Chapter 33: Conquest Part One.
Chloe stirred awake, still trapped in the hospital, and not to be discharged until at least the evening. To be honest, she was going stir crazy. Chloe had been in the hospital for the past couple of days, and she did not have the foggiest notion as to why. Everything was all a blank. It was hard to comprehend everything. The last thing she remembered she was talking to Lois at the Daily Planet. For some reason, Chloe had the strangest feeling that she had a near brush with death, or something like that.
Exactly what it is, Chloe had no idea, and that fact drove her nuts.
The curtains in the hospital blew, to signal an unexpected arrival. Chloe looked up, expecting to see Clark there. Instead, she saw Kara and Harry.
"I guess sudden appearances which disrupt everything in the room must run in the family," Chloe said. She propped herself up on the bed, and smiled at Kara and Harry.
There was a long moment of silence. Harry drew breath, and decided to address the elephant in the room.
"You don't remember anything that happened, do you?" Harry asked.
Chloe looked at Harry, with a frown. "No, I can't say I have. And I have the slightest feeling that I should really remember it, and it was a memorable and life changing event."
Kara was prompt to explain.
"You nearly died. And that's not hyperbole; Brainiac came really close to killing you. He injected something into you. It may have been a backup program in the case of his defeat. However, Harry and I purged it from you. Then the entire universe went insane, and everyone disappeared. Clark, Harry, and I are the only ones that remember exactly what happened. And we went back to Krypton, right before it was destroyed."
Chloe allowed herself a few seconds to process this information. It was a lot to handle.
"I'm guessing you didn't try and save it then," Chloe remarked in a weak voice. Harry and Kara shook their heads. "Could you have?"
Harry and Kara paused for a time before they answered that very weighty question.
"We could have, but the real question is whether we should have," Harry answered. "And we save one race, and we could doom countless others. It's that balance thing that we were talking about before, the cause and effect of everything."
Chloe thought about that and she found the logic sound. Or perhaps it was just sound logic in her weakened state.
"Yeah, that could be a problem," Chloe said. "And just to think, all of this insanity happened on the biggest week of your life. Unless, the wedding got pushed back because of everything, and I wouldn't blame you in the slightest if it did."
Kara shook her head. "No, the wedding is still on."
"For sure," Harry said. "We won't let some glorified pocket calculator ruin the best day of our life."
"Glorified pocket calculator, nice one," Chloe said.
"Well, it seemed like something that was fitting," Harry remarked
"Wished something like that would have come to mind," Chloe answered wistfully.
Kara's gaze met Chloe's, and she responded with a knowing smile. "Although, there are a lot of interesting things that were in your mind when we were combing around in there, when we helped you."
This statement caused Chloe to sit up straight in a hurry.
"What things?" Chloe asked, and she looked a bit alarmed at the implications.
"Chloe, I'm not mad at you," Kara said. She looked at Chloe with a reassuring look. "You can't help what you feel, and I must admit I'm intrigued. But we'll discuss that when we've all had a chance to recover from this ordeal. "
Chloe held the motion on saying any more. She wondered if Kara had just said what she thought she said. Maybe the medication was making her delirious. That had to be it. That really had to be it.
"The real question is will you be out of there in time for the wedding?" Harry asked.
Chloe smiled. "I wouldn't miss it for the world .Even if I had to break out of here, I'd still be there. So, am I fine after what happened? Not that I'm doubting how well you guys work, but I just want to really make sure that there's nothing wrong."
Harry and Kara looked at her. They understood her concern.
"Chloe, trust me when I say that you're completely healthy, just a bit weak, but you'll recover and be back on your feet in no time," Harry told her. "I ran some scans; you're at healthy as can be given the circumstances, and will make a full recovery. In fact, you will be better off since before you were in the hospital. Your stamina and vitals are off the charts. And your meteor power, it's stronger than ever. I think should you ever choose to use it, it won't be as bad. Your body can handle it, and when you get a better handle of it, it will be even better."
Chloe bit her lip, and sighed.
"I just never thought that there would be a day where I'd thought that a meteor power would be a good thing," Chloe said. "But, maybe I can use it to my advantage. There could be some good done in the world."
"I'm sure you can do some good, if you put your mind to it," Harry said with a smile. "Even without your powers, you can do some good, so really this is a chance for you to do more good. The sky is the limit for you Chloe. All you have to do is keep reaching for the stars, and the world will be yours."
Chloe thought about that. Harry really did have a way of putting a good spin on things, in his own way. She looked at Kara. The two women met eyes. She watched Harry place his arm around Kara.
'You better appreciate how lucky you are,' Chloe thought as she looked at Kara.
"So, thank you for everything, and all of the times you've saved me from certain death," Chloe said. "Both of you, I really do kind of owe you my life."
Harry and Kara stared at Chloe, and Chloe looked back at them. A bit of alarm flooded across their faces, and they took a deep breath. Chloe was dumbstruck, and tried to comprehend why they would take such an innocent statement the wrong way.
"What, did I say something wrong?"
"Chloe, you better be careful saying things like that," Kara said seriously. "Admitting that you owe your life to a Herald of Death could have life changing consequences for you. And it's not something to be said lightly."
"It's different for you, because you know about our roles," Harry said. "If you were a person who didn't know, there wouldn't be the potential for consequences. However since you knew…"
"Sorry, I didn't know that such a statement could have consequences," Chloe said. She became a bit nervous about what Harry and Kara said. "What will happen now?"
"Well hopefully the magic around the Herald of Death moniker will judge you as only making a flippant statement," Harry told her, and Chloe responded with a nod. Her body relaxed, given what Harry told her, magic was all about intent. "Of course, there could be life changing consequences, for the three of us."
Chloe had no idea whether or not she wanted to know what "the three of us" meant. Harry and Kara looked around. The three of them sat in awkward silence.
"We cannot take back what is said," Harry said. "Of course, given some of the thoughts that have been stirring around in your head, you just never know what might happen."
It was that point that Chloe really wondered what Harry and Kara had seen in there. She tried not to fly into full panic mode. That was likely the worst thing for her health.
"We better let you get some rest if you want to be out of here in two days," Harry told Chloe. "Take care."
"I will," Chloe said with a smile, and she watched Harry and Kara leave. It was not a long wait as they were out of there. She looked up, and suddenly a searing pain had gone through her hand.
It was far worse than anything she had ever experienced before in her life. She clutched her wrist. Chloe's eyes watered and she was temporarily paralyzed. Some kind of power washed through her body and she felt a warmth come from the tips her toes, all the way to the top of her head. It was a feeling unlike anything she had ever experienced. Chloe lifted her hand up, and saw it burned into her hand.
The symbol was on her hand. The triangle had a circle in the center, and there was a diagonal line down the center of it. She looked at her hand, completely transfixed by it. The blonde wondered what the consequences of her little declaration she made were. All she was trying to do was show her appreciation of what Harry and Kara did for her. Suddenly, it was like her body was undergoing some weird metamorphosis.
'What is happening to me?" Chloe thought to herself.
Suddenly something echoed through her head like a badly tuned radio. Chloe put her hands on her head, and gave a pained sigh. There were many sounds beating through her ears at once. The pain was unbelievable. She tried hard to focus on one particular sound, and could hear Harry and Kara's voices, once she got her wits together.
'We're going to have to get back to the Shining Light Foundation soon, everything that happened with Claire, we should spend some time for her.'
'I'm just glad that Brainiac is gone for good.'
'Yeah, me too.'
'He'll never hurt anyone again. And do you think that Chloe will ever admit…'
The static in her head had gone out, and the thousands of sounds had once again overwhelmed her, blocking her from hearing the rest of Harry and Kara's conversation. Chloe was mentally screaming "admit what, admit what", over and over again.
"Good, I was wondering if you would ever be awake when I visit."
Lois popped up at that moment with a smile, standing in the doorway. Chloe discreetly held her right hand underneath the blanket. There would be awkward explanations all around if Lois saw it. The marking would hopefully be temporary.
She really, really hoped it would be temporary.
"Yeah, I guess I've dozed off," Chloe said.
"Yeah, after what happened…you know I can't really remember what happened now," Lois said. "I was talking to you, and then the next moment I woke up in the hospital. The strangest thing was that no one can even tell me what the hell happened. I was fine, and I got let out yesterday. You on the other hand…"
"I'm getting better, in fact I feel like I could walk on air," Chloe remarked.
"That could be the medication," Lois told her.
Chloe just smiled.
"I guess so," Chloe admitted. She could tell that Lois had big news to tell her. "Okay, Lois, spill."
Lois did in fact spill.
"The news around the bullpen in the Daily Planet is there was some hotshot with a lot of money that bought out most of the top shareholders," Lois told Chloe.
"Oh, I wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Chloe said.
"I don't know, new boss is being rather hush-hush," Lois said. A little look of amusement spread across her face. "The word is also that Lex got the Planet snatched from underneath his nose. And hey, any enemy of Lex Luthor is a friend of mine."
Chloe would have to concur. She had a hunch who might have done the deed, but given that she was under bed rest, it was hard to kind of verify that fact.
"The real question is whether or not either of us will keep our jobs," Lois said. She tried not to look too worried. "I mean, with a changeover in management that big, someone like that's going to be cleaning house."
Chloe looked at Lois.
"We're just going to have to wait and see," Chloe said. "I know how hard that is for you."
Lois just shook her head.
"Well you're feeling better, you've got your sarcastic tongue back," Lois remarked. Regardless, she was smiling. "And that's good to see."
Chloe nodded.
"I'll let you get some rest," Lois said. "If you need anything, just let me know, and I'll be right over in a flash."
Lois walked away. Chloe looked at her hand when Lois had left. This was going to be a hell of a thing to explain to everyone. It was not like she could wear gloves for the rest of her life. People would notice that.
Why did magic have to take things so literally?
Chloe suddenly noticed something else with a start. She was floating about six inches off of her bed.
Things might have gotten a bit more complicated now. Chloe would just have to figure out how to bear the consequences.
And not only that, but figure out how to get back down, as she had gotten higher off of the bed. Chloe winced slightly, when the top of her head smacked against the ceiling.
Somehow, by sheer luck, Chloe finally got back to her bed. The woman hugged her legs and looked up, eyes widened. Chloe was almost tentative to move, in the fear that she would bonk her head on the ceiling again.
It was a beautiful day outside. The spring weather had arrived in full force, and there were many people who enjoyed that. Harry and Kara sat outside, checking the latest weather forecast in the newspaper. Claire was off to the side of them, sitting in the grass. She was happily reading a book. Both Harry and Kara were glad that she was in one piece.
Kara smiled at another bit of news, and turned to address Harry.
"Unless this forecast changes, our wedding should go off without a hitch," Kara said. "It will be a nice sunny day outside. Even for us, planning a wedding is so much work. And with everything else that's gone on, there are some day's where I wish there were two of me."
"That would be interesting," Harry said with a grin, and Kara just playfully tapped him on the shoulder. She wrapped her arm around him and snuggled her head onto his shoulder, smiling. Harry wrapped his arm around in her in kind, and the two just enjoyed the company of each other, while keeping a watchful eye on their daughter.
Kara wore a white tank top. The tank top showcased her firm and developed bust, showcasing a generous amount of cleavage. Harry could tell that she was wearing no bra underneath, even if the shirt was charmed to see that no one but Harry did notice that fact. It rode up on her so Harry could see her tanned and toned midsection, along with her sexy little belly button. The red skirt she wore wrapped around her hips snugly. Her beautiful legs were on display. They were smooth, long, and tanned. Kara got on her hands and knees to check something. Harry got a look at her cute rear.
Underneath her skirt, she wore a black thong. She wiggled her ass slightly to tease Harry when Claire was occupied with her book. She wore no shoes, and Harry looked at her perfect feet. They would be the envy of most girls, with her lovely arches and cute little toes. Kara was beautiful, but her personality and her confidence made her ten times more attractive to Harry in addition to her white-hot good looks.
Kara threw herself over Harry's lap. Claire read her comic book, barely even paying attention to anything in the outside world.
"Claire, are you doing fine over there?" Kara asked Claire.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Claire said. The eleven year old redhead sighed. "I can't really remember what happened, though."
"There's a club forming for that," Harry told Claire, and Claire nodded.
They had spent some time when they got back checking out Claire to make sure Brainiac had not left any traces behind on her, or any nasty backdoors. Harry and Kara scanned Claire, who was very impatient, for several hours, and much to their relief, they had found not anything. Perhaps it was for the best that she did not remember anything about her ordeal. Harry wished that he could forget some things about his life.
"So are you ready for the wedding?" Kara asked her.
"Yeah, it's about time," Claire told her. "You two deserve to be happy together, and then you'll be on your honeymoon."
"I'm sure Megan and you will have loads of fun," Harry said.
"Yeah," Claire said with a bright smile. She then bit her lip nervously. "You're coming back aren't you?"
"Of course we are," Kara said. "There's no force in all of the known galaxies that could stop us from returning to you."
Claire felt overjoyed at that reassurance, but really she had no cause to worry. Her mom and dad were awesome, and tried to take time out of their busy day to spend what they could for her. She understood that they had busy lives, and a lot of responsibilities. Even with their powers, it was hard to keep up with anything. Claire thought that they had a lot of important things to do, and appreciated when they spent time with her. Harry and Kara did so not because they had to, but because they wanted to.
Harry and Kara continued to enjoy nature. They were sitting on a small patch of grass outside of the Shining Light Foundation. Suddenly a girl dressed in a red shirt and green skirt with her red hair tied back in a ponytail walked out of the Shining Light Foundation. She held a folder of papers in her hand.
"Hello, Megan," Harry called over to her. "What can I do for you?"
Megan Morse stood, watching them, feeling a bit bad that she had to disrupt this little family outing, but business did call.
"Are you busy, Mr. Potter?"
"Is it important?" Harry asked her.
"The papers came in today," Megan informed him. "And I'm also out here to remind you that Claire has classes this afternoon, and I know after our near scare things might be rough. But you did say that her education should not be disrupted even after what happened yesterday. Um, whatever happened yesterday."
"Right, thanks Megan," Harry said. The dark haired wizard turned his attention to his daughter. "Claire, be a good girl, and go in with Megan. Remember, you have classes this afternoon."
Claire nodded. She rushed over, and hugged Harry and Kara goodbye.
"I'll see you two later," Claire declared cheerfully.
"If you get your homework done, and it's good, we'll do something fun tonight," Harry said.
Claire was lead back inside. Harry looked at the folder of papers on his lap, and a smile crossed over his face.
"Luthor's going to flip," Harry remarked casually.
"What can he do to you?" Kara asked.
"I'm not really concerned with what he could do to me," Harry admitted to her. "It's more like what he might try and do to me that's my concern. And there's just something coming, but I can't place what it is."
Kara snuggled closer against Harry. Harry pulled his soon to be wife in towards him tightly.
"What some kind of calm before the storm?" Kara asked.
Harry nodded. Kara placed her hand on Harry's, and offered him a bright smile.
"We can handle it, after we saved an entire timeline from being wiped out, there's nothing that we can't handle," Kara said. She wrapped her arms around Harry, and pressed her lips against his. She pushed him back onto the grass, and began to kiss him heatedly. Harry returned the favor, and worked his fingers around the back of her, feeling her up underneath her shirt and skirt.
Kara moaned into his mouth. Their tongues clashed together for dominance. Harry broke the kiss slightly.
"We better put some charms up, so no one gets a free show," Harry remarked.
"Yeah, I don't think it would do well for some kind of sex tape starring us to go up on the Internet," Kara said. She added with a teasing grin. "Besides, shouldn't we make some money off of it?"
Harry had no idea whether his fiancée was being serious or not. He put up the necessary charms, and Kara reached her hand down Harry's pants, and began to slowly stroke his length. Harry felt himself grow in her hand, and his pleasure heightening. The fun was just beginning.
Smut/Lemon Begins.
-Snipped for Terms of Services Reasons. Uncensored Version Link in Profile.
Smut/Lemon Ends.
Harry and Kara rested on the grass, arms wrapped around each other. The two lovers gazed intently, and lovingly into each other's eyes. Harry and Kara spent a fair bit of time snuggling with each other. Kara lightly kissed Harry, and then proceeded to nuzzle her face into Harry's neck. They managed to find their clothes, and walk back inside. There were a few scans of the building that they needed to conclude.
The last year, the last several years had been a trying time for Lana Lang. She pondered about what happened over that time. She sat outside of the Kent Farm, cross legged, and just sipping on a cup of coffee. The sun shined brightly. A change in her life having these powers really did put a new perspective on everything. Everyone was bittersweet, but at the same time offered new possibilities.
Clark walked out immediately. Lana was hit with a sudden burst of inspiration.
"Hey, Clark, do me a favor and throw that rock at my head," Lana told Clark.
Clark looked at her like she had grown a second head. "Are you sure?"
Lana folded her arms, in an exasperated matter. Her gaze flickered towards Clark's
"Yes, Clark, I'm sure, now just do it," Lana said.
Clark picked up the rock. Lana held up her hand.
"And give it everything you got, I want to be sure," Lana said.
Clark did give it everything he got. Lana did have invulnerability now, even though throwing a rock at your girlfriend's skull no matter how tough she was would be something that would not be considered to be natural. The rock froze in mid-air, and Clark stood below Lana. His mouth remained a gap.
"Is that one of your powers?" Clark asked.
"Yeah, it is," Lana said. "Here come up here Clark, and take a load off."
Clark opened his mouth to protest that he could not fly. Lana levitated him up into the air. Clark had his legs crossed. It took him a moment to get used to being in the air.
"Just relax Clark, I won't drop you," Lana said in a reassuring voice. She felt her grip on Clark lessening when he fidgeted. "Although you might want to sit perfectly still."
Clark nodded. The two of them sat in silence. Clark was floating on air. He just resolved not to look down. That seemed to be a common piece of advice when a person was floating in mid-air. The two of them avoided bringing up what happened.
"You can't really remember one bit of the battle with Brainiac," Clark prompted.
Lana shook her head. "I really wish I could, and I get flashes of everything, but nothing is clear. The way you described it, it sounded amazing. And while there is room for improvement, it wasn't too bad my first time out. It does seem a lot easier to think about what someone should do when you're watching from the sidelines. Then when you're actually out there, in the heat of battle. Have there been times where you froze up, and did not know what do?"
"A couple," Clark admitted. "It comes with the territory."
These types of powers had planted the weight of the world on his shoulders. That type of weight could crush any mortal man and someone like Clark Kent, it would be no exception. Lana wrapped her arms around Clark in mid-air. She gazed into his eyes with a smile.
"So, we're out here alone, in the middle of nowhere," Lana said to him. "No one is around here for miles, and this would be an interesting exercise to see if I could keep the two of us levitated while we were occupied."
"In mid-air?" Clark asked, a bit confused by the thought.
"Clark, we keep breaking the bed," Lana told him. She grabbed him around the waist aggressively, and looked into his eyes. "It's not like we're going to be able to break the sky. Although it would be helpful if you did one day learn how to fly. And I know, you keep trying. There's something that keeps holding you back. But maybe this will give you some…inspiration?"
Lana kissed Clark in the cheek, and then moved over. She straddled Clark's lap while they were in mid-air. Clark just went with the flow, and Lana's lips pressed against his. If she was not careful, they would be crashing through the roof of the barn. Although that would give an entirely new meaning to the phrase "romp in the hay."
"Clark, you feel like you're made of steel," Lana whispered in his ear.
Clark felt her hands go to work. He closed his eyes, and savored the moment. The yellow sun so close to them did make the experience rather different.
"Lana," Clark whispered in her ear, as she pulled his pants down. She had Clark pinned into place in mid-air.
That never got old, and Lana savored each moment. Clark sometimes had a mental block where he held back a little bit. She had to encourage him to step things up a little bit. Then again, Clark just seemed to be the type that tended to want to go slowly. That would not do.
Lana brought Clark's head down onto her lap, pulling her skirt off.
The activities continued for a while, and they really got into them for several minutes. Suddenly a loud blaring sound had knocked them out of the air. Lana swooped beneath Clark, and caught him in her arms.
"At least we finished before we got knocked out of the air," Clark said, trying to lighten the mood.
Lana thought that Clark had a different meaning of "finished" than she did. There was no time to dwell on this. .This sound compelled her to keep moving forward.
"Clark, stick around, rest, and I'll be right back," Lana said to Clark. Clark opened his mouth to protest, but Lana silenced him with a kiss. It was brief, but she pulled back. "It's something important. We'll have to pick this back up later."
She pushed Clark against the barn, and gave him one last kiss. Clark was surprised that she practically stuck her tongue down his throat. He slumped against the barn, and Lana turned around, giving Clark a bit of a show. Lana put her clothes back on, and flew off before Clark could say anything.
A thump, thump, thump, echoed through Lana's head. The attack was very distracting. She wondered where this headache was coming from. There was some mysterious force attacking her brain. She placed her hands on either side of her head.
"Who is this?" Lana asked.
'Hello, Lana, long time no see,' Lily Potter answered in a cheerful voice.
Lana nearly crashed out of surprise.
"What are you doing in my head?" Lana demanded.
"A part of me has been dormant ever since your trip to the Fortress, inside your head," Lily said.
Lana was completely mortified out of her mind, and that meant if Lily was there, then she was with her and Clark during their most private moments. The thought of which made her want to hurl.
'Don't worry, I shut my eyes during the graphic parts,' Lily thought to Lana. 'Although I must say, the traveler is everything that I had ever thought of. He's quite gifted, is he not, dear?"
Lana was not hearing this. She was so not hearing this. This was so wrong on so many levels. Her stomach turned, and she felt violated.
'Get out of my head," Lana demanded.
'In a little bit, sweetie,' Lily thought. 'First, I need you to be a good little protector, and pick up something for me. We're going to shove Kal-El on the first major step towards his destiny.'
"I won't do anything to hurt Clark, you witch!" Lana thought to Lily angrily.
'Dear, that's not really that much of an insult in our world,' Lily thought back to Lana. 'It's time for you to really test your mettle. We'll see if you are worthy to stand beside Kal-El, or not. There is a fifty-fifty shot, princess. And now I'm in control. I can make you crash into airplanes, into buildings, and kill innocent people. But you don't want to do that, do you?"
"Do whatever you want to me, just don't hurt Clark,' Lana thought, perfectly aware she was not in control of the way she was flying.
Lana strained, and very nearly regained control. Lily was much stronger than she was.
'Lana, I can never hurt Kal-El,' Lily thought. 'Everything I have done is with his best interests in mind. The world needs a hero. It's unfortunate that the greatest lessons are learned through adversity, and it's survival of the fittest. We cannot hide behind a false veil of secrets forever.'
Lana reached a building on the outside of town. She recognized it as a satellite outpost of the Shining Light Foundation.
'You're going to borrow something that Harry picked up a while back,' Lily thought.
'You're going to use me to steal from your own son?' Lana asked.
'Steal is such an ugly word,' Lily replied. 'I prefer the term liberate.'
Lana continued to fly, and tried to find a way out of this. She had to fight without Lily being any the wiser.
Lily did seem to plan for every single bit of resistance.
Lily needed to accelerate her plans. The third Herald of Death was coming, and by her calculations, she would arrive in less than a day.
Kara and Harry poured over records from the Shining Light Foundation security systems. They would be able to secure the main building, and make sure what happened to Claire would not happen again to anyone else. There was a small, but easily exploitable hole in the mainframe of the Shining Light Foundation security system. The two worked over it, and to seal it so it could never be used to hurt anyone again.
"My mother and her games," Harry said with a disgusted sigh. He poured over everything. "The good news is that she has been purged from the system again. I'm currently reworking the charm work to lock her back out and hopefully keep her there."
"There's good news, but is there bad news?" Kara wondered.
Harry paused, and looked long and hard.
"The bad news is, there may be still faint traces of her out there in someone," Harry said.
"So, you think she still could be hiding somewhere in the Fortress?" Kara asked.
Harry nodded, but there was a bit of uncertainty to that gesture.
"Yes, somewhere in the Fortress, maybe," Harry said.
There was a small amount of skepticism dripping from his voice. Harry and Kara continued to pour over the security logs.
"Look, there's an erratic spike here, all the way to Luthorcorp," Kara said.
Sure enough there was. That would explain the strange energy spikes that had been happening all over the city. Harry and Kara sat by each other, and tapped into their little backdoor into the Luthorcorp network. They punched their way into the video footage that they had seen over the past twenty four hours. Harry saw Lex looking around, and muttering to himself.
The two Heralds of Death surveyed the situation. Both were thinking the same thing.
"He's acting odd, even for Luthor," Harry remarked casually.
Kara responded with a nod. He was acting a bit odd. They continued to tap into the network one step at a time. Luthor was trying to find something in Luthor Manor, and conversing with someone. Given that Luthor was the only one present at the time, this was strange behavior. Harry and Kara watched. Perhaps they were putting two and two together, and getting five.
Another silent alarm went off.
"It looks like someone found the orb," Harry said.
Harry and Kara punched up the security camera. The vault had been ripped open by super strength.
"You seem oddly not bothered by this," Kara replied to Harry.
Harry shook his head, and decided to elaborate. "No, I'm not truly bothered by this. The fact of the matter is that I put a tracing charm on the orb. I'll be able to track it where I want to go immediately. There's something inside that orb that is of great value, and it's an item that can control Clark."
Kara thought that Harry should be a bit more bothered by this, but she was willing to accept that he had his reasons for now. He punched up the footage, and the blur that moved in was Lana. Harry shook his head. This had gotten from bad to worse.
"I seem to have created a monster," Harry said to himself. "Or I could have created a puppet that can be easily exploited."
Kara stared at the security images on the secret.
"Lana looked like she was fighting it," Kara offered.
"Yeah, fighting it, but it's kind of hard to fight something with your mind when someone is controlling the body," Harry said.
Kara concurred with a nod. The two of them traced the orb, even if they had a shrewd idea where the destination was.
The two Heralds had to work quickly. They had a feeling that the die had already been cast. Harry really wished he could destroy the orb, but there was something that prevented him from doing so.
Clark sat outside of the barn, and waited impatiently. It was getting late in the afternoon. He heard footsteps and though for a moment that it was Lana. That thought was proven wrong, when he saw Lex walk up towards him. It had been a long time since he had come face to face with Lex, and Clark's mood darkened when he did.
Lex stood before Clark, as bold as brass, like he was just rolling into town to greet an old friend.
"What are you doing here?" Clark asked.
Lex replied with a smile. Clark did not like the look of that smile. It was a knowing one, a calculating one. "Come on Clark, is that any way to great an old friend?"
"We haven't been friends for years, and after all you did, I wonder if we ever were friends," Clark replied. He kept his voice even.
Lex winced for a brief moment, before he grew rather stoic.
"I see," Lex said. His voice was cold. "I don't know what to say after all of these years. Our friendship was something that should have been the stuff of legend. Clark Kent and Lex Luthor, a regular dynamic duo, and no one could stand in our way. I thought of our potential together, and I guess that I thought wrong."
Clark was on his guard. Lex did not attack him yet. Not that Lex could hurt him. Physically at least, although Lex had done much to him emotionally, and that's what put Clark on his guard.
"And you didn't trust me, no matter how much I tried to prove myself," Lex accused. "I suppose I was the fool for deluding myself. I guess I was a fool for actually thinking you valued our friendship. And I gave you plenty of chances to open up. But, you never took them. This isn't the way I wanted to find out. I wanted to learn it straight from the horse's mouth. And after seven years, I wondered what I could say."
"What are you talking about?" Clark asked.
Lex just looked at Clark with a knowing grin.
"Oh, come on, Clark, it's not like it takes a rocket scientist to know what's going on," Lex said to Clark. "All of those near misses over the years. All of those times where you just happened to pull me and others out of the fire. I should have known. But I didn't want to admit it to myself. I wanted you to admit it to my face. Face to face, I wanted you to tell me the truth, like a best friend should. But, I wonder, while you were not admitting it in front of my face, were you laughing behind my back?"
"After all you did, I was right not to tell you anything," Clark replied.
Lex threw his hands up into the air.
"Clark, you of all people should not be taking the moral high ground. You kept your secrets from people who were supposed to be your friends. Did you really think so little of me? What did you think I was going to do? Dissect you? I respect people, who respect me, and I trust them. I thought that trust could exist between us."
"There was never any trust between us," Clark argued.
"That's where you're wrong, Clark!" Lex yelled. He took a moment to calm himself down. "You could have been like a brother like me. Which is the ultimate irony, because you would be worthy of the name Luthor .All of the times you stabbed me in the back with your secrets."
Clark reached over, and grabbed Lex. Lex remained calm and collected. He looked Clark directly in the eye.
"You could crush me like a tin can," Lex said to him. He was fearless. "But you can't destroy one thing. The fact of the matter is that I'm right about everything. It didn't have to be this way Clark, but it now is. It's almost a shame."
Clark tightened his grip on Lex's jacket. There was a tense moment where Clark considered his options. He could not do much more than consider them. Years of pent up anger was inside him, and Clark tried to get himself in line before he would do something that he would regret.
A wave of magical energy washed over them. The next thing Clark knew, both he and Lex had been teleported into the Fortress of Solitude. Lex's eyes widened and he looked around. He was impressed by everything, and amazed. Lex Luthor resembled a kid on Christmas morning.
"Magnificent," Lex mouthed, and he looked around. He took a good long look at everything.
"Don't get too comfortable, you're not staying for long," Clark said.
"No, Clark, you're right, I wouldn't overstay my welcome," Lex said, and he reached into his jacket. He pulled out a green meteor rock. Clark stood before Lex. Lex pointed the rock at Clark. Clark stood by him, unflinching. Confusion washed over Lex's face, but he recovered. "All of those times you dropped like a drowned kitten around these things, and now you stand tall. I wonder what's happened to you."
Lex paused, and smiled.
"You might be powerful, but you have a weakness," Lex said. A knowing grin appeared on the bald young man's face. He stared Clark directly in the eye, and his voice dropped. "And your weakness is you care about others."
"That is a strength!" Clark argued.
"Many would argue otherwise," Lex said. "I would offer you the hand of friendship one more time to try and reconcile what once was, but I know when to take a hint. Perhaps it is not in the cards for Clark Kent and Lex Luthor to be friends. Perhaps we should be enemies."
"You made that choice a long time ago," Clark replied.
The two young men, once friends, stared each other down. Neither blinked, both remained firm in their stance and their opinion. Lex stared Clark in the eye, and his voice lowered to a near whisper, before he asked Clark one burning question.
"The real question is, which one of us is the hero, and which one of us is the villain?" Lex asked.
Before Clark could answer, he heard familiar screams. He saw Lana suspended in mid-air above him. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head. Kryptonian writing had been burned into her forehead.
"Lana!" Clark yelled. His heart skipped a beat. "Let her go!"
"Krypton flows through me," Lana said in a creepy monotone. "I am Krypton."
Both Clark and Lex were completely disturbed by this development. It was almost like the knowledge of the Fortress was being uploaded into Lana's brain.
To Be Continued in "Conquest Part Two."