The rocks and glowing minerals underneath the ground shook deeper below the soil and dirt above. Root systems surged with energy and vibrations. Lights had flickered from the electrical systems built across Smallville. The lights pulsed and had been drained of life. All of it had been sapped below. The dark caverns were all that was under the man-made tunnels. Not a single bit of light. All except one. The merging of the light source to the rocky caverns was almost an organism all on its own. Though when it merged with Lana, it increased in it's glow. Surging through from the contact coming from the tips of her fingers to her arms. All of which felt the electrical impulses around her. Lana Lang felt like her arms were on fire this entire time. This glow spread out across the muddy caves even more once the energy spread through the rest of her body. It was seen lighting up Lana's veins from the outside. Developing an ambient glow that soon left the cavern Lana saw as desolate and lonely suddenly brimmed with warmth. A crackle of energy around her started disrupting the rock foundations as Lana looked up. Whatever was happening to her would crush her alive if she didn't get out of the way. She tried to struggle, but suddenly realized that she wasn't dragging her feet towards this light source. She was floating.
When in this state, nothing was below her and yet she felt contact with something underneath her feet. Lana felt this energy almost like the sun was as light and as strong as a feather.
"What is happening? Why can't I move?" Lana tried crying out once more as this energy, while miraculous, felt like it was keeping her chained. Things felt hopeless for her ever leaving after what happened with this energy source until things got much worse. The source of light moved closer to her. Being completely whole within her and no longer occupying its own space. It focused a larger glow across her injuries and open wounds.
Lana felt a burning sensation even more around her wound than the numbing pain around the rest of her body from this light. The wounds were cauterized and mended back together. Though it felt as if she was being burned alive from that spot. Screaming in agony of this process as her bones structured themselves back to their reformed state.
Crackling fire surrounded and repelled Lana's surroundings. Inside of the caverns, this felt like an inferno. The cracks in the rock formations got worse. It started to expose the outside elements to her. The night sky was bright under her field of vision. The field of energy around her was blinding when under the combined light, and combined with the exhaustion of the underground solar flare's healing properties, Lana was exhausted. She fell unconscious, but was forced upwards mid-air.
The small shifts in the Earth subsided afterwards, but a brief aftershock had vibrated through steel all across the tunnels underground. In the streets near the woods, a car was driven over the road that felt the aftermath of these shocks. The sudden vibrations caused the car to stop. Cutting the gas in the middle of the road, Hank Henshaw exited the vehicle.
Hank wondered what was happening to this town. The whole reason his job brought him to Smallville was due to the strange altercations that were present. Meteor showers, Billion dollar small town deals, and signs of possible alien life. Hank found it way too preposterous, but he wished to bring results to his employers. Though what brought him onto the road that night was his second mission. The search for his best friend's daughter. He owed the Lang family for all they got him and Terri through.
Although Hank found Lex Luthor to be an entitled delinguent, he told Hank of where she was or could be. It counted for something at the very least. Though these quakes were strange to Henshaw. It didn't start or end like any kind of naturally occurring earthquake. He looked around. Usually in this line of work and from what he found in Smallville, this was typically a man-made occurrence.
When peering beyond his vehicle, Hank saw that the quake went beyond the radius of the road. Extending into the woods. He followed the trail until it led him through the trees and into an open clearing. Some of the oak splintered open from the brief earthquake. It seemed like whatever it was had been high in intensity despite how brief it ultimately lasted.
Hank briefly passed a small light in his line of sight. Stopping in place and looking for it once it left his view. He squinted and found a ray of sunlight exiting from a crevice underground. Going closer, Hank saw someone down below.
He leaned down and shook in fear. His lives united in a way he never expected. Feeling that terror hurt him inside. He recognized Lana in the light within the caves. The yellow energy kept her suspended in a coma-like state. This suspended animation was in flux as Hank tried to come up with another solution. All the while, the aftershocks prevented him from standing steadily.
"Please pick up." Hank begged as he was on call, and looked down to see if Lana was okay. It seemed like some of the light's range adjusted based on her heart rate, but Hank wasn't sure until he had his team on this.
"Hello? I need to call a defense and rescue team from our research division. This is a priority tag sent in from Slayer-zero-two. I repeat, priority tag from Slayer-zero-two" Hank called this in. He proceeded to move back to his car to retrieve items that could be useful in rescuing Lana. All to understand what plagued her.
The aftershocks not only affected the road above, but also the metal paths underneath. Below the rocky terrain of Smallville's dirt and levels of earth intertwined with machinery deep within. All vibrated across glowing meteors left embedded into the soil of the caverns. Finally, inside one exit tunnel, Brainiac, J'onn, Clark, and Ray felt this approaching earthquake which interrupted their conflict. This shook the fight between J'onn and Brainiac. Debris fell across their path. Even Clark had trouble carrying Jensen up the ladder.
J'onn lost the advantage in the struggle with Brainiac. Being pulled to the ceiling by the cybernetic form after the surprise shake of the ground below him. Lacking his abilities, J'onn was unable to stop Brainiac from adding pressure to his grip. All while he was groaning in pain. He continued to try and pull the mechanical arm away from it's crushing hit over J'onn's then tangible form. Though no matter the tactic, Brainiac never stopped in his assault on the martian. Though J'onn then was at least forced to ground level. Hardly an advantage, but a better position nonetheless.
Clark was trapped with the quakes vibrating across the ladder. His own weight along with Jensen's own had made it hard to make it all the way up. He finally managed to move to another one of the bars on the ladder. However, as he was getting closer, he was trapped under the enclosed spacing of the ladder to the tunnel out. With Jensen held behind him, it was even more cramped. The sealed hatch above him was keeping Clark from escaping out in the open air, and as he got nervous, he was feeling like he was heating up. His eyes had a familiar glow being generated along with this burning sensation. Just like his time in Midvale, he tried to focus on it. Squinting slightly to aim it where he wanted to fire until it was too hot to just keep his eyelids anywhere near the beam. After they widened in his shock, Clark fired off a shot of this blast to the hatch above.
The rusty hatch boiled from the initial impact, one the beam shot through its hinges. A shining light launched into the distant night sky. All while the hatch slid past the entryway. Allowing Clark to see the way ahead, with Ray holding tight, Clark pushed the hatch further. He finally got out of there with Ray. As he dropped Ray down in his exhaustion, Clark looked down the hatch's opening. Having seen J'onn unable to make it to the ladder. He remained pinned under Brainiac's embedded grip. While he could've ran off with Ray back home, Clark could never consider that. He was never raised to run away when someone was in need. No matter his distrust of J'onn and what he found was kept from him by his family.
"Stay up here, Ray. I have to get someone else out." Clark told Jensen before jumping down below once again. Ray nodded with the little amount of strength he had before passing out. Not seeing that the Kent boy dived into the hatch faster than an ordinary kid. Though Jensen felt his eyelids close right as Clark did.
Sliding down the ladder below, Clark felt things shake underneath ground level. Seems whatever was causing these earthquakes was getting worse and worse. He couldn't even climb down all the way to get to J'onn. Almost being knocked off the ladder multiple times.
He had to come up with something even through all of this to save J'onn. That was when his feet made contact with the wall to the right of the ladder. A solidified jumping off point. At least for someone like him who could survive the jump. Any normal kid would've been dislocated in multiple places and wouldn't have even thought of what would happen upon the landing.
As he had an opening when the tunnels stopped shaking, Clark had to then make his move. Especially when Brainiac was about to make his move to kill J'onn. In one abrupt motion, Clark threw himself from the wall with the ladder as support. Launching downwards into Brainiac from the ladder's position above him.
Below him, Brainiac was about to dissect J'onn. Unable to notice Clark's attack as his dissection was about to take place. "No matter the percentage of my success, Martian. Soon enough, Kal-El, this town. They will all join my collection when-" He was interrupted from speaking of his inevitable plans when he finally noticed Clark Kent initiate his own.
In the movement he made, Clark felt he was almost gliding through the air. Gaining a slight bit of control in his motions before he barrelled through the pieces that made Brainiac's mechanical body. It's sparks popped out in one burst of light as Clark destroyed what Brainiac had built to destroy them both.
J'onn finally was able to breathe. Being limited by Klingman's body, he was unable to truly shapeshift for too long without exhaustion. Including being locked with Victoria's oxygen requirements. Though Clark thankfully saved him, he reformed his visage back to Ms. Klingman once more. The teacher who Clark never truly met. While it hurt, they knew this lack of trust didn't change the fact that they were there for each other in this time of need at least.
"We need to get out of here before this tunnel collapses." Victoria recommended as the quakes were still felt below them. Thinking of a possible plan to get them both through the hatch once more.
"You still can do your thing?" Clark asked. Nervous on if J'onn would've said no given their precarious situation. They moved their escape plan over to the exit's path. The moonlight shone over Clark. It gave him only a slim amount of what he would typically feel during the day. He was ready for their move as he gave the plan to J'onn. Even with their struggles outside the caves, they both were getting out.
