Chapter Fourteen - Winged Victory
Insect Queen hovered in the air, while Kal's hands maintained a tight grip on her ankles. Before long she'd have bruises there to match the ones that Kal had already left on her neck and wrists. Fortunately Lana had taken the precaution of concealing those bruises, as best she could, with make-up, before donning her Insect Queen garb. This was so that Clark wouldn't make the connection between Lana Lang and Insect Queen, but now whether he did or not was looking largely irrelevant as Kal prepared to tear Insect Queen in half.
However a few typed words from Pete Ross persuaded Kal to sing one last song to Insect Queen before her death:
"So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, drop dead …"
As Insect Queen stared death in the face, her mind was racing. Clark had taken away her canisters so she couldn't shrink or grow her way out of the situation, and her insect chums were now afraid of Clark so they were of no help. Only one option remained – her ring. A ring that the sorceress Zatanna had cast a spell on enabling it to bestow insect powers upon Lana. Trouble was she didn't really know any insect powers. She'd meant to look that sort of stuff up but never got round to it, always putting it off until tomorrow. Now it seemed like it was too late. Think, Lana, think! What did she know about insects? They had short lifespans but Clark was taking care of that for her. Flying straight into windows wouldn't be particularly helpful. Maybe she could mate with Clark and then bite his head off. No, that was just too gross. Speaking of gross, she vaguely remembered something from science class about flies using their saliva to dissolve their food before eating it. Maybe she could use that to distract this new Super-Clark she'd created.
And so it came about that Lana Lang, in a reversal of their traditional roles, ended up drooling all over Clark.
Kal grimaced as a gallon of saliva washed over him. As the acidic saliva, capable of dissolving all earthly materials, started to eat its way through his clothes, he suddenly felt himself being lifted off the ground.
As Insect Queen had seen the smoke rising from Clark she'd instantly regretted her actions. She had to get him to a lake and see if she could neutralize the acid. Using her flight ring she pulled herself and Clark into the air, ignoring his continued singing from down below.
Unfortunately the acid only dissolved earthly material and the red kryptonite, along with Kal himself, remained unaffected. As Kal reached the end of his song and prepared to rip Insect Queen in two, however, the acid finally finished eating through the metal band of the ring and the red rock fell from Kal's finger.
"What am I doing?" said Clark as the red rock plummeted further and further away from him.
Insect Queen noticed the change in Clark's expression from arrogant and sadistic to confused and ashamed. "Are you okay?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes, erm, your highness," replied a blushing Clark, as he realized he was naked. "I'm sorry about … well, everything. I promise it won't happen again."
Insect Queen smiled. It looked liked hersaliva had dissolved all traces of the green rock from within Clark and left him unharmed. She'd have to drool on all the freaks from now on.
Slowly drifting them to the ground, far away from where the red rock had landed, Insect Queen bid Clark a heroic farewell:
"Well, citizen, it looks like my duty here is done, and so now I must go, for wherever evil doth rear its ugly head there must Insect Queen go-eth. Down, down and away!"
And with that Insect Queen shrunk out of sight.
Clark looked around. Here he was, stuck in the middle of nowhere, naked. Still, moving so fast that nobody would see him, he'd be home in a matter of –
"Hi, Clark," said Lana's voice from behind him.
"Lana?" exclaimed a shocked Clark turning towards her and then, remembering he was naked, quickly turning away again. "What are you doing here?"
"I was with Insect Queen all the time," explained Lana, making it up as she went along. "Although, of course, she'd shrunk me so I wouldn't be seen. Anyway, she just wanted to abandon you here after all that you'd done, but I said that I'd stick around and help you get home."
"Great," lied Clark, his plans of just running home having been thwarted. "Don't suppose she left any clothes for me."
"Funny you should say that," replied Lana with a smile, as she realized that the time for her revenge on Clark, for what had happened yesterday at The Talon, had finally arrived.
As they walked the long walk towards the nearest highway, Clark was still moaning about his attire.
"Hey, Clark, it's better than nothing. But I'm easy either way."
Clark smiled a false smile at Lana, while wondering just how much she knew of his powers after his encounters with both her and Insect Queen. Maybe he should just run them both home anyway. As he thought these thoughts, Lana suddenly put his mind at rest. "So, I guess those amazing powers the rock gave you have gone."
Clark nodded. Lana was so easy to fool. Whether he'd managed to fool Insect Queen was another story entirely, or so he thought. And then, once again, his thoughts were interrupted by another observation of Lana's. "That rock really changed your personality."
Clark frowned. It seemed like she'd figured out how the red class ring could affect him. Maybe it was time to change the subject.
"I hope nobody sees me dressed like this. Me and skintight spandex just don't mix."
"You could have worn her mask as well," pointed out Lana helpfully.
"What sort of disguise is that?" Clark asked incredulously. "She might as well be wearing a pair of glasses."
"You mean you've seen through her disguise?" asked a worried Lana.
"No, of course not. But that's just because she's nobody I know. I bet any of her friends would recognize her."
"Undoubtedly, Clark," agreed a patronizing Lana.
Clark looked towards Lana. Maybe it was finally time for some honesty in their relationship. He couldn't tell her all of his secrets, but at least he could confide in her about the red class ring. After all, she already knew all about it.
"I hate red rocks," Clark started, testing the waters.
Lana flinched, and looked at Clark in disgust. Sure the costume chafed, but that was way too much information.
After a long period of silence, Lana and Clark finally reached the highway. Suddenly Clark realized that there was a problem. "Who's going to give us a lift with me dressed like this?"
Lana shook her head in disbelief. "Clark, you're standing next to me," she explained. "Why would they even notice you?"
At which point, as if to prove her point, the first car they'd seen going in their direction suddenly screeched to a halt right in front of Lana.