TWO
Chloe spotted the yellow cab in front of the diner and went inside to look for its driver. After flashing the photos of the assumed stalker around town, her search had led her to Abe "Goldie" Goldberg, former left tackle of the 1982 Smallville Crows football team. His current profession was proof that jocks needed something to fall back on.
Chloe plopped onto one of the stools at the counter next to her target. Waving away the menu a harried waitress was about to set in front of her, she ordered a cup of coffee to go.
"Mr. Goldberg, hi," she greeted, turning to face him. "I was wondering if I could ask you to look at a photo for me."
Chewing on a toothpick, Goldie turned to see who was addressing him. "Look at what?" he asked with a frown, reaching a hand back to scratch the back of his thick neck.
"A photo," Chloe repeated, pulling it out of her bag. "I've been looking for this guy, and I found out that he called for a cab from the grocery down on Main St."
Goldie sucked on his teeth and made no move to reach for the photo. "What makes you think I answered the call?"
Chloe withheld a smirk. There weren't that many cabbies in Smallville… there weren't that many places to go. "You're just the first driver I've been able to find," she told him. "I'd really appreciate it if you could take a look. It's my kid brother and my folks are really worried about him…"
Goldie squinted at her. "Aren't you that, um, newspaper girl from the high school?"
Chloe sighed. It was hard to have a cover in a small town. "Yeah."
He laughed and reached for the photo. He was suddenly eager to help. "Is this for one of those Freaky Friday stories you do?"
"Meteor Freak stories," Chloe corrected. "And, no. I graduated… I don't write those anymore."
"That's too bad," Goldie replied, somewhat disappointed. "I really liked reading them. They're almost as good as those Inquirer Magazines I get at the house."
Goldie paused for a moment. "Ah, yeah. I remember this kid."
Chloe perked and she flipped open her notepad. "So, you were the one that answered the call?"
Goldie nodded. "Didn't take him anywhere, though. He didn't have any money." He handed the photo back to Chloe and looked at her thoughtfully. "Not really your brother is it?"
Chloe shrugged sheepishly. "Thanks for your help." She pulled a couple of single bills out of her purse and dropped them on the counter to pay for her drink. Tucking the photo and notepad back in her bag, she stood and picked up her cup.
The ex-football star leaned forward with his arms crossed on the counter. "Don't you want to know where he went?" he asked as Chloe stepped past him.
Chloe turned to face him with a frown. "You said you didn't take him anywhere…"
"I couldn't. Against the rules," he conceded. "But I didn't have another call to go to, so I took a moment to go in the store for a cola. On my way out, I saw your guy heading North through the fields on foot."
Chloe pulled to a halt at the stop sign in front of the small grocery store. Making a left turn, she headed North, hoping to pick up the trail of her mystery man. As the town grew distant behind her, she realized that there was only one thing of interest out this direction.
The Kawatche Caves.
With their history of being Ground Zero for most of the strange things she'd witnessed in her short life, the caves should have been one of the first places on her list to check out. Now that she had a known destination, Chloe allowed her little car to pick up speed.
"It's a museum," Clark said, reading the engraved sign next to the entrance.
Lois frowned. "A museum?" She moved closer to read the sign for herself.
In addition to the name and purpose of the building, the sign informed them that the building would be closed for preparation of 'The Festival.' Like the writing on the kiosk screens for the transit system, the text was repeated in five different languages.
"It's like Disney World," Lois remarked.
"What is?"
"All these translations. This New Troy place must have a lot of international visitors… like Disney World."
She turned away from the sign and gazed up at the writing chiseled into the building's facade. The Gothic Block font declared that this was The Daily Planet. The newspaper's logo was carved into the wall to the right of the title.
"I know that the Planet is a pretty important news service… but why would a city presumably on the other side of the world build a museum in honor of it?" Lois wondered aloud. "It's not even a good reproduction. Where's the famous globe on the top of the building?"
Clark tilted his head back and acknowledged her observation. This version of the Daily Planet building was the shortest one in the area; all the others being tall skyscrapers. From his guess, the museum was about six stories high, and its architecture, while modern, seemed somewhat antiquated in the shadow of the other buildings.
"I wonder what the festival is for," he said.
Lois shook her head. "Hopefully we won't be around to find out. I've had my fill of the Land of the Dead. I would really like to get back to my bed…"
Clark gave her a look.
"Okay, back to your bed," she sniped, giving him a cocky smile.
"Speaking of that, I thought you were moving."
Lois ignored him. She was a bit annoyed that he didn't look even close to as tired and weary as she felt. She was starting to feel light-headed.
"We could use some assistance from the neighborhood authorities. Why don't you go and try to get arrested," she said around a yawn. Leaning against the wall, she slid down to a seated position. Pulling her legs to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, she laid her head on top of her knees.
Clark turned around to reply to her snide comment but let it go when he noticed her position. He contemplated their options. Using his powers, he could run to find a place where his money would work in a so he could place a call to his parents.
"Lois, I'm just going to check around this corner to see if there's a police station or something… I'll be right back."
Lois replied with a wave without lifting her head. She too tired to be concerned about being alone in the silent city, but she knew she had to keep herself alert or she would fall asleep right there on the pavement.
She lifted her head and watched as Clark reached the end of the block, about to turn the corner. She was starting to regret having followed him earlier that night. When she had first noticed him through the kitchen window, she had considered the possibility that he was sleepwalking due to the trancelike expression he had worn as he crossed the fields.
Smiling in amusement, she thought about how he had jumped when she arrived behind him in the caves. She had startled him by leaning over his shoulder as he crouched behind a boulder.
"What'cha doin?"
"Lois," Clark hissed. "What are you doing here?" He was rarely surprised, and he didn't like when it did happen.
"Following you… what do you think?" Lois asked.
"Shhh!" Clark responded, with a glare, pulling her down behind the boulder he was crouched behind.
"Why?" Lois peered into the darkness. "What are you looking at?"
Ahead of them, the larger opening of the cavern was empty.
Clark turned back to face the cavern. He frowned in confusion. "I thought someone was in here."
"Of course you did," Lois replied sarcastically. "Because why else would you get out of your bed in the middle of the night and hike out here?"
When he didn't respond, Lois rolled her eyes and stood.
Clark slowly followed suit; the frown deeply etched in his face.
"Hello!" Lois called, as she stepped into the clearing, running a hand along the wall for guidance in the darkness.
She caught Clark's glare and smiled. "See? No one's here."
Clark sighed and squinted as something on the ground caught his attention. Using his vision, he made out something like a PDA on the ground near the far wall.
As he took a step toward it, Lois leaned against the wall nearest her. His progress halted as a dim light appeared on the wall.
"Lois…" Clark began, ready to call her attention to the scene behind her.
Lois felt heat against her back. Slowly, she turned her head to locate the source. "What the…" she exclaimed as the what-should-have-been fixed symbols, on what-should-have-been a solid wall, began to spiral as if part of a combination lock.
As Clark grabbed her arm to pull her away from the wall, a bright flash blinded them both.
Lois shook her head and returned from her memories.
When the fog cleared, they were here… wherever this place was, with empty streets and fake newspaper buildings, she thought.
A sharp pain pierced her side and she sucked in a quick breath. The sudden pain hurt too for her to make a noise.
Clark froze in mid-stride and grabbed his abdomen. Clenching his jaw, he staggered backwards. The pain subsided a little, and he was able to take in a shallow breath. He took a few more steps backwards and swallowed. For whatever reason, the more he moved backwards, the better he felt.
A little after he had turned the corner, he had kicked it into high gear, running at super-speed in hopes of reaching another city. Before he had gone a full mile, though, a sharp pain had caused him to abandon his mission. The pain was unlike anything he had felt before… nothing like Kryptonite poisoning, but painfully similar to how it had felt to be shot when his powers were gone.
He had no idea what was going on, but he had no desire to tempt fate to find out. Turning to face the way he came, he headed back toward where he had left Lois, clutching his side tightly.
"Hey, you're back," Lois acknowledged. "You should see this."
Clark followed her back toward the entrance of the museum. Bending down, Lois pointed to the cornerstone. There was an inscription written on it. He bent so he could read it.
"It turns out I was leaning against it…" Lois offered in explanation.
"That doesn't make sense," Clark remarked.
-– Perry White 2012
Building dedicated in 2086. Cornerstone is part of original building (demolished May 2030).
"Somehow, I don't think we're in Singapore," Lois observed quietly.
Indeed, the most pressing question on their minds was no longer where, but when.
In the excitement of discovery, neither noticed they were both clutching their sides.
Xavir glanced down at his DeLor8 padd and frowned. There was a slight crack in the crystal overlay covering the screen. He had dropped it when the two people had paid him a surprise visit the other night.
He carefully entered the code by tapping on the screen in the correct spots. If that crack became serious, the plasma-like gel that was encased inside would leak… and if that happened, he was in worse trouble than he had bargained for.
The symbols on his padd corresponded to the symbols on the cave wall in front of him. Unknown to the residents of this era, embedded inside the walls of these caves was a spaceship whose discovery would lead to great technological advancements.
At that moment, the only technological feat that Xavir was concerned with was the activation of the ship's Tislor core, which then he could manipulate to open a time window.
Thinking back to the incident that had caused him to miss his first window, he paused before entering the final commands and turned in a slow circle. He didn't want any more surprises.
He released a slow breath, satisfied that he was alone and turned his attention back to his padd, tapping in the final instructions.
Circular sections of the wall began shifting, and Xavir felt some of the tension go out of his shoulders. While he was happy to be going home, he knew that his adventure was only beginning.
Chloe flattened herself against a rock as the young man she had been searching for raised a hand toward the cave wall. Her initial plan had been to find him and demand to know what happened to her cousin and best friend, but when she walked into the cave, what she saw changed everything.
If seeing inanimate objects, like sections of walls, slide around like puzzle pieces was an unbelievable sight, then seeing those walls dissolve into a wormhole was mind-boggling. Chloe reached up to brush back her hair as it flapped in the wind created by the vortex.
She quickly pushed herself away from the wall and peeked around the corner again. She watched as the mystery man closed his eyes, grimaced, took a deep breath, and stepped into the bright light inside the mirage-like window. Chloe didn't think long about what her next move would be.
She needed answers, and there was only one person that could give them to her.
TBC