Chapter 9:
At the Daily Planet, Clark and Raya head towards Chloe to see if she can help them track down where Baron may have fled to.
"Baron wouldn't have left the area with you still alive." Raya said as her and Clark walked the final set of stairs that went through to the basement of the Daily Planet.
"There must be some other place he'd go. Maybe a military installation the public doesn't know about."
"Hey, I've been trying to call you where have you been?" Chloe asked as she walked out of the photocopying room.
"Racing around." Clark answered. Chloe gave him a confused look. "Chloe, this is Raya."
"Oh Raya, wow, it's nice to know something good finally came out of the Phantom Zone especially since we have a big problem." She finished, handing Clark a couple of photographs of the power source that is used to power Brainiac.
"Chloe this is what Zod was gonna use to wipe out the Earth. Where'd you get this?"
"Jimmy took it." She explained. "It was on Lex's desk."
"I thought I destroyed it."
"I know this design. It's part of the Brain Interactive Construct." Raya explained. Her eyes firmly set on the picture.
"What?" Chloe asked, confused.
"Brainiac. This box was its power core. Kryptonian energy source exponentially stronger than anything here on Earth."
"Baron." Clark said, just realizing what this could do..
"If he gets a hold of this it will give him enough power to fuel him indefinitely. And kill us both."
"What about Kor-El?" Clark suddenly asked.
"Who's Kor-El?" Chloe asked.
"Long story."
"What about him?" Raya asked curious to see where Clark was going with this inquiry.
"You said that he was the one who originally caught the phantoms. Why don't we get him to help us?"
"We don't have the time to race around the world to look for him, and I don't have any way of contacting him. All we can do is hope that he finds us before Baron, and any of the other phantoms do." Raya finished off, hoping that she sees her husband sooner rather than later."
At the Luthor mansion, Lex was studying the Kryptonian power source when Lana walked through the doors of his office.
"Lana," he began with a smile. "What a pleasant surprise. To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I'm sorry Lex I just didn't know who else to talk too, and you've always been there for me to hear me out."
"Lana," he said, before placing both his hands on her shoulders, and stroking them gently. "You know that I'm always here for you, and that you can tell me anything."
"I know." She smiled softly at him. "Clark did it again."
"Did what again?"
"He took off giving me some lame excuse about his dad needing him for some help out on the farm, when he actually went to route 40." She said as she walked away from him and started to pace lightly.
"What was he doing out on route 40?"
"Somehow he knew that Lois was in an accident. I want to know how. And I want to know why doesn't he trust me enough to tell me? You know I keep waiting for his armor to crack. I thought if I was patient enough he'd let me in, but uh, I guess people have armor for a reason."
"You know Lana, it's possible that Clark is never going to trust you." He replied.
Lana looked disappointed. Then noticing the power source she walked towards it. "Lex, I know what this is, this is what that creature that possessed you was gonna use to wipe out the Earth. What are you doing with it?"
"Luthor Corp. has been working with the military, trying to uncover it's secrets. It's amazing isn't it? Such a simple little fragment of metal, could unlock the secrets of the universe."
As Lana approached the box, the doors to Lex's office burst open, revealing Baron.
"You have something I need!" he exclaimed breathlessly.
"Don't worry Lana I'm gonna call security." Lex assured her as he rushed for the phone.
"There currently unavailable right now."
Spotting the power source Baron, hobbles toward it like a mad-man.
Lex steps in his way, "You're not getting near it." He states firmly.
Baron responded by pushing him, sending him soaring through a glass table.
"LEX!" Lana screamed, worried that he might have been seriously injured.
They both look up to see Baron place his hand over the object. A bright purple light appears, accompanied by a low, distorted screeching noise. This marvel continued for about five seconds, before the power source turned to ash, and Baron sped out of the room.
Just then, Cevin walked through the doors and rushed to Lex's side. "Mr. Lex! Are you alright? What happened?" As he and Lana helped Lex to his feet, he spotted the pile of ash on Lex's desk. "Baron!" he whispered to himself. As Lex continued to groan, Cevin effortlessly scooped him up, "Let's get him to the hospital. Do you have a car?" He asked Lana.
She nodded in response.
"I'm gonna need you to take him there. I have some things I need to work on first. I'll meet you there Miss, uh…"
"Lang, Lana Lang."
"Okay, Miss Lang."
They arrived to Lana's car and Cevin strapped Lex in, then quickly scanned over his body. "He's fine thankfully nothing is broken, just some scratches and bruises." He assured her.
Closing the door, he watched as Lana, sped off towards the hospital. "Baron, how in the world did you escape?" he asked before he shot off towards the sky. Baron didn't see Clark's super-speedy approach to the mansion, nor did Clark see Cevin shoot off into the night sky.