Chapter 11
As Lois and Clark walked into the Daily Planet, Clark thought about last night. Lois had shown up on Clark's doorstep last night and informed him he was sleeping on the couch. She told him what Chloe had said about Jack being one of the good guys. Clark had to bite his tongue from spilling the beans about what he knew about Captain Jack Harkness; that Jack had been one of the good guys for over a hundred years. Explaining to Lois that he had got this information from a shared full sensory memory experience with his biological, alien father who by chance just happened to be dead was not a good idea.
Chloe had told Lois that Jack had shared his secrets with her Chloe had also said that someone from Jack's old job would probably come looking for him. Clark was shocked at the idea of knowing someone for only a day and sharing your secret with them. He had kept his from those he cared for and it had driven them away. Clark thought, "His secret must not be as big as mine. I mean he is human. At least I think he is. Although if I had to guess from my Jor-El memory, I would guess he's not from around these parts."
Clark continued thinking about secrets and was surprised when they reached their desks. Chloe was sitting at Lois's desk holding two pencils in front of her. She was staring at them moving them along different axis, aligning them at different angles, her brow furrowed. She was lost in thought and jumped when Lois tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Chloe. What are you doing here? I thought you would be snuggled in bed with Captain flashing white teeth," Lois said.
"I had some work with Oliver this morning so Jack and I drove in to Metropolis early. He wanted to look around town and I thought I would grab breakfast with my two best buds before I meet with Oliver," Chloe said. "Lois and I can go down to the café, grab some pastries and the required caffeinated beverages, and bring them back here. My treat for making you two put up with each other last night."
Lois linked her arm in her shorter cousin's, "You're on. Clark we will be back. Chloe is going to fill me in on the details of her torrid night with the dashing Captain. It's not for your delicate farm boy ears." With that she strode off arm in arm with her shorter cousin's.
Clark watched them walk down the hallway and admired Lois' legs as she walked. He was absently mindedly tapping a pencil on the side of desk. "Delicate farm boy ears, whatever," Clark thought. He used his super-hearing to ease drop on their conversation.
"What was with the pencil thing back there when we first arrived? It looked like you were trying to figure out some 3D math problem," Lois asked.
Chloe replied in a slightly embarrassed voice, "Oh, well you see last night for obvious reasons, my scientific mind had checked out. Now that I can make coherent thoughts other than 'MORE… YES, and OH, GOD JACK!' I was trying to figure out how some of the more…ah…unique positions we tried were possible."
Clark missed the table with his pencil and ended up impaling it in the floor. He looked around to make sure to one had noticed. Clark retrieved his pencil and placed his backpack over the hole. When the women came back, Clark had heard them two floors above in the elevator. This time he did not listen to their conversation, he just wanted to make sure he was composed and didn't tip off Lois that he had been able to hear anything from that far away. The elevator opened and both women were giggling. They came to the desks and sat down with their tray of pastries and coffee. Clark saw them trying to maintain their composure and couldn't resist, "Should I even ask?"
Chloe blushed and both women said in unison, "NO!"
"Smallville, take it from me, there are some things you are better off not knowing." She gave a teasing glance at Chloe. Lois was interrupted by their new copy intern, whose name Lois could never remember.
"Mr. Kent, I wasn't able to dig up much on Torchwood after you called this weekend," the intern said.
"Good thinking, Smallville. Get the troops to do the work for you. Now you know why I keep you around," Lois said.
Clark ignored the jab. He faced the intern."Well it was worth a shot, I really appreciate you looking into it," Clark said.
"No problem. It was pretty slow around here and it gave me something to do. The only thing I was able to find was that all the conspiracy boards say Torchwood is based in Cardiff, Wales. What they say Torchwood is ranges from an elite group that the government uses to erase people's memories to a group that chase aliens," the intern chuckled. "On a different note Mr. Kent, I heard you graduated from Met U. I'm going there now."
"That's great. What's your favorite class?" Clark asked.
"That's easy. History with Professor Milton Fines. He came back from sabbatical and took over his classes again. He's a great teacher. I have a class with him this afternoon," the intern said. Chloe gave Clark a terrified look and then motioned with her head towards outside.
Chloe pretended to look down at her watch. "Oh crap, I didn't realize how late it was. I'm sorry guys, but I've got to run to make my meeting," she said.
Clark took the hint. "No problem, Chloe, thanks for the breakfast. I'll walk you out."
As they walked to the stairs, Lois sighed as she watched Clark walk away, "That's my Smallville, always the gentleman."
When Chloe and Clark got out of sight of Lois, they ducked into a conference room. "Shit, Clark! I thought you said Brainiac was taken to the future," Chloe said. She was shaking from her fear. She had been possessed by Brainiac before and didn't think she could mentally survive it again. "Oh god! Jack! He said he was going to tour the city today. He wanted to start at Met U. He said he always got a kick out of what they were teaching in History and Physics. If Brainiac finds him and possesses him, he will be unstoppable. Jack needs your help, Clark. He knows all about you so you can use your powers in front of him. I didn't tell him, I swear."
"I know, Chloe," Clark said reassuringly. "I shared a memory with Jor-El at the Fortress. I know Jack is more than he seems. Don't worry, Chloe, I'll protect him. Head to the watchtower and wait for us. I don't know how long this will take." Clark super-sped out of the room and grabbed his backpack from his desk. He was moving faster than a human eye could see, so he wasn't worried about Lois seeing him. He changed in the supply closet into his Red and Blue Blur clothes. As he ran to Met U. he wondered about what Chloe had meant about the combination of Jack and Brainiac being unstoppable.
When Clark got to the university he made his way to the history building. Clark went to Prof. Fines' classroom and looked in from a rear exit door with a window. Class was in session. Clark wondered what to do. He couldn't barge in while Brainiac was at the front of class lecturing. In a confined area there were too many innocent people that could get hurt in a fight between him and Brainiac. Plus, there was a very good chance Brainiac would knock him around hard enough to slow him down so everyone could see him. Clark decided to wait until he could take on Brainiac in an open area and push him away from people. He called Lois and told her he had a lead on one of the stories they were working on and that he would be back in the office later. Clark used his super-hearing to listen in on the class.
"Alexander of Macedonia, or as he is commonly known Alexander the Great. Quite a name he chose for himself, 'The Great.' You see old Alex fancied handsome, strapping lads like myself and if you were to ask those he took to his bed; they might have called him 'Alexander the Somewhat Adequate'," The class chuckled. "While he did lack any reasonable prowess in-between the sheets, he did manage to conquer most of what at that time was considered the known world." Fines continued through the class like this, giving a slightly different, but much more human version of past events. His off color remarks had kept the class laughing and their attention focused on him. Clark wondered about what kind of upgrades the Legion had done to Brainiac before he had escaped. Brainiac could laugh before, but was never one to tell jokes.
When the class let out, Clark watched the students file out of the front door. There was one person left sitting in the back where Clark could not get a good look at them. Fines was at the front podium collecting his notes. The man at the back stood and walked to the front of the classroom. Clark recognized the WWII era overcoat. He was about to intercede when he heard Jack speak, "You know, it was your idea to call him 'The Great'. You said it would boost his ego."
Fines' head snapped up to look at the man standing in front of him. "Well, he was horrible in bed and I had to come up with something to boost his confidence, or the con would have never gone down," Fines said, a smile creeping across his face.
"I wouldn't know. For some reason I can't fathom, even to this day, that guy always chose you to go bed with, instead of me. The man had no taste," Jack complained. He was returning the smile on Fines' face. The men stepped forward and embraced in a passionate kiss. When they released their embrace Jack joked, "Well at least you still taste pretty good."
"Welcome back. I wasn't sure if you were even coming back to this planet. Gwen called me looking for you and told me what had happened with the '454'," Fines said. "I'm sorry to hear about 'Eye Candy', I know how much he meant to you, and I can't imagine what you went through concerning your grandson. You know I'm always here if you need someone. Speaking of the '454', were you able to track them down?"
Clark could see a tear on Jack's cheek," Yeah, I found them. It took me a couple of years, but I found them. They won't be a problem for Earth or anyone else, ever," Jack's voice had taken on a hardness that sent chills down Clark spine. He had heard Brainiac speak with that same kind of cold, contempt and knew that Brainiac had been capable of wiping out civilizations.
"Enough with downers, what's new? Where are you staying? Are you seeing anyone?" the last question was asked on a hopeful note. "Come on tell me everything," Fines said. Clark was dumbfounded. He couldn't get his head wrapped around the idea of Brainiac chatting away and gossiping like a high school girl. Fines and Jack had sat, leaning against a desk along the front wall.
"I came back because I was asked to by my Doctor," Jack said.
"Figures. Oh well, I guess if you save the Universe a couple times, you deserve a favor or two. I suppose even I would do what he told me to," Fines said.
"He asked me to come back. He said I was needed at this time, so he brought me now," Jack made an open gesture with his hands.
"Brought me now," Fines repeated. "Doesn't sound quite right in English. Time travel always makes sentence structures sound awkward. Guess that's why we never used it at the agency," Fines said.
"Thank you for that brief lecture, Professor Fines, or may I call you Milton," Jack teased.
Fines pointed a finger at Jack, "Don't you start, Harkness!" Both men laughed. "Now as the senior remaining field agent, I order you to tell me all the juicy facts of you love life. How long have you been back?"
Jack laughed, "I've only been planet side for a couple of days, but I am in a relationship with a truly wonderful woman. It's special, it feels like what I had with Ianto. I actually fell asleep with her one time."
Clark saw disappointment cross Fines face momentarily, before he forced a smile back. "A girlfriend, huh. That's something new." Fines cocked his head and said with mock horror, "Oh god, tell me it's not Gwen. Please, for the love of the vortex, tell me it isn't Gwen. Those teeth, man. You were in charge of Torchwood, couldn't you set up a decent dental plan?" Fines asked.
"No, it's not Gwen. She's married to Rhys, remember. I met this woman in Smallville," Jack said.
"Since when has been married ever been a factor to either of us?" Fines joked. "It's been a while since you were with a woman. What have your dates been like?" Fines asked.
"Well let's see. Our first date was her driving me around Smallville showing me the town. It is always interesting to see how places change after a hundred years or so. Our second date was later that evening. We went bowling and let me tell you…" Jack's sentence was cut off by a right hook to his jaw.
"BOWLING! BOWLING! You bastard that was our game, our special game!" Fines yelled. He threw another punch at Jack, but blocked it with his forearm.
"Let me explain…" Jack tried to say.
"Like hell!" Fines spat back. He brought his left leg around behind Jack's right and swept in out from under him. Jack fell backwards and rolled away from the kick Fines had aimed at his ribs. Clark started to race in when he noticed that Jack was smiling. Clark stood with the door open, confused and unsure of what he was seeing. Jack rolled to his feet and feinted with his left hand. Fines dropped his guard to block the fake blow and was rewarded with a punch to the stomach. Fines bent over slightly from the blow and used his new position to rabbit punch Jack in the kidney. Jack grunted and punched Fines in the face. Fines wobbly spun to the side and placed a side kick to Jack's middle. Jack was pushed back and struggled to regain the air that had been knocked out of him. Fines was crouched in fighting stance, blinking his eyes and shaking his head to clear it. Blood flowed from his nose. Jack's lip was bleeding.
When Jack was able to breathe, he began speaking, annunciating each word carefully, "We had our clothes on."
"Oh," Fines said in a surprised voice. He stood up from a fighting stance into a normal, casual stance. "That's completely different." Fines straightened his tweed jacket.
"What?" Clark silently mouthed. He had watched the fight begin and now end and had no idea of what was going on. "Brainiac and Jack are ex-lovers. That's too weird, even for Smallville," Clark thought. Clark's attempt to figure things out were put on hold when he saw Fines grin and reach inside his jacket for something. Clark super-sped down to the front and pinned Fines against the wall, holding him up with one hand clenched in the front of shirt. The other hand was cocked over his shoulder ready to pummel Brainiac. "What are doing back here? How did you escape, Brainiac?" Clark demanded.
Fines craned his head to look around Clark's large frame and spoke with Jack. The fact that Clark was holding him 2 feet off of the ground didn't seem to bother him. "Brainiac? Should I feel complimented or insulted?" he asked Jack. Jack shrugged his shoulders.
Clark turned his head to look at Jack, still pinning Fines to the wall. "Jack, I don't know what your relationship is with this thing, but it took over Chloe's body and almost killed her. She still has nightmares about it. This thing has caused the death of a lot of people. I want answers now!" Clark yelled.
Jack glared at Fines with pure anger at the thought of him hurting Chloe. Then his face softened and he began to chuckle. "Clark, as much as I enjoy seeing John get his ass kicked, being punched by you would kill him. He is still my friend. His name is Captain John Hart. John is capable of some really underhanded things, but possessing someone is not one of them. I don't think he's this Brainiac thing you keep calling him. What is a Brainiac?" Jack asked.
"Brainiac stands for Brain Interactive Construct. A Kryptonian artificial intelligence my father developed before the planet was destroyed. It was made to fight Zod, but it turned on him and fought for Zod instead," Clark explained.
"Oh well, that explains things," John said in disgust. Clark turned his head back around to face him and glared. John spoke again, but this time in a nicer tone, "No, really, I mean it. That explains things. I was on Krypton doing a job and came across these scientists. Their AI wasn't working. It had accepted their Kryptonian DNA into its nanostructures, but it kept crashing. The DNA was breaking down from some of the accelerated processes the nanites were doing. I recognized all they needed was some DNA that had been exposed to temporal radiation and therefore immune to the changes. I told them to give me a month and I would track down the perfect DNA strands. They paid me quite handsomely."
"You went to a bar for a month and came back with your own DNA, didn't you," Jack said.
"Of course I did! I promised them the perfect DNA, and my DNA has been exposed to more temporal radiation than they had ever seen."
"Let him down, Clark," Jack sighed. Clark eased John to the ground.
"I saw you reach for something in your coat pocket, what was it?" Clark asked as he put John down.
John reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and slowly pulled out a flask. "It's sort of become a ritual for us when we see each other after a long time apart. We kiss, we fight, we drink." John unscrewed the cap and took a swig. He offered the flask to Clark who shook his head, "Your loss." He handed the flask to Jack who took a drink and handed it back. John screwed the lid back on. He looked at Clark,"You said you were Kryptonian? That means you're …" He was about to say something but shut his mouth at a hand signal from Jack. Clark had noticed it. "Sorry about Krypton, kid. For the most part they were good people. Except for that prick Zod. Even I wouldn't sell that guy weapons. He got real pissed at that and I had leave fast."
Clark had too much to process. "My head hurts. I have to get back to the Planet. Jack, Chloe is waiting for you at the old clock tower in the center of town. She's worried about you. John, is it?" John nodded. "You must have classes soon and you just creep me the hell out, so you stay here."
John and Jack laughed. John pretended to be offended, "Whatever you say you corn fed mountain of sexiness." Clark super-sped out of the classroom back to the Daily Planet. John looked at Jack, "Clark, a Kryptonian living in Kansas. Last of his kind. Wouldn't that make him…?" John drew a letter "S" on his chest.
"Yep. That's the one," Jack confirmed. "How do you know about this?"
"Long story, happened right after you got tossed from the agency. I'll explain over a couple of pints someday." John looked at the direction Clark had gone. "Where's the tights and cape?"
"That's why I'm back," Jack said. "They're late."