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Lex made it to the nearest Smallville back road after about an hour of walking. It wasn't really easy to pinpoint an exact position because of their size, but from the information they already had he guessed he was a couple of miles away from the edge of the Luthorcorp perimeter. Two miles didn't sound much, but he could be walking for an extremely long time when every stride was so tiny. I need to find another way to get there…
Transport for a 'little person' wasn't going to be easy to find, but Lex wasn't going to shy away from any opportunity that offered itself up. He treated every situation in life like a business deal, and if you were prepared to take the risks, that sometimes meant reaping the rewards too.
In the bushes to his right as he crossed the road, he heard a soft giggle and was instantly alert. It could be someone who might spot him, or a possible ride in the making.
Lex dodged for cover, and then carefully inched his way towards the sound of the laughter, being cautious with every move so as to not to give himself away. The hidden trip to the bottom of the shrubbery took a further two minutes, but when Lex looked across onto the opening the other side he was genuinely surprised. Molly Carpenter, a secretary at Luthorcorp was sitting on a blanket with her arms around a fellow employee from the plant's research lab named Tony.
"So that's were she sneaks off to every lunch break…" Lex raised a brow and smirked wryly before deciding he'd come across the perfect way to get back to his beloved company.
Molly's purse was only a short distance away, and if he could hitch a covert ride in it he'd be back at the office and labs in no time.
Without thinking about any unforeseen dangers, the minute billionaire launched into a sprint towards the open purse and then dived in. Luckily, Molly was far too busy cuddling Tony to notice her new passenger, and all Lex had to do was wait for the Luthorcorp lunch break to come to an end and he would be home and dry. He looked at his watch impatiently for another twenty minutes before the purse was finally hoisted aloft and he was on his way.
Clark followed the path he thought Lex would take at just under half the velocity he normally used when super-speeding. Firstly, he didn't want to miss his rich friend by moving too quickly, and secondly, he still felt drained from his encounter with the huge meteor rock. Still, after travelling for half an hour the teen had expected to catch up. He slowed as he met the nearest gravel roadway and looked around. There was no sign of Lex.
"Well, you don't have my speed, so how have you gotten so far ahead?" Clark mumbled to himself as he thought of possible scenarios, and then decided to scan the surrounding area for clues. What if the cat came back? The idea that Apollo could have attacked Lex wasn't a pleasant one, and the teen hastily kicked into x-ray vision to scan the underbrush and adjacent cornfield.
There was no signs of life amongst the corn save for a scurrying mouse, startled by some local hawk, but behind the shrubbery nearest to him, Clark spotted a recently discarded apple core. He jogged over and examined the evidence more closely. From the discoloration of the huge fruit's remaining flesh he guessed it had been tossed down only a short while ago. He frowned at it. The core was sitting on its end, and was as tall as he was.
"Did someone catch you, Lex?" Clark became scared for his friend as he paced the open clearing, "Where you even here when they were?" Clark shook his head in defeat, and then noticed tire marks in the earth. He kneeled, inspecting the mammoth ruts for any small detail that might help, but of course, once the vehicle had gotten out onto the main road there was no way to trace it. "Unless…" Clark stood up again excitedly and looked to where the tracks lead.
The unknown vehicle had exited the clearing the only way it could, and that meant driving straight through an indent in the ground filled with squishy, chocolate colored mud. Clark smirked at the furrow, recalling how it had gotten there last summer when he'd tossed a fence stake just a little too hard and it had literally flown about a mile. Over winter the groove had filled with water and made a mud bath. Just as long as I don't end up in it like in the field…
The mud might not remain on the car's tires for very long, but any traces left behind on the roadway would be a trail until it dried up. What was even more beneficial was Clark's size. He had unnaturally good eyesight anyway, but being smaller meant a normally tiny mud stain would appear larger to him. If they don't go too far I might be able to track them. I just hope I'm not following a wrong lead, but then if Lex isn't in the car, where is he?
Clark glanced around one last time and then kicked into his usual rate of superspeed. All the time he was spending out in the warm Kansas sun was recharging his body, and he was beginning to feel his old self again.
A mile an a half down the road, one bridge, and two turn offs later, the minuscule mud fleck traces ran out. Clark slowed, but didn't stop, trying to imagine what was out this way and where the car could be heading. To his knowledge, there was only one thing this side of the Elbow River that was worth mentioning, and that was Luthorcorp. It seemed an insane thing to do, but Clark imagined Lex was just bold enough to do it. He's gotten in that car somehow to get back to the plant!
The teen swallowed hard and looked to the towering chemical manufacturing structures in the distance. The Luthorcorp plant always had a cold, heartless feel to it, but today that effect was magnified immeasurably by how it dwarfed him. If Lex was inside though, then Clark would need to follow.
Skirting the main electric railings, Clark moved towards the swipe card operated gate that workers enter via. He didn't need to sneak in that way because he could easily fit through the diamond shaped gaps in the fence, but this way was much nearer the research labs he'd seen once when he'd entered the plant after a toxin had escaped. Lex knew about the military experiment that Lionel had started that time, but he didn't have it shut down till he'd almost killed half of Smallville…
The memory of Jason, Lana and Chloe in the hospital came back to haunt him, followed by the vision of his parents splayed out on the farmhouse floor. He shuddered, and then dodged behind a yellow barrel bearing a toxic label as the sound of approaching footsteps echoed across the concrete.
Clark checked his watch, wondering if it was time for a shift change, but as the person neared, the teen's arm dropped back to his side and he had to blink in shock. Not only was the approaching man not a Luthorcorp employee, but he wore the fatigues of a US Marine. An M16 was slung over his shoulder, and he took position at the security gate as if he was taking up sentry duty there.
Clark's mouth opened and he blinked again, but somehow his voice was lost to him. All the time since the plane crash he had convinced himself that this was not a dream, but now it had to be. Maybe Lex never did shut that project down. Maybe we're all experiencing some kind of group nightmare this time?
The young, blonde haired soldier before him couldn't be a ghost, and he couldn't be here in Smallville. Clark mouthed the word, "Whitney…" in a slow, shaken drawl and was tempted to pinch his own impenetrable skin, because the netherworld they had fallen into had just gotten a lot scarier.
Chloe turned her back to the immense outside world as soon as Clark had vanished. She didn't know why, but she couldn't bring herself to look at the magnified vista of Smallville anymore. It was more than a nightmare- it was like a living hell.
The reporter glanced around the cabin and began to tidy things, placing their new muffin stash near Lex's drinks cabinet that had now been appropriated for their provisions. She sneaked a crumb of the moist cake as she busied herself, and its sweet taste reminded her of Martha and her cooking. Will I ever be able to tell Clark's mom how good her food is again?
Chloe frowned and decided that feeling sorry for herself was not exactly the best course of action. I need to focus! For starters I should be thinking about protecting myself while Clark and Lex are out of the picture! She glanced around, scoping out the sparse items they had for something that would make a good weapon. Lex had taken the only real gun they had, so it was down to simple common sense to find something suitable.
"I'd love a baseball bat right about now…" She tapped her fingers on the slide out table near her seat and then realized Lex's precious belongings were still packed in the back of the jet, "I guess it would be asking too much for him to have brought one of his favourite swords along…"
Chloe ducked into the storage area and began unzipping her host's cases. After rummaging through Armani suits, Gucci ties and a fencing outfit she began to give up hope. "I don't suppose he'd pack a sword in with his clothes anyway," she tugged open another compartment and a leather golf-bag tumbled out almost knocking her over. It wasn't what she'd hoped for, but it might help.
The blonde pulled out every club until she found the heaviest and then cradled it in her hands sensing its weight for a method of defence. "I'm no Tiger Woods, but I should be able to hit something with this," She smiled and then pulled her body up from where she'd slouched on the floor while searching. "Now to see if I can find the mace I had in my purse and I'm all set."
Thunk….
Chloe stopped dead in her tracks and listened as the metallic sound seemed to rumble through the airframe. It sounded like someone chopping, but instead of firewood, the hacking was more like metal on metal. She peeked around the door and breathed in; daring herself to discover what was causing the ear grating noise. It came again, only this time the hammering seemed closer.
Chloe tiptoed to the nearest port side window and peered out, squinting as the sunlight caught her unawares. Under the wingtip she saw a shadowy movement followed by cursing. The voice was instantly recognizable as Richard, but what the heck is he doing out there? She put her free hand up to shield her eyes and took another look.
The crazed pilot had a small red hatchet in his hand from the jet's emergency equipment, and was chopping indiscriminately at the Learjet's wing. In his blind state he had no real clue if he was hitting his target, but the reporter guessed he was attempting to breach a fuel line or worse the actual inner wing's tank.
Chloe gripped her club so tightly that her knuckles started to turn white. In Richard's paranoid state he could be incredibly strong, but he had to be stopped. "Okay, so now I get to use my five-iron on a goofball, not a golf ball!" She tried to psyche herself up with humor, and then made a run for the door and the still cussing pilot. "Richard, wait! We need that fuel if we're to ever get home!"
"We need to destroy the plane, girl! Destroy any evidence that we're here or they'll get us!" Richard continued to swing wildly with the axe, sometimes missing the wing altogether, sometimes tearing into the metal with a grunt as he exerted his muscles to their limits, "If the radiation doesn't get us Lionel Luthor will!" Perspiration streamed from his brow into his colourless eyes and he blinked, but didn't pause.
"You crazy fool you'll kill us all if you destroy the plane!" Chloe screamed and grabbed Richard's arm, trying desperately to pull him away without hitting him with the club, but he elbowed her in the face surprisingly accurately for a blind man.
Chloe toppled backwards and landed heavily. The club was jarred from her hand as she hit the ground and before she could grab it back, the pilot was upon her. Somehow, his ears were compensating pretty well for his lack of sight, and he'd pinpointed her position on the rough soil easily. He dropped down onto his knees, straddling Chloe's stomach, and she wriggled helplessly beneath his weight.
"Wha…what are you going to do?"
Richard's mouth curled into a sneer as he cocked his head towards the sound of her petrified voice, "You must already be suffering from the radiation…better to put you out of your misery now than to let you suffer for days in misery…"
Chloe's eyes bulged as she saw the axe in the pilot's hand being slowly held aloft ready for a death blow. "No! I'm not sick! Please!" She focused on the now damaged edge of the tool where it had been chipped from countless impacts with the jet's wing. It wasn't anything she wanted to get hit by any time soon, "Richard, I don't deserve to die like this! I'll take my chances with the radiation, please!" she squirmed more until he used his free hand to search out her throat and push her head hard into the ground.
"Better to stay still, girlie." He shivered with anticipation, "Just think what it will be like if I don't finish you with the first swing…"
Clark stared at the illusion before him for a few more minutes and then shook himself. Whatever or whoever this person was made no difference. The goal of coming here hadn't changed- he had to find Lex.
So where would you head first, Lex? Clark let his eyes slip into x-ray mode and began to systematically scour the buildings, starting with Dr. Ford's old labs first. Inside the research area had changed considerably since Clark had been there last, but it was obvious it was still being used as more than just a fertilizer plant's laboratory. More military guards walked along the passageways, and in the main section a huge machine had taken up a colossal amount of space. It was like nothing Clark had ever seen before, at least not outside of movies.
He honed in with his hearing to try and determine more about the complex, but all that he could discern from the two scientists on duty was a bunch of figures and techno-babble about 'the generator.' So, where is Lex, and did he know about this? Has this 'generator' got us all hallucinating again?
Footsteps reverberated down the freshly cleaned passageway outside the lab, and Clark had to readjust his hearing to compensate for the attenuated sound. He zeroed in on the source, and wasn't surprised to see Lionel breezing towards the lab. What did surprise the teen, however, was the amount of hair the Luthor had. It was as if he'd never had his head shaved in prison.
Lionel barked a few orders to a subordinate and then headed for an office in the far corner of the testing room. Clark squinted again and the office's walls disappeared to allow a view of Lionel leaning over a desk quite curiously. Then, he spoke even though there appeared to be no one else in the room.
"Prey tell me how you were created?" A devious smirk crossed the businessman's features and he slid his hands in his trouser pockets as he circled the desk, "And to what purpose? I can see the benefits as far as industrial espionage is concerned due to your size, but why in the image of my son?"
Clark quickly refocused his vision to the desktop. It didn't take a genius to work out that Lex was probably on it. "Ugh oh…"
The tiny billionaire had been strapped down to the table with a piece of duck tape and was now squirming helplessly beneath it. As Clark watched, his friend glared at the giant who was his father. "I'm no copy! I'm your son, Alexander. Can't you see it's your own experiment that made me this size?"
Lionel laughed and rubbed at the bottom of his beard. "I'm afraid the real Lex left for Metropolis this morning via the Luthorcorp helicopter. I personally watched it take off." He leaned in close, letting his huge, hawk-like orbs pierce his captive's soul, "Now then, why don't we begin with who you really work for, how you were created, and what corporate secrets you were sent to retrieve."
"I'm your son, I came here in the hope of help, not imprisonment, but I should have known if you're in charge to expect nothing more than suspicion and mistrust!"
Lionel turned and opened a desk draw, pulling out something from a tray of equipment. Lex's eyes fixed on the edge of the scalpel and watched it as Lionel wafted it in the air like a tiny rapier. "If you were my son you'd know how skilful I can be with a blade. So, where shall we begin?"
"I can't tell you anything I don't know." Lex tugged at the duck tape, keeping his gaze away from Lionel, "Not that I would in any case, dear father. I learned how to play your little mind games years ago, and I've grown tired of them. Perhaps you'll simply murder me now like you did my grandparents."
Lionel paused for just a second at the emotional hatred in his prisoner's voice. It couldn't be Lex, and yet there was some unmistakable likeness that defied logic. "Suppose I was to believe that you are somehow my son. I would, of course require some rational explanation…"
Lex laughed mockingly. "I might have been willing to trust someone at Luthorcorp with that information, Dad, but that someone isn't you."
Lionel smirked, "Very well, I'll just have to retrieve it the old fashioned way, won't I Lex?" The mocking inflection to his voice made it quite clear he still didn't think the person on the table was truly his son, and he stooped over, brandishing the scalpel until Clark couldn't see what he was doing with it without x-raying through the table top.
The blade was scraping dangerously close to Lex's thigh. "No!" Clark knew revealing himself was reckless, but how else could he stop Lionel from cutting up his friend like a lab animal.
The tiny cry however went by unnoticed by Lionel, and Clark was forced to re-evaluate the situation. "If he can't hear my voice…" He supersped up to the lofty Luthor and began swinging on the bottom of his left trouser leg.
Amazingly, Lionel was still far too immersed in his torture session to notice, and Clark's acute auditory skills picked up a miniature scream from Lex as his own father sliced him with the scalpel. The yelp of pain was far too much for the teenager to bear and he retaliated with his own form of torment.
"Let's see how you like your own brand of suffering…" Clark let go of the expensive trouser leg and focused his heat vision on the material. In seconds, Lionel had forgotten about Lex and was trying desperately to swat out the growing flame on his trousers.
As he finally got the mini-blaze under control he spotted the perpetrator and his eyes widened. "Another one!"
Clark stood with his arms folded defiantly in front of his chest and made no attempt to escape. When Lionel swooped down and grabbed him in a fist, he still showed no signs of using his abilities. This was all part of his newly founded plan to distract Lionel, and get up on the desk all in one move.
Lionel held the teen in his hand, keeping his fingers clasped around his captive's torso to prevent escape. His eyes narrowed as he recognized the new pocket-sized person. "Why if it isn't the young Clark Kent," he squeezed a little, "Don't tell me, you're the real Clark, and you're not here to spy?" He increased the pressure, unaware he wasn't hurting his victim, "Tell me who and what you are or I cut your mini- Lex friend a little more."
"Clark, no! Don't tell him anything! He'll still kill us. He can't see what his ill-timed experiment has caused!" Lex writhed on the table, but couldn't really see what was happening because Lionel was standing too far behind his incapacitated form.
Clark smiled impishly at Lionel and his eyes danced cheekily. "Lex's right. You'll kill me anyway, or worse make me a lab rat. So do your worst!" He made the words sound so taunting that he knew Lionel would react.
Not only had his pride been hurt when Clark had burned him, but now he was being goaded by someone not even six inches tall. Lionel's temper cracked just as Clark had hoped it would, and he tossed his young prisoner across the desktop like a discarded pen.
Clark skidded on the recently polished oak surface and his skull slammed into the edge of a computer keyboard to the right of where Lex lay. After the initial impact he remained motionless, and Lionel bent forward to admire his handy work. "It would seem your young friend doesn't know me as well as he should, Lex." He offered sarcastically, "Perhaps when I return from replacing my trousers you'll see the light before it's too late for you too."
Lex huffed, suddenly feeling as helpless as the day he'd been strapped to the table during the electro-shock therapy at Belle Reve- Lionel had peered at him in just the same condescending way. "If you've hurt Clark…"
Lionel sneered and felt the bottom of his beard again in mock thought, "You'll what, Lex?" He laughed, and then tore of another strip of duck tape, securing a lifeless Clark to the desk behind Lex. "Don't worry, I'll be back for answers before you bleed to death," He laughed again as he sauntered out the door, leaving his pseudo-son alone with his unresponsive friend.
"Clark! Clark, wake up!" Lex wriggled more, but because of the way Lionel had positioned them both he couldn't see Clark or how badly he was hurt. He glanced down instead to his own thigh where Lionel had nicked it with the scalpel. Blood had soaked his trouser leg already, and there was no way he could apply any pressure to staunch it. It was somehow poetic, but he sensed they would both die right here on the desk at Lionel's hand and no one would mourn them. If Clark isn't already dead, that was a bad crack he took to the head…
TBC...
