Change of Pace
Part 6
Back to the Talon
Rated: R Summary: Spike tries to do some digging in Smallville Disclaimer: Not mine, no never, much to my dismay. Feedback: crehnert@ptd.net
Back to the Talon
I woke up hungry, trying futilely to stretch myself to wakefulness on the back seat of the DeSoto. Thought briefly about nicking a minivan or a station wagon to get more sleeping room, and dismissed the idea. No time for that. I had things to do and people to coerce. Like Lex Luthor. I didn't see how he could refuse to at least seriously consider my offer. If I were that rich, I'd want to live forever. I would have gotten a hair transplant, though.
Running my fingers through my own platinum hair, I tried to gauge the time of day through the small clear spot on the windshield. It looked like it was just dusk, so at least I wouldn't have to sit here, bored to death and starving, waiting for the sun to set. I got out of the car slowly, carefully looking around for intruders. I was parked on the same dirt road as the other day, way at the back end of someone's corn field, and the crop was plenty high enough to hide me and the vehicle from prying eyes. I figured I'd take a walk into the field, look for some stray crows or something, in lieu of looking for a butcher shop. It probably wouldn't be the best idea to go into a butcher shop to buy blood in this town. If there was even one open, that was. I never found a crow or anything resembling a snack, but a treasure fell right into my lap anyway.
I had walked quite a way through the tall stalks of corn, kind of enjoying the deepening darkness and the small sounds of insects, the feel of the green spears as I brushed down the long rows. Farmer Spike. What a laugh that would be. What a treat for the Scoobies back in SunnyD if they knew I was skulking through a cornfield looking for defenseless animals.
I stopped in my tracks, as I heard an entirely different, human, kind of noise. I crept forward more stealthily and came to another dirt road going through the cornfield. Luthor's Farmboy, fixing a flat on what appeared to be the family produce truck. I stared, thinking I might be hallucinating from hunger and the heat. It wasn't the fact that he was fixing the flat tire that held my attention. It was the fact that he was holding the front end of the truck up with one hand and positioning the spare onto the rim with the other. He then let the vehicle down gently and proceeded to fasten the lug nuts easily with a simple twist of his fingers. He got up, looked around briefly, as if to see if anyone was watching, and then got back into the truck, heading down the road and presumably back to the old homestead.
My eyebrow was getting tired, here in Smallville. I wondered if Lex Luthor knew there was something funky going on with this wet dream of his.
Hunger forgotten briefly, I thought I should try to garner a bit more info on this little incident. Could Farmboy be some product of the Initiative scientists? Some boytoy Luthor had gotten them to conjure up for him, on the pretense of building a better human? I almost rubbed my hands together, I was so excited, but there's a limit to the nancy boy actions where I'm concerned. No, I was fairly certain Lex wouldn't like any secrets about the object of his affection getting out into public domain. After his reaction to the tiny implied threat I had made last night, I was sure Luthor would go to great lengths to protect the boy. Or maybe he didn't even know about his super strength. Either way, perhaps I could get the chip out and get some going away cash, as well. I might have the upper hand now, unless the extraordinary strength of the teenager was known by the whole town, in which case the information would be worthless as leverage to use against Lex. And if Luthor had wanted me captured by the Initiative, they would have been there last night. The very fact that they hadn't been gave me some hope that we could come to an agreement.
First, I knew I would have to stop in at the coffee shop again, scout around for some local color, urban legends about supermen, or what not. Hunger forgotten for the moment in the wake of my discovery, I wondered as I started the car whether I should stop at the hospital and get a shot of insulin before I ventured into Lana Lang's territory.
There were only a few more patrons at the coffee shop than the night before. Blondie and Farmboy were not there, but the dulcet Ms. Lang was again in attendance behind the counter. I took a seat at a small empty table in a corner where I could watch the door, giving my order for black, strong coffee to the waitress. Lana, of course, saw me, and bopped right over, angelic smile on her face.
"You're back again," she gushed in welcome. "Would you like to try some of our homemade blackberry pie with your coffee?"
Not unless you want me to gag and heave, I thought. As the Slayer usually greeted me with a punch in the face, I was unaccustomed to having a female treat me so solicitously. I forced a smile.
"No, thank you. I've had dinner. I just wanted to have another cup of your wonderful coffee before I leave town."
She frowned, the action dulling the smile only about a hundred watts. "You should stay a few more days," she suggested, moving aside for the waitress to set my cup in front of me. "The big game is tomorrow night, and we're sure to win!"
A truly enticing idea, I thought sarcastically. "I only have one more business meeting and then I have to be on my way, unfortunately. I was hoping to spend a little more time. Get to know people better, you know, soak up a bit of the local color. Hear all the really good town stories."
"I have just the person for you, she just walked in the door! Chloe!" She turned and shouted to Blondie, who had just entered, and headed right over to my table at Lana's call.
"Hey, Lana. What's going on?" she asked brightly.
Lana was beaming. "This is Mr..." She paused expectantly, waiting.
"William," I filled in. "William will do nicely," I said, half standing in greeting to Miss Chloe and then resuming my seat. Lana gushed on.
"This is Chloe. She takes care of the Smallville Torch, and she knows everything there is to know about what goes on in Smallville. She can fill you in on anything you want to know." She glanced at the counter and saw new customers there. "Sorry, I have to get back to work. Chloe, he's all yours. I'll send your soda over."
And with that, Lana took off, leaving me with the effervescent Ms. Chloe eying me as if I were under a microscope.
She pulled out the other chair and sat across from me. "New in town?" she asked inquisitively.
After an hour of listening to Chloe Sullivan expound on the strangeness of Smallville, which she had laid at the door of the eerie meteor that hit way back when, I was finally rewarded - saved? - by the appearance of none other than Farmboy himself. Not a thing had been said about anyone having superstrength due to the meteor rocks, but there seemed to be a lot of freaks walking around as a result. I thought I should head on out of town the very minute I got done with Lex Luthor.
Of course, Farmboy came right over to our table, obviously wondering who the older man was who had Chloe's rapt attention. I was glad for the interruption, as I was about to go out of my mind from the scent and sight of the strong pulse at her throat. I needed to feed, and soon. It was becoming too much of a distraction.
"Clark," Blondie greeted him happily. Big crush going on there, the vibes were enough to knock me over.
"Chloe," he smiled at her. "Who's your new friend?" he asked, turning the billion watt smile on me.
She was happy to supply the introductions. "Clark Kent, this is William. He's passing through town on business and I was just filling him in on all the great stuff there is to know about Smallville."
Clark held out his hand to me and I shook it firmly.
My brain started reeling. Not human, my senses were telling me. Not human at all. Something nonhuman in a human shell. With human blood, no doubt.
"What kind of nonsense has Chloe been filling your head with?" Clark asked. "This is just a small town, with friendly people, as I'm sure you've noticed on your own."
I smiled, just a bit, the hunger was starting to drive me to desperation.
"Chloe has been perfectly entertaining. I really need to get going now, though. I have my car behind the shop in the alley and I have to fix a flat before I can get on my way."
I thought it sounded idiotic and feigned, but Clark fell for it like a ton of lead.
"I'll come out and help you," he insisted. He turned to the blonde. "Chloe, tell Lana I'll be back in a few minutes."
I stood and he stepped back for me to lead the way to my supposedly crippled car. What a trusting fool. No wonder Luthor thought he'd have a shot at fucking the boy someday.
Of course, my car wasn't anywhere near the back of the coffee shop, but it didn't matter. The second we were in the dark alley back there, I slammed him up against the brick surface of the back of the building, vamping in preparation for some dinner. Nonhuman meant I could feed, and there was no way I thought he'd be stronger than me. Not the state I was in. Game-faced and starving.
I was in a different state of mind altogether when he grabbed me by the front of my duster and flung me away from him. Way away from him. All the way out of the alley and across the street to slam through the flower shop window.
"Bloody hell," I cursed, scrambling painfully to my feet and racing off to the DeSoto. I was afraid he might try to follow, but Chloe had apparently decided to join us, and my last glimpse of Clark Kent was of him grabbing his blonde friend and looking around for me. It seemed like he was trying to tell her what had happened. Me, I was gone. And as soon as I took care of Lex Luthor, I was getting the fuck out of there.
Back to the Talon
Rated: R Summary: Spike tries to do some digging in Smallville Disclaimer: Not mine, no never, much to my dismay. Feedback: crehnert@ptd.net
Back to the Talon
I woke up hungry, trying futilely to stretch myself to wakefulness on the back seat of the DeSoto. Thought briefly about nicking a minivan or a station wagon to get more sleeping room, and dismissed the idea. No time for that. I had things to do and people to coerce. Like Lex Luthor. I didn't see how he could refuse to at least seriously consider my offer. If I were that rich, I'd want to live forever. I would have gotten a hair transplant, though.
Running my fingers through my own platinum hair, I tried to gauge the time of day through the small clear spot on the windshield. It looked like it was just dusk, so at least I wouldn't have to sit here, bored to death and starving, waiting for the sun to set. I got out of the car slowly, carefully looking around for intruders. I was parked on the same dirt road as the other day, way at the back end of someone's corn field, and the crop was plenty high enough to hide me and the vehicle from prying eyes. I figured I'd take a walk into the field, look for some stray crows or something, in lieu of looking for a butcher shop. It probably wouldn't be the best idea to go into a butcher shop to buy blood in this town. If there was even one open, that was. I never found a crow or anything resembling a snack, but a treasure fell right into my lap anyway.
I had walked quite a way through the tall stalks of corn, kind of enjoying the deepening darkness and the small sounds of insects, the feel of the green spears as I brushed down the long rows. Farmer Spike. What a laugh that would be. What a treat for the Scoobies back in SunnyD if they knew I was skulking through a cornfield looking for defenseless animals.
I stopped in my tracks, as I heard an entirely different, human, kind of noise. I crept forward more stealthily and came to another dirt road going through the cornfield. Luthor's Farmboy, fixing a flat on what appeared to be the family produce truck. I stared, thinking I might be hallucinating from hunger and the heat. It wasn't the fact that he was fixing the flat tire that held my attention. It was the fact that he was holding the front end of the truck up with one hand and positioning the spare onto the rim with the other. He then let the vehicle down gently and proceeded to fasten the lug nuts easily with a simple twist of his fingers. He got up, looked around briefly, as if to see if anyone was watching, and then got back into the truck, heading down the road and presumably back to the old homestead.
My eyebrow was getting tired, here in Smallville. I wondered if Lex Luthor knew there was something funky going on with this wet dream of his.
Hunger forgotten briefly, I thought I should try to garner a bit more info on this little incident. Could Farmboy be some product of the Initiative scientists? Some boytoy Luthor had gotten them to conjure up for him, on the pretense of building a better human? I almost rubbed my hands together, I was so excited, but there's a limit to the nancy boy actions where I'm concerned. No, I was fairly certain Lex wouldn't like any secrets about the object of his affection getting out into public domain. After his reaction to the tiny implied threat I had made last night, I was sure Luthor would go to great lengths to protect the boy. Or maybe he didn't even know about his super strength. Either way, perhaps I could get the chip out and get some going away cash, as well. I might have the upper hand now, unless the extraordinary strength of the teenager was known by the whole town, in which case the information would be worthless as leverage to use against Lex. And if Luthor had wanted me captured by the Initiative, they would have been there last night. The very fact that they hadn't been gave me some hope that we could come to an agreement.
First, I knew I would have to stop in at the coffee shop again, scout around for some local color, urban legends about supermen, or what not. Hunger forgotten for the moment in the wake of my discovery, I wondered as I started the car whether I should stop at the hospital and get a shot of insulin before I ventured into Lana Lang's territory.
There were only a few more patrons at the coffee shop than the night before. Blondie and Farmboy were not there, but the dulcet Ms. Lang was again in attendance behind the counter. I took a seat at a small empty table in a corner where I could watch the door, giving my order for black, strong coffee to the waitress. Lana, of course, saw me, and bopped right over, angelic smile on her face.
"You're back again," she gushed in welcome. "Would you like to try some of our homemade blackberry pie with your coffee?"
Not unless you want me to gag and heave, I thought. As the Slayer usually greeted me with a punch in the face, I was unaccustomed to having a female treat me so solicitously. I forced a smile.
"No, thank you. I've had dinner. I just wanted to have another cup of your wonderful coffee before I leave town."
She frowned, the action dulling the smile only about a hundred watts. "You should stay a few more days," she suggested, moving aside for the waitress to set my cup in front of me. "The big game is tomorrow night, and we're sure to win!"
A truly enticing idea, I thought sarcastically. "I only have one more business meeting and then I have to be on my way, unfortunately. I was hoping to spend a little more time. Get to know people better, you know, soak up a bit of the local color. Hear all the really good town stories."
"I have just the person for you, she just walked in the door! Chloe!" She turned and shouted to Blondie, who had just entered, and headed right over to my table at Lana's call.
"Hey, Lana. What's going on?" she asked brightly.
Lana was beaming. "This is Mr..." She paused expectantly, waiting.
"William," I filled in. "William will do nicely," I said, half standing in greeting to Miss Chloe and then resuming my seat. Lana gushed on.
"This is Chloe. She takes care of the Smallville Torch, and she knows everything there is to know about what goes on in Smallville. She can fill you in on anything you want to know." She glanced at the counter and saw new customers there. "Sorry, I have to get back to work. Chloe, he's all yours. I'll send your soda over."
And with that, Lana took off, leaving me with the effervescent Ms. Chloe eying me as if I were under a microscope.
She pulled out the other chair and sat across from me. "New in town?" she asked inquisitively.
After an hour of listening to Chloe Sullivan expound on the strangeness of Smallville, which she had laid at the door of the eerie meteor that hit way back when, I was finally rewarded - saved? - by the appearance of none other than Farmboy himself. Not a thing had been said about anyone having superstrength due to the meteor rocks, but there seemed to be a lot of freaks walking around as a result. I thought I should head on out of town the very minute I got done with Lex Luthor.
Of course, Farmboy came right over to our table, obviously wondering who the older man was who had Chloe's rapt attention. I was glad for the interruption, as I was about to go out of my mind from the scent and sight of the strong pulse at her throat. I needed to feed, and soon. It was becoming too much of a distraction.
"Clark," Blondie greeted him happily. Big crush going on there, the vibes were enough to knock me over.
"Chloe," he smiled at her. "Who's your new friend?" he asked, turning the billion watt smile on me.
She was happy to supply the introductions. "Clark Kent, this is William. He's passing through town on business and I was just filling him in on all the great stuff there is to know about Smallville."
Clark held out his hand to me and I shook it firmly.
My brain started reeling. Not human, my senses were telling me. Not human at all. Something nonhuman in a human shell. With human blood, no doubt.
"What kind of nonsense has Chloe been filling your head with?" Clark asked. "This is just a small town, with friendly people, as I'm sure you've noticed on your own."
I smiled, just a bit, the hunger was starting to drive me to desperation.
"Chloe has been perfectly entertaining. I really need to get going now, though. I have my car behind the shop in the alley and I have to fix a flat before I can get on my way."
I thought it sounded idiotic and feigned, but Clark fell for it like a ton of lead.
"I'll come out and help you," he insisted. He turned to the blonde. "Chloe, tell Lana I'll be back in a few minutes."
I stood and he stepped back for me to lead the way to my supposedly crippled car. What a trusting fool. No wonder Luthor thought he'd have a shot at fucking the boy someday.
Of course, my car wasn't anywhere near the back of the coffee shop, but it didn't matter. The second we were in the dark alley back there, I slammed him up against the brick surface of the back of the building, vamping in preparation for some dinner. Nonhuman meant I could feed, and there was no way I thought he'd be stronger than me. Not the state I was in. Game-faced and starving.
I was in a different state of mind altogether when he grabbed me by the front of my duster and flung me away from him. Way away from him. All the way out of the alley and across the street to slam through the flower shop window.
"Bloody hell," I cursed, scrambling painfully to my feet and racing off to the DeSoto. I was afraid he might try to follow, but Chloe had apparently decided to join us, and my last glimpse of Clark Kent was of him grabbing his blonde friend and looking around for me. It seemed like he was trying to tell her what had happened. Me, I was gone. And as soon as I took care of Lex Luthor, I was getting the fuck out of there.