I don't own Smallville or Supernatural. I hope you enjoy it. And can someone please review this time? This takes place in Supernatural series one, somewhere after Bugs but before the one where they meet back up with their dad.
Metamorphosis
The absence of streetlights made the road dark. Sam blinked, trying to adjust his eyes.
He could make out the white 'Route 19' in a road sign and realised he knew where he was. After scrambling to his feet, he walked down the road, passing a sign that read 'Entering Smallville'.
He paused, wondering how he got there, his eyes widening as a bright light appeared at the end of the road. He shielded his eyes as the headlights drew closer. Sam watched as the car jolted, swerving out of control, speeding past Sam.
He swore, chasing after it, grimacing as it swerved along the road. It flew off the road and crashed, coming to a complete stop.
Sam reached the green car, peering through the cracked windscreen to see a teenage boy swatting at a swarm of insects surrounding.
Sam grabbed the door handle, trying to open it as the bugs began to glow a fluorescent green. The boy screamed, Sam pounding at the windows until the screams died and the road returned to darkness.
*
Sam jolted upwards, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
"I was going to wake you," came a female voice, and he rubbed his eyes. "Once you fell out of bed, I thought it you'd wake up soon enough."
Sam suddenly became aware of the hard floor underneath him and the pain shooting through his body. He stood up, stretching as he shooed Chloe out his room.
Chloe rushed down the stairs and placed some bread into the toaster for her and Sam. She slumped in the chair next to Dean, leaning her elbows on the table.
"He was having a nightmare." she told Dean, who grimaced. "Maybe he should get a dream diary."
Dean chuckled. "I hope it's not too bad a nightmare." he indicated the duffle bag by his feet. "We're going. I decided we're not likely to find a case in such a small town as this, so we're going somewhere bigger."
"Like Metropolis?"
Gabe entered the room. "I told you." he sighed, joining them at the table. "We get the same newspapers as Metropolis. Stay here for a while. You're just looking for a case when there aren't any because you want to find your father."
Chloe lifted her head off the table. "Your dad's missing?"
They ignored her. "Just stay until he sends you some co-ordinates." Gabe told him. Dean opened his mouth to respond but Sam's voice came from the stairs.
"Good idea." Sam entered the kitchen. "Thanks for the offer Gabe."
"What was your nightmare about?" Chloe asked and Sam winced.
"Someone on Route 19 crashed into a tree and was attacked by bugs. I couldn't save him."
Chloe flinched at the description. "Sounds freaky."
"Insects again?" Dean frowned. "I guess we're staying in Smallville after all."
Chloe stared in confusion as Sam moved his gaze up to her.
"Do you know if there are any Burial Grounds around here?" he asked.
"You realise this was a dream?" she sighed at his curious look. "Not off the top of my head." she admitted. "I'd help but I promised Mrs Kent I'd help at the farmer's market so I have to go."
"We'll come too." Dean grabbed the keys to the Impala as Chloe and Sam buttered their toast. "We could asked around, see if it's another curse."
Chloe laughed, following the men to the car and waving goodbye to her father.
As Dean drove out of Smallville, Sam turned to face Chloe in the back seat to ask her about Smallville's history.
"There's not Native American reservation nearby." she admitted, and Sam caught Dean's eye. "I don't know if they have any sites that close to Smallville though."
Dean pulled up next to a large truck before getting out the car. Chloe joined him, catching someone's eye and waving, before running away from the brothers. The brothers watched as she talked with an older red-haired woman, Clark Kent hovering by her shoulder.
As Dean and Sam approached, they watched as Clark Kent tapped her shoulder and she jumped, turning to him worriedly.
"Are you alright?" she asked, referring to a scarecrow incident that happened the previous day. Clark began to speak but was ushered away by his father. The red-headed woman passed Chloe an apple as the brothers reached them.
Sam held out his hand. "You must be Mrs Kent." he said. "I'm Sam Winchester, Mr Sullivan's godson." he lied as Chloe started to set out the stall.
Dean introduced himself as Pete arrived; gravitating towards Chloe and helping her set the crates out. She chatted with him loudly, the brothers still watching her as she lifted the heavy boxes. Suddenly she paused, eyes scanning the crowd.
"All hail the homecoming King and Queen." she teased, smiling at Clark's anxious face when he noticed a couple towards them. Dean eyed the dark-haired girl, her boyfriend's arm slung around her waist.
"Girls were not this pretty when I was at high school." he whispered to Sam as the girl came over to the Kent's stall.
"Where were you last night?" she asked Clark, and her boyfriend's grip tightened.
"Well I was a little…tied up." he answered, and Chloe laughed. The jock glared at her, turning to speak to Clark.
Dean scanned the market, noticing how busy it was and grabbed Sam's arm. "It's busy. If we want answers…." Sam nodded and they moved away from the stall, almost bumping into a dark-haired boy.
Chloe caught sight of the boy and put down her crate, walking quickly towards him. She frowned as she took in his appearance. The boy, who was once spotty, had clear skin and dark, angry eyes. His baggy clothes were replaced with a black outfit. He looked her up and down before trying to stride past her, but she caught his arm.
"Greg." His eyes snapped to hers and he tilted his head to the left threateningly. She gulped. "I need that article you promised to write. You know, on the stick insect?"
"I'm busy." he snarled, stepping away from Chloe and fixing his gaze on Lana, who was examining a display of glass butterflies. Chloe sighed, but spotted Sam slouched on a bench. She walked over to join him, smiling as Dean sat down with him as well.
"Find anything?" Dean shook his head. "Well you can't have asked everyone, you've only been asking for five minutes."
"We've asked a lot of people." Sam sighed in frustration and Chloe frowned.
"And you've probably missed the one person who knew anything." An old man joined them on the bench and Chloe turned to him. "Excuse me sir?" Chloe captured the man's attention. "Do you happen to know anything about any nearby Native American Burial sites?"
The man chuckled. "No one here does. Joseph Willowbrook will though but he lives all the way in Granville."
Chloe shot the brothers a triumphant grin and thanked the man. "Let's go." she sighed. "I'm no longer needed; the Kent's seem to believe Clark has it under control, and Greg's acting really weird."
Dean smirked, already walking back to the car.
*
At 10:30 the next morning, Sam untangled himself from the sheets, quickly pulled on his clothes and shook Dean awake.
"Hurry up, Dean." he grumbled as Dean slowly sat up. "Chloe's at school, Gabe's at work and we should be at Granville."
By the time Dean was ready; Sam had stolen the keys and was lounging in the Impala, playing music that was definitely not to Dean's taste through the stereo. Dean winced at the noise as he climbed into the car, passing Sam the map and changing the tape.
Metallica was the only noise for the entire journey, Dean nodding along as Sam sleepily followed the map.
Dean pulled over, getting out the car. "Come on Sammy."
Sam groaned but got out, examining the small town, turning to an old woman.
"Excuse me, but do you know where a Joseph Willowbrook is?"
She smiled a toothless grin, before pointing at a white house towards the end of the street. As Sam thanked her, Dean was already walking over.
A middle-aged man opened the door as Dean rang the doorbell, making Dean's eyes widen in shock.
"Are you Joseph?" he asked and the man nodded. "We're joining Central Kansas next term, going to be studying the importance of burial grounds within Native American culture." Dean lied smoothly. "We were told we should speak to you."
Joseph chuckled, inviting them into his front room and offering them seats. He sat opposite them, removing his hat.
"I wasn't aware they studied that at Central Kansas and I'm a professor there."
Dean grimaced, but Sam smiled and replied. "It's a new course."
"I'm no expert." Joseph smiled. "I'm an expert in languages and prehistoric cave-paintings." He watched the brother's facial expressions as they frowned. "But, due to my research about an old set of caves believed to be in Smallville, I do know where a burial site is."
He withdrew a map from underneath the coffee table and spread it out, small X's scattered around the map.
"The X's are the possible cave locations." he explained, before pointing to a printed star. "Here's an ancient site, but the Native Americans no longer protect it. As you can see, it's a site of historical importance but it's available for public viewing. It's called the slumbering place."
Dean leant closer, eyes scanning the map. "Do you think there's a curse for trespassers or vandals?"
Joseph chuckled again. "No curse." his eyes flickered to a picture on his mantelpiece. "My granddaughter visits it often but she says there are not many other visitors except one boy."
"Does she say why he visits?" Sam asked, Dean's eyes lingering on the picture
"He collects insects, she says."
"Could we visit?"
"You don't need to ask, just pay the entrance fee." Joseph stood up, as did the brothers.
"Thanks." Sam and Dean left, passing the smiling old woman on the way back to the car.
"Let's check it out." Dean planned. "See if there are any disturbed graves, unhappy spirits, you know…"
Sam nodded.
*
Chloe got off the school bus, waving to Clark and Pete while fumbling in her bag for the keys. She unlocked the door, dumped her bag and walked into the living room.
Her mouth dropped at the numerous weapons spread around the room. Dean was sorting through them while Sam was examining a map.
"Joining the army?" she asked as Sam straightened up, turning to look at her. He shook his head.
"We're investigating something." he told her. "Visiting an ancient burial yard."
Chloe smiled in excitement. "I'm coming too." she announced, quickly running upstairs to fetch her camera. Dean packed up the weapons and Sam folded up the map.
Dean pushed the bag into the backseat before sitting in the driver's seat. Sam joined him and Dean started the engine.
Chloe locked the door, running to the car and jumping into the backseat before he could drive off. Dean groaned but Chloe ignored him, watching through the windows as they drove past fields of corn.
"Did you know Clark saved Whitney's life yesterday?" she grinned, but Sam ignored her, running his finger along the map until Dean pulled into a small parking lot.
It was dark so Dean grabbed a torch, passing it to Chloe. Sam seized another, and they left the car. Chloe pushed open the gate, hearing the buzz of insects surrounding the three of them.
"It's very public." Sam whispered. "I doubt there's a curse attached. Smallville would know if there was."
Chloe turned to the brothers, standing between two burial mounds. "What are we looking for?"
"A reason for a swarm of insects to attack someone." Sam told her. "It could be a curse. We have experience with this sort of thing."
"Maybe someone irritated them." she said, sitting down on a large altar in the centre of the site. "Bees only sting when angry." The two men ignored her, moving deeper into the burial ground, looking for signs of disturbance. "There haven't even been any reports of a bug attack."
She stood up in order to follow them as they moved deeper into the darkness, avoiding the tombs. The buzzing grew louder. Chloe's foot caught on something and her ankle twisted. She cursed quietly, falling over. She reached for the object, feeling a familiar rough surface as she wrapped her hand round it. She used her torch to illuminate it.
"Meteor rock." she stated and slowly stood up, trying not to put pressure on her ankle. She shone the round, catching glimpses of green that she hadn't seen before. She called out for the brothers. "Look!" she held the rock out. "This place must have been hit during the meteor shower."
They continued to ignore her, still searching for evidence. When they had searched the entire place, Sam sighed.
"There's nothing here." he groaned, turning back and returning to the entrance.
The three clambered back into the car and Dean started the engine, going back to the main road.
"What could it be?" Sam wondered aloud as the Impala entered Smallville.
*
The doorbell rang through the house early the next morning. Fortunately, Sam and Dean were already awake and sitting in the living room.
Chloe, however, woke with a start, stumbling down the stairs. Her hair was askew and her pyjamas were still on. She opened the door, blushing as she saw Clark. He smiled weakly at her.
"Clark!" she gasped. "Who wakes up at this time in the morning?"
Clark chuckled. "Someone who lives on a farm."
"Just wait a bit, alright?" she told him. "Sit in the living room."
She darted back upstairs and Clark walked into the living room, eyes widening when he saw Sam and Dean. "Are you supposed to be here?" he asked.
"Yes. We're Gabe's godsons. We're staying here for awhile." Sam smiled at the younger boy. Clark held out a hand, quickly trusting him. Sam took it firmly. "How long have you known Chloe?"
"Since eighth grade." Clark answered quickly.
"We've known her since she was born." Sam lied and Dean chuckled at the confused look on Clark's face.
"She's never mentioned you." he said slowly, releasing Sam's hand and turning to Dean. Dean didn't take it so Clark dropped it, standing there awkwardly until Chloe returned.
"I'm glad you came." she said, glancing at the three boys. "And I see you've met Sam and Dean." Clark smiled slowly. "I have the whole interview planned out. I even have my headline – Clark Kent, man or superman."
Clark looked surprised, having clearly forgotten about the interview.
"You forgot." Chloe stated. "Then why did you come?"
"Is Greg still the science reporter for the Torch?" he asked, finally sitting down. Chloe joined him, sitting opposite the brothers.
"If you mean handing in articles, then no." her eyebrows furrowed. Sam and Dean watched them in interest. "He hasn't come in for about a week."
Clark grimaced.
"Why the sudden interest?" she continued. "Are you coming out the entomology closet?
Clark moved away from Chloe, remembering that the brothers were watching them closely.
"It's nothing."
"I hate it when you do that." Chloe whispered and her grin faded. She looked down as Clark's stare flicked anxiously between the Winchester's and the top of her head. "When you shut me out." her voice was growing quieter and Sam and Dean were straining their ears to hear what she was saying. Clark looked awkward and worried. "You're not outgrowing me as a friend, are you?"
Clark smiled in relief. "I could never outgrow you." Chloe looked hopeful and moved closer to Clark. "Other than vertically."
She swatted his arm. "That Kent charm will get you anywhere." she mumbled, but her voice suddenly got louder. "So what's this about Greg?"
After one quick glance at Dean, he said nothing. Chloe giggled.
"They're weirder than me, so you can tell me anything in front of them."
Clark nodded, not smiling.
"Greg attacked me last night in my barn." he said. "We thought he'd come from nowhere but when we checked, he'd been walking on the ceiling." Chloe's jaw dropped but Sam and Dean weren't affected. "It was like he was a bug."
Chloe jumped up and turned on the computer, tapping her leg as they waited for it to load. They sat in silence for about half an hour, the only noise being the occasional whirring of the printer.
Chloe stood back up, a wad of paper now in her hand. She sat back next to Clark, smiling slightly.
"I found an article about tribesmen who took on the traits of insects they were bitten by," she showed Clark the article while Sam and Dean listened carefully. "But nothing as extreme as Greg."
Clark sighed. "Greg came after the meteor shower so it can't have been exposure to the blast."
The brothers chuckled at the fact that Clark believed the meteor theory, but Chloe remembered the visit to the burial site.
Her eyes widened. "But bugs all over Smallville might be. The whole habitat of Smallville is infected. What's to say the bugs aren't too?"
Sam nodded, Dean and Clark still confused. "So if… Greg collected bugs from an infected habitat, such as the burial site, the bugs would be infected."
Dean grinned in understanding, and Chloe raised an eyebrow.
"So you believe the meteor theory now?" Chloe grinned in amusement. "No more ghosts and curses?"
"They're a lot more real than you think." Dean pointed out.
Clark suddenly spoke again. "People get bitten all the time by mosquitoes. How come Smallville isn't full of bug people?"
Sam started to rethink his idea while Dean grumbled that it was a different curse affecting the boy. Chloe and Clark however, slowly reread the article.
"You need a certain amount of toxins." Chloe said slowly. "The tribesmen who got the traits were attacked by swarms."
"Greg kept tanks in his room." Clark added.
"So say, Greg was driving and he crashed and his bug tanks opened…" Sam trailed off.
"The insects would revolt." Chloe smiled. "So boy catches bugs, bugs bite boy and you get bugboy." They settled back into silence, Chloe's eyes skimming the article on final time. "But bugs have a short lifecycle so let's hope he hasn't reached the mating phase."
Clark stood up. "We should visit his house." Chloe stood up, the Winchesters moving to join them but Clark frowned. "Chloe and I will go. I'll protect her if he's there."
Chloe smiled weakly, her eyes conveying her nerves. "I know you will," she grinned. "But I'm still calling Pete."
*
Greg's house was small, the white door surrounded by two window. Chloe peered through them, trying to see into the house.
"It's really messy in there." she told Clark and Pete, moving back to watch them peer through the translucent glass.
As Clark tried the door, Pete shook his head in disbelief, peeping through the keyhole.
"His mom's a neat freak. She told us off when we didn't take off our shoes." Pete remembered. "We used to be his friend."
"Is that why you stopped being his friend?" Chloe continued to examine the outside of the house.
"No." Pete laughed. "When his dad left, he stopped talking to us." He gave up searching, leaning on the panelled walls of the house. "I remember he had a killer tree fort, but Clark always got sick. It was too high for him."
Clark grumbled in protest. "I was not afraid of heights."
Chloe ignored the argument between the boys, trying another window. It shook when she pressed on it and Chloe found she was able to slide it open. She called Clark over before climbing through the window into the cream-coloured hallway. The boys followed suit.
It was boiling hot. Chloe quickly took off her jacket, tucking it under her arm, using her other arm to hold her camera. Pete moved into the living room, examining the thermostat.
"Its hot." he exhaled, turning the temperature down and then turning to follow Chloe and Clark up the stairs.
Dark handprints were spread over the cream wallpaper, as if someone had been thrashing up the stairs. Chloe had taken pictures of every inch of wall, holding the developing pictures in her other hand.
At the top of the stairs they turned left, walking into the bathroom.
"Gross…" Pete was standing by the shower. Chloe rushed to join him, paling at the sight of skin lying at the plughole.
"I guess he's shed his skin." she choked out, taking more pictures as quickly as possible before rushing out, leaving Clark and Pete to further examine the room.
She opened the door to another room, gagging as she saw cobwebs filling what was probably Greg's room. As she moved further in, she heard a soft voice and she looked up.
Chloe had found the only thing not covered by cobwebs.
She frowned as Lana and Whitney faded from the television screen. However, another video soon started, with Lana as the star once again.
"Guys…" she yelled, her voice trembling and they ran in, their stares snapping to the television screen.
"Guess you're not the only one in Smallville with a crush on Lana." Pete muttered.
"Looks like he's found his mate." Chloe whispered. Clark's gaze widened, his eyes flickering nervously around the room. His stare fixed on a large mound of cobwebs in the farthest corner of the room. Chloe watched as he approached it. His fingers gingerly tore at the thin thread, breaking them apart.
A gaunt, white, dead woman fell forward and they froze in shock, Chloe snapping a picture.
"Lana!" Clark yelled, running out the room and down the steps, the other two following him. "I have to warn her."
When Pete and Chloe reached the bottom of the stairs, he had vanished.
They shot confused looks at one another before running to Pete's car.
"Where do you think Greg will be?" Chloe asked as they sped down the road.
"Probably his tree house, near the Creekside Foundry." Pete answered.
"High school is a constant state of metamorphosis." Chloe sighed. "Just be careful what you turn into."
Pete had already pulled up by her house.
She leapt out the car and ran inside, slamming the door shut. The brothers saw her pale face and ran over, and she weakly held out the photos.
"Bugboy." she breathed, pointing to three pictures. "He's fed, shed and now he's found his mate."
As Dean found a shotgun, Sam turned to Chloe. "Where will he be?"
"Pete said at the tree house, near the Creekside Foundry."
Sam and Dean were already halfway out the door.
*
The Winchesters leapt out of the Impala, guns clenched in their hands.
"I'll go to foundry, you check the tree house." Sam told Dean, running over to the fence surrounding the factory. Dean sighed in agreement, climbing up the ladder as Sam started to go up the fence.
There were cobwebs, but Greg wasn't there. Dean put his gun down and reached for the web, pulling it apart quickly. His eyes widened as Lana Lang took in a deep breath.
Still breathing heavily, she looked up at Dean, who grinned at her.
"You're welcome." he said, grabbing the shotgun and moving to leave the fort.
"You're just going to leave me?" she gasped, eyes filling with tears.
"You're going to leave her?"
Dean turned round at the new voice, spotting the jock, Lana's boyfriend.
"Yeah, you're here now." Dean said, starting to go down the ladder. Lana disentangled herself from the cobwebs and threw herself into Whitney's arms, sobbing.
Meanwhile, Sam was running into the foundry. He drew to a halt when he saw Greg fly through the large hall, hitting his head off a tall metal column.
Sam sighed, stepping with his gun out. He readied it, pointing at the bugboy. This alerted Greg, who turned his head quickly and made to get up, grabbing a lever with one hand.
Chains started to move and Sam dropped his gun in shock as Clark Kent appeared, yelling "Watch Out!"
Sam's eyes snapped to him as the metal tank dropped from the ceiling, landing on Greg. Sam turned back, wincing as millions of bugs scuttled out from under the tank.
"Disgusting." Sam grimaced, turning back to Clark but he was gone.
Sam left the foundry, meeting Dean halfway back to the fence.
"Did you see Clark?"
Dean shook his head and Sam frowned in confusion.
"Did you get bugboy?" Dean asked.
"He got squashed."
The brothers heaved themselves over the fence, going to the Impala and opening it. Dean started the ignition, leaving the fort and returning to the main road.
Sam flicked open his phone, typed in Chloe's number and pressed 'Call'.
*
"Done" Chloe exclaimed, showing Sam and Dean a large front page spread.
A picture of Clark was emblazoned across a quarter of the large sheet of paper. The headline 'Clark Kent – man or superman' ran across the top.
Dean chuckled. "So you finally got that interview you've been waiting for. Did he mention Bugboy?"
Sam skimmed through the article, shaking his head in answer to the question.
"Not believable." she chuckled. "He wouldn't speak about it. I thought about asking Lana but I doubt she'd want to talk about being kidnapped by bug boy."
Sam and Dean smiled.
"I guess I could have interviewed you though." she continued, gazing at Sam. "I mean, we wouldn't have worked it out without Sam and his sixth sense."
She stood up, article clutched tightly in her hand, oblivious as Sam watched her leave.
I've nearly written out the next chapter. Thanks for reading