Chapter 2: The Encounter
Clark Kent flies at speeds well over 200 mph through large cornfields heading home after school. He goes forward through everything, like a blur, until he reaches his front door and walks inside. His parents are in the kitchen area watching the television. "Hey mom, hey dad. What are you watching?" Clark asks as he takes off his jacket and puts his backpack down.
"We've been watching this news coverage about the jewelry store. Seems that some guy almost got away with over fifty thousand dollars worth of diamonds." Martha Kent says as she continues to watch.
"Yeah...I know, I was there when it happened. With Chloe and Pete, we saw the whole thing." Clark says.
"Really...so you weren't in school?" Jonathan Kent says to Clark with a disappointed tone.
"Well, we saw the police driving down there on our way to lunch, and Chloe had her camera and wanted to get some shots, and Pete just wanted to see what was the matter. I couldn't let them go alone, they might have been hurt." Clark says.
"Was anyone hurt?" Martha Kent asks.
"No one but a few of the officers, and the store owner. But I think they're alright now." Clark says. The Kents look back at the television as the news anchor appears back on the screen after a commercial break.
"Hello, folks, we're back with live coverage of the events that took place at Nile's Diamonds this afternoon. The security camera from the jewelry store has been obtained by police and I'm getting word that we now have footage from it which we'll show you now." The news anchor says as they go to the tape. The security recording shows an overhead view of the old man and several armed officers firing at him. It skips to footage of him throwing them around with ease. Then it skips to the point where the tear gas was fired into the store. Gas fills the screen, it skips ahead to after the gas has gone...so is the old man with the green eyes. "Smallville Police have reason to believe this man is Edward Pike, a farmer who lives on the outskirts of town." The news anchor says as a picture of Edward Pike is shown on the screen. "The motives for Mr. Pike's actions today are unknown, as is the information on how he was able to do those incredible acts of strength. Stay tuned to channel
six for further information."
"Edward Pike...I've never heard of him." Clark says.
"You wouldn't, Edward Pike worked for my dad a long time ago here as a farm hand. His father died when he was only about twelve, so he became the man of the family and supported his mother and sister by working constantly, almost non-stop. His entire life revolved around work, he never had the life of a normal teenager. His mother died about five years after his father from a rare disease that they still haven't found a cure for. His sister moved away and he never heard from her again. So...Mr. Pike stayed at that farm, all his life, alone." Jonathan Kent says.
"Really a sad story, he was practically forgotten by Smallville, and it seemed to me like he didn't care. That farm of his sure has gotten worse, I remember seeing it when I was young, it was beautiful." Martha adds.
"But...why would he try to rob a jewelry store?" Clark asks.
"I have no idea, really caught me off guard when I heard his name and they put his picture up...haven't seen Edward Pike in a long time, I thought he might have died." Jonathan Kent says.
"He's not dead, from what I saw he's far from it...and my guess is this isn't going to be the last time Mr. Pike does something like this." Clark says.
"For now let's just hope it is. Clark how about you go stock those vegetable bins in the back of the truck, I've got to make a few deliveries tonight." Jonathan says.
"Alright, dad." Clark says as walks back towards the door. Clark walks out the door and down the steps towards a few vegetable bins his father had stocked a little while before. It's a clear, sunny day, Clark looks up at the blue sky and smiles. He reaches the bins, picks one up and then heads for the truck, which is parked by the barn. As he carries it, he notices Lana Lang coming into the Kent Farm with her backpack on and a smile on her face. He stops and looks at her coming towards him. "Hey, Lana." Clark says.
"Hi, Clark. How's it going?" Lana asks.
"Good, I'm just loading the truck up with the produce for some deliveries. What about you?" Clark says.
"I just wanted to bring over our History assignment. I wrote the outline and a lot of the key points for the paper, you just need to put it all into paper form." Lana says as she hands Clark a blue notebook. He sets down the vegetable bin and takes it.
"Thanks, Lana, I'll get to writing it soon." Clark says.
"So are you going to the football game tonight, Clark? We're playing the Midville Mavericks. Should be a good one." Lana says.
"Oh, well I hadn't really thought about...but now that I do, yeah...yeah, I'll be there." Clark says.
"Good, I'll see you there." Lana says.
"Yeah...maybe afterwards we could get some burgers or something." Clark says.
"I would, but Whitney is taking me out for pizza after the game." Lana says.
"Right, Whitney." Clark says.
"But I'll take a rain check, alright Clark?" Lana asks.
"Yeah...so I'll see you there." Clark says.
"Yep...bye Clark, I've got to get back...I'm suppose to help Aunt Nell with some yard work." Lana says as she begins to walk away. Lana says.
"Bye, Lana..." Clark says as he watches Lana Lang walk back to her house. He continues to stand there like that until she is out of view and there's nothing left to stare at. He looks down and glances at the Lana's notebook for a moment; then picks up the bin and puts it into the back of the truck.
One hour later, at the Luthor ancestral home...Lex Luthor is reading an article in the paper while walking up a flight of stairs leading to one of the upper floors. He reaches the top of them and continues walking down a hallway with several valuable paintings on the wall and sculptures standing in several places. He gets nearly to the end of the hallway when he hears loud, pounding noises echo throughout the mansion. He stops and looks around him wondering what it could be. The noises stop, Lex turns to his right and enters a large study full of sunlight from a very big window which occupies about 80% of the space of the far wall where is desk is next to. He walks over there, past the many shelves full of books and sets the paper down on the desk. He walks around it preparing to sit down and read the rest when the noises start again, he looks out of the window and catches a glimpse of a what appears to be a man on his property. Lex immediately walks back down the stairs in
a hurry and then he opens the large front doors and steps outside. Lex investigates the side of the house where he thought he saw someone. "Is anyone out here? I hope not, because if anyone I am not familiar with is on my property without my permission they're in for some trouble." Lex says loudly as he continues to look around. He walks further down the side of his home until he comes to a side door to his large garage full of classic and brand new automobiles and motorcycles. The door has been torn away, Lex quickly gets feelings of anger, and fright. He walks into the large garage, the lights have been turned on...and several of his favorite cars have been destroyed. Lex examines them, indentations and markings on the cars indicate that they were torn apart...by someone's bare hands. Lex looks around himself again in anger, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for this...but none comes to mind.
That night, the Smallville Crow's football field is now full of people ready for the start of the game. Several cars and trucks are parked on the grass with kinds sitting on top of them, and the lights are shining bright. Teenagers are getting rowdy as they prepare to see the Midville Mavericks lose terribly. Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan take seats on the bleachers after just arriving there. Clark looks around for Lana as Chloe wonders what she's doing there.
"I can't believe you convinced me to come to here with you." Chloe says.
"Me neither, but don't worry...should be a fun night." Clark says as a large man carrying several items from the concession stands moves through them to get to his seat...accidentally dropping a few of his cheesy nachos on Chloe's lap.
"Oh...oops, sorry." The large man says as he continues to move towards his seat.
"Right, Clark...fun." Chloe says as Clark tries not to smile as she cleans herself off. Clark continues to look for Lana, who he finally talking to some of her friends on the cheerleading squad. He can never seem to escape her gaze, he just keeps staring. She turns her head around and looks up around the stands...maybe looking for him. "Give it up, Clark...she goes out with Whitney Fordman." Chloe says as he notices Clark once again staring at Lana.
"I know, it's stupid...but you never know, you know?" Clark says.
"No...I don't." Chloe says. Clark laughs a little and looks back at Lana, but she's not there. He searches for her, looking all over the place, but doesn't see her...but he does see Edward Pike standing to the side of the stands across the field. Clark has no idea what he would be doing at the football game...but he knows he can't let him get away like the last time.
"Hey, Chloe, I have to go to the bathroom...can you save my seat, I'll only be gone a second." Clark says as he gets up and starts walking away.
"Sure...I'll just sit here and have fun, just like you said I would...hurray." Chloe says sarcastically. Clark walks to the end of field, near the fence, which lots of cars are parked up next to. He keeps walking to the other side of the field towards Edward Pike, who begins to walk away. Clark walks faster until he reaches the back of the other side of the field, still near the fencing, which runs all around it. Edward Pike continues at a somewhat slow pace ahead of Clark. He turns and walks to the even darker areas under the stands, but Clark keeps following. He passes one of the concession stands that are all around the area, the light from it brightens an area under the stands revealing Edward Pike, who is still walking forward. Clark gets closer to the large pillars which support the stands, he walks along them until Pike comes out from the darkness and stops about ten feet in front of Clark. He kneels down and touches a sharp, pointed rock, then he turns around and
looks behind him, suspicious of someone following him...but Clark remains unnoticed, he side steps underneath the stands, into the shadows just before being seen. Pike turns back around and then starts walking forward again. Clark comes back out and then walks over against the fence, behind the concession stands and bathroom buildings, still keeping a close eye on Pike. As Clark walks a guy in a parked car against the fence turns on his brights and honks loudly as Clark moves in front of him. Clark falls backwards in surprise and covers his eyes.
"Hey man! Yeah! We're gonna win tonight! Yeah! Go Crows! Woo! Woo! Yeah!" The wild fan yells. Clark tries not to pay any attention to him as he gets up slowly still holding his hands in front of his face covering the bright light. He gets out of it and keeps walking forward. Clark soon realizes Pike is not ahead of him anymore, he's lost him. He looks around himself...no sign of where he could be. He moves to the side of a concession stand and keeps looking around for Pike. The game has started; Clark can hear the fans cheering as the Crows make an early touchdown. He knows Chloe is probably mad at him for not returning by now, and to make things worse Pike could be anywhere. Clark begins to walk away from the concession stand with his head down, but is soon given a hard kick to the stomach with one of Edward Pike's large boots. The impact sends Clark flying against the concession stand, knocking him partially through it. The workers in the stand look at him, completely
baffled. Clark yells at them to get out of there, which they do...then he gets himself out and stands up, facing Pike.
"I don't know who you are, but I don't like it when people follow me...especially little rodent kids like yourself." Edward Pike says.
"I know who you are...you're Edward Pike, you trashed that jewelry store...hurt some cops, and now you're here. I don't know why you're here...but I don't think your intentions are anything good. I'm going to stop you, before you cause anymore trouble." Clark says.
"Boy, you're in over your head...I must admit you show a lot of courage, that's why I'm going to let you walk away right now." Pike says. Clark does not walk away; he stands tall, not moving his eyes away from Pike's. "I offered you a way out...and you don't take it. Very foolish." Pike says.
"Why did you do it, Pike? You had no reason to do what you did to that store, or those police officers, or the shopkeeper." Clark asks.
"I've been dead for fifty years...and fate gave me a gift that brought me back to life. Now I want to have some fun. The jewelry store was nice, but tonight I have some real fun. I'll start be tearing you apart, then I think I'll take down this whole establishment, along with all those idiot kids." Pike says as he comes closer to Clark.
"I'm not going to let you hurt anybody, Pike. Your fun stops now." Clark says as he grabs Pike and sends him soaring through the air and slamming into one of the concrete pillars. Pike gets up slowly, very confused.
"I don't know how you did that...but you've given me an idea, a mighty fine one at that." Pike says as he chops straight through the large concrete pillar he was thrown into. The pillar crumbles, causing dust and concrete chunks to fall down to the ground. Pike moves over to another, and prepares to do the same thing.
"No! Pike, those people didn't do anything to you!" Clark yells. Pike smiles and chops through the second pillar, causing it to crumble like the first. More support is lost and the stands start to creek.
"Hey...what's going on?" A Smallville High student says as he sits up in the stands.
"I don't know..." another student says as she sits nearby.
"Now what about this middle one...think if I make it fall just like the rest this whole thing will come crumbling down? Let's find out..." Pike says as he raises his arm.
"No!" Clark yells as he watches what Pike is about to do.
Clark Kent flies at speeds well over 200 mph through large cornfields heading home after school. He goes forward through everything, like a blur, until he reaches his front door and walks inside. His parents are in the kitchen area watching the television. "Hey mom, hey dad. What are you watching?" Clark asks as he takes off his jacket and puts his backpack down.
"We've been watching this news coverage about the jewelry store. Seems that some guy almost got away with over fifty thousand dollars worth of diamonds." Martha Kent says as she continues to watch.
"Yeah...I know, I was there when it happened. With Chloe and Pete, we saw the whole thing." Clark says.
"Really...so you weren't in school?" Jonathan Kent says to Clark with a disappointed tone.
"Well, we saw the police driving down there on our way to lunch, and Chloe had her camera and wanted to get some shots, and Pete just wanted to see what was the matter. I couldn't let them go alone, they might have been hurt." Clark says.
"Was anyone hurt?" Martha Kent asks.
"No one but a few of the officers, and the store owner. But I think they're alright now." Clark says. The Kents look back at the television as the news anchor appears back on the screen after a commercial break.
"Hello, folks, we're back with live coverage of the events that took place at Nile's Diamonds this afternoon. The security camera from the jewelry store has been obtained by police and I'm getting word that we now have footage from it which we'll show you now." The news anchor says as they go to the tape. The security recording shows an overhead view of the old man and several armed officers firing at him. It skips to footage of him throwing them around with ease. Then it skips to the point where the tear gas was fired into the store. Gas fills the screen, it skips ahead to after the gas has gone...so is the old man with the green eyes. "Smallville Police have reason to believe this man is Edward Pike, a farmer who lives on the outskirts of town." The news anchor says as a picture of Edward Pike is shown on the screen. "The motives for Mr. Pike's actions today are unknown, as is the information on how he was able to do those incredible acts of strength. Stay tuned to channel
six for further information."
"Edward Pike...I've never heard of him." Clark says.
"You wouldn't, Edward Pike worked for my dad a long time ago here as a farm hand. His father died when he was only about twelve, so he became the man of the family and supported his mother and sister by working constantly, almost non-stop. His entire life revolved around work, he never had the life of a normal teenager. His mother died about five years after his father from a rare disease that they still haven't found a cure for. His sister moved away and he never heard from her again. So...Mr. Pike stayed at that farm, all his life, alone." Jonathan Kent says.
"Really a sad story, he was practically forgotten by Smallville, and it seemed to me like he didn't care. That farm of his sure has gotten worse, I remember seeing it when I was young, it was beautiful." Martha adds.
"But...why would he try to rob a jewelry store?" Clark asks.
"I have no idea, really caught me off guard when I heard his name and they put his picture up...haven't seen Edward Pike in a long time, I thought he might have died." Jonathan Kent says.
"He's not dead, from what I saw he's far from it...and my guess is this isn't going to be the last time Mr. Pike does something like this." Clark says.
"For now let's just hope it is. Clark how about you go stock those vegetable bins in the back of the truck, I've got to make a few deliveries tonight." Jonathan says.
"Alright, dad." Clark says as walks back towards the door. Clark walks out the door and down the steps towards a few vegetable bins his father had stocked a little while before. It's a clear, sunny day, Clark looks up at the blue sky and smiles. He reaches the bins, picks one up and then heads for the truck, which is parked by the barn. As he carries it, he notices Lana Lang coming into the Kent Farm with her backpack on and a smile on her face. He stops and looks at her coming towards him. "Hey, Lana." Clark says.
"Hi, Clark. How's it going?" Lana asks.
"Good, I'm just loading the truck up with the produce for some deliveries. What about you?" Clark says.
"I just wanted to bring over our History assignment. I wrote the outline and a lot of the key points for the paper, you just need to put it all into paper form." Lana says as she hands Clark a blue notebook. He sets down the vegetable bin and takes it.
"Thanks, Lana, I'll get to writing it soon." Clark says.
"So are you going to the football game tonight, Clark? We're playing the Midville Mavericks. Should be a good one." Lana says.
"Oh, well I hadn't really thought about...but now that I do, yeah...yeah, I'll be there." Clark says.
"Good, I'll see you there." Lana says.
"Yeah...maybe afterwards we could get some burgers or something." Clark says.
"I would, but Whitney is taking me out for pizza after the game." Lana says.
"Right, Whitney." Clark says.
"But I'll take a rain check, alright Clark?" Lana asks.
"Yeah...so I'll see you there." Clark says.
"Yep...bye Clark, I've got to get back...I'm suppose to help Aunt Nell with some yard work." Lana says as she begins to walk away. Lana says.
"Bye, Lana..." Clark says as he watches Lana Lang walk back to her house. He continues to stand there like that until she is out of view and there's nothing left to stare at. He looks down and glances at the Lana's notebook for a moment; then picks up the bin and puts it into the back of the truck.
One hour later, at the Luthor ancestral home...Lex Luthor is reading an article in the paper while walking up a flight of stairs leading to one of the upper floors. He reaches the top of them and continues walking down a hallway with several valuable paintings on the wall and sculptures standing in several places. He gets nearly to the end of the hallway when he hears loud, pounding noises echo throughout the mansion. He stops and looks around him wondering what it could be. The noises stop, Lex turns to his right and enters a large study full of sunlight from a very big window which occupies about 80% of the space of the far wall where is desk is next to. He walks over there, past the many shelves full of books and sets the paper down on the desk. He walks around it preparing to sit down and read the rest when the noises start again, he looks out of the window and catches a glimpse of a what appears to be a man on his property. Lex immediately walks back down the stairs in
a hurry and then he opens the large front doors and steps outside. Lex investigates the side of the house where he thought he saw someone. "Is anyone out here? I hope not, because if anyone I am not familiar with is on my property without my permission they're in for some trouble." Lex says loudly as he continues to look around. He walks further down the side of his home until he comes to a side door to his large garage full of classic and brand new automobiles and motorcycles. The door has been torn away, Lex quickly gets feelings of anger, and fright. He walks into the large garage, the lights have been turned on...and several of his favorite cars have been destroyed. Lex examines them, indentations and markings on the cars indicate that they were torn apart...by someone's bare hands. Lex looks around himself again in anger, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for this...but none comes to mind.
That night, the Smallville Crow's football field is now full of people ready for the start of the game. Several cars and trucks are parked on the grass with kinds sitting on top of them, and the lights are shining bright. Teenagers are getting rowdy as they prepare to see the Midville Mavericks lose terribly. Clark Kent and Chloe Sullivan take seats on the bleachers after just arriving there. Clark looks around for Lana as Chloe wonders what she's doing there.
"I can't believe you convinced me to come to here with you." Chloe says.
"Me neither, but don't worry...should be a fun night." Clark says as a large man carrying several items from the concession stands moves through them to get to his seat...accidentally dropping a few of his cheesy nachos on Chloe's lap.
"Oh...oops, sorry." The large man says as he continues to move towards his seat.
"Right, Clark...fun." Chloe says as Clark tries not to smile as she cleans herself off. Clark continues to look for Lana, who he finally talking to some of her friends on the cheerleading squad. He can never seem to escape her gaze, he just keeps staring. She turns her head around and looks up around the stands...maybe looking for him. "Give it up, Clark...she goes out with Whitney Fordman." Chloe says as he notices Clark once again staring at Lana.
"I know, it's stupid...but you never know, you know?" Clark says.
"No...I don't." Chloe says. Clark laughs a little and looks back at Lana, but she's not there. He searches for her, looking all over the place, but doesn't see her...but he does see Edward Pike standing to the side of the stands across the field. Clark has no idea what he would be doing at the football game...but he knows he can't let him get away like the last time.
"Hey, Chloe, I have to go to the bathroom...can you save my seat, I'll only be gone a second." Clark says as he gets up and starts walking away.
"Sure...I'll just sit here and have fun, just like you said I would...hurray." Chloe says sarcastically. Clark walks to the end of field, near the fence, which lots of cars are parked up next to. He keeps walking to the other side of the field towards Edward Pike, who begins to walk away. Clark walks faster until he reaches the back of the other side of the field, still near the fencing, which runs all around it. Edward Pike continues at a somewhat slow pace ahead of Clark. He turns and walks to the even darker areas under the stands, but Clark keeps following. He passes one of the concession stands that are all around the area, the light from it brightens an area under the stands revealing Edward Pike, who is still walking forward. Clark gets closer to the large pillars which support the stands, he walks along them until Pike comes out from the darkness and stops about ten feet in front of Clark. He kneels down and touches a sharp, pointed rock, then he turns around and
looks behind him, suspicious of someone following him...but Clark remains unnoticed, he side steps underneath the stands, into the shadows just before being seen. Pike turns back around and then starts walking forward again. Clark comes back out and then walks over against the fence, behind the concession stands and bathroom buildings, still keeping a close eye on Pike. As Clark walks a guy in a parked car against the fence turns on his brights and honks loudly as Clark moves in front of him. Clark falls backwards in surprise and covers his eyes.
"Hey man! Yeah! We're gonna win tonight! Yeah! Go Crows! Woo! Woo! Yeah!" The wild fan yells. Clark tries not to pay any attention to him as he gets up slowly still holding his hands in front of his face covering the bright light. He gets out of it and keeps walking forward. Clark soon realizes Pike is not ahead of him anymore, he's lost him. He looks around himself...no sign of where he could be. He moves to the side of a concession stand and keeps looking around for Pike. The game has started; Clark can hear the fans cheering as the Crows make an early touchdown. He knows Chloe is probably mad at him for not returning by now, and to make things worse Pike could be anywhere. Clark begins to walk away from the concession stand with his head down, but is soon given a hard kick to the stomach with one of Edward Pike's large boots. The impact sends Clark flying against the concession stand, knocking him partially through it. The workers in the stand look at him, completely
baffled. Clark yells at them to get out of there, which they do...then he gets himself out and stands up, facing Pike.
"I don't know who you are, but I don't like it when people follow me...especially little rodent kids like yourself." Edward Pike says.
"I know who you are...you're Edward Pike, you trashed that jewelry store...hurt some cops, and now you're here. I don't know why you're here...but I don't think your intentions are anything good. I'm going to stop you, before you cause anymore trouble." Clark says.
"Boy, you're in over your head...I must admit you show a lot of courage, that's why I'm going to let you walk away right now." Pike says. Clark does not walk away; he stands tall, not moving his eyes away from Pike's. "I offered you a way out...and you don't take it. Very foolish." Pike says.
"Why did you do it, Pike? You had no reason to do what you did to that store, or those police officers, or the shopkeeper." Clark asks.
"I've been dead for fifty years...and fate gave me a gift that brought me back to life. Now I want to have some fun. The jewelry store was nice, but tonight I have some real fun. I'll start be tearing you apart, then I think I'll take down this whole establishment, along with all those idiot kids." Pike says as he comes closer to Clark.
"I'm not going to let you hurt anybody, Pike. Your fun stops now." Clark says as he grabs Pike and sends him soaring through the air and slamming into one of the concrete pillars. Pike gets up slowly, very confused.
"I don't know how you did that...but you've given me an idea, a mighty fine one at that." Pike says as he chops straight through the large concrete pillar he was thrown into. The pillar crumbles, causing dust and concrete chunks to fall down to the ground. Pike moves over to another, and prepares to do the same thing.
"No! Pike, those people didn't do anything to you!" Clark yells. Pike smiles and chops through the second pillar, causing it to crumble like the first. More support is lost and the stands start to creek.
"Hey...what's going on?" A Smallville High student says as he sits up in the stands.
"I don't know..." another student says as she sits nearby.
"Now what about this middle one...think if I make it fall just like the rest this whole thing will come crumbling down? Let's find out..." Pike says as he raises his arm.
"No!" Clark yells as he watches what Pike is about to do.
