The Hunter's barn had been silent for a few hours now, but a small moaning
was coming from the darkness underneath the desk.
The woman can be seen emerging, she looks down to the cat laying at her side. It is dead, it's blood had long since dried staining the floorboards crimson. Looking at the body she was suddenly over come by the smell of the blood, she backed away on all fours. She brought herself into a sitting position and looked around, she felt strange all her senses seemed to have heightened. The monitors around her were deafening as the fans cooled their components. She stood up and rubbed her temple her head was pounding. Looking down to her hand she could see that the sleeve had been shredded but her hand was fine, the only thing different was that her nails had turned black, in fact both hands now had black nails. As she studied the new nails they extended in to long curved claws then retracted back into her fingers. 'What the hell?' but as she spoke she felt something strange in her mouth, with her tongue she could now feel that her upper and lower incisor teeth had grown. She hurried over to her desk and removed a mirror from the drawer, looking at the teeth she could see that they had extended into fangs but her attention was suddenly drawn to her eyes. They were no longer brown, they had changed to bright yellow and the pupils instead of being round were now black, thin, slits much like her cat's used to be. She stared at the mirror and tried to cry out in shock, but instead of a scream all that was heard was a loud panther-like roar. She smashed the mirror into the desk and ran to the wall of pictures, without thinking she smashed her hand into the wall and left four huge gashes through which she could see the setting sun. The claws were slowly retracting back in to her hand, she looked from her hand to the gashes, 'Maybe this isn't so bad' she said to herself. Her attention fell to the photo of Lana which was lying on the floor, looking at it she smiled then picked up her car keys and left the barn.
*********
The Kent's were all sitting around the kitchen table, they were looking at the two letters. 'Well they've definitely been written by the same person', Jonathon was studying the second letter, he sounded concerned 'and I'm guessing whoever wrote them broke in here today'.
'But what do they want with Clark?' Martha was very worried and looked as if she was about to cry again.
'I don't know' Jonathon got up from the table and looked out the window.
Clark had so far been very quiet in the matter, 'I think whoever it is wants to hurt me' he said this in a very subdued tone.
Martha and Jonathon both turned to look at him sharply. 'Oh honey, where would you get an idea like that?' but from the sound of Martha's voice she had already had the same thought. 'Look Clark no one is gonna hurt you whilst we're around', Jonathon was looking seriously at his son
'we won't let them'.
At that point Clark decided he needed some help he also wanted some air he was feeling queasy, 'Look, I appreciate the support but I need to get some air'. He looked at his parents, picked up the letters and put them in his back pocket and headed outside.
Martha and Jonathon looked at each other but neither followed him, they knew he was in one of his 'everything is my fault' moods. He would be back in a little while Martha convinced herself, but when she looked out of the window Clark had already speed off towards town.
*********
Clark arrived in town a minute later, he was looking for Lex. Lex had once said 'very little goes on in this town without my knowledge' so Clark hoped Lex could help him with this new problem. He looked through the window of the Beanery. Lana was sitting at a table nearby with Whitney, usually he would have gone in but he needed to find Lex so he sped off for Luthor Mansion.
From the shadows two gleaming yellow eyes watch Clark leave, and then the Hunter emerges she looks towards the Beanery. The girl, Lana is sitting with a blonde haired boy. After a short time the boy got up, Kissed Lana and then left the coffee house.
'Hmmm, young Clark has competition' the Hunter watched as Lana finished her coffee and got up to leave.
Lana had just started off home when a voice called out behind her. 'Lana…isn't it?' Lana turned to see the owner of the voice, it was a woman that Lana didn't recognise. The woman was wearing sunglasses even though dusk had long since set in.
'Yes… do I know you?' Lana stared at the woman who was slowly coming closer.
'Oh, er…no but I can see why Clark likes you so much'.
Lana smiled but was still a little suspicious 'You know Clark?'
'Oh yes, in fact that's why I'm here. Clark likes you a lot which unfortunately for you, makes you perfect bait' as the woman spoke she removed her glasses and Lana glimpsed her yellow eyes.
'Bait!' Lana turned to run but a strong hand had already been clamped over her mouth and a sharp pain in her neck told her that she had been injected with something, blackness overwhelmed her and Lana knew no more.
The woman looked at the unconscious form of Lana and picked her up as easily as if she were a rag doll then bundled her into the backseat of the convertible.
*********
Clark arrived at Luthor Mansion a few moments later, as usual he easily made his way past the gate and to the front door.
Lex who was working at his computer looked up to see the butler ushering Clark into the room. Lex looked up to his friend and smiled 'Clark, what do I owe for this visit…' but Lex's words were cut short when he saw the look on his friends face, 'what's wrong Clark?'
Clark didn't know where to look he felt a little uncomfortable, 'Um… I sorta need your help'
Lex stood up from behind his desk and walked round to his young friend 'c'mon Clark you know you can ask me anything', he placed his hand on Clarks shoulder and Clark looked up at him.
Clark reached to his back pocket and removed the two letters, 'I need to find out who sent these to me'. Lex looked at the letters then back to his friend 'Clark when did you get these?' 'This one arrived this morning with the mail and this one I found attached to my bedroom door…' Lex cut him off 'you mean this person was in your house' Lex looked to the letters then back to Clark, 'are you sure it isn't just a secret admirer?'
Clark took the second of the two letters from Lex's hand and pointed to the large slit in the top 'it was attached to my bedroom door by a large hunting knife'
'Oh, not a secret admirer then'
Lex walked back to his computer and started tapping away, 'don't worry Clark I'll find out what's going on.'
Clark wished he could be as optimistic but if anyone could find out what was going on, Lex could.
*********
Lana felt extremely tired and she had no recollection of what had happened, she tried to rub her eyes and stretch but her hands were tied firmly behind her.
She opened her eyes suddenly and looked around then it all came flooding back, she had been drugged by a woman with strange eyes but her thoughts were cut short.
'It's about time you woke up, you've been asleep for hours' Lana looked at the woman she was sitting on a table in front of her and appeared to be loading a gun cartridge with a glowing green bullet.
'What do you want with me?' Lana spat at the woman, she tried to stuggle against the rope holding her but it was tied too tightly.
The woman smiled and placed the cartridge in her belt then picked up another cartridge, this one she began to load with ordinary bullets.
'Like I said before, I don't want you are just my bait'
BAIT Lana thought, then she remembered the woman had mentioned that before 'Clark, you want Clark, but why?'
The woman laughed then loaded a gun with the cartridge and holstered it, 'haven't you ever noticed that of all animals on this planet, man is the only one who kills not for food but just to kill?' Lana looked at her with a confused expression 'so you're a hunter?'
'Yes, and no, you see unlike most people who hunt for trophies to show off in big empty mansions who kill to impress so-called friends, I hunt just for the thrill'
'So you kill innocent animals just cause it makes you feel big'
The woman's smile faded, 'I kill for the challenge, the bigger and more rare the prey the greater the thrill.'
'This is very interesting but what does this have to do with Clark?'
'My dear Clark is the rarest prize of all.' The smiled had returned to the lips of the woman and Lana could see two fangs peering through.
'What do you mean?' Lana was very worried not just for herself but for Clark, this woman wanted to hurt him or worse.
The woman chuckled to herself, 'Haven't you ever taken the time to look at Clark properly? Haven't you ever wondered why he loves to play hero?'
Lana stared blankly at the woman, 'I have to get out of here and warn Clark' she thought to herself 'this woman is crazy'.
The woman walked over to a small pile of newspapers, she lifted the top one and showed it to Lana, your friend Miss Sulivan has some very interesting views on the world.
Lana could see it was an edition of 'The Torch' the one with Eric the Superboy on.
Now Lana really did think this woman was crazy.
'…I thought what better way to test my skills than against genetically modified humans, freaks if you will' Lana hadn't really been paying attention, she was too busy trying to free her hands but they were bound tight.
'But now thanks to this…' she holds up a piece of Meteor for Lana to see' I have been enhanced myself, I am the greatest hunter in the world ever and no-one can stop me!'
The woman can be seen emerging, she looks down to the cat laying at her side. It is dead, it's blood had long since dried staining the floorboards crimson. Looking at the body she was suddenly over come by the smell of the blood, she backed away on all fours. She brought herself into a sitting position and looked around, she felt strange all her senses seemed to have heightened. The monitors around her were deafening as the fans cooled their components. She stood up and rubbed her temple her head was pounding. Looking down to her hand she could see that the sleeve had been shredded but her hand was fine, the only thing different was that her nails had turned black, in fact both hands now had black nails. As she studied the new nails they extended in to long curved claws then retracted back into her fingers. 'What the hell?' but as she spoke she felt something strange in her mouth, with her tongue she could now feel that her upper and lower incisor teeth had grown. She hurried over to her desk and removed a mirror from the drawer, looking at the teeth she could see that they had extended into fangs but her attention was suddenly drawn to her eyes. They were no longer brown, they had changed to bright yellow and the pupils instead of being round were now black, thin, slits much like her cat's used to be. She stared at the mirror and tried to cry out in shock, but instead of a scream all that was heard was a loud panther-like roar. She smashed the mirror into the desk and ran to the wall of pictures, without thinking she smashed her hand into the wall and left four huge gashes through which she could see the setting sun. The claws were slowly retracting back in to her hand, she looked from her hand to the gashes, 'Maybe this isn't so bad' she said to herself. Her attention fell to the photo of Lana which was lying on the floor, looking at it she smiled then picked up her car keys and left the barn.
*********
The Kent's were all sitting around the kitchen table, they were looking at the two letters. 'Well they've definitely been written by the same person', Jonathon was studying the second letter, he sounded concerned 'and I'm guessing whoever wrote them broke in here today'.
'But what do they want with Clark?' Martha was very worried and looked as if she was about to cry again.
'I don't know' Jonathon got up from the table and looked out the window.
Clark had so far been very quiet in the matter, 'I think whoever it is wants to hurt me' he said this in a very subdued tone.
Martha and Jonathon both turned to look at him sharply. 'Oh honey, where would you get an idea like that?' but from the sound of Martha's voice she had already had the same thought. 'Look Clark no one is gonna hurt you whilst we're around', Jonathon was looking seriously at his son
'we won't let them'.
At that point Clark decided he needed some help he also wanted some air he was feeling queasy, 'Look, I appreciate the support but I need to get some air'. He looked at his parents, picked up the letters and put them in his back pocket and headed outside.
Martha and Jonathon looked at each other but neither followed him, they knew he was in one of his 'everything is my fault' moods. He would be back in a little while Martha convinced herself, but when she looked out of the window Clark had already speed off towards town.
*********
Clark arrived in town a minute later, he was looking for Lex. Lex had once said 'very little goes on in this town without my knowledge' so Clark hoped Lex could help him with this new problem. He looked through the window of the Beanery. Lana was sitting at a table nearby with Whitney, usually he would have gone in but he needed to find Lex so he sped off for Luthor Mansion.
From the shadows two gleaming yellow eyes watch Clark leave, and then the Hunter emerges she looks towards the Beanery. The girl, Lana is sitting with a blonde haired boy. After a short time the boy got up, Kissed Lana and then left the coffee house.
'Hmmm, young Clark has competition' the Hunter watched as Lana finished her coffee and got up to leave.
Lana had just started off home when a voice called out behind her. 'Lana…isn't it?' Lana turned to see the owner of the voice, it was a woman that Lana didn't recognise. The woman was wearing sunglasses even though dusk had long since set in.
'Yes… do I know you?' Lana stared at the woman who was slowly coming closer.
'Oh, er…no but I can see why Clark likes you so much'.
Lana smiled but was still a little suspicious 'You know Clark?'
'Oh yes, in fact that's why I'm here. Clark likes you a lot which unfortunately for you, makes you perfect bait' as the woman spoke she removed her glasses and Lana glimpsed her yellow eyes.
'Bait!' Lana turned to run but a strong hand had already been clamped over her mouth and a sharp pain in her neck told her that she had been injected with something, blackness overwhelmed her and Lana knew no more.
The woman looked at the unconscious form of Lana and picked her up as easily as if she were a rag doll then bundled her into the backseat of the convertible.
*********
Clark arrived at Luthor Mansion a few moments later, as usual he easily made his way past the gate and to the front door.
Lex who was working at his computer looked up to see the butler ushering Clark into the room. Lex looked up to his friend and smiled 'Clark, what do I owe for this visit…' but Lex's words were cut short when he saw the look on his friends face, 'what's wrong Clark?'
Clark didn't know where to look he felt a little uncomfortable, 'Um… I sorta need your help'
Lex stood up from behind his desk and walked round to his young friend 'c'mon Clark you know you can ask me anything', he placed his hand on Clarks shoulder and Clark looked up at him.
Clark reached to his back pocket and removed the two letters, 'I need to find out who sent these to me'. Lex looked at the letters then back to his friend 'Clark when did you get these?' 'This one arrived this morning with the mail and this one I found attached to my bedroom door…' Lex cut him off 'you mean this person was in your house' Lex looked to the letters then back to Clark, 'are you sure it isn't just a secret admirer?'
Clark took the second of the two letters from Lex's hand and pointed to the large slit in the top 'it was attached to my bedroom door by a large hunting knife'
'Oh, not a secret admirer then'
Lex walked back to his computer and started tapping away, 'don't worry Clark I'll find out what's going on.'
Clark wished he could be as optimistic but if anyone could find out what was going on, Lex could.
*********
Lana felt extremely tired and she had no recollection of what had happened, she tried to rub her eyes and stretch but her hands were tied firmly behind her.
She opened her eyes suddenly and looked around then it all came flooding back, she had been drugged by a woman with strange eyes but her thoughts were cut short.
'It's about time you woke up, you've been asleep for hours' Lana looked at the woman she was sitting on a table in front of her and appeared to be loading a gun cartridge with a glowing green bullet.
'What do you want with me?' Lana spat at the woman, she tried to stuggle against the rope holding her but it was tied too tightly.
The woman smiled and placed the cartridge in her belt then picked up another cartridge, this one she began to load with ordinary bullets.
'Like I said before, I don't want you are just my bait'
BAIT Lana thought, then she remembered the woman had mentioned that before 'Clark, you want Clark, but why?'
The woman laughed then loaded a gun with the cartridge and holstered it, 'haven't you ever noticed that of all animals on this planet, man is the only one who kills not for food but just to kill?' Lana looked at her with a confused expression 'so you're a hunter?'
'Yes, and no, you see unlike most people who hunt for trophies to show off in big empty mansions who kill to impress so-called friends, I hunt just for the thrill'
'So you kill innocent animals just cause it makes you feel big'
The woman's smile faded, 'I kill for the challenge, the bigger and more rare the prey the greater the thrill.'
'This is very interesting but what does this have to do with Clark?'
'My dear Clark is the rarest prize of all.' The smiled had returned to the lips of the woman and Lana could see two fangs peering through.
'What do you mean?' Lana was very worried not just for herself but for Clark, this woman wanted to hurt him or worse.
The woman chuckled to herself, 'Haven't you ever taken the time to look at Clark properly? Haven't you ever wondered why he loves to play hero?'
Lana stared blankly at the woman, 'I have to get out of here and warn Clark' she thought to herself 'this woman is crazy'.
The woman walked over to a small pile of newspapers, she lifted the top one and showed it to Lana, your friend Miss Sulivan has some very interesting views on the world.
Lana could see it was an edition of 'The Torch' the one with Eric the Superboy on.
Now Lana really did think this woman was crazy.
'…I thought what better way to test my skills than against genetically modified humans, freaks if you will' Lana hadn't really been paying attention, she was too busy trying to free her hands but they were bound tight.
'But now thanks to this…' she holds up a piece of Meteor for Lana to see' I have been enhanced myself, I am the greatest hunter in the world ever and no-one can stop me!'