Thanatos

Chapter Fourteen

Jonathan slowly awakened and his first awareness was the pain in his body he was feeling, reminding him quickly of the attack against him and his wife in their home, however long ago it was that it had happened. Despite his pain, he began to struggle to free himself from his bindings, seeing that his wrists, legs, and chest were all bound to a metal beam behind him that kept him standing upright, a beam that was part of what was left of the old railroad bridge that once ran through Smallville a long time ago, an area that was long deserted and far from where anyone would think to look for them.

Not far away, Jonathan could see the two men who had kidnapped him, arguing between each other while they waited for the woman who enlisted their help to take him to return. He didn't know how long of a wait it was for them, but it wasn't long after he awoke that the same woman who had attacked him earlier that morning walked down beneath the bridge, turned her head to look at him and gently caressed his cheek with a smile on her face as she walked by him, Jonathan quickly pulling away from her touch the best that he could, then she finally walked over to the two men, who simply stared at her in yearning for her arrival.

"You're back," one of the men said anxiously as she walked up to them, then caressed his cheek as she did Jonathan's, though with more passion behind it. "Tom and I did as you asked of us."

"Yes, we've brought you Jonathan Kent as you ordered," Tom swiftly added as he tried to push his friend aside in order to get the beautiful woman's attention as well, succeeding as she released her hold over Kyle and pulled Tom in for a deep kiss, then roughly began to kiss his neck and upper chest as she held him against her body tightly. "Do with me… with me… ah… as you will. I… ah… ah… Aagh, Aagh, Aaaagh!"

Tom suddenly began screaming in agony as the power Theresa had given him was slowly being ripped from his body, as was his life force while she continued to hold him within her grasp, her hand firmly over his chest as she did to this Tom like she had done to Theresa's husband. Jonathan was forced to watch the man suffer as he cried out, still struggling against his bindings, but being unable to break free, while Kyle slowly backed away in fear. Then, finally the bright green glow that enveloped them as she used her gifts disappeared the moment she released the man she was kissing moments ago, allowing his lifeless body fall to the ground before them.

As she turned to Kyle and started walking slowly toward him, knowing that she was about to do the same to him as she had just finished doing to his friend, Kyle quickly raised his hands out before him as he pleaded, "Please, Thana, I beg of you! Spare my life! I only wish to please you, to do for you all that you require of me. I swear, I will never turn against you and that I will forever be yours as long as you want me to be. I will do anything for you! Please!"

She stopped and stared at him as if she was looking for some sign of deceit, then she began to stroke her fingers through his shaggy, sandy colored hair as she finally spoke again saying softly, "Very well, you may yet be of use to me. After all, you did bring me the man I asked for. You've done well, Kyle."

"Thank you," he answered as she smiled, then continued to stare at her as if in a trance while she stepped away and started walking again toward Jonathan, who straightened his body as tall as he could despite his aches from the beating, in order to show his defiance against her, the same defiance she sensed in him from the moment that their paths crossed that she found so appealing.

"What do want with me?" Jonathan asked in frustration. "To finish what you began earlier? Why go through all this trouble to kidnap me from my home, just to kill me?"

Theresa smiled again as she stood before him close enough for her to touch her hand to his chest, then she responded, "Do not worry, Jonathan Kent. I do not wish to kill you just yet. I need you alive long enough for me to gather all I need for Thanatos' arrival."

Jonathan looked at her in confusion and replied, "I don't understand. What does this man's arrival have to do with me? I am no more than a simple farmer, who leads a quiet life with my wife and my son."

"Thanatos is no man, but Death himself, as powerful as any god, and I am his goddess, Thana," she answered angrily. "You are nothing as you say, but yet I sense something different in you that I have not ever sensed in anyone else. I know of the young man you claim is your son, though he is not yours, but that of Jor-El's."

"So, you do know everything," he responded coldly. "Then, you also know that you won't succeed whatever your twisted plans are. It doesn't matter what happens to me. My life isn't important, but my son, will stop you. If you let him, he can help…"

All of a sudden, Theresa wrapped her hand tightly around his throat and squeezed making it difficult for him to breathe as she interrupted cruelly, "I do not need your help! I do not want your help, only your body so that Thanatos can be reborn as I was."

When she finally released him and allowed him to get his breath back, Jonathan then lifted is head again to look at her as he suddenly understood his reason for being there and said fearfully, "You plan to do to me as Tom did to you, or for you."

Intrigued that the man before her was smarter than he first believed him to be, Theresa replied, "Please, continue. I am impressed, or is it that my probing into your mind allowed you to see a little of what I have in store for you?"

"I only saw his name," he answered calmly. "Thanatos. You believe you have become this form of Death after your husband killed you and that you can do the same to me in order to bring about this second personification, but Theresa, you don't understand. What has happened to you isn't…"

"I am not Theresa any longer!" she responded angrily as she roughly struck him hard across his face. "I am Thana! Theresa is dead, as you will be soon so that Thanatos can live."

Jonathan looked at her pleadingly as he replied, "But you don't understand. What has happened to you, was because of the meteor rocks buried in the ground where Tom buried your body. These rocks have special elements, elements that bring about strange powers and somehow, that power revived you and turned you into this. You are not this Thana whom you believe you are and by trying to recreate the same circumstances of your death to do the same to me… It won't work. Kryptonite effects everyone exposed to it differently."

Theresa turned to Kyle and stated, "I need you to go to the place of Theresa's death and bring me back as much of the green stone buried in her grave as you can carry. Then, meet me back here as soon as you can. My plan will move forward as planned. Do you understand, Kyle?"

"Of course I do, Goddess," the young man answered smugly and then walked off to do as he was ordered.

"Thank you, Jonathan Kent, for telling me of the element I need to destroy what is left of you, in order to resurrect Thanatos, my God and soon to be my Love," she said again after her servant left them alone again. "There are only a few other elements I need in order for me to succeed. The question is, how to make this work?"

Jonathan struggled within her grasp as she once again pulled herself close to him and began to kiss his neck and upper chest as she had done earlier before killing the other man with her, while he responded, "Whatever you do won't work. Even if you do succeed in killing me and then in bringing me back to life, I will never be this, Thanatos you believe exists. I hardly know anything of him, only you do. I will only become one more person here in Smallville having been exposed to and infected by the meteor rocks. I will never love you."

Theresa raised her head in order to look directly into his eyes as she wrapped her arms around his head to hold him firmly so that he could not turn away, then she replied cruelly, "You will, and you, nor your son will be able to stop me, Jonathan."

She leaned in and kissed him passionately on his lips as she raised one of her hands against his chest and suddenly emitted her power, throwing her head back as she let out a moan of intoxicating ecstasy as his life force once again began to invigorate her strength, eliciting a cry of agony from his lips.

Theresa continued until she could feel him only moments from death and suddenly released her hold on him, allowing his head to drop to his chest. She gently ran her fingers along his cheek, then leaned in for a final kiss before leaving him be until it was time to finish destroying all that was left of him for good.