Chapter Five: Truth, Lies, and a Rusty Lock
Inside Lex's wagon, Brainy was watching Lex count the money.
"I eat the best, and I drink champagne. There are no strings on me." Lex sang as he counted the yellow and green things he had been given by the people. "Bravo, Brainy."
"They liked me." Brainy said as he waited for Lex to tell him he could go home for the night.
"Two hundred." Lex said as he put a pile of the yellow things by another pile of yellow things. "You are sensational."
"You mean I'm good?" Brainy asked with a smile.
"Three hundred." Lex said as he moved another pile of the yellow things with the others. "You are colossal!"
"Does that mean I'm an actor?" Brainy asked.
"Sure." Lex said after he ate an onion he'd just cut with a knife. "I'll push you in the public's eye, and you'll be on everybody's tongue."
"Will it?" Brainy asked. That seemed a little extreme to be stepping on people's tongues.
"Of course- huh?" Lex said as he pulled up a dull gray thing with a square hole in the middle. "What's this?"
He bit down and bent it.
"Why that-" Lex said before he smirked and gave it to Brainy. "For you, Brainy."
"For me?" Brainy asked excitedly. "Gee, thanks! I'll go right home and give it to my parents!"
"Home?" Lex asked, and he then started laughing. "Oh sure. You should go home to your parents. That's very comical kid!"
"You mean it's funny?" Brainy asked. He wasn't sure what was so funny about going home to Mom and Dad.
"Sure." Lex said as he continued to laugh, and Brainy ended up joining in, though he wasn't sure why.
"I'll see you in the morning, sir." Brainy said before Lex grabbed him.
"See me in the morning." Lex laughed. "Going home."
Brainy laughed along with him until Lex shoved him into a bird cage.
"There!" Lex said. "That's your home, where I can always find you."
"No, no!" Brainy shouted.
"Yes, yes!" Lex shouted back. "You belong to me now! It won't be so bad kid. We'll tour the world. Paris, London, Monte Carlo, Constantinople."
"No!" Brainy cried. He didn't wanna leave! He wanted to stay with his mom and dad and Salu!
"YES!" Lex shouted. "We're starting tonight. You're going to make me a whole lot of money. And when you grow too old, I'd wager you'd make good fire wood."
Lex then tossed a nearby axe at a cut up and singed puppet in a box by the stove.
"Let me outta here!" Brainy cried. "You've gotta let me out! You can't-"
"Shut up before I knock you silly." Lex said as he walked out to drive the wagon off to who knew where. "Good night my little wooden gold mine."
"No, no, wait!" Brainy shouted as the lights in the wagon turned off, and he shook the bars of his cage. "Let me out! I'll tell my mom and dad on you!"
The cage then shook as the wagon started.
"Salu?!" Brainy shouted. He should have listened to Salu and gone off to school. "Salu where are you?!" He whistled again and again. "Salu!"
A clap of thunder sounded, and Brainy huddled into a corner and cried. He was all alone.
()()()()()
Salu had her hood up and watched Lex Luthor's wagon heading out.
"There he goes." Salu said. "Off to fame and fortune. The lap of luxury. The world at his feet. Oh well. At least I can say I knew him when he was normal. I just wish I could've wished him luck." Then Salu smiled. "Hey, why can't I now?"
She rushed off and managed to hold on to the wagon as she got in. Luckily, Luthor left the door unlocked, so she could go right in.
"Brainy?" Salu asked. "You in here? It's me, Salu."
"Salu!" Brainy said from a… A bird cage? "Am I glad to see you!"
"Brainy, what happened?!" Salu asked as she stood on a chair to talk to him without spraining her neck. "What'd he do to you?"
"Oh, he was mean." Brainy said. "He said he was gonna shove my face into everybody's eyes and make me step on their tongues."
"That's gross!" Salu exclaimed.
"Yeah, and just because I'm a gold mine, he's gonna chop me into fire wood when I grow up!" Brainy said.
"That big meanie!" Salu said. "Don't worry, Brainy. I'll get you out."
She grabbed a hairpin she saw on the table and began to fiddle with the lock.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Brainy asked.
"Yeah, I read about someone doing this in a book once." Salu said.
After several minutes, the pin stopped moving, and she couldn't pull it out or do anything with it.
"Oh, it's stuck!" Salu said as she took off her cloak. "I just need some extra oomph and-"
The pin snapped out and hit Salu in the head as she landed on the floor. It had made a small cut over her forehead.
"Ouch." Salu groaned. "The stupid hair pin broke."
"You mean you can't open it?" Brainy asked sadly.
"It'll take a miracle to get us out of this mess." Salu said, and who ever heard of a miracle happening to an orphaned, run-away girl and a wooden boy? She didn't say this out loud as she didn't wanna upset her friend.
()()()()()
Clark and Lois were looking around the city as the rain came down in buckets.
"Brainy?!" Clark called out.
"Brainy?!" Lois screamed.
No answer. All that came was a wagon coming across the street, driven by a bald man.
"Brainy!" They called out again, but no one answered.
Lois cried as her little boy was lost, alone, and probably miserable out there all alone, and Clark did his best to comfort her, but that's hard when the same thoughts flash through your mind.
()()()()()
Inside the wagon, Superboy and Salu were both crying.
"Oh, I'm a fine conscience." Salu said sarcastically as tears ran down her face.
"I should have listened to you, Salu." Brainy said as his own tears fell.
"No, it was my fault. I shouldn't have run out on you when you did a good job in the show." Salu said as she was beginning to cry outright.
"Guess I'll never see my parents again." Brainy said as he began to cry outright.
"Oh, no." Salu said as she tried to stop crying. "Don't cry. Be cheerful. Like me."
They then both broke down crying.
"I want my mommy and daddy!" Brainy cried.
"Me too!" Salu said as they both cried until Salu swallowed her tears and gulped. "Oh, come on, Brainy. Things… Things aren't that bad. At least the rain's stopped, and look at that star right there."
Salu then saw the star coming down.
"Uh-oh." Salu said. "I think it's the lady! The angel! Shayera!"
"What do I say?!" Brainy asked. "What do I do?!"
"You could try telling her the truth." Salu said before hiding in a corner.
Brainy then hid his face in his arms as Shayera appeared.
"Brainy, I can see you." Shayera said.
"Oh…" Brainy said nervously. "Um… Hi."
"I can see you too, Salu." Shayera said.
"Oh nuts." Salu said as she held her hands behind her back and walked up. She didn't like the idea of getting a spanking from this lady. "It's nice to see you again."
"You can put your hands down, Salu." Shayera said. "That's not my style."
"Phew." Salu said with a sigh.
"Now Brainy, why didn't you go to school today?" Shayera asked.
"Um… Well…" Brainy said with a gulp.
"Well, go ahead and tell her." Salu said.
"I was on my way to school when I met someone." Brainy said.
"Met someone?" Shayera asked.
"Yeah, two big monsters with big green eyes!" Brainy said as Salu saw Brainy's nose grow about three inches.
"Monsters?" Shayera asked like a mother hearing a make-believe story from their son. "Weren't you afraid?"
"Oh no." Brainy said. "But they did put me in a big sack."
His nose then grew another few inches as a flower bud appeared at the end as well as two leaves.
"You don't say?" Shayera said. "And where was Salu?"
"Salu?" Brainy asked.
"Hey leave me out of this." Salu said.
"They put her in the sack too." Brainy said, and his nose grew again, and so did the leaves and the flower.
"No." Shayera said.
"Yes." Brainy said, and the flowers fully bloomed.
"How'd you escape?" Shayera said.
"I didn't." Brainy said with a smile. "They chopped me into firewood!"
Brainy's nose grew a foot, and a nest appeared with two baby blue jays in it.
"Look at my nose!" Brainy said, unable to hold it in any longer. "What's happened?"
"Maybe you haven't been telling the truth." Shayera said.
"'Maybe'?!" Salu asked. That story could be made into a Grimm's Fairy Tale!
"Oh but I have." Brainy said. "Every word."
His nose then grew as the end with the nest dipped, and the blue jays flew off.
"Please help me!" Brainy begged. "I'm awful sorry."
"You see Brainy?" Shayera asked. "A lie can keep growing and growing until it's as plan as the nose on your face, and no offense kid, but that one was a doozy."
"She's right, Brainy." Salu said. "You better come clean."
"I'll never lie again." Brainy said. "Honestly! Now please let us out!"
"Alright, but this is the last time I can help you." Shayera said as she touched Brainy's nose with her sword, and in a bright flash, she was gone, Brainy's nose was back to normal, and the door was wide open.
"Hey look, Salu!" Brainy said. "My nose is back to normal!"
"And you're free!" Salu said. "Now let's get outta here!"
They managed to jump out when they passed a grassy area outside of Smallville, and they hid behind a rock as the wagon went out of sight.
"See you later, Luthor." Salu said with a sigh.
"Good-bye Mr. Luthor!" Brainy shouted before Salu put her hand over his mouth. "Oops, sorry."
"No problem." Salu said. "Now let's go home. Your mom and dad must be worried sick about you."
"And about you." Brainy said.
"Yeah, I bet they're more worried about you." Salu said.
"What's a bet?" Brainy asked.
"Forget it." Salu said. "Let's just go home.
Me: Hooray! Now you two are out of the woods, right?
Salu: You'll see, and keep your voice down.
Kara (sleepily): Yay…