Thanatos

Chapter Thirteen

As soon as Clark made it home and ran inside, the first thing he saw was a large hole in the wall and discovered the shattered coffee table in their living room as he looked around, then he cried out, "Dad? Dad! Mom!"

When she heard their son cry out for them, Martha ran down the stairs as quickly as she could as she responded fearfully, "Clark, they took him! They took your father!"

"Who did?" he asked worryingly. "Who took him?"

"I don't know," she answered as he shook her head. "Two men? Your dad, he… he tried to fight them off, but… Clark, they had some kind of powers too. They were strong, almost like you. Your dad fought to protect me, but before they left, they said that she wanted him, but I don't understand, who is she?"

Clark replied swiftly, "It's Theresa, Tom's wife, or at least she used to be. She's definitely been infected by the meteor rock and now she believes that she's been reborn as this Greek personification of Death; Thana. She talks of Theresa in the past tense. She somehow gave the men who broke in here powers long enough until they get her what she wants."

Martha was still confused as she responded, "This woman tried to kill him earlier. Why would she choose to kidnap him now? What does she want with your father?"

"I saw her just before I ran back here," Clark answered despondently. "Theresa explained a few things to me, probably just to distract me long enough to keep me from coming home earlier, but she said that when she first attacked Dad, she saw something that made her change her mind. I think that it's Dad's defiance against Jor-El that she has become drawn to."

"Jor-El?" his mother asked worryingly. "This woman knows about Jor-El?"

Clark nodded and replied, "I think she knows pretty much everything. She pushed her way deep inside Dad's head. Mom, she's going to try to turn Dad into her equal, another being of Death, whom she called…"

Martha finished for him, "Thanatos. That explains why that was the one word your father saw, but how does she plan on doing this? How does she plan on turning him into this creature of Death like she's become?"

"By trying to do to him what Tom did to her," Clark answered fearfully, noticing the tears that began to fall down his mother's face, though he understood that she needed to hear it. "She's going to kill him, then try to revive him in the same way that was done to her. I think by trying to recreate her own circumstances with the lightning and kryptonite in hope that Dad will become just as she is, that he'll become Thanatos."

"I will find him, Mom," Clark continued, trying to sound assuring as he pulled his mom into his arms and held her tightly when she finally collapsed to the floor, breaking down in tears. "I won't let Theresa hurt Dad again, I promise. I promise."

Downtown at the Morgue…

A middle-aged man wearing glasses, a suit, and a tie, walked inside and up to the young coroner's assistant sitting behind the desk trying to fill out paperwork as he listened to music through his headphones, while the coroner himself was busy finishing up an autopsy on Smallville's latest deceased. When the assistant didn't look up upon the visitor's approach, the man moved around to the side of the desk and tapped the kid heavily upon his shoulder, succeeding in startling him.

The visitor spoke first as he said with not a lot of sincerity, "I'm sorry, but seeing as you didn't see me, I had to get your attention somehow. You understand?"

The younger man glared at him as he replied, "I suppose. Can I help you with something? The morgue is closed for the evening."

"Yes, but if you would be so kind as to fetch your boss, I'd like to speak with him," the newcomer responded even more coldly than before. "I believe that he and the Luthor's have a certain understanding with one another and as I work for the Luthors, he will want to speak with me."

"I see," the kid answered skeptically, then stood up and started to walk toward the door that led into the morgue. "Wait here. It's been a long night and he isn't exactly in the best of moods. Something tells me that seeing you will not help improve it much."

A few minutes later, the young man came back out, followed by the coroner, who looked strangely at the visitor, then spoke up saying, "I believe my assistant told you that we are closed for the night. If you need to speak with me about something, or perhaps someone, I'm afraid you will have to wait until morning, Mr.…?"

The man pulled out his wallet and handed the doctor a business card, as well as a note signed by Lex Luthor in order to confirm his story, then he replied, "You can call me Jerald. As you can see, I'm cleared to examine the body of your heart attack victim that was brought in here over an hour ago. I've also been asked to collect the man's belongings."

"The man died of a heart attack," the examiner stated in confusion. "Exactly what could the Luthors want to see his body for? I was under the impression that Lex witnessed his friend die from the attack himself."

"That is his business I'm afraid," Anson responded coolly as he followed the coroner into the morgue, then waited for him to pull back the sheet that covered the body. "Did you find anything, unusual?"

The man glared at him as he answered, "It's not like I've had a whole lot of time with the body. I've barely begun."

As Anson examined the body for himself, he nodded and replied, "I suppose not. And his personal effects he carried on him? Where are they?"

"They're right here," the examiner's assistant responded as he walked back into the room and then handed Lex's associate a bag containing of Tom Callas' things; a watch, a pack of cigarettes, a jacket, a pair of sunglasses, his shoes and clothes he had on him when he died, a portfolio containing divorce papers, and finally his wallet. "I am much obliged for your help, gentlemen. Have a wonderful evening."

"Yeah, you too," the doctor answered coldly as he watched the stranger walk off without another word. "I really wish the Luthors would just drop dead themselves. Jerk."

The young man looked over at his boss as he asked in confusion, "Exactly what did the Luthor's note say? Why do you do whatever he and Lionel Luthor ask of you?"

The older man showed his friend the piece of paper with Lex's signature on it, then replied, "It's a reminder that our not so legal side business will be in jeopardy if we don't give them whatever they ask for. Come on, get back to filling out the rest of those papers. When you're done, I'm going to need you to head over to the pawn shop again. Let our partner know that the gold pocket watch we promised we'd deliver to him is going to cost him twice its value if he doesn't keep up his end of our bargain."