Chloe sat amongst the giant stalks of corn with the injured pilot, Richard. He'd said very little since they'd helped him from the plane, but then Chloe guessed anyone who had just lost their sight wouldn't exactly be conversationalist of the month.
"Maybe it's just temporary?" She offered consolingly as she watched Clark and Lex tentatively approach the jet to check it out. "I mean, your sight might come back in a few days…"
The pilot grunted and fumbled to loosen his tie. The thing they had flown into had been nothing like he had ever seen before- at least not for the brief moment before his optic nerves had been fried. It had some kind of glow to its edges, like a massive ball of energy that had opened up before the Learjet. "I don't think a nuclear blast could have been any brighter. Trust me, I know from my years in the Airforce."
Chloe gulped, "You think someone let off a weapon here in the United States?"
Richard huffed. He had no real idea what was going on, and had he been able to see his surroundings he'd have even less clues. "We were so close to Smallville some kind of police or emergency services should have been here by now, and yet I don't even hear a siren in the background." His head flinched as he strained again to hear any recognizable noise.
"I don't think anyone will be coming to rescue us anytime soon, but I'm not convinced it's because we're at war or there's been a terrorist strike. Something much stranger is going on here," Chloe bit her lip and scowled, searching the huge crops around her for signs of overly large insect life. She was more scared of that than nuclear fallout right now.
"What makes you say that?" Richard had detected the hint of fear in the teenage girl's voice, but couldn't fathom out why.
Chloe didn't know how to respond. How can I tell him we're about two inches tall right now?
Clark followed Lex back aboard the jet and looked around at the damage. The interior hadn't taken too much of a bashing, but he could still smell fuel. "Are we safe in here?" He asked while x-raying the fuselage for structural problems and anything else that he could spot.
Lex paused. "I don't think we have any electrical shorts that could ignite the fuel. If we can find the leak then maybe we can stop it." He rubbed a hand over his head and began pulling off several panels in the aft cabin. Finally, he seemed to find what he was looking for. "It's a jammed valve. The avionics have been dumping fuel for no good reason other than that!" The millionaire slammed the flat of his hand over the defective component, but the pressure alone didn't relieve the problem. "Damn, Clark, we have to stop this or every bit of reserve fuel we have will be gone. I'm going up from to try and switch to the backup controls. If they're still working that is…"
Without saying more, Lex jogged from the compartment back towards the cockpit. Clark watched him go, and then began scrutinizing the components within the open panelling. Lex's fist couldn't stop the fuel draining, but of course he could quite easily by welding the valve shut. He followed the pipes inside the aircraft's shell with his x-ray vision. In fact, if it didn't work in here, then he could always seal the fuel leak at several other junctions. The question is will the heat from my eyes ignite this stuff?
Clark thought about just bending the small pipe until the kink he caused cut off the fuel, but without tools Lex would definitely become suspicious.
"Clark, is anything happening?" Lex was shouting back from the pilot's area as he frantically toggled the jet's auxiliary electrical systems.
Clark grimaced. He didn't need his powers to see the valve wasn't closing. I guess I'll just have to risk it! With a small, concentrated blast of heat he melted the unit closed in a millisecond and then backed up, hoping the temperature hadn't caused them more problems. The superheated valve steamed a little but didn't combust. "I think the fuel's stopped." He said sheepishly, feeling guilty for his little subterfuge.
Lex sighed as he once again cut battery power, and nodded his thanks to whatever deity had helped them- little did he know the person was a lot closer than he could have imagined. He climbed back out from the pilot's seat and walked to meet Clark in the center of the passenger aisle feeling somewhat relieved they had achieved something.
The teen shrugged stuffing his hands in his jeans pocket as they met up. "Now what do we do? We stopped the leak, but we're hardly in any shape to take off again."
Lex agreed. "We need to start evaluating our situation, Clark, and we need to do it fast. We have two choices. Use what few resources we have to try and get back or to make things easier where we are right now…" The choices seemed stark even to Lex.
"You think we're stuck this size forever?" Clark's eyes dropped to the thick carpet flooring. Being super small was not on his list of things to do.
Lex nodded. "I don't know how it happened, but we have to accept that it's a distinct possibility. What I was referring to was our more immediate needs, however. For instance, our food, water, and heating supplies are all limited. Do we ration them and try to get this plane back in working order, or do we use the batteries and power for heating? If we're still in Kansas it can get pretty cold at night this time of year in exposed areas…"
Clark inhaled. He was a farmer's son; he didn't need telling what the elements could do to crops, animals and well, miniature humans. Three miniature humans, one miniature alien, He corrected himself. "What do you suggest?" Lex was the only pilot they had left, and assessing the flying capability of the plane was more in his league. It made sense to give him the first call.
Lex looked around at the cabin and then back to where all their gear had been stashed. The Learjet had really only been made with businessmen in mind. Short business trips with little need for vast quantities of food supplies. "If we don't use power to keep the cabin heated we'll need to get all out coats and any blankets all together ready for nightfall. Perhaps we can make a small fire to keep warm outside, but tomorrow we'll need to go hunt up some food and anything we can use for tools," He turned to start work on making their makeshift quarters then shot Clark a look that spoke his inner thoughts. It was as if his soul had already been defeated, even though his mind hadn't given up.
He thinks we don't have a chance! Clark hadn't given up hope yet, but then he knew something Lex didn't. The most powerful tool they had was his unearthly gifts. He could pull the plane from its dirt covered grave and he could lift the nose while they attempted to repair the wheel. He could even clear a patch of earth to act as a runway in super quick time. The one thing he couldn't do though was pull food and fuel from thin air.
"I'll go search up some food tomorrow, Lex. I figure we need to find out where we are anyway, and if we really are in Smallville maybe I can get back to the farm…" Clark stopped as he realized even if this was Kansas, the home that he knew may not exist anymore. What if mom and dad were killed by whatever hit us? His sudden wounded expression alerted Lex to his thoughts.
"I'm sure you're parents are fine, Clark. I think whatever affected us was because we flew unsuspectingly into it. Which of course begs the question, if we fix the plane, how do we get back to the phenomenon if it's still out there?" The millionaire tossed out several blankets from a storage compartment and then began making an inventory of what they had on his PDA. "If we could find the farm then perhaps we could get some help, though. I trust your father to help us a lot more than I trust my own. We'd probably be nothing more than some pint-sized lab experiment to him."
Clark looked through the food objects they had now piled in front of them. So far their stash consisted of half a crate of Tynant water, Lex's liquor collection, and some munchies Chloe had brought along because she was sure people like Lex didn't eat 'normal' snack food.
"I didn't know we where going to need supplies," Lex offered apologetically, "It's not every day I take an undersized safari."
Clark looked at his watch and then to the door. It would soon be getting dark and the soil where the fuel had leaked was still damp out where they'd soon be making camp. "I'll go cover up the spilled gas with some soil or something. If we make a fire we don't want any stray sparks turning the plane into a fireball."
Lex nodded and then continued on his own quest to gather what he could and make the inner cabin as cosy as possible as their impromptu shelter. The day had seemed to go by in a blur, but he was sure nightfall would bring an untold host of terrors if they weren't prepared.
The darkening Kansas sky appeared reasonably cloudless to Clark as he stood in the Learjet's doorway. Only a stray high altitude puff of white here and there spoiled the clear heavens. It was a surreal view from way below the soaring shafts of corn, made all the more poignant as it reminded him of home, of the loft, and the amazing view from it he had come to take for granted. Will I ever see twilight that way again?
Something screeched in the distance and the teen flinched. It was some kind of animal and it sounded in pain. He doubted if they would have even heard the noise had they been their own size, but right now they could be some predator's next meal, just like the creature he had just heard wail.
To intensify his own fears, Chloe joined him at the door and entwined her arm around his. Her grip was tight as if she thought his touch alone would protect her from the unseen monster. "Wha…what was that?" The normally sturdy reporter's voice quivered ever-so- slightly.
"Just the usual sounds of the night, nothing to worry about." Clark turned and smiled reassuringly. He didn't add that he'd just glimpsed something stalking in the corn in the distance. It had been a brief shadowy sighting, but it had looked like a cat of some kind- probably after a field mouse. "C'mon, let's go inside and see what snacks you packed. I'm starving," Gently, he ushered her away from the door and any chance of seeing anything to scare her more. Hopefully, inside the jet they would be relatively safe.
Chloe didn't need to take the hint twice, although she still refused to release her grip on his forearm until they joined Lex and the pilot. Lex had already shared out their rations in equal amounts and had managed to find a blanket each too.
Clark wrapped the thick red drape affectionately around Chloe's shoulders. "Warm enough?"
"Yeah, but I wish I'd been more inventive with my stash of munchies," She gestured to what little lay before them, "Pringles, pretzels and crackers don't really set my taste buds on fire, ya know?"
"Better to have the food than be the food…" Richard sat near a window, and even though he couldn't see outside with his opaline looking irises, the three people with him suddenly felt a cold chill in the cabin. It was just like some creepy scene from a ghost movie, made even more unsettling by the fact that the moon chose the exact moment to break through a high stratus cloud and illuminate their bleak unlit compartment.
Chloe shuddered, "You know, maybe we should use a little battery power for the lights after all…" She tugged her blanket closer to her body and shot Clark and Lex a pleading glance that said she was more than begging.
Clark pulled his own red blanket back and swathed Chloe in it, "We have to save the batteries. We can't restart the engines without them…"
"Like you think you're going somewhere, Kid?" It was the pilot again, "I've been listening to what's been going on. Just because I'm blind doesn't make me deaf." He hunched forward and the white, barren appearance to his eyes made even Clark flinch, "We'll be like lambs to the slaughter to an abundance of creatures out there. It might not happen tonight, but it will happen. Think about it…chewed up and spat out by some wild animal or bird like you were an insect! Heck, I'd rather have died on the plane…"
"Shut up, Richard, I've heard enough." Lex barked angrily at his employee, "Don't you realize you're scaring Chloe?"
Richard grinned and sat back in his seat. "I'm just simply stating the facts boss. We're all going to die and some day a kid will come along and find this wreck and think it was a toy. Even your money can't save you here…" The pilot rested his head against the cold glass of the window, "Death's already coming. Can't you hear it?"
Lex was about to tell Richard to hush up or pay the consequences when Clark held his hand aloft and a look of concentration crossed his young features, "He's right, I hear something…"
In the rush for food, Clark had never once thought to keep his ears in anything but a normal state of auditory awareness. Now, he realized that could have been a mistake. Something was making a deep droning noise not too far away outside. It was like something vibrating on a very low level, and it was getting louder as if the cause was getting nearer. The animal I saw out there…
Chloe spotted the source first through the cockpit cabin window, and although she really wanted to warn the others, the only noise she eventually managed was a scream that came out more of a croak.
Clark jumped from his seat and scrambled forward when any sane person would have backed up. He could see the two beady feline eyes searching the aircraft for prey even though it was in darkness. Perhaps the cat had somehow smelled their human odour and come to investigate how something so small could indeed normally be the master that sat at the top of the food chain.
"Clark, get back!" Lex was now running down the aisle after him, and as the millionaire entered the crew cabin he began fumbling with a locked compartment at the side of the pilot's seat.
Clark ignored his friend and kept his eyes trained on the animal outside. Its pupil's shrank as its eyes became mere slits to investigate the plane further. From the way the cat's shoulders were hunched, the teen guessed it would pounce pretty soon, and that meant the plane and its contents would take another battering. Boy, how I wish Shelby was here right now!
The Tabby cat seemed to sense Clark's negative thoughts. Or at least that was the way it appeared, because the overly fat feline cuffed the front of the jet with its left paw several times as if it were playing with a ball of wool.
The tiny figures inside tumbled from side to side and the motion seemed to fascinate it more. The cat's eyes danced from Clark to Lex as they were both jarred sideways. It tried again, this time extending its claws and scratching a deep groove in the Learjet's already blemished paintwork.
Lex pulled himself up, straining against the rocking motion until his hand reached into the now open compartment he'd been fumbling with.
Clark spotted what his friend was reaching for and shook his head frantically. "Lex no! You can't fire a gun in here. If you smash the windscreen we can't take off!" The teen made a dive for the rear cabin as the cat made another swipe at them and then hissed at the jet for not giving up its contents. "Besides, you can't shoot a giant cat with that…" His voice trailed as he headed towards the tail end of the jet.
While Clark scrambled to the back, Lex found himself tossed to the floor yet again as the Tabby pounced on the nose of the aircraft. The cat was bored with simply clawing its enemy and was now going for the kill. "Clark, what do you think you're doing?" He yelled over the top of more squeals from Chloe, but there was no response and he couldn't seem to gain his footing long enough to follow.
Clark glanced back once, afraid that Lex might try to go after him. Luckily, the millionaire appeared to have enough on his hands trying to get to his feet. The teen pushed on until he found what he was looking for- emergency flares that he'd spotted on his earlier 'x-ray' sweep of the aircraft. Grabbing several he ran to the door, struggling to keep his balance under the feline onslaught.
"Clark!" Chloe had seen his suicidal run for the door and had put herself on an intercept course. She caught his arm by the doorway, "Not even you can fight that thing! It's the King Kong of cats!" The reporter's grim face showed the concern she was feeling, but it was they way she had said the sentence that made him stop in his tracks.
Clark's brow furrowed and a brief look of comprehension crossed his normally unsuspecting features, then he smiled slightly. "I don't want to hurt or fight it, Chloe. It's a cat's nature to hunt. I just want to scare it off…"
Chloe wanted to thump him and tell him just how dumb he sounded, but she realized in that moment the true depths of his character, and just how far he would go to protect innocent lives. Their lives and the cat's. "Clark!" She shouted his name one more time as he scooted through the door, but she already knew he would ignore her.
Clark jumped from the plane without using the inbuilt steps. He had to be careful because Lex could be out any moment too, but then if he had to reveal his powers to save everyone he would without a doubt.
The cat froze as he supersped towards it, the whooshing motion he produced causing its pointy ears to prick back a touch. The Tabby whirled to face the now tiny teen and hissed so loud Clark wanted to grab his sensitive ears to shut out the angry sound.
Deciding to act quickly, Clark took out the first flare and pointed it just left of the feline. He hit the base, triggering the emergency device's charge. It popped and a flash of red sparkling color shot through the air and into the nearby corn, narrowly missing the Tabby.
The cat shot to the side of the Learjet but didn't flee as he'd hoped. Instead, it hissed more and shot out an irate paw in his direction.
Clark dodged the immense mitt, and supersped past the cat so he was shielded from the view from the plane's windows. He let off a second flare and was rewarded with another cuff from the cat's paw. This time, he determined a little more force was required and rather than dodge the sharp claws he grabbed the huge paw and held it fast.
The Tabby screeched in total terror that something so small could grip it and hold it static with such force. It yanked back wildly, but Clark refused to let go until he was sure the animal was so confused and afraid it had no choice but to flee. He loosened his hand and the cat yowled before vanishing into the corn.
Clark watched it leave the edge of the crops on the other side of the field using his x-ray vision, and then jogged back to the jet. Now, he would have some explaining to do, because Lex would surely have seen something. Why isn't he out here already?
Once he reached the door he deftly climbed back inside just as Lex was fighting to clamber out. Chloe was hanging from his arm like a dead weight virtually howling for him not to leave her- especially not with Richard.
Lex exhaled with relief at the sight of his young friend still in one piece, and continued to pry Chloe's fingers from his arm- although now the danger had passed he was a little gentler than before. He understood how the situation they were in could freak anyone, but he had expected a little more coolness under fire from Chloe.
Clark's brow furrowed too, and he was just beginning to think the whole ordeal had been too much for his reporter chum when she shot him a weird look that he didn't at first comprehend. When she finally rolled her eyes to the jet's ceiling while Lex wasn't looking, Clark at last got the point. Chloe was covering for me! She held Lex back on purpose! The hint as he had exited the door returned to mind and he sensed his cheeks reddening slightly in her presence. How could she know?
The more he thought about it, the more he realized Chloe had been on to him for weeks. The subtle intimation here and there, a knowing glance right after he'd done something super and thought he'd gotten away with it.
The 'how' Chloe had found out didn't really matter anymore. She had kept his deep, dark secret without him even knowing it, and should he get the privacy he needed he would thank her eternally for it. They had lots to talk over, but right now he had some news to impart that may be good, or it could be disastrous.
"What the hell were you thinking going out there like that?" Lex was already yelling so hard he reminded Clark of Jonathan, "That thing could have swatted you like a fly!"
Clark didn't go all apologetic like Lex had expected. Instead, he looked to Chloe hoping to intimate a silent thank you, and then back to the millionaire. "That 'thing' wasn't just any cat," He waited until the cabin fell quiet, "His name is Apollo, and he belongs to old Mrs. Hawthorne. I deliver groceries to her every Tuesday," The teen swallowed hard, trying to accept what it meant, "We're home guys. We're back in Smallville somehow…"
"Yeah, and we're also two inches tall!" Chloe put her hands on her hips spiritedly, and Lex couldn't help but wonder how the frightened rabbit had turned into a vicious tiger in seconds. She looked at the millionaire with an ice cold journalist's stare, "Anything you might want to tell us about the new lab Luthorcorp just opened, Lex?"
