Part 9
It seemed to Clark that he'd only just fallen asleep, but he knew dimly that it wasn't true. From far away he could hear birds chirping, and noises from downstairs. But his sleep was peaceful and he had no intention of moving anytime soon.
Sometime later the smell of pancakes penetrated his thoughts. His mom usually made pancakes on Saturday, but on Sunday she and dad went shopping or else she visited a friend. Oh well, he would never say no to pancakes.
As his brain slowly became more alert, he registered that the smell seemed a lot stronger than usual, almost as though the pancakes were right in the room with him. He was half asleep, but his body was reacting to the smell, fighting with his brain in whether or not to stay asleep.
Finally, his body's yearning for food won out and he slowly opened one eye.
He wondered absently what time it was, and glanced over at his nightstand to look at his newest alarm clock.
But it was blocked from sight by a trey, which took up most of the space on the small table.
Well, that was nice of his mother, he thought sleepily. She must've made breakfast and brought some up for him so his father wouldn't eat it all.
It held pancakes, bacon, a bowl of fruit, and a glass of orange juice.
He suddenly noticed that his desk chair was very close to his bed.
And that Lana was sitting in it.
Lana – his other eye snapped open and he stared directly at her, suddenly fully awake.
"Well, it's about time!" She said, grinning at his puzzled expression. "Morning – well, nearly afternoon," she said almost as an afterthought.
"What… what are you doing here?"
"Well, I was going to wait downstairs, but once it got past 11:00…"
"What?" He usually slept in on the weekends, but never this much!
Lana laughed and handed him the trey as he sat up.
"Don't worry, I told your parents Chloe kept you up to all hours of the night working on the Torch," she said, eyes darkening a little at the fact that she'd lied. Clark was about to speak, when she continued. "I got up and decided you needed a little spoiling since you were hurt what, three times yesterday?"
Her tone was light, but her eyes were still filled with concern and sadness.
"Lana…" He began tentatively, wanting to apologize, to say anything… to make her feel better… to say something, anything to put the smile back on her face and the sparkle in her eyes. But the words just wouldn't come.
"Thanks," he said instead. "Thanks… a lot."
"You're welcome," she replied, smiling warmly. And though he hadn't mentioned her lying or whatever else was upsetting her, he'd seemed to helped.
"So… how long have you been here?" He asked, stretching.
"I got here around 9:45. Your mom and dad were just finishing breakfast and I asked if I could borrow the kitchen. Your mom thought that was a wonderful idea and offered to help – but I said no."
"You cooked this?" Clark inquired, looking down at the arrangement of food on the tray.
Lana nodded, expression growing apprehensive. "Your dad came in and stole a peace of bacon," she said, grinning slightly. "He seemed to like it but…"
Clark squeezed her hand reassuringly and smiled widely. "I'm sure it's great."
Lana still looked unsure, so he bit into the pancakes and made a face. Lana tensed.
"Jeez… how long have you been waiting up here? These are freezing!" He stared at his food and soon a beam shot from his eyes, warming everything.
Including the orange juice.
"Well…" he said, as Lana giggled while the juice steamed, "there's a first time for everything I guess…"
---
Later, once Clark had finished eating, gotten dressed and said hello to his parents, he and Lana went out to the loft where they continued their discussion from the night before.
"I think I know what weakens it," they said relatively at the same time.
"Love," Lana said.
"Positive emotions," Clark contradicted.
"Whenever I told it I loved it," Lana continued with a shudder, "it would be physically hurt." She grimaced, "peaces of skin would literally come off it."
"When Chloe was encouraging me last night, it got weaker," Clark explained. "That's how I was able to fight it off."
There was a pause while they both took in the other's information, and then Clark said hesitantly, eyes hopeful, "There might be a way to beat him after all."
---
It had hoped by morning that the pain would have lessened some, but no.
It had slept fitfully; waking once when the pain had been so intense it was surprised it was still living.
Now, in the early hours of morning, wave after wave of pain was crashing over it, causing it to cry out in silent agony.
"You'll pay for this," it muttered in a dangerous voice, eyes filled with anguish and rage, "you both will…"
---
The sun was just setting, but Lana wasn't awake to see it. She was curled up in Clark's arms, sleeping peacefully. They were both lying outside on a blanket, Clark half awake as he watched the sunset.
He smoothed the hair out of Lana's eyes and smiled at the look of contentment on her beautiful face. If heaven were anything like this, then it was truly paradise.
Soft starlight slowly began to appear and Clark knew he should wake Lana soon. A brisk breeze was already rustling the trees and though the temperature hadn't changed in the slightest for Clark, he didn't want Lana getting cold.
She stirred, eyes opening slowly. For a moment she appeared disoriented, but then their eyes met and she smiled softly.
"Hey," she whispered, rising up on one elbow to kiss him. Her lips were soft and warm and filled with so many tastes he couldn't even begin to describe them.
He kissed her back slowly, feeling her hands come up to frame his face. Her skin was so soft, hair so silky… Lana Lang was truly the definition of bliss.
Finally they pulled apart. She idly began tracing circles on his face with her fingertips, as he ran his fingers through her dark hair.
"The stars are really pretty," she commented a few moments later. She lay back down beside him, interlacing their fingers together and staring dreamily up at the sky.
He followed her gaze, eyes soon growing distant. Ever since he'd found out just where he was from and the fate of the planet, he'd looked at the stars with a whole new perspective.
Was it possible that his parents weren't dead? Could they have built more ships and gone to neighboring planets? Could they even be here, on earth? Could he find them?
Did he want to find them? Part of him was repulsed at the idea, but another part of him that he hadn't known existed until he'd heard those messages and read the Krypton language was crying out for them; for something of his real home planet.
A soft hand touched his arm. Lips grazed his cheek in a feather light kiss, and Lana's breath tickled his ear as she spoke.
"What are you thinking about?" Her voice was soft, filled with inquisition and sympathy, as though she knew the answer without him saying.
"My parents – my real parents." He said it anyway, knowing that she would understand, knowing that she thought about her parents just as much, if not more than him.
She nodded in understanding, stroking her hand along his cheek. He relaxed into her touch, sighing softly. He pulled her close to him, and her arms slid around Clark's broad shoulders. He gripped her tenaciously; breathing in the sent of her hair, memorizing the feel of her arms around him, the warmth her skin on his brought him… the feelings all of this sent through him.
"We'd really better go," she murmured a few moments later. He nodded and they broke the embrace, both wishing they hadn't.
Standing, he folded up the blanket and taking Lana's hand they started back in the direction of the Kent's farmhouse.
---
The pain was intensifying as he drew closer to the pair. It had hoped that it would find some relief if it ventured out of its hiding place, maybe run across some easily scared animal.
It hadn't counted on finding them there, let alone together. It couldn't even see them, but it knew exactly who it was.
The love and contentment and trust coming off of them caused it to stumble. It fell, gasping in a ragged breath. The pain hit it like thousands of knives, digging into its skin and beyond, never stopping.
It screamed in agony, knowing too late that Clark would hear.
---
They were about halfway back to the farm when Clark stopped abruptly. His hand left Lana's and he clutched at his head, almost collapsing at the volume of the sound. The blanket slipped silently to the forest floor and Lana grabbed his arm, instantly concerned.
"Clark?" Her voice seemed so far away… the scream was agonizing and terrifying all at once. "Clark?!" Lana's voice sounded panicked, her hand still gripping his arm. He wanted to reply, to do anything, to say anything, but he couldn't.
He couldn't escape the piersing scream. At first he'd thought it was the key, but now he knew it was much closer and much worse than that. He gasped as the scream reached its crescendo and he fell to his knees, bringing Lana with him.
"Clark!" she gasped, watching the pained expression on his face deepen. She touched her lips to his, but there was no change. Fear gripped her heart like ropes, causing her to struggle to breathe.
Just as suddenly as the scream had begun it stopped. It had seemed to Clark that hours had passed, but in reality it had only been two minutes at the most.
His body relaxed and he sat panting, ears wringing, sweat glistening on his forehead.
"Clark?" Lana's voice was a fearful whisper, and with a jolt he remembered she was there. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah. I… I am now." He struggled to catch his breath and pulled himself to his feet. Lana rose as well, the fear leaving her eyes slightly.
"What happened?" She asked, picking up the blanket and pulling Clark along behind her as she began to walk again. He still seemed slightly out of it, despite what he'd said about being all right.
"I heard this scream," he explained, wincing at the very memory. "It sounded like someone was in pain… but it sounded almost… evil."
Lana's eyes widened, and she asked tentatively, "You don't think it's…"
"The kryptonite shape shifter?" Clark finished for her. "I hope not."
Suddenly, Lana realized that Clark was now leading her off the path. "Where are we going?" She asked, half turning around. Strange things happened to Clark, and she believed that he had indeed heard a scream, but was it safe to let him lead her somewhere when he still seemed slightly unsteady?
"I have to see who screamed," Clark explained. "They could need some help." He stopped walking and motioned back towards the path. "Wait there."
"But…" Lana wasn't like Chloe in the sense that she wanted to investigate every strange occurrence that happened here, but she also didn't want Clark rushing off by himself to what could possibly be somewhere dangerous.
"Please," he implored, eyes desperate.
She hesitated, and then reluctantly nodded. He sighed in relief.
"Thank you – I love you," he said and in a red and blue blur was gone.
"I love you too," she whispered, hating super speed.
----
The strong feelings of love had stopped hitting it when it had screamed. Waves of pain washed over it, but not it's own. They felt warm and soothing, and the stabbing ache that he been accosting him for nearly twenty four hours slowly began to fade.
Strong concern washed over it, and the pain lessened more still. It smiled inwardly as fear hit it and slowly stopped screaming.
Instantly, Clark's pain stopped. Relief hit it next, and it writhed on the ground, hating the emotion and so many more.
More concern, assurance, uncertainly – love! The emotions hit it like arrows, the last seeming to land in its heart.
Concern slowly penetrated through the haze that had seemed to form around its brain. It lay motionless, panting and struggling to gather enough strength to rise.
It needed negativity.
It needed pain.
Fear.
No – not fear – terror.
Blood.
Kryptonian blood.
Clark's blood.
"Hello?" /And from the sounds of things, that blood appeared to be very close by.
Author's Notes:
Sorry for the long wait in updates! I went on vacation and got the internet back last week but had writers block so… yeah.
I want the next part to be the last one, but who knows. I don't want to rush the plot, so it'll either be really long or there will be one or two more parts after all. I know there wasn't much action in this part… sorry. I'll work on it!
It seemed to Clark that he'd only just fallen asleep, but he knew dimly that it wasn't true. From far away he could hear birds chirping, and noises from downstairs. But his sleep was peaceful and he had no intention of moving anytime soon.
Sometime later the smell of pancakes penetrated his thoughts. His mom usually made pancakes on Saturday, but on Sunday she and dad went shopping or else she visited a friend. Oh well, he would never say no to pancakes.
As his brain slowly became more alert, he registered that the smell seemed a lot stronger than usual, almost as though the pancakes were right in the room with him. He was half asleep, but his body was reacting to the smell, fighting with his brain in whether or not to stay asleep.
Finally, his body's yearning for food won out and he slowly opened one eye.
He wondered absently what time it was, and glanced over at his nightstand to look at his newest alarm clock.
But it was blocked from sight by a trey, which took up most of the space on the small table.
Well, that was nice of his mother, he thought sleepily. She must've made breakfast and brought some up for him so his father wouldn't eat it all.
It held pancakes, bacon, a bowl of fruit, and a glass of orange juice.
He suddenly noticed that his desk chair was very close to his bed.
And that Lana was sitting in it.
Lana – his other eye snapped open and he stared directly at her, suddenly fully awake.
"Well, it's about time!" She said, grinning at his puzzled expression. "Morning – well, nearly afternoon," she said almost as an afterthought.
"What… what are you doing here?"
"Well, I was going to wait downstairs, but once it got past 11:00…"
"What?" He usually slept in on the weekends, but never this much!
Lana laughed and handed him the trey as he sat up.
"Don't worry, I told your parents Chloe kept you up to all hours of the night working on the Torch," she said, eyes darkening a little at the fact that she'd lied. Clark was about to speak, when she continued. "I got up and decided you needed a little spoiling since you were hurt what, three times yesterday?"
Her tone was light, but her eyes were still filled with concern and sadness.
"Lana…" He began tentatively, wanting to apologize, to say anything… to make her feel better… to say something, anything to put the smile back on her face and the sparkle in her eyes. But the words just wouldn't come.
"Thanks," he said instead. "Thanks… a lot."
"You're welcome," she replied, smiling warmly. And though he hadn't mentioned her lying or whatever else was upsetting her, he'd seemed to helped.
"So… how long have you been here?" He asked, stretching.
"I got here around 9:45. Your mom and dad were just finishing breakfast and I asked if I could borrow the kitchen. Your mom thought that was a wonderful idea and offered to help – but I said no."
"You cooked this?" Clark inquired, looking down at the arrangement of food on the tray.
Lana nodded, expression growing apprehensive. "Your dad came in and stole a peace of bacon," she said, grinning slightly. "He seemed to like it but…"
Clark squeezed her hand reassuringly and smiled widely. "I'm sure it's great."
Lana still looked unsure, so he bit into the pancakes and made a face. Lana tensed.
"Jeez… how long have you been waiting up here? These are freezing!" He stared at his food and soon a beam shot from his eyes, warming everything.
Including the orange juice.
"Well…" he said, as Lana giggled while the juice steamed, "there's a first time for everything I guess…"
---
Later, once Clark had finished eating, gotten dressed and said hello to his parents, he and Lana went out to the loft where they continued their discussion from the night before.
"I think I know what weakens it," they said relatively at the same time.
"Love," Lana said.
"Positive emotions," Clark contradicted.
"Whenever I told it I loved it," Lana continued with a shudder, "it would be physically hurt." She grimaced, "peaces of skin would literally come off it."
"When Chloe was encouraging me last night, it got weaker," Clark explained. "That's how I was able to fight it off."
There was a pause while they both took in the other's information, and then Clark said hesitantly, eyes hopeful, "There might be a way to beat him after all."
---
It had hoped by morning that the pain would have lessened some, but no.
It had slept fitfully; waking once when the pain had been so intense it was surprised it was still living.
Now, in the early hours of morning, wave after wave of pain was crashing over it, causing it to cry out in silent agony.
"You'll pay for this," it muttered in a dangerous voice, eyes filled with anguish and rage, "you both will…"
---
The sun was just setting, but Lana wasn't awake to see it. She was curled up in Clark's arms, sleeping peacefully. They were both lying outside on a blanket, Clark half awake as he watched the sunset.
He smoothed the hair out of Lana's eyes and smiled at the look of contentment on her beautiful face. If heaven were anything like this, then it was truly paradise.
Soft starlight slowly began to appear and Clark knew he should wake Lana soon. A brisk breeze was already rustling the trees and though the temperature hadn't changed in the slightest for Clark, he didn't want Lana getting cold.
She stirred, eyes opening slowly. For a moment she appeared disoriented, but then their eyes met and she smiled softly.
"Hey," she whispered, rising up on one elbow to kiss him. Her lips were soft and warm and filled with so many tastes he couldn't even begin to describe them.
He kissed her back slowly, feeling her hands come up to frame his face. Her skin was so soft, hair so silky… Lana Lang was truly the definition of bliss.
Finally they pulled apart. She idly began tracing circles on his face with her fingertips, as he ran his fingers through her dark hair.
"The stars are really pretty," she commented a few moments later. She lay back down beside him, interlacing their fingers together and staring dreamily up at the sky.
He followed her gaze, eyes soon growing distant. Ever since he'd found out just where he was from and the fate of the planet, he'd looked at the stars with a whole new perspective.
Was it possible that his parents weren't dead? Could they have built more ships and gone to neighboring planets? Could they even be here, on earth? Could he find them?
Did he want to find them? Part of him was repulsed at the idea, but another part of him that he hadn't known existed until he'd heard those messages and read the Krypton language was crying out for them; for something of his real home planet.
A soft hand touched his arm. Lips grazed his cheek in a feather light kiss, and Lana's breath tickled his ear as she spoke.
"What are you thinking about?" Her voice was soft, filled with inquisition and sympathy, as though she knew the answer without him saying.
"My parents – my real parents." He said it anyway, knowing that she would understand, knowing that she thought about her parents just as much, if not more than him.
She nodded in understanding, stroking her hand along his cheek. He relaxed into her touch, sighing softly. He pulled her close to him, and her arms slid around Clark's broad shoulders. He gripped her tenaciously; breathing in the sent of her hair, memorizing the feel of her arms around him, the warmth her skin on his brought him… the feelings all of this sent through him.
"We'd really better go," she murmured a few moments later. He nodded and they broke the embrace, both wishing they hadn't.
Standing, he folded up the blanket and taking Lana's hand they started back in the direction of the Kent's farmhouse.
---
The pain was intensifying as he drew closer to the pair. It had hoped that it would find some relief if it ventured out of its hiding place, maybe run across some easily scared animal.
It hadn't counted on finding them there, let alone together. It couldn't even see them, but it knew exactly who it was.
The love and contentment and trust coming off of them caused it to stumble. It fell, gasping in a ragged breath. The pain hit it like thousands of knives, digging into its skin and beyond, never stopping.
It screamed in agony, knowing too late that Clark would hear.
---
They were about halfway back to the farm when Clark stopped abruptly. His hand left Lana's and he clutched at his head, almost collapsing at the volume of the sound. The blanket slipped silently to the forest floor and Lana grabbed his arm, instantly concerned.
"Clark?" Her voice seemed so far away… the scream was agonizing and terrifying all at once. "Clark?!" Lana's voice sounded panicked, her hand still gripping his arm. He wanted to reply, to do anything, to say anything, but he couldn't.
He couldn't escape the piersing scream. At first he'd thought it was the key, but now he knew it was much closer and much worse than that. He gasped as the scream reached its crescendo and he fell to his knees, bringing Lana with him.
"Clark!" she gasped, watching the pained expression on his face deepen. She touched her lips to his, but there was no change. Fear gripped her heart like ropes, causing her to struggle to breathe.
Just as suddenly as the scream had begun it stopped. It had seemed to Clark that hours had passed, but in reality it had only been two minutes at the most.
His body relaxed and he sat panting, ears wringing, sweat glistening on his forehead.
"Clark?" Lana's voice was a fearful whisper, and with a jolt he remembered she was there. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah. I… I am now." He struggled to catch his breath and pulled himself to his feet. Lana rose as well, the fear leaving her eyes slightly.
"What happened?" She asked, picking up the blanket and pulling Clark along behind her as she began to walk again. He still seemed slightly out of it, despite what he'd said about being all right.
"I heard this scream," he explained, wincing at the very memory. "It sounded like someone was in pain… but it sounded almost… evil."
Lana's eyes widened, and she asked tentatively, "You don't think it's…"
"The kryptonite shape shifter?" Clark finished for her. "I hope not."
Suddenly, Lana realized that Clark was now leading her off the path. "Where are we going?" She asked, half turning around. Strange things happened to Clark, and she believed that he had indeed heard a scream, but was it safe to let him lead her somewhere when he still seemed slightly unsteady?
"I have to see who screamed," Clark explained. "They could need some help." He stopped walking and motioned back towards the path. "Wait there."
"But…" Lana wasn't like Chloe in the sense that she wanted to investigate every strange occurrence that happened here, but she also didn't want Clark rushing off by himself to what could possibly be somewhere dangerous.
"Please," he implored, eyes desperate.
She hesitated, and then reluctantly nodded. He sighed in relief.
"Thank you – I love you," he said and in a red and blue blur was gone.
"I love you too," she whispered, hating super speed.
----
The strong feelings of love had stopped hitting it when it had screamed. Waves of pain washed over it, but not it's own. They felt warm and soothing, and the stabbing ache that he been accosting him for nearly twenty four hours slowly began to fade.
Strong concern washed over it, and the pain lessened more still. It smiled inwardly as fear hit it and slowly stopped screaming.
Instantly, Clark's pain stopped. Relief hit it next, and it writhed on the ground, hating the emotion and so many more.
More concern, assurance, uncertainly – love! The emotions hit it like arrows, the last seeming to land in its heart.
Concern slowly penetrated through the haze that had seemed to form around its brain. It lay motionless, panting and struggling to gather enough strength to rise.
It needed negativity.
It needed pain.
Fear.
No – not fear – terror.
Blood.
Kryptonian blood.
Clark's blood.
"Hello?" /And from the sounds of things, that blood appeared to be very close by.
Author's Notes:
Sorry for the long wait in updates! I went on vacation and got the internet back last week but had writers block so… yeah.
I want the next part to be the last one, but who knows. I don't want to rush the plot, so it'll either be really long or there will be one or two more parts after all. I know there wasn't much action in this part… sorry. I'll work on it!
