The Portal
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com
Chapter 29
Boredom. No, that's not quite correct, thought Lex as he took another small, carefully measured sip of his severely diluted wine. He wasn't bored as much as eager to get on to other things. In other circumstances or several years earlier when his life was centered on hard partying, he wouldn't have been bored. How often did you get to party with a Roman Emperor? And tonight the string of entertainment seemed endless: poets, singers, dancers, acrobats, jugglers, magicians, and even a comedian who reminded him of Rodney Dangerfield in a toga. Had he ever seen Rodney in a toga in some movie? At the moment all that came to mind was the movie where he had been rich, gone back to college along with his son, hired Kurt Vonnegut to write a paper about Kurt Vonnegut and then got a failing grade on the paper.
All he wanted was to get past this feast/celebration/whatever and get some time alone with Clark to finally learn about Clark's 'secret'. And from the looks Lana had been sending Clark's way all evening; he knew she felt the same. However this evening seemed to drag on and on. It had been mid- afternoon when Clark had admitted to his secret and late afternoon when he had given his little demonstration with the spear. Now it had to be well after midnight and Lex didn't feel any closer to learning the truth.
Drumming his fingers he tried to force his attention back to the conversation between Clark and the emperor. All evening Chloe and Clark had been regaling Gaius with stories about Olympus. In the beginning Lex recognized some of Chloe's comments as being at least marginally related to the 'traditional' Olympus, but as the evening progressed the stories kept drifting further and further a field. At the moment Clark was going on about his adventures with Apollo and Hercules in a distant land filled with wizards, elves, dwarves, and hobbits where they had searched for a magically ring which gave the wearer the power of invisibility.
At least a story based on 'Lord of the Rings' felt somewhat appropriate in this context unlike Chloe's earlier story involving Elvis and girls in grass skirts. Although Chloe's story did have the advantage of ending with Chloe and Lana giving a demonstration of a hula dance. Lex had been surprised when Lana transitioned to singing Elvis' 'All Shook Up' complete with his patented pelvic motion. Back when they had told her that her cover story was as the Princess of Caledonia and how her father was King Elvis, she had never expressed any particular enthusiasm for Elvis, so the fact she knew all of the words to a song that had been popular twenty years before she was born had been an interesting surprise. But after a mere ten days together, Lex realized he still had a lot to learn about Lana's interests.
After much laughing, giggling, and applause for their performance the girls had headed off to ladies' room to freshen up. For all his experience with women, Lex still didn't understand why they always went in groups. However in this instance he was glad they did as he wasn't comfortable with Lana being alone in this still scary, barbaric society, particularly while away from the relative safety of Chloe's estate. At least being with Chloe and all of her experience, Lana should be safe. Along with not understanding why girls always went in groups he also didn't understand what took them so long. Without his watch he couldn't be sure, but it felt like they had been gone at least fifteen minutes. Boy, he missed his watch. And his morning coffee at the Talon. And his cars. At the moment he just wanted to learn Clark's secret, find the Professor and his meteor rocks, and go home.
Turning his attention back to Clark and the Emperor, he found himself drawn into a conversation about the mythical Ents of Middle-Earth. Elves, dwarves, and even hobbits had some equivalent creature in Roman, Greek, or some other mythology to which the emperor was familiar, but Ents? Giant tree creatures that could walk and talk? The emperor was obviously enchanted with these unusual creatures he had never heard of before.
Lex was surprised how well he got along with the Emperor. He had expected someone who was crazy, or scary, or something, but Gaius came across as a charming, genial host. No mistreatment of the slaves. No personal references of cruelty. Whatever caused his horrific historical reputation must have been triggered by something still in the future. Of course, from the looks the emperor gave him, perhaps the reason they got along came down to Lex's lack of hair. From what Lex had observed of the Emperor, he did seem to be surrounded by a surprisingly high percentage of men with little or no hair.
The conversation about Ents had been going on for some time when Lex realized he had already subconsciously glanced several times at the doorway where the girls had disappeared. Where were they? It had to be close to thirty minutes since they had departed. Suddenly, he got a very bad, queasy feeling in his stomach.
Going with his instinct, Lex quickly moved over to Clark's side and leaned in close. "Ares, I am concerned about the girls. Let's go find them."
Clark looked up at Lex with a questioning expression on his face that quickly turned to concern as he glanced around the room. He had been so wrapped up in his Lord of the Rings story, he hadn't even notice the girls hadn't returned. He nodded and explained to the Emperor they would be right back. As the Emperor nodded and turned to talk to Senator Gallus, Clark quickly stood and headed for the exit from the banquet hall.
The marble-lined hallway outside the banquet room was poorly lit this late at night by pairs of candles in sconces every dozen feet along right wall. It was eerily quiet after the noise of the banquet hall. Both men walked in silence listening for any out of place sound, their thoughts too focused on the girls to allow for idle banter. Lex's growing sense of foreboding put thoughts of Clark's secret on temporary hold.
The women's lounging area was located fifty feet up the main corridor and then down a smaller corridor to the left. As Clark and Lex reached the turn, they spotted two large lumps that could only be bodies, lying in the gloom halfway down the side corridor. Both men broke into a run. No longer feeling the need to hold back one hundred percent since partially revealing his secret, Clark reached the first body and had already rolled it over when Lex caught up.
Lex let out a quick sigh of relief when he discovered it was the body of a man and not one of the girls. Kneeling down to get a closer look in the poor light, his knee touched the slowly spreading pool of blood. He jerked back as Clark said in a voice barely above a whisper. "Look at the emblem on his scabbard. He is one of Chloe's guards. Shit, what happened here?"
Clark quickly moved to the other body and discovered it was another of Chloe's guards.
Absently rubbing at the blood on his knee with the edge of his robe while quickly inspecting the first body, Lex speculated in a much calmer voice than the way he suddenly felt inside. "He never drew his sword. He was either taken by surprise or by someone he didn't perceive as a threat."
Not knowing what they might run into next, Lex drew the dead guard's sword. Standing, he turned towards Clark to urge them on their way to find the girls when he discovered Clark standing in the middle of the hall slowly turning in a circle staring straight forward as he rotated. Most of the time Clark was staring intently at the blank stone walls.
"Ahh, Clark? What are you doing?"
Clark held up a hand signaling for Lex to wait as he continued his turn. Using his x-ray vision Clark was hurriedly exploring all of the adjacent rooms. At this moment he wished Chloe's body gave off a distinctive pattern in his special sight like so many of the meteor freaks back home. Unfortunately, her nanobots were such minute devices they were invisible in the relatively coarse view his x-ray vision provided. And except for her nanobots Chloe's body looked perfectly normal in every way.
Finally, having almost completed his three hundred and sixty degree turn, Clark spotted two more bodies lying in a room off to the left, thirty feet further down to the corridor. He couldn't tell who they were other than the bone structure indicated bodies of much lighter build than the two guards they had just found.
Shouting for Lex to follow, Clark raced off down the corridor and quickly disappeared through the second archway on the left.
As Lex sprinted after Clark his heart was pounding as much due to fear as to exertion. What had happened to the girls? Was Lana alright? What could he have done to prevent this? What would he do if he lost her, after it seemed like they had just found each other?
Rounding the corner into the room where Clark had disappeared, Lex jerked to a halt when he saw Clark crouching over two more bodies. Bodies that even in the faint moon light from the open doorway to the terrace beyond were obviously women.
Lex's heart was pounding even harder and his knees felt ready to buckle when Clark looked up and said with a relieved tone in his voice. "It's not them."
Lex slowly walked over and looked at the bodies: slave girls caught in whatever had happened here. Struck down without mercy. Both run through with swords allowing their life's blood to pour out onto the formerly white and blue marble mosaic floor.
"What happened here?" asked Lex still in slight daze at this staggering change in events. One minute dining with the emperor and now this.
Clark had risen from the bodies and was again using his x-ray vision to try and find a clue to what happened to the people here and also to how and where Chloe and Lana had disappeared. As he scanned the walls, he said one word. "Venta."
"Venta?" echoed Lex who hadn't met the man yet. "You think he grabbed the girls from the emperor's own palace after the little show you did for him this morning?"
By this point Clark had completed his scan of this room and the rooms immediately beyond without seeing anything that struck him as a significant clue. He turned to join Lex who was heading out onto the terrace to escape the growing stench of death.
"I don't understand why, but I can't see who else has a sufficient reason to attack them here."
Standing on the terrace located on the side of the imperial palace, they looked out across the portion of Rome lying north of the Palatine hill. Unlike a modern city with its thousands of streetlights and never-ending stream of traffic, Rome was mostly dark and quiet by this time of night. A few torches were burning at major intersections and faint singing drifted up the hill from some nearby tavern, but most of the lighting was provided by the clear sky and the three quarters moon almost directly overhead.
Clark began scanning the visible portion of the city for any signs of unusual activity. Starting on the hillside below the palace, he scanned left to right and back again, slowly working further and further away hoping to see people running or carrying bodies or something. But nothing was visible in the city streets below this terrace and as he started inspecting the terrain leading to the raised plateau beyond, he began to think whoever had grabbed the girls must have headed out the south side of the palace instead. He was almost ready to give in to his restless energy to move, to do something, anything, and head to the south side of the palace, when he spied the hulking structure up on the plateau a mile to the north.
Pointing suddenly, Clark exclaimed. "There!"
Lex looked in the indicated direction, but all he could see was the dimly moonlit building on the hill beyond. "Do you see them?" Not certain whether he wanted a positive or negative response.
Clark shook his head. "No, sorry. I just meant that large building on the rise over there. Chloe pointed it out to me this morning. It's the Castra Praetoria. The Praetorian's Camp here in Rome. Venta's headquarters. If he grabbed the girls, I think that's where he would have taken them."
Lex looked more closely at the structure. Even in the darkness he could tell that it was huge. And it contained the only significant fighting force allowed in Rome. Since he knew Venta was working with the Professor, he had asked a few questions about the Praetorians since his arrival in Rome. Nine cohorts of Praetorians, over five thousand men, where stationed in Rome. All based at the Praetorian's Camp. Their first allegiance supposedly to the emperor, but more likely to their leader, Venta. Was this the first step of Venta's planned coup? Was the Rhine Army closer than they believed?
And what resources did he and Clark have to draw on here? Chloe's household had at most 100 guardsmen and perhaps a few hundred more men who could pressed into service in an emergency, but not nearly enough to storm a fortified position defended by 5000 trained men.
If a direct frontal assault was out that left entry by stealth or trying to get the emperor's aid. Neither remaining option seemed likely to lead to a fast rescue of the girls. Why had Venta grabbed the girls? What was he planning to do to them?
As these thoughts circled around and around in his head, Lex asked in a shaky voice. "How are we going to get Lana and Chloe back from the man who has control of all of the troops in the city?"
Clark straightened his back and when he responded he was again using the powerful commanding voice he had demonstrated to the man outside of the Circus Maximus earlier in the afternoon. A time that suddenly felt like weeks ago. "I thought I made it clear to Venta this morning. Don't FUCK with Gods. Well, he is going to learn that now, if I have to destroy the entire Praetorian Camp to prove it."
Then Clark headed back into the palace at a run, although slow enough to allow Lex to keep up. He didn't want to lose Lex, too. Why had he allowed Chloe to talk him into playing games with Venta? He should have gone with his first instinct and just neutralized Venta at the earliest opportunity. Well, he would not make that mistake again. And if Venta had hurt either of the girls, he was going to regret ever having been born.
Lex raced after Clark wondering what was going through his friend's mind. Okay, based on the show with the spear at the chariot races, Clark seemed to be at least four or five times stronger than an ordinary man, but how did he expect to go one on one against what was essentially a fort defended by five thousand men? Had all of the talk of Gods gone to his head? Was he cracking under the stress of losing Chloe?
Lex was panting hard and clutching at a cramp in his side when their headlong dash through the palace ended outside the main entrance on the south side of the building. Running had definitely not been on his agenda when he was eating the 14 course meal this evening. As he stood bent over and gasping in the humid night air, Clark was at the bottom of the stairs commandeering a pair of horses from the military messengers who were always stationed there. When they offered more than a second's argument at surrendering their horses to a civilian, Clark took out the tiniest fraction of the frustration he was feeling by quickly dropping them both to the ground.
As Lex came staggering down the stairs, Clark ran up and literally grabbed him and threw him up onto the nearest horse. Spinning Lex's horse until he faced east, Clark quickly vaulted onto the other horse and kicked him into a gallop.
Lex quickly kicked his own horse in pursuit of Clark's mad dash. Looking down he noticed he was still clutching the dead guard's sword. Needing both hands to control the horse and frankly, to just hang on, Lex managed to slide the sword blade between his left thigh and the saddle. With the near death grip he found his legs exerting on the horse, there was little risk of losing the blade.
Around the perimeter of the palace they raced before turning on a northerly course towards their destination. Clark tried to stick to the main thoroughfares to give them room to avoid the meager late night pedestrian traffic with the minimum of slowing. As they raced along, Clark wondered if they should have forgone the horses and if he should have just carried Lex. However, if all Venta had wanted was to kill Chloe and Lana, he could have done that at the palace just like he had killed Chloe's guards and the slave girls. No, he must want them for something else which meant he wouldn't kill them immediately. And with a maximum thirty minute head start to a destination over a mile away, there should still be plenty of time before Venta did anything too severe. Or at least that was what Clark tried to convince himself. Hopefully, they were just intended to be hostages to draw him in. If that was the case, Venta was in for a rude awakening when he got his wish from an extremely pissed off Clark.
Lex was still trying to fathom what Clark intended to do when they reached the Praetorian's Camp. He wished Clark had found the opportunity to explain his secret before this, because Lex couldn't see how the two of them were going to take on five thousand men in what was apparently going to be a frontal attack. At this moment he had no choice but to follow Clark's lead, but he had no desire to die in some futile attempt. He knew in his heart he would gladly sacrifice himself to save Lana, but he was pragmatic enough not to want to die if there wasn't at least some hope of getting the girls free.
The broad avenue they eventually found themselves on swept up to the top of the plateau about half a mile east of Praetorian Camp. Approached from this side, the large Field of Mars was spread out between them and the Praetorian Camp. Somehow with Clark going today by the name Ares, the Greek version of Mars, it seemed to Lex to be appropriate that perhaps their final adventure might end on the Field of Mars.
As they rode closer it became apparent the title 'Praetorian Camp', which implied to the modern mind a simple dirt wall surrounding a field of tents, was not at all accurate. The Praetorian Camp had been created in its present form during the early years of Emperor Tiberius' reign, nearly twenty years earlier. The Praetorians themselves had been created more than fifty years ago by Emperor Augustus to ensure his safety after the ugly precedent of Julius Caesar's assassination in the forum. However under Augustus only three of the nine cohorts had been stationed in Rome with the remaining cohorts located in nearby villages and towns. It wasn't until Tiberius came to power that all of the cohorts were collocated to Rome.
Displaying the luxury and grandeur befitting the Emperor's personal guards stationed in the most important city of the current era, the Praetorian Camp was extremely large, its outer wall enclosing an area over thirteen hundred feet wide by one thousand feet deep. However much as Rome itself had outgrown its original protective wall and now, at the peak of her power, depended on the strength of her far-flung Legions for her protection, so too was the Praetorian Camp designed more for a display of wealth and power than to function as a secure citadel for the Emperor during times of potential invasion.
The Praetorian Camp's outer wall was over twenty feet high tapering from over nine feet thick at the base to six feet thick at the battlements at the top. The wall had inner and outer faces of stone, brick, and mortar. The inner core of the wall was formed with fill rubble to give it some much needed mass. However it had never been designed to withstand serious assault from an invading army armed with siege towers or catapults.
No, the outer wall and twenty foot wide encircling moat were primarily designed for show rather than function, although they had demonstrated on several occasions sufficient strength to withstand disorganized attacks by out-of-control mobs when the free dole of food was reduced or late in arriving.
Not that Lex could see all these details during their late night approach. From their vantage point all he saw was the high outer wall topped by crenellated battlements to protect the patrolling guards from small projectile fire like arrows, lances, and spears. The only opening in the thirteen hundred foot long wall they were facing was a single large forty foot wide drawbridge style gate. A gate that was currently in its up and closed position leaving a twenty foot wide unbroken barrier of water along the base of the wall.
While they were still several hundred feet from the Praetorian fortress, Clark dismounted and continued walking at a brisk pace towards the central gate with Lex perforce to follow suit. From foot and in the dark, the massive outer wall already appeared to stretch from horizon to horizon.
They had approached within fifty feet of the water barrier when the guards acknowledged their presence. "Halt, who goes there?" Came the shouted challenge.
Clark continued his approach in silence until he finally stood five feet from the edge of the moat. Then he roared out in a voice that by itself seemed almost sufficient to shake down the wall, "I AM ARES. I WILL SPEAK WITH VENTA, NOW!"
As soon as Clark started his address, Lex was forced to slap his hands to his ears and turn away, not that it made much difference as Clark's words seemed to vibrate through his very bones. My god, thought Lex, what is Clark?
The gate guards had an advantage over Lex of being somewhat further away, but still the voice that responded had lost its calm indifference and taken on a hint of a stammer. "Th-the gates are closed for the night. You will have to return in th-the morning."
"NO. YOU WILL OPEN THIS GATE NOW."
The voice that responded this time was not some lowly, easily intimidated guard, but clearly belonged to someone with long command experience. Someone not so easily shaken by only a loud voice. "I am Centurion Tobias Aloysius Wido. I was told you might show up. I was ordered to have you killed the moment you appeared, but I am an honorable man. Therefore leave at once or I will have my men open fire. This is your only warning." At this point over thirty archers made themselves visible at the openings in the battlements along the top of the wall.
Lex had straightened up and turned back to the wall just in time to see the archers pulling back on their drawstrings. 'Please Clark', he found himself thinking, 'Back down, there must be another way.' Unfortunately, as soon as Clark opened his mouth, Lex knew he wasn't going to back down and he was sure this was going to be the end. The end. Here he was a brilliant, up- and-coming 21st century businessman about to die in a hail of arrows in ancient Rome because of a science project, he had so deviously, and he had thought at the time, cleverly usurped from his father, had gone disastrously wrong. And when he should have been focused on finding a way to get out of this situation, all he could do was think about the raven haired beauty he had so recently found and was about to lose, wishing he could see her or at least have had a chance to say good-bye. "Lana," Lex whispered softly.
"YOUR PUNY ARCHERS MEAN NOTHING TO ME. BRING VENTA TO ME NOW OR FEEL A GOD'S WRATH." Bellowed Clark in return to the centurion.
"Fire," said Wido in a tone that said honor had been served and if the fool down below was so eager to die, he was more than willing to oblige him so he could get back to the game of dice he had been playing with the other three squad leaders also on guard duty this evening. Wido had heard the rumors floating around about the events in the forum the previous morning, but as an experienced warrior, who had been through many campaigns, he had put no credence in the talk of Gods and magic, so he had never given the rumors a second thought when he had been given his orders should an 'Ares' arrive at the gate tonight.
So Wido was stunned when the man calling himself Ares stepped closely in front of the other man just before the archers let loose. As the arrows rained down on the man, his arms appeared to blur in the dim light from the moon. At least two dozen of the arrows had hit the man to no effect and when the volley was over the man's hands slowed to a halt each clasping the shafts of seven or eight arrows that would otherwise have hit the other man.
Right as the man on the wall shouted 'fire' Clark's tall frame had stepped in front of Lex. Lex was almost hurt by this chivalrous attitude of Clark's implying he was willing to die to shield his friend and that Lex was not man enough to stand with him shoulder to shoulder at the end. Lex was scared almost out of his wits at this moment and wanted nothing more than to close his eyes, but at his core he was a Luthor and he would stare his death in the eye.
So Lex watched the arrows descend on them. Unlike in most of the old movies he had seen, these arrows did not arch high up into the sky. No, because of their position directly below the wall, the arrows were aimed directly at them. No hope of them missing or of dodging out of the way. Almost at once the cloud of arrows was upon them, glinting faintly in the light of the handful of torches several guards had lifted above the battlements. And then for several seconds parts of Clark's body, which was less then eighteen inches in front of Lex, seemed almost to blur. Lex could hear the faint thuds of arrows hitting Clark's body, but no corresponding gasps or cries of pain.
Then this volley was over and Lex realized Clark was still standing and now each hand was clutching a number of arrows. As he watched in fascination, Clark's hands tighten into fists until all of the shafts shattered with an audible snap and the broken remnants slipped to the ground.
As Clark plucked at the numerous shafts trapped in his robe, he shook his head and called up to the centurion in an almost disappointed sounding tone. "I am also known for my honor in battle. I will give you one minute to open this gate and surrender Venta to me. Or use that minute to say your final prayers for you shall feel a true God's anger." Then Clark turned and headed back out towards the center of the field being careful to keep his body between Lex and the archers.
Lex for the moment walked in stunned silence. When Clark turned to him he still had a number of arrows embedded into his tunic. Arrows, which because of the short range and downward angle, should have slammed straight through his body and been protruding inches from his back. It was hard to see clearly in the low light, but if Clark was bleeding there should have been countless dark stains on his white robe, but other than the small tears it still looked pristine.
When Lex's brain started functioning again his first thought was that they were still alive and therefore there was still a chance he might see Lana again. His second thought was even though it was apparent Clark was arrow- proof, it didn't get them any closer to rescuing the girls.
Finally, as he realized Clark had been angling diagonally across the field to some low buildings along the edge, Lex found his voice. With only a hint of the shakiness he was feeling, Lex asked simply, "What comes next?"
Having reached the first building, which Lex guessed from the smell was the ancient Roman equivalent of a fast food restaurant, Clark found him a sheltered spot from which he could lean against the building for support and still have a view of the field and the Praetorian Camp. "Are you okay?" Asked Clark.
Lex paused for a moment and then taking a deep breath he nodded.
Clark gave him a smile in return, but because of the events of the past few minutes, it no longer seemed like the same naive, embarrassed, farm boy smile Lex had witnessed previously after other near death experiences they had shared. Maybe it was realizing that it wasn't some fluke or coincidence or dumb luck that had saved him, but the active use of Clark's 'secret' abilities. Perhaps the knowledge of Clark's 'secret' would change their relationship in ways he hadn't anticipated.
Glancing back towards the still closed gate of the fortress, Clark answered Lex's question. "Next comes 'The Wrath of Clark' falling on the Praetorians. Please wait here, it will all be over in five minutes and I need to be able to find you when I return with the girls. And if things get a little crazy, I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire." Looking back into Lex's eyes Clark asked. "Will you be okay here?"
Lex could read in Clark's face that he was uncomfortable leaving him alone after losing the girls when they had been unattended, but that he needed the freedom of movement if whatever plan he had in mind was going to succeed. Lex put on the stoic Luthor face he hadn't had cause to use much since Chloe's secret had come to light and she had taken control of the adventure. "Clark, I will be fine. Just go do your usual thing and rescue the girls."
Clark gave him a solemn nod and then took another glance at the still closed gate. "Well, I would say their minute is definitely up. Time for Ares, the Greek God to return." Then he gave Lex a quick wink implying the whole Ares thing was just a cover and then dashed off onto the field.
Perhaps dashed off is not the right term for the new, improved quasi post- 'secret' Clark, thought Lex. He took three accelerating steps and then it was like he was suddenly moving so fast he couldn't be seen. Like the episode from the old 'Wild, Wild West' TV show where the special elixir made from diamonds enable the user to move so fast everyone else seemed frozen in time. Or perhaps the similar episode from the original Star Trek series where the invaders from the other galaxy moved too fast to be seen and their presence was only noticeable as a faint mosquito-like buzzing.
Whatever the cinematic analogy, the thing Lex noticed in the three steps Clark took before he vanished was that he was not headed back towards the fortress' solitary gate. Instead he was headed in the direction of the giant granite obelisk standing in the center of the field. Lex had noticed it when they had first arrived, but had been so focused on the Praetorian Camp; he had paid it little attention. Even without seeing the hieroglyphs carved into the four faces, Lex assumed, based on similar obelisks they had seen at the Circus Maximus and other places around the city, this was another of the many columns Emperor Augustus had looted from Egypt after his battles there against Marc Anthony and Cleopatra.
Over the years of his reign, Augustus had over twenty of the great spires shipped to Rome. Following in his tradition, many other emperors would also have obelisks shipped from Egypt or copies made locally, until by 200 A.D. over 75 Egyptian Obelisks would find their home in Rome, more than survived in any single Egyptian location. Most of these great monuments would fall over time due to natural forces, vandalism, or scavenging for building materials. By the end of the dark ages none remained standing and it wouldn't be until Pope Sextus 'The Builder' started in the 16th century his grand project to rebuild Rome that many of these great Obelisks would be rediscovered and re-erected at major intersections of the new grand boulevards.
The giant obelisk in the Field of Mars was not the largest or most famous obelisk currently in Rome, but it was by no means insignificant. Originally quarried during the reign of the Pharaoh Amosis to honor the God Horus for his aid in driving the alien Hykos rulers from Egypt after their hundred and twenty six year dominion, this obelisk was already over sixteen hundred years old when its path crossed this night with Ares.
The obelisk was a single giant piece of red granite standing fifty three feet tall. With its square cross-section, each of the four faces were six feet wide at the base tapering to four feet wide at the top on which was mounted a six foot diameter, gold-leaf covered globe. The whole 120 ton column rested on top of a 12 foot tall pedestal giving the complete structure an overall height of sixty five feet.
Like many of these giant obelisks in pre-clock era Rome, this one was used as the central spire of a giant sundial. In this case the small tic-marks of a normal sized sundial were replaced by large four foot cubes of matching granite in an arc across the field on the north side of the obelisk.
From the moment Clark accelerated out of view, only a fraction of a second passed before he lowered his right shoulder and slammed his body into the supporting pedestal, intentionally slightly off-center to the northern side. Instantly, a massive crash of shattering, exploding granite echoed out across the empty field. As the support for the massive obelisk gave way it slowly started to lean over to the side. Gradually it accelerated, faster and faster, until it came crashing down towards the ground.
Almost before the sound reached Lex he could see the obelisk start to lean. At first he wasn't certain what had caused the obelisk to fall other than it must have been related to Clark as he had been headed in that direction. Finally, Clark's speed had slowed sufficiently that even under the soft moonlight Lex could see him again. And then Lex's blood froze has he lost sight of Clark for a second time. Although this time it was not because he had accelerated out of view. No, this time he was lost from view because he was standing in the shadow of the descending obelisk. And he would only be in the shadow of the obelisk if he was directly beneath the massive falling object. The stone which Lex knew had to weigh countless tons.
Lex stood there frozen waiting for the thunderous crash of the obelisk hitting the ground which would be the death-knoll of his best friend. But the crash never came and Lex realized the obelisk was hovering parallel to the ground. And then slowly turning until the golden sphere was pointed directly at the drawbridge/gate of the Praetorian Fort.
Clark staggered briefly as the incredible weight landed on his up stretched arms. Never in his life had he tried to lift something of this magnitude. The giant stone must weigh one hundred times the family tractor back home he had lifted so often in helping with his father's repairs. But as he groaned slightly and his legs trembled, he focused on Venta and what he might be doing to Chloe and Lana inside the fortress at this very moment. Letting his rage build he slowly tightened his grip on the edges of the obelisk until the very stone started to crumble. Slowly he turned until the mighty spear was pointed at the massive gate, his momentary enemy. Finally ready, he took several slow, deep breaths to prepare his body and then with three strides forward to build some momentum, he hurled the weapon forward with every ounce of his great strength.
The immense projectile shot rapidly across the intervening 500 feet from its original resting spot to the closed entry of the fort. Starting from seven feet off the ground when it left Clark's hands, it climbed to a maximum of fourteen feet before settling back to six feet off the ground when it reached the gate, the whole while remaining perfectly parallel to the ground.
The lightweight hollow globe on top of the obelisk reached the gate first and instantly was crushed flat by the momentum of the massive stone spear. The obelisk itself connected with the massive gate and it was unlike the impact of any other battering-ram before or since. Few battering-rams ever weighed 120 tons and none ever impacted with the speed of this ancient Egyptian column. All other battering-rams were limited to the speed of the men carrying it or the pendulum used to swing it and depended on many repeated blows to slowly wear down the obstruction. But Clark's incredible throw had accelerated the obelisk so that it was traveling at nearly 100 miles per hour when it impacted on the gate.
The gate, which was used also as a drawbridge, was very stoutly built of foot thick timbers reinforced with iron plates to withstand the constant traffic including loads of timber and stone used to complete the construction of the internal buildings of the fortress after the outer wall was initially complete. Additionally, when the drawbridge was up and locked it was further supported by three massive eighteen inch diameter cross-braces which required a squad of eighteen men to install and remove. However under the impact of a 120 ton granite column traveling at 100 miles per hour, the gate held for less than three milliseconds before shattering in a destructive cloud of shrapnel which quickly pulverized everything behind the gate for one hundred feet.
With the gate offering little resistance to the obelisk, the obelisk continued on its steady gravity induced path to the ground. The tip of the obelisk was fifteen feet past the gate when its entire length struck the ground simultaneously. Well, the entire length except for the portion spanning the moat. With the entire mass striking the ground at once the shock and thunderous impact was felt through out the Praetorian's Camp, the Field of Mars, and even the wine in the Emperor's goblet over a mile away experienced a faint ripple.
After impacting the ground the obelisk slid forward a further fifteen feet before the inertia was finally used up ripping apart the deeply-set flagstones of the inner courtyard of the fortress. In its final resting spot the lower end of obelisk extended three feet beyond the outer edge of the moat forming a rough temporary bridge of its own.
As the massive stone flew through the air towards the gate, Clark paused a moment to watch what he had wrought and also to give his body a moment to recover from his massive exertion. In the couple of seconds it took for the obelisk to fly to the gate, crash to a halt, and the resulting dust cloud to start to settle, Clark felt mostly recovered and physically ready for the challenging task ahead. Therefore he quickly accelerated to his top speed, raced across the field and disappeared into the fort by crossing his newly created, temporary bridge.
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Lex found leaning back against the front of the wooden building was not at this moment sufficient to support weight on his wobbly knees. He slowly slid down the wall until his butt was touching the hard stone pavement and his chin was resting on his up stretched knees. He wrapped his arms around his legs and rocked back and forth as he tried to absorb what he had just seen.
What the fuck was Clark? After this afternoon's display with the spear at the chariot races he thought he somehow had the strength of four or five men, which would explain his ability to rip open the thin metal roof of the Porsche back on the first day they had met. And which would explain many of the other unexplained things that had occurred around Clark in the preceding year as well. While sitting through the endless banquet with the emperor earlier in the evening Lex had concluded, based on the then available data, that Clark must have been effected by the meteor rocks growing up in the same way as all the meteor freaks, albeit with a more benign and beneficial result.
But now, there was all of this staggering new data. Impervious to arrows, and remembering a comment Chloe had made right after beginning her little Sphinx story back at Narbo, probably impervious to bullets, too. Able to move so fast he was effectively invisible. Able to lift and toss that great Obelisk which must weigh hundreds of thousands of pounds. And from his behavior back in the hallway in the emperor's palace just before they found the dead slave girls' bodies he must be able to see through solid rock, too. However having personal experience with meteor freaks who could walk through walls, being able to see through walls was somehow the easiest to accept.
Somehow all this new data didn't seem a good fit into the original assumption of Clark as just another meteor freak. So what did that leave? Lex's mind went in circles trying to find a solution and keep coming back to how easily Clark fit into the personae of Ares, the Greek God of War. Was Clark really a god, if not of the Greek variety, then of some other? Certainly he had to be more than just a gifted man. And Lex suddenly remembered that Clark made no secret of being adopted. Adopted at age three, as Lex had it from many sources Clark had grown up in Smallville. Therefore Clark couldn't be some ancient God stranded in modern day Kansas like some variation of story Clark had been espousing about Ares being stranded in Hades for centuries. No, Clark's Greek God cover story couldn't be a simple twist from the autobiographical.
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While Lex was sitting trying to come up with an explanation for what Clark was, the subject of his thoughts was busy inside the fort. As soon as Clark reached the inner end of the fallen obelisk, he paused for a fraction of a second to survey the terrain and determine the most efficient plan of action. Straight ahead of him stretched a broad central avenue running all the way to the far wall where a matching gate stood to allow easy access to the outside from that end of the fort as well. Back in the eighth grade Clark had been all enamored with knights and jousts and medieval castles. He had even done an extra credit history project on the design of the Knight's Templar castle in Jerusalem during the second century of the crusades. From his research on castle designs he knew you never ran a major boulevard from one side of the fort to the other. There should have been a maze inside the main gate to slow any invaders who breached the main entrance. And where was the secondary line of defense and the final central citadel with a tight, short perimeter that a much reduced group of survivors would be able to defend? Obviously, the Romans had a lot to learn about fort design, or they never expected a strong hostile army to reach Rome through all the rings of Roman Legions between the frontiers and the capital.
Although these thoughts raced through Clark's mind in a fraction of a second, he still shook his head and berated himself at the time lost which would be better spent searching for the girls. Therefore, Clark quickly raced down the central avenue to the far gate. He had decided the first thing he must do was to block off the other gates. Even with his great speed, it was going to take several minutes to examine every building, every room, every bolt hole and dungeon in this large fortress. He didn't want the quarry to slip out of one of the other gates while he was occupied somewhere else in his search.
As Clark raced to the far gate he passed, near the center of his journey, the other major boulevard which bisected the fort and led to the gates in the remaining two walls. It was considerate of the Romans to make his targets so easy to find.
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Lex had been sitting waiting for several minutes since Clark had disappeared into the fort. There had been a continuous dull rumble coming from the fort from almost the moment Clark had entered. At first Lex had been too lost in his thoughts about what Clark was to notice. Then, deciding Clark would remain a cipher until Clark chose to explain, he let his thoughts drift back to Lana, who lately never seemed to be far from the front of his thoughts anyway. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him and he tried to guess what the sound coming from the fort meant.
Thinking about it for a few seconds and remembering Clark's comment how it would all be over in five minutes, he decided the sound must be Clark searching for the girls. With his speed and strength the sound must be Clark breaking down every door inside the fort.
After three or four minutes the noise stopped and for at least thirty seconds all was quiet. Then a different sound, a whistling sound, was heard from the sky above. Lex had just looked up, but saw nothing in the dark night sky, when a horrific crash reverberated through the air of the field and even from the ground up through his butt. Suddenly, a decorative column, much smaller than the obelisk but still a substantial eighteen inches in diameter by twenty feet tall, stood half buried out in the center of the field. Then another column came whistling out of the sky, although this one hit at a different angle or hit a hard section of ground, as instead of penetrating like the first, it shattered and sent an explosion of shards all around. Then a third, four, fifth, and sixth column came raining out of the sky, some shattering on impact and others impaling themselves into the ground like the first.
Eventually, Lex was forced to shield his face with his arms to protect it from all of the flying debris. As he huddled down to survive the barrage, Lex tried to imagine what had changed. Only Clark could be throwing these columns as though they weighed nothing at all. And why would he be doing that except to vent some rage and frustration? 'Oh my god,' thought Lex as his fear spiked again. 'Are the girls dead and did Clark just find out?' After finally receiving a demonstration of Clark's true abilities, Lex had allowed himself to relax a little. If Clark could manhandle, godhandle, or whatever, that giant stone obelisk, then nothing inside the fort should have been able to stop him from retrieving the girls. But what if he was too late?
Finally, after what felt like long minutes, but was probably only seconds, the crashing and reverberations stopped and Lex risked looking up. He found Clark had returned to the broken up pedestal where the obelisk once stood and his unbelievable display had begun a mere five minutes earlier.
Then he watched Clark pick up one of the three foot by three foot by three foot granite blocks that had been used to construct the pedestal and hurl it at the great stone outer wall of the fortress. A terrifying sonic boom rolled out across the Field of Mars as Clark was able to achieve supersonic velocities when using a block that weighed only a few thousand pounds compared to the many tons of the obelisk. The block flew faster than the eye could follow from Clark to the wall and then punched straight through as though the wall offered no more resistance than if it were made of cotton candy. After the block had passed through the outer wall it could be heard for several seconds bouncing around inside the fort, ricocheting off buildings like a ball in some giant pinball machine.
When the first block crashed to a halt, Clark picked up a second block and then before hurling it, he roared towards the wall, "TELL VENTA TO RETURN THE GIRLS, OR" and pausing he fired the second block at the fortress wall. "ALL OF ROME SHALL FEEL MY WRATH." Clark launched another stone. "AND IT WILL BE LIKE ROME HAS DESCENDED STRAIGHT INTO HADES." Clark heaved another projectile. "I SPENT 600 YEARS ROTTING IN HADES, BUT THAT IS NOTHING COMPARED TO THE HELL I WILL CREATE IN ROME!" And another rock was propelled towards the wall.
Clark continued to rant and throw blocks. Lex saw large portions of the wall were beginning to collapse and numerous fires were starting within the walls as the careening blocks knocked over torches and cooking fires. Lex had breathed a sigh of relief when he realized Clark hadn't found the girls' dead bodies. Now it was time to stop Clark's tirade and try to get him focused on a probably less satisfying, but more productive course to finding the girls. Although Lex had to admit to himself he wouldn't mind being able to chuck at least one of those blocks at the wall, too.
Quietly, Lex rose and started walking out to where Clark stood by the ruins of the pedestal. As he approached, Lex steeled himself to keep from covering his ears and forced his arms to remain down by his sides, even though Clark's roaring when he was in his 'God' mode was just as painful as when he had first experienced it while standing by the moat. Pausing about ten feet away, Lex started shouting Clark's name to get his attention.
After about ten times, Clark turned in Lex's direction with an ugly snarl on his face as though he didn't at first recognize him. Clark's nostrils were flaring in a way that would have indicated extreme exertion in anyone else, but with Clark it must be just a sign of frustration and rage. Then Lex noticed Clark's eyes and how the irises had an almost satanic red glow. While Lex stood in front of Clark, almost trapped in his gaze, he noticed how it felt like he was standing in front of a tanning machine set to ultra- high, his face and arms almost starting to burn. Was this another of Clark's strange abilities, Lex wondered as his body began to redden and even blister.
"Clark, it's me. Lex. Snap out of it." And then suddenly it was over. Clark seemed to sag and his eyes faded back to their normal dark blue. After a couple of seconds he raised a hand to rub at his eyes.
"Lex, they weren't there. I searched every square inch of the fort. Twice. They weren't there."
Lex tried to put a positive spin on things. "At least you didn't find their bodies. It merely means Venta is not a fool and knew you would come here. We will just have to work a little harder to find them."
Clark nodded, but his response was a lot less positive. "I am so afraid we will be too late."
"Come on, Clark. Chloe has survived for over 17,000 years. She'll be okay for a few hours with Venta."
Clark looked Lex in the eye. "I know. It's Lana I am worried about. Venta wants to get back at Chloe for some slight in their past and I think he is going to use Lana for leverage."
Lex felt his hard earned Luthor poker face slip for a moment. He knew in his heart he agreed with Clark's assessment, but until the words had been said out loud he hadn't let himself think them. Lana WAS the one in the most danger. And not just from a quick, merciful death. No, now that he had let it slip out the dark secret place in a remote corner of his brain, he quickly started to imagine the tortures Venta would subject Lana to in his mad game with Chloe. But after a mere couple of seconds, Lex had his thoughts back under control. Wallowing in fear wouldn't do Lana any good.
Looking back up into Clark's face, Lex answered with a little of the Luthor steel returning to his voice. "Then we need to start behaving smarter and make better use of our assets here."
Clark looked a little shame-faced acknowledging that his frontal attack may have achieved nothing, but driving Venta deeper to ground. "What assets?"
"Rogerus, Chloe's majordomo back at her estate. From my conversations with him he seems to have informants everywhere in the city. If anyone can find where Venta has taken the girls, it is him."
"He hasn't been able to do anything about locating the Professor."
Lex shrugged. "We don't even know if the Professor is in Rome yet. Even Rogerus can't find what's not there. But we do know Lana and Chloe are out there somewhere. I think we should head back to Chloe's estate, unless you have a better suggestion than tearing down random buildings."
By coincidence, just as Lex finished talking, another hundred foot section of the fort's wall came tumbling down with a roar.
Lex had to smile for a moment. "Clark, once we know where the girls are, I have no problem if you need to tear down half of Rome to get to them."
End of Chapter 29
Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com
Chapter 29
Boredom. No, that's not quite correct, thought Lex as he took another small, carefully measured sip of his severely diluted wine. He wasn't bored as much as eager to get on to other things. In other circumstances or several years earlier when his life was centered on hard partying, he wouldn't have been bored. How often did you get to party with a Roman Emperor? And tonight the string of entertainment seemed endless: poets, singers, dancers, acrobats, jugglers, magicians, and even a comedian who reminded him of Rodney Dangerfield in a toga. Had he ever seen Rodney in a toga in some movie? At the moment all that came to mind was the movie where he had been rich, gone back to college along with his son, hired Kurt Vonnegut to write a paper about Kurt Vonnegut and then got a failing grade on the paper.
All he wanted was to get past this feast/celebration/whatever and get some time alone with Clark to finally learn about Clark's 'secret'. And from the looks Lana had been sending Clark's way all evening; he knew she felt the same. However this evening seemed to drag on and on. It had been mid- afternoon when Clark had admitted to his secret and late afternoon when he had given his little demonstration with the spear. Now it had to be well after midnight and Lex didn't feel any closer to learning the truth.
Drumming his fingers he tried to force his attention back to the conversation between Clark and the emperor. All evening Chloe and Clark had been regaling Gaius with stories about Olympus. In the beginning Lex recognized some of Chloe's comments as being at least marginally related to the 'traditional' Olympus, but as the evening progressed the stories kept drifting further and further a field. At the moment Clark was going on about his adventures with Apollo and Hercules in a distant land filled with wizards, elves, dwarves, and hobbits where they had searched for a magically ring which gave the wearer the power of invisibility.
At least a story based on 'Lord of the Rings' felt somewhat appropriate in this context unlike Chloe's earlier story involving Elvis and girls in grass skirts. Although Chloe's story did have the advantage of ending with Chloe and Lana giving a demonstration of a hula dance. Lex had been surprised when Lana transitioned to singing Elvis' 'All Shook Up' complete with his patented pelvic motion. Back when they had told her that her cover story was as the Princess of Caledonia and how her father was King Elvis, she had never expressed any particular enthusiasm for Elvis, so the fact she knew all of the words to a song that had been popular twenty years before she was born had been an interesting surprise. But after a mere ten days together, Lex realized he still had a lot to learn about Lana's interests.
After much laughing, giggling, and applause for their performance the girls had headed off to ladies' room to freshen up. For all his experience with women, Lex still didn't understand why they always went in groups. However in this instance he was glad they did as he wasn't comfortable with Lana being alone in this still scary, barbaric society, particularly while away from the relative safety of Chloe's estate. At least being with Chloe and all of her experience, Lana should be safe. Along with not understanding why girls always went in groups he also didn't understand what took them so long. Without his watch he couldn't be sure, but it felt like they had been gone at least fifteen minutes. Boy, he missed his watch. And his morning coffee at the Talon. And his cars. At the moment he just wanted to learn Clark's secret, find the Professor and his meteor rocks, and go home.
Turning his attention back to Clark and the Emperor, he found himself drawn into a conversation about the mythical Ents of Middle-Earth. Elves, dwarves, and even hobbits had some equivalent creature in Roman, Greek, or some other mythology to which the emperor was familiar, but Ents? Giant tree creatures that could walk and talk? The emperor was obviously enchanted with these unusual creatures he had never heard of before.
Lex was surprised how well he got along with the Emperor. He had expected someone who was crazy, or scary, or something, but Gaius came across as a charming, genial host. No mistreatment of the slaves. No personal references of cruelty. Whatever caused his horrific historical reputation must have been triggered by something still in the future. Of course, from the looks the emperor gave him, perhaps the reason they got along came down to Lex's lack of hair. From what Lex had observed of the Emperor, he did seem to be surrounded by a surprisingly high percentage of men with little or no hair.
The conversation about Ents had been going on for some time when Lex realized he had already subconsciously glanced several times at the doorway where the girls had disappeared. Where were they? It had to be close to thirty minutes since they had departed. Suddenly, he got a very bad, queasy feeling in his stomach.
Going with his instinct, Lex quickly moved over to Clark's side and leaned in close. "Ares, I am concerned about the girls. Let's go find them."
Clark looked up at Lex with a questioning expression on his face that quickly turned to concern as he glanced around the room. He had been so wrapped up in his Lord of the Rings story, he hadn't even notice the girls hadn't returned. He nodded and explained to the Emperor they would be right back. As the Emperor nodded and turned to talk to Senator Gallus, Clark quickly stood and headed for the exit from the banquet hall.
The marble-lined hallway outside the banquet room was poorly lit this late at night by pairs of candles in sconces every dozen feet along right wall. It was eerily quiet after the noise of the banquet hall. Both men walked in silence listening for any out of place sound, their thoughts too focused on the girls to allow for idle banter. Lex's growing sense of foreboding put thoughts of Clark's secret on temporary hold.
The women's lounging area was located fifty feet up the main corridor and then down a smaller corridor to the left. As Clark and Lex reached the turn, they spotted two large lumps that could only be bodies, lying in the gloom halfway down the side corridor. Both men broke into a run. No longer feeling the need to hold back one hundred percent since partially revealing his secret, Clark reached the first body and had already rolled it over when Lex caught up.
Lex let out a quick sigh of relief when he discovered it was the body of a man and not one of the girls. Kneeling down to get a closer look in the poor light, his knee touched the slowly spreading pool of blood. He jerked back as Clark said in a voice barely above a whisper. "Look at the emblem on his scabbard. He is one of Chloe's guards. Shit, what happened here?"
Clark quickly moved to the other body and discovered it was another of Chloe's guards.
Absently rubbing at the blood on his knee with the edge of his robe while quickly inspecting the first body, Lex speculated in a much calmer voice than the way he suddenly felt inside. "He never drew his sword. He was either taken by surprise or by someone he didn't perceive as a threat."
Not knowing what they might run into next, Lex drew the dead guard's sword. Standing, he turned towards Clark to urge them on their way to find the girls when he discovered Clark standing in the middle of the hall slowly turning in a circle staring straight forward as he rotated. Most of the time Clark was staring intently at the blank stone walls.
"Ahh, Clark? What are you doing?"
Clark held up a hand signaling for Lex to wait as he continued his turn. Using his x-ray vision Clark was hurriedly exploring all of the adjacent rooms. At this moment he wished Chloe's body gave off a distinctive pattern in his special sight like so many of the meteor freaks back home. Unfortunately, her nanobots were such minute devices they were invisible in the relatively coarse view his x-ray vision provided. And except for her nanobots Chloe's body looked perfectly normal in every way.
Finally, having almost completed his three hundred and sixty degree turn, Clark spotted two more bodies lying in a room off to the left, thirty feet further down to the corridor. He couldn't tell who they were other than the bone structure indicated bodies of much lighter build than the two guards they had just found.
Shouting for Lex to follow, Clark raced off down the corridor and quickly disappeared through the second archway on the left.
As Lex sprinted after Clark his heart was pounding as much due to fear as to exertion. What had happened to the girls? Was Lana alright? What could he have done to prevent this? What would he do if he lost her, after it seemed like they had just found each other?
Rounding the corner into the room where Clark had disappeared, Lex jerked to a halt when he saw Clark crouching over two more bodies. Bodies that even in the faint moon light from the open doorway to the terrace beyond were obviously women.
Lex's heart was pounding even harder and his knees felt ready to buckle when Clark looked up and said with a relieved tone in his voice. "It's not them."
Lex slowly walked over and looked at the bodies: slave girls caught in whatever had happened here. Struck down without mercy. Both run through with swords allowing their life's blood to pour out onto the formerly white and blue marble mosaic floor.
"What happened here?" asked Lex still in slight daze at this staggering change in events. One minute dining with the emperor and now this.
Clark had risen from the bodies and was again using his x-ray vision to try and find a clue to what happened to the people here and also to how and where Chloe and Lana had disappeared. As he scanned the walls, he said one word. "Venta."
"Venta?" echoed Lex who hadn't met the man yet. "You think he grabbed the girls from the emperor's own palace after the little show you did for him this morning?"
By this point Clark had completed his scan of this room and the rooms immediately beyond without seeing anything that struck him as a significant clue. He turned to join Lex who was heading out onto the terrace to escape the growing stench of death.
"I don't understand why, but I can't see who else has a sufficient reason to attack them here."
Standing on the terrace located on the side of the imperial palace, they looked out across the portion of Rome lying north of the Palatine hill. Unlike a modern city with its thousands of streetlights and never-ending stream of traffic, Rome was mostly dark and quiet by this time of night. A few torches were burning at major intersections and faint singing drifted up the hill from some nearby tavern, but most of the lighting was provided by the clear sky and the three quarters moon almost directly overhead.
Clark began scanning the visible portion of the city for any signs of unusual activity. Starting on the hillside below the palace, he scanned left to right and back again, slowly working further and further away hoping to see people running or carrying bodies or something. But nothing was visible in the city streets below this terrace and as he started inspecting the terrain leading to the raised plateau beyond, he began to think whoever had grabbed the girls must have headed out the south side of the palace instead. He was almost ready to give in to his restless energy to move, to do something, anything, and head to the south side of the palace, when he spied the hulking structure up on the plateau a mile to the north.
Pointing suddenly, Clark exclaimed. "There!"
Lex looked in the indicated direction, but all he could see was the dimly moonlit building on the hill beyond. "Do you see them?" Not certain whether he wanted a positive or negative response.
Clark shook his head. "No, sorry. I just meant that large building on the rise over there. Chloe pointed it out to me this morning. It's the Castra Praetoria. The Praetorian's Camp here in Rome. Venta's headquarters. If he grabbed the girls, I think that's where he would have taken them."
Lex looked more closely at the structure. Even in the darkness he could tell that it was huge. And it contained the only significant fighting force allowed in Rome. Since he knew Venta was working with the Professor, he had asked a few questions about the Praetorians since his arrival in Rome. Nine cohorts of Praetorians, over five thousand men, where stationed in Rome. All based at the Praetorian's Camp. Their first allegiance supposedly to the emperor, but more likely to their leader, Venta. Was this the first step of Venta's planned coup? Was the Rhine Army closer than they believed?
And what resources did he and Clark have to draw on here? Chloe's household had at most 100 guardsmen and perhaps a few hundred more men who could pressed into service in an emergency, but not nearly enough to storm a fortified position defended by 5000 trained men.
If a direct frontal assault was out that left entry by stealth or trying to get the emperor's aid. Neither remaining option seemed likely to lead to a fast rescue of the girls. Why had Venta grabbed the girls? What was he planning to do to them?
As these thoughts circled around and around in his head, Lex asked in a shaky voice. "How are we going to get Lana and Chloe back from the man who has control of all of the troops in the city?"
Clark straightened his back and when he responded he was again using the powerful commanding voice he had demonstrated to the man outside of the Circus Maximus earlier in the afternoon. A time that suddenly felt like weeks ago. "I thought I made it clear to Venta this morning. Don't FUCK with Gods. Well, he is going to learn that now, if I have to destroy the entire Praetorian Camp to prove it."
Then Clark headed back into the palace at a run, although slow enough to allow Lex to keep up. He didn't want to lose Lex, too. Why had he allowed Chloe to talk him into playing games with Venta? He should have gone with his first instinct and just neutralized Venta at the earliest opportunity. Well, he would not make that mistake again. And if Venta had hurt either of the girls, he was going to regret ever having been born.
Lex raced after Clark wondering what was going through his friend's mind. Okay, based on the show with the spear at the chariot races, Clark seemed to be at least four or five times stronger than an ordinary man, but how did he expect to go one on one against what was essentially a fort defended by five thousand men? Had all of the talk of Gods gone to his head? Was he cracking under the stress of losing Chloe?
Lex was panting hard and clutching at a cramp in his side when their headlong dash through the palace ended outside the main entrance on the south side of the building. Running had definitely not been on his agenda when he was eating the 14 course meal this evening. As he stood bent over and gasping in the humid night air, Clark was at the bottom of the stairs commandeering a pair of horses from the military messengers who were always stationed there. When they offered more than a second's argument at surrendering their horses to a civilian, Clark took out the tiniest fraction of the frustration he was feeling by quickly dropping them both to the ground.
As Lex came staggering down the stairs, Clark ran up and literally grabbed him and threw him up onto the nearest horse. Spinning Lex's horse until he faced east, Clark quickly vaulted onto the other horse and kicked him into a gallop.
Lex quickly kicked his own horse in pursuit of Clark's mad dash. Looking down he noticed he was still clutching the dead guard's sword. Needing both hands to control the horse and frankly, to just hang on, Lex managed to slide the sword blade between his left thigh and the saddle. With the near death grip he found his legs exerting on the horse, there was little risk of losing the blade.
Around the perimeter of the palace they raced before turning on a northerly course towards their destination. Clark tried to stick to the main thoroughfares to give them room to avoid the meager late night pedestrian traffic with the minimum of slowing. As they raced along, Clark wondered if they should have forgone the horses and if he should have just carried Lex. However, if all Venta had wanted was to kill Chloe and Lana, he could have done that at the palace just like he had killed Chloe's guards and the slave girls. No, he must want them for something else which meant he wouldn't kill them immediately. And with a maximum thirty minute head start to a destination over a mile away, there should still be plenty of time before Venta did anything too severe. Or at least that was what Clark tried to convince himself. Hopefully, they were just intended to be hostages to draw him in. If that was the case, Venta was in for a rude awakening when he got his wish from an extremely pissed off Clark.
Lex was still trying to fathom what Clark intended to do when they reached the Praetorian's Camp. He wished Clark had found the opportunity to explain his secret before this, because Lex couldn't see how the two of them were going to take on five thousand men in what was apparently going to be a frontal attack. At this moment he had no choice but to follow Clark's lead, but he had no desire to die in some futile attempt. He knew in his heart he would gladly sacrifice himself to save Lana, but he was pragmatic enough not to want to die if there wasn't at least some hope of getting the girls free.
The broad avenue they eventually found themselves on swept up to the top of the plateau about half a mile east of Praetorian Camp. Approached from this side, the large Field of Mars was spread out between them and the Praetorian Camp. Somehow with Clark going today by the name Ares, the Greek version of Mars, it seemed to Lex to be appropriate that perhaps their final adventure might end on the Field of Mars.
As they rode closer it became apparent the title 'Praetorian Camp', which implied to the modern mind a simple dirt wall surrounding a field of tents, was not at all accurate. The Praetorian Camp had been created in its present form during the early years of Emperor Tiberius' reign, nearly twenty years earlier. The Praetorians themselves had been created more than fifty years ago by Emperor Augustus to ensure his safety after the ugly precedent of Julius Caesar's assassination in the forum. However under Augustus only three of the nine cohorts had been stationed in Rome with the remaining cohorts located in nearby villages and towns. It wasn't until Tiberius came to power that all of the cohorts were collocated to Rome.
Displaying the luxury and grandeur befitting the Emperor's personal guards stationed in the most important city of the current era, the Praetorian Camp was extremely large, its outer wall enclosing an area over thirteen hundred feet wide by one thousand feet deep. However much as Rome itself had outgrown its original protective wall and now, at the peak of her power, depended on the strength of her far-flung Legions for her protection, so too was the Praetorian Camp designed more for a display of wealth and power than to function as a secure citadel for the Emperor during times of potential invasion.
The Praetorian Camp's outer wall was over twenty feet high tapering from over nine feet thick at the base to six feet thick at the battlements at the top. The wall had inner and outer faces of stone, brick, and mortar. The inner core of the wall was formed with fill rubble to give it some much needed mass. However it had never been designed to withstand serious assault from an invading army armed with siege towers or catapults.
No, the outer wall and twenty foot wide encircling moat were primarily designed for show rather than function, although they had demonstrated on several occasions sufficient strength to withstand disorganized attacks by out-of-control mobs when the free dole of food was reduced or late in arriving.
Not that Lex could see all these details during their late night approach. From their vantage point all he saw was the high outer wall topped by crenellated battlements to protect the patrolling guards from small projectile fire like arrows, lances, and spears. The only opening in the thirteen hundred foot long wall they were facing was a single large forty foot wide drawbridge style gate. A gate that was currently in its up and closed position leaving a twenty foot wide unbroken barrier of water along the base of the wall.
While they were still several hundred feet from the Praetorian fortress, Clark dismounted and continued walking at a brisk pace towards the central gate with Lex perforce to follow suit. From foot and in the dark, the massive outer wall already appeared to stretch from horizon to horizon.
They had approached within fifty feet of the water barrier when the guards acknowledged their presence. "Halt, who goes there?" Came the shouted challenge.
Clark continued his approach in silence until he finally stood five feet from the edge of the moat. Then he roared out in a voice that by itself seemed almost sufficient to shake down the wall, "I AM ARES. I WILL SPEAK WITH VENTA, NOW!"
As soon as Clark started his address, Lex was forced to slap his hands to his ears and turn away, not that it made much difference as Clark's words seemed to vibrate through his very bones. My god, thought Lex, what is Clark?
The gate guards had an advantage over Lex of being somewhat further away, but still the voice that responded had lost its calm indifference and taken on a hint of a stammer. "Th-the gates are closed for the night. You will have to return in th-the morning."
"NO. YOU WILL OPEN THIS GATE NOW."
The voice that responded this time was not some lowly, easily intimidated guard, but clearly belonged to someone with long command experience. Someone not so easily shaken by only a loud voice. "I am Centurion Tobias Aloysius Wido. I was told you might show up. I was ordered to have you killed the moment you appeared, but I am an honorable man. Therefore leave at once or I will have my men open fire. This is your only warning." At this point over thirty archers made themselves visible at the openings in the battlements along the top of the wall.
Lex had straightened up and turned back to the wall just in time to see the archers pulling back on their drawstrings. 'Please Clark', he found himself thinking, 'Back down, there must be another way.' Unfortunately, as soon as Clark opened his mouth, Lex knew he wasn't going to back down and he was sure this was going to be the end. The end. Here he was a brilliant, up- and-coming 21st century businessman about to die in a hail of arrows in ancient Rome because of a science project, he had so deviously, and he had thought at the time, cleverly usurped from his father, had gone disastrously wrong. And when he should have been focused on finding a way to get out of this situation, all he could do was think about the raven haired beauty he had so recently found and was about to lose, wishing he could see her or at least have had a chance to say good-bye. "Lana," Lex whispered softly.
"YOUR PUNY ARCHERS MEAN NOTHING TO ME. BRING VENTA TO ME NOW OR FEEL A GOD'S WRATH." Bellowed Clark in return to the centurion.
"Fire," said Wido in a tone that said honor had been served and if the fool down below was so eager to die, he was more than willing to oblige him so he could get back to the game of dice he had been playing with the other three squad leaders also on guard duty this evening. Wido had heard the rumors floating around about the events in the forum the previous morning, but as an experienced warrior, who had been through many campaigns, he had put no credence in the talk of Gods and magic, so he had never given the rumors a second thought when he had been given his orders should an 'Ares' arrive at the gate tonight.
So Wido was stunned when the man calling himself Ares stepped closely in front of the other man just before the archers let loose. As the arrows rained down on the man, his arms appeared to blur in the dim light from the moon. At least two dozen of the arrows had hit the man to no effect and when the volley was over the man's hands slowed to a halt each clasping the shafts of seven or eight arrows that would otherwise have hit the other man.
Right as the man on the wall shouted 'fire' Clark's tall frame had stepped in front of Lex. Lex was almost hurt by this chivalrous attitude of Clark's implying he was willing to die to shield his friend and that Lex was not man enough to stand with him shoulder to shoulder at the end. Lex was scared almost out of his wits at this moment and wanted nothing more than to close his eyes, but at his core he was a Luthor and he would stare his death in the eye.
So Lex watched the arrows descend on them. Unlike in most of the old movies he had seen, these arrows did not arch high up into the sky. No, because of their position directly below the wall, the arrows were aimed directly at them. No hope of them missing or of dodging out of the way. Almost at once the cloud of arrows was upon them, glinting faintly in the light of the handful of torches several guards had lifted above the battlements. And then for several seconds parts of Clark's body, which was less then eighteen inches in front of Lex, seemed almost to blur. Lex could hear the faint thuds of arrows hitting Clark's body, but no corresponding gasps or cries of pain.
Then this volley was over and Lex realized Clark was still standing and now each hand was clutching a number of arrows. As he watched in fascination, Clark's hands tighten into fists until all of the shafts shattered with an audible snap and the broken remnants slipped to the ground.
As Clark plucked at the numerous shafts trapped in his robe, he shook his head and called up to the centurion in an almost disappointed sounding tone. "I am also known for my honor in battle. I will give you one minute to open this gate and surrender Venta to me. Or use that minute to say your final prayers for you shall feel a true God's anger." Then Clark turned and headed back out towards the center of the field being careful to keep his body between Lex and the archers.
Lex for the moment walked in stunned silence. When Clark turned to him he still had a number of arrows embedded into his tunic. Arrows, which because of the short range and downward angle, should have slammed straight through his body and been protruding inches from his back. It was hard to see clearly in the low light, but if Clark was bleeding there should have been countless dark stains on his white robe, but other than the small tears it still looked pristine.
When Lex's brain started functioning again his first thought was that they were still alive and therefore there was still a chance he might see Lana again. His second thought was even though it was apparent Clark was arrow- proof, it didn't get them any closer to rescuing the girls.
Finally, as he realized Clark had been angling diagonally across the field to some low buildings along the edge, Lex found his voice. With only a hint of the shakiness he was feeling, Lex asked simply, "What comes next?"
Having reached the first building, which Lex guessed from the smell was the ancient Roman equivalent of a fast food restaurant, Clark found him a sheltered spot from which he could lean against the building for support and still have a view of the field and the Praetorian Camp. "Are you okay?" Asked Clark.
Lex paused for a moment and then taking a deep breath he nodded.
Clark gave him a smile in return, but because of the events of the past few minutes, it no longer seemed like the same naive, embarrassed, farm boy smile Lex had witnessed previously after other near death experiences they had shared. Maybe it was realizing that it wasn't some fluke or coincidence or dumb luck that had saved him, but the active use of Clark's 'secret' abilities. Perhaps the knowledge of Clark's 'secret' would change their relationship in ways he hadn't anticipated.
Glancing back towards the still closed gate of the fortress, Clark answered Lex's question. "Next comes 'The Wrath of Clark' falling on the Praetorians. Please wait here, it will all be over in five minutes and I need to be able to find you when I return with the girls. And if things get a little crazy, I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire." Looking back into Lex's eyes Clark asked. "Will you be okay here?"
Lex could read in Clark's face that he was uncomfortable leaving him alone after losing the girls when they had been unattended, but that he needed the freedom of movement if whatever plan he had in mind was going to succeed. Lex put on the stoic Luthor face he hadn't had cause to use much since Chloe's secret had come to light and she had taken control of the adventure. "Clark, I will be fine. Just go do your usual thing and rescue the girls."
Clark gave him a solemn nod and then took another glance at the still closed gate. "Well, I would say their minute is definitely up. Time for Ares, the Greek God to return." Then he gave Lex a quick wink implying the whole Ares thing was just a cover and then dashed off onto the field.
Perhaps dashed off is not the right term for the new, improved quasi post- 'secret' Clark, thought Lex. He took three accelerating steps and then it was like he was suddenly moving so fast he couldn't be seen. Like the episode from the old 'Wild, Wild West' TV show where the special elixir made from diamonds enable the user to move so fast everyone else seemed frozen in time. Or perhaps the similar episode from the original Star Trek series where the invaders from the other galaxy moved too fast to be seen and their presence was only noticeable as a faint mosquito-like buzzing.
Whatever the cinematic analogy, the thing Lex noticed in the three steps Clark took before he vanished was that he was not headed back towards the fortress' solitary gate. Instead he was headed in the direction of the giant granite obelisk standing in the center of the field. Lex had noticed it when they had first arrived, but had been so focused on the Praetorian Camp; he had paid it little attention. Even without seeing the hieroglyphs carved into the four faces, Lex assumed, based on similar obelisks they had seen at the Circus Maximus and other places around the city, this was another of the many columns Emperor Augustus had looted from Egypt after his battles there against Marc Anthony and Cleopatra.
Over the years of his reign, Augustus had over twenty of the great spires shipped to Rome. Following in his tradition, many other emperors would also have obelisks shipped from Egypt or copies made locally, until by 200 A.D. over 75 Egyptian Obelisks would find their home in Rome, more than survived in any single Egyptian location. Most of these great monuments would fall over time due to natural forces, vandalism, or scavenging for building materials. By the end of the dark ages none remained standing and it wouldn't be until Pope Sextus 'The Builder' started in the 16th century his grand project to rebuild Rome that many of these great Obelisks would be rediscovered and re-erected at major intersections of the new grand boulevards.
The giant obelisk in the Field of Mars was not the largest or most famous obelisk currently in Rome, but it was by no means insignificant. Originally quarried during the reign of the Pharaoh Amosis to honor the God Horus for his aid in driving the alien Hykos rulers from Egypt after their hundred and twenty six year dominion, this obelisk was already over sixteen hundred years old when its path crossed this night with Ares.
The obelisk was a single giant piece of red granite standing fifty three feet tall. With its square cross-section, each of the four faces were six feet wide at the base tapering to four feet wide at the top on which was mounted a six foot diameter, gold-leaf covered globe. The whole 120 ton column rested on top of a 12 foot tall pedestal giving the complete structure an overall height of sixty five feet.
Like many of these giant obelisks in pre-clock era Rome, this one was used as the central spire of a giant sundial. In this case the small tic-marks of a normal sized sundial were replaced by large four foot cubes of matching granite in an arc across the field on the north side of the obelisk.
From the moment Clark accelerated out of view, only a fraction of a second passed before he lowered his right shoulder and slammed his body into the supporting pedestal, intentionally slightly off-center to the northern side. Instantly, a massive crash of shattering, exploding granite echoed out across the empty field. As the support for the massive obelisk gave way it slowly started to lean over to the side. Gradually it accelerated, faster and faster, until it came crashing down towards the ground.
Almost before the sound reached Lex he could see the obelisk start to lean. At first he wasn't certain what had caused the obelisk to fall other than it must have been related to Clark as he had been headed in that direction. Finally, Clark's speed had slowed sufficiently that even under the soft moonlight Lex could see him again. And then Lex's blood froze has he lost sight of Clark for a second time. Although this time it was not because he had accelerated out of view. No, this time he was lost from view because he was standing in the shadow of the descending obelisk. And he would only be in the shadow of the obelisk if he was directly beneath the massive falling object. The stone which Lex knew had to weigh countless tons.
Lex stood there frozen waiting for the thunderous crash of the obelisk hitting the ground which would be the death-knoll of his best friend. But the crash never came and Lex realized the obelisk was hovering parallel to the ground. And then slowly turning until the golden sphere was pointed directly at the drawbridge/gate of the Praetorian Fort.
Clark staggered briefly as the incredible weight landed on his up stretched arms. Never in his life had he tried to lift something of this magnitude. The giant stone must weigh one hundred times the family tractor back home he had lifted so often in helping with his father's repairs. But as he groaned slightly and his legs trembled, he focused on Venta and what he might be doing to Chloe and Lana inside the fortress at this very moment. Letting his rage build he slowly tightened his grip on the edges of the obelisk until the very stone started to crumble. Slowly he turned until the mighty spear was pointed at the massive gate, his momentary enemy. Finally ready, he took several slow, deep breaths to prepare his body and then with three strides forward to build some momentum, he hurled the weapon forward with every ounce of his great strength.
The immense projectile shot rapidly across the intervening 500 feet from its original resting spot to the closed entry of the fort. Starting from seven feet off the ground when it left Clark's hands, it climbed to a maximum of fourteen feet before settling back to six feet off the ground when it reached the gate, the whole while remaining perfectly parallel to the ground.
The lightweight hollow globe on top of the obelisk reached the gate first and instantly was crushed flat by the momentum of the massive stone spear. The obelisk itself connected with the massive gate and it was unlike the impact of any other battering-ram before or since. Few battering-rams ever weighed 120 tons and none ever impacted with the speed of this ancient Egyptian column. All other battering-rams were limited to the speed of the men carrying it or the pendulum used to swing it and depended on many repeated blows to slowly wear down the obstruction. But Clark's incredible throw had accelerated the obelisk so that it was traveling at nearly 100 miles per hour when it impacted on the gate.
The gate, which was used also as a drawbridge, was very stoutly built of foot thick timbers reinforced with iron plates to withstand the constant traffic including loads of timber and stone used to complete the construction of the internal buildings of the fortress after the outer wall was initially complete. Additionally, when the drawbridge was up and locked it was further supported by three massive eighteen inch diameter cross-braces which required a squad of eighteen men to install and remove. However under the impact of a 120 ton granite column traveling at 100 miles per hour, the gate held for less than three milliseconds before shattering in a destructive cloud of shrapnel which quickly pulverized everything behind the gate for one hundred feet.
With the gate offering little resistance to the obelisk, the obelisk continued on its steady gravity induced path to the ground. The tip of the obelisk was fifteen feet past the gate when its entire length struck the ground simultaneously. Well, the entire length except for the portion spanning the moat. With the entire mass striking the ground at once the shock and thunderous impact was felt through out the Praetorian's Camp, the Field of Mars, and even the wine in the Emperor's goblet over a mile away experienced a faint ripple.
After impacting the ground the obelisk slid forward a further fifteen feet before the inertia was finally used up ripping apart the deeply-set flagstones of the inner courtyard of the fortress. In its final resting spot the lower end of obelisk extended three feet beyond the outer edge of the moat forming a rough temporary bridge of its own.
As the massive stone flew through the air towards the gate, Clark paused a moment to watch what he had wrought and also to give his body a moment to recover from his massive exertion. In the couple of seconds it took for the obelisk to fly to the gate, crash to a halt, and the resulting dust cloud to start to settle, Clark felt mostly recovered and physically ready for the challenging task ahead. Therefore he quickly accelerated to his top speed, raced across the field and disappeared into the fort by crossing his newly created, temporary bridge.
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Lex found leaning back against the front of the wooden building was not at this moment sufficient to support weight on his wobbly knees. He slowly slid down the wall until his butt was touching the hard stone pavement and his chin was resting on his up stretched knees. He wrapped his arms around his legs and rocked back and forth as he tried to absorb what he had just seen.
What the fuck was Clark? After this afternoon's display with the spear at the chariot races he thought he somehow had the strength of four or five men, which would explain his ability to rip open the thin metal roof of the Porsche back on the first day they had met. And which would explain many of the other unexplained things that had occurred around Clark in the preceding year as well. While sitting through the endless banquet with the emperor earlier in the evening Lex had concluded, based on the then available data, that Clark must have been effected by the meteor rocks growing up in the same way as all the meteor freaks, albeit with a more benign and beneficial result.
But now, there was all of this staggering new data. Impervious to arrows, and remembering a comment Chloe had made right after beginning her little Sphinx story back at Narbo, probably impervious to bullets, too. Able to move so fast he was effectively invisible. Able to lift and toss that great Obelisk which must weigh hundreds of thousands of pounds. And from his behavior back in the hallway in the emperor's palace just before they found the dead slave girls' bodies he must be able to see through solid rock, too. However having personal experience with meteor freaks who could walk through walls, being able to see through walls was somehow the easiest to accept.
Somehow all this new data didn't seem a good fit into the original assumption of Clark as just another meteor freak. So what did that leave? Lex's mind went in circles trying to find a solution and keep coming back to how easily Clark fit into the personae of Ares, the Greek God of War. Was Clark really a god, if not of the Greek variety, then of some other? Certainly he had to be more than just a gifted man. And Lex suddenly remembered that Clark made no secret of being adopted. Adopted at age three, as Lex had it from many sources Clark had grown up in Smallville. Therefore Clark couldn't be some ancient God stranded in modern day Kansas like some variation of story Clark had been espousing about Ares being stranded in Hades for centuries. No, Clark's Greek God cover story couldn't be a simple twist from the autobiographical.
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While Lex was sitting trying to come up with an explanation for what Clark was, the subject of his thoughts was busy inside the fort. As soon as Clark reached the inner end of the fallen obelisk, he paused for a fraction of a second to survey the terrain and determine the most efficient plan of action. Straight ahead of him stretched a broad central avenue running all the way to the far wall where a matching gate stood to allow easy access to the outside from that end of the fort as well. Back in the eighth grade Clark had been all enamored with knights and jousts and medieval castles. He had even done an extra credit history project on the design of the Knight's Templar castle in Jerusalem during the second century of the crusades. From his research on castle designs he knew you never ran a major boulevard from one side of the fort to the other. There should have been a maze inside the main gate to slow any invaders who breached the main entrance. And where was the secondary line of defense and the final central citadel with a tight, short perimeter that a much reduced group of survivors would be able to defend? Obviously, the Romans had a lot to learn about fort design, or they never expected a strong hostile army to reach Rome through all the rings of Roman Legions between the frontiers and the capital.
Although these thoughts raced through Clark's mind in a fraction of a second, he still shook his head and berated himself at the time lost which would be better spent searching for the girls. Therefore, Clark quickly raced down the central avenue to the far gate. He had decided the first thing he must do was to block off the other gates. Even with his great speed, it was going to take several minutes to examine every building, every room, every bolt hole and dungeon in this large fortress. He didn't want the quarry to slip out of one of the other gates while he was occupied somewhere else in his search.
As Clark raced to the far gate he passed, near the center of his journey, the other major boulevard which bisected the fort and led to the gates in the remaining two walls. It was considerate of the Romans to make his targets so easy to find.
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Lex had been sitting waiting for several minutes since Clark had disappeared into the fort. There had been a continuous dull rumble coming from the fort from almost the moment Clark had entered. At first Lex had been too lost in his thoughts about what Clark was to notice. Then, deciding Clark would remain a cipher until Clark chose to explain, he let his thoughts drift back to Lana, who lately never seemed to be far from the front of his thoughts anyway. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him and he tried to guess what the sound coming from the fort meant.
Thinking about it for a few seconds and remembering Clark's comment how it would all be over in five minutes, he decided the sound must be Clark searching for the girls. With his speed and strength the sound must be Clark breaking down every door inside the fort.
After three or four minutes the noise stopped and for at least thirty seconds all was quiet. Then a different sound, a whistling sound, was heard from the sky above. Lex had just looked up, but saw nothing in the dark night sky, when a horrific crash reverberated through the air of the field and even from the ground up through his butt. Suddenly, a decorative column, much smaller than the obelisk but still a substantial eighteen inches in diameter by twenty feet tall, stood half buried out in the center of the field. Then another column came whistling out of the sky, although this one hit at a different angle or hit a hard section of ground, as instead of penetrating like the first, it shattered and sent an explosion of shards all around. Then a third, four, fifth, and sixth column came raining out of the sky, some shattering on impact and others impaling themselves into the ground like the first.
Eventually, Lex was forced to shield his face with his arms to protect it from all of the flying debris. As he huddled down to survive the barrage, Lex tried to imagine what had changed. Only Clark could be throwing these columns as though they weighed nothing at all. And why would he be doing that except to vent some rage and frustration? 'Oh my god,' thought Lex as his fear spiked again. 'Are the girls dead and did Clark just find out?' After finally receiving a demonstration of Clark's true abilities, Lex had allowed himself to relax a little. If Clark could manhandle, godhandle, or whatever, that giant stone obelisk, then nothing inside the fort should have been able to stop him from retrieving the girls. But what if he was too late?
Finally, after what felt like long minutes, but was probably only seconds, the crashing and reverberations stopped and Lex risked looking up. He found Clark had returned to the broken up pedestal where the obelisk once stood and his unbelievable display had begun a mere five minutes earlier.
Then he watched Clark pick up one of the three foot by three foot by three foot granite blocks that had been used to construct the pedestal and hurl it at the great stone outer wall of the fortress. A terrifying sonic boom rolled out across the Field of Mars as Clark was able to achieve supersonic velocities when using a block that weighed only a few thousand pounds compared to the many tons of the obelisk. The block flew faster than the eye could follow from Clark to the wall and then punched straight through as though the wall offered no more resistance than if it were made of cotton candy. After the block had passed through the outer wall it could be heard for several seconds bouncing around inside the fort, ricocheting off buildings like a ball in some giant pinball machine.
When the first block crashed to a halt, Clark picked up a second block and then before hurling it, he roared towards the wall, "TELL VENTA TO RETURN THE GIRLS, OR" and pausing he fired the second block at the fortress wall. "ALL OF ROME SHALL FEEL MY WRATH." Clark launched another stone. "AND IT WILL BE LIKE ROME HAS DESCENDED STRAIGHT INTO HADES." Clark heaved another projectile. "I SPENT 600 YEARS ROTTING IN HADES, BUT THAT IS NOTHING COMPARED TO THE HELL I WILL CREATE IN ROME!" And another rock was propelled towards the wall.
Clark continued to rant and throw blocks. Lex saw large portions of the wall were beginning to collapse and numerous fires were starting within the walls as the careening blocks knocked over torches and cooking fires. Lex had breathed a sigh of relief when he realized Clark hadn't found the girls' dead bodies. Now it was time to stop Clark's tirade and try to get him focused on a probably less satisfying, but more productive course to finding the girls. Although Lex had to admit to himself he wouldn't mind being able to chuck at least one of those blocks at the wall, too.
Quietly, Lex rose and started walking out to where Clark stood by the ruins of the pedestal. As he approached, Lex steeled himself to keep from covering his ears and forced his arms to remain down by his sides, even though Clark's roaring when he was in his 'God' mode was just as painful as when he had first experienced it while standing by the moat. Pausing about ten feet away, Lex started shouting Clark's name to get his attention.
After about ten times, Clark turned in Lex's direction with an ugly snarl on his face as though he didn't at first recognize him. Clark's nostrils were flaring in a way that would have indicated extreme exertion in anyone else, but with Clark it must be just a sign of frustration and rage. Then Lex noticed Clark's eyes and how the irises had an almost satanic red glow. While Lex stood in front of Clark, almost trapped in his gaze, he noticed how it felt like he was standing in front of a tanning machine set to ultra- high, his face and arms almost starting to burn. Was this another of Clark's strange abilities, Lex wondered as his body began to redden and even blister.
"Clark, it's me. Lex. Snap out of it." And then suddenly it was over. Clark seemed to sag and his eyes faded back to their normal dark blue. After a couple of seconds he raised a hand to rub at his eyes.
"Lex, they weren't there. I searched every square inch of the fort. Twice. They weren't there."
Lex tried to put a positive spin on things. "At least you didn't find their bodies. It merely means Venta is not a fool and knew you would come here. We will just have to work a little harder to find them."
Clark nodded, but his response was a lot less positive. "I am so afraid we will be too late."
"Come on, Clark. Chloe has survived for over 17,000 years. She'll be okay for a few hours with Venta."
Clark looked Lex in the eye. "I know. It's Lana I am worried about. Venta wants to get back at Chloe for some slight in their past and I think he is going to use Lana for leverage."
Lex felt his hard earned Luthor poker face slip for a moment. He knew in his heart he agreed with Clark's assessment, but until the words had been said out loud he hadn't let himself think them. Lana WAS the one in the most danger. And not just from a quick, merciful death. No, now that he had let it slip out the dark secret place in a remote corner of his brain, he quickly started to imagine the tortures Venta would subject Lana to in his mad game with Chloe. But after a mere couple of seconds, Lex had his thoughts back under control. Wallowing in fear wouldn't do Lana any good.
Looking back up into Clark's face, Lex answered with a little of the Luthor steel returning to his voice. "Then we need to start behaving smarter and make better use of our assets here."
Clark looked a little shame-faced acknowledging that his frontal attack may have achieved nothing, but driving Venta deeper to ground. "What assets?"
"Rogerus, Chloe's majordomo back at her estate. From my conversations with him he seems to have informants everywhere in the city. If anyone can find where Venta has taken the girls, it is him."
"He hasn't been able to do anything about locating the Professor."
Lex shrugged. "We don't even know if the Professor is in Rome yet. Even Rogerus can't find what's not there. But we do know Lana and Chloe are out there somewhere. I think we should head back to Chloe's estate, unless you have a better suggestion than tearing down random buildings."
By coincidence, just as Lex finished talking, another hundred foot section of the fort's wall came tumbling down with a roar.
Lex had to smile for a moment. "Clark, once we know where the girls are, I have no problem if you need to tear down half of Rome to get to them."
End of Chapter 29