Clark through the paper down on the table "I'm going to have to do something" He said as his mum came down the stairs.
"More killings in Seattle?" Martha asked, her tone grave, she knew it would come to this eventually; he had so many amazing abilities and so much more responsibility than your average teenager.
"I'm going to Seattle there are too many, I know it goes on in the world but usually not this bad, not in one city" He said, the tone of his voice making it clear that he wouldn't budge on this.
"Pack some things, you don't know how long it'll take you to find and stop who or whatever is doing this" Clark nodded in response and went upstairs, Martha picked up the paper the headline read:
DEATH TOLL ON THE RISE, POLICE FEAR GANG ACTIVITY, Martha sighed it was hard being a parent whose son could protect her more than she could him.
Clark rushed back down stairs, backpack slung over one shoulder ready to go already, he stopped briefly "Mom, there's no need to worry, I have no enemies in Seattle and its highly unlikely there'll be any kryptonite, I'm probably safer in Seattle" He quickly hugged his Mum and then sped out the door.
"Be careful" Martha shouted, the only advice she could give.
Clark stopped in a deserted alley, always protecting his secret. First things first, find a place to stay. Clark walked out the alley and headed immediately left looking for a cheap motel, making money was not one of his abilities and the farm was struggling so he didn't have much to spare.
He found a motel rather quickly, paid the man $25 for two nights and settled in too wait until dark. As he waited Clark wondered where to start his investigation, he could talk to local gangs if he could find them but even though the police suspected gang activity it didn't make sense, none of the victims had any connections with gangs and they were all of different ages and ethnicity.
As the sun faded Clark made his way out into the city, not really sure where he was going, he sped from street to street, listening to the entire city, waiting for something to resemble a murder, after stopping a few rapists and thieves he heard another scream but strangely this one was in a response to a growl, some kind of animal attack, now that was unusual.
Clark was there in a flash and was greeted with the strangest sight; a man was leaning over a girl on the floor his mouth closed round her neck, Clark quickly grabbed the man and threw him off her. The wall cracked as the man hit it; he landed on his feet and rushed at Clark with inhuman speed. The man tackled Clark to the floor, going for his throat just like he'd done to the girl. If Clark hadn't been so shocked it wouldn't have gotten that far, not that it mattered.
The man's teeth closed on Clark's neck and nothing happened, the teeth couldn't puncture Clark's skin. The man looked just as shocked as Clark was at being taken down, the man's surprise quickly turned to fear and he fled.
Clark let him go. He'd already remembered the strange features, the blood red eyes, the pale hard skin, inhuman strength and speed. He would have pursued the killer but the girl was still alive. He pushed himself up and went to the girl; he needed to get her to a hospital and fast.
"Wait" said a voice as Clark picked up the girl, a man walked out from behind the nearest building, shockingly handsome, pale skin and amber eyes. Clark noted the similarities to the attacker and the differences, the eyes kept him from running. This man was obviously in some way connected to the 'killer' but maybe not the same group; things were definitely strange around here.
"My name is Carlisle" He said, continuing once he saw that Clark wasn't going anywhere "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, as do I after witnessing your encounter but I need to see the girl, I am in fact a doctor" His tone was calm and reassuring but Clark was uneasy.
"She needs to get to a hospital" Clark replied not moving a muscle, holding the girl protectively close to his chest, he was still suspicious of this man, especially when so similar to the other attacker but again the eyes made him pause. Maybe he could help the girl.
"Look I don't have time to explain now but one of two things can happen to that girl, either we leave her and she will turn into one of us, like me and the man who attacked her or we can finish her off, trust me more people will die if you take her to the hospital" He said the words just as calmly as before but there was an edge to it this time, a kind of panic.
"Why should I trust you?" asked Clark, not believing a word the man had just said, he would not let this girl die. "I will not let anyone be killed, not when it is in my power to stop" Carlisle looked at him, the panic rising more clearly now.
"Ok, ok, I am a Vampire" Clark went to interrupt but Carlisle spoke to fast "I know it's hard to believe but think, that man had red eyes, he was drinking the girls blood, he was faster and stronger than any man, apart from you, just come with me and bring the girl, I can answer all your questions at my home" Carlisle finished, a pleading look on his face.
Clark didn't have enough information. If what Carlisle said was true taking the girl to a hospital would endanger others, but if he was lying then the girl would die. Clark looked carefully at Carlisle, searching for the lie but he couldn't find it, even though none of it made sense Clark found he had no choice but to go with the 'man.'
"OK, I will come with you, but the girl will not die, that I promise" he said, clutching the girl a little tighter. Carlisle frowned but didn't say anything in response to the girls condition "I'm Clark by the way, I take it your faster than your average man as well?" Carlisle nodded.
"Thank you Clark" He said relief evident in his voice and stance "Follow me" he ran back down the alley he'd walked out of and Clark followed. Clark kept pace easily; knowing that if he wanted to he could go faster, that thought gave him some small comfort as he plunged head first into the unknown.
Carlisle stopped just outside a house surrounded by forest, Clark could tell the house was old; it had a kind of grandeur to it that only old houses have and it was much bigger than Clark's farm house in Smallville.
"I have a family inside and they'll be waiting for an explanation, please stay calm" Carlisle opened the door and beckoned Clark inside behind him, Clark followed, his face unreadable and a slight tension to all his movements, showing everyone he was ready to fight or flee.
As Clark entered he saw Carlisle's family, waiting at the bottom of the massive staircase, there were seven of them all lined up waiting to find out what was going on, they all looked stunned at the sight of him and the almost dead girl in his arms.
"Before I explain, I'd like to make introductions, everyone this is Clark, Clark this is Edward an Bella" He said pointing to the couple at the far left, as Clark noticed Bella was human even more questions burst into his head but he kept his mouth shut "Jasper and Alice, Emmett and Rosalie and this is my wife Esme" he finished stepping towards his wife. They were all extremely beautiful, except Bella, who was not unattractive but she didn't have the same kind of otherworldly beauty that they had.
Clark was unimpressed by the beauty or rather unfazed by it "Where can I put the girl?" he asked rather bluntly, causing more stunned looks, several went to say something but Carlisle raised his hand.
"Everyone please take a seat at the dining table, all will be made clear shortly" He asked politely and no one argued, he was obviously seen as the leader "Clark please follow me" He headed up the staircase, Clark followed walking through the group they stepped out his way, Clark could tell that again his actions had surprised them, he smiled to himself once past them.
Carlisle led him to a room that looked like it belonged in a hospital; it had all the gear you usually find along with a hospital bed, Clark placed the girl gently on the bed "What can you do for her?" He asked Carlisle, he would not let this girl die.
"I think you better come downstairs and listen; it will become clear, trust me" Carlisle said leaving the room, Clark looked at the girl then to the door, what choice did he have.
Clark followed Carlisle into the dining room to find the entire group sat down in the same order as at the stairs, they were all together then, Clark noted. As Clark sat down at the end of the table, furthest from them all, the one called Emmett spoke up "What the hell is going on? Why is this human here? Who's the girl upstairs? It's bad enough the Volturi knowing Bella knows, are we gonna have to turn this one too?" Clark laughed in response, a deep bellowing laugh, again shocking everyone. The break in the tension caused Rosalie to leap over the table at Clark and before anyone else could stop her Clark threw her through the ceiling, the upstairs floor and some way into the forest. Everyone stared.
"Please Clark, you didn't have to throw her quite so far" Carlisle said as if talking to a child, he turned to Emmett "You better see if she's alright" Emmett glared at Clark and then was gone, apart from Carlisle everyone was just staring at Clark "How?" they all said together.
Carlisle spoke before Clark "I was in Seattle checking on the 'situation' when I witnessed Clark appear from nowhere and throw a vampire off her, the vampire than attacked him to no effect then it fled, I approached Clark and now we are here. I would also like to know how Clark?"
"I came here for answers, not to be interrogated but I will tell if you speak first, a girl is dying upstairs and I'd like to know why" Clark said calmly this time, not as blunt, but his words were underlined with power, an absoluteness that couldn't be argued with.
Carlisle nodded "You already know the gist, we are vampires, except Bella, we are practically indestructible, have immense strength and speed, we also have a venom we pass on when we bite, there is no cure. If the girl upstairs is left she will turn into one of us, unless we kill her ourselves" Clark heard the distain in Carlisle's voice at the last part, he didn't like the idea of killing either.
"So we kill her or she becomes a vampire?" Clark asked, almost incredulous, struggling to find a gap in the evidence that would make it false.
"Is it really so hard to believe" said another vampire, Edward thought Clark as he looked for the voice "you yourself obviously have exceptional abilities" Edwards tone had a slight edge to it, something Clark was missing.
"What was that?" He asked Edward "Something you're not telling me?" a look of frustration flickered over Edwards face, obviously not used to being caught in a lie.
"Some of us have… extra abilities, I can usually read minds, apart from Bella's and now yours" replied Edward curtly, obviously not liking to give the information away. Emmett and Rosalie came back in at this moment; Clark forcefully stopped himself laughing again. The vampire woman was covered in mud, twigs and leaves.
"How?" said Emmett, his dislike obvious in his tone, He looked as if he was about to launch himself at Clark but obviously the previous display of strength gave him pause. As Emmett and Rosalie took their seats she began apologising "I'm so sorry… It's just… well your blood smells…" she stopped talking and buried her face into Emmett's shoulder.
Edward glanced at her after she spoke; he reached out and gently squeezed her shoulder, his eyes returned to Bella a new kind of pain on his face.
Then Alice fell out of her chair, as if she'd had a spasm of some kind. This night was getting weirder and weirder thought Clark, as Alice got back to her feet Edward gasped, Clark couldn't stand it "What the hell is going on?."
"As I was saying before some of us have extra abilities Alice can see the future and she just saw yours, or a glimpse at least it was rather strange, I saw it in her mind. I'll let her explain" Edward gestured to Alice, giving her the chance to speak though she was still reeling from whatever she saw. Clark had met someone else who could see the future, it hadn't ended well.
"All I could see was a cape and sky, there was no fluidity to it… it… it just was" she struggled to find the right words "It was… Inevitable and unchanging. It was impossible. what are you?" she asked. Clark wasn't happy at what he heard sounded too much like destiny, which he'd heard enough of from his biological father.
"Clark we have explained to you what we are now please put us out of our misery, there is no reason for us to be enemies" said Carlisle. Clark found the vampire annoying, he spoke with such kindness and compassion it was hard not to just do what he said but he had a few more questions.
"Before that I would like to know why your eyes are different and what is going on in Seattle, I came here to stop it after all" Clark asked though much more politely this time, after all Carlisle had treated him with nothing but respect so far.
Clark looked around at the vampires waiting for a response. Jasper was comforting Alice who was still reeling from the strange vision. Bella was asking Edward question after question still stunned by Clark's appearance. Emmett held Rosalie while glaring at Clark and Esme just stared quietly. All Clark could think was that even vampires found him strange an unnerving after seeing his abilities, he almost laughed again. Always an oddity Always a loner. He stopped those thoughts in there tracks; the girl upstairs was still dying.
"Our eyes are a different colour because we do not drink human blood" Carlisle explained. Clark was glad to hear this but he also chastised himself, he hadn't even thought of the 'feeding' before he brought the girl here. Carlisle continued as Clark had been lost in his own thoughts to much to reply "we feed on animals instead, it helps with the thirst, not as much as human blood but it is the path we have chosen. We call ourselves 'vegetarians' sort of a family joke" That comment got a few smiles.
"And Seattle?" asked Clark, again with the abruptness.
"We are not entirely sure, it is strange even for our kind to kill so indiscriminately, Jasper thinks it might be newborns but we can't figure out why" Clark looked at Jasper he was more tense than any of the others, Clark could see 100's of scars over his arms and face, he was surprised he hadn't noticed it before. It gave quite an impression.
"Newborns?" He asked again, he could worry about vampire stories later, Jasper answered.
"Newborns still have human blood running through their veins, it makes them stronger than us, faster than us. Though we still have the edge when it comes to experience, newborns are too wild." Jasper finished his explanation then turned his attention back to Alice.
"Who's making them?" Clark asked again, trying to get as much information so he could to stop all the killing.
"Geese, are you always this tense?" Bella asked her tone undeniably irritated, everyone looked stunned but Clark found it to be almost comforting, it was a human thing to say after all "I mean that kind of tension will make you fit right in here" she smiled pointedly at Edward.
Clark smiled himself "your not the first person to say that" he replied "I'm sorry if I've been blunt but lives are on the line" he continued a little more gravely, Bella's smiled flickered an then vanished.
"I guess so" she mumbled, Clark felt like a jerk.
"Look" he started, smiling again "The sooner I can sort out this new born problem the sooner we can be friends and so on" his tone a lot kinder this time. Everyone was looking at him, they the ones looking incredulous this time.
"As soon as you just sort out the new-born problem? Do you even know what your talking about?" accused Bella, Clark looked around the room at all the shocked and disbelieving expressions. It was his turn to speak.
"You have no idea what I'm capable of" he said quietly, a dark grin on his face then he sped round the room pulling all the chairs out from under the vampires and sat back down. None of them actually fell manigng to stand as the chair disappeared, but they were all staring at Clark in amazement and a hint of fear. Bella gasped, to her it just looked like all the vampires had stood up for no reason.
"What are yo..." she began then noticed the chairs, she looked back at Clark, struggling to find words "But your human..." she murmured quietly, not believing what she'd just seen. "What are you?" echoed eight voices; Clark was looking forward to this.
"I'm an alien" He replied, as matter of factly as he could manage and eight mouths dropped. No words came out so Clark continued. He didn't hold anything back as he needed these 'peoples' help and it never hurt to make friends "I came to earth in a spaceship fifteen years ago at the same time as the meteor shower in Smallville. In fact the meteors are broken pieces of my home world, Krypton. I'm the last of my kind" Clark finished on a more sombre note than he'd intended, it still got to him some times. Despite the craziness of his story, Carlisle got up and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder "you must carry a terrible burden" he said softly "but today you have found new friends, I think I speak for everyone when I say that." He looked around the room, Edward got up and offered Clark his hand. Clark looked at it for a moment then stood up himself and shook the hand, being careful not to crush it.
After that almost everyone got up to greet him, even Rosalie and Emmett. Though when Emmett shook his hand he put all his strength into crushing it, Clark could feel it and it was slightly uncomfortable but he gave nothing away. Emmett gave in and then said jokingly "Have to challenge you to an arm wrestle sometime." Bella was the only one who remained seated.
"An alien? Are you kidding me? Your telling me that not only are there vampires and werewolves there're aliens too? There's only so much a human girl can take" she said exasperated, Clark laughed; Bella having a tantrum was pure comedy.
"Bella, I'm only an alien in a biological sense. I've been raised by humans. I go to high school and all that. I practically am human" Bella looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"Practically human, apart from the strength and speed…" Bella began.
"Also the heat vision, x-ray vision and the super hearing" Clark finished her sentence, though not in the way Bella had intended and instead of carrying on she just spluttered and gasped. Everyone one else was also shocked, yet again.
And we all thought we were freaks" Alice said, nice and spritely, obviously recovered from earlier "And your 15?" She asked, taking in his Tall and muscular build.
"No, It took my ship 3 years to get here" Clark said still smiling, it was good to be able to talk about his secret so openly "Making me 18."
"That makes more sense" Alice nodded to herself. Despite all the revelations Clark hadn't forgotten the girl.
"Carlisle, what do we do about the girl?" He asked, everyone got a little tense again "I promised she wouldn't die, I can't stand by and let you kill her" everyone sat back at the table including Clark, waiting quietly for the response.
"Clark" Carlisle started to explain, his voice gentle "The girl will die. The only difference is if she stays dead or comes back as one of us. She is changing as we speak, the venom running through her veins…" Carlisle was interrupted by the most horrific scream from upstairs; Clark was gone as soon as he heard it. Straight to the girl's side. Carlisle followed as did Jasper, Emmett and Edward, just in case.
"Clark the venom is changing her body, we can stop it or we can let it happen, it's your choice" Clark looked at Carlisle, how he could make this choice, if only he'd been a little faster before she would still be alive and unharmed.
"What happens if she becomes one of you?" Clark asked quietly.
"We will explain everything to her when she wakes including the choice she has here with us but I must warn you Clark she may choose against that and go down the darker path" Clark heard Carlisle's words as if from far away, would he kill to protect others? If she chose to be a blood drinker could he destroy her? Could he kill or let her be killed right now? The answer was no, he just couldn't kill her, he couldn't kill anyone in cold blood.
"Leave her" he said quietly and returned to the table putting his head in his hands trying to reconcile the choice he'd made, then a hand was on his shoulder. Carlisle no doubt, a vampire who was kinder than most humans. Who'd have thought.