Ch. 13

Clark maneuvered as close to the girls as he thought he could get away with and not arouse too much suspicion. He looked around searching for a good distraction. He looked almost straight up and spotted a crane hauling a load of… 'Oh, that'll work,' Clark thought as he x-rayed the round, pill shaped containers. He had to suppress a smile as he thought of the mess he was about to create.

Clark melted the cable holding the containers in place using his heat vision and watched as the containers began to fall towards the floor from a height of around seventy feet. He knew that he had to act fast so he turned around and ran as fast as he could to the girls while everyone else was looking up in shock at the containers as they fell. Clark picked up both of the girls by their waists and threw them over his shoulders, being careful not to hurt them. He almost lost his balance as he started to run with them over his shoulders, but he was able to regain his balance and ran out of the room just as the containers were about to hit the floor.

When the containers hit the floor they burst open like ripe watermelons hitting the sidewalk when dropped from a considerable height. Their pressurized contents burst out and covered everything within a hundred feet, including the guards and The Owner, all of whom had been too stunned to move. The crane operator climbed out of the cockpit to survey the mess.

The Owner sniffed with his large nose at the putrid filth that covered him from head to toe, trying to figure out what was covering him. Immediately afterwards he regretted it as his hyper sensitive nose rebelled against the smell.

Looking up at the operator he yelled, "What is this?"

Trying his best to hold in a laugh the crane operator replied, "It's all of this week's waste from the number thirteen restroom facility."

"You mean to tell me that I'm covered in …" The Owner was so furious he couldn't continue. Turning around he noticed the conspicuous absence of the Kryptonian and the slaves. He yelled for one of the guards to alert security to the escape of the slaves and the Kryptonian and to apprehend them on sight. He then turned and ordered the mess to be cleaned up immediately and to post guards at all entrances to the hanger. He also ordered that Kronus be sent to his residence as soon as possible so that he could talk to him. After that he turned and walked away, determined not only to get revenge on the Kryptonian for the humiliation that he had just suffered, but also to take as many baths as it took to get this horrible smell out of his fur.

Clark grinned from ear to ear as the sound of the containers breaking reached his ears. 'That should keep them busy for a while,' he thought as he continued to run as fast as he could. He wasn't making very good time compared to his normal self but he seemed to be a blur to the few people who saw him. Finally he stopped to rest. This wasn't as easy as he had hoped it would be.

He set the girls down in an alcove just off of the main hallway and put his hands on his knees as he tried to get his breath back.

"What's going on?" Chloe asked.

"Jail break. I was pretending to be a lot worse off than I was." Clark said in between gulps of air.

"I can tell that." Chloe said sarcastically as she observed him trying to catch his breath.

"I said I was faking the extent of my injuries, not that I was fine. That mosquito looking creature bit me and injected me with a poison that made it hard for me to even walk. I've recovered from some of it but I'll need about fifteen more minutes to be back to my old self. Until then we need to hide."

"Where?" Chloe asked.

"I'm not sure." Clark said.

Clark got a strange look on his face. Chloe spotted this and asked him about it.

"That was Jor-el talking to me. He says that the entire ship is under a sensor sweep. They will find us soon if we can't … hold on, I remember passing the sensor control room less than half a mile back. If I can take it out then that should blind them long enough for us to escape. Come on."

Clark started running, starting off slowly so that the girls could keep up. He wasn't up to carrying them again and he needed to conserve his strength so that he would be ready to fight whoever was in the sensor control room. In addition, he didn't want to leave the girls behind unprotected.

As they neared the sensor control room Clark slowed and then came to a stop. He x-rayed the room and found that there were only five people in the control room, only two of which were armed.

"Wait here. I'll be right back. If anyone tries anything just yell and I'll hear you. I shouldn't be longer than a minute."

With that Clark was gone. He ran into the room and disarmed the two guards before they had enough time to react. He then proceeded to ensure that everyone in the room was unconscious. He dragged them all out and then proceeded to destroy everything in the room that looked to be of any value. However, before he did that he used the computer to locate all of the patrols and the search pattern that they were using. He also used it to confirm a hunch that he had when he had last been in the hanger.

Setting the last of the equipment on fire Clark ran out of the room and told the girls to run. He had seen two patrols headed this way and didn't want to meet them just yet.

The group ran down the hallway and ducked into another hallway just in time to avoid one of the patrols. They continued to run for several minutes until they came to what looked like a flea market. Clark stopped running and led them into a dark corner of the large room that was being used to house the large flea market. When he was sure that they were out of sight he turned around and began to speak.

"We should be safe here for a little while. When I was in the control room I looked up the search pattern that the guards are using and found this place. It should be vacant of any patrols for about ten minutes. That should be enough time for me to heal completely. It's also enough time for me to tell you how I think we'll be getting off of this ship." Clark said in a quite voice.

Clark outlined the plan to both of the girls. Both Chloe and Lana were very unhappy with his plan.

"Couldn't we just steal one of the smaller ships that we noticed in the hanger?" Chloe said, nervous about what he was suggesting.

"No, it wouldn't work. The ships here aren't able to be stolen. They have too many security measures to bypass. It would take years, even for me. We're going to have to do this my way." Clark said.

"Are you sure that your plan will work?" Lana asked. It sounded crazy to her.

"As sure as I can be." Clark said.

"All right then, it's settled." Chloe stated for Lana's benefit. She just hoped that Clark knew what he was doing.

Clark disappeared for a second and then reappeared with three cloaks in his hand.

"We all look to conspicuous in our clothes, especially me," Clark said, referring to the white suit he was wearing. "We need to disguise ourselves until we get to the hanger."

"Why don't you just run us there?" Lana asked, not really wanting to walk all the way back to the hanger.

"We don't want to do anything that could arouse suspicion and appearing out of thin air would be highly suspicious. I don't want them to know anything before they absolutely have to."

Lana gave in reluctantly and the group set off at a leisurely pace, trying to blend in as much as possible. When they neared the hanger they joined a line of people about to enter the hanger and get on board a ship. The guards barely gave them a second glance as they walked into the hanger. As the group approached the ship and began to scrounge around in their various bags and luggage for their tickets, Clark and the girls quietly separated themselves from the main group.

They walked along the wall of the hanger, coming to a door hidden behind several large crates. Clark opened the door and stepped inside to make sure that the room was indeed empty of personnel. Clark then ushered the girls into the room and locked the door behind them. He then moved over to a large locker and wrenched its door off. He handed the contents to Chloe and then moved on to the next locker and did the same, only this time he handed the contents to Lana.

"Chloe, Lana, you both need to get these on while I take care of the ship's defenses. Stay in here and lock the door behind me. I shouldn't be too long. Don't let anyone in except me. When I return you will both need to be inside of those suits and ready to go. I'll see you soon."

Clark turned away and moved to leave when Chloe reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him. He turned back around and looked at her questioningly.

"Be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you." Chloe said while holding on to Clark's hand.

Clark looked into her eyes and slowly lowered his head. He gently kissed Chloe on the mouth, making her eyes water when he pulled back from the kiss after several long moments. He took his free right hand and gently cupped her cheek with it. While staring into her eyes he said, "I'm coming back, and when we get home we are going to have a very long conversation, and then, if everything turns out like I'm hoping it will, we're going to go out on a date." He said the last part with a gentle smile.

"Don't I get a say in that?" Chloe asked.

"Nope." Clark responded, his smile widening a bit.

"Well then, you had better hurry. I'd hate to miss our date." Chloe said playfully with her own smile.

Clark's smile grew wide before he turned around and walked out the door.

TBC