The Farmer's Daughter
Disclaimer: Smallville, Superman, Supergirl all belong to someone else. I just came up with the storyline and additional characters in this shindig.
Inspiration: "Glorious #1" by Remy Zero, "To Be Alone With You" by Sufjan Stevens, "Face Down" by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, "The Ghost Of You" by My Chemical Romance.
Pairings: Small Allie/Future Justice League Member moment in a flashback sequence, Lex/Allie in later chapters.
Chapter Four: Catch and Release
A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry for the late submission. I've been enjoying my summer-guilty! But no worries, I have a lot of ideas I'd really like to work out in this story and have no plans of abandoning it. Also, I don't want to give you all the wrong impression in my portrayal of Lex Luthor. He'll show his true colors, eventually… Muhahaha lol Oh! And I threw in a little flashback montage (Allie's first encounter with Kryptonite) in this chapter that will help me better fit in the Justice League later! XD
Chapter Summary: After attending Daniel Ross's birthday/congratulations party (part two - lucky bastard), Chloe and Allie make a discovery worth nearly dying for. Also, Allie reminisces on her first encounter with someone like her, someone.. Who will later become a love interest for Lois Lane in later seasons of Smallville. (That woman has a ton of those!)
Allie sat alone by the lake early that morning. Using a blue plastic cooler as a chair, drinking thermos coffee from it's small plastic cap, she stared out into the open waters admiring the great peaceful puddle that was Crater Lake.
The weather was fair - for October, and winter coats weren't necessary. Yet. The lake's only admirer that morning wore dark blue denim that's rich color competed with the waters, from neck down Allie Kent looked like a Crater Lake regular. Rough around the edges, Allie wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty, and that was a statement she wasn't afraid to flaunt.
She sipped the last sip of her honey sweetened coffee and returned the cap to the thermos. Twisting it closed gave glimpse of what little accessories kept her feminine. Allie wore white cotton winter gloves, along with matching cap, with a single red heart embroidered in the center of her palms.
Mom made them.
Allie inhaled that crisp winter laced air that slowly approached on Smallville and glanced over her shoulder to check in on everyone else.
The Ross boys, all with winter gloves and caps of their own, were busy with the bonfire. Daniel continued to tipi large logs of drift wood around the downward cone while Pete and Gabe secured it's base with a barrier of sandbags. The fire was still eating it's way upward from the belly of the pit but Allie was able to draw in a faint whiff of the burning drift wood from where she sat. She closed her eyes to focus in on the scent. It was familiar, gained over years and years of visiting Crater Lake, practically written in her DNA along with the happy memories she obtained from all the good times she had encountered here.
She opened her eyes and returned to the water. She exhaled her personal high and rose to her feet.
Not every visit to Crater Lake was a joyous snapshot out of the Kent family album, she had her share of bad days. But those were encounters she'd rather forget and leave behind, maybe even allow to be overwhelmed and drown out by the majority of pleasant ones she's had. Remembering what should be better off forgotten never lead to any good.
Chloe was still Pete's car. The tangerine Ford Focus looked out of place against a background of clashing green trees and plants - and wilderness! It was parked behind Daniel Ross's truck - another congratulations present from Lex Luthor, Allie bet - she folded her arms and walked past it. It's windows were tinted dark and it's backseat was replaced with a bed of speakers. Allie shook her head and rolled her eyes, boys were so silly sometimes..
The sound of the driver door opening woke Chloe from her nap and Allie laughed as she watched her friend jerk back to life like a sleeping rag doll.
"Rise and shine, hotcakes."
"There's pancakes?"
"Better!" Allie's eyes brightened.
Chloe watched as Allie reached into the backseat to retrieve a plastic grocery bag.
"Please tell me you brought something edible this time, and god help you if you decided to go all pro-nature on us again."
"Oh, I've learned my lesson."
"I'll believe it when I see it."
Allie shook her head. "No granola. No apples."
Chloe reached across the middle gear shifter to steal the grocery bag away from Allie.
Allie watched with a closed mouth smile as Chloe rummaged through the sack like a curious squirrel.
"Graham crackers, marshmallows, Hershey bars.."
"Ah huh, and coffee!"
Chloe looked up as Allie handed over her father's silver thermos.
"Ah! I love you."
"Great, now put your money where your mouth is. Seriously, I expect reimbursement for covering your share of the Hershey bars."
Chloe flashed a smile and began unscrewing the top of the thermos. "You tripped over a pretty stick, huh?"
More cars began to pull up. Allie recognized a few people and said Hello, but soon there was nearly as much people as there was at the party the night before.
No Lex, Allie noted as Chloe and she began to make their way towards the party.
It was cold and everyone seemed to keep close to the bonfire.
Never mind the lake.. A sea of blue and silver Metropolis Sharks' colors dominated the entire coast.
"Shouldn't you be wearing a pleaded skirt and shaking pair of pompoms over your head like an overboard passenger of the S.S. Ross?"
Despite Chloe's teasing, Allie couldn't help but stifle a bit of laughter.
"No, and even if we were-"
"An item?"
The title sounded so tacky Allie wanted to flinch, she also noted the slight tinge of annoyance inside of her as Chloe came to the wrong assumption. Allie didn't like to be assumed of. No assuming..
Chloe noticed her friend's uneasiness and decided to shelf the humor for awhile.
Though, she couldn't help but laugh a little at the idea of her Allie being this distressed over a boy.. She was sure even the Kent's themselves would get a laugh or two out of the sight of this their daughter's awkward boy-phase. Chloe didn't think Allie had an awkward-phase bone in her body, until now..
"Okay, so you two would definitely be one of those serious Museum visiting couples-"
"Chloe."
"Right, sorry."
Silence.
"You sure you don't wanna, I don't know, confide a little? It says I'm entitled to ask and do so on my resume."
"Wanna confide?"
"No, but it's apparent you do."
Allie sighed, "No, I don't wanna confide."
"You sure?"
"Positive."
"Alright."
"Alright."
"But why? Don't you like Daniel? Not even a little? He's so borderline stalker-in love with you!"
Allie cringed, not used to this much attention being paid to her usually quite and dull love life.
"I don't know, I just.. Don't. Gah! Chloe, would you drop it?" Allie begged with a prayer fold in her hands.
"Fine, fine."
Allie eyed her.
"Okay, you got it… Danison dropped."
"I'm sorry, but… Danison?"
Chloe grinned. "While Dan and you were away Pete and I got bored and decided to make you a nick - you know, Brangelina, Bennifer."
"Oh my god.."
Chloe considered Pete and her creation further, completely oblivious to her friend's reaction.
"You know, now that I think of it. I think it's actually the name of a yogurt." The blonde shook her head and laughed.
Allie crossed her arms like a furious 5 yr old and stomped in the woods, away from the party.
Chloe went after her.
"Oh, come on. It was only a joke!" she called out, her face bright with laughter.
Chloe knew better than to make a big deal out of Allie's withdrawal from the party. Her farm girl best friend was always a wallflower and they had fun - if not more - when it was only the two of them anyway. Who needed a beach full of drunk party goers when you had your best friend and a thermos full of Martha Kent's coffee?
City girl Chloe had trouble chasing after Allie, her designer sneakers were apparently not made for walking let alone climbing boulder and fallen tree the size of train!
A scream caught in Chloe's throat as she felt herself fall, an even louder scream was ready to back that up as she felt someone seize her under the arms and tug her aside in mid-fall.
Allie silenced her with the palm of her hand and watched as Chloe sighed her frightened screams away and rolled her eyes in relief.
They stood concealed behind a wide tree, Chloe looked to Allie and mouthed "What?!"
Allie pressed her index finger to her lips to silence the perplexed blonde.
"What?!" Chloe continued to demand through voiceless lips.
Allie jerked her head towards the problem on the other side of the tree that she wanted to go out of the way to avoid.
On the other side of the tree, just a few yards away - within earshot - was an arguing twosome, man and woman. That didn't alarm Allie so much, but after investigating further she noticed the heavy armory the couple in question carried. Sleek, silver pistols that looked like they came straight out of a 007 spy movie, along with their owners.. The woman's back was facing the two behind the tree and Allie had a hard time identifying her.
The mysterious woman's backwards profile gave glimpse of a strong, raven black, pony tail that came to an end in a perfect v-shape in the small of her back. Her shoulders small, but strong, broad. Her legs long and coated in black leather - like the other and the rest of her ensemble. And the only glimpse of skin was on the nape of her neck, on either side of her pony tail was porcelain flesh that looked like it hadn't had the opportunity to be tainted and roughened by the sun.
And the man.. He had a perfectly round head and a heart shaped face. His hair bleached blonde making it hard to see the widow's peak seated upon his rather large forehead. Blondie had small, narrow eyes - Asian - a small descending mound for a nose and a very small, almost lipless mouth. The little lip he did have he kept pursed tightly in an offended expression. He appeared to be upset and becoming even more displeased with whatever him and his leather clad partner were discussing.
They continued to argue in a language the two failing Spanish, English, and French students couldn't identify.
Chloe and Allie withdrew their attention.
"What do we do?!" Chloe asked in a panicky whisper.
"Shh!!!!" Allie urged with another firm press of her index to lips.
The man and woman stopped arguing and became still, the woman said something in a hushed tone that sounded a lot like "What was that?" despite the foreign tongue it fell from.
Allie rolled her eyes at Chloe and slapped her palm to her own forehead in 'way to go!' gesture.
Chloe and Allie became quiet, they backs pressed tightly to the tree they hid behind.
The armed man and woman exchanged glances and advanced in the direction the noise came from.
Allie felt Chloe grab her hand, she turned to her friend and looked at her in a way that told her everything would be alright. They turned away again and continued to ride out the silence. In reality, Allie could take out the two armed strangers in a blink of an eye. But, with Chloe at her side. She couldn't do anything but act as a civilian would - helpless. Chloe Sullivan was and would probably always remain, oblivious to the real Allison Martha Kent; the girl from out of this world. The best friend from out of this world.
An owl in the distance hooted, it's calling ignited a flash back inside of Allie and the wait for the two armed persons to pass didn't seem like a big deal anymore.
Crater Lake.
Six years go.
"Allie! Allie!"
Her mother and father were practically screaming for her attention, Allie had just come from the woods to collect firewood when she returned to find her parents waving her back over to their camp site along the shore.
Allie dropped the pile she had been carrying and dashed over - she took the forest path to avoid onlookers. And when she emerged from the brush she noticed what they were screaming about.
Far from shore, in the strong of the lake's current, a fishing yacht had overturned. It's painted blue bottom was now facing belly up like an overfed goldfish. She knew what they wanted her to do. They were alone that day, just the Kent's at Crater Lake, and Allie didn't have to worry about being caught in the act. She sped full speed into the pool, her quick movements in the shallows split the lake in two, but once she reached the drop off a few yards from shore she dove forward to avoid being pulled down to the 5 foot descend.
She was completely submerged now, her arms outstretched in front of her. One at a time, she reached as far as she could and wrapped her arms around the current that made the pool lively and pulled, conquering the tide. Her feet kicked out behind her, driving her deep into the dark abyss.
Her quick entry had frightened away the fish and Allie was glad it had, fish were very ugly to see in their natural habitat - Crater lake fish, anyway. Salt water fish on the other hand.. she would like to see some beautiful tropical ones someday.
She was welcomed into a world of murky black and blue, the surface far above looked greener towards the shallows and it would have been beautiful with it's black sand bottom if it weren't for the fisherman she had to search for. Time was precious and she put aside her curiosity to find the fisherman instead.
Allie swam out farther, swam out until she could see the overturned vessel behind her. Where was the sailor?
She turned back to the direction where the shore should be, the spiral sensation that blanketed her during the turn was refreshing, she felt a new kind of weightlessness. The feeling was replaced with fear quickly as she realized the man was still in the boat.
Allie swam towards it.
A flash light floated dying before her, its beam fading in and out, on and off. She hoped she wasn't too late.
Allie pushed herself harder, ascending towards the boat floating above. The sailors legs were visible from the depths. Kicking in panic, Allie was just glad they were kicking all together. She ascended into the interior of the boat to join him.
Naturally, her head left the water to take a gulp of air in the interior pocket of the overturned boat that kept the sailor alive. At first, he didn't seem to notice her. Too weak to scream for help anymore. Allie doubted he noticed her, she'd have to do something about that.
"Hey." she told him, not out of greeting but more to get his attention.
He shrieked, forgetting to keep kicking for a second but Allie caught him by the arm before he got the chance to get sucked under by the current. She turned him around and kept him afloat by his shoulders.
"Yeah, crazy stuff." she said with a smirk. "And yes, this is real - you're not dreaming or anything."
"I'm n-n-not d-"
Allie shook her head. "Not dead."
He sighed in relief.
"Doesn't rule it out completely though - I'm gonna need you to take a deep breath."
Confused, the sailor said and did nothing.
Allie stared at him in confusion herself.
"Mmkay?"
Silence.
"Mmkay!" she stated confidently and prepared to descend again.
If she wanted to, she could save the boat. But with all the water it took on, she doubted it would stay afloat again.
Always the hard way..
Allie sighed and wrapped her arms around the stunned sailor, "Ready when you are, Skipper."
No response.
As perky as a Smallville High Cheerleader, Allie nodded and proceeded anyway. "OK, deep breath!"
Surprisingly, he listened. She felt his body expand with air and wanting to conserve his energy, she wasted no time returning to the depths. Allie watched him in the process, she didn't know if it was because he was scared or not, but he kept his eyes tightly closed throughout the rise to the top.
Once they broke the surface the first thing that filled her ears was the sound of her parents cheering her on in the background. It brought a smile to her face, as always, and she began tug the sailor back to the safety of the shores, back to mom and dad.
Her parents stepped forward to embrace the man and drape him in a blanket, the smiles they fed Allie in return was worth it all. Worth getting her new shoes all wet..
Her gaze fell to her feet and she sighed, the smile failing to falter she shrugged it off and turned back towards the lake.
"W-where you going, sweetie?" Martha asked, her and Jonathon rubbed the back of the poor old sailor in an attempt to warm him back up.
"Oh, I thought I would bring the boat in." she said in an unsure manner, not knowing whether or not her parents wanted that.
Jonathon waved her off. "It'll sure save this man here a lot of trouble. Thanks, Allie."
She smiled and proceeded back into the lake.
Without a time precious task on her shoulders anymore, Allie was able to enjoy her dip into the dark depths of Crater Lake.
Snakes, fish, god only knew what was down there. It didn't matter, after pulling that rescue earlier, she felt invincible.
The sailor's yacht began to sink, nose up it slowly fell to the lake's bottom.
Allie descended deeper.
A small shock wave pushed past her as the vessel finally reached the bottom with a thud.
The water became colder with each foot she descended, but instead of shivering in discomfort she enjoyed the refreshing chill, It was warm out today anyway.
Allie cart wheeled to the bottom, landing feet first on the black claylike surface of the bottom of the lake. She allowed a closed mouth smile, doubting anyone had made it this far - knowing no one had made it this far!
Her hair outstretched behind her giving her head the appearance of a tall house plant, Allie started for the boat. The pressure only allowed her to take small steps, but with the power she had they were quick, small steps she took towards the boat.
After reaching the vessel, Allie bent forward to dig it's bottom from the sand. With a little muscle, it rose from the earth no problems. She decided to work with the water. Allie lifted it above her head and pushed it up in the nearest current, tossing it like a toy it stayed afloat above her long enough for her to get a needed kick start from the lake's floor to continue hauling it back to the shore.
She watched it carefully, floating above, slowly sinking again - she had plenty of time. But as Allie crouched to take that leap, she felt her feet sink beneath her, falling victim to quick sand, Allie panicked. Unfamiliar to the struggle, she kicked her hardest and failed horribly. All her efforts seemed to only make the matter worse.
Falling to her knees, Allie looked up. She cried too soon - things could certainly become worse than they were. The boat was falling and she was about to be trapped beneath it.
"Like hell!" Allie told herself, she stopped struggling and fell back into a sitting position, her hair floating upwards and in every direction but down. Wanting to sigh but finding it impossible to do underwater, Allie brushed her snakelike locks away and decided to get serious.
With every ounce of energy she possessed, Allie began clawing at the ensnaring soil in an attempt to free herself.
It was clay, she realized, sand would never dirty the water up as much as the black clay was doing now. It was like an octopus spat her way, as if the water wasn't murky enough, now she was unable to see what she was doing. The soil was soft and she could feel it begin to build up thick beneath her finger nails, okay, so - despite the many cons of this expedition, at least Martha would feel sorry for her and say Allie deserved a manicure out of it all.
Allie groaned, feeling air bubbles squeeze through her clenched teeth and travel upwards to brush across her face. The positive thinking was short lasting, frankly, cause SHORTLY she'd have a boat fall on top of her like the wicked witch of the west.. Except, you know, instead of a house she'd be kicking from beneath a boat. So much for my new shoes.. I don't think they made a laundry detergent strong enough to remove black crater lake clay!
As her negative thoughts kicked in, so did a reserved sense of energy she didn't know she had left. Stronger than before, Allie began kicking, scratching, digging her arms in the clay to somehow pull her feet out. Nothing seemed to work, but after shoving her hand in deep enough, something else was there to be tugged from the earth.
Punching things usually resulted in shambles - literally. But as Allie made the underwater discovery she cried out, bigger air bubbles discharged from her screaming lips. She retrieved her hand - barely, and cradled it like a crying child. The pain was so surprisingly excruciating she had closed her eyes to prevent them from screaming out in pain too, and to top that unexpected blunder, as Allie opened her eyes. The ground glowed green.
Whatever she had punched was the first ever! - to punch back. Well, not literally, but it was the first punch ever to hurt!
She panicked too soon.
The scattered clay had settled and instead was replaced by this intense glowing light. "Why Green?!" Allie continued to panic. She continued to kick, tug, claw, something about the glowing presence repelled her. As she struggled, she was able to determine where it came from. Beneath her, instead of striking gold she struck the ideal opposite.
With each passing second the light grew brighter, and with each effort enforced she felt herself becoming weaker.
Mom... Dad…
Like the true child she was, Allie's mind began to scream out for help. Scream out for her mother and father.
No longer able to fight the earth swallowing her, she started to claw at the distance between her and her parents. Her efforts to swim her way out were fruitless without her legs, but Allie never gave up. She kicked and clawed at the space between until everything became ink black again.
AC had never seen green hazard lights on a boat before, then again, he was only passing through. He had heard his fair share of rumors when it came to talk about Smallville. After their meteor shower nearly a decade ago, strange occurrences - usually the kind that made headline news but mostly in the phony sci-fi circuit, had dubbed the small town a goldmine when it came to unusual rock collecting or a hot spot during vacation season for people who liked having their pictures taken with large balls of twine.
AC wasn't sure whether or not Smallville did in fact have a ball of twine on display, but he was certain tourists flocked here to have their pictures taken with something similar, if not weirder..
The green light continued to burn bright, it's powerful beam steady. He lingered in the deep to take a better look. He was exactly where he was when he had first spotted the usual gleam.
AC was heading north from the south channels and as he made a steady swim past the mouth of Crater Lake, a strange thud from the small body of water had awaken him from his almost impenetrable trance. When AC was in the waters, he was in another world all together.
The water was his home and always one to defend it - it was a vital part of mother earth after all, AC decided to stop and investigate.
Suspended just a foot or two from the water's surface, young Arthur Curry kicked his feet steadily to stay afloat.
He had very thin, very fine eyes that gave him a very concentrated, very mature, very determined appearance - if you ignored the wardrobe malfunction beneath those burning to be acknowledged bright blue eyes.
With a shirt that should be orange, it was more like rotten pumpkin in the depths he lingered in, and a pair of dark green swim trunks, he looked focused, disciplined, like a true conqueror of this dwelling.
His golden blonde hair spiked out in the water, waving like blades of grass on a windy day as he continued to kick his legs beneath him to stay submerged.
The light grew brighter.
He plunged forward, kicking his bare feet, outstretching his arms and weaving in and out of the water's energy, making it his own.
He wasn't tossed or turned around by the mighty waves, he made the waves. He made the splash.
The current was a friend of his, pulling him towards his destination like a personal slope.
His presence shot across the lake's surface like a bullet underwater.
The light was getting closer, AC seen it was placed low, possibly at the bottom.
He dove deeper, his legs now kicking upward as he set out to find that damned light. There was something about it, something about this.. place. It called out to him, beckoning him near with shiny things.
His body performed with the water, never against it. And as he swam deep in it's belly, AC had never felt more at home.
His head and feet dipped and arched in perfect tempo, he traveled effortlessly like a feather light ribbon being drug across the waters.
The surroundings became darker, he was so close now. So close.
The light was so bright. He squinted but remained focused, what was this?
In the center of the energy burning bright from underground was a girl.
Her arms limp and floating lifelessly at her sides. Her hair wild. Her eyes dull and closed, her lips breathless and dying.
The yacht floating above her was sinking, and quick.
AC felt a switch inside of him being throw and with a clap as his feet kicking into a gallop, he sprang into action.
He shot down to her rescue.
The light was burning brighter than ever now, the green light eager for her nearing fate, AC almost missed his target as he seized her around the middle and tugged her from the tangle somewhere below.
Producing a little more effort than he was expected to use, he pried her free and started to swim up.
A terrible creak caught his attention and he glanced back to see the yacht crashing into the ground with a loud thud. It's bottom smashed into a thousand pieces, leaving the nose of the boat to fall forward unsupported. Another loud thud followed as the last of it collapsed.
AC kept watch, the whole scenario very odd to him, he couldn't look away.
As the debris finally settled the green light faded and faded, until finally.. It was gone.
He kept watch, fearful that it would ignite again, but after a few moments. Nothing but the memory resurfaced in his mind. AC looked to his side, the girl remained unconscious. His fear wasn't wasted, it was recycled and now he began to fear for her life again.
He hurried and kicked them to the surface, there might still be some time..
The water became brighter, the water became clearer.
AC gasped enormously as they broke the glasslike façade that was the lake's surface. Immediately he looked to the girl he held close by, her head fell back.
He searched her face for the slightest sign that she would be alright.
AC was panicking at this pointed. He threw her arms around his neck and swam them towards the shore. Keeping her head above the water and tucked into his shoulder, he prayed she'd make it.
He swam quick and within moments his feet reached the sandy bottom and he was able to walk. AC hoisted the girl up and carried her the rest of the way.
"Oh my god!" Martha shrieked, running to the shallows once again this time to tend to someone closer to her heart.
Jonathon and the sailor were no where to be seen.
Martha closed in on AC with a lifeless Allie in his arms and cupped her daughter's face.
"Allie? ALLIE?"
The older woman was on the verge of tears and it made AC uncomfortable. He walked past her and carried Allie to the dry shores.
"What's happened? What's wrong with my Allie?!" Martha demanded, following AC she watched in horror as he laid her out on the beach.
Martha cried out and rushed to her daughter's side. The older woman fell to her knees and cupped her mouth fearing the worst.
Hating to see the woman in such pain, AC decided to try and revive her Allie.
He knelt down and tilted Allie's head back.
He didn't have to do much after that, after feeling his mere touch Allie choked and spat out the water that smothered her.
Martha's cries were now tears of joy. Allie appeared to be alright after all.
AC smiled and looked up to see Martha smiling as well. The event couldn't have turned out better.
Allie stirred on the ground, small moans and groans leaving her now vibrant lips and yet, she didn't appear to be in any pain.
AC sighed out of relief and looked to Martha again.
"Your daughter seems to have an Angel looking out for her." The first words he had spoken in awhile since being out of the waters.
With a soft expression that could have been created by the wind's gentle blow, Martha looked at him and said simply with a single shake of her head. "She is my Angel."
Allie never did regain conscious until after her father returned from taking the sailor to the hospital. And the last Martha seen of AC was him walking away, taking a carefree stroll away and down the coastline. A little jump in his step as he took well deserved pride in saving someone's child - especially when he was still technically a child himself. But before he left Martha asked if he would stick around, she even asked if he would attend dinner, but the strange Angelic boy declined and then finally departed.
Alone, his single outline in the distance became smaller and smaller with each step he took until finally he disappeared on the beach. Martha would never forget him, Allie would never remember him, and Jonathon would only hear stories of the rescue.
Allie's memory of the day in question was still a little fuzzy - and as patchy as an old star quilt.
What was supposed to be her big rescue turned out to be her greatest downfall. Her dive had awoken Martha and Jonathon to their daughter's break from immortality. Their daughter had weaknesses, and though they weren't completely aware of what they were, yet, the days of their carefree attitude towards their daughter were over.
Allie remembered it, the day her parents brought her into the kitchen to discuss a new set of rules and boundaries. Shaken at the time by the incident, Allie didn't mind and was for the most part thankful that her parents would go the lengths they had to take better care of her.
But now, Allie found herself balancing on that boundary line and even dipping her toe onto the other side of it from time to time. Hungry for a single taste of freedom, Allie felt both guilty and alive with the outcome. Firstly, she was just like any teenage girl from Kansas - they needed to live a little. And secondly, everyone felt the need to break loose every now and then, but being 'Kryptonian', Allie's need was 10 times worse.
Yet, despite those needs, Allie managed to keep her wild side at bay. After nearly drowning that day, six years ago, at Crater Lake, she began to realize that a part of her still was only human. Helpless and, with needs, full of live eager to explore everything the world had to offer.
And that mysterious boy her mother mentioned.. After being told the story time and time again Allie couldn't help but smile at the fact that maybe, she wasn't alone. There was someone, maybe more people, out there capable of doing the things she did. Saving the world, little by little, and having the decency to be modest about it. Allie smiled at the thought and was eased back into reality.
Chloe still clutching her hand, shaking.
Allie turned to look at her and was saddened by what she saw.
Chloe stood quietly still, fearing for both of their lives. Her eyes held tightly shut and despite the cold, small beads of sweat clung to the temples of her forehead.
Allie exhaled carefully and gave her Chloe's hand a squeeze. Everything is gonna be alright, Chlo - she wanted to say those words so badly, but couldn't. The two armed strangers were still advancing and getting warmer.
However, that wasn't what bothered Allie. What saddened her so was the fact that, Chloe wasn't ready to know yet. Yet? Would she ever be? Would Allie have to harbor this secret alone for all of eternity?
Sometimes, sometimes Allie wished the strange boy from Crater Lake had stuck around.
Weird. Strange. Unusual. They could be all of the above together. Allie was tired of being alone.
Jonathon and Martha weren't enough. Despite their efforts to make her a home, to make her feel at home, sometimes.. There were things she needed to talk about, to discuss, that the parental unit couldn't handle.
And now, as Allie watched Chloe cower in fright, she knew she could never really "confide" in her either.
Not yet, anyway..
In a way, Allie understood why the strange boy from Crater Lake couldn't stick around. If he had, she could picture the strange gazes everyone would give him. Allie could only guess he would of felt like a bowled goldfish.. figuratively - or not. Point is, the feeling was mutual. Sometimes Allie felt like a prized vegetable at the country fair - her parents were so proud - but, truth was.. It was embarrassing.
The thought that she was hiding something so big, so.. Colossal, made her skin crawl.
And if Chloe, her best friend, had looked at her in that way.. Allie doubted she would be able to recover.
The wind picked up and Allie felt it in her hair, a few strands came to rest in her eyes. She blew them away.
The gust that left her lips was low, but detected by the man and woman closing in.
Allie and Chloe held their breaths, held each other's hands, and held on to hope.
With Chloe to her left, Allie looked to her right. A slim figure's shadow began to cross the tree's outline. She had an idea..
Allie needed to do something quick, and luckily, the girl was carried with swift wings.
Any second now..
The woman took another step towards the noise in question and shrieked as Allie stomped on her foot.
"Ah!" The woman screamed, more out of shock than anything - she had first assumed the noise was the wind - and before she knew it, Allie drove her elbow into her stomach. And it didn't end there, after digging her elbow into the woman's intestines, Allie snapped her arm back to clock her square in the face.
The back of her knuckles collided with the woman's forehead, immobilizing her for the time being.
Where was the man?
The sound of his gun cocking with a clean click introduced her to him.
Allie turned slow to find him with his gun pointed at her.
"Don't. Move." He told her slowly, avid for her cooperation. After seeing what Allie did to the woman without even leaving her hiding place obviously discouraged him.
Allie raised her hands above her head and taking advantage of the intermission, looked down to identify whose nose she had nearly broke.
"Jade?!" Allie and Chloe both had the same reaction, their jaws hit the forest floor.
Holding her bloody nose, Jade was face down on the ground nursing her wounds. "Shoot them, you fool!" she screamed through her oozing injury.
"Allie!" Chloe cried as the man continued to aim at her friend.
Holding eye contact with Blondie, Allie smirked and nodded, gesturing for him to take his best shoot. After that, she was gone.
Darting back she was nowhere to be seen, and Blondie's biggest mistake was chasing after her. As the man stepped forward to pursue her, Allie swung from the other side of the tree using it's trunk as a lever and thrusting herself around to kick him square in the back. The blow had caused him to tumble over Jade.
Allie skid and fell on her back too but was quick to scramble to her feet.
"Run!" she told Chloe, grabbing her hand again and tugging her away.
"I can't believe you just did that." Chloe said, a thousand miles away in her own mind.
"Yeah," Allie uttered in between glances back to check whether or not they were being followed. "Well, believe it - Ah!"
Straight out of her plaguing nightmare, the quicksand feeling returned and Allie felt her feet fall from beneath her.
She looked down, the ground all around them was collapsing, breaking, and being swallowed by the earth.
"Chloe, hold on!" she commanded, clutching her friend's hand and pushing herself into a sprint whether Chloe could keep up or not, they were not going to be outmaneuver by this definitely 'unnatural' disaster.
It sounded like an earthquake, it sounded like the earth had opened it's great mouth and howled. Tree's broke free from their trunks and fell into it's great mouth forming jagged teeth.
"Go, go!" Chloe urged.
"I am!" Allie screamed back, the sound of the grounds plunge was getting close, closer, until finally, Allie found herself out of land.
She witnessed the ground before her begin to crumble like construction paper until finally, Chloe's scream from behind indicated they were next to go down.
"Oh, hell no." Allie urged, she gripped Chloe's sweat coated forearm and leaped in mid-plummet.
"Allie!" Chloe screamed, the girl was slipping from her grasp.
Determined to make the leap, Allie's free hand was extended to the point of constraint.
She sighed out in relief as her hand caught hold of single tree root. If she could just hold on long enough, maybe the noise will alert everyone back at the beach and they'd - Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no - come on!
Fresh from the unearthed soil, the root was slick.
"Allie!"
"I know!" She screamed back.
Chloe was depending on her and she couldn't.. quite.. Allie tried to wrap the root around her wrist but was unsuccessful, it was grounded too deep with little slack for her to hold on to.
"Come on!" Allie cried out.
"I'm slipping, I'm slipping. Allie, I'm slipping!"
Allie looked down and was afraid to witness that Chloe was right.
"Grab hold of my legs."
"What?"
"Grab hold of my.." her words trailed off and she was interrupted. Somewhere above, there was this terrible rupture, like some great body shooting through the gravel like a bullet.,
It neared, and Chloe and Allie braced for the worst.
"What..? What is?"
Chloe's words were cut short as the noise closed in with a terrible outcome.
It was like a large tail had erupted from the surface and swatted at what little break Allie and Chloe had, and though they couldn't see from their angle - it was.
A large snake like tail of striped road-top black and poison yellow swatted again at their little island of hope before speeding off into the forest. Leaving the scene of the crime, it left rubble in it's path.
Down in the black hole, Chloe and Allie bit their lips and prayed the tiny root would suffice. But with each prayer they quietly muttered and each tiny indulgent they negotiated to swear off, the broken island above began to slowly crumble into the black opening.
Holding desperately to Allie's ankles, Chloe cried out and watched as their believed fate drew near. Would the fall kill them? Well, Chloe, most certainly.
They dropped inch by inch until finally, the small island gave and fell down to the dark abyss with them.
Allie wanted to scream out, help, help, somebody help! In her mind, she certainly was, but as the ground crumbled and the earth swallowed them whole she couldn't help but admire how beautiful the big blue sky was from this angle. Falling, it was funny how she choose now to notice something like that. It was the last thing she remembered as she hit the ground.