Part 6
Once he had time to process the incident with the stranger Eric began to formulate some questions. Was the man sent to spy on Eric or was he just an extra pair of eyes to watch Chloe or was there some third possibility that Eric knew nothing about?
Whatever the answer, Eric pushed these thoughts from his head for the moment because he had even bigger questions now. He already had super- speed, but that had been explained away as his DNA mimicking the little girl's who for some strange reason also had that power. But, if that was the case how was it possible that he was regaining all of his past abilities?
Eric quickly did a run through testing each ability and sure enough, he still had his speed, but in addition also had his old strength back as well as his invulnerability. The first two questions that followed this verification were one, was it permanent or just temporary and two, if it was permanent how could he protect himself from losing them like he did last time especially since he didn't know exactly how he lost them at all.
He briefly thought about running to Metropolis to consult Dr. Stephens, but quickly tabled the idea as he knew that whatever he told Stephens automatically went to Luthor. Luthor had made it clear the type of life he had planned for Eric should he ever get his powers back. Sure, he couched it with all types of platitudes, promising Eric anything he wanted just for a few simple "favors," but Eric knew what Luthor really meant. Eric would be a virtual slave so long as he had that explosive implanted in his head subject to whatever whims Luthor had.
That thought, of course, led to the crux of the matter. What was he going to be able to do about the explosive and the tracking device that had been implanted and would the explosive even affect him now that he had regained his invulnerability. For that matter, how was he even sure that there actually was a tracking device and explosive implanted in his head and he wasn't just being the victim of a big bluff.
Eric sat down in the grass under the tree that still bore evidence of his recent fight and thought about his next course of action. First of all, obviously he would keep his newfound abilities to himself. The problem with this was that if the stranger was a LuthorCorp employee then he must know something was up due to Eric's resistance to his attacks.
So, move number one would be to act as he normally would in this situation. Call Luthor and report the stranger and confront Luthor about sending a watchdog after him. He would also tell Luthor that he had suffered some minor injuries from the fight that might throw him off the scent if the stranger reported that Eric had been some kind of superman who couldn't be hurt.
Best case scenario would be that he would be instructed to stay in the area and continue doing what he was doing. This would at least have the advantage of allowing Eric some time to come up with a better plan. The worst case scenario would be that Luthor recall him to Metropolis to have Dr. Stephens check him out, but that would at least give Eric access to Dr. Stephens and some answers about the implants. That way if he had to he could force the answers from Stephens without having to worry that the tracking device would place him in an area that he wasn't supposed to be in.
After he returned to his hotel room in Grandville he briefly rehearsed what he was going to say before picking up his cell phone and dialing Lionel's private line.
"Mr. Summers," Luthor's cheerful voice greeted him after the third ring, alerted, Eric assumed, by caller I.D. as to who was on the other side of the phone "to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"
Eric rolled his eyes silently thankful that this wasn't a video phone.
"I just had a little run in with someone."
"What do you mean?" Luthor's voice suddenly became deadly serious.
"I mean that while I was watching the Sullivan house someone was watching me. Did you send him?"
"No, I didn't. Did you get close enough to get a description?"
"Close? Yeah, you could say that. I tried to surprise the guy and he cleaned my clock."
"He was faster than you?" Lionel asked incredulously.
"I don't know if he was faster. At least I don't think so. I just know he could have kicked the crap out of Bruce Lee if he wanted to. He certainly did me. But, he did disappear into thin air so who knows, maybe he was faster after all."
That actually hadn't occurred to Eric before, but he supposed that when he ran off it did appear to people that he had disappeared so maybe the stranger did something similar. But, if that guy could pull it off with Eric's enhanced senses then who knew how fast he was.
"I just figured he was some guy you sent to keep track of me." Eric said.
"No, Eric," Lionel answered deep in thought "I didn't send anyone. What did he look like, did he say anything?"
"Never made a sound." Eric answered. "But, as for what he looks like, I'd say he's a few years older than me, over six-feet tall, built like a body builder. Not Schwartzenager big, but big, you know? He had blond hair. Eyes looked kind of blue-gray. Had a nasty looking scar on the right side of his face next to his eye. Oh, yeah. He's driving some kind of old, sixties type Mustang. Real dark gray. I've seen him around town the past few days."
"Could you tell what he was doing when you saw him?" Lionel asked
"Just driving around or parked." Eric answered. "I generally saw him whenever I was around Chloe."
"Do you think he was watching her rather than you?"
"It's a possibility I guess. What do you want me to do?"
"Are you injured?"
"Not bad. A few bruises, but nothing that won't fade by tomorrow probably."
"Then sit tight. Watch Sullivan for a bit longer until I can send you some relief. Keep an eye out for your friend in the Mustang, though and call me if he shows up again. I think we may have all we'll get from Ms. Sullivan, but I'm intrigued by your mysterious visitor. When your relief gets there tomorrow or the day after I want you to head back here. I want Stephens to run some more tests on you now that your body's had time to adjust to your speed powers."
***********************
The next day Eric was back in place following Chloe. This time she went out to the Kent Farm and spoke briefly with Mr. Kent. The visit was brief enough that Eric hadn't even figured out where he could stand to get a good vantage point and listen in when Chloe returned to her car and started down the road. His first thought was that Mr. Luthor would be mad that he hadn't recorded Chloe's and Mr. Kent's conversation, but then it occurred to Eric that what Lionel didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
Chloe next went to the Talon where she confronted Pete. From past experience following Chloe around Eric knew that it was dangerous to follow her into a room. It wasn't like he could simply run from one side of the room to the other to stay invisible. If he entered the Talon then he was at risk of being identified so when Chloe got out of her car and started for the door of the coffee house Eric ran by and attached the bug to the back of her belt.
"You've been avoiding me" was the first statement Eric heard her say after she entered the Talon.
After a brief second Eric heard Pete reply.
*"Nah, Chlo. I've just had a lot of things to do around the house. My brother's getting his things ready to move to the dorm so the Ross's are doing a little room shuffling."*
*"Really?" Chloe said. "It seemed like it just happened after I started asking about Clark's secrets."*
*"Chloe, come on. I know you've made a career out of the Wall of Weird, but let's give it a break OK? You've known Clark for two years. He's a geeky farm kid with a hard case paragon of virtue for a father, a saint for a mother, and a crush on the former head cheerleader. A little strange, perhaps, but strictly middle-America strange. You hop on over to Grandville and you'll probably find his separated at birth twin."*
*"A twin that can survive a blast furnace? A twin that can take a hit from a flail and walk away when the flail doesn't?"*
Eric had read a few of these things in Chloe's notebooks, but it still felt strange to hear them out loud. It was sounding more and more like Clark had either developed similar powers to Eric's or perhaps had powers that he had stolen from Eric that day over a year ago at the dam.
*"What on earth are you talking about, Chloe?"*
*"I think you know, Pete. Maybe everyone else likes to keep their heads in the sand, but I look for answers. I know about the things that Clark can do."*
*"The things that Clark can do? Chloe you're not making any sense."*
*"Come on, Pete. You've seen this stuff as many times as I have. Strange things happen in this town. The meteor shower changed things."*
Eric heard a short pause before Chloe continued.
*"They changed people. People doing extraordinary things isn't so extraordinary anymore."*
*"What's this got to do with Clark, Chloe?" Pete asked.*
*"The strength, the invulnerability. Do I need to add more, Pete?"*
*"Strength and invulnerability, right." Pete said "When Eric Summers threw Clark into that car and broke his ribs or when he went into the coma after that contagion exposure. Yeah, I can see it now. It was all a ruse so we wouldn't notice he had become a super meteor mutant."*
*"Good catch, Chloe." Pete continued. "You'll have to send me a copy of the book if you get it published. Oh, and autograph it too. It sells better on Ebay if its autographed."*
Eric heard an extended pause before Pete spoke again.
*"Come see me after you turn off that Twilight Zone episode playing over and over again in your head."*
Eric leaned against the alley wall as he digested this. He remembered throwing Clark into that car and it had knocked him unconscious so obviously Pete was right and Clark didn't have any powers then. He didn't know about any mysterious disease. That must have happened after his incarceration. Did that mean that he didn't have powers later either? If that was the case then he couldn't have stolen Eric's powers. Oh, he was sure that Clark was responsible for him losing his, but maybe it wasn't some kind of transfer of powers after all.
Eric suddenly looked up as he caught sight of Chloe leaving the Talon and getting into her car. As she started moving he sat out on foot again tracking her progress.
End - Part Six
Once he had time to process the incident with the stranger Eric began to formulate some questions. Was the man sent to spy on Eric or was he just an extra pair of eyes to watch Chloe or was there some third possibility that Eric knew nothing about?
Whatever the answer, Eric pushed these thoughts from his head for the moment because he had even bigger questions now. He already had super- speed, but that had been explained away as his DNA mimicking the little girl's who for some strange reason also had that power. But, if that was the case how was it possible that he was regaining all of his past abilities?
Eric quickly did a run through testing each ability and sure enough, he still had his speed, but in addition also had his old strength back as well as his invulnerability. The first two questions that followed this verification were one, was it permanent or just temporary and two, if it was permanent how could he protect himself from losing them like he did last time especially since he didn't know exactly how he lost them at all.
He briefly thought about running to Metropolis to consult Dr. Stephens, but quickly tabled the idea as he knew that whatever he told Stephens automatically went to Luthor. Luthor had made it clear the type of life he had planned for Eric should he ever get his powers back. Sure, he couched it with all types of platitudes, promising Eric anything he wanted just for a few simple "favors," but Eric knew what Luthor really meant. Eric would be a virtual slave so long as he had that explosive implanted in his head subject to whatever whims Luthor had.
That thought, of course, led to the crux of the matter. What was he going to be able to do about the explosive and the tracking device that had been implanted and would the explosive even affect him now that he had regained his invulnerability. For that matter, how was he even sure that there actually was a tracking device and explosive implanted in his head and he wasn't just being the victim of a big bluff.
Eric sat down in the grass under the tree that still bore evidence of his recent fight and thought about his next course of action. First of all, obviously he would keep his newfound abilities to himself. The problem with this was that if the stranger was a LuthorCorp employee then he must know something was up due to Eric's resistance to his attacks.
So, move number one would be to act as he normally would in this situation. Call Luthor and report the stranger and confront Luthor about sending a watchdog after him. He would also tell Luthor that he had suffered some minor injuries from the fight that might throw him off the scent if the stranger reported that Eric had been some kind of superman who couldn't be hurt.
Best case scenario would be that he would be instructed to stay in the area and continue doing what he was doing. This would at least have the advantage of allowing Eric some time to come up with a better plan. The worst case scenario would be that Luthor recall him to Metropolis to have Dr. Stephens check him out, but that would at least give Eric access to Dr. Stephens and some answers about the implants. That way if he had to he could force the answers from Stephens without having to worry that the tracking device would place him in an area that he wasn't supposed to be in.
After he returned to his hotel room in Grandville he briefly rehearsed what he was going to say before picking up his cell phone and dialing Lionel's private line.
"Mr. Summers," Luthor's cheerful voice greeted him after the third ring, alerted, Eric assumed, by caller I.D. as to who was on the other side of the phone "to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"
Eric rolled his eyes silently thankful that this wasn't a video phone.
"I just had a little run in with someone."
"What do you mean?" Luthor's voice suddenly became deadly serious.
"I mean that while I was watching the Sullivan house someone was watching me. Did you send him?"
"No, I didn't. Did you get close enough to get a description?"
"Close? Yeah, you could say that. I tried to surprise the guy and he cleaned my clock."
"He was faster than you?" Lionel asked incredulously.
"I don't know if he was faster. At least I don't think so. I just know he could have kicked the crap out of Bruce Lee if he wanted to. He certainly did me. But, he did disappear into thin air so who knows, maybe he was faster after all."
That actually hadn't occurred to Eric before, but he supposed that when he ran off it did appear to people that he had disappeared so maybe the stranger did something similar. But, if that guy could pull it off with Eric's enhanced senses then who knew how fast he was.
"I just figured he was some guy you sent to keep track of me." Eric said.
"No, Eric," Lionel answered deep in thought "I didn't send anyone. What did he look like, did he say anything?"
"Never made a sound." Eric answered. "But, as for what he looks like, I'd say he's a few years older than me, over six-feet tall, built like a body builder. Not Schwartzenager big, but big, you know? He had blond hair. Eyes looked kind of blue-gray. Had a nasty looking scar on the right side of his face next to his eye. Oh, yeah. He's driving some kind of old, sixties type Mustang. Real dark gray. I've seen him around town the past few days."
"Could you tell what he was doing when you saw him?" Lionel asked
"Just driving around or parked." Eric answered. "I generally saw him whenever I was around Chloe."
"Do you think he was watching her rather than you?"
"It's a possibility I guess. What do you want me to do?"
"Are you injured?"
"Not bad. A few bruises, but nothing that won't fade by tomorrow probably."
"Then sit tight. Watch Sullivan for a bit longer until I can send you some relief. Keep an eye out for your friend in the Mustang, though and call me if he shows up again. I think we may have all we'll get from Ms. Sullivan, but I'm intrigued by your mysterious visitor. When your relief gets there tomorrow or the day after I want you to head back here. I want Stephens to run some more tests on you now that your body's had time to adjust to your speed powers."
***********************
The next day Eric was back in place following Chloe. This time she went out to the Kent Farm and spoke briefly with Mr. Kent. The visit was brief enough that Eric hadn't even figured out where he could stand to get a good vantage point and listen in when Chloe returned to her car and started down the road. His first thought was that Mr. Luthor would be mad that he hadn't recorded Chloe's and Mr. Kent's conversation, but then it occurred to Eric that what Lionel didn't know wouldn't hurt him.
Chloe next went to the Talon where she confronted Pete. From past experience following Chloe around Eric knew that it was dangerous to follow her into a room. It wasn't like he could simply run from one side of the room to the other to stay invisible. If he entered the Talon then he was at risk of being identified so when Chloe got out of her car and started for the door of the coffee house Eric ran by and attached the bug to the back of her belt.
"You've been avoiding me" was the first statement Eric heard her say after she entered the Talon.
After a brief second Eric heard Pete reply.
*"Nah, Chlo. I've just had a lot of things to do around the house. My brother's getting his things ready to move to the dorm so the Ross's are doing a little room shuffling."*
*"Really?" Chloe said. "It seemed like it just happened after I started asking about Clark's secrets."*
*"Chloe, come on. I know you've made a career out of the Wall of Weird, but let's give it a break OK? You've known Clark for two years. He's a geeky farm kid with a hard case paragon of virtue for a father, a saint for a mother, and a crush on the former head cheerleader. A little strange, perhaps, but strictly middle-America strange. You hop on over to Grandville and you'll probably find his separated at birth twin."*
*"A twin that can survive a blast furnace? A twin that can take a hit from a flail and walk away when the flail doesn't?"*
Eric had read a few of these things in Chloe's notebooks, but it still felt strange to hear them out loud. It was sounding more and more like Clark had either developed similar powers to Eric's or perhaps had powers that he had stolen from Eric that day over a year ago at the dam.
*"What on earth are you talking about, Chloe?"*
*"I think you know, Pete. Maybe everyone else likes to keep their heads in the sand, but I look for answers. I know about the things that Clark can do."*
*"The things that Clark can do? Chloe you're not making any sense."*
*"Come on, Pete. You've seen this stuff as many times as I have. Strange things happen in this town. The meteor shower changed things."*
Eric heard a short pause before Chloe continued.
*"They changed people. People doing extraordinary things isn't so extraordinary anymore."*
*"What's this got to do with Clark, Chloe?" Pete asked.*
*"The strength, the invulnerability. Do I need to add more, Pete?"*
*"Strength and invulnerability, right." Pete said "When Eric Summers threw Clark into that car and broke his ribs or when he went into the coma after that contagion exposure. Yeah, I can see it now. It was all a ruse so we wouldn't notice he had become a super meteor mutant."*
*"Good catch, Chloe." Pete continued. "You'll have to send me a copy of the book if you get it published. Oh, and autograph it too. It sells better on Ebay if its autographed."*
Eric heard an extended pause before Pete spoke again.
*"Come see me after you turn off that Twilight Zone episode playing over and over again in your head."*
Eric leaned against the alley wall as he digested this. He remembered throwing Clark into that car and it had knocked him unconscious so obviously Pete was right and Clark didn't have any powers then. He didn't know about any mysterious disease. That must have happened after his incarceration. Did that mean that he didn't have powers later either? If that was the case then he couldn't have stolen Eric's powers. Oh, he was sure that Clark was responsible for him losing his, but maybe it wasn't some kind of transfer of powers after all.
Eric suddenly looked up as he caught sight of Chloe leaving the Talon and getting into her car. As she started moving he sat out on foot again tracking her progress.
End - Part Six