SMALLVILLE – ERADICATOR

CHAPTERS:

Prologue – Second Son of Krypton

Chapter 1 – Arrival

Chapter 2 – Stranger

Chapter 3 – Awakenings

Chapter 4 – Revelations

Chapter 5 – Discoveries

Chapter 6 – Eradicator

Chapter 7 – Endgame

Epilogue – A New Beginning

Author's Note:

I have taken extreme privileges during the writing of this FanFiction
piece, with both the original Superman and Smallville storylines. I've
set the piece basically after the Pilot episode, where things in the
Smallville storyline kicked off, so as not to interfere with
developments in the show that are now set in stone. The Eradicator,
which appears in this story, is an actual character that appeared in
later Superman comics. The fact that I have placed the Eradicator in
the Smallville context is a gross breach of the total Superman story.
But its called artistic license, and any purists who would like to
point out all the holes in the story should hold back on that. Chances
are, I put those holes there myself.

Prologue – Second Son of Krypton 12 Years Earlier

Five-year-old Tyler Ring leapt from the tailgate of the parked pickup truck and raced across the open field, shrieking at the top of his voice.

"Horsey! Horsey!" he squealed in delight.

"Tyler! Tyler baby, come back here!" Caryn Ring stepped out of the cab of the pickup and stood, hands on hips, watching her son try to catch a horse.

"It's no good Caryn," said a voice behind her, "That boy's as reckless as the day is long."

Caryn smiled and turned to face the farmhouse, "Nell!" she hurried up the stairs to the porch and embraced her cousin.

"Its so good to see you," said Nell, beaming, "How's life in Metropolis?"

"Hectic as ever," Caryn told her, "Donald just started at LuthorCorp, now I barely get to see him anymore."

"Aw, Sorry to hear that, honey."

"Has anything happened in this place since I left?"

Nell sighed, and shrugged, "Oh, you know Smallville. Nothing exciting ever happens here."

"Isn't that the truth."

"Come on, we'd better go get your son before he runs right off the property."

Caryn gave her a small smile and together, the two began making their way across the field in pursuit of Tyler, who was busy harassing one of Nell's prized geldings.

"So, how's Laura?" asked Caryn, straining to keep an eye on Tyler, who had now left the relieved gelding and was trying to clamber over the fence.

"She and Lewis are doing great," said Nell, "And Lana's gotten so big."

"I have not seen Lana since she was a new-born. I'll have to stop and call on them before I head back. I'm sure they'd love to see Tyler again."

"And speaking of Tyler," said Nell, with a wry smile, "He's just gone over onto the Kent farm."

"Oh Nell, I hope he won't get you in trouble."

"No! Don't worry about it," Nell admonished her, "The Kent's are great. They won't mind."

Suddenly she stopped dead, looking around nervously, her eyes flicking over the surrounding fields.

Caryn stopped too, and stared curiously at her cousin.

"Did you hear that?" asked Nell.

"Hear what?"

"That sound, what is that?"

Then, as one, both women tilted their heads back to gaze at the sky as the noise grew steadily louder.

"Caryn, something's wrong," muttered Nell.

The pitch of the noise increased from a steady drone, to an insistent wailing. The next moment, something traced across the sky, leaving behind a trail of thick black smoke. It arced across their vision, and disappeared behind the trees of the farm next door.

"What the hell was that?" asked Caryn.

Nell could only shake her head. She could not tear her eyes from the spot where the thing had landed.

Then, the October sky suddenly burned crimson, as scores of what seemed like huge, flaming arrows poured from the atmosphere. They seemed to rip the very air apart as they tore towards the ground, tails of fire dragging behind them. For miles around they shot from the sky, hitting the ground with the force of novas. More and more rained down around the two women, each explosion sounding like the collapse of a mountain.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The rain of death continued. Great mounds of soil shot into the sky after every hit, the ground tremored and a massive dust cloud gathered above them.

"Nell! What's going on?" Caryn shrieked.

"I don't know!"

"Oh my God! Tyler!"

Caryn sped toward the spot in the fence where Tyler had disappeared.

"Tyler! Tyler!"

-----

Tyler crouched low, keeping tight against the bole of the tree. Tears were streaming down the boy's face and he wished his mom were there to comfort him.

When Tyler first heard the whistling noise, he'd been unconcerned. There were large fields to explore and animals to chase. Strange noises were not one of his priorities.

Then he heard the explosions and felt the ground shake beneath him. That frightened the little boy. He tried to run back to his mom, but must have gone the wrong way, because he couldn't find her anywhere and nothing looked familiar.

The explosions continued, coming from every direction, sending showers of dust and leaves into the air. Tyler ran into a patch of trees and hunkered down at the base of one of them, keeping his hands tight over his ears to block out the terrible noises. One hit, not far from where Tyler sat. Birds bolted from the trees as brush, dirt and twigs were scattered everywhere, covering Tyler, and matting in his hair.

He kept his eyes shut tight, and tried not to scream.

Then all was silent.

Tyler stayed where he was for the longest time. He was afraid that as soon as he got up the explosions would start all over again, but they never came.

Eventually, Tyler screwed up his courage, and stood. He needed to find his mother, so he took a few, hesitant steps and left the confines of the trees. The dust cloud still hung in the air, getting into Tyler's eyes and throat, making him cough.

Eventually, the haze of soil began to settle, and Tyler could see a little distance ahead. Everywhere, there was devastation. Trees had been blasted apart, or uprooted. Earth and mud piled into huge mounds and long buried rocks now littered the ground.

He kept walking, not sure where he was, when his foot slid from under him and he tumbled into a long, narrow ditch. Inside the ditch there was smoke everywhere, and the ground on either side was loose and brittle. Tyler tried to climb out, but his hands found no purchase and he slid back again.

Frustrated now, the boy turned, and began walking along the ditch, which seemed more like a big gorge in the ground, looking for a way out. Suddenly he stopped.

A little way ahead, through all the smoke, he noticed a tiny green light, flashing on and off. Tyler was still very frightened, but the natural curiosity of a five-year-old made this discovery too much to resist. He made his way toward the light, and as he got nearer, a strange shape loomed up out of the gloom.

Tyler squinted, it looked like a giant toy, made of dark metal and it was steaming. Tyler imagined it looked like one of the spaceships that he'd seen on TV, but dismissed the idea out of hand. This thing was far too small. The blinking green light drew his attention again, and Tyler stepped nearer to get a better look. It was set on the top, behind a piece of glass, like a peephole. He bent in and looked closer.

Then, he reached up a tiny hand, trembling a bit, and touched it. All at once, a charge of green lightning zipped out from the point where his hand had touched, bathing the boy in an eldritch green light.

Tyler yelled and jerked his hand back. The light vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. Tyler just stood there, fear and shock making him shake uncontrollably. He felt tears stinging his eyes again, and he reached up his hand to wipe it away. He screamed again.

Three tiny metal squares had embedded themselves in a line on the back of his hand. Tyler stepped away from the thing, shivering even more, then he turned and ran in the opposite direction. He had to find his mother.

-----

Caryn Ring was rushing around the field in a blind panic.

"Tyler! Tyler! My God... Tyler!" she shrieked.

Nell hurried up to her cousin and grabbed her, pulling her into an embrace.

"There, there, honey," she crooned.

"Oh, Nell. What if something happened to him? What if he's..." her voice trailed off as racking sobs of grief overtook her.

"He's not, we'll find him," said Nell, pulling her tighter.

She cast her eyes about the field. The crops had been levelled for miles around, and huge craters were everywhere. All the horses had fled. She looked toward her house, and breathed a sigh of relief that it hadn't been hit, though a large section of her driveway had been blown apart, along with half the sidewalk.

"What in the name of God just happened here?" she whispered.

"Mama! Mom!"

Caryn tore herself away from Nell at the sound of Tyler's voice. She saw him running toward her out of a grove of trees on the Kent farm and she sped towards him. She flung herself to her knees as her son rushed into her open arms.

Caryn pulled him tight to her chest, kissing his hair and running her hands all over him, reassuring herself that he was in one piece. Tears of relief streamed down her face.

"Oh, Tyler, don't you ever scare me like that again!" Finally, she gently pushed him away from her and he grimaced as she rubbed at the grime that stained his face. She clucked at him, and he opened his eyes.

Caryn saw them and gave a small shriek of alarm.

"Tyler," she breathed, mystified, "Oh son! What happened to you?"

She could not stop staring at his eyes.

The left was the same sky blue she had always known, but his right eye had changed.

It was bright green.