloe back. She was just about to turn around and leave when a strange humming sound caught her attention. "You don't have to be mean and play with me cause I missed you," She called out into the darkness and followed the hum.
A few steps further and Chloe's mouth dropped open. "Oh my God." She cautiously got closer to the large black object. It was the source of the humming, and it glowed a little bit. 'What in the world are the Kent's hiding in here?'
Chloe stretched out her hand in front of her. Her fingertips barely grazed the surface of the ship, but it was enough contact to set it off. A bright flash of light filled the storm cellar, and Chloe hit the ground.
Jonathan Kent walked out to see how the teenagers were doing. He hoped they weren't hiding around some of the dangerous equipment. He doubted that either of the other two would be immune to hurting themselves like Clark was. The flash from the cellar caught his eye, and he ran into it. He found Chloe on the floor, passed out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Present Time)
Later when Chloe came to, Jonathan and Clark asked Chloe about the storm cellar. All Chloe was able to remember was that she tripped coming in the doorway, and she must have hit her head and passed out. Now, she knew the truth that had been suppressed from her active thoughts that day.
Chloe's eyes looked up into the white and cloudy eyes of Jor-El. She knew who he was, and she knew why he was here. She spoke two words in question to make sure she was right, "It's time?"
Kara, the spirit and essence of Kal-El's cousin that rested in his spacecraft until Chloe touched it, was awake and alive in Chloe Sullivan. Although she had hoped never to be needed, she knew what duty she had to perform. She had all the memories of Chloe Sullivan and those of her own on Krypton. "He wasn't able to kill the vessel?"
"No, he did not." Jor-El sighed unhappily. "He never listens to me."
"Did you honestly think he would this time, Uncle?" Kara touched Jor-El's arm reassuringly. "He is confused about our ways, but his heart will not allow him to harm another in that way."
Jor-El nodded. "And now it has come to this." He clasped Kara's hand in his. "We must finish this."
Kara and Jor-El looked skyward. Their bodies lifted off the ground effortlessly, and they shot over the top of the building and back onto the rooftop.
Zod, long black leather duster rippling in the wind, turned around on the ledge of the Luthor Corp building to face the new arrivals. He'd felt their presence the moment their essences emerged. He knew they would try to stop him, but he wasn't going to go down easily. "I wondered if you were going to show up." He hopped off of the ledge.
"You never should have made it here, Zod," Kara's brave voice spoke for her Uncle and herself. It pained her to see Zod, even more so than it did her Uncle. Zod betrayed all of Krypton, but he'd used her to help him.
Kara had been the envy of her friends to garner the “romantic” attention of the great Zod, but it was only a ruse to gain her trust. What teenager wouldn't be overcome with the attention given to her by an older man, especially one as handsome as Zod was? Now she could redeem herself. She couldn't stop what Zod started on Krypton, but she could stop him from destroying this planet.
"Look who thinks she's all grown up." Zod brought himself closer to Kara. "I must say that you have chosen a nicely shaped vessel, Kara." He sized Chloe's body up and down. "It seems that my vessel has thought about that body of yours quite often. Shame on him." He laughed. "Though I can't blame him too much. You do look tasty." He reached out a hand to tuck a bit of Chloe's hair behind her ear.
Kara gripped Zod's arm and squeezed tightly. "Don't you even think about touching me."
"I plan on doing much more than that." Zod's eyes reflected the threat of retribution and pain if Kara didn't back down. The two stood close enough to appear in an intimate embrace.
The door from the main building onto the rooftop opened. Lana Lang emerged from behind the metal door. "Lex?" She covered her mouth with her hand. "Chloe? What are you doing touching her like that Lex?"
Kara growled. She knew that voice, and she bubbled over with anger at the woman named Lana Lang. Her vessel was furious, and she felt that Lana was a threat. Kara kicked Zod in the chest and pushed him away from herself. She sped over to Lana, pushed her up against the door and clutched her throat.
Zod laughed darkly. Lana Lang was nothing but a trivial cog in his plans for the planet Earth. She was of no consequence to him if Kara wanted to end her life. He had no idea what other plans Fine had set in motion for Lana.
"Ch ... Chloe?" Lana choked out.
Kara's eyes narrowed. She knew this woman's devious and yet seemingly innocent ways. She would make sure that Lana Lang did not get in the way of returning Zod back to the phantom zone.
Jor-El looked up into the night sky. Then, he narrowed his gaze on Zod. "You took my son from me again, didn't you?"
"With pleasure," Zod sneered. "I'll do it as many times as it is necessary to make you understand that I am the superior force, not you."
"You will never learn, but you will pay." Jor-El attacked Zod head on. The pair threw each other back and forth across the rooftop. Sometimes one would sail off the roof only to return to begin once again.
Lana watched Lionel and Lex Luthor go at each other like two lions. She shrieked when one of them sailed over the edge of the rooftop. She stared at them petrified when she realized that neither of them were dead but still on the roof. "Hhh ... How?"
"You've lived in Smallville all your life, and you never noticed?" Kara fought herself to stay back and let Jor-El do what needed to be done. "Are you that blind?"
"No, but you are." Lana broke free of Kara's hold and an otherworldly look flashed in Lana's eyes. "Did you really think he would come back without me?"
Kara growled. "I had hoped he would." She traded kicks and slashes with the possessed Lana Lang. Somehow, maybe because the girl had so much personal contact with Kryptonite all those years, Lana's body became a portal to Zod's female counterpart, Ursa.
Secretly Milton Fine had added things to the bottled water purchased by Lana after she saw his craft and then later at the Luthor mansion. He had a keen eye, and he knew that only Lex and Lana drank the shipped in water. The chemicals would do nothing to alter Lana's genetic make up, as the serum did when administered to Lex, but it would help to channel the right energy when he needed it. His Master was not a happy man, alone. No one on this planet would be worthy enough to be his second in command. So, he'd help to make one worthy.
If anyone had the time or inclination to pay attention to the roof of Luthor Corp - Metropolis, they wouldn't believe their eyes. Two women fought with supernatural speed, grace, and agility. They were vicious in their attacks. The battle was personal to each of them, both for their essences and their vessels. There was a lot of frustration that needed to get released.
Likewise, two males flew from one side of the rooftop to the other at breakneck speed. They rammed fists, heads, and bodies into each other in an attempt to knock the other one off balance.
Cuts healed instantaneously, bruises never appeared, and no one was out of breath as the fight raged on. It seemed like days took place when it was only a matter of hours before Jor-El pinned Zod against the door and clamped a device to his wrist.
"Our lives for our sons," Jor-El spoke. "Justice be served on Zod." He opened his hand skyward. A beam of blue light shot from his fingertips into the atmosphere. The zone that held Clark Kent captive shattered, and he fell back to earth.
Jor-El and Zod were sucked into a newly created section of the zone. Lionel and Lex Luthor's bodies went with them. Zod's screams rent the air into nothingness. Ursa's screams followed. She wouldn't be left behind this time. Hell with Zod was better than Hell without him. She let herself go and took the chance that her essence was released into the atmosphere soon enough to reach the zone.
Lana's body slumped to the ground for a minute or two. Then, she noticed Clark laying on the ground. She shook her head back and forth trying to remember what happened. She ran over to Clark as quickly as she could and collapsed next to him, holding him.
Kara grinned snidely. "How easily your affections change, isn't it?" She watched Lana Lang hover over Kal-El's body. She knew that Lana was the woman that Kal-El had once chosen for his own, but it made her sick to envision him with someone so fickle.
Clark Kent, Kal-el to his Kryptonian family, blinked open his eyes. He let Lana help him up, but his eyes were on Chloe. "Who are you?"
"Clark, that's Chloe. Did you hit your head?" Lana asked.
"He fell from the sky and hit solid concrete." Kara rolled her eyes. "Don't you think he hit his head a little?"
Clark chuckled. 'Chloe's attitude, but there is something different about her eyes.' Just like before with Lex in the barn, he felt a presence from her that he hadn't noticed before.
"I am Kara, your cousin." Kara smiled at Kal-El, but her smile soon turned into a frown. "I wish I had more time, but I have to save him."
Clark frowned. He looked up into the twisting plane that was like a mirror into the Phantom Zone. He saw Lex and Lionel Luthor screaming from inside the zone. A flash of light and Lex's body dropped from the sky onto the roof.
"Lex!" Lana started to run towards Lex.
"Oh for the love of Krypton." Kara yanked Lana away from Lex's unconscious form and knocked the woman flat on her ass and out cold. Kara dusted off her hands. "Sorry, but she was getting on my nerves."
"She does that sometimes." Clark didn't know if he should try to help Lex or not. He looked over at Kara with a frown. She was looking up into the zone again. Lex's face was gone, and Zod's true face was revealed.
Kara looked back down at Clark. She could see the pain in his eyes. She smiled warmly and cupped his cheek. "He needs my help, Kal-El. I can't leave him unprotected and alone with Zod."
Clark nodded his head in understanding. "He gave his life for mine." He may have hated many things about his father, but Jor-El had willingly given up the last of his freedom to save his son. "Be careful." He stepped away from Kara to make sure he wasn't pulled back in.
Kara looked up into the zone once more. She closed her eyes and ascended into it. At the moment that she disappeared into the zone, another body flew back onto the rooftop. "A life for a life. A spirit for a spirit. The father sacrifices for the son." A voice from the zone echoed. "What once was chained has now been freed. Live well, Kal-El."
Clark Kent helped a very displaced Lionel Luthor up off the ground. He saw the moment Kara's spirit left Chloe's body, and he knew that Chloe was back in control once more.
"Where am I?" Lionel looked around him. It seemed that he was up on the Luthor Corp building, but the last thing he remembered was being on the street with Chloe. He looked around at all the broken signs, utilities and vents on the roof. Then, he looked over at Clark. "Did we win?"
Clark chuckled. "Yes, we won."
Chloe crawled over to Lex's body. She felt like she just went 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. Her head throbbed, and she had so many bits of information and memories floating around that she was getting lost. She started repeating to herself, "I am Chloe Sullivan. I am Chloe Sullivan."
"Are you sure about that?" A groggy Lex Luthor mumbled. "Because I could have sworn that you were a hot little number named Kara." He groaned. He was disorientated, and his head was swimming with knowledge and memories that he shouldn't posses.
"Um ... yeah. I think that was still me, Lex." Chloe crawled the rest of the way over to Lex. Whatever strength had infused her body previously left her when Kara's essence and spirit did. She grinned to herself at the memory of choking Lana. She looked over to make sure Lana was still passed out, and her grin widened. 'That felt good to do.'
Lex pulled Chloe closer to him. He remembered everything about the fight, and he'd seen the tenacity that Kara showed. He knew that Kara was only showing the fire that already burned bright in Chloe.
Chloe gazed longingly into Lex's hypnotic eyes. He seemed different, more like the man she'd thought was gone.
"I know that look Chloe Sullivan, and I'm not going to tell you why yet." Lex half laughed. He was sore, but no cuts were visible on his body. He looked down at his unmarred hand and furrowed his brow. 'I should be black and blue from that beating.' He looked up at his father and noticed that Lionel's face was littered with cuts, scratches and bruises.
Clark lifted Lana into his arms. He walked over to Chloe and Lex with Lionel at his side.
"Clark?" Lex looked up at Clark. "I don't think he's gone." He pushed himself off the ground and stood up far too easily for the beating he'd been given.
"He's gone Lex." Clark reassured him.
"But ..." Lex stomped his foot onto the room, and he kicked a hole into the concrete. "I still know everything about him, and that was not a normal Lex Luthor move." He pointed at the hole in the roof.
Chloe slowly eased herself up off the ground. "Fine changed you on a molecular level, even before Zod took up residence."
Lex helped her up the last few inches and drew Chloe into his arms. "His memories?"
"I hate to say it, but I think you are stuck with them." Chloe looked over at Lionel Luthor. "I don't know about Mr. Luthor, but I've got a full set of someone else in my noggin now too."
"I almost envy you that, Miss Sullivan." Lionel sighed. "I always remember nothing when the transformation occurs."
"You knew about this?" Lex questioned his father. "That's why you kept warning me to stay away from Fine, isn't it?"
"I didn't know exactly what would happen," Lionel lectured his son. "I don't remember anything once I come out of it. All I had were the writings, and in your state of mind I couldn't show them to you."
"You still don't trust me. You never have." Lex grumbled.
"And what if I had showed them to you, Lex?" Lionel reasoned with Lex. "We would all be dead before a single punch could have risen to stop you. Fine tried to have me killed when he realized just how close I was."
Clark nodded. He shifted the dead weight of the unconscious Lana in his arms. "Fine made himself look like Jonathan Kent to try to get me to kill your father. It almost worked."
"This is like an episode of the Twilight Zone." Lex rubbed his face over his hands. "I keep hoping I'm going to wake up." A lot of things had happened to him in the last 6 months, and he wondered how much of it was his own thoughts and how much he was manipulated. He'd left himself open for the manipulation by his own quest for superiority over his father and Clark Kent.
Lex walked over to the ledge and looked down at the darkened city below. This was where his quest took him. All of Zod's memories were twisting around his own. Zod destroyed an entire civilization in his quest for superiority. Was it too late for Lex to turn around before he did the same thing to Earth?
Chloe faltered a few feet away from Lex. Her body was weak, and her mind weary. She nearly fell to the ground, but Lex caught her with his fast reflexes. He cradled Chloe in his arms much like Clark held Lana.
"I think we should take this off the roof." Lionel put a reassuring hand on the lower backs of both Clark and Lex. He felt more connected to both of them and nurturing which was a strange feeling for him. "We have to figure out a way to undo the damage that Fine caused with the computers. No one is safe until we do."
Clark and Lex carried their precious cargos into the main building. They found the cleanest room possible and laid their women down on separate couches. Given how Lana became unconscious, they didn't think it was wise to put them together.
They had a lot to figure out. Their lives were in chaos, and so was the world around them. Zod was safely locked away, but they still had a world to save.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(To Be Continued)