Disclaimer: I DO NOT in any form or fashion OWN these characters, DC comics entertainment, and Warner Bros. are the owners not me. I do not take any credit for the characters or anything, ALL CREDIT goes to DC…..again ALL CREDIT GOES TO DC! No money is being made off of this story…none, No money whatsoever is being made or exchanged so please….please DO NOT SUE ME! I have no money. None. Okay cool.
Hey readers it's me Nomad88 back again with another chapter in the Superman mythos that I'm creating. I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter which saw the first meeting between Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan. A little different in the way they met and it's a very different dynamic that they have but I believe that that core relationship is still there, anyway I know you readers are eager to get to the next chapter after such a patient wait but before I go I would like to say one last thing please continue to READ, REVIEW( A writer's main source of motivation) and lastly…the most important thing is to ENJOY!
Chapter 10- Conflict
Kent Family Farm
Jonathan and Martha Kent were peacefully sitting on their couch in the living room watching the TV. They were looking at the screen but neither were really focusing on the dull drama that was playing, the couple's thoughts were consumed by their adoptive son Clark. Martha turned to Jonathan and she could see the deep and pensive look upon his face, it was a look that mirrored her own. She let out a breath and then reached up and gentle rubbed his face.
"Jonathan"
Jonathan gently took her hand and then he kissed the back of it before turning back to her.
"I know Martha. I know"
The couple's attention was suddenly taken away from each other and towards their flashing television. They both saw that the afternoon movie they were watching was being interrupted by an urgent news report. Jonathan reached towards the coffee table in front of them and he grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.
TV
Reporter: "This is Robin Preston bringing you the news around Smallville; not even fifteen minutes ago a spectacular crash happened here at the Smallville county line. Tina's, a well known and popular diner for many of the truckers that pass through our town was partially destroyed when a Oil Truck crashed into a utility pole and then exploded, as you can see here on your screen firefighters are still working hard to put the oil fire out. The utility pole crashed through the diner trapping some of the patrons inside. The people inside would have perished if it hadn't been for a mysterious rescuer. Sources say this mysterious Herculean hero lifted the utility pole and threw it to the ground as you can see behind me. Also, adding to the rescue, this mysterious hero saved this man, Irvin Melwich, the truck driver driving the oil truck at the time and here's what he has to say.
Irvin: He was a kid I tell ya, A KID! He tossed me out of the truck and I swear he went up in flames when the thing exploded and he….
Jonathan hit the mute button on the TV and he turned to Martha who had a wide eyed expression on her face.
"You don't think Clark…" she started but stopped when she heard the back door to their kitchen open.
The two of them leaned up from the couch and turned towards the kitchen and that's when they saw Clark walking towards the living room. The young teen's clothes were burned and were like rags hanging off of him. He had soot and dirt covering his face and several other places on his exposed body. They looked him over and they saw that in his hand was one of the green crystals glowing like it did whenever it was near him.
Clark looked between them and then at the crystal before he dropped it on the ground and slowly started for the stairs. He reached the top, aimed directly for the bathroom where he closed the door and locked himself inside.
Elsewhere- Location Classified
Alexandra and Dr. Shugel stared at the screen that had a blinking dot upon Smallville.
"This is the second time Smallville has come up in the last day so it must mean that this Alien traveler is there" Alexandra surmised still staring at the screen.
"I would concur with your assessment dear daughter or it could be watchtower throwing us off again."
Suddenly the screen they were looking at went blank and a red eye appeared on the screen with several words written under the image.
"Speak of the devil" he grumbled.
"Watchtower is watching you" Alexandra read aloud, "Damn, we've been hacked again, but that should be impossible, this encryption I wrote is for lack of a better word immaculate."
"Apparently there is someone that's smarter than you and your immaculate system." Dr. Shugel replied calmly turning away from the computer and walking towards Jor-El's spaceship.
Alexandra pursed her lips together and whipped towards her father.
"No there isn't" she stated strongly "And you seemed to be taking us being hacked again rather well."
"We have a direction now at least. The alien traveler is in Smallville and so it should not be hard to root him, her or it out." Dr. Shugel replied over his shoulder while continuing on to the ship.
He reached the ship and he ran his wrinkled hand over the damaged but cool foreign metallic-crystal siding, "It shouldn't take long at all…..soon I will unlock the secrets of the universe." He whispered to himself.
Alexandra folded her arms and then put a hand to her chin as she watched her father gently caress the Alien Space craft.
"We need to alert Veritas." She stated.
"NO!" Dr. Shugel shouted whipping around towards her.
"Just as I figured. You have something going on in that head of yours dear dad. Well I hate to tell you that whatever you're planning it won't continue without Veritas' knowledge." she said putting her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes "Which is why I alerted them ten minutes ago."
"YOU DID WHAT!" Dr. Shugel roared in anger.
Smallville High- Basement
Chloe curled her lips into a smile as she looked at the screen that had the red eye and her signature catchphrase written across the bottom of the image.
"Whoever is on the other end this computer is very good but your White Crane hacking is not strong enough against my Preying Mantis Hacking" she said to herself with a smile.
Chloe leaned back in her seat and tilted her head towards the ceiling and let out a sigh. She turned towards her wall of weird and she eyed the spot where Clark's picture was once tacked, before he swooped in and ripped it off. She looked at the spot and she went over their interaction in her head a few times before standing up.
"Fine Clark you don't want help that's on you" she whispered to herself "Just don't say I didn't' warn you when the secret government agents crash through your doors."
Chloe moved away from the empty spot and she looked at the next photo and she looked at the name written on the post-it.
"Jeffery Palmer" she said to herself, "Jeff, I think it's time for you to know that you're not alone."
Across Town- Smallville Police station
"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!" came a yell from a portly man named Ian Macklin, owner and operator of the local bank in town.
"YEAH!" came the yell from a few other Smallville residents that were standing behind him.
"YOU ALL ARE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT US!"
"YEAH!"
"Mr. Macklin calm down." Came the soothing voice of one of the dedicated officers of the law in Smallville; a young man by the name Tommy Porters.
Tommy released a small sigh and attempted to cool the citizens down but he realized they had a right to be upset because each of them had been robbed for no less than two thousand dollars worth of merchandise. For the past month and a half someone has been breaking into their homes and robbing them blind however the problem was that no one had seen anyone come in or out of the house with anything.
In the amount of time the thief has been active they haven't found or seen a trace of him, it almost as if he was invisible.
"Please, everyone we are working hard to get to the bottom of the robberies but these things take time."
"TIME!" Ian shouted "In the amount of time it takes you guys to get to the bottom of this we all might be homeless."
"Oh Macklin shut up!" shouted a new voice.
Officer Porters turned to see his Father Sheriff Malcolm Porters walking out of one of the back offices. He was an older man in his lat fifties who had known all of the people gathered since he was younger.
"Dad, I mean Sheriff Porter."
He raised his hand to silence his son before facing the gathered citizens at the front desk.
"Look, we're gonna find who's doing the robberies alright, just exercise a little patience. In the meantime, you all lock your doors, your windows, cellars and even close your chimney's alright. Don't give this crook an inch. Now you all gon and get. Go back to your jobs or homes and let us do our jobs." He said in a commanding tone.
The people grumbled and mumbled but they each turned and heading for the exit.
Ian Macklin grumbled under his breath in anger, but in his anger he barely felt himself bump into something. The bump was brief and he didn't pay any attention so it wasn't a surprise when he didn't feel his keys being removed from his pocket.
The keys seemingly floated in the air for a minute before turning invisible.
Nevada- Motel
BAMMMMMMM! Came the sound of the door being kicked open by soldiers. Three tall men dressed in full tactical Special Forces gear stormed into the room with their weapons aimed. They quickly scanned the room and all three turned their weapons onto the single occupant in the room, Dr. Virgil Swann who raised his hands.
"I'm not armed." He stated.
"CLEAR!" one of the men shouted, "Swann is the only one in the room." He continued.
"MOVE!" came a shout from behind one of the three men. The soldier stepped to the side and allowed his ranking officer to enter the rundown motel.
Sergeant Ethan Cloud stepped into the room and he stormed up to Dr. Swann. Sergeant Cloud was a man in his early thirties with short black hair, blue-grey eyes, a fair complexion and a lean build. He was wearing the same tactical gear that the other Special Forces Agents were wearing only he had more stripes on his lapel indicating his higher rank.
Sergeant Cloud stared at Dr. Swann who stared back at him defiantly.
"Do you have any idea what you have done Swann." Sergeant Cloud demanded "Our people tracked you to…"
"I'm well aware of the tracking capabilities of your people Cloud. If I was the least bit concerned do you think I would've been here when you kicked the door open?"
"From your response I know that ugly green thing we keep in the basement wasn't controlling you."
"That ugly green thing has a name" Dr. Swann replied sternly.
"Yeah…Ugly Green thing." Said Sergeant Cloud "But seeing as how he wasn't controlling you that means you're in some deep sh**. Get him out of here."
The three tall Special Forces men walked towards Dr. Swann and then grabbed the back of his chair and pushed him towards the broken door.
Metropolis- Luthor Penthouse
Lionel Luthor signed contently as his masseuse kneaded his very tense shoulder muscles. The young and attractive Hispanic masseuse massaged his shoulders tenderly and then began to move slowly down his back.
"Elena that feels fantastic, you have the hands of a Goddess." he said from his face down position on the massage table.
The young woman named Elena smiled.
"Thank you Mr. Luthor."
"My dear you may call me Lionel."
RING! RING! RING!
Lionel released a frustrated sigh and he lifted his head and turned to the left and looked at the small table that held his cell phone. The ruthless billionaire reached for the phone and he answered the call without looking at the ID.
"What" he growled a little bit.
"I have news." Came the voice of Lionel's illegitimate daughter Tess Mercer.
"What is it?"
"I think we may found the Traveler." She said confidently.
Lionel heard the words and he slowly began to sit up, he swung his legs over the edge of the table and stood up. He took his ear off the phone and looked at Elena.
"This is a private call." He said.
Elena bowed her head and she swiftly turned and quickly shuffled out of the room leaving him alone. Lionel watched her go and once she was gone he put the phone back to his ear.
"Tell me everything."
Later- Smallville- Night time
Clark sat on the edge of the window sill in his room. The window was open allowing the cool gentle breeze to filter into his bedroom; he heaved a sigh and he stared upwards towards the moon and the stars that filled the sky. He looked up there and a conversation he had with Lana replayed in his mind.
"I know what's up there now Lana. The truth." He said to himself solemnly, "The truth about who I am, what I am."
Space- Unknown Planet
Hundreds of mechanical spheres of various sizes slaughtered the indigenous people of a very peaceful planet that housed a small Kryptonian colony. Each of the spheres held the unmistakable mark of Brainiac.
The Kryptonian colonist and the small in stature red and yellow beings screamed and hollered in unison as several of the spheres produced sharp tentacles that violently ripped through each of them.
"Brainiac sub-unit Prime Directive completed….Kryptonian survivors eliminated as well as indigenous life forms. Brainiac second Prime Directive initiated, land Terraformation beginning and production of more Brainiac units commencing."
Smallville- Kent Farm
Clark turned away from the sky when he heard the foot steps of his parents followed by knocking on his door.
"Come in"
The door opened and Jonathan and Martha stepped inside.
Jonathan looked at his son.
"I see you're all cleaned up" he started.
Clark nodded his head.
"Yeah." He replied wistfully.
"Are you alright Clark? We saw the explosion on the news" Martha said while walking over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder, she then gently began to look him over to see if he had any marks but he stood up from his seated position and walked away from her.
"Mom you know I'm fine. I can't be hurt."
"You don't know that Clark" Martha responded.
Clark scoffed.
"You're right; I don't know if I can be hurt, I don't know if I can get sick which now that I think about it, I've never been sick. I-I don't know anything. I-I don't even know who I am anymore." He said throwing his hands up "You know for the longest I've wished for you guys to tell me the truth and now…you've told me. And it doesn't make me feel any better, if anything it makes me feel worse. Be careful what you wish for right."
Jonathan ran his fingers through his blonde hair and he nodded his head a bit.
"I know that you feel troubled right now but you know who you are…you are Clark Kent. You are our son and that's the only thing that matters." He said strongly.
"But I'm not your son!" Clark challenged, "I'm the alien two country bumpkins found on the side of the road."
"CLARK!" Martha exclaimed "Don't talk like that! Don't you ever talk like that again."
"And why not?"
"Because we raised you better than that." Jonathan replied strongly while stepping towards him.
Clark raised his head to his father who was still a bit taller than him. He stared into his father's eyes and he could see the strong gaze staring back at him and upon seeing it Clark felt a bit smaller and a little bit of shame from how he was talking because his father was right. He was raised better than that.
The troubled young teen lowered his head and released a sigh.
Jonathan turned away from him for a second gathering his thoughts before he began to speak again.
"You're right Clark…..we're not your real birth parents but dammit if we haven't tried our best to be them. We tried our best to raise you as a good and honest person, just like I'm sure they would've wanted you be whoever they may have been. Your mother and I have dreaded this day, we've laid awake at night wondering, that if we ever told you the truth would you accept it…accept us or would reject us. You may see yourself as the alien that was found on the side of road and you may see us as two county bumpkins who found you and took you in but we will never see you that way and we will never see ourselves that way. You will always be the son that I've always wanted and…."
"We" Martha chimed "We will always be your loving, nurturing and understanding parents no matter what."
Clark looked between the two of them and he could tell that they were sincere and they whole heatedly meant every single word. The young teen turned away from them and he walked towards his window again and he hung his head, the shame he had felt growing a little bit more.
Jonathan stepped toward him but Martha laid a hand on his shoulder and she signaled to him that they should leave. Jonathan looked at Clark one last time before he turned and slowly made his way out of the room leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Smallville- Sunshine Avenue- 7:30pm
Chloe Sullivan stood under the lamp light on the lonely street staring at a very unkempt one story home. She eyed the dingy and un-painted wooden fence, she saw the tall grass that was littered across the lawn and she could see several broken windows that had plastic bags covering them.
The intrepid young teen stepped towards the rickety fence and she looked at the mail-box. She saw the last name written across and even though it was missing a few letters she knew that this was the right house.
She opened the fence and made sure to gently close it back before walking towards the front door. Chloe stood at the front door and she stared at the piece of paper that was on the front.
"Foreclosure" she whispered, "That's not good" she whispered again before taking a deep breath and then slowly knocking on the door.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
A long silence passed before the locks on the door went away and it creaked opened. A woman in her mid-forties answered the door. She was short about 5'6 with long black hair and a chubby round but kind face. She was wearing a plain polka dotted green dress with a very nice and expensive looking necklace hanging from around her neck.
"Hello Mrs. Palmer my name is Chloe Sullivan and I'm here to see your son."
The woman's eyes widen at her statement and a smile graced her lips.
"You're here to see my Jeffery"
"Yes, ma'am"
"My goodness you are beautiful."
"Thank-you Mrs. Palmer, I..."
"I've just been so worried about my little Jeffery. Since the beginning of the school year he's just been locking himself in his room in the basement. He doesn't have many friends but it's great to know that he has a girlfriend, a very very pretty girlfriend."
Chloe laughed a bit nervously before shaking her head in agreement.
"Uh…yeah. I'm Jeffery's girlfriend. We thought it was time you knew so here I am." She replied 'And here I thought this wasn't going to be awkward'
"Please come on in, Jeffery is downstairs."
Chloe smiled and stepped into the house.
Downstairs
Sixteen year old, dark haired, skinny and pale Jeffery Palmer stared at himself in the full body vanity mirror in the corner of his room. He narrowed his eyes and then he concentrated intently. He watched intently as his entire body shimmered away and he turned invisible.
'Alight now just hold it you can do it.' Jeffery coaxed in his mind. He turned to the clock in his room and he eyed the time.
'Focus, dammit'
Invisibility was his power. The lonely teen recently discovered that he possessed this ability and he was unsure how or why he was bestowed with this power but he didn't care in the slightest, to him his ability was a godsend. He remembered just a month ago before they manifested he was contemplating suicide.
For so long he had always felt so alone and even though he had his mother who doted and cherished him he never had the heart to tell her that it wasn't enough. He wanted the attention of people his own age, he wanted friends, he wanted to be the person that everyone looked up to and admired, the one all the girls wanted and everything else that he had ever fantasized about in his dreams. However, he knew that life was nothing like you fantasized about, and everyday he had to drudge through misery at Smallville High.
He was a nobody, a face in a crowd of teens who either ignored him or forgot about him completely. He had tried to branch out and make friends but no one showed an interest in him.
Jeffery began to feel the strain of his intense concentration but he forced himself to continue to hold his invisibility. He glanced at the clock once again.
'Keep it going, stay invisible, stay invisible.' he chanted but while he was doing that his mind brought him ack to when he first discovered his powers.
Flashback- A month ago- Smallville High- The Roof
Jeffery glanced over the edge of the roof and to the steps below that lead into his High School. He glanced towards the rising sun over the horizon with an unreadable expression upon his face. He looked down at the short note on the sheet of loose leaf paper sticking from out of his binder; he read it out loud to himself one last time.
"I'm sorry Mom. Please don't hate me for this, but it's the only way that they will ever truly see me." He read.
Jeffery solemnly folded the note and slipped it into his jean pocket and he stood up on the ledge of the roof. He looked down and an overpowering sense of vertigo enveloped him. He started to breathe heavier and heavier until he began to hyper-ventilate. He stepped off of the thick ledge and he leaned against it trying to catch his breath, but he continued to hyper-ventilate.
He grabbed his chest and he took in a breath and held it. The feeling started as a small tingle in his right hand, which quickly spread all the way up his arm. He turned his eyes to his hand only to see it vanish into thin air.
Jeffery quickly gasped and released his breath and his appendage quickly reappeared; he sat there letting his breathing return to normal all the while staring at his hand with a mixture of fear and confusion. He swallowed hard and carefully moved his hand and everything felt normal, he tried to make it happen again but nothing happen. He briefly thought back and he remembered the tingling feeling when he held his breath.
Jeffery slowly inhaled and then held his breath, and his hand disappeared from sight once again.
'Cool' he thought to himself.
Present- Jeffery's room
Jeffery continued to think about after that day he began to train with his powers, hone the ability. The more he practiced the more parts of his body turned invisible and the more he concentrated he found he could his whole body invisible and even objects that he physically touched. At first the only limitation was how long he could hold his breath but the more he practiced he realized he didn't need to hold his breath but just focus his mind on keeping himself and whatever he touched invisible. It was a task that was easier said than done sometimes but he took it as a personal challenge.
He glanced at the clock and a sense of pride washed over him as he saw that he surpassed his last time.
'Keep it going, it won't be long until I can do it naturally. It'll be like a second instinct.' He thought with pride. .
KNOCK! KNOCK! Came the sound of the door to his basement.
"JEFFERY I HOPE YOU'RE DECENT BECAUSE WE'RE COMING IN!"
The door opened and in walked Jeffery's mother with Chloe next to her. The two ladies looked around in confusion at not seeing Jeff.
At the sight of Chloe and his mother, the delicate concentration Jeffery had was lost and he instantly turned visible in front of the two of them.
Mrs. Palmer was frightened and shocked which combined made her eyes roll to the back of her head where she then promptly passed out, hitting the concrete basement floor with a thud.
Jeffery and Chloe looked Mrs. Palmer and then towards each other.
"Uh…Hi." She said with a sweet smile on her face.
Kent Farm- Around the Same time- The Barn
Clark stood in front of the red tractor with the hood up fiddling with the engine inside. He had just finished his last chore and was getting ready to go back inside when he had heard the machine making some noise. He held a nut up to his mouth and blew out some of the black smoke before screwing the piece back to where he found it.
He was focused on his task but at the same time he wasn't focused. He kept thinking about the conversation he had with his parents a few hours ago. A heartfelt conversation that was obviously hard for the two of them. He thought back to the looks in their eyes, the fear of them being rejected by him and the look broke his heart a little. He could see their sadness in telling him the truth, the truth that he had wanted for so long and now had.
Clark stopped his tinkering and he ran an hand through his hair; he was conflicted on how he was supposed to feel. On the one had he was angry. Angry at his adopted parent for keeping this secret for so long, angry at his birth parents who he didn't even know and angry at himself for even wanting to know the truth of who…of what he was…an Alien. On the other hand he was sad; sad at just how different he was from everyone else, sad at how he had been treating his parents and he was sad at the thought of how he was truly alone. Clark thought back to his encounter with Chloe and he chuckled a little to himself at how stupid he had been.
'Idiot' he thought to himself, 'Technically she wasn't lying. She is different but not the same kind of different as me. I just wanted it too much, my God this is so frustrating'
Clark heaved a sigh and carefully rubbed his tired eyes.
"God, if you're up there please help me to make sense of all this. Why me?"
"B-B-B-E…..W-W-WARE.' came a strained voice.
Clark slowly lowered his hand from his face as he heard the voice. He turned around and looked around the barn but he didn't see anyone or anything.
"What the heck?" He whispered "I know I heard…."
"B-B-B-E…..WARE TRAVELER!" the strained voice said again only it was more desperate and urgent.
Clark turned his head back to the tractor in front of him and his eyes widened in terror as he saw a naked green alien staring back him. The creature was about six eight with a long green head, glowing red eyes, and a thin, dark green, lanky build.
"OH MY GOD!" Clark shouted at the top of his lungs at the sight of the obvious alien, "MOM! DAD!" he screamed.
"BEWARE TRAVELER!" the Alien said again lunging for him and grabbing him by the head.
Clark felt its grip upon his head followed by the red hot intensity of hundreds of images bombarding his mind. A pain he had felt before. He sunk to his knees as the Alien continued his assault against him.
"BEWARE!" the Alien shouted.
Clark stared up at him as more images flashed across his mind.
"BEWARE!" BEWARE!" BEWARE!!"
Seconds Later
"CLARK!" Jonathan called out as he and Martha ran as fast as they could to the barn. They heard him screaming and immediately came running. The humble couple entered the barn where they saw their son laying on his back on the ground.
"OH MY GOD!" Martha shouted while running towards him.
She reached him and she quickly scooped his head into her lap.
"Clark. My baby, can you hear me!? What happened!? What Happened!?" she asked frantically.
"Clark!" Jonathan called kneeling down next to the two most importantly people in his life.
Clark was breathing heavily and his mind was all jumbled however through all of that he was able to make out the muffled voices of his parents Jonathan and Martha. He continued to hear them drone on as his eyes grew heavy.
"Beware Traveler, you're in danger." Came a far away voice.
Clark closed his eyes and he knew nothing but darkness.
Elsewhere- Later that night- Location Classified- Hangar bay
Tess Mercer stood with her arms folded across her chest staring out into the night sky at the leer jet that was coming in for a safe landing. She narrowed her eyes at the sight of aircraft because she knew exactly who was on the plane. It was her father, Lionel Luthor, a man that she hated, feared and loved all at the same time; ever since she had laid eyes upon him all those years ago.
Flashback- About 16 years ago
An eight year old Tess Mercer looked up into the cold, calculating eyes of Lionel Luthor. The elder man looked away from her and briefly at her mother, an attractive brown haired woman who narrowed her eyes at him.
"Well?" she asked.
Lionel looked away from her and back towards Tess.
"She looks like my mother, has her eyes. My eyes." He stated.
"That's because she's your daughter you f***** bastard. And it's time you accepted that. You've seen the paternity test, there is no denying it."
Lionel ignored her and continued to look at Tess with those cold hard eyes.
"Fine…..she's mine. However she will not have my name."
"WHAT!" Tess's mother roared.
"You heard me. She'll have my money but not my name. You'll have all the support needed until her eighteenth birthday. Once she's reached eighteen the money will stop and it will be then that she has to prove to me that she is of my loins. She will have to prove to me that she is a Luthor."
Present- Private Hangar Bay
Tess unconsciously released her strong grip from her arm. For some reason that day, that first of many meetings with her father stuck with her and resonated within her mind. She would have to prove her lineage; she would have to prove that she was a Luthor and not a nameless child that was just born from a single night of passion.
In growing up she had always had a chip on her shoulder about that but she never let it get her down, because in her mind it was a challenge; a challenge that she, even at the tender age of eight years old had silently accepted.
Tess took several steps to the side from the opened as the leer jet came in for a smooth landing inside the large Hangar Bay.
The engines started to die down to a low rumbling whirring until they shut off completely. Tess walked towards the side with the opening just as a ramp with a set of steps hit the ground with a light thud.
Lionel Luthor briskly walked down the steps all the while adjusting the tie on his expensive Armani suit. He looked to the right and he locked eyes with Tess.
"Where are they?" he demanded.
"In the room waiting for you." She replied with restrained anger "You are putting me in a very precarious spot with this spontaneous visit. I didn't tell you about the Traveler so you could show up and throw your weight around."
"Relax." Lionel stated unconcerned.
"RELAX!" she shouted before composing herself "If I'm supposed to be your inside man how the hell am I supposed to relax when you're not even supposed to know about the traveler."
Lionel didn't respond to her he merely looked passed her and at the approaching women that was steadily making her way over to them.
Tess followed his line of sight to see Laura Queen walking over.
'Great' Tess thought to herself.
"Lionel." Laura Queen started before stopping to look him over, "This is a surprise….we weren't expecting you."
"I know." He stated strongly "Which is exactly why I'm here. Did you really think that you could keep me out of the loop?" he questioned stepping towards her.
"To what are you referring?" she asked with a smile.
"Don't be coy Laura. I hate coy." He replied "I know about the Traveler's signal activating yesterday."
Laura remained calm, and she turned her eyes away from him and towards Tess who did her best to keep the scowl on her face as she stared at her father. The young woman felt eyes upon her and she turned to Laura.
"And how would you know about something like that I wonder." She said still looking at Tess.
"I have eyes and ears everywhere." Lionel replied, following her line of sight to his daughter.
"I see." Laura said in a low voice.
"However she's not one of them. She's not even my real daughter" he scoffed.
Tess gritted her teeth at the remark.
"No, she didn't alert me to this discovery Laura. You did."
Laura Queen whipped her head back to him.
"What! I would never…I…." she started but then narrowed her eyes in suspicion, as her mind went over his words, "You have me bugged, don't you."
"Just as you have me bugged, however mine work better than yours. Oh Come now Laura, what did I say about being coy. You know how this game is played."
"How? When?" she demanded indignantly.
"Could've been at anytime." Lionel answered smugly "At that little boutique in Milan you like so much. Or how about your favorite spa; who do you think is watching your things while you get your facials. Or how about when you're at the gym keeping that lovely body fit and toned. I'm everywhere. I'm inescapable; now let's get to this meeting. I have other things to do."
Lionel brushed past her throwing one last glance at Tess before he started for a door on the other end of the hangar bay; a door that would lead him to a secret entrance that would take him to the other members of the secret organization known as Veritas.
Tess and Laura watched him walk away both consume of with thoughts of revenge and hatred; however it was quickly interrupted by the sound of someone falling down the stairs and onto the concrete floor.
Tess relaxed her shoulders and slowly looked towards the ground.
"Otis." She said.
Otis quickly scrambled to his feet.
"Hello Ms. Mercer. I-It's good to see you again, l-looking more beautiful than ever...and..."
"OTIS!" Lionel's voice echoed.
"G-Good-bye" Otis stuttered before running after Lionel, "MR. LUTHOR! HOLD ON! WAIT FOR ME!"
"Why doesn't he get rid of that oaf?" Laura asked.
"Because my father gets off on keeping those that are weaker than him subservient and dependent." Tess answered, before turning to her, "Also, you played that rather well. I actually bought that whole little act there."
Laura smiled a little.
"I minored in theater in college. It's good that I haven't forgotten everything."
"I don't need to remind you that this is a dangerous game we're playing Ms. Queen. And at the end there will be a dangerous conflict with my father."
"I'm not afraid of Lionel." Laura stated strongly "Are you?"
"Yes." Tess answered quickly before looking away from her, "And with good reason too. I've seen his work first hand. How he destroyed my mother."
Laura shifted in her spot as she looked at the younger woman next to her. She remembered Tess's mother, they were best friends at one point before the drugs and alcohol and then finally the fatal drive that claimed her life. Laura knew of how Tess's mother was pushed to all three of those things and she was pushed by Lionel. Another grudge she held against him but her grudge was nothing compared to the feeling's Tess had for him. That she knew.
Laura stepped towards Tess and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"For now we need him but once his usefulness is up, I promise that retribution will be ours."
Tess let a small smile appear on her face, she then nodded her head and both started for the door and for the meeting with the other members of Veritas.
Space- Many Many Miles Away
Five giant mechanized spherical shaped objects flew at top speed through the blackness of space. The spheres weaved and swerved out of the way of an asteroid field and continued on in its straight linear path.
One of the spheres retracted a small portion form it's smooth surface and allowed a long metallic tendril to slither out. The tendril quickly formed into a satellite dish and began to scan the cosmos around it.
"Scanning, Scanning, Scanning. Brainiac Sub-Unit scan complete Kryptonian found, adjusting course."
The Five spherical objects shifted their course to the right and continued on at top speed.
"Transmition back to Brainiac Prime. Kryptonian refugee found in distant quadrant of Galaxy. Shifting through data collected from various sources. Data found. Aa young Galaxy recently discovered and there is only one planet with life. A Planet named…..Earth."
End Chapter: Read and Review: Hey readers it's me Nomad88 back again with the closing comments. I really hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and is enjoying this story in general. I know that there isn't much wall to wall action however I make up for that with story.
I'm really building this world for Superman to play in and soon it's going to explode. As you can see there are several real threats on the horizon for our young hero but he is unfortunately preoccupied with his own inner problems. But soon I promise it'll all pull together. If any of you didn't know I'm a huge Superman Fan but sometimes I don't like how some writers just focus on Superman…Superman is only half the equation the other half is the true draw and that's Clark Kent.
I'm the fan that sees Clark Kent as Superman and not Superman as Clark Kent. So naturally I'm building him up for when he or even if he takes up the mantle. But anyway. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, the long overdue chapter. Please continue to read and review and let me know your thoughts.
I'm eager to hear from all of you and if you don't want to leave a review by all means hit me up with a PM and I will get back to you as quickly as I can. I'll meet you Super fans back here next time. This is Nomad88 saying Later…
Ps: Always remember to check my profile for updates on my other stories. Batman should be getting update, as well as Spider-Man and Star Wars. I urge you loyal readers that if you like Star Wars, check out my action packed story. LOL! Anyway catch you all later….
Next up: Invisibility vs. Invulnerability
Summary: Clark makes a decision about his heritage and it may or may not sit well with his Parents. Also, Chloe finds herself in hot water with the invisible thief Jeffery Palmer. Plus more on Veritas, More on Dr. Swann, and the mysterious green alien known as J'onn.