Disclaimer: This is for fun, so the big bad copyright holders of Smallville haven't let me use their characters officially. Actually, come to think of it, neither have the mighty copyright holders of Blade... Is that enough not to get sued? Don't sue me!

Authors notes: It's not a textured, layered or introspective piece, this one's just meant to be a ride! There may be errors but I hope they're not glaring. This is a first draft after all, unfortunately failing health and a pressing urgency to get this done have cut short any revisions or rewrites. It is quite possibly my last piece of writing. Hope not though!

But my motto is and always will be - enjoy the story. If it takes you away for just a little while and gives you a break from whatever stresses ya, than that's excellent. It's what I always hoped for when I slugged these things out. Thanks for reading!

DEDICATION: This is to everyone who reviewed my story. Val's Boyfriend, rainshower, Cherry Girl, Anya Lyons, Deanine, Angeldust, A HobbitLassRosie, BugEyedMonster and Crystal. This is for my family too. As always, this story is for anyone who read and enjoyed. Thanks to you all.



~Blood Moon Rising~



Lana felt it first in the parking lot.

She hesitated to lock her truck. Twisting slowly around, surveying the whole area she noticed the empty parking spaces illuminated underneath six tall street lamps. An electrified wave of apprehension brushed across the back of her neck. She peered between the pools of light from the street lamps and saw...

Nothing. Everything was still. She tilted her head and heard only the familiar sounds of the cricket's concerto and the subaudible roar of the main highway a short distance out of town. Lana wasn't satisfied and strained harder to send her senses further out into the night.

But still nothing sprang her tripwire senses. She turned back, locked her truck and hawled her back pack across her shoulder. It was loaded with crop circle library books and a box of her promised muffins.

She strode briskly to the main door of Smallville High and got inside as quickly as she could. But as she entered, Lana's heart beat nearly pulpitated. The corridor was swamped in darkness. The Torch offices were on the second floor. Chloe had left the door open for her but switched off the lights?

As Lana contemplated that, the main door clicked shut behind her. And the light of the six street lamps outside suddenly blinked out, then moments later flicked on and shone heavy red light.



****


Clark snapped upright. His head rang like a church bell and his stomach swirled, desperately grasping it's contents.

He reached for a stinging pain on the back of his head, wincing. He gasped as he touched it, drawing his hand back immediately. When his view of the world stopped swimming, he looked down at his fingers and frowned.

His extraordinary abilities had often made him wonder what his limitations were. There was no illusion that he was immortal now. His own mortality was now smeared over his finger tips.

Pain and his own blood were relatively new phenomenons and Clark recoiled from both, clenching his teeth and resisting a temptation to hurl. When the small explosions of pain stopped tearing through his head, he tried to stand.

He wondered what could've done this to him. Whatever it was, it had actually hurt him from a single blow. For a fleeting second, he was afraid and unsure. As soon as his head stopped swimming he looked around him to regain his senses.

Then he remembered. The trashed offices, Pete tied up, Chloe... And Lana! He spun around looking to where he last saw her and was met by a huge fist swinging toward.

Clark was ripped off his feet and sailed backwards, crashing heavily to the ground some distance away from where he started. His head spun again and his wound burned.

For the second time that night, Clark was down.



****


Lana squinted through the darkness, frowning. Her eyes adjusted but still couldn't see through the gloom.

She was so familiar with the main corridor of Smallville High that she took it for granted. But now it seemed like a setting for a trashy teen thriller movie, as dark as a snakes belly. She edged forward and tried harder to see down the corridor.

Jolts of throbbing apprehension, crashed through her chest pounding the air from her lungs. Where was everyone? Lana decided against calling out loud. Something was wrong and now she had the feeling, she was heading straight to the heart of her uneasy feeling, the one that assaulted her in the parking lot.

Treading carefully in an attempt to muffle her footfalls, Lana moved closer to the lockers. Her senses were alert again, listening, seeing and even trying to smell for things that might be out of place, perhaps lurking.

Then she heard a metallic rasp.

She spun around. Her heartbeat and breathing stopped momentarily and the urge to scream was stifled.

Before her, stood a black clad ninja, huge red domes bulging from his head like eyes. A sword blade glinted in his hand. Then from behind him, the darkness grew thicker until it was almost impenetrable, and Lana watched in frozen surprise and mixed shock and fear as four more ninjas melted into view. They walked resolutely, fists clenched and strongly postured. Then they too, drew their swords.

Lana's mind broke through paralysis and she didn't waste time screaming. Her mind, in a frantic rush to survive called up a familiar route. The path to the Torch offices. It was upstairs, but it was better than trying to outrun these guys. They looked sturdy and fit and Lana couldn't help but remember all those mindless action flicks that showed ninjas to have extraordinary stealth and ability.

Lana herself was petite and athletic. Not the fastest runner and not even the fittest, but she was young and had kept up her natural abilities. She tore away from her spot and opened up in a sprint for the stairwell, a small distance away.

She felt the presence of the ninja boring into her back and she took the stairs in gulping strides. As she turned into the final bend of the stairway, which lead to the second floor, a ninja sprang up over the handrail from the steps below and dropped in front of her, sword poised to strike.

She turned back, but her gut twisted in a sinking feeling, her instincts telling her she was cornered.

She was. The other four ninjas were arrayed in three tiers on the bottom of the steps. Two ninjas up front, closest to her, and the two other ninjas in single file behind them. The front two had their swords drawn.

Lana backed up, her muscles contracted and her lungs straining to snatch air through her constricted throat. She took three gentle steps backward and then pressed against the cold wall.

The ninjas moved slowly toward her, as bullies do to increase fear. But unlike bullies, Lana could feel their single minded purpose. Her horrified stare stabbed past her approaching killers, looking for a miracle feat of escape.

And then she noticed something.



****



Clark groaned and took a few seconds to clear his vision.

By which time a looming, black clad figure dropped into his view of the starry night sky. He was still on his back and the person who had given Clark his first injury was standing over him - with a sword!

Clark's mind was immediately focussed and he saw the sword blade slice downward. In a blur of speed, Clark was up and shot behind the ninja, expecting total surprise.

He got surprised all right. A sharp black clad elbow to his cheekbone, knocked him off balance. The ninja spun, landed a heavy boot to Clark's chest and sent him reeling backward. The ninja deftly cartwheeled behind him, grasped his shirt in two massive fistfuls and launched him through the air toward the thick trunk of an oak tree.

Clark soared through two tall spindly pine trees first, cracking them to splinters before he thudded into the sturdier oak. Pain shot through his neck and back and he crashed to the ground, unable to gather his senses.

Unable to avoid the leaping ninja come down on him, landing squarely on his chest in a suffocating impact.

Sword lofted high over his head, the ninja let it drop, tip first and delivered the killing blow.



****



Lana saw her shadow and her heart leaped.

There was light coming from behind her, moonlight. She spun around and sure enough, she was in front of a window. Luckily it wasn't barricaded or barred. She shoved the window open and looked out with dismay.

She was two stories up and there was nothing but lawn or a concrete pathway to land on. She seemed to have no choice though. Glancing behind her, she saw a ninja shot forward to grab her. And stooped under his diving figure.

He sailed out the window without a sound. Lana actually heard a soft thud outside and her insides contracted momentarily. The other ninjas saw their comrade fly out the window and seemed slightly perturbed.

They edged forward more aggresively, all of them, all with their swords drawn. Lana looked out the window and saw the dead body of the ninja outside... but then he moved! A twisted arm snapped up and bent back to it's familiar position and the man lurched to his feet. He seemed as groggy as someone who'd just been hit by a water balloon. His bulging red eyes seemed ferocious in the moonlight and he turned his head back upward and seemed to stare straight into Lana's eyes.

She drew back horrified and then spun as a ninja tried to grab her. Then she saw another chance! The ninja that had gone out the window was the only one blocking her path upstairs. Now it lay wide open and Lana resumed her original plan, without a clue of what to do once she got the Torch offices.

She was quicker than before and shot down the corridor to the door of the offices. For a fleeting moment, she goggled in horror at the abstinate doorknob, unable to unlock it and push through. It can't be looked she screamed in her head. No!

Then she twisted it harder in a clockwise direction. And fell through the doorway. She slammed the door shut and snapped the lock just as a ninja thumped at the door.

She suddenly had time to appraise her situation and realised that it was a matter of time before the ninjas hacked through the wooden door with their swords, or even kicked it down. She needed to barricade the door!

Her eyes grew as she saw the state of the offices. Everything was trashed, upturned furniture, smashed computers and scattered papers coating the carnage. She saw most of it through the moonlight shining through the windows.

The thudding at the door grew deeper and more methodical. Lana knew they were trying to kick it down. She looked about for some furniture to barricade it with. There! A filing cabinet!

She grabbed it as best she could and heaved, but the darn thing stayed lodged in it's place. She pushed harder, her muscles screaming as they turned to lead. Her breath was short and her heart was painfully protesting at the strain.

The thumps became more vicious and she heard a crack. They were breaking through! Still, the damn cabinet wouldn't shift the short distance to a position as Lana's saviour. With all her effort, Lana never even searched for an alternate escape route. She needed to get that filing cabinet into place.

The cracking, began to sound like tearing as the door was pummelled. In seconds they would be in and time would be up. Lana's eyes whelled with tears of frustration, anger, fear... why was this happening?

A door hinge popped loose. Lana heard it, the thumping and tearing and cracking sounds were all a horrible symphony for her own demise. "Damn it MOVE!" She yelled at the filing cabinet. Time was running out.

Then the thumping stopped. Lana wasn't fooled, somewhere inside her, she knew that there was a final barrage coming. They were preparing to break through in one final rush. She didn't stop trying to push the cabinet in front of the door.

She didn't stop until a hand fell on to her shoulder.



****



The sword tip bit into Clark's chest! It's tip sunk a short way before Clark reached up and clasped the ninja's grip in one hand and the sword blade in the other.

He focussed with all his might and bought all of his strength seething to the surface. Clark was surprised though when the ninja matched his efforts and continued to exert his own pressure. The battle of wills, of huge strength raged in quietitude until Clark yelled.

The sword flew skyward as the ninja was kicked away. Clark wasted no time, ignored his injury and struggled up against the oak tree. He felt like he'd been hit hard by a baseball bat, squarely in the chest and his head throbbed more than ever. It was will power alone that kept him from throwing up.

Clark saw the ninja flip to his feet and stalk toward him, ready to resume his assault. But something inside Clark snapped him into a crystal clear focus. He never wished to exert his power openly or at full strength, it was to dangerous and truth be told, he was afraid to know the extent of his full power. What if he were to strong?

But all that was out the window, to survive, he had to stop hiding his stength and let fly. As the ninja closed in, Clark launched a lethal punch at the ninja's chest, vengeance, fear, fury all balled up into it.

And completely missed. The ninja stooped below it, then sprang into the air and spun to deliver a kick to Clark's chin.

And he too missed! Clark grabbed his ankle and then like a hammer thrower, spun him around at a blurring speed and released him toward the face of the main building. The ninja flailed through the air, slicing head first through the air and then slamming into the main wall.

He seemed to explode on impact in a white flash of sizzling sparks. A puff of gray dust clouded the air around the spot where he died and then fell away.

Clark slid back down to the ground. His pain was almost unbearable. It roared through his body, upsetting every little thing it's tentacles could reach. Then he heard a scream from the second floor.

Clark's fear grew. The night wasn't over. "Lana!" He cried.



****



Lana screamed as she felt the hand grasp her shoulder.

"WHOA! It's me, Pete. Let's get this thing in front of that door!" He urged. Lana didn't argue and simply gave over the last threads of strength she had in her. They pushed together and the filing cabinet lurched.

"One more time!" Pete yelled. They pushed again and the cabinet skidded the short distance. Just as it covered the door, the a fist smashed through and plunged straight into the cabinet. It withdrew immediately.

"What's going on?" Lana cried. "Who're they?"

"I don't know, but I think they killed Chloe" Pete said.

Lana stared in shock at Pete's darkened face. She couldn't see his expression, but she wore her own mask of surprise and shock. Then everything that happened crashed down on her and she doubled over, wanting to hurl.

"Come on, help me find her and let's get outta here!" Pete said.

Lana restricted the hot, sweet flow of bile sneaking up at the back of her throat and then focused on following Pete through the carnage. "Here she is!" Lana said.

Chloe looked as if she were asleep. Her face wasn't in the moonlight, so Lana and Pete couldn't see her expression. "Chloe?" Pete said softly. He nudged her arm. "Chloe wake up"

Lana put a hand on Pete's shoulder, he barely noticed. "Come on Chloe" He urged. "Come on, there's a story happening right here and now, you want to get the exclusive now don't you?"

"Pete... Pete let's pick her up and find a way out of here"

"Okay" Pete hooked his hands under Chloe's arms and gently lifted her. Her head fell back and-

"Ouch! Hey watch it"

"Chloe!" Pete exploded. He pulled her into a hug.

"Hey Mister Ross, watch it" She said. Her tone sounded cheery, without a hint of grogginess. "What's with all the after-school affection?"

"I thought you were dead" Pete admitted. "I'm glad you're okay" He released her gently and Lana took her turn to offer a hug.

"Lana? When did you arrive?"

"A while ago now, what happened?"

"Well... me and Pete were-"

The filing cabinet jumped. A booming crash resonated. "Oh my God! They're coming through!" Lana said.

"I remember!" Chloe blurted. "Those ninja guys busted in here - they're still around?"

"Ah ha" Pete said.

As if to back him up, the filing cabinet screeched. They couldn't see it, but one of the ninja's had punched straight through to it's innards.

"How're we gonna get outta here?" Pete asked.

"Back door?" Lana offered.

"Fire exit!" Chloe said.



****



Clark flashed into the building.

In seconds he was confronted by four more ninja. They had almost smashed through the door of the Torch offices but now they relented that pursuit and turned to face Clark. His heart sank with a quiver.

His last tangle with just one of the ninjas was a hard fought battle. Now there were four.

Head pounding, chest burning and thinking way to fast, Clark charged toward them in a flash of speed.

He broke up the small group, sending one crashing and then disintegrating on the wall opposite. One other fell stunned, but the other two stepped aside and caught him by the shoulders!

Together they catapulted backward, smashing him into a wall. Clark recovered quickly this time, and landed back on his feet. The two ninjas rushed him, Clark dodged one kick but got hit by a punch and lurched sideways.

Then Clark lashed out with a backhand, whipping one ninja squarely on the side of the head. He punched the other in the stomach as hard as he could - and his fist plunged straight through! The ninja looked down and then back up at Clark before sizzling apart in sparks and flashes of white light.

Stunned himself, Clark didn't see the second ninja draw his sword and swing. It cut into his arm and Clark roared in agony. The ninja tore his sword free of the wound, but before he launched another blow, Clark ducked and punched his knee out. It dislocated and bent completely the wrong way.

The ninja toppled over with a shrill animalistic scream. His sword clanged to the ground. Clark scrambled for it, but it was knocked away by the third ninja. The one Clark had completely forgot about.

His sword was drawn and it was poised like a guillotine over Clark's exposed neck. His strength seemed to be bleeding away, but Clark drove his shoulder as hard as he could into the ninja and sent him off balance. With the last remaining dew drops of strength, Clark whipped out a massive punch and knocked him down.

The sword clanged away and slipped along the floor coming to rest in a shard of moonlight. Clark caught a gimpse of it and his eyes locked in a stare of surprise. The blade was glinting in the moonlight, but it had an aura glistening around it. A green aura. That would explain the damage he'd taken from them. But how were these ninjas so strong and powerful? Were they kryptonite mutants?

A massive hand clomped down on his back and he was pulled up by his collar. Clark tried to grab behind him but he was turned around by the ninja, who controlled him with the power of one arm. Then Clark witnessed the ninja remove his hood.

Beneath the ninja's mask was a creature that doesn't exist. It's pallid face, long V shaped nose, curled back at the end to expose two nostrils and finally, most horribly, the red domes Clark supposed were simply a part of his mask, were actually his eyes. They had no pupils, no iris's, there was simply a strange red fluid swirling beneath the thick red lenses.

A grin split it's face and long rows of shark teeth, framed by oversized incisors, grinned in Clark's face. "This should be fun!" The creature, a vampire, Clark was sure, said. It's voice a deep, sizzling baritone.

Before Clark could defend himself, the vampire's jaws clamped over his throat and he felt pain as the teeth passed through his flesh.



****



Pete and Lana helped Chloe through the wreckage, charging toward the fire exit at the back of the office.

"God, the Principal's gonna kill me" Chloe said.

"Chloe! In case you hadn't noticed, someone already wants to kill you and me and Lana!" Pete screeched.

The trio spilled into the partitioned editor's office and immediately made for the fire exit door. Pete pushed it open slightly and then waved everyone through. "Coast's clear, come on"

And suddenly, they came across Clark and one of the ninja entwined in what they finally realised was a bizarre kind of attack. The ninja heard them and looked up, baring his blood smeared teeth and grimace, locking eyes with Pete for a moment.

"Nooo! Let him go!" Pete yelled. Without thinking about it, he charged at him. The vampire suddenly screeched, a blood curdling wail that rivalled the shrill scream of a diving hawk.

Then suddenly, shafts of light burst from his mouth, then out his bottom jaw and finally speared through his head. The light grew and grew, becoming more intense with each struggling gesture the ninja made. His hands flailed, as he tried to hold together his disintegrating head. But finally, in a roar and a dazzling flash of sparks, his head exploded. The rest of his body vapourised in a similiar display.

Pete stood shocked. Clark was bent over on the floor, choking and rasping in ragged gasps. "Clark! You okay?" Pete asked, skidding up to his friend's side. "Oh man, you're badly hurt"

"I'll be alright" Clark said and he was beginning to feel better, but the bite on his neck burned and itched. "Where's-"

"Clark!" Chloe cried. "Oh my God!" She dropped to the floor beside him and tried to fiddle with his blood torn shirt to see his wounds. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine, how's Lana?"

"Fine, but you need some help" Lana said softly.

He looked up at her gratefully. And then he stared in shock.

"Lana! Look out!"



****



The hallway behind Lana was caked in solid darkness, impenetrable. The shards of moonlight that shone through the window at the end of the hallway was blotted out. And from the preternatural darkness, several figures melted into view. More ninjas.

Lana spun and backed away quickly. Chloe and Pete were frozen beside Clark. Clark himself had nothing left in his tanks. He was spent just trying to resist the barrage of pain he felt from his injuries.

As the darkness slithered away, a platoon of ninjas stood in it's wake. When the moonlight returned, shining through the window. It happened.



****



Blade estimated the jump correctly and lifted the bike into a strong take off and leap, shooting straight toward the window.

As he came up to it, he saw some of the ninja turn. They saw his shape sailing through the night, Blade on top of his modified ducati coming straight at them. They drew concealed uzi's and aimed.

As they fired, Blade slid back of his seat, drew his gun, held on with one hand and fired back. The Superman Seat Grab One Hander. The perfect defensive and offensive manoeuvre. As the ninjas opened fire, the bullets clanged against the armoured underside of Blade's ducati.

Blade's shots landed true, shattering the window and annihilating three of the ninja. As the bike came closer to smashing through the window, Blade slid back to his seat and lay low into his bike. He smashed through the glass and took out a chunk of the wall, the debris of which crashed into the surrounding ninja. He ran over those who weren't quick enough to get out of the way.

He pulled up next to the four. Chloe Sullivan, Clark Kent, Pete Ross and Lana Lang. A brief cursory glance, then a swift reloading of his weapon. "Stay where you are" He growled.

He got off his bike, drew another weapon and strafed the surviving ninjas. Sparks flew and the whole corridor was lit up by bright flashes. Thundering shots resonated through the hall. When he stopped shooting, there was only one ninja left. Blade holstered his guns and reached behind him.

The low metallic note of the sword being drawn was matched a moment later by the remaining ninja. Both swordsman faced off and then charged and collided together in a jarring duel. Their movements were a blur, each blow landed with a speed and accuracy that most people would find confounding. Clark watched, tracking everything.

Finally the ninja broke off the furious fusilade of his attack and tried to launch a kick at his opponent's leg. Blade caught it and punished him, twisting his foot around and spinning the ninja through the air, landing him on his face. Then Blade lunged and sunk his sword through the ninja's back, piercing it's heart. A flash, sparks and a gray dust cloud and the ninja was gone.

Chloe, Lana and Pete shrank away from him as he approached. He sheathed his sword and walked up to Clark, pushing his head from side to side, examining the bite. He had seen Clark in battle and knew he was extraordinary. Blade wasn't sure if he could kill him before he turned.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Pete asked.

"Who are you?" Lana demanded.

"You better-" Chloe started.

"I can save him" Blade cut in.

"What?"

Blade didn't stay and explain, he reached down, hooked Clark's arm and hawled him up over his shoulder with no sign of strain.

"Hey! You - you be careful with him!" Chloe yelled as she followed after him. Pete and Lana searched each other's expressions and then made up their minds to follow.



****



Robert was pulling overtime thanks to his buddy calling in sick. Most likely from Florida or Venice beach. He snorted and consoled himself with the overtime that he was earning. A goodly sum. Especially for watching absolutely noth-

"Who goes there?" He challenged, smirking inwardly at the cliche he'd heard millions of times in old war movies and westerns. The line that everyone said before the shooting started in a surprise attack.

A dark coated man carrying some sort of drunk, by the look of it, stalked up to the guard booth. Three other people followed a short distance behind him.

Robbie stayed conscious for three seconds afterward.



****



Lex sat behind his desk, perusing his stock reports when the main doors to his study flew open.

A man, dressed as an urban commando in a flowing dark coat, carried a sagging Clark through the door. Chloe, Lana and Pete followed. "What's going on here?" Lex asked, placid.

"Your thugs have missed the mark and now your friend's dying" Blade roared at an astonished Lex. "Now give us the cure you've been working on"

Lex walked over and examined his friend. Without hesitation he hoisted the ever sagging body of Clark Kent over his shoulder. "This way" Lex said, leading everyone off.