Kaleidoscope
by Lener
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in Smallville.
Chapter Six
The night was dark by the time Chloe pulled up into the driveway. Clark, sitting in the front seat now, had already filled Pete in on what his mother had told him.
Chloe marveled at how she'd gotten all of them to Clark's place in one piece. She had to shake off the shivery feeling that crept on sneakily on her so many times that it was hard to concentrate on the road. Of course, Chloe knew what the cause of that feeling was. The tall, muscular and irresistibly handsome young farm boy wearing blue checked flannel sitting next to her in an incredibly squashy car. Yum, Chloe thought, then mentally scolded herself for going off track.
They had all arrived anyway, so she could relax.
"Whoa, Chloe, I've never seen you drive so recklessly," Pete chuckled as he unbuckled his belt, pretending his hands were shaking.
"Chloe must be eager to do some investigating," Clark shot her a lopsided grin, and her heart flip-flopped. If you only knew the real reason why I was driving so recklessly… she thought.
"Yep, that's me! I love to investigate," Chloe said out loud in a perky voice. I wonder how long I can keep this perkiness going.
"Okay where do we start?" Pete asked.
"I'll check the loft," Chloe said.
"I'll go do my bedroom," Clark nodded.
"Okay… I'll snoop around the barn," Pete said.
"All right, be careful, okay? We could be dealing with some potential dangerous meteor induced freaks around here…" Clark gave Pete and Chloe worried glances.
"Don't worry Pete's strong and he knows how to fight. I… I can just keep them away verbally…" Chloe joked, trying to lighten the mood.
The three of them split up, and each went to their own place to search for any clues of who or what might have attacked Clark's father.
*
Chloe marched up the wooden stairs, right up to where Clark's telescope was perched. She realized with a bitter smile that its focus was on Lana's house. She felt a sharp tug at her heart, but then forced herself to focus. Come on, Chloe. Get a grip on yourself, girl. You will not let Clark and his actions get to you. She chided herself under her breath, then focused on the task at hand.
Looking around at Clark's Fortress of Solitude, Chloe realized that it would be easy to investigate- because there was nothing to investigate at all. The loft looked like how it would look like on any normal day. It did not appear to be ransacked or anything.
Chloe was puzzled. From what Mrs. Kent had said, it was certain that the attacker had been searching for Clark, or something of Clark's. Why then would the attacker leave the loft out of his search? The loft, Chloe knew, was like a second home to Clark. Some of his most precious things were kept her.
Just then, Chloe heard a soft sound behind her.
*
Pete pushed open the door to the barn, wincing as it creaked eerily. He was all tensed up and prepared should the attacker choose to strike at the barn another time. Pete found the switch along the barn wall and as he turned it on, light flooded the whole space, revealing the scene of the "crime" clearly.
Pete gave a gasp when he saw the huge metal rod lying by a pile of hay. He bent down to look at it, careful not to touch anything. There were streaks of something red, most likely blood, on it. Pete cringed. He hated the sight of blood or anything that would make him squeamish. Not that it was easy to gross him out or anything…
Not far from where the metal rod lay was more hay, but messy hay. It looked like Jonathan Kent had struggled with his attacker on the floor.
Pete's eye caught something in between the pile of hay, and he used the tip of his sneaker to move a clump of hay away. There, in plain sight, was a patch of sticky-looking neon green substance.
"Whoa… Clark and Chloe better get their butts in here…" Pete muttered, eyes wide.
*
Clark rushed to his bedroom, and gasped at the sight that met his eyes. It had been ransacked, and horribly too. Every inch of it looked as though a stampede of wild beasts had passed through it. Clothes, books, bags and other knick knacks lay scattered all over the floor. Clark advanced to his shirt drawer to check if his journal was still there, but paused when he suddenly felt his knees give way. A familiar nauseating feeling filled his stomach, making him groan in pain. The source of his discomfort was exactly what Clark imagined it to be… except it was not in solid form.
A green patch of what could be none other than liquid kryptonite lay smeared on the floor.
Clark lifted his hand to meet his gaze, and he saw the veins underneath his skin shift and contort painfully. His skin was stretched so tight over his hand it felt as though it was going to burst any minute.
I'll investigate my room later… Clark thought as he summoned all his strength and stumbled out of his room. Immediately the strength came back to him. Just in time, too, because right at that moment there came a piercing scream and a crash.
"Chloe!" Clark yelled.
*
The moment something was clapped over her mouth, a morbid thought entered Chloe's head.
The attacker has returned to continue his search.
Then suddenly she crashed through the wall of the loft, and an agonizing pain seared through her ankle. Someone was screaming very loudly, and a split second later Chloe realized that she was the one who had been screaming.
There was nothing beneath her as the cold air rushed to greet her face.
There was no one below her as she was flung out of the walls of the Fortress of Solitude.
*
Clark super speeded straight to the loft, just in time to see Chloe get flung out of it, just like how he'd thrown her out in his dream. He saw a sharp pointed piece of plank embed itself into her ankle, leaving a long red gash. And then Chloe fell into his outstretched arms.
She smelt faintly of apple and honeysuckle, and for a moment her scent intoxicated Clark. Then suddenly Pete rushed over, snapping him back to reality.
"Clark! Oh my gosh, Chloe! What happened?" he exclaimed.
"She fell out of the loft…" Clark said, still a little shocked.
"Correction… I… got… thrown… out," Chloe said foggily, then her eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted dead away in his arms.
"Let's get out of here…" Pete said, glancing back up at the loft. Clark followed his line of vision, then used his X-ray vision to scan the inside of the loft. There was no sign of any living being inside it. The attacker had gone as fast as it had struck.
"We'd better leave, and soon before it comes back again," Clark said. He shifted his arms so that Chloe's neck would not sag at such an odd angle. Pete looked at his burden and asked, "Can you carry her? I mean, she's not that light…"
Clark smiled. Chloe weighed as light as paper in his arms. Very, very thin paper. "I'm okay," he said.
"All right. Let's get back to Chloe's car… oh…" Pete's eyes grew wide when he saw the four flat tyres on Chloe's car. "Wha…" he was at a loss for words.
"I've a feeling those didn't come from all that driving around, Pete," Clark said. He'd spotted the small hole that had been made from what was most likely a pin.
"Then… what do we do?" Pete was nervous.
"We walk… to the nearest house. Where would that be?" Clark and Pete stepped out onto the main road.
"Erm… Lana's?" Pete suggested.
Clark shook his head. He'd never thought that he would be so unwilling to step into Lana's house even with a perfectly good reason to. "No… we'll get too much questions…"
They continued walking until the bright glare of headlights up ahead warned them that a car was approaching. Sure enough, a midnight blue Ferrari with the license plate 'LEX T' pulled to a stop beside Clark and Pete. The window was rolled down, and out popped the bald head of the tycoon Lionel Luthor's son.
"Lex!" Clark exclaimed. What was Lex Luthor doing driving around so late in the night?
"Clark! What are you doing wandering the unsafe streets of Smallville at such a late hour with… oh my goodness… is that a… is she…" Lex trailed off, gaping at Chloe's inert form. His already pale face managed to become whiter.
"Oh no, Chloe's not dead. She just fainted when she got flung out of the…"
"Actually, we were looking for a place to go to spend the night and tend to our friend. I'm Peter Ross," Pete quickly said, and Clark was relieved that Pete had stopped his rambling in time.
"Lex Luthor," Lex stuck out his hand through the window and shook Pete's dark hand, "although you'll probably already know who I am from the impression my father has made."
"Yea…" Pete shrugged, then took a step back as Lex opened his car door.
Very soon he had packed Clark and Chloe into the small backseat and Pete up in front.
"Hang in there, everybody," Lex called as he sped off.
Author's Note: Finally Lex makes his appearance in this fic. I doubt he'll play a really big role in it… but anyway, he'll still have to be in it for some stuff. Because what would Smallville be if there were no Lex? Please review and tell me what you thought about this chapter! Special thanks to:
(Do read the final note below because there's something important I have to say to all the readers!)
Suz- Hey! Thanks for reviewing! If you thought the previous chapter was creepy, this one's probably even creepier, right? Haha! Well, I'll try to update when I can, because writing is slower than reading, you know! I have to take time to write while you people just read! :P Lol…
Starburst- Hey! Thanks for reviewing! It's all right if you didn't review the last chapter! As long as you review this one now! Lol… j/k! I doubt there will be any side effects on Jonathan Kent, but if I think of something that might help with the plot, I'll probably add it in the later chapters! Hope you keep reading!
Calty- Hey! Thanks for reviewing Kaleidoscope! Haha, yea it's true. First they gotta "solve" the mystery of this blood-sucking dude and then the action and adventure comes next! Okay let's hope this chapter keeps you satisfied for a while! Well, keep reading!
brenkding- Huh? Lana disappeared? What are you talking about, dude? Actually, she'll appear in the later chapters. There's just… no need for her to appear in the story right now. But don't worry, I'll write about her, LATER. LOL…
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT TO ALL READERS OF KALEIDOSCOPE:
Yo, okay, now that I have your attention with all the bold words, I'd like to say that from now on I will be uploading chapters in the space of a few days (most likely 2 or 3 days) to facilitate my being able to write a chapter. So instead of seeing a new chapter everyday, there will only be a new chapter every 2 or 3 days! Thus I will be able to write chapters faster than you can read them! MUAAAHAHAHAH!