Chapter 9

"Is everything ready?" Clark asked Pete.

"Yep, Lex's men are positioned around the perimeter about a mile out. Our people are positioned and waiting as well." Pete reported.

He eyed Clark, "How are you feeling man?"

"As long as I don't overtly use any of my abilities then I'm OK. Unfortunately, I think Chloe's getting worse. Her headache is nonstop and her muscles ache as well." Clark replied. "Of course, after I confront El Diablo, I might be a pool of Jell-O…"

"I've got your back as always." Pete slapped him on the back.

"I know thanks." Clark returned the slap, gently ever so gently. "Let's get this done."

Clark grabbed the Brady Bunch horse and walked to the center of the hangar. Crumbling the statue in his hands, he let the stone fall to the floor. He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears as the stone emitted the deafening whine.

"I think you need to go to your position Pete. Kal-El will be here soon."

Pete ran to his office and hid. Clark X-rayed the walls to view the skies. His doppelganger was rocketing right for them. Clark took a deep breath, shook out his arms and legs to prepare for the upcoming battle. He picked up the stone, turned it over in his hand and sighed; all that infinite power in an itty bitty space. He continued to wait, but not for long.

Kal-El burst through the ceiling and landed about ten feet away from Clark. The two stood looking at each other.

"YOU! You are an impossibility! You cannot be here!" Kal-El shouted across the room.

Clark smiled, "Yet here I am. Puts a kink in the old processor doesn't it?"

Clark placed the stone in his pocket. He stared right into Kal-El's eyes wondering how his mother had ever done this without superpowers. Those eyes were black and soulless as a shark's. His mother was certainly much stronger than he could ever be. He owed her another big hug when he got home.

Kal made the first move. In a flash, he was in Clark's face throwing a right punch aimed for his jaw. Clark blocked the punch with the same speed. He struck Kal squarely in the chest with his right hand sending Kal flying backwards. Quickly, he stopped himself in midair and floated glaring at Clark.

"Oh yeah, forgot about that. Crap," Clark mumbled to himself. Kal flew right back at him with both hands straight out in front. Clark side stepped. Kal anticipated the move; threw out his arm and close lined Clark. Clark went sliding across the floor and crashed into the counter.

"Give me the stone! I will fulfill my destiny!" Kal bellowed while hovering over Clark.

"Yeah, I don't think so." Clark extracted himself from the wreckage. "It's Jor-El's destiny not ours. You're a program, a flawed one at that. Something has gone wrong. You're a murderer and far too dangerous. Let CK make his own way!"

Kal's glare intensified. With a roar, he rushed Clark. Bracing himself, Clark waited for the tackle. Football was about to come in handy. He caught Kal with a loud "Hmmph!" The collision created a shockwave that shattered the windows in the building. Clark held on to Kal with everything he had.

"Now Pete!" Clark nearly screamed. "Hurry!"

Pete crunched through the glass from the office windows. Holding the Black K in front of him, he approached the two men. Kal let out a yell and began to shake violently. Clark released him and scrambled backwards. He fell onto his knees and crawled away. Kal continued to shake until he split into two separate entities.

"You have to give Clark the stone!" Clark continued to scoot himself backwards. He was right; he was a pool of Jell-O.

Pete waited; he had to be sure the right one received the stone. It only took a second; he knew without reservation which one to give it to. He threw it. CK caught the element and stabbed Kal with it. With a final howl, Kal-El disintegrated like a small whirlwind. Clark Kent, known as CK to his friends and family, dropped to the floor in a heap.

Pete scooped up the Black K and put it back into the box. He walked tentatively toward the heap on the floor.

"CK? Clark?"

The heap moaned. "Pete?"

He knelt down next to his friend. "You're gonna be all right CK. Is Kal-El gone?"

"Yeah," CK flipped over onto his back. "Yeah, he's gone. Just me now."

"WELL THAT IS GOOD NEWS!"

Pete whirled around to see Lex walk confidently across the hangar floor. Clark, still reeling from the fight, rose slowly to his feet. The other shoe was about to drop.

With seamless motion, Lex raised a weapon at Pete. "Sons of Krypton, I would like you to meet a daughter of Earth."

Lana stepped from behind Lex opening her locket. For the briefest moment, a fire licked at Clark's nerve endings then everything went dark. This time, he did not have time to scream. The loud crack from his head hitting the concrete reverberated across the hangar.

Lex acknowledged Pete with three quick shots in the chest.

-------------

A/N: It's not over yet. Please, please, please review.