Chapter Twenty: Beacon.
"Do I even have to start talking about how tempting it is to take out this guy right here and now?"
Kal thought about Lionel Luthor and all the problems that the middle age man put him through. He thought about everything that he had been going through and knew that was headache inducing. His fingers twitched and he envisioned wrapping his hands around Lionel's throat.
Thankfully, sanity was something that balanced out and the fact that Kara and Diana were able to hold him back, that proved to be good as well. Neither girl was happy with the situation either, given how close that they were for taking the stones and uniting them. The longer they waited, the longer that something could happen and go awfully wrong. Both tried to keep calm but that was how things were panning out.
"Tempting, yes," Diana remarked as she gripped her arm around Kal and turned towards him with a frustrated expression etched on her own face. "And it would be tempting if not for the fact that it would cause us to be found out."
Kal hated to admit that she was right but the fact was that she was right .Kara cupped a hand underneath her chin and she eyed the men around. It was one of those situations that were difficult but it might doable if they figured out a way around this.
"I think if we beat Lionel Luthor at his own game, we might be able to get control of the caves," Kara remarked to herself as she threw her head back and her hair flew in her face. Frustratingly, she blew on it. "I don't see why we shouldn't just go in there at super speed and…."
'If they get any hint of what's happening, they could track where the Fortress is and everything will be for nothing,' Lara thought to them and Kal cupped his hand to his chest as he thought about it.
"Damn it," Kal swore, he could not believe this, after all the trouble that they went through with getting the stone, they were getting hosed, no question about. If he put his mind to it, there was no way he could come up with a worse case scenario although there were more than a few.
"Calm down, Kal," Diana stated as she placed her arm around his waist and pulled him towards her. She sympathized with his frustrations, she really did but getting upset was not about to solve anything. In fact, it would make an already frustrating scenario even more so and the Princess had her mind mulling over all parts in her mind.
"We could get in….no we couldn't," Kal thought to himself as he placed his hand on his chest but he found a hand clasp the back of his shoulder.
Instinctively, he turned around about ready to take out the person who had snuck up from behind him. His fist was already balled as he faced Karen who backed up and threw her hands up in frustration.
"Hey, hey, I come in piece, don't shoot,' Karen commented as she kept her hands up towards him, the blonde's smile getting rather wide across her face. "I don't….I don't know what's gotten into you today…."
"Luthor, cave, Luthor, bad," Kara remarked to her and Karen grinned.
"Short and to the point, I approve," Karen offered to her younger counterpart as the group continued to wave, as she could sense Kal's tensions getting higher. "I've been looking into the caves, almost waiting for Lionel to slip up, getting something more permanent than the temporary restraining order that I had."
And that was not the only thing that she was looking at regarding Luthorcorp, but it was one step at a time. The fact was Lionel Luthor was getting closer and closer to losing what passed as sanity for him. Karen was almost terrified at his fleeting grip and there were rumors that he was not in the best health in the world.
"None of us can be seen here, especially you and with that stone,' Karen remarked as her eyes scanned over his face and saw his frustration. "Luthor's lost it, he's obsessed."
"That seems to run in the family," Kara muttered, thinking of the snatches of conversation that she heard from the younger Luthor. She was not going to lie, there was something about all the Luthors that made her nervous and caused a type of fierce protectiveness to manifest through her.
"How desperate is he, on a scale of one to ten?" Diana asked Karen and the blonde's expressions turned to a humorless grimace as she told Diana.
"A twelve, twelve and a half, maybe," Karen informed her and Diana's breath was let in and out of her with a hitch. "We've got to keep it cool for a couple of days."
Clark found a fundamental flaw in that and his expression twisted towards Karen as he told her why he was agitated. "There's the stone…."
"Yes, Kal-El, I know you have it,' Karen remarked as she reached her arms forward and placed a hand on his waist and another on his hand that had the stone clutched into it. "It's frustrating isn't it, coming so close to achieving your birth right, yet having it snatched out from underneath you, like a tormented twisted terror."
Kal thought he would not be that wordy with things but damned if she had not slammed her hand right upon the nail. She hit it square on the head. As much as he hated to admit it, patience was not his strong suit.
"If we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this by the book," Karen remarked to the three of them and they nodded. The trio exchanged nervous gazes as they kept their attentions locked onto each other.
"So….what are you doing?" Kal asked.
Karen looked into the briefcase of the information that she found and she flipped through everything. It was hard to beat Lionel at his own game but she spent a lot of time studying the man and how he worked. Some of the most painful losses could lead to someone losing without taking a single punch to the face.
"I'm going to take down Lionel Luthor," Karen told them and now they were both excited and scared.
"You're dealing with a master chess player," Chloe concluded as she sat around with Karen, Clark, Kara, and Diana. She was not going to lie, she might be bold but going up against Lionel Luthor was not a very fun thought. Her stomach was really rumbling with the butterflies and they had giant wings that flapped against the side of her. The blonde placed her hands towards her mouth and began to bite on her nails, feeling fierce and determination spreading through her face.
"I know that, you know that, we all know what Lionel is," Karen commented as she flipped through the folder, the information that she got through STARR labs and that Patricia's father had gotten ahold of. "Lionel's like a wounded animal right now. We attack him, we got to make it count. If we get him in a corner too far, he's going to lash out and that's going to be the end of us."
Kal thought of the worst case scenario through his mind's eye as he kept the stone in his hand. He could not think enough how close they were to uniting the stones and Kara saw his frustration.
"It's just another delay, don't worry about it," Kara informed Kal and the Kryptonian's head nodded down, he placed his hands firmly on the table as he started to breath heavily. He twisted her expression towards hers as she placed a pair of hands upon his. "Strength comes not from winning all of the time but…."
"From how well you fight adversity," Kal concluded for her.
Kara's smile became tense. "So you've heard that one as well."
Kal heard it already, it was pounded into his own head so much that he thought he was going to get a headache about it. It was something that was extremely true but he did not want to think about what could go wrong. So much had gone right but everything else could go wrong with these stones being ripped from his hands.
"I'm not done yet," Kal offered to them and Chloe smiled.
"That's the attitude that I like to hear," Chloe informed them as she clasped her hands together but there was a sense of nervousness that went over her mind. There was a chance that this could all come crashing together.
"I'm glad that you have that attitude as well….just a second," Karen said as there was a phone from the other room and it was an important call that she had to answer.
Kara impatiently drummed her fingers off the edge of the table, she thought things were moving at a snail's pace and her nerves fired up even greater. The blonde's expression continued to turn more sour as Kal's gaze locked onto hers.
"Just thinking about what would happen if that…if he gets his hands on the stones," Kara remarked as Kal grabbed her around the wrists.
"Don't worry about it, we're going to win," Kal offered to her and Kara smiled as she leaned her head back, allowing it to fall onto his head for a brief second. She was sliding off the chair and in deep pondering thought. The blonde hoped that things were going to run for the best and not for the worst but she could not think of the worst predicament that she had been put in, no matter how much she tried.
"I know we're going to win, I have a lot of faith in that," Kara informed Kal as the blonde kept her expression quite intense and focused. She wondered what Karen was talking about or to in the other room. It was taking every fiber of her control not to listen in on the conversation with her super hearing. The blonde's nerves rocked her body and she raised her hands into the air, in an attempt to make it like that she was not too anxious.
Chloe was whistling as she looked out the meeting room that she was. It was a nice office building as well but she was getting impatient.
"I know, but we're going to have to wait until she tells us," Diana remarked, she had faith that everything was going to work out fine. Then again, she could not afford to be pessimistic in the back of her mind.
Kal pondered everything but he did not have much time to ponder as Karen showed up, with a wide smile on her face. It looked like she had hit the lottery, every single lottery ever known to man in fact, really hitting the jackpot. The blonde's expression spun towards Kal, Kara, Chloe, and Diana and the four of them got up.
"You've got one of those shit eating grins on your face," Chloe remarked, as she pondered what that meant. It could mean any number of things and the smaller blonde was contemplating them all. The blonde's eyes looked towards the bustier blonde that was standing in front of her.
"Lionel's….well I think it's easy to tell that he's stepped on more than a few important toes on his way to the top," Karen informed them and Kal gave her a look that told her all about how he was not surprised. "Yeah I know, tell me about it but….the fact of the matter is…."
Kara was not one to be patient, especially with herself so she placed her hand on the table and locked eyes with Karen. Time ticked by and seemed like an eternity as she threw her head back, frustration beyond all believe mounting through her.
"Spit it out, please," Kara told Karen to the point where she was demanding.
Karen grinned, she enjoyed allowing the sword hanging over their heads for a few seconds.
Although nothing to her was going to be like the same sword that was about to decapitate Lionel Luthor in a matter of moments.
The fact of the matter was that every contract, every agreement, it had a loophole, and Karen found hers. She was about to close it around Lionel Luthor's foul head.
Lionel Luthor's mouth spread into a wide grin that would strike terror into the hearts of many men and women who gazed upon it. His eyes flickered angry as he turned around to see the area around the cave. His expression was one of amusement as he stepped into the cave, with two of his goons.
"There must be something inside, they're hiding them here, I know it," Lionel whispered to them and the muscled goons watched with widened eyes.
"Hiding what here?"
Lionel turned his head around and he saw Lex standing behind him. His son stared him down and there was once again a twitch of his eye. The young man's bloodshot eyes ran over Lionel's face and Lionel crossed his arms as he stared his son down. Both stared each other down and kept trying to be the one who would not give up the round.
"Lex, I'm afraid that this isn't your concern," Lionel said to him.
"Actually it is, the board of directors are fairly concerned with your health and your obsessions over mystical artifacts," Lex told Lionel as he stood forward. "There has been evidence presented to them just this morning that….you're just not well."
"I'm not well, I'm fine," Lionel stated as he felt a stabbing pain through his side. He gripped the wall and twisted his expression towards Lex, blinking a slight amount of the way and his face contorted into a grimace. His stomach felt on the edge of exploding in a stabbing amount of pain as he twisted his eyes towards his son.
His son might as well be his enemy.
"The Board thinks differently and the company approved doctor thinks that you might be cracking underneath the strain of running the company, therefore, this order….states that you're no longer welcomed at Luthorcorp," Lex told him as he slapped the very official legal document in Lionel's hand.
Lionel snatched the legal document from his son's possession, a look of disbelief flowing from his eyes. He crunched the document in his hands, his anger swelling in him as he kept his eyes locked onto the damned document. He read it over line by line, smoothing it over so he could see it properly. He could not believe his son would go to these lengths but despite all that, he had never felt a stronger mixture of pride and anger as he read over the document. His lips moved.
Lex thought that there was nothing personal regarding this ousting, there was a time where he had to step up and displace his father. He basked in the glory as he waited for his father's reaction.
Lionel lifted his hands and slowly clapped over and over again. Lex watched him clap, it was slow and sarcastic. It was almost to the point where he had no idea if he should feel good or not that his father was actually showing praise. There was something more than underhanded about his clapping and the tone that spat out of his father's mouth was condescending as anything Lex heard.
"Bravo Lex, Bravo," Lionel remarked as he kept clapping his hands together, the smile crossing his face, which got even wider. "I could not even….well hats off to you son."
Lionel stepped forward and offered Lex a handshake. Lex, raising an eyebrow, took it but there was a sense that he was shaking hands with a snake that could lash out and chew out his throat at any single second.
"You've done….well done actually," Lionel commented in a brisk tone as he shifted his foot over and he leaned towards his son. "You know, I never thought that you would stoop so low, getting some doctor to hand over my confidential information and pass it on to the board of directors. Those vultures have been looking for an excuse to oust me for years, but you did it Lex, you gave it to them. They were like a dog with a bone for this. Bravo."
Lionel clapped his hands slowly and loudly.
"Bravo."
Lex knew his father's sarcasm was going to be followed up by criticism of some sort.
"But….you fed them this, and they are the type that will bite the hand that fed them, so I wouldn't get too comfortable with your new role as the CEO of Luthorcorp," Lionel remarked as he tapped his hand on his son's. "You see, even after I'm in the grave, I'll be laughing at you."
Lex thought that this was an extremely blunt statement being given by his father.
"You see, you returned from marriage, and whilst it changes you, not this much," Lionel commented and he made a motion but two bodyguards stood in front of him. Lionel lifted his hands up and pretended he was not going to attack him, even though there was a sense that he was going to do. "I might not be well from a physical perspective but son….you're working too hard. Your obsessions will be your downfall."
"I'll be the judge of that," Lex remarked to Lionel as he tapped his fingers across the edge of the door and kept his expression stoic. The man remained crisp and cool as both stared down at each other, neither backing up from what they were saying with each other. It was obvious that one was waiting for the other to slip up. "You have seventy two hours to clear you and your goons away from the cave, because I've sold it and the rights of it."
"To who," Lionel remarked as his glare flared towards Lex.
Lex looked like the cat that swallowed the canary as he kept his eyes locked onto his father's and he responded in a cold tone. "That's for me to you know and you to never find out. I'd also like your desk to be cleared out by Monday morning and I wish you the best in all of your future endeavors."
Lionel watched Lex and there was one thing his statement said and Lex knew it. He thought that he could read his father better than anyone by now. He did not allow his eyes to go off of his father. He wouldn't turn his back on him.
Karen watched from the shadows and smiled. She manipulated the Luthors against each other like chess pieces. Picking up a thing or two from watching them had served her all too well.
She had the stone secured as Clark, Kara, Chloe, and Diana all waited. Phase one of her plan to ruin the Luthors began.
There was another person who could help her but she would wait to see what would happen next.
Night had fallen on Smallville as the group made their way towards the caves. Clark could not believe that this was happening and neither did Kara really.
'Did you have any doubts?' Lara thought to them. The only thing that would be left in the caves would be her body and she was almost ninety five percent downloaded into it, her memories, her personality, everything in this body. There would be a copy of herself at the Fortress and then there would be a copy in this body.
Jor-El left the resource down here, so she was not about to let it go to waste.
"Maybe a little bit," Clark commented but he shook his head.
Everyone abandoned the cave and Clark turned towards Karen, the blonde placing her hands on her hips and a smile crossed her face.
"You can thank me later, in detail," Karen commented to Clark and the blonde's wide smile and expressive eyes fixed onto his face.
Clark knew that he had to do the honors. There was two stones in the slot and he had a third one. He could feel it glowing, he could feel his birthright beckoning out to him. All he had to do was slide the stone in and everything would come together. The Last Son of Krypton slipped his way forward and he tapped his hands on the pedestal.
Destiny was not a word that he would throw around loosely but never the less it was something that he was going after. He was about to hold it in his hands, hold the destiny that was in place for him. His eyes flickered as he saw the Kryptonian symbols flashing in the back of his eyes. He turned the rock over in his hand and smiled as he rattled the stone in his hand. He was about ready to slide the stone into the slot, that's all he had to do to bring everything to life. He flipped it over.
'Now is the time,' Kal thought to himself as he inserted the final stone.
There was a flash of light as Kal, Kara, Karen, Diana, and Chloe all were engulfed by the flash of light by the stones. They could sense them merging together into a glowing crystal as they were being brought from the caves. Light engulfed the five of them as they were drawn from it, as the symbols began to lose light as the traces of Lara were gone. There was a copy of her but that would join them in time.
The four females and Clark made their way into the Arctic. The cool winds blew in their face but the group was going to make their way forward. They were not about to be taken down by the Arctic winds around them.
"Wow," Chloe breathed as she saw the Fortress crystal spiral in the air, sending out bright blue lights all around them.
"Wow is correct," Clark commented to her as he placed an arm around her and watched everything. The blonde was watching the progress as the Fortress began to manifest. Crystals appeared around the inside area.
'As you go in, you'll see that Jor-El designed this,' Lara remarked to them.
'You mean it has no personality and it's utterly frustrating to deal with,' Kara thought to her and Lara paused before she commented.
'Exactly,' Lara concluded through them. The blonde's felt herself forming into the Fortress. Thankfully the lock out of Jor-El continued to work. As long as there were no nasty tricks, she should be able to do anything.
The group saw the magnificent crystal Fortress appeared around them. Kara, Karen, Diana, Chloe, and Kal stepped forward as the entrance of the Fortress manifested itself.
"I believe that you can be allowed through, if I'm with you," Kal remarked but he was not one hundred percent sure. It was just something that popped into the back of her mind. Kara turned towards him and the blonde Kryptonian watched her as she clutched her hands together.
"Yes, that's right, it's your birthright, the power is coursing through you, and to the Fortress," Kara said as she kept her eyes focused and she drank in everything in the Fortress.
There were symbols all around the Fortress and all of them looked around. Kal stepped inside and saw the symbols around him. It was quite amazing and he could not believe it. It was overwhelming and all of the information in this Fortress would be his.
"In due time, Kal-El," Lara told her son, calmly as a holographic image of the woman appeared. She stood there in all of her beauty, with gold blonde hair hanging down and framing her face. Her tight body was covered with the white robes and he turned around, with her rear being displayed to them, as she bent over to check to make sure everything was in working order in the Fortress. "You will learn everything that is in this Fortress, you will learn about the history of all of the galaxies, your powers, and how to use them."
"Does that include unassisted flight?" Kara asked, unable to resist and Kal turned towards her but the blonde shrugged her shoulders. She shook her head as the blonde's expression widened.
"It includes that and more, much more, powers that even Jor-El would not have taught you but they will come in time," Lara commented as she reached forward and the holographic image touched Kal's cheek. The blonde smiled. "But I must remind you about a saying that humans have regarding power and responsibility that you need to understand."
"I understand," Kal remarked as Lara nodded.
Chloe checked her watch. "I better get going….given what's happened with Lana, it's unwise to leave her unattended for too long."
"So how's the training going?" Kara asked to the blonde as she placed her hands on her hips.
The smaller blonde smiled. "It's going well."
"Best of luck to you then," Diana remarked, she had to know that this might was going to end a lot better than her mother's training with Circe. The dark haired woman thought about this and thought that she might have to pop by for a visit. "So Kal….when we're done here, how about we swing by the island?"
"That would be great," Kal stated as he took some time tour the Fortress.
"See you later, Clark," Chloe commented as she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. She turned around on her heel and rushed forward back to Smallville as fast as her feet could take her.
The Fortress of Solitude being put up caused a wave of energy that might not be picked up by many human means. It was strong certainly but it was brief enough and strange enough that nothing could match it. It could not be tracked never the less and everyone who saw it had just chalked it up to an interdimensional anomaly that could not be tracked by Earthly means.
Despite the fact that no humans on Earth could track it, that no one could find it, there was a person who did find it. There was a few seconds where everything came undone as there was a flash of light, around the area of the caves in Smallville. The person traveled an extremely long way to get where she was.
Her red hair flowed down her back and her rosy red lips pursed as she placed a pair of strong hands on her thighs. The woman stood firmly on the ground.
She was extremely tall with the flowing red hair that framed her beautiful face. Her green eyes were filled with an allure that was strong and would stand out in a crowd. Her red lips pursed together as her face was just utterly sexy. Her entire frame radiated sex. Her sensual yet muscular form stepped forward. Her green top wrapped around her ample breasts, with a toned midsection. Her bottom top could be classified as little more than a belt.
It covered her amazing legs as she stepped forward. She was tall and amazing, she dripped an amazing allure and there was a pair of green boots that covered her feet. She stood as she looked around and clasped her hand together, with a smile across her face.
"He's summoned me, I can sense it," she stated as she thought about him, what he would be like, and what she would receive.
She was Queen Maxima, the holder of the throne of Almerac. She had searched long and wide for a suitable mate for her throne and she had found it as she stepped forward towards the caves. She sensed that it was near. Her green eyes kept flickering as she edged herself forward on the ground as she stepped around and she clasped her hands.
"Soon, I'm coming for you," Maxima commented as she could sense that he was around.
She longed for a strong mate, someone who could match her, someone who would not break if she was in the moments of intimacy. She had heard rumors, whispers about someone who could potentially match her. A smile crossed her face as she thought about it. For long she ruled over a kingdom but her hold over it was waning. Her subjects were not as prominent as they used to be. She needed someone strong to stand side by side with, that would be high on her list of priorities.
Someone that she could love and someone that could handle all of the love that she could give to them, that was what she longed for.
It was not easy to say the very least to find someone who could handle her and everything that she had to offer. Maxima felt the sexual frustration wash over her as she could tell that he was here or at least he was once here.
"Someone strong, someone durable," Maxima commented as she looked out in this quaint farm village.
It was not the thing that she thought of first of all as she contemplated a regal setting but then she thought of it. It cause him to grow strong, bold, and be able to satisfy her every need, treat her like the royalty she was.
'And our children will be beautiful,' Maxima thought to herself but before she decided to take that step, she wanted to sample the goods. The redhead woman kept walking forward in pursuit to him.
She waited a long time and her impatience was reaching a fever pitch. The wind blew in her hair and if someone came by, she would seal how a tantalizing sight to see that she was. The Queen placed a hand on her hip as she zoomed forward at the speed of light.
She sensed a piece of him near but she wanted the entire package, something she could wrap her hands around and handle quite handsomely.
'Soon my love, I will come for you,' Maxima considered as she placed her fingers on her mouth and ran her tongue around them, blinking a few seconds as she shifted her stance around, her red hair framed her face.
She was ready to claim her king.
To Be Continue in "Empress."