Thanatos

Chapter Two

Fifteen minutes later, Jonathan finally pulled into the long drive leading up to his farm where he had lived his whole life and came to a stop in front of the barn. Upon seeing his father's truck pull in, Clark ran down from his space up in the loft and exited the barn to greet him, which is when he saw that his father wasn't alone. A stranger stepped out from the passenger's side and it didn't take long for Clark to feel that something was off about him, just as Jonathan had, and that was before the teenager even saw the condition the man was in.

Clark spoke first asking, "Dad, who's this?"

Jonathan looked back at the man he had picked up on his way home, then turned around again to look at his son and answered, "Son, this is Tom. He was in an accident just as he was coming into town, so I offered him a lift and a place to stay for the night. Tom, this is my son, Clark. My wife must be in the kitchen. I believe she said she was going to be baking us apple pie for dessert tonight."

"Yeah, which the doctor said you shouldn't be eating any time soon," Clark responded with a smile, to which his father chuckled at, then together the three of them walked inside the farmhouse, finding Martha in the kitchen just as Jonathan predicted. "By the way, how was your appointment with your doctor?"

"We'll talk about that later," Jonathan replied quickly, using his eyes to point back toward their visitor in hope of getting his son to be quiet about their personal life while the stranger was around, then moved to stand in front of his wife and kissed her as he pulled her into his arms. "How are you doing tonight, sweetheart?"

Martha kissed him back, then answered, "I'm good, and who is this? I didn't realize we would be having company for dinner tonight."

Her husband cleared his throat, then Tom quickly reached out his hand to her to shake hers as he responded, "Forgive me, ma'am. I'm Tom Whitford. Your husband was kind enough to stop for me after I was in an accident not too far from here. I'm fine, but my car isn't."

"My gosh, I am so sorry, mostly for my rudeness," she replied as she quickly motioned for him to have a seat on their couch within the living room, then grabbed a towel, ran it under hot water, and finally she gently lay it over his forehead where the man had a gash over his eyebrow that was slowly trickling blood. "What happened?"

"W… I was driving here from Metropolis in hope of coming to speak with Lex Luthor about a job here in town when all of a sudden, a burst of lightning came from out of nowhere striking a large tree nearby, causing one of its branches to fall down in front of my car," Tom answered calmly, having caught himself from saying we by mistake. "I swerved to avoid being hit, but I wasn't fast enough. My car flipped a few times and I ended up upside down in a heap of metal several feet off the road."

Martha continued to take care of the man after Clark brought her their first aid kit they kept beneath their kitchen sink in case of an accident on their farm as she responded, "I am so sorry. You are very lucky you aren't hurt much worse, you could have been killed. You don't seem to be hurt too badly, but just the same, wouldn't you prefer us to bring you to Smallville Medical Center to be checked out just in case?"

Tom shook his head and replied, "Just as you said, I'm not bad off. I'll be fine after a good meal, a warm bath, and a good night's sleep. In the morning, I will have a cab bring me into town so that I can do the things I've come here for. I really do appreciate your generosity."

"It's no trouble at all," Jonathan finally spoke again as he motioned their guest toward the stairs, inviting him to go up to their bathroom so that he could get himself cleaned up, while dinner finished cooking. "Come on down when you get done."

"I will," the man stated and then disappeared up the stairs, leaving the Kents alone.

Clark turned back to his father as he said quietly, "Okay, is it just me or did something not feel right about him?"

Jonathan bowed his head as he answered, "It's not just you, son. Something is very wrong and I don't think it's that he's come here to speak with Lex or is friends with Lionel. I have a feeling there's more to his accident than just the accident."

"Should I go out and take a look around?" Clark asked as he looked between his parents, looking for confirmation. "I can be back in a few minutes?"

"No, I… maybe in the morning, but I don't want you to go out there tonight," Martha responded, not really sure why she was uncomfortable with her son leaving to go out to the accident scene just then. "Dinner's almost ready. Why don't you help me by setting the table?"

Their son nodded and smiled as he replied, "Sure, Mom. So, Dad, how did your appointment in Metropolis go today?"

Martha turned to her husband as she quickly asked, "Yes, what did your doctor say? How are you feeling?"

"I told you both, I'm just fine," Jonathan answered with confidence for the sake of his family, even though the truth was not exactly what he claimed. "I'm a bit worn down and I'm tired, but other than that… I don't think that going to see another doctor for a second opinion is really necessary."

"You're okay then?" Clark asked again, not really believing that tired was all his father was feeling after waking up from a three month coma because his birth father nearly choked the life out of him as punishment for trying to get in the Kryptonian's way of luring Clark back home to him, or wherever it was Clark had disappeared to through the cave walls. "Are you sure? Can I get you something?"

Jonathan smiled and pulled his son into a hug as he responded, "I promise you, I am alright, son. I'm alright."

Meanwhile…

A woman covered in blood and dirt slowly, almost drunkenly, walked into an alleyway where there were three other men and women standing near a fire inside a barrel, while others were lying down upon the street wearing nothing, but the rags upon their backs and maybe a blanket to keep them warm if they were lucky. It was clear that these people were homeless, which didn't seem to bother the newcomer in the slightest. The woman walked over to the fire and held her hands out in what appeared to the others was an attempt to try to warm herself, but something about her seemed off and frightened all, but one of the men standing with her away.

The man, with more than simple thoughts to help her on his mind, spoke up saying coolly, "You look like you could use some help. Can I do something for you?"

"Actually, I think that you can, but I don't believe it's what you're thinking," she replied almost seductively as she moved closer to the man and tapped her fingers up his chest up to his chin as she leaned in for a kiss, but stopped short of touching his lips. "I just got out of a bad relationship. The last thing I want is to jump into another one with the likes of you."

Without hesitation, she touched her hand against his chest and a bright green glow surrounded him as he started having difficulty breathing, then began to scream as the pain he felt as she continued her hold on him increased exceedingly. She simply stared at her hand as if in a trance, not seeming to be phased at all by the fact that she was killing the man before her, while the energy radiating from him and into her made her feel stronger and incredibly heightened, the power being a seduction that she couldn't resist, nor did she want to.

Anyone who was in the alley before this woman appeared were now gone, having taken off out of fear. After several minutes, the woman raised her hand from off the man's chest and his cold body collapsed to the ground, the vagrant now being lifeless as his eyes remained open, staring up at her in shock and horror. As if nothing happened, the woman who was once Theresa Callas, stepped over the body and kept on walking down the street without a care.