Chapter 7
Illness
Disclaimer: I own neither Danny Phantom nor Smallville
Several weeks passed, the weather turned cooler. Danny alone seemed completely unaffected, still meandering around in a long sleeved t-shirt while everyone else was inclined to rug up. After the excitement of October, things quietened down considerably. The Corn Ghost was the only persistent trouble, and he was dealt with in less than five minutes. Uncle Jon had decided to run for Senate, and Danny couldn't be happier for him. Sure it meant that both he and Clark had to be more private about their gifts, but Danny had an alter-ego and Clark still wasn't ready to take up that same public mantle. Both of them encouraged Jon to stand up for what he believed in.
Clark was still recovering from a piece of silver kryptonite that had infected him. Physically he was over it, but Danny could see the mental wear it had done on him. It was obvious that Clark still felt guilty about the harms he had done to everyone, from accusing Uncle Jon of taking election funds from Lionel Luthor, to the physical wound he inflicted on Lex. Danny recalled what he'd done under Freakshow's influence. Sure paranoia was different to being controlled, but the end effects were the same. Even now two years later Danny felt guilty for what he'd almost done to Sam.
Clark said that his Professor, Milton Fine had saved him. That he had announced himself as a fellow Kryptonian. Danny just felt terrible for being so useless. Clockwork had decided that he needed to have history lessons after school all month until late into the evening. It was a good thing he didn't need to eat much because he'd skipped dinner every night for a fortnight. Clockwork had been pressing all two billion years of Ghost Zone history into him; including all worlds that had been connected to it over time, and he was suffering from mental overload. He still blamed himself for not being there when Clark got infected. He should have known that something was wrong.
Then again, perhaps this was something that needed to happen. Darn Clockwork. He wasn't supposed to meddle in the affairs of humans, but Danny qualified as a ghost who he could interfere with. Was he just being sneaky about his manipulations? Even after over a year of being Clockwork's ghostly ward Danny could never tell exactly what the time ghost wanted. So Fine was Kryptonian? Something felt off. Kryptonian's always greeted each other with their Kryptonian name. It was a heritage and status thing. Fine using his Earthly name may garner trust in Clark, but it set off alarm bells for Danny. He wanted to meet Fine so he could get a better gauge on him.
Danny was up late, it was a Sunday and thankfully Clockwork had decided that a reprieve was in order until after New Year's. That meant he had all of December off to be a... well as much of a kid as a half-ghost part time Protector can be. Danny was still struggling to absorb all he'd been taught, and he wasn't allowed to talk about any of it. The rules in the Zone were quite demanding about who knew what. The only reason he was allowed to know at all was that Clockwork was his guardian. All that said he struggled in his human history lessons. Somehow all the events got lost among countless ghost wars and factions. So he had asked Clark to tutor him in human history to help keep it clear.
Danny and Clark sat in the barn loft. Clark was walking him through the bombing of Japan and how that came towards ending the war. Danny couldn't help but think that those bombings had triggered a three year war within the Zone. Clark walked Danny through the textbook, but the more he read the less he could understand. It was as if the language was foreign. Danny read over the notes he'd made. He could read them, plain as day. Whatever was written in the book looked wrong.
"Is there something wrong with the book?" Danny asked, completely puzzled by this mystery.
Clark looked at him confusedly. He looked at the book and shook his head "I don't think so, it just details the remains of Hiroshima and the after-effects of the bomb. Here, where are you up to in your notes?" Clark reached over to Danny who handed his own notes over.
Clark looked down at the page, then to Danny, his face betraying blank confusion. "Why are you writing notes like this?" Danny was confused. He always took his notes the same way. Clark had seen them before and agreed that his method was similar to Clark's.
"That's how I normally write notes, isn't it?" Danny pointed out. Clark flicked back a couple of pages in the notebook and stopped shoving the book back towards him. "That's how you usually write" he pointed out. Danny looked at the page; it was in that same weird language. But... he'd written those in English. He remembered writing them, so why couldn't he read them?
"You're writing in the same language they had at the shrine in the Far Frozen" Clark said questioningly "why?" Danny was at a loss. He hadn't seen the shrine, so he didn't know the language. Clockwork had mentioned that there was a written language universal to the Zone, but Danny hadn't come across it. At least he didn't think he had. But he couldn't understand the words in his history book, and he was somehow writing in a language that came from the Zone...
"I can't read it." Danny said gesturing to the words in his history book. "At all." Then he picked up his notebook. He couldn't understand anything from before tonight. "I can't read this either... Clark." Danny paused looking up at Clark, barely masking the panic this revelation gave him. "I don't think I can read English anymore."
"What?!" Clark exclaimed, and really Danny couldn't blame him, after all, how does one forget a whole language? But it was true, Danny couldn't read English, yet he could read the language of the Zone, the language of the dead. This would complicate things. Danny took a deep calming breath. People don't just forget things like that, so he could re-learn it. He hoped. But for the time being...
"Clark, I can't understand English writing anymore. I don't know why, tomorrow I'll see if there's anything I can do about it. For tonight there's nothing to be done. You can't understand what I wrote at all?" Clark shook his head. He seemed more panicked than Danny was letting himself be, but probably a trip to Clockwork would help him figure it out, not that Clark was allowed to know about Clockwork.
"Not at all, it looks really weird, but I recognise some of the shapes from the engravings on the altar back there." Clark replied and Danny just nodded. So he was somehow able to write in the ghost language without learning how to, or realising it. Brilliant. He thought sarcastically. But if he couldn't write in English; a living language then maybe...
"Could you write something in Kryptonian? Please?" Clark looked at him completely bewildered but obliged. Soon the Kryptonian glyphs were written on the bottom of his last page. Can you understand this? Clark had scrawled on the page.
"Yes, I could understand that." Danny said. "Why?" Clark puzzled "Wait, how do you even know Kryptonian?" Danny was just glad that there was a Real World language he understood. Clark had asked a valid question though. "I learned it in the Zone, when I was learning about Krypton. Much of the story I'm not able to relate. But as for reading Kryptonian... well, it could be the simple fact that I had to learn it the hard way. But I think it's far more likely that it's because it's a dead language. Since I was writing in the ghost's language; the original Dead Language... I guess I can read another one."
Danny shook himself and Clark blinked out of his surprise. "Just another thing that makes my existence..." "Complicated." Clark cut him off. "You know, your complicatedness is getting annoying." Danny smiled back at Clark and laughed. He needed it, while he wasn't showing it he was secretly panicking. This was another step towards full ghost-hood wasn't it? If he could only read dead languages? What next? Danny knew how loathe Clark was to connect to most things Kryptonian, so it wasn't likely that he would keep writing in it for Danny's benefit. Danny calmed himself. He'd just have to re-learn how to write English.
Clark and Danny were settling down from this ominous discovery, and Clark had elected to read the book aloud so Danny could take his own notes. It was far from a perfect system, but both agreed it was better than nothing. Suddenly Danny felt an alarming spark in energy nearby and a bright yellow light pierced the night. There was a loud roaring sound from outside and a minute later the soft crunch as a body fell onto gravel.
Danny leaped out the barn window and sped over to find what was wrong. A second later came Clark's concerned cries of "Mom, Mom!" as the two of them found Aunt Martha sprawled on the driveway, unconscious. A paper bag of groceries had spilled all around her and she was laying face down on the ground. "Mom! Are you okay?" Danny and Clark lifted Aunt Martha into a sitting position. Danny pushed out a bit of positive energy to help her back on her feet.
Groggily Aunt Martha answered "I... I must have fainted." In a very weak voice. "I haven't eaten anything today."
Clark asked about the noise and the flash of light, but Aunt Martha didn't seem to remember it at all. The two of them gently carried her inside where it was safe. Danny went outside to tidy up the spilled groceries. Something was wrong. That energy didn't feel like anything Danny had come across before. It wasn't like anything he'd felt on Earth or in the Zone. Something about it was off, but Danny had no idea where to start. Looking up to the stars he whispered "what are you?" before he headed back inside.
Line Break
Danny woke up to the early morning sun beating down through his curtains. He elected to go for a quick flight before having a shower, so transformed into his ghost half. Two weird things had happened just last night. Firstly, there was the fact that he had somehow forgotten how to read English. He could still speak it, but still. Secondly, and more importantly, Aunt Martha had fallen unconscious straight after that weird energy flared through. It was possible that they were connected, but his gut told him they weren't. Someone or something had sent the weird energy. Clark had said last night that he'd ask Chloe if she could come up with anything.
Danny returned to the farmhouse and transformed back into his human half before proceeding into the shower before anyone else got up. He dried his hair and then looked into the mirror. For a moment he thought he saw a flash of silver in his eyes, but then they settled down to green. Wait, green? Sure he was scared about the English thing, but he was keeping his emotions firmly in check and he wasn't at the fever pitch that made his eyes change. So why were they green now?
Danny transformed into Phantom and back, still green. What was wrong with him? First he couldn't read English, and now his eyes were stuck green. He went downstairs, deciding to make breakfast for everyone. While he went through the motions he couldn't help but feel mildly repulsed by the idea of eating. He set up for everyone and eventually Aunt Martha came down the stairs. Immediately he knew something was wrong, her aura was nowhere near as strong as it usually was. But she acted fine, and when Uncle Jon and Clark came down she said she felt fine. Knowing there was nothing to be done until things changed he let that line of worry drop, for now. At least until Aunt Martha got back from the doctor's.
Clark was the last downstairs. He eagerly tucked in to the meal Danny had laid out, Danny was just waiting patiently. Clark was digging into his third portion of blueberry pancakes, and Danny was trying to convince himself that he needed human food. No matter what, the idea of food made him feel ill, but the energy from Clark's aura was more tempting this morning. Stupid Ghost half making it impossible to act human Danny inwardly cursed himself. Clark finished off and washed up his dish before returning to the table.
It was then Clark noticed his eyes. "Danny, what's wrong? Why are your eyes green?" Danny cringed, and accidentally flicked to intangibility. Suddenly he found himself on the floor with the chairs legs sunk through his chest. Okay, something was definitely wrong. He just had no idea what. If Sam and Tuck, or Jazz were here they could help him figure it out, but they weren't here anymore. Danny slowly stood up and forced himself to be tangible again. He took a tentative seat back at the table before looking over to Clark.
"I honestly don't know." Danny said, turning over what he knew about his ghost half. He hadn't done anything recently that should cause this. "But between this, what happened to Aunt Martha last night, and the fact that I can't even read English at the moment I think I may skip school today." Okay, that was a lame attempt at humour, but he needed to get his mind off everything. What was wrong with him?
"You can't read English?" Uncle Jon asked sceptically. Heck, to Danny it sounded far-fetched, but it was true. Danny shook his head, looking at the floor and grumbled "not a word."
Aunt Martha looked concernedly at him "Like dyslexia?" Danny looked up to meet her eyes. "No, from what I know of dyslexia that's like you can recognise the symbols, just not the right order. Last night I couldn't recognise anything in the textbook. It was like trying to read Japanese Kenji." Danny shook his head and looked down at his feet again.
"He wrote in this really weird language though. Ghost Language." Clark chipped in. Danny interrupted him saying "Didn't realise that until Clark pointed it out. Hecate, I can't even read my own notebook" Danny sighed in frustration.
"Yeah, that is weird, but isn't it just another ghost thing? I mean, it was in the Far Frozen, and didn't you say something about Dead Languages?" Clark asked, rushed. Danny just nodded. This was ridiculous. There was too much going on all at once. "So you can write in that weird language without knowing it. And you were able to read Kryptonian." Clark commented. Both Aunt Martha and Uncle Jon started. "How?" Uncle Jon interrupted.
"It's a dead language, well, technically. So I think whatever is going on is..." Danny paused, thinking of the ramifications of his hypothesis. "It's making me more ghostly." Clark's eyes widened and a flash of fear sped through his eyes. Danny quickly sought to comfort him "I'm not dying, but my ghost half is definitely acting up. I don't know if it's permanent, but for now I can't read a living language." Danny paused; he could go into the Zone to ask Clockwork's advice. But he wanted to know what was wrong with Aunt Martha first.
"Until this settles, well, at least until my eyes change back can I take a sick day?" The two Kent Elders looked at each other. Danny understood, Clark had only taken days off when it was dire, and Danny himself had gone to school even with un-bandaged broken limbs. But he couldn't change his eyes back, and if the accident a little earlier was any indication his powers may act up. He couldn't afford to bring any of the wrong kind of attention to the family. Eventually they conceded that Danny should stay away from the school. Uncle Jon and Aunt Martha eventually began the tribute into town to see the doctor.
To pass the time, Clark elected to continue the history lesson from last night. While Clark read aloud Danny took notes. Eventually though Clark got sick of it and decided to quiz Danny on it instead. Half an hour passed, Aunt Martha's appointment was scheduled to start around now. The two tired of history, but Clark was curious. His cousin knew about Krypton, he could both read and write the language. He was tempted to ask, but when he had before he got the feeling that Danny was being evasive about it. Instead he elected to test his cousin's knowledge. He pulled out a blank lecture pad and wrote a message.
'Let's play a game.' Clark wrote in his native language.
'What?' Danny wrote back 'Why are we writing?' At Clark's puzzled glance he realised he'd written in the Ghost Language, which he didn't even know he knew. How much in the Zone had been written like this and he'd never picked it up? Quickly he translated into Kryptonian.
'I want to know how much you know, and I don't want to think about what's wrong with Mom' Clark quickly wrote.
'Fair enough. What do you have in mind? And please don't say hangman, we both know that doesn't work well in Kryptonian' Danny replied
'What if we study like this, see who can last longest without having to use English or...' Clark paused to look at Danny "What do you even call your Language?" To be perfectly honest Danny had no idea, and "Zoneian" didn't sound nice at all. He just shrugged. It was another thing to ask Clockwork, later.
'well, without reverting to another language' Clark finished. It was entertaining. It seemed that Clark knew a lot about Kryptonian, but it wasn't comprehensive. Whatever he had learned it was about the same as what a thirteen year old could write. Clark could get by, but he lacked sophistication. Eventually Danny got frustrated and elected to tutor his elder cousin in the proper phrasings of Kryptonian. Part of him wanted to laugh at the irony, but he couldn't bring himself to.
"Clark" Danny asked half an hour later "how did you learn Kryptonian?" Clark looked at his cousin. Danny could see a calculating look as well as a hint of embarrassment. After all, Danny had just been teaching him how to write Kryptonian when Clark was the one who came from Krypton.
"In my sophomore year at school I put the key into a wall in the Cave. It kind of downloaded me with the language. That's the best explanation I have for it." Well that made some sense; he never learned it, he was given it. He never had to refine it, and nobody had been able to teach him how to. Maybe the professor Milton Fine could, but Danny still felt there was something wrong there.
That's when the phone rang. Clark answered, and his parents said all was fine and they were headed back to the farm. Danny and Clark looked at each other. There was more to the story, but neither could figure out what. The two of them pushed the notebook to the side; Danny had made a lot of corrections to Clark's grammar. Clark decided that he was going to go to Metropolis to ask Chloe about the weird energy, and Danny said he'd just wait till Uncle Jon and Aunt Martha got home. Clark was headed out the door when Danny lost control again. In a flash he was Phantom before he was able to press it back again.
"What...?" Clark began. "Don't ask" Danny said rubbing his temples. He could feel Phantom welling up inside him, still pressing to get out, but there was no need to, and usually he could control it better than that.
"Complicated?" Clark returned. Danny deadpanned "Complicated". Clark was headed out the door when he half joked "To reiterate what I said last night, your complicatedness is getting really annoying." And with that he was gone.
Line Break
It was just after lunch by the time Clark got to Metropolis. Danny made it sound like he could handle whatever was wrong with him on his own, and encouraged Clark to focus his attention on his Mom. Sure the doctor said there was nothing wrong, but Clark wanted to know what made his Mom faint last night. Something told him it had something to do with that weird light and he was determined to find out what it was wrong. It was too weird and there was no way the two were unrelated. Clark proceeded to the Planet to ask Chloe's advice.
"According to the weather bureau at 10.35 last night other than a little rain there was nothing over Smallville" Chloe said as she walked through the basement; Clark Trailing behind her. No, that didn't make sense. There had to be something...
"That doesn't rule out heat lightning" Clark said as a hundred other possibilities crossed his mind. each as unlikely as the next.
"Nothing was reported. Clark, most people are interested in the forecast, not the past-cast. What's going on?" Chloe asked, her voice a light contrast to Clark's inner confusion. Chloe was much better at figuring out anything mysterious than Clark. He knew he could depend on her, so he explained what had happened last night. Including what had happened to his Mom.
"Is she alright?" Chloe asked, concern lacing her voice. "Fine, like nothing happened. That's the weird part" Clark answered allowing his confused exasperation to carry over. He explained that the doctor hadn't found anything wrong either.
"Maybe someone set off fireworks in the field next to you, or maybe your super hearing picked up a car backfiring two counties away." Chloe said somewhat dismissively. Clark knew it was neither; both he and Danny had experienced the same thing. "Why does it matter? Your mom's fine. You don't have anything to worry about..." She trailed off and looked up into Clark's eyes, curiously. "All right. Why do I feel like I'm getting the abridged version of this story?" She asked, and Clark's mind raced.
He had never told anyone of the Deal his father had made. To save him, to bring him back from the dead Jor-El had demanded that the life of someone close to him be taken. Clark didn't want that to happen. He'd sacrifice himself a thousand times over before he let anyone die in his name. But that did not quell his suspicions. "I think Jor-El might have something to do with this." There. It was said, Chloe could work with that. Surely.
"Your biological father?" Chloe asked, fearful questioning entering her eyes. Apparently it wasn't enough. Clark owed her more. "When I died and he brought me back he made a deal. He's come back to collect." Clark explained and Chloe's eyes filled with dread. As far as it went neither could do anything when it came to Jor-El. Clark needed to find someone who knew about him. Someone who had known his father on Krypton. Someone like Professor Milton Fine.
Clark went to the university, and asked to know more about Jor-El. Fine wanted to go into context, the how's and why's of Kryptonian politics, but Clark had no time for that. That's when Fine revealed that he knew about the deal too. Well, he was Kryptonian and in a way it was good to have someone else who could help him, right? Clark explained the urgency, and Fine then asked if his mom had any markings on her skin. Clark was relieved to say that she didn't, but was intrigued to know why they would be important. Fine said that he wasn't ready to know, but Clark maintained that he was ready now. He needed to know, his mom's life may be at stake.
"Impatience" Fine said, a stoic distance exuded from him "is such a pathetic human trait. I suppose it's to be expected from someone raised by such a primitive race." Clark was angered by this. Humans had raised him, loved him, cared for him. He happened to care to care a great deal for the human race and told Fine as much. Fine responded that Clark needed to learn patience, and Clark decided to leave. Fine could be cryptic on his own. He needed to check on his mom now.
It was mid-afternoon by the time he got back to the farm. Danny already knew, but it was time to tell his parents about Fine. Clark still wasn't sure why he had told Danny first, he didn't want to ask anyone about Krypton, but the fact that Danny knew anything about it made him seem like a good person to talk to first. Danny hadn't warmed up to the idea of a second Kryptonian on Earth, but his parent's deserved to know now that everything was coming to a head.
At first they were disbelieving, after all he had leapt onto the idea of Danny being Kryptonian for exhibiting similar powers to him. But they were convinced when Clark told them that Fine called him Kal-El. Unfortunately they seemed to be as hesitant about Fine as Danny was. His Dad actually warned him to stay away from Fine since all other Kryptonian's had been violent. Danny stayed strangely silent during the conversation, a deep reflective look in his eye. But that was not the concern for the moment. His Dad continued to lecture him on why he couldn't trust Fine when it all went wrong.
Clark's Mom had gone to fetch the Kettle which had just boiled and pour everyone a cup of tea when the sound of a shattering pot pierced the room. She gasped, and all three of them rushed over to her. She looked weak, and complained that she couldn't feel her hand. It shook as she held it in front of her. Then her shoulder started burning. Frantically she pulled her clothes aside and Clark saw it. A dark mark, a purplish read colour spreading across her left shoulder in thin vein-like strands. It was terrifying, especially as Clark reflected on the words of Milton Fine earlier that day. Clark deemed that he needed to visit him again.
His Dad had other ideas though. He elected to take Clark's Mom to the hospital to see if there was any human means of curing her. The doctor prescribed antibiotics, but Clark knew they would do nothing. He had found her in the middle of the driveway, that wasn't normal. No matter what the doctors said there was more to it than that. For a moment he considered telling his Dad about Jor-El's deal, but decided not to worry him. He didn't want to face the look of disappointment for accepting such a deal. Only Chloe knew of the deal and he wanted to keep it that way.
The next morning Clark went to the University first thing to chase up Milton Fine and told him about the mark that had shown up on his Mom's shoulder. Then Milton Fine said something that took Clark completely by surprise.
"Your father tortured his dissidents on Krypton the same exact way." Clark was stunned. He knew that his dealings with his father had not gone well, but torture? What was his father actually capable of? Fine looked him in the eye, "I don't suppose I can hide the truth from you any longer. Your father was a violent dictator." A dictator? Hundreds of scenes from history played out in Clark's mind. Hitler, Stalin, Napoleon, all dictators, and none of them had truly happy peoples. "He ruled over Krypton with an iron grip of fear and intimidation. Anybody who spoke up against him was locked away. Even the great hero of the people. Zod. If he hadn't been captured, Zod could have stopped your father from eviscerating the planet."
Clark was shocked. Not only was his father a horrid person, entrapping innocent people and controlling them against their wishes, but he had destroyed the planet. His father was to blame for the destruction and end of a whole race. What did that mean for him? Jor-El had sent him here, to "rule over them with strength". Did that mean that he intended Clark to mimic his methods? To conquer the human race and obliterate his enemies? No, Clark didn't want to do that. He was going to save his Mom, and then he'd never deal with the monster again. Fine said that he'd take care of Clark's Mom, and for now that was all that mattered.
Line Break
Danny was alarmed. Clark had sped off to the university that morning to go and convince Milton Fine to look at Aunt Martha. She had worsened overnight, the bruise-like mark spreading further down her shoulder and onto her arm. It looked as if her entire left arm had been badly beaten. Unfortunately, Danny knew exactly what this was. After Zod had turned against Krypton he had utilised this disease as a means to eliminate his adversaries. There had never been a cure developed, Jor-El had tried desperately, but was unable to cure it before everything on Krypton got too far out of hand.
Danny was not ready to give up; he was planning on visiting Clockwork to see if there was anything that could be done. Just a small ray of hope. Clark wasn't ready to lose his mother, and Danny didn't think he could bear loosing another family member. Not so soon after losing his parents, sister and best friends. Danny caught sight of his green eyes in the reflective glass of a picture frame. Everything was changing, and Danny felt like the world was just about to tip asunder of its balance point. He would find some way to save her. He had to.
Clark arrived back at the farm with a second set of footprints crunching up the pathway to the house. Clark invited the man in, and Danny got his first look at Milton Fine. He looked perfectly average. Average height, average weight, dressed in dark professional clothing that matched with his average brown eyes. His brown hair was perfectly in place, not a strand astray. He looked too average. But that was not what caused alarm for Danny, nor was it the slight dark swirl in his eye. No, it was the fact that the energy he felt off him was wrong.
When Clark had come in the house Danny had felt his bright sunlit energy wash over him, for all that it was marred by Clark's concern for his mother. But Fine was different. The energy coming off him was... actually a lot closer to the ghosts he fought. Danny could feel very little emotion coming off him, and the energy felt more electrical than anything else. Actually, it felt a lot like that weird energy from the other night. Clark came from Krypton, he drew energy from the sun and thus his aura felt like the sun. Whatever Fine was, either he was a mastermind at concealing his emotions, or he was not Kryptonian. Danny wasn't able to voice his concerns before Clark guided Fine to his mother.
Fine looked her over; Danny was glad that Uncle Jon was as distrustful as him where it came to Fine. He may not have any powers, but Jon was remarkably astute when it came to whom he could trust. Uncle Jon wanted to take Aunt Martha to the hospital. Things were getting dire, Danny knew about this infection, he knew what would happen if they tried to treat her. Danny was about to speak up when Fine explained "The Doctors can't treat her Mr Kent. Trust me. If they puncture her skin, or give her any medication it could kill her instantly."
Uncle Jon then demanded "Why should I trust you?" Danny was glad that he'd said that, maybe they could get some answers. "Because he's Kryptonian" Clark bluntly stated, not only damning any chance of a helpful answer from Fine, but also proving his naivety. Clark had yet to learn to perceive possible threats, the fact that Uncle Jon picked up on it meant that something about Fine was off, and yet Clark had taken him on his word. At least he'd made the logical leap that Aunt Martha had contracted a Kryptonian disease. Suddenly Aunt Martha started fitting, like she was having an epileptic seizure.
Fine exclaimed that Martha needed a meteor rock, and the two Kryptonian's backed away as Uncle Jon retrieved one from the cupboard. Danny observed the energy that poured from the green rock, suppressing the instability in Martha's aura. The sickness was still there, but she wouldn't feel it as much, like a radioactive painkiller. Uncle Jon held the rock to her forehead and gradually the shuddering slowed. Aunt Martha caught her breath slowly.
Fine and Clark had backed far away from the rock, beyond its energy field. Fine was taking stock of the whole room, observing every detail. Danny watched as his eyes landed on the kitchen table where Danny had left his notebook open from the day before. His eyes widened in realisation, he and Clark had been writing in Kryptonian, and Fine had seen it.
"Kal-El, why are you teaching the humans the Kryptonian language?" Fine asked in a deceptively calm voice. Danny flinched; there was no way this could go well. Clark looked over to him and Danny silently begged him to go along with Fine's assumption. Better the man thought Clark was teaching him than have to answer where Danny had learned it. After all humans weren't supposed to know. Well, strictly speaking none did, but still. Please Clark Danny thought, wishing he were telepathic please go along with him, deflect it, and don't let him know.
"Danny was showing me grammar." Darn! Clark you've just got the both of us into a world of trouble. Danny observed as Fine's eyes narrowed slightly, focusing on him. The stare was nothing close to what Danny himself could muster, but he still felt the professor's eyes studying him. A calculating look passed Fine's eyes, and he quickly demanded "I'd like to speak with you outside, boy." His tone was icy, but was nothing to the glacial depths of his eyes. Perhaps this was an opportunity to have some questions answered. Danny refused to buckle under the intense pressure Fine was focusing on him. Danny nodded and the two of them stepped out onto the porch.
Knowing the direction this conversation was likely to take, Danny projected a sound proof shield around them invisibly. Since the energy coming off Fine was closer to the ghosts he dealt with it was fairly likely this conversation was not something Danny wanted Clark to hear. Fine did not seem to notice the subterfuge, but continued to stare coldly at Danny. A minute of silence passed before Fine finally asked "How does a human come to know the Kryptonian writings?" his tone cold and the slight emphasis on the word displayed the man's utter disdain for the human race.
Danny thought of how to play this. Fine was obviously someone who liked to control the players on the board. Idly Danny wondered what a chess game between Vlad and Fine would look like. Danny decided on his own tactic. "Well, I would have said that Clark, no, Kal-El was teaching me. But he is too honest for that."
"So you do not deny your knowledge?" Fine asked, a flash of calculation racing through his eyes.
"No," Danny stated "But the idea of Kal-El teaching me would have done the both of us good. You would have believed him to be embracing part of his Kryptonian heritage, passing it on to others, and I..." Danny paused, there were many reasons he didn't want anyone, especially Fine to know how or why he knew Kryptonian. "Well, I'd be saved this conversation."
Danny elected to push into his own enquiry "Tell me, you Kryptonian's are all proud of your House, yet you have only used an Earthly name. Why insist on this, denying your own heritage for that of Earth's." There, hopefully that would spark Fine into a response; it was just accusatory enough to sound threatening, but not too damning of his own knowledge. At least Danny hoped so.
"Kal-El" Fine stated, his voice slow and measured "refuses to accept his Kryptonian heritage. So long as he denies this he likens himself to you humans. To earn his trust he would have preferred a human name, so I adopted one. Who are you to know of Kryptonian habits and pride?" Danny elected not to answer this question, choosing instead to continue pushing until he got the answer he wanted. He needed to find out what Fine actually was. It was obvious he was a threat; the problem was to whom the threat was intended.
"So you want me to believe you took a human name just to earn Clark's trust. Very well, let's say I go with that. Earn my trust; tell me your Kryptonian name." Danny's green eyes flashed a warning. In a way he was glad they were stuck green for the moment because they would likely have changed colour then and that would cause more problems.
Fine looked down at Danny, a barely veiled sneer in his voice. "Boy, I do not need the trust of a human like you. You are a child, and Kal-El deserves the guidance of a true Kryptonian." Danny allowed himself a small smile. Check Danny thought. It wouldn't be too long until Danny got what he wanted. "Ah, yes," Danny said, his voice smooth and calculated "But see you do need my trust. I probably know more than you think I do. Tell him anything, mislead him once, and I'll tell him. After all, we both know you're no true Kryptonian."
Fine stopped for a minute, and it was obvious he was evaluating Danny. After all, he physically looked like no threat, Danny knew this, and he played it up. Even with his green eyes it was hard to imagine that Danny could ever be anything more than useless. Yet Danny was playing a game of wits that would likely make Vlad proud.
"What makes you say that, boy?" the condescension dripping off Fine's voice was palpable. "I possess all the gifts Kal-El possesses, I too come from the great planet Krypton. You are nothing more than a human child, and will not stand in my way."
"Fine, you may possess Kal-El's gifts, however you slipped up." Danny did not want to reveal how he knew Fine was not like Clark, but this observation was damning. "Kal-El and you both backed away from the meteor rock, Clark until he could no longer feel its effects. That was obvious on his face. You however were in no discomfort, and you looked to Clark to see where he had stopped before you did."
Fine stared down at Danny; recalculations were obviously playing in his mind. Danny felt he had revealed enough to keep Fine in order, so returned to his line of enquiry. However he elected to play another piece, slipping into Old Kryptonian, he doubted even Clark knew this, and it would hopefully serve to intimidate Fine further. "Fine, I know more, much more than you think. Tell me, who exactly are you Milton Fine?"
Fine's eyes widened, but he betrayed no further emotion. "How does a human come to know the Old language? Kal-El could not have taught it to you, I believe he doesn't know." Danny smiled inwardly, but composed his face into calm defiance. Still in check Fine. Fine still thought of him as human, and this played right into Danny's hands. Of course he would not reveal himself to Fine, but he could make himself a huge enough threat without providing any real answers.
Danny allowed a ghost of a smile to cross his lips. "The same way a human can write in Kryptonian. The same way a human can understand what you are saying. The same way a human knows that you are not Kryptonian. Milton Fine, I promise you this human is no fool. Tell me who you are." Danny observed the look in Fine's eyes. Very few emotions crossed his face; even though Kryptonian's were renowned for their stoicism this was different. Danny had a vague suspicion, but he wanted that name.
In a flash Fine had grabbed Danny by the neck and he found himself hanging in the air two feet off the ground. Check Danny thought. Fine was not above brutality, but he didn't count on the fact that Danny didn't need to breathe, so the threat of suffocation meant nothing.
"Congratulations, Fine. You got me." Danny watched in amusement as Fine saw him nonchalantly dismiss his current position as if it were nothing. "But now you have a problem. See, here you are, rough-housing Kal-El's poor little cousin, and I could easily cry out for his help, thus extinguishing any trust he has in you." Calling for help would do nothing with the shield in the way, but Fine needn't know that. Danny was slowly lowered until his feet met the ground, the hand still firmly fastened around his neck. "Thank you. Now that we've established that you'll get nothing from hurting me, I'd appreciate knowing your name."
"Why do you insist on this question, why not demand the cure for your Aunt? Why not tell me who you learned Kryptonian from? Why is it so important for you to know my Kryptonian name? Milton Fine is enough for Kal-El. It should satisfy you." Fine spat towards Danny. Danny raised an eyebrow, completely ignoring the hand still fastened to his neck.
"Why do you insist on concealing it?" Danny asked his tone mild, as if asking the weather. But he knew this was it. Fine dropped his hand, adopting a neutral defensive stance. "I am the product of the Houses Ur and El, their union produced much joy on Krypton before the fall." Checkmate Danny thought.
Danny smiled at Fine, like a cat that has caught a mouse. "I noticed that. You said the union of the houses Ur and El, not marriage or child. You just told me you were not born to either family." Danny watched as Fine froze, all emotion leaving his eyes. "It's interesting that you named the two Houses of Krypton's two greatest scientists. Ten years before the fall, those two families worked together to create a weapon, an artificial intelligence android capable of removing the threat that Zod presented. Sadly, Zod knew Jor-El too well, and corrupted that weapon to his own purposes, using it to perpetrate greater evils. But you would know that being the product of Ur and El. Wouldn't you, the Brain Interactive Construct. Or should I just call you Brainiac?"
Fine's other hand reached out to Danny who held out a hand to silence him, but Danny had already won this game. "You sent this disease. Clark deserves to know what it will do. I advise you tell him, he would prefer to hear it from you. I realise you probably have a plan in motion, but know this. You won't win. You never could." Danny dropped the shield and gestured Fine back inside. Both of them constructed vacant masks as they proceeded back into the lounge room.
"It's working" Clark said excitedly as he looked over his mother. She was breathing steadily, and seemed to be settling down to sleep. "In this case" Fine said with a suspicious look over at Danny "appearances are deceiving. There is no cure. The meteor can only ease her pain. I am sorry Kal-El within a matter of hours your Earth mother will be dead." Danny felt the wave of defeat pouring off Clark and was almost knocked off his feet. Clark stormed out the door, Fine soon after him. Danny went over and took Aunt Martha's hand. He desperately wanted to help her. He had no idea what Fine – no, Brainiac – was up to, but it couldn't be good.
Uncle Jon went outside and Danny heard as Clark confessed. Jor-El had brought Clark back from the dead, but the balance demanded a life be taken. Danny was well aware of the balance, walking on the razor edge between life and death himself. However Clark's assumption was dead wrong. It was Brainiac who had given Aunt Martha the disease, not Jor-El. Danny heard Clark speed off picking something up in the barn before vanishing off into the distance. Danny sent Fine an icy glare even with his green eyes and the Kryptonian android left too.
Danny sat by Aunt Martha's side as Uncle Jon came back inside. "She'll be alright" Danny promised looking into his uncle's eyes. The meteor rock slipped from Aunt Martha's hand and Danny went to catch it. As soon as the rock touched his skin he felt a belt of pain shoot through him. It only lasted for a second before he dropped the rock, but it felt like he was being electrocuted. Uncle Jon looked concernedly at him as Danny panted to catch his breath.
He had not been expecting that. Sure, some of the ghosts had mentioned a weird green rock that they couldn't touch. They called it ectoranium. Quickly comparing notes of what he knew of the two he realised that kryptonite; radioactive pieces from the core of Krypton and ectoranium; radioactive green rocks that electrocuted ghosts must be the same thing. By way of explanation Danny said "Sorry, wasn't expecting that. Looks like meteor rocks are bad for ghosts too. I think, so long as I don't touch it it's fine." Uncle Jon just nodded and moved the rock back to Aunt Martha's forehead, gently stroking her hair away from her eyes.
Danny decided to let them have some peace. He needed to go and see Clockwork to see if there was anything that he could do to save Aunt Martha. He went up to his room and opened a portal. It was something of a relief to be back in the Zone. The ambient energy calmed him and helped remind him of his purpose. He stayed in his human form, mostly because he didn't feel the need to be Phantom at the moment. He wanted to be Danny. He drifted through the gears that lead to Clockwork's tower, pausing to knock on the door before being invited in.
"Danny" Clockwork acknowledged as Danny entered the viewing room. The screen displayed a large crystalline ice structure jutting out of a snowy landscape. He would have thought Clockwork was viewing Kandor, the Kryptonian capitol city but for the yellow sun in the sky. This must be the Fortress of Solitude that Jor-El had provided. It was beautiful. A microcosm of Kryptonian history concealed in the icy plains of the Arctic.
"Please Clockwork" Danny said, but as usual was interrupted by Clockwork as he shifted to his toddler form. "Help you to save your Aunt, Kal-El's mother from Zod's disease?" Danny looked hopefully at the ghost of time. At the moment his only concern was to help his aunt. He needed her, and Clark needed her. Danny nodded, he couldn't lose another family member, and Clockwork had to know that.
"Please, there must be something you can do. There has to be a cure, even if it was never found on Krypton there has to be something." Danny rushed. This was his only hope. He knew that the Jor-El at the fortress had no real control over the balance, he could guide it, but he'd not be able to save Clark's mom even if he had the cure.
Clockwork looked at Danny, his red eyes glowing in sympathy as he shifted into his eldest form. "Danny, the power to save her is not one that I possess. But you can be there for her; that will help her most." Danny was devastated. Not only was there no hope, but Clockwork for the first time hadn't given him any riddles. Just a straight up no. There was a knock at the door and two observants came in. Their large eyeball heads narrowed when they saw Danny in his human form.
Clockwork looked between the observants and Danny, and then requested that Danny leave. Clockwork opened a portal for Danny and he stepped through. On the way out he heard one of the observants hiss "his eyes were green" the other continued "In human form" then both together they demanded "do you realise what this means?" but the portal closed before Danny could hear the reply. As Danny arrived it was getting dark.
Clark was nowhere in the house, but Uncle Jon was sitting by Aunt Martha's side, diligently watching her as she faded from the world. Danny felt awful. There was nothing he could do to save her. This was the first time he felt truly helpless, the first time he'd have to stand aside and watch as someone died. Danny went to take a seat at Uncle Jon's side, briefly asking where Clark was. The reply "probably at the fortress" did nothing but make Danny feel ill. This was it. There was nothing to be done. He asked his uncle to remove the meteor for just a moment so he could cool Aunt Martha's fever down.
The two of then sat there, watching Martha and providing what little comfort they could. Danny felt the energy that came from the rock as it dampened the pain for her. Her aura was slowly weakening, losing the warmth that identified it as his aunt's. Danny reached out to grab her hand. His other hand brushed the rock for an instant, and the pain shot through him again. Uncle Jon gently pushed him away for his own safety. But Danny noticed something.
"Her aura is stronger!" Danny exclaimed. And it was true. Some of the vitality had come back into his Aunt's aura. It was still weakened, but nowhere near as bad as it had been a minute ago. Uncle Jon looked between Danny and his wife in confusion. There was the barest hint of colour left in her cheeks, but that had not been there before. It was enough to convince him. "She's getting better?" he questioned. Danny reached out with his mind and prodded his aunt's aura.
"No, not by herself." He was confused, what could have caused a spontaneous recovery like that. Then it dawned on him. Clockwork was being cryptic after all. 'Danny, the power to save her is not one that I possess. You can be there for her; that will help her most.' Clockwork didn't have the power; Clockwork didn't know how to help her. But Danny did. Clockwork had given Danny one of his cryptic riddles after all. He looked to Uncle Jon, excited. "Uncle Jon, put the meteor on Aunt Martha's shoulder. Where the mark started." Danny instructed.
Jon looked at Danny puzzled, but the look in Danny's eye said this was not up for discussion. Jon pulled his wife's sweater aside and placed the meteor there. Danny stepped over and reached out to touch the rock. "Son, you'll hurt yourself" he reminded, but Danny simply replied "I know, but it will be worth it. Trust me."
With that Danny reached his left hand out to place it lightly over Aunt Martha's heart, and braced himself. Drawing in a deep breath he placed his right hand on the meteor rock. The electrocution started. Fire poured through his limbs as the current raced through his body. Still he held his hands in place. A minute passed, or was it an hour? Through the pain time held no meaning, but Danny held firm. Somehow he knew he wasn't done yet. The electricity intensified, and a new burning sensation poured into him. Vicious fire that started at his right shoulder then raced out to every limb. Electricity and fire battled through his veins.
Then, it lessened. The ice in his core quenched the fire, and the electricity subsided. Still present, but manageable. Danny opened his eyes, unaware that he'd closed them just as Aunt Martha gasped. She sat up; the rock falling away and the electrical current vanished. He had absorbed the disease for Aunt Martha, his ghost half neutralising the fatal disease since he was already dead. He didn't know exactly how he'd done it, but he knew without a doubt what he'd done. Danny stepped away as Jon came in to hug his wife tightly. The two looked to each other and then to Danny. "Your eyes, they're silver." Martha whispered, but Danny was fading. He slumped to the ground as unconsciousness took him.
Danny woke to a sharp rapping on the kitchen door. "Mr Kent" the soft tone of Chloe brought him into awareness. "I'm so sorry, but I have to find Clark" there was a hint of urgency that cleared the last of the cobwebs from his mind. He proceeded into the kitchen to where Mr Kent and Chloe were anxiously discussing Milton Fine. Uncle Jon said they went to the Cave.
"I have to get to him." Chloe murmured a hint of desperation in her voice. "Milton Fine is not your average PhD." Jon said they knew that he was Kryptonian, but then Danny spoke up. "He's not. He made Aunt Martha get sick." Chloe and Jon looked at him confused. "We spoke outside, I figured it out." Danny quickly uttered by way of explanation. "Martha's better now" Jon said with a meaningful look at Danny. Danny nodded.
"She is? How?" Chloe quickly asked. Danny answered "Don't exactly know. Chloe we have to get to Clark before Fine makes him do something he'll regret." Chloe agreed, walking off towards her car. Danny was quick to follow. "You're coming too?" she asked, already knowing the answer "Fine is dangerous. Clark could use all the help he can get." With that they were off. Danny caught sight of his eyes in the side mirror. Fortunately they were back to blue. Chloe pulled the car off the road after a ten minute drive. They both hopped out of the car and Chloe led him through the long grass up to a large cave mouth.
The two went into the cave running. Chloe led him into a small chamber. An octagonal stone table sat firmly in the middle. Danny felt the strange potential energy in the room, it felt like the tug of potential just before he opened one of his portals. "The Key" Chloe said, pulling a small octagonal disk out from the table. She looked at Danny "You Ready?" she asked. Danny just nodded and she plunged the disk back into the table. The energy swept up, and they were surrounded by a bright white light. Danny and Chloe were pulled through the vortex.
Line Break
Clark led Fine through the fortress, ranting in his anger. "I'll tear this place down piece by piece. Just tell me where to start." Fine handed him a Black crystal, similar in shape to those in the console. Fine directed him to stab the console with it, "it'll trigger a self-destruct mechanism, and Jor-El and the Fortress will be forever gone." Fine told him that Zod was a man of peace, and the black crystal was only going to be used in the direst of circumstances. Well, it was dire now. His mom's life was on the line. Without a second thought he plunged the crystal into the centre of the console declaring "You will never hurt my Family again" with a vengeance.
The crystal activated and an electronic whirring pounded through the air, the soft icy blue of the console faded into a vicious red. The red stretched out, consuming every pillar of crystal ice as the Fortress started to tremble. It felt like an earthquake, the red light penetrating all, cold, yet violently dangerous. Clark turned to Fine, hoping for confirmation that this was how it was supposed to happen. Then Clark started to feel sick. The strength poured out of him, leaving him feeling feeble and weak. "I couldn't have done it without you." Fine proclaimed as he held out a meteor rock.
It was then that Clark realised, Fine wasn't Kryptonian. He'd been tricked, and his Dad was right in his mistrust. Fine continued "Now that your task is finished, you're nothing more than a petty annoyance." Clark struggled backwards trying to escape the lecherous rays of the meteor rock. "You're not even Kryptonian, are you." He accused.
A sadistic smirk crossed Fine's face. "I was created by Kryptonian's. But I'm a whole lot smarter." Clark backed away, struggling to stay on his feet as the meteor rock sapped the strength from his rapidly failing muscles. Clark heard Fine proclaim "You are free, General Zod." Zod Clark thought, then, the whole story, every bit that Fine had told him was wrong. Zod was the dictator; Jor-El had been the one to stand against him. Clark was forced onto a rock platform, collapsing as his limbs failed him. "Zod?" Clark struggled to ask.
"The one true Kryptonian" Fine announced "Finally he will rid this planet of the scourge of humans and create Krypton, here on Earth." That was it; everything Fine had said was a lie. The betrayal stung. Fine may not be Kryptonian, but he was from Krypton. It seemed there was nothing good that could come from the planet at all. Then a bigger betrayal hit him.
"Jor-El didn't infect my mother. You did!" Clark accused, putting every ounce of venom he could muster into his voice. The meteor was barely an inch from his face now, he could feel the warmth wash away from his flesh, feel himself sinking towards darkness, the sun's warmth fading from his system. "To think" Fine seethed "That you would sacrifice your Kryptonian heritage for a single Homo Sapien. You are a pitiful disgrace. Goodbye Kal-El" He finished, cold triumph pervading the darkness that seeped into Clark's mind.
Clark felt agony as the meteor was laid to rest on his chest; the burning insulated only by the thin layer of his shirt. The rock continued with its icy burn and Clark was finding it hard to breathe as the rock leeched the strength from his lungs and heart. He felt himself fading, darkness promising to swallow him. Confusedly he thought I need to stop this, I need to stop Fine, stop Zod. But he could do nothing as he struggled against the glowing green stone.
Line Break
Danny and Chloe found themself on an icy plain. Snow billowed around them, but the only source of light emanated from the large crystal monolith in front of them and the light reflecting from the moon. For Chloe's sake Danny was grateful for the light, they could get there safe enough. The problem would be going in. The entire structure looked like it was destabilising. Angry red seeped through every crystal pillar. From outside the structure looked more like a solid flame than the beautiful palace Danny had seen in Clockwork's tower earlier today. Just what had Clark done? The two of them set off at a run. They arrived in the palatial structure and the two of them wove through towards the centre, dodging falling crystals as the whole place shuddered.
They split up. Chloe ran over to Clark, but Danny sped over to the vast portal that had opened. It was a large bluish circle hanging in the air with wild energy whipping around violently. The sheer power of the energy was daunting. The energy coming from it was similar to the Ghost Zone, but slightly off. The energy pouring from the approaching being was so wrong, so malicious that there was only one place the portal could link to. The Phantom Zone. Home of the hardest prisoners known to all three worlds. And knowing who Fine worked for... Danny had to close the portal.
He dodged around Fine who was staring expectantly into the portal, and jumped into the air in front of the portal. Fine's eyes widened as Danny hung there in front of the portal. He plunged one hand into its depths and pulled. Thus began a mental tug of war as his consciousness battled with whatever programming allowed Fine to open it. He reached out with his ecto-energy, drawing from the very depths of his core. He spread it out, a sweeping wave that covered the opening of the portal, drowning it with his own will. He pulled, drawing the energy from the portal into himself.
It was painful, completely unlike closing one of his own portals. With those it was welcoming a piece of himself back. The energy would swirl within him for a moment and then settle back into his core. This was different. The energy roared through his body, shifting his human form closer to the pure energy state of his ghostly self. He still looked human, but for a moment his entire structure was pure intangible energy. Then the pain came in. Hundreds of thousands of icy lances pierced through his being, reminding him that he should not be doing this. Yet he would not yield. This portal needed to be stopped, and stop it he would.
Danny felt the energy of the portal drawing into him. The pain intensifying even as the portal itself closed with an eerie moan. He felt the residual energy swirling around within him, tearing through his not-so-human body. Slowly he managed it down, forcing the energy to settle in a place deep within his core. He could feel it rebelling, but he froze it over until he could deal with it. He opened his eyes to see Chloe racing back behind one of the crystal columns. She had just thrown the meteor rock off Clark who was recovering rapidly. Clark stood up, and in a swift blur moved to the console, yanking a large black crystal out.
It had only been a minute since Chloe and Danny had gotten into the main chamber, but in that minute everything had changed. The red faded back to a neutral blue and the destruction ended. An eerie calm pervaded the cavern as Fine took a moment to realise what had happened. Then everything happened all at once. Fine raced towards Danny, physically throwing him towards the console nearly snapping his neck in the process. He felt some of the largest crystals spike into his back and a deluge of information overrode his senses before he could force himself into intangibility.
He fell through the console, hitting the floor behind it with a thud. For a moment all he knew was Krypton. Thousands of battle scenes from the eyes of those in the wars. Summer days passing under a glorious red sun. Data and designs for hundreds of scientific devices, and the words of a man directed toward his son. Jor-El had left Clark a construct of himself but it was almost alive with the memories that Jor-El wanted Clark to know. Danny knew that this was knowledge not meant for him, and the brief contact he'd had made him uncomfortable.
He was able to struggle upwards, shaking his head clear. Clark was engaged in a battle worthy of the titans. Loud thuds and shattering crystals echoed through the cavernous space. Danny found himself being pulled into Chloe's arms. "Oh my god Danny, are you alright?" she demanded, an element of hysteria on her voice as she restlessly searched the air for any sign of Clark. A loud crunch echoed back towards them. There were sounds of a struggle, grunts and groans that reminded Danny of when Skulker tried to plunge a dagger into Danny's chest. Clark was fighting for his life.
A breath passed, then in a blur that only Danny saw Fine was thrown into the crystal console. He lay there motionless and Clark raced to stand beside the console. Fine's head rolled to the side, looking to all the world dead. A well of energy swelled forth, and in a flash of bright light he was gone. The dark crystal vanishing with him. The sharp crystals that had pushed out to destroy the invader pulled back to sit neatly within the crystal panel. Danny was not naive enough to believe he was gone forever. Fine would be back. But for now, everyone was safe, and that was what mattered.
Chloe and Danny walked over to Clark; Chloe gave him a hug, as if it would resolve the disturbingly lost look in his eye. Danny chose now to speak. "Fine may have been from Krypton, but he was not Kryptonian. He betrayed you, but you are not like him. You choose who you are, not your race. Clark you will be great, and a monster like him can't take that from you." With that the three of them decided to return home.
Line Break
"You, know, next time I head up north I've got to remember to pack a parka." Chloe said. She was all rugged up and sitting in front of the fire. Danny was sitting on the sofa behind her wearing only a dark t-shirt. He played absently with his necklace until Clark brought hot drinks over for them. He handed Chloe her coffee and Danny his hot chocolate before taking a seat himself. "How'd you get up there anyway?" Clark asked.
"You left the key in the Cave" Danny replied briefly flicking his blue eyes in Clark's direction.
"You've got to be more careful where you leave that thing" Chloe reprimanded. Clark was soothed. Neither of them seemed upset with how he'd been mislead. "Seriously though" Chloe continued "You've gotta be more careful. I mean, if we could get up there, anyone can." With that she handed the Key back to Clark. Danny offered to take it back to the barn for him. As Danny moved off Clark looked over to Chloe. Some of the things Fine had said stuck with him, but when he looked at Chloe and thought of what she'd done just for him... it was amazing.
"You know," Clark said "Professor Fine said that human beings were insignificant and couldn't be depended on. He obviously didn't know you very well." He was so glad to have Chloe in his life. Danny had been there too, sure, but sometimes Clark wondered if Danny even classified himself as human. Danny had all sorts of defences. It seemed likely that had Clark not been there that Danny would have somehow stopped Fine all by himself. But Chloe couldn't, and yet she'd been there. She was the one who always seemed to come to his rescue, to throw the meteor rock away, to pull up that final bit of data. He could always depend on Chloe. And she deserved to know that.
"Please," Chloe said, her light sarcastic tone lightening the mood "Robo-professor knows as much about human nature as R2-D2. What was he anyway, I mean I saw him materialise out of a bunch of nuts and bolts that materialised out of the spaceship." Clark replied "Guess he was some sort of Kryptonian Artificial Intelligence."
"He was." Danny said, and the two seated on the floor jumped slightly at his sudden appearance. "Sorry. Clark was right though." Danny said, his eyes locked firmly on the fire as the two turned to look at the younger boy. The fire reflected red in his blue eyes. His voice distant he explained "Milton Fine is Kryptonian Artificial Intelligence, but he is so much more than that." Clark was intrigued; this was the first time that Danny had actually shared any of his knowledge about Krypton.
"Before the fall of Krypton there was a war, two friends who had grown up together fell apart as one revealed his true nature. One, a scientist at heart saw the damage that was being wrought on the planet; the other was more practical and valued power over people. He advanced through the military ranks on Krypton, becoming a General whom all answered to. Gradually, the power he attained sent him mad. He became a dictator, enforcing his power over the people. The scientist was devastated by the betrayal, but realised that the General needed to be stopped. He teamed up with one of the greatest technological designers on Krypton, and together they created a powerful machine."
"The Brain Interactive Construct or Brainiac was designed to be more intelligent than any man. His mind processed data a hundred times faster than any living being. He was armed with the strength and power that all Kryptonian's possessed. He was the ultimate weapon, faster, stronger and more intelligent than any other Kryptonian. He would win them the war and defeat the General. But something went wrong. On Brainiac's first mission he was apprehended. When the scientist next saw his creation it had been corrupted, answering only to the whims of the General. Their hope diminished, the scientist was forced to think of other ways to end the war. The Brain Interactive Construct only responded to the directions of the General now. Thus Brainiac was born, doomed in a way to destroy any world with his plots to serve his General."
The fire crackled and Chloe jumped. Her coffee long since finished. "How...?" she asked but Danny interrupted her with a wave of his hand. He sent a significant look at Clark before answering "I touched a crystal in the Fortress. Not sure if it's by design, but I found out that story." Danny got up then, collecting the few mugs to put them in the sink. Clark watched as the boy headed upstairs. That had been enlightening, but Clark suspected that a Crystal hadn't told him any of it.
Clark sat reflecting in the story as he sat next to Chloe. "Fine wanted me to help him free the General from that story; Zod. What I still don't understand is how you got onto Fine's trail." Clark looked at Chloe, and a slightly guilty expression crossed her face. "You're not going to like this very much" she emitted. "Lionel Luthor gave me the lead." Clark was surprised "Lionel? How'd he know about Fine?" Clark puzzled.
"I have no clue" Chloe answered. "I just hope he doesn't know about the spaceship. You know you should really get a hold of that thing before someone else does." Clark felt bad about that. Once they'd gotten back he'd checked the warehouse, but there was nothing there. The ship was gone. All he could do was hope Fine wasn't going to come back. After a while Chloe had warmed up enough to go home, they bade each other good night and Chloe went home.
Clark walked upstairs by Danny's open door. The light was out, but there was enough moonlight in the room for Clark to see Danny with his nose buried in Edgar Allan Poe. "You can read again?" Clark asked. Danny invited him in. "Sorta, it's weird some of the words I recognise." He flipped the book around to reveal the poem 'The Raven' "Sam made me memorise this poem, so I know what I'm supposed to be seeing. I think I can read enough to get by. Hopefully whatever it was it's over. You're all right?" Clark just nodded. He had a nagging feeling that there was something bigger coming, but whether it was Fine, or Danny or even Lex he had no idea. He settled down for the night, his mind heavy with thought.
Line Break
Clark met Chloe at the talon late the next day. His Mom had fully recovered thanks to something that Danny had done. His parents weren't sure, and Danny wasn't telling. It turned out that Danny couldn't touch the meteor rocks either, another unexpected commonality. Clark and his Mom had spent a while just watching the rain. Clark was beyond relieved that she was okay. He couldn't lose her, his Mom was his heart. She'd taught him how to care for everyone and be fair to all. He couldn't live without her gentle guidance.
Clark sat at their usual table as Chloe brought over a coffee for each of them. For a moment she looked in his eyes and then down into the depths of her cup. "Clark" she inquired softly, "how much do you know about Danny?" Clark was surprised; he hadn't expected this to come up.
"He's a good kid." Clark said bluntly. For him it was enough, Danny strove to help everyone and somehow managed to lead two lives. Clark didn't know if he'd ever be able to manage that. "Why?" he asked.
Chloe looked up, her green eyes searching Clark's blue. "Well, it's just that in the Fortress he was thrown pretty hard, but he got up like nothing happened." So Chloe had noticed that, Danny had explained that he was thrown through the console, intangibility saving him from being skewered. It was probably a good thing she didn't see him go through the console. "Clark," She continued concern apparent in her voice. "His whole home was destroyed by a meteor. It's possible he's been infected. You need to be careful Clark; Danny might not be who you think he is."
AN: Hope the Kryptonite is the same is ectoranium idea worked. I will be playing around with that idea later.
Chloe is officially suspicious. What she suspects... well that's for later.
Hope you're still enjoying the story :) Please feel free to tell me what you think, constructive criticism is appreciated.
Until next we meet again
Bluerose