Chapter 2 – Stranger
The deep bass boomed out of the speakers, sending a searing beat out over the air. Tyler glanced over at Lana, reclined in the passenger seat.
"Do you like Ja Rule?" he asked.
"What?!" she shouted.
Tyler chuckled, and turned the sound up even higher.
I'm gonna ride to the end of the road baby
This life gon' drive me crazy
Been gettin' high lately
Wonder where it all gon' take me
Where all my gangstas at? (Yeah!)
Where all my bitches at? (Ooh!)
Tyler gunned the engine and roared into the parking lot of Smallville High School. He found a parking spot, swung into it, and turned the car off.
"Well, here we are, your first day," Lana said.
Tyler nodded, "How do I look?"
Lana looked her cousin up and down. She had to admit, he really did look good. He wore a red, sleeveless workout top over a baggy black jeans and boots. And of course, the black glove he'd worn on his right hand for as long as she'd known him. Tyler was tanned and muscular, his long hair giving him the look of a rebel, and Lana had already noticed several girls staring at him as they pulled into the lot.
"You look great," she told him.
"Thanks cuz," Tyler grinned at her, "And may I say that you are looking particularly gorgeous yourself this morning."
"Flattery will get you everywhere Ty."
They climbed out and started making their way toward the front steps.
"You nervous?" she asked.
"Little bit," he admitted, "But only because its so different from my old school in Metropolis."
"You guys wore uniforms, right?"
"Yep. Blazer, tie, smart pants, the works. I hated it!"
"Well you're going to love it here," she said, "And I'm sure all my friends will love you. Hey! There's Whitney." She pointed to a tall, good looking blonde guy, wearing a Smallville High letterman jacket who was strolling over to them.
"Lana," he greeted, as he came up and gave her a quick kiss.
"Whitney, I'd like you to meet my cousin, Tyler, he's starting school here today," she turned to Tyler, "Ty, this is my boyfriend, Whitney."
They shook hands.
"It's a pleasure."
"Likewise."
"Well, looks like the gang's all here," said Lana.
Tyler looked in the direction she was facing and saw three others coming across the lawn towards them. Tyler recognised Clark Kent.
"Hey guys," she said, moving up to them, "C'mon, I want to introduce you to my cousin Tyler."
"Your cousin?" said Clark.
"That's right. Ty, these are three very good friends of mine, Chloe, Pete and Clark," she pointed each one out in turn.
Chloe was pretty blonde girl with short, fussy blonde hair. Her eyes were large and alive, a pale, hazel colour. She greeted him with a dazzling smile.
Pete was a short black boy with a stocky build. He grinned at Tyler and they shook hands.
Tyler turned to Clark, noting they were almost identical in height.
"Its good to meet you both," he said to Pete and Chloe, "Clark, nice to see you again."
"You've met?" asked Lana.
"Yes we have," said Clark, "At about 90 miles an hour." He grinned, and Tyler had to smile.
"Tell Lex, the next time he comes up against me, I'll leave his car glued to the road."
"I wouldn't encourage him if I were you."
"Nothing I haven't done before."
The smile suddenly left Clark's face, all colour drained from it and he seemed dizzy. Tyler frowned at him, then noticed that Lana's necklace was glowing green again. He squinted at Clark, confused. There was something familiar about his face, as if he'd dreamed about him.
Tyler thought no more of it because the bell rang, and they all made their way up the steps and into the school.
-----
Senior English seemed to drone on forever. The teacher, a Mr. Austin, whined on and on about a poet who seemed to really, really like daffodils.
If left to his own devices, Mr. Austin would explain to them just why the poet liked daffodils so much until the Second Coming, or a sudden violent death interrupted him.
At the back of the class, Tyler sat gazing dreamily out the window, concentrating on not falling asleep and banging his head on the desk.
Whitney Fordman sat at the desk in front of him, and Tyler leaned forward and tapped him on the shoulder. Whitney leaned his chair back.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Is this guy always like this?" Tyler whispered.
"Pretty much," Whitney nodded.
"Why has noone killed him yet?"
"I don't know man. It's a mystery."
Tyler was silent for a while, then he leaned forward and tapped Whitney on the shoulder again.
"Hey, so what's up with you and my cousin? You been going out long?"
"A while."
"You nailed her yet?"
"What?!" Whitney spun round, staring at Tyler in shock.
"I said, Mr Fordman," said Mr. Austin from the front of the class, "That the daffodils represent..." he turned his attention to the rest of the class.
Tyler grinned and patted Whitney's cheek.
"Relax kid, just wanted to get an honest reaction from you."
Whitney faced forward again.
Tyler chuckled to himself, then resigned himself to staring out the window again.
-----
Tyler found Lana and Chloe sitting at a table together in the cafeteria. He wound his way through the throng, carrying his tray, and sat down by them.
"So," Lana began, "How was the first half of your day?"
"Good, except..."
"Except what?"
"Except everybody keeps staring at me, especially the girls. But not one person has bothered to even greet me so far. I thought small town's were supposed to be renowned for their hospitality."
Chloe and Lana shot each other a look and started giggling.
"What?"
"Well," said Lana, "First of all, you're new here. As you said, this is a small town and people notice that. Second of all..."
"You're really hot!" Chloe finished for her.
Tyler stared at her wide-eyed, and she blushed a deep crimson.
"Exactly," said Lana, fighting to hold back the laughter, and losing.
"Thanks," said Tyler.
He grinned at Chloe, who bit her lip and winked at him seductively. Then she and Lana broke out in giggles again.
"Need a lift home after school?" he asked Lana.
"Actually Ty, I don't. I'm going to watch Whitney practise."
"Okay, that's fine."
"Hey, why don't you join me?"
"Ooh, football practise," said Tyler, "Be still my beating heart."
"Chloe and Clark can come too," Lana pointed out, "We'll call it a "getting to know each other" session. And we can all go get some coffee later."
"Sure, sounds like a plan," said Tyler, "Chloe?"
"I'd love to."
"Just one question though."
"Yeah?"
"Is coffee like, a code word for beer?"
"No."
"Damn."
-----
The sun hung high in a perfectly blue sky. The group lazed in the shade on the bleachers. They watched the football team go through their paces on the field, glad not to be amongst them.
"So is this team any good?" asked Tyler.
"They were undefeated last year," said Lana, "But they've taken a couple of key losses this season. They're going to have to push to make state."
"Who's the quarterback?"
"Whitney," said Lana in a dreamy voice.
Clark gave Lana a funny look, like he was annoyed at something. Tyler noticed, and frowned at him. Clark met his gaze, but broke away quickly.
"So Tyler," Clark recovered, "Did you play at your old school?"
"Uh huh," Tyler nodded.
"What position?"
"Quarterback."
Clark grinned. Chloe started giggling again. Lana said nothing.
"But its probably too late to try out for the team," he shrugged.
"Do you miss Metropolis?" asked Chloe, changing the subject.
"I miss the buzz."
"The buzz?"
"Yeah. It's just a characteristic of the big city. There's this, kind of, invisible vibe, you know? A million people all off doing their own thing. Interacting, talking, laughing, crying. It creates this energy that is just so addictive."
"Chloe lived in Metropolis," Clark informed him.
"Really," he looked at Chloe, "So you know what I'm talking about?"
"Yeah," she smiled, "Pity we moved here when I was so young."
"You plan on going back?"
"As soon as I can," she replied, "I'm not going to stay in Smallville the rest of my life."
"Hey!" Clark interrupted them, "Smallville's not that bad."
"Where do you come from Clark?"
Clark hesitated, "Not here. I'm adopted, I... uh, I don't know where I come from."
"Really?" Tyler stared at him, curiosity filling his gaze.
Clark felt uncomfortable and changed the subject.
"Why did Lex call you Metropolis's favourite wildchild?"
"Wildchild?" Chloe cocked an eyebrow at him.
Tyler laughed, "I guess I've, sorta, built up this reputation for recklessness," he explained, "There's very few crazy stunts I wouldn't try at least once."
"Like yesterday?" asked Clark.
"Exactly. I remember just before Lex moved out here. He threw a huge party at the Metropolis Hilton. We were in one of the ballrooms, but there was another party going on by the pool, some banker's convention or something, all these real stiff suits, right? By nine Lex and I had already knocked back a few apple martinis and a couple dozen tequila shots so, naturally, we're in the mood for mischief."
"Naturally," said Chloe.
"So we break into this room on the third floor. And I jumped, right off the balcony and into the pool."
"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard," said Lana.
"The splash was so big it soaked at least a dozen of those white collar losers. The look on their faces... man! It was the funniest thing."
"You could have gotten yourself killed," Chloe pointed out.
A wry smile crossed Tyler's lips and their eyes met.
"What's life without a little danger?"
She blushed, but didn't break eye contact.
Just then, a stray football sailed overhead and landed with a bump on the stands behind them. As Tyler got up to retrieve it, one of the players jogged over to the side of the field.
"Could we have the ball back, please?"
Tyler ignored him. Instead, he turned to Lana.
"Which one is Whitney?" he asked.
She pointed to a figure all the way over on the other side of the field.
"What are you going to do?"
Tyler winked at her, pulled back his arm and let fly. The ball flew straight and true, more than a hundred yards, and cannoned off Whitney's helmet.
"Yes!" Clark jumped up and gave Tyler a high five.
Chloe cheered, and Lana stood and punched Tyler's arm.
"You clown!" she scolded, though he could see a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.
"Coach saw that," said Clark, "Maybe tryouts won't be over after all."
-----
The Talon was originally the old theatre on Main Street. It lay adjacent to Nell's Florist and she'd decided that it was old and run down and had to go. Lana had been furious.
The Talon was where her parents met, and the old building was, if anything, a tenuous link to the ones she'd lost when she was so young. She'd made it her personal mission to rebuild the Talon, and eventually convinced Lex Luthor to invest in the place, turning part of it into a coffee shop.
It was relatively small, but at that time of day it was teeming with locals. Still, they managed to find a corner booth and sat down.
Tyler purposely bumped Clark out of the way and sat down next to Chloe, throwing his arm around her shoulder. Clark rolled his eyes at him. Whitney sat across the table next to Lana. Tyler smiled at him, but Whitney didn't seem prepared to return the favour.
"C'mon Whitney," Tyler coaxed, "It was a joke. You can see the funny side of it, right?"
"You have to admire the throw at least," said Clark.
"Yeah, whatever," said Whitney, though he returned the smile, "So now what? You gonna try and take my jersey?"
"Nah! You seem fond of it."
"Okay, announcement!" said Lana, "Party, our place, Saturday night. Where we will officially welcome Mr. Tyler Ring to Smallville."
Tyler put up his hands, "You don't have to do that Lana."
Chloe smacked his arm, "Yes she does! Shut up!"
"Okay, okay. I concede."
Clark glanced up, and noticed Lex's car pull up outside.
"Hey," he said, nodding toward the Ferrari, "Lex is here."
Lex climbed out and came inside, immediately making his way over to them.
"Hey guys," he greeted them, "Clark, you busy?"
"Not at the moment. Why?"
"I'm moving some family heirlooms into the war room at the manor and I need some help."
"Don't the Luthors have servants for that?" asked Chloe.
"Yes we do," said Lex, "But this stuff's personal and I'd rather not let the hired help toss it around too much."
"Sure," said Clark, "I'll help."
"Me too," said Tyler.
"Thanks guys."
"Lana, can you get a ride with Whitney?" asked Tyler.
She nodded.
"Alright. Let's go."
-----
"Where the hell do you get all this stuff?" asked Tyler, picking up what looked like an old Roman war helm and revolving it in his hands.
They were in the war room at the manor, it was filled with mahogany display cases. It also had a huge bay window on one side, offering perfect lighting.
"My family have always considered themselves collectors," Lex explained, carefully placing a number of beautifully wrought, antique platinum candlestick holders in one of the cases, "That particular piece has actually been in my family for over three hundred years."
"You guys should really learn how to throw things away," said Clark, as he came through the door, lugging another chest.
"Yeah, yeah," said Lex, "I would, except that piece is worth about $75,000."
"What?!" Tyler promptly dropped the helm.
Lex clicked his tongue at him and shook his head.
"I would have been better off with the servants," he said, "Now if you'll excuse me gentlemen, I need to place a call to my father," he headed out the door, then stopped and turned back, "Oh, and Tyler. If you break anything, please have the courtesy to keep it to yourself. I really don't want to know about it."
"Sure thing Lex," Tyler through him a salute, then went over to another chest in the corner and started rummaging through it.
"Hey Clark, can I ask you a question?"
"Shoot."
"What's up with you and Lana?"
It was Clark's turn to drop a priceless antique.
"What? Nothing. I don't know what you're talking about."
"Come on Clark," Tyler jeered, "When you're near her, its like she's the only living being in the universe. You actually get puppy dog eyes."
"I do not."
"Why don't you take a shot? Afraid of the quarterback?"
Clark shot him an 'Oh Please' look.
"No. Its just not the right thing to do."
"The right thing to do?" Tyler sounded incredulous, "I can see Lex has his work cut out for him, you sound like a friggin boyscout. Ever heard the phrase: 'All's fair in love and war'?"
"Can we talk about something else?"
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay," Tyler carried on digging in the chest.
"So what's up with you and Chloe," asked Clark, "You were making puppy dog eyes at her too."
"I dunno. She's really cute but... Hey! What's this?"
He pulled what looked like a silver hand-sceptre from the chest. The pommel was set with an uncut stone the size of a man's fist. It was glowing bright green.
"It's a meteor rock," said Tyler, holding it up.
Clark gasped, and took a few desperate steps back, fighting for breath. All the blood left his face and he broke out in a cold sweat.
"Clark, are you okay?" he stepped forward, but Clark held up his hand for him to stop, "Does this thing hurt you?"
Tyler held up his ungloved left hand and gripped the rock.
The room seemed to implode.
A dazzling green light blazed from where he touched the rock, blinding them. Tyler was hurled backward with bone crunching force into an empty cabinet. The cabinet was smashed to pieces, glass and splinters everywhere, and Tyler collapsed to the floor.
"Tyler! Are you alright?"
Clark rushed over to him and laid a hand on the cleft under his chin. His pulse was strong. Tyler groaned and opened his eyes.
"What the hell happened?" he asked, trying to sit up.
"I don't know," Clark admitted.
He picked up the sceptre. They both stared at it in disbelief.
The meteor rock had crumbled to dust.