Chapter 20
Control
Disclaimer: I own neither Danny Phantom nor Smallville
Clark smiled over his coffee. Today had been a wonderful day, he'd spent the afternoon with Lana and they'd gone out to a club together. Lana had eventually managed to drag him out on the dance floor, and he had proceeded to embarrass himself wholeheartedly. After that they'd left for the Talon. Clark was thoroughly enjoying her company. It had been so long since they'd had this much fun in each other's presence that it was liberating. Lately it seemed to get awkward all too quickly when she decided to press into his secret.
"Clark, you're amazing." Lana laughed over her mocha. Clark raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Okay, so you're not gonna win any dance contests, but you're definitely not the worst."
"Lana, I almost started a ten person pile up doing the two-step." Clark retorted, shaking his head. "Maybe next time we should just skip the dancing before someone gets hurt."
"Well" Lana said, a cheeky glint flickering into her eye. "Maybe we should try something else more often."
"Like what?" Clark asked.
"Well, I'll give you a hint." The glint in her eyes spread to a cheeky grin that pulled at her lips. "Chloe happens to be pulling an all nighter at the Daily Planet."
Clark frowned, immediately picking up the insinuation. "So you have the dorm room all to yourself."
"All to ourselves." Lana emphasised.
"That sounds great." Clark replied a little too quickly. "It really does, but I have to get back to the farm. It's gonna rain tomorrow and I have to put out some tarps." It sounded bad even to him, but he couldn't take the risk. With his powers he didn't know how safe it would be to be alone with her like that. More than that, he didn't know if he could make it out with his secret intact. And he knew now that he needed to keep the secret from her for her own safety. Lex had proven that for him.
The light vanished from Lana's eyes as they switched from brightly jovial to cold dejection. "Clark, whenever you're ready I'll be waiting as long as it takes. No pressure." She stood up, and Clark took a moment to realise that she was leaving. Hastily he stood up.
"Lana... I" He stopped, unsure of how to make things better. It had all been going so well, and now that barrier between them was up again.
"Look," Lana sighed, meeting his eyes. "I gotta go, it's getting late. But I'll talk to you tomorrow. Okay?" She sent him the smallest of encouraging smiles, but it was enough. Barely.
"Okay" Clark replied, the faintest of smiles playing across his own lips as he watched her walk out the Talon's front doors.
"I thought she'd never leave." A soft feminine voice sighed from behind him. Clark spun around to face her. She was tall and thin, dressed in a denim jacket and a tight black leather miniskirt. She had grey-blue eyes and short blonde hair, curling in tight ringlets around her heart shaped face. Swinging from her neck was a beautifully polished turquoise pendant. Something about the way she walked made Clark feel like she controlled the world.
"Hi," She introduced herself. "I'm Simone."
"I was just leaving" Clark said, picking his jacket up from the chair he had been seated on and turning to leave himself.
"What's the hurry?" Simone asked, her hand tracing her collarbones and touching the pendant on her neck. Clark's attention was immediately drawn to the polished blue stone. There was something inviting about it that he couldn't quite place.
"You're not going anywhere until I tell you to." Simone ordered, and Clark felt compelled to listen to her.
"Okay" Clark responded, almost listlessly. Part of him realised that stopping to talk with some strange girl was nothing like him, but something about Simone made it okay. The part of him that usually told him to stop and think seemed to have gone away, and Clark was all too happy to listen to the mellow voice of the young blonde woman.
"You're gonna believe everything I tell you, you're gonna do everything I say. Starting now." There was something in her voice that was vaguely hypnotic, compelling Clark to listen to her advice. He smiled.
"What do you have in mind?" Clark asked with a soft smile playing on his lips as he looked into her gorgeous pale eyes.
Next thing he knew he was out in the alleyway behind the Talon, Simone wedged tightly between him and the fence with her soft tongue pressed deeply against his. Her soft skin danced beneath his hands as they smothered each other in passionate embrace. This had been a brilliant idea. Clark had almost forgotten what it was like to be kissed like this, and Lana didn't have the same fierce passion. With Simone all his fears and worries seemed to disappear, and he liked it.
Clark felt more than saw the lights of a car as it pulled into the alley, a loud set of footsteps approached him and Simone, but neither of them really cared. All that mattered was Simone and Clark and the fiery kisses she was pouring on him.
"Smallville?" The stunned voice of Lois Lane interrupted them. Really, there was something about Lois and interrupting him whenever life was getting interesting. Clark turned to face her, Simone's warm arms still wrapped around his neck as Lois demanded "What the hell are you doing?"
"Lois, I'd like you to meet Simone." Clark confidently pronounced. "My new girlfriend." Lois's lip twitched and Clark bit down a laugh. Simone and Clark ran off, this was entirely too much fun and the blankly shocked look on Lois' face had been priceless.
"You know, I think I'd like to head in for the night." Simone whispered in Clark's ear, eliciting a broad grin from Clark who was only too happy to oblige. He gently lifted her into the passenger's seat of the truck before jumping in himself. He drove home, Simone gently rubbing his thigh the whole time, sending soft tingling up his spine. Clark was glad she had shown up to add some spice into his life. He pulled the car up outside the house, Simone looked a little disappointed.
"It's not much, but it's home." Clark said, sending a gentle smile towards Simone. After a moment she smiled back.
"It's charming." Simone replied as Clark guided her inside. On the bench was the apple pie that his mom had been making as he left this afternoon. Clark smiled as he cutting a large slice for her to try. His mom's speciality may be making muffins, but she made a mean apple pie.
"Here you go." Clark beamed as he slid the pie across the table to Simone.
"Apple pie. Well what else?" Simone asked with a broad smile as she took a seat.
"My mom just made it." Clark said, beaming at the beautiful blonde girl opposite him.
"Of course she did." Simone smiled, taking a delicate bite. "That's delicious. All I need now is a glass of champagne, but I don't suppose you have that hidden behind the marmalade." Simone joked. But that gave Clark an idea. Simone wanted champagne, she would have champagne. In a blur he was off, returning barely a minute later with a bottle of champagne firmly in hand.
"What did you...? Simone asked, trailing off when she saw the bottle in his hands. Clark beamed, he was glad to have surprised her. "Where did you get that?" Simone demanded.
Clark felt no need to dance around the truth, so gave the simple but true answer. "Hal's liquor store in Metropolis."
"What?" Simone asked; a strangely curious look in her eye. "Metropolis, how?"
"I can run really fast." Clark shrugged. A smile danced onto his lips when he saw the bright happy spark that lit Simone's eyes as she heard this. A cheeky smile crossed her lips.
"So if I were to say 'Clark, I want some chocolate covered strawberries'..." Clark smiled at her suggestion and in a flash he was gone. Simone squealed in delight as he reappeared, a box of chocolate covered strawberries and a single red long-stem rose in the other.
"You are too good to be true." Simone commented, taking the box of strawberries with a smile. "Next thing you're gonna tell me you've got a brother who can fly."
Clark smiled happily, "His name's Danny and he's my cousin." Clark admitted freely. It was so easy to talk to her, he felt like he didn't have to hide anything from Simone.
"Really?" Simone queried sceptically. "Well I'll look forward to meeting this cousin of yours then." Clark smiled as a playful grin ghosted onto her lips. She gently sniffed the rose, sending him a cheeky grin.
"I think it's time you told your girlfriend about us." Simone suggested and Clark couldn't help but agree. Normally he would have wanted to protect Lana, but now he had Simone, and she knew about him. Simone hadn't even seemed fazed by it. "Call her and ask her to come over." Simone ordered, and Clark all too easily obliged.
She leaned forward, giving Clark another kiss before dragging him along out to the barn. Her high heels strode proudly against the hardwood stairs, and there was something possessive in the way her eyes shone in the dim light of the barn loft. On his way past Clark flicked the switch for the lanterns on and the rafters were lit by thirty small overhead lights, glowing warmly in the dim barn loft. Simone smiled happily, the dim light shining brilliantly in her beautiful blue eyes. She pulled him into her, her lips softly brushing his as gentle as a butterfly. She laughed teasingly as she pulled away, on hand possessively clutching the collar of Clark's shirt.
"So, lightning legs," Simone began, her velveteen voice even more seductive here than in the house. "Got any other special skills?" She strode to the centre of the loft, spinning around with a tantalising smile playing on her lips. "I wanna know everything you're capable of."
Clark gulped, suddenly nervous. But he found he wanted to tell her everything. He wanted her to know everything about him. Something about Simone made him feel like he had to tell her, and there was nothing holding him back. He picked up an old metal bat, tossing it lightly between his hands for a moment before he quickly bent it over itself. He was left with a bent bat in the shape of an 'S'
"An 'S' for Simone." Clark proclaimed softly, earning himself a light laugh from the beautiful blonde.
"Ever since I was little I dreamed about my knight in shining armour. And now that dream had actually come true." Clark smiled as she leaned in for a kiss. That was strangely flattering, and it felt wonderful for someone to think that way of his gifts. For so long he had had to hide them, never knowing who to trust. Really Chloe was the only normal human who knew about his powers other than his mom who had raised him. Somehow Simone made him feel so free, like there was nothing holding him back and he could take on the world. He deepened the kiss.
"Take off your shirt" Simone ordered, leaning back slightly and Clark was quick to acquiesce. He smiled as she gently rubbed her hands along his chest.
"Your turn?" He requested gently, Simone smiled and smoothly undid her denim jacket revealing the saucy black bra hidden beneath. The alluring smile on her lips drew Clark in and he quickly obliged her request to take off his jeans too. His clothes fell in a heap, tossed carelessly aside as his eyes surveyed the soft pale skin of the blonde. He smiled, tugging her to press tightly against his chest. He looked down, staring into her intoxicatingly beautiful eyes as they sparkled in the low light of the barn loft.
"Simone" Clark murmured worriedly, realising one thing. "With my powers, I could hurt you." Simone just smirked, as if it was foolish for him to even think that.
"That's a chance I'm willing to take." Simone answered with her enticing smile, leaning in for a kiss. Clark responded, she was fiery, energetic and passionate. She was everything that had been lacking in his relationship with Lana. He picked her up gently, pulling her over to the sofa before descending into a deeper kiss, their two bodies crushing gently against each other.
"Oh God" Clark heard from a corner. He blinked in confusion. That wasn't Simone. It only took a second for him to realise that that was Lana, finally here.
"You don't care about her anymore Clark. Go tell her that it's over." Simone instructed, her bright eyes glittering in the dim light. In a moment Clark had grabbed his jeans and had pulled them on, racing over behind Lana as she retreated down the wooden stairs.
"Lana wait." Clark dictated, watching as Lana spun around. The hurt and anger in her eyes was obvious, but Clark couldn't find it in him to care. Not really. Deep down something stirred, but at the same time there was something more compelling about being with Simone.
"This is why you couldn't spend the night with me?" Lana accused with venom in her voice.
"Lana, I've fallen in love with someone else." Clark stated bluntly. Simone wanted this done, and it was better for everyone if Clark broke it off with Lana now. He felt so much freer around Simone, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. There was no judgement, no secrets, nothing hidden. He watched as Lana turned and strode off, her shoulders stiff. He had hurt her, and a small part of him wanted to run after her and make sure she was okay. But a larger part of him wanted to go back to Simone. Clark thought of Simone, the way her curly hair framed her face and the beautiful Turquoise stone that danced between her collar bones. Really there was no choice to be made at all.
Line Break
Danny smiled as he opened a portal to the Zone. With a quick blast the Corn Ghost was thrown backwards into the Zone, screaming all the way. Danny had been planning on visiting the Zone anyway; Clockwork had left him a reprimanding note saying that he was neglecting his studies, so Danny knew he had to go back soon. Sometimes he wondered why Clockwork was teaching him so much. There were things about the Zone that Danny had been taught that even some of the older ghosts didn't know. But when he asked Clockwork he had simply smiled, saying that "The truth would be revealed with the fullness of time."
Even Frostbite seemed to be in on it. Danny had gone once to the Far Frozen to visit the yeti and do a bit of training, and in passing he had mentioned what he was being taught of ghost culture. That had solicited a broad grin on Frostbite's wise old face, but even he did not give Danny any clues. "It is not my place to inform even you, Great One, of the nature of the ghost realms. All I can advise is to learn from the lessons your mentor gives you. Clockworks methods may seem abstract, but all have a purpose. Some are simply more obvious for those who know to look." After that Danny had dropped the subject, deciding that he didn't want any more riddles from his teachers.
Danny closed the portal he had sent the Corn Ghost through since it led to the area nearest Walker's prison. Knowing that no one was looking he shifted into his ghost half, relishing the feeling of his white cloak over his shoulders. With a wave of his hand he opened another portal that would lead to the area outside Clockwork's tower. Happily he released his hold on gravity and floated through the portal and into the endless green that made up the Ghost Zone.
A playful grin snuck onto Phantom's lips as he soared through the floating cogs that led to Clockwork's realm. He was truly privileged to know the Time Master, so few knew of him as more than a myth. From what he understood it was only the Leaders of the Realms who knew of him as a true being; and fewer still who knew him personally. Cheerfully he soared up to the large front door, carefully knocking on the aged wood. As usual the doors swung open and Phantom proceeded into the main viewing chamber where Clockwork held their lessons.
"Young Phantom," Clockwork said, gliding out of the shadows in his toddler form. "You're late."
Phantom smiled, used to Clockwork's teasing. Having had this exact discussion before, he shrugged it off. Talking with Clockwork for too long about that sort of thing had only ever led him to believe that he was simultaneously on time, too early and too late. Instead he inquired as to what Clockwork had planned for today.
"What do you recall of our last lessons?" Clockwork inquired, gently shifting to his eldest and wisest looking form.
"We were talking about the Magus Wars," Phantom answered quickly "during the twelfth century on Earth. How the two sides did something unprecedented and brought Real World objects into the fight. It was the first and only time in history that objects from the Real World were used, the sheer destruction caused led to the total ban on Real World items in the Zone."
"Good, I am glad to see you have absorbed so much." Clockwork said with a smile. He offered Phantom a seat at the book-strewn table that had appeared between them and shuffled three archaic looking books towards him. "However there is much more to the story. In school you have touched on the works of Albertus Magnus..."
"The Alchemist?" Phantom interrupted, only vaguely recalling that class. The chemistry teacher had wanted to show them a bit about alchemy so they could appreciate how far chemistry had come since the Dark Ages.
"Correct." Clockwork replied with a fond smile. "Magnus was one of the most prominent human Alchemists; his writings are still available today. However, despite the flawed 'science' of Alchemy there were some who touched upon true principles. Usually human witches or sorcerers who better understood the energies of the objects they were working with.
"During this time many interesting human items of power were created; some came close to the fabled Philosopher's Stone, but many of the items suited other purposes. We have already explored some of the human items used by ghosts on ghosts during the war, but in all things a balance is needed.
"Today I wish to explore what the humans of this time learned from the ghosts." Clockwork flicked open one of the oldest books, flipping through the pages until it displayed an image of four gemstones; yellow, green, blue and red. Each one was beautiful in its own right, but something about the image was strangely unsettling.
"These four gemstones" Clockwork explained "Are among the most powerful items created by medieval Alchemy. The Blue Turquoise, the Yellow Calcite, the Green Verdite and the Red Eudialyte all possess considerable power in the human world. Yet the true power comes not from the stones themselves but the dark principles used to forge them. The alchemist who created these bound a ghost to the human plane, and then used dark magic to split his core into four, sealing each inside one of these stones. Thus each stone has a 'core' which allows the wearer to manipulate the energy it provides.
"For this reason each of the stones is able to partially manifest certain ghost powers. For example the Calcite allows the wearer to make themselves and others lighter and more flexible. It is related to our ability to ignore gravity and greatly improves a human's athleticism. The Eudialyte allows the wearer to manipulate how people stand out in a crowd. Akin to our powers of invisibility the wearer can choose when to stand out and when people will ignore them.
"The Verdite gives the wearer greater endurance and strength. It comes from the ability to become intangible, altering the density of Real World objects and making them easier to physically manipulate. Last is the Turquoise, it allows a person greater self conviction and to control those around them. This comes from our ability to overshadow people and objects, and works by putting a suggestive thought in the mind while simultaneously removing inhibitions about it."
Clockwork paused for a moment, brushing his hand against the picture on the book. "Each of these jewels is powerful in their own right, giving a human control over others. Together they would make a human almost unstoppable in the Human World. However, they have limited effect on ghosts. Whether this is due to the origins of their power being from our world or the simple differences in our psychology to that of humans is debatable, and no ghost has wanted to perform the experiment, seeing it as a grave disrespect to the ghost who was destroyed in their creation."
Phantom frowned, looking down at the image of the four gemstones. He could see the good and bad uses for all of them, but their origins were deeply unsettling. He settled into his chair, absorbed in the history of the Alchemists of the twelfth century and what had happened to the four stones. Each had apparently passed down through the ages, but the book didn't say where they were now. Phantom poured over the pages of the books on the table, taking in as much information as he could. The books had the history of all sorts of interesting Alchemical and Magical items created around that era not just on Earth, but also on Krypton. It was fascinating.
Hours passed, and eventually Phantom was interrupted from his study by Clockwork who decided to send him home. However Clockwork insisted that he keep hold of the book of human made Items of Power, which Phantom automatically knew as a bad sign. It was Clockwork's indirect way of saying that something bad was coming and that he needed to be prepared for it. Although he was glad not to have evil ghosts from the future after his skin again, it did sour what had been a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon of study.
Phantom shifted back to his human form, opening a portal home just outside the door to Clockwork's tower. The book clung closely to his chest he started walking back to the house, taking the time to muse over what Clockwork could have possibly have meant by giving him the book in the first place. He was three quarters the way to the house when he heard heart wrenching sobs crackling through the cool night air.
"Lana?" He questioned with wide eyes as he saw the brunette crying just outside the barn door. She looked completely broken, long lines of watery tears trailing down her cheeks. Danny raced over to the young woman, instantly wrapping her in a warm hug. He absently projected his aura, relying on that to help calm her down. He never wanted to see Lana or anyone cry like that again, the pain and loss and betrayal that had torn through her brown eyes were almost tangible.
Lana didn't even try to push him away; she just accepted the small comfort that Danny was offering. Eventually her sobs gave way to soft hiccupping sniffles and she drew back, wiping the tears from her puffy red eyes. Danny laid a hand on her shoulder, almost scared to ask what had happened to hurt Lana like that. But he knew that she needed someone to vent to, otherwise she would just keep tearing herself up inside.
"Lana, what happened?" Danny asked gently, only hoping that she would trust him enough to tell him what was going on. It was silent for several minutes, an intense battle tearing through Lana's eyes. Hurt, betrayal, anger and pain swirled through in a cacophony of painful emotion. Danny was about to give up, believing that she wouldn't let herself trust him enough to tell him.
"Clark." Lana finally croaked, wiping another tear from her eyes. "He... and then he..." she sobbed once more, a deep heart wrenching sob that made Danny wish he could do anything more to help her.
"Lana," Danny whispered "Whatever it is, it'll be alright."
"No," Lana whimpered, her voice crackling slightly. "I don't think it can be. Clark... did you know?"
Danny frowned in confusion. "Know what?"
"He found another girl, Simone. And he..." Lana broke down into tears once more, but Danny's mind was working in leaps and bounds. By how heartbroken Lana was, as well as where she was, Danny guessed that in some way Clark had betrayed her. The way she had said 'Simone' made Danny think that somehow Clark had cheated on Lana for her, but there was no way that Clark would ever do something like that. Not unless he was being forced into it.
"I don't know what to say and I can't defend Clark for hurting you like this. But you are strong; I know that you can figure this out." Danny murmured gently. He would have to have a long talk with Clark very soon, but the important thing was making sure that Lana was okay. He offered to take her back to the dorm in Metropolis, but she decided that she wanted to go to her Aunt Nell's. Danny offered to drive her there, saying that it would be better for her to have some company.
The drive was long and quiet, but for the occasional sobs of Lana. At one point she called Chloe, just to tell her that she wasn't coming back to the dorm tonight. Danny made a mental note to talk to Chloe; she probably knew more of the story than Lana did. Something had to have happened to Clark while Danny was in the Zone. After all, just that morning he had been looking forward to a date with Lana, it just wasn't like him. Danny dropped Lana off at her Aunt Nell's; the elder woman immediately wrapping her niece up in a motherly hug. Danny quietly left, Lana needed the support of her family now and Danny needed to figure out what was happening with Clark.
Danny called Chloe, hoping that she had any additional information. With how Cark had treated Lana he knew that talking to him would be like trying to get blood from a stone.
"Chloe?" Danny asked when the phone was answered.
"Danny?" Came Chloe's slightly exasperated reply. "Where have you been? Actually, do you know what's going on with Clark?"
"No" Danny replied shortly "I just dropped Lana off at Nell's. I haven't even seen Clark since this morning. Do you know what's going on?"
"Not exactly, I'm looking into it." Chloe replied. "Regroup in the morning?"
Danny sighed, knowing this was the best way to deal with the situation. "Sure." He conceded. "I guess I'll see you 'round the farm in the morning?"
"See you then" Chloe agreed. Danny ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He really needed to talk to Clark and sort things out. An icy breath escaped his parted lips and Danny groaned. He shifted into his Phantom form and lifted into the air, soaring off in the moonlight following a spectral trail. He'd have to talk to Clark after he attended to this ghost.
Line Break
Lex Luthor smiled from his seat in his private jet. He was flying out to Honduras in South America where there was solid evidence of Milton Fine's presence. Ever since Fine had disappeared Lex had been searching for him. Fine managed to disappear the exact same day as the alien spaceship vanished from Lex's warehouse. Added to the fact that Fine had often been spotted looking around the warehouse more than once, it was too big a coincidence to ignore.
Lex had gone so far as to tell Lana about his discovery, knowing her keen interest in anything related to that spaceship. After all, if it weren't for her Lex wouldn't have found it in the first place. But now he was flying to Honduras to find Fine, not a simple task by any means as he seemed to have gone to great lengths to hide himself. Fortunately he was not perfect in his vanishing act, and there had been some key clues that had led Lex straight to him.
There was one more thing he needed to attend to. Lex switched on his wireless link; he had arranged for a digital video linked meeting between him and his mole. He had sent her in to find out some valuable information, he needed proof and she was the best way to go about it. The digital meeting was more than or his convenience, he had genuine reason not to want to meet this particular young woman in person. He smiled as he turned the link on, watching the blonde prowl into his office over the wireless connection.
"Welcome Simone." Lex said smugly, taking note of her tight clothing. "Don't you look delectable this evening."
Simone seemed to realise she was being watched and turned to face her end of the screen. Almost dejectedly she crossed her arms. "Do I ever get to meet the billionaire boy wonder face to face?" She queried sarcastically.
"Well, as much as I'd like to admire you up close and personal, I'd prefer to keep my free will." Lex replied confidently. After all this was the whole reason he had used Simone in the first place. The pretty little pendant strung proudly around her neck was about the best hypnotist's tool on the planet. And Lex had decided to appropriate her particular skills to his own purpose. Although there were many more uses for her than just ferreting out secrets.
"How's your progress?" Lex demanded, leaning back in his chair.
"Well" Simone replied with a cheeky smile "Let's just say that Lana Lang won't be sending Clark any Valentine's Day cards." Lex inwardly grinned, that was one of the key things he had sent Simone in to do.
"And what about the boys? Have you discovered anything interesting about them?" Lex pressed. This was his ultimate goal; he wanted to find out for certain the secrets of the two Kent – and he considered Danny a Kent for all that he was a Fenton – boys. Clark had always been a puzzle to Lex, somehow always appearing just in time to save the day. Lex was sure that Clark there was much more to Clark Kent than met the eyes, and he had invested many hundreds of hours into solving that mystery. Unfortunately none of his investigations had come into fruition.
Then halfway through last year Danny Fenton had appeared, and he somehow seemed to fit into the same mould. However Danny had chosen to pursue something of a friendship with Lex. Danny possessed a keen wit and an interesting perspective on the world. In some ways he ran rings around Clark intellectually, and sometimes even gave Lex the slip. However Danny was always slightly guarded around Lex, and there seemed to be a pattern of truth that he was dancing around if only Lex could find it. That was the most frustrating thing; both 'Kent' boys were entirely elusive, and Lex wanted concrete proof of his suspicions. He took another look at Simone and shook himself of his mental musings.
"Danny hasn't been home all night and Clark doesn't seem to care. I had a quick look through his room. It's barely lived in, although he had an interesting sketchbook filled with ghosts and a couple of portraits. I haven't met him yet, but I'd say the most unusual thing about him is his interest in ghosts." Simone answered. Lex frowned, while interesting it was hardly more information than he'd garnered from their weekly sparring sessions.
"And Clark?" Lex pressed.
"Absolutely." Simone smirked.
"What is it?" Lex demanded, knowing that this could very well be the breakthrough that he'd been looking for.
"Clark Kent is the most extraordinary... kisser." Simone finished with a cheeky smile. Lex wasn't fooled, there was something else there.
"There must be more." He pressed darkly.
"If he had some secret don't you think I'd know. With Clark Kent what you see is what you get. A corn-fed farm boy. I've done everything you asked me to." Simone shrugged. "So now you can get the hell out of my life and leave me alone."
"Patience, Simone." Lex dictated. "There's someone else that I'd like you to meet. In Honduras."
"No way." Simone uttered over the video feed. "This was a one-time deal, remember?" Lex inwardly grinned at having thrown her off kilter like that.
"You seem to be forgetting that that I have unearthed evidence that could put you away for life." Lex calmly retorted. "Now I believe that the least you could do is one more little favour for me. I'll be back tomorrow night. We'll talk then." Lex finished, shutting off the link and leaving no further room for discussion. Lex smiled, things were certainly playing right into his hands at the moment. Even if he hadn't gotten the information that he wanted off of Simone.
Lex frowned, settling back into his seat as the plane prepared for descent. He had uncovered evidence that suggested that Milton Fine was nowhere near the college professor that he claimed to be, and Lex was determined to figure out exactly what he was planning. The plane slowly descended into a small airport. Lex jumped out and immediately strode over to the vehicle he had arranged. As with most of his excursions he preferred to do things himself, rather than leave things to the underlings. Thus he found his way to the small mestizo village alone, the bright sun much warmer than the Kansan days to which he was accustomed.
Lex picked his way through the tropical forest undergrowth, making his way towards the small tent where he knew Fine was operating out of. He eyed the many wooden sculptures and carvings that Fine had amassed. Most of them appeared tribal wooden masks and carvings of the local animals and plants. However some were outright weird including what Lex inferred was a god, for what else was fully humanoid but had arms and legs laced with spearheads?
"I would have had tea and petit fours waiting. But I didn't expect you so soon." Lex heard over his shoulder and immediately recognised the speaker as Fine. He frowned as he spun around to face him. Fine was dressed in a soft tan jacket, looking far more like an explorer than a college professor. This only further confirmed Lex's hypothesis about him. He was laden with a large, heavy looking backpack and a small orange biohazard sample case.
"You knew I was coming." Lex stated bluntly, careful not to betray any emotion.
"When you leave a trail of breadcrumbs, it's no surprise when the crow comes to call." Fine dismissed, setting down his bags. Lex bristled.
"A simple phone call would have sufficed." Lex shot back, irritated at the thought of having been led into this meeting.
Fine looked back at Lex appraisingly for a moment. "I couldn't reveal the truth about myself until I had proof that you were dedicated to your cause."
"Well I hate to disappoint you," Lex commented darkly as he crossed the small space to the brown haired man. "But I already know what you are." Lex watched with small satisfaction as Fine's eyes quickly flickered with emotion. "And it's not a professor of history, is it? No, it's something much more exciting." Lex paused a moment for dramatic effect, although he could have sworn that Fine's hand moved almost threateningly behind his back, as if he had a blade in his hand.
"Tell me, what is the benefits package of a government operative for the State Department?" Lex queried smugly.
"Very good." Fine acknowledged with the smallest hint of relief on his otherwise stoic face. He nodded once before moving over towards the table strewn with wooden hand carvings. "I see you found that breadcrumb all on your own."
"What I want to know is what you were doing posing as a college professor at a Kansas farm town." Lex demanded.
Fine picked one up, studying it for a moment, but Lex couldn't see the significance in it. "I was investigating the possibility of an extraterrestrial presence." Fine replied, placing the carving down and striding out of the tent. Lex was quick to follow, knowing that they were following the same questions.
"This investigation," Lex pressed "Did it bear any fruit?"
Fine kept walking, but inclined his head so that Lex could follow him. "Well, we believe that a spacecraft of unknown origin touched down during the recent meteor shower. But, an individual with quick reflexes and vast resources was able to get to it before we could." Lex was slightly taken aback; it seemed that Fine knew exactly what he had done after the meteor shower. Lex smoothed his face into a blankly stoic mask before continuing the conversation.
"So that's why you were investigating LuthorCorp." Lex commented.
"Yeah." Fine replied openly "And I admire the remarkable advancements you've made in the field of science. Too bad you couldn't get into that ship when you had a chance." Lex felt his eye twitch in irritation, hating the fact that the ship had proven so impenetrable when he was trying to study it. But the righteous tone that Fine employed suggested that he knew more than he was letting on.
"You know where it is." Lex stated, soliciting the slightest of smiles on Fine's controlled face.
"The ancient Mayans," Fine began, apparently ignoring Lex's question "Believed that they were visited by great beings from the heavens." His eyes lifted expectantly to the sky.
Lex decided to cut to the chase. "You think the ship's in Honduras."
"Well I'm certainly not here for the coffee." Fine replied, leaving Lex's curiosity piqued. "You see, over time there have been many different extraterrestrial sightings. It is difficult to filter which are accurate descriptions of the truth, and which are little more than superstitious ramblings. However, here..." Fine trailed off suggestively.
"You think you have proof." Lex finished.
Fine half smiled before leading Lex towards the small village nearby, barely a two minute walk from Fine's small tent. Fine approached a small boy, asking him "¿Dónde está Jorés?" Lex's Spanish was a little rusty, but he understood enough to know that Fine had just asked where someone was.
"De allí, señor." The boy replied, pointing over to a little dark haired boy sitting in front of a small hut. Fine strode over to the little boy who was holding a small carving close to his chest.
"¿Puedo ver lo que tu padre hizo por favor?" Fine asked and the boy handed the thing over to fine with a small smile. Fine spun around, showing it to Lex. Lex was amazed; it was a tiny carved replica of the exact spacecraft that he had kept in a warehouse all those months ago.
"His father carved it," Fine explained, handing the small carving to Lex who examined it keenly. "After claiming to have seen a 'Carroza de los Dioses' fall from the sky."
"A chariot of the gods." Lex stated in wonder. "I want to talk to him." Lex dictated.
"I know you can do many things Mr Luthor." Fine commented, pulling Lex away from the small boy "But I'm not sure that you can communicate with the dead." Lex chose not to retort to that, knowing what Fine had intended in his comment. "Days after that sighting, his wife came home to find his charred remains on the floor."
Lex frowned, throwing the carving back to the little boy. "Despite urban myths, human beings don't spontaneously combust."
"No." Fine replied, anxiously shaking his head. "We believe whoever or whatever was in that ship incinerated that man. In fact, we suspect this alien race poses a great threat to the entire planet."
"Well how do you defend against a threat of that magnitude?" Lex demanded.
Fine sighed, meeting Lex in the eyes. "It presents a great challenge. But we are working on a potential weapon; a weapon that could greatly benefit from LuthorCorp's assistance. We are well aware of your tireless quest for extraterrestrial life, Mr Luthor. Your tenacity is, impressive."
Lex didn't hesitate. He wanted to be at the forefront of any effort to defend the planet, and the creation of such a weapon greatly interested him. "I'll help in any way I can. But I want unrestricted access to all your data."
"That's a bold request." Fine commented frankly.
"Well, without it this conversation is over." Lex replied coldly, turning to leave.
"I'm not sure you understand me, Mr Luthor." Fine edgily interrupted. "If we don't work together, there may not be a LuthorCorp, or a government left. Think about that on your ride home." Fine concluded harshly, stalking off in the direction of his tent. Lex was left standing in the middle of the small village with a lot on his mind. He wanted in on the production of the weapon, but it was perfectly reasonable to want access to Fine's data. Every speck of information was valuable and it was meticulous attention to detail that ensured that things went to plan.
Lex quietly drove back to the airport, contemplating all that he had learned. It was going to be a long flight home.
Line Break
Chloe's small red car pulled up to the Kent farm. She had arranged to meet up with Danny this morning to try and figure out what was going on with Clark, but he hadn't answered his cell all morning. Chloe had driven to the farm distracted, planning to spearhead Clark before he had the opportunity to let this go any further. Searching around for a minute she heard the familiar sounds of Clark rummaging around in the barn. Steeling herself for the conversation ahead she strode into the barn. Clark was busy moving around some heavy looking farm equipment, Chloe chose not to look any deeper into it.
"Oh thank God you're fully clothed." Chloe commented "I was worried I'd be walking into some kind of dangerous liaison"
"I take it you talked to Lana." Clark said, ignoring her accusation.
"I could barely hear her through the sobs, but yeah. She called to tell me that she was staying the night at Aunt Nell's." Chloe sucked her teeth, biting down her own anger. "So where's the hottie?"
"If you're talking about Simone, she's in the house." Clark calmly replied, shuffling some gas bottles over into the corner.
Chloe frowned, something wasn't right. "I don't get it." Chloe mused. "I mean, if it was Red K, you wouldn't be doing chores. And if it was Silver K you'd be afraid that pitchfork over there was gonna turn you into a shish kebob." Clark just scoffed, ringing more alarm bells in her mind. Clark was never this blasé, especially not after he'd hurt Lana like he had. "What happened to you Clark?" Chloe demanded, arms crossed firmly across her chest.
"I fell in love." Clark replied.
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you fell. I think you were pushed." Chloe retorted coldly. "Off a cliff."
"Chloe," Clark said, his back turned to her "just because you know my secret doesn't mean you know how I feel."
"Yeah," Chloe admitted "but I do know that you'd never intentionally hurt Lana like this."
Clark finally turned to face Chloe, and she couldn't understand the almost angry swirl of emotion in his eyes. "Chloe, you're the one who always said my relationship with Lana would never go anywhere as long as I have to lie about who I really am. And you know what? You were right."
"So how are things gonna be any different with Simone?" Chloe sceptically rebutted.
"I told Simone about my powers." Clark replied simply, turning the alarm bells in Chloe's head into blaring sirens. Clark would never tell anyone about his secret without knowing them for years.
"Okay, wait a minute Clark." Chloe said, now genuinely scared for her blue eyed friend. She walked right up to him to meet him in the eyes. "You may think you're madly in love with this girl, but you need to stay away from her."
"You don't even know who she is." Clark snapped angrily, but Chloe knew she couldn't afford to back down.
"No, but I know you well enough to know when you're being manipulated." Chloe coolly replied, knowing she had struck some chord when Clark turned away from her again and forced himself back to work.
"You're crossing a line here Chloe." Clark warned. "And I've always trusted you. So how about this time you trust me? Let me live my life. Back off" Chloe frowned and watched as Clark strode off into another corner of the barn, burying himself in work. Something about this whole situation felt off and Chloe decided that she was going to go meet Simone for herself. However her attention was distracted by the sight of Danny walking over from the storm cellar.
"Danny?" Chloe called, watching as he approached. He looked to be limping slightly, but he broke into a broad smile at Chloe's call.
"Hey Chlo'" Danny replied as soon as he was within ten feet of her. Chloe frowned; he was definitely limping and the way part of his shirt was clinging to him almost made Chloe think he was bleeding.
"What have you been doing? And why were you in the storm cellar?" Chloe demanded, gesturing towards his sticky dark shirt. Danny blinked twice, before straightening up and sending an off putting smile her way.
"I got caught up on the way home last night, and nobody goes in the storm cellar so it's a good place to teleport into." Danny replied with an easy shrug. Chloe sighed, realising that she wouldn't get anything more from him.
"So have you met Simone yet?" Chloe asked quietly. Danny shook his head and replied in the negative, saying that he hadn't even gotten home last night.
"Not yet. And for what she and Clark did to Lana I'm not sure I want to." Danny replied as they stepped into the house. Chloe couldn't see anyone around, but noticed the black handbag tossed on the kitchen table. She was about to have a peek when a voice came from upstairs.
"Clark, is that you?" there were gentle footsteps as the girl came down the stairs. She was just out of the shower, her hair wet and she wore only a soft blue towel and a necklace. Chloe took a hasty step away from the table.
"Hi, you must be Simone." Chloe said, schooling her face into a friendly smile. "I'm, um... I'm Chloe. I'm Clark's friend. It's really great to finally meet you." Simone paused down the stairs, her hand reaching to the turquoise pendant on her chest.
"Hello." Simone coldly replied before turning her attention to Danny. "You must be Danny, Clark tells me you can fly." Chloe looked over at the younger boy, and was surprised by the look in his eyes. There was something about Simone that he recognised. There was the slightest of frowns on his face, something that Chloe had learned to be wary of. Then her mind froze. Simone had said that Danny could fly. She wanted to turn around and hound him about it right then and there, but she had more pressing concerns on her mind right now, like the harlot in a towel on the stairs.
"I'm so glad that Clark hooked up with you." Chloe babbled, hoping to distract her. "I mean he was just miserable with Lana and now, I can honestly say I've never seen him so happy. You two are really perfect for each other. " Chloe was lying through her teeth, but hopefully Simone wouldn't pick up on it.
Simone smiled and her hand dropped from her pendant. Chloe breathed a silent sigh of relief as Simone bought into her babbling. "That's nice to hear. Do you know where he is?" Simone asked with a soft smile.
"I think he's out in the barn." Chloe quickly replied and watched as Simone walked out the back door in nothing but her towel. Chloe shuddered at the thought. Her attention fell to the purse still lying on the kitchen table. Her inquisitive nature took over and Chloe quickly dove into Simone's various ID's. "So what did you think of Blondie?" Chloe asked as she rummaged.
"She's bad news." Danny replied. "She's been corrupted by power, and she's only using Clark. She's a fake." Chloe looked up at him, surprised by the fierceness in his eyes. She could have sworn she saw a swirl of green in his blue eyes, but passed it off as a trick of the light.
"Well, I think it's time to find out a bit more about Simone Charcot." Chloe commented looking over at Danny.
"Good idea, although I suspect I know what's going on." Danny replied with a small frown. "That said I'd still like to check the databases at the Planet..." Danny trailed off, a small frown on his lips. "I'm just gonna grab something from upstairs." Chloe nodded, taking a seat in a sofa as she waited for Danny. It wasn't a minute later that he came back downstairs wearing a different t-shirt and his backpack slung over one shoulder. Chloe smiled, noting that the limp had gone already and he didn't seem to be in any pain. She jumped into her car and Danny took the passenger's seat.
"So what were you doing last night if you never got home?" Chloe asked curiously.
"Sorta got sidetracked." Danny shrugged. Chloe frowned, recognising the dodge. The car became silent, and the rest of the trip to the Planet filled with small talk. Chloe felt that Danny was dodging her, in a similar way to the one that Clark used to. But she dismissed that thought. After all he was such an honestly good kid that it was unlikely he was involved in anything bad. There were a lot of confusing facts around Danny, but it was certain that he was a good kid.
They walked into the Planet and Chloe immediately pulled up a search on Simone. While that was processing she called Lois, knowing that she would want to know what was going on. After all it was her that discovered that there was something wrong with Clark in the first place. When she got back to her desk she found Danny at the computer. Looking over his shoulder she found that he was looking into the long history of Simone's family. What stood out most to Chloe was that her father had recently been murdered.
Chloe blinked. Danny didn't seem to have noticed her presence; instead he reached into his backpack and pulled out a book. Chloe struggled not to gasp. It was beautiful, leather bound with delicate etchings in the leather. It had two dark leather bands, binding it closed. If not for the fact that it looked so new Chloe would have imagined it was a genuine medieval age book. But it wasn't worn enough for that. Danny pulled the book open, absently flicking through until he came to an illustrated page. Danny sighed, his eyes flicking between the page and the computer screen.
He frowned, and Chloe finally drew attention to herself. "Where'd you get the book?" Chloe asked. Danny didn't even look up, his eyes tearing through the page and flicking to the next. He didn't answer, but instead just asked how far away Lois was before standing up to grab Chloe a coffee. Chloe immediately took the opportunity to peek at the book, but was shocked when she couldn't read any of it. It was all in beautifully handwritten Latin. Chloe was interested in the picture, there were four polished stones; green, yellow, red and turquoise. Chloe immediately recognised the turquoise one as the one hung on Simone's necklace.
It was then Lois sent the message that she was on the way in, and Chloe raced out to meet her. Lois immediately demanded to know what was going on, Chloe still didn't have the full picture so guided Lois over to her desk. Danny came back carrying two mugs of coffee and handing them over to Chloe and Lois.
"So what's the story?" Lois demanded, sitting on a desk.
"Okay," Chloe began, figuring they could start with what she had figured out by reading through the lines. "So I think Clark's bizarre behaviour could be some form of supercharged hypnotism." Danny nodded in acknowledgement but Lois was sceptical.
"I've heard of hypnotism being used to stop smoking or lose weight, but to reduce Clark to some goo-goo-eyed love slave?" Lois scoffed.
"Believe it." Danny interjected. "It's not your over the counter hypnotism, it's prescription strength. And it never wears off." Danny clicked onto a hypnotism webpage, bringing up a picture of a greying Caucasian man. "This is Edmund Charcot; Simone's father." Chloe leaned over, looking over at the screen.
"Says here he was world renowned for curing his patients all infliction. Everything from cravings to cancer." Chloe continued, reading off the page.
"Maybe I can talk to him about my nail-biting." Lois mused aloud. Danny shook his head.
"It's a bit too late for that." Danny said, flicking from the webpage to a police report. "Last month he died in a botched burglary." Chloe's eyes scanned the page hungrily.
"But there was only one thing stolen." Chloe frowned reading the report. Lois jumped in, recognising the blue Turquoise stone on the picture.
"Wait a second, I've seen that jewel before." Lois commented.
"Yeah." Chloe acknowledged. "So have I, wrapped around Simone's scrawny little neck."
"And that's not good." Danny said, pulling out his book. "It's an ancient family heirloom, dating back to the alchemists in medieval England. This particular... jewel comes from a set of four. The Eudialyte, the Verdite, the Calcite and the Turquoise. None of them are bad in their own right, but like anything can be used for the wrong reasons. It basically gives the wearer complete control over other people."
"Wait a minute, you can read this?" Lois interjected, looking at the Latin on the page before the three of them. Danny blinked confusedly.
"Um, yeah?" Danny replied uncertainly.
"Okay, later you're gonna tell me where you learned to read Latin." Chloe suggested. "But now's not the time. What else do you got?"
"It's powerful," Danny continued. "The Turquoise works by making subtle suggestions, simultaneously removing any inhibitions against them. In other words, you hear what you're told to do, but have no conscience saying no against it. It is a sort of hypnotism, but at the same time completely different. When in the right hands it can be a great tool to help people, like how Edmund used it. But in the wrong hands... it's a devastating weapon."
"So you think Simone is responsible for her own father's death?" Lois queried.
"She wants power." Danny answered with a shrug.
Chloe frowned, realising what Danny was getting at. "If it meant getting her hands on daddy's hyper-hypno powers... maybe."
"I still think it's a tad bit cocky to be wearing it around your neck like a medal." Lois scoffed, picking up the book.
"Not if you have to be able to see the jewel for it to work." Danny shot back. "Besides, if anyone noticed she could just make them believe she's innocent. The beauty of that type of mind control." Danny finished off sadly, and Chloe knew he was thinking of the time recently when he was being controlled, which she still didn't understand fully.
"You got all that from the book?" Chloe asked, her eyebrows creased in annoyance. In this short half hour she'd learned a lot more about Danny. Apparently he could read Latin so fluently that he didn't even realise he was reading it. After all he had seemed genuinely surprised by the question of if he could read it. More than that, he somehow had access to an accurate alchemist's text. That was pretty amazing since the practice was a secretive art. Chloe had tried to get anything like that, but the closest she'd even seen was the spell book of Countess Isabelle Marguerite Theroux, and even that wasn't the same as a true alchemist's workbook like Danny's book appeared to be.
"It's pretty detailed." Danny answered, pulling the book back and snapping it shut. He slid it back into his backpack. Chloe was definitely going to sit Danny down to talk about it later. It seemed like the genuine article, but didn't have the age. It was also interesting that he had just the right book with all the answers for them on the jewel. It made Chloe wonder what else he could pull out of the metaphorical hat just in time for them.
"There's one thing I don't get." Lois frowned. "Of all people, why go after Clark?" Chloe and Danny exchanged a glance, knowing exactly why someone would go after Clark. But neither knew how Simone had figured that out in the first place. After all he was outwardly a pretty plain guy, and obviously off the market what with dating Lana.
"All I know is we gotta snap him out of it soon." Chloe replied with a frown. About the worst thing she could think of was if someone else took complete control of Clark. She couldn't think of much that would bring him down apart from kryptonite.
"And before he does something that he can't ever come back from." Danny said, his eyed distant and he shivered violently.
Lois nodded, clapping her hands together. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Lois asked. "Let's move."
"Yeah," Chloe said frowning. "I'm just gonna grab something. Danny and I'll meet you there."
Lois accepted that without question which made Chloe relieved. Almost regretfully she reached into her desk, pulling out a lead lined box. She opened the lid and took out the green meteor rock that she kept just in case. Danny nodded grimly, but seemed to stay as far as possible away from the rock. Chloe dismissed it as post-traumatic stress. After all he had lost his whole family to a meteor rock. Chloe slid the rock into her pocket and the two of them headed off too. Unfortunately they had to take the car with Lois involved in this, although Chloe could see that Danny was itching to go ahead.
Chloe frowned in frustration. This time Danny had been the one to put most of the puzzle pieces together, and she didn't like the picture she saw. Something told her that Danny knew more about the jewel than he'd told them. There were a growing list of questions around him, and Chloe wasn't sure they could be explained by just having meteor powers. But for now they needed to save Clark from Simone's controlling claws.
Line Break
Lois set her shoulders squarely back as she prepared to enter the house. On her way Lois had picked up a pair of dark glasses from a small occult shop. They advertised themselves as being able to make the wearer immune to hypnotism, so Lois thought it was well worth the expenditure. She carefully tucked the glasses into her pocket, just in case she ran into Simone. She took a deep breath and readied herself to storm into the Kent Farmhouse.
The first thing she saw was Clark Kent carrying a brown suitcase, a cheery smile on his face. "Whoa," Lois said with wide eyes. She raised her arms to block his path. "Where do you think you're going, Romeo? A motel with vibrating beds?"
"Simone and I are going to California." Clark replied lightly. "That way I can get away from your running commentary." Lois frowned. Sure she didn't exactly get on with Clark, but she wasn't about to let Clark throw his life away for some cheap bimbo. Not after he'd hurt Lana the way he had. If he wanted to leave, fine, she'd let him. But not when someone else was pulling the strings.
"My running commentary says you're hypnotised." Lois retorted, blocking another attempt to walk past her. "You need to drop your suitcase because you're not going."
"I'm asking you nicely, please step aside." Clark's voice was cool, and Lois almost didn't recognise the dark look his eyes had taken on.
"Look." Lois said, once more blocking him off as he tried to walk around her. "I didn't want to have to do this, but if necessary, I'm gonna have to take you down." She sent him a smug smile, but frowned internally at his patronising grin. Lois had trained hard, Clark may have big bulky muscles, but Lois felt she could easily bring him down with her own extensive knowledge of combat. It was just one of the perks of being an army brat.
Lois frowned as she suddenly heard a feminine voice behind her. "I see we have a visitor."Lois frowned, instantly sliding the dark glasses on and turning to face the newcomer. Simone was now in a tight red top, the pendant still blaringly obvious against her chest. Simone was grinning smugly, making Lois prickle in distaste. Lois set her shoulders and assumed a fierce pose, knowing that now Simone could do very little to stop her.
"I suggest you turn your boy-toy back to normal before I rip out those pearly white teeth." Lois threatened smugly, but Simone didn't seem to care. Instead she just lightly shook her head and sent Lois a smug smile.
"Clark," Simone ordered, glancing over Lois' shoulder towards the dark haired young man "Be a love and knock her out." Lois scoffed, but suddenly felt a sharp prod on her right temple. Lois crumpled, her consciousness rapidly fading from the force of the blow. Her thoughts were muddled, although she could have sworn that she heard Simone order Clark to kill Lex Luthor.
Blearily she heard Clark's sinisterly cheerful reply. "He's a dead man." Lois only registered the briefest moment of fear before her world vanished into blackness.
Line Break
Danny squirmed anxiously in the seat next to Chloe. After they had grabbed the kryptonite she had insisted on taking the car. The argument had been short, but Chloe had a pragmatic streak much like Sam and had suggested that showing up before Lois arrived wouldn't do anyone any favours. Danny huffed, looking warily down at Chloe's pocket which currently concealed the lump of kryptonite. He didn't exactly feel like being electrocuted so was irritated at being stuck in a vehicle with the green rock, no matter how necessary Chloe thought it was to keep Clark safe. Danny took a deep breath as they passed under the archway to the Kent Farm.
The closer Chloe drove to the house the more worried Danny got. He could feel that he was needed in the house, something that hadn't happened like this for months. Chloe had barely pulled up but Danny was already out of the car, racing towards the house. There was a screaming pull on his core, but his ghost sense hadn't gone off at all. Danny teleported in, terrified of what he may find when he got inside.
Danny's jaw dropped in stunned silence. His aunt Martha was waving a rifle threateningly in Lois's face. Lois was trying to talk her down, but Danny knew it would do no good. Somehow Simone had gotten to his aunt, and from what he understood of the Turquoise there weren't many ways to get rid of that instruction. Danny wasn't sure which solution could possibly help without getting Lois shot or reveal his secret to someone who couldn't handle it.
"I don't like this any more than you do, Lois." Danny heard his aunt say in a sickly sweet voice. Danny took a deep breath, knowing that in this case there was only one safe course of action. "But it's the only way to keep you here." His aunt finished sinisterly, but Danny wouldn't let it get any further. He pinched the pressure point at the back of her neck, rendering her instantly unconscious and she crumpled limply to the floor. Lois blinked twice at him, obviously surprised at him.
"Thanks for the save." Lois murmured, and Danny just nodded. He knew it was the safest way to make sure Lois was okay, but he hated hurting humans with a passion. Chloe was coming into the house now and mildly freaked out at the crumpled form of Aunt Martha on the living room floor.
"Hello? The woman was about to wallpaper her living room with my brain matter." Lois sarcastically commented. It was her own way of dealing with things, and Danny wasn't about to argue with her over it.
"Do you know where Clark is?" Danny asked, cutting across the two cousins.
"Well," Lois petulantly replied "While I was still seeing stars I think his girlfriend said she wanted to go to the Luthor Mansion or something. So why don't you stay here and keep Mrs Kent occupied, and I'll go save the farm boy from his harlot."
"Not a good idea." Danny answered, plucking an icepack from the freezer and handing it to Lois who was still furiously rubbing her temple. "You're in no condition to fight..." Lois looked like she was about to interrupt, she was too much like Sam to back down from a fight, "And I don't want you any more hurt. Aunt Martha will be out for an hour or so. We should be done by then. Don't argue." Danny finished, cutting her rebuttal off.
Danny turned around to Chloe. "No chance of convincing you to stay here too?"
"If you go I'll follow you, I'm not leaving Clark behind." Chloe replied and Danny nodded. She was loyal in the way Sam and Tuck had been, and he didn't have time for the argument with her, nor the energy. Instead he led her out of the house and instantly teleported to the outskirts of the Mansion. Chloe frowned and Danny knew why. The kryptonite had been left behind; Danny couldn't teleport the ghost repellent rock with him.
"If you want I'll drop you back to grab it, but I think we can do without the rock." Danny whispered quickly, guiding Chloe carefully through the grounds. He broke into a run when his enhanced senses picked up the beginnings of an altercation in Lex's study.
"Well, it's always nice to be welcomed home after a trip but I didn't expect to hear you here." Danny heard Lex say, followed by the sharp sound of breaking glass. Danny guessed that Clark had thrown Lex into his desk and broken it. "Clark you've been hypnotised." Lex grunted. By now Danny had gotten to the driveway. He was unsurprised to find no security guards, but quickened his pace. Chloe followed suit, matching his speed. With all the security cameras at the Luthor Mansion and Chloe beside him, Danny couldn't risk using any supernatural abilities.
Echoing through the night Danny heard Lex attempt to reason with Clark."How else could you throw me across the room like that?"
"I'm done with you Lex." Clark replied coldly, and Danny shuddered to imagine the dark look gracing his cousin's face at that moment.
"You're under Simone's control now." Lex grunted in pain. "The girl's a cold blooded murderer Clark."
"Your lies can't help you now." Clark spat, and Danny's eyes widened at the sheer anger in Lex's voice. Of course the jewel controlled emotions and thoughts to a point, but the venom in Clark's voice reverberated with a frustration that was too sharp to be faked.
Danny flinched as he heard the thud of flesh against cement, knowing that Lex had been slammed into a wall hard. By now Danny and Chloe had reached the front door, but it was still a minute's run at this pace to Lex's office. "Clark," Lex defended piteously. "Before she wore that jewel she was nothing but a petty shoplifter. Her dad never trusted her with the jewel so she murdered him for it. I have the whole thing on surveillance tape."
Danny shivered as he heard Simone's voice echoing throughout the Mansion. By the way Chloe froze slightly he knew she had heard her too. "You don't believe a word he said Clark." Simone's voice was cold and calculated.
Danny heard Lex murmur "My security team's on their way." But he was unsurprised at Simone's cocky reply.
"Oh, I've met your security team." There was a hint of sinister laughter in her velvety voice. "I hope you don't mind, but I gave them all the night off. Finish him off Clark." Simone ordered, "And make him suffer."
It was just then that Chloe and Danny barged into the room. Danny saw Lex, dangling a foot off the ground as Clark held him fast by the neck. Thinking quickly Danny reached out to Clark's back, sending a small wave of energy at Clark. Clark faltered, stumbling back slightly and giving Danny the opportunity to duck in and pull Lex to safety.
From the corner of his eye he caught sight of Chloe pulling Clark away. Subtly Danny took a gamble and released a slightly more powerful blast on Clark's neck, rendering him fully unconscious. Danny hadn't known that it would work but that two second interruption had changed the tide for the battle. Lex hesitatingly stood up, rubbing his neck painfully, before he lunged for his spilled briefcase on the floor. In a second he was upright with a handgun aimed right at Simone.
Smirking, Simone touched her hand to the pendant. Danny barely restrained a growl. The moment he had seen the pendant his core had screamed. This was a foul use for any ghost, and Danny hated the thought of any of his kind being abused like this. Seeing Simone, this woman with one of the most corrupted auras he had ever seen with the Turquoise had left him livid. In any other's hands he could have let it go. After all there was no way to save the ghost whose core had been split like this. But the power of the pendant itself could be put to good use, like Simone's father had. Simone however, she didn't deserve to touch the Turquoise, let alone use it.
"Lex, kill them. And then kill yourself." Simone ordered Lex. Chloe backed up in fear, but Danny wasn't scared. In half a second he had spun around, bending around the bullet Lex fired at his head. A moment later and he had taken the gun off Lex, throwing it to the floor and sliding it as far away from both Simone and Lex as possible. Lex was struggling against Danny's grip, so he lightly touched the pressure point at the back of his neck and felt Lex fall limp in his arms.
Clark was still unconscious, rendered useless by Danny's subtle ectoblast. Chloe was crouched concernedly by Clark's side, but Danny felt Chloe's eyes on the back of his neck as he stood to face Simone. "Chloe, keep your eyes on Clark. Nothing else." Danny called over his shoulder, his own eyes fixed on the blonde haired woman opposite him.
"Danny, it seems you have a few tricks up your sleeve." Simone commented with a lust filled smirk. "But you see, I can't have you taking Clark away from me." Simone's hand reached up to the Turquoise in an obvious attempt to control him.
"Now, I want you to kill Chloe and let Clark and me go." Simone commanded. But Danny laughed. He lightly clapped his hands together, antagonising her with his resistance to the jewel. In this case he was fundamentally a ghost and had a ghost's immunity to the Turquoise.
"Good try." Danny smiled darkly, "But you're gonna need a whole different ballgame if you want to string me along." Simone looked shocked, but Danny just smirked. "And the funny thing is; the Turquoise doesn't belong to you."
"Of course it does." Simone spat. "It's my heritage; it's been in my family for nearly eight hundred years. And it's my power to control."
"No it's not." Danny replied coldly, feeling his eyes flash green. He was grateful that his back was to Chloe, but Simone visibly flinched. "The jewel belongs to the ghosts. That is how it was made, and that is where it belongs. Your ancestor may have created the jewel, but it never belonged to the humans. It was a travesty against the ghosts, and is part of the reason that our worlds have been closed off for so long. The only reason the jewel was tolerated in the possession of humans was when it was being used to help and to heal. You, Simone Charcot have betrayed that trust with your greed."
Danny paused for a moment as he watched the blonde flinch. She clearly hadn't known of the origins of the jewel, and there was no way that Danny was going to tell her of the others. At the moment, everyone else in the room didn't matter. He was a ghost and it was his responsibility to strip this woman of the Turquoise and return the core fragment to the Zone. Danny took a deep breath, feeling his eyes shift from green to the strange shade of silver that they were wont to of late. "You have forfeited the right of your ancestors, and you have forfeited your right to the Turquoise. You will surrender it freely now, or I will make you." Danny finished coldly.
Simone looked at him stunned. Her fingers reached once more to the jewel. "Danny" She tried once more "I want you to forget about this and let me go." Danny just raised his eyebrows in response.
"Simone, you have been warned. The Turquoise was never yours to use. Surrender it now." Danny's voice reverberated through Lex's office with a powerful level of command, but still Simone refused. Danny sighed, there weren't many options open to him now. He jumped forward, propelling himself in a handspring over Simone. As she ducked he easily pulled the necklace off her neck, quickly tucking it into his pocket as he landed. A moment later she was unconscious on the ground.
"Okay, what just happened?" Chloe demanded, her eyes flicking between the three fallen bodies on the floor. Danny blinked, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck as he blinked his eyes back to their normal blue. He felt the Turquoise in his pocket thrumming happily; glad to be back in the presence of ecto-energy. Danny was going to have to take that back to Clockwork. The ghost master of time would know what to do with it.
"Simone abused her power so I took it off her. I'll give the turquoise to the next ghost I see who'll be able to deal with it." Danny replied eventually, walking over to Clark to see how he was doing.
"Do you think he's still hypnotised?" Chloe asked as she looked at Clark.
"Probably." Danny answered with a deep frown. He only knew of two ways to completely remove the hypnotism. The first was to destroy the Turquoise, but as a ghost Danny found that abhorrent. The other way was to kill the person who had given the commands, but Danny physically couldn't let that happen.
Chloe looked up at him anxiously, all her other questions overpowered by her worry for Clark. "So how do we fix him, and your aunt for that matter?"
Danny frowned, pulling out the stone. The core fragment contained inside was no longer sentient and it never would be again, but Danny could tell some things about it. It had once belonged to a low class Norma ghost, that was the only reason they had been trapped in the first place. He knew that no ghost could wield it; the magic used to contain the core fragment ensured that. That gave Danny a couple of ideas to try as soon as they were away from the Mansion and back at the farm.
"I have a couple of ideas, but not here. Keep guard of Clark, he'll be out for a while, I'm gonna call the cops, but I don't think either of us should be here when Lex wakes up. Simone's last instruction was to kill us." Danny finally said, ignoring the scowl on Chloe's face. He knew she didn't like being kept in the dark, but he couldn't risk saying much with Lex and his security cameras around. Chloe wouldn't be fully happy until Clark was safe, and Danny couldn't promise that yet.
Danny tied Simone up with Lex's tie, knowing that it would hold her until the cops got there. Thinking quickly Danny made a replica of the Turquoise out of ice, putting that on the setting of Simone's necklace before shooting it. Hopefully Lex would believe that the Turquoise had been destroyed completely. For now Danny pointedly ignored Chloe's glares and elected instead to help his cousin get home safely.
Danny sighed as he lifted Clark's unconscious form onto his shoulders and dragged him out of the Mansion. Chloe trailed behind him until they hit the edge of the Luthor property. Danny flinched under her intense gaze, hoping that he could get out of this with his Phantom secret intact. He didn't want to risk the GIW or any of his other enemies going after Chloe.
"You have a lot of explaining to do." Chloe scowled before she grabbed onto Clark. Danny teleported them all into the barn loft, and Chloe instantly ran down the steps and back towards the house. Rubbing his temples Danny followed Chloe, knowing that he needed to check on Lois and Aunt Martha before he could try to solve this mess. Danny sighed, unsure of whether his rapidly growing headache was from teleporting a Kryptonian or from the severe amount of pressure he was under.
AN: I am really sorry; this chapter didn't want to be written at all. That's why I couldn't even finish the episode in one chapter.
In the episode the jewel gets shot, releasing everyone and killing Simone. From the beginning I knew that Danny couldn't let her die, so I had to figure out some reason why he would have to take possession of the Jewel, and the rest just kind of happened...
Oh, well. The conclusion of this episode and its aftermath will come in time.
'Till then,
Bluerose