Chapter 07 - I'm Gonna Be Alright
Zoey and Lana walk up to where Clark and Pete were talking in the hallway about ties and cummerbunds. "I don't know Clark," Lana greets, causing the boys to turn to them. "Red always looks good on you."
"Then red it is," Clark replies and Zoey can't help but roll her eyes.
"Thanks," Pete tells Lana. "Now, I gotta go make a call and change my order. Don't want people mistaking us for twins."
"Yeah, because that would totally happen," Zoey sarcastically says. Pete shoots her a glare as he walks away. She turns to Clark. "You seem to be super excited about the dance."
"I am, but between the tickets, renting the tux, and buying the flowers it gets expensive," Clark tells them as they walk down the crowded hallway.
"You should try finding the right dress," Lana counters, shooting him a smile. "Guess the limo's out."
"I'm actually thinking of asking Lex if I can borrow his. Chloe says she doesn't care but deep down I know she wants one. I'm trying to surprise her, so keep it between us," Clark says. He sends a pointed look to Zoey and she runs her fingers across her lips, indicating that she wouldn't say anything.
"My lips are sealed," Lana amusedly tells him. "What are you, Zoey? Have you found a dress yet?"
They stop at Lana's locker and Zoey leans against the other lockers. "I'm still grounded for the next two weeks," Zoey answers, leaning against the wall of lockers. "But it's okay. I'm going to Gotham this summer to visit my…friend."
Clark rolls his eyes. "Boyfriend."
"We're not…We're just friends. We haven't talked about other stuff."
Clark turns to Lana. "Zoey has a boyfriend."
Lana shoots her a smile. "Do we know him?"
"No," Zoey quickly answers.
"Zoey's dating Bruce Wayne," Clark tells Lana.
Lana's gaze widens. Everyone had an idea of who Bruce was and his past. "How do you know Bruce Wayne?"
Zoey sighs. "Our parents were friends. His parents came to my parents' funeral. Uncle Max and I went to the Waynes' funeral. We've known each other for a long time." She shrugs. "We haven't talked about the are we dating thing or not."
"He sent you diamond earrings and used your birthday as an excuse," Clark points out. "You're dating." Clark frowns when he notices an upset look on Chloe's face as she walks towards them. "Chloe?"
"They're closing the LuthorCorp plant," Chloe tells them. She holds up a special edition of the Smallville Ledger. They exchange confused looks, wondering why they closed the plant.
Zoey frowns as the man in the suit stares at her. He had been sitting at one of the tables for most of her shift. She had been cleaning a couple of the tables before making hers and Clark's usual to-go drinks. Clark walks up to the counter and Zoey hands him his cup. "Here you go, Clark," she says. She grabs her own cup and starts to join him.
"If I could have just one minute of your time, Clark," the stranger says, walking up to them. He grabs Clark's arm.
Clark shoots him a confused look. "How do you know my name?"
"Roger Nixon," the man introduces. "I'm a journalist with the Inquisitor and I would very much like to write a story about you."
"Thanks, but I'm not really interested." Clark grabs Zoey's wrist and they start to make their way out of the Talon.
"Why weren't you hurt in that explosion," Roger asks, stepping in front of them. "You were in the truck on the farm."
Zoey had been at work when the truck had exploded on the farm the day before. She had heard about it after Martha had picked her up. Clark tenses. "I was nowhere near that truck," he easily lies.
"Am I missing something interesting?"
Zoey turns to see Lex walking over to them. "This gentleman was just leaving," she coldly says, glaring at Nixon.
"Lex," Nixon greets.
"You know my name, but I don't know yours," Lex replies.
Nixon smirks. "Roger Nixon. I work for the Inquisitor."
"When is someone gonna put that bad excuse for a tabloid out of its misery?"
"It was nice meeting you, Lex," Roger says. He turns to Clark, but not before taking a quick glance at Zoey. "I'm sure we'll talk again soon, Clark."
They watch as he walks out of the Talon. "What was that all about," Lex asks, looking between Clark and Zoey.
"He wants to do a story on me, make me out to be some kind of hero," Clark answers.
"The Inquisitor's a rag, Clark. If I were you, I wouldn't get mixed up with him."
"I don't intend to."
"If he gives either of you any more trouble, let me know."
Lex starts to walk away, but Zoey grabs his arm. "I didn't like the way that he kept staring at me," she tells Clark and Lex.
Lex frowns. "How was he looking at you?"
"The same way that all reporters do whenever they think they've stumbled onto a massive story," Zoey angrily answers. "My life is not tabloid fodder for D-list journalists."
Zoey follows her godparents down to the storm cellar. Tornado sirens had gone off, signaling everyone to get somewhere safe. They had paused when they saw that the storm cellar doors were open, but they had continued down to the cellar. Zoey recognizes Roger Nixon. He was filming Clark's ship. "Mr. Kent," Nixon greets, turning to them.
Jonathan slams Nixon against one of the pillars. "Jonathan," Martha shouts. Zoey moves and stays near the stairs. The howling of the tornadoes above them was the only thing she could hear. She could see Martha and Jonathan shouting. Zoey barely notices Clark's spaceship start to light up. Nixon stares at Zoey for a moment. He shoves Jonathan off and starts towards the stairs. Jonathan punches Nixon and he falls to the ground. Nixon stands up and Zoey moves closer to the stairs.
Nixon grabs Zoey's arm and drags her up the stairs. "Let me go," Zoey screams, struggling to get out of Nixon's grasp.
"You're coming with me, Zoey Carmichael," Nixon screams. She struggles to get out of his grasp. She can hear Jonathan screaming for her, for Nixon to stop and let her go. The wind picks up as they run through the woods and reach an old cemetery. Finally, realizing that Zoey was holding him back, Nixon shoves her to the ground and takes off.
"Zoey," Jonathan shouts. He tugs her up and continues running after the man. Jonathan tackles the man and the video camera goes flying out of his hands. Sensing that danger was imminent, Jonathan looks around the cemetery. "Zoey, there's an underground crypt over there! Go!"
Zoey doesn't hesitate to run down into the crypt. Moments later, a body is thrown down into the crypt. Jonathan shortly follows and a loud boom is heard above them. Dust and debris fill the crypt.
Zoey shifts on the cold, hard ground. Jonathan and Nixon had been arguing about Clark. About whether his secret should be exposed to the world or if it should be done when Clark was ready. She had been confused. Of course, learning that Nixon was working with Lex hadn't made things any easier. Zoey was also exhausted. "Why did you grab me," she asks Nixon.
Nixon shoots her a disbelieving look. "You're Zoey Carmichael. You're the second biggest story this town has and no one can see what is right in front of them."'
"There's nothing special about me."
Nixon scoffs. "Nothing special! Sweetheart, you're one of the richest teenagers in the world and you're living on a farm. Doing chores. Working at a crappy coffee shop. Just a couple of months ago you were at the annual Wayne Foundation Gala. Rumor is that you've been getting extra cozy with the other richest teenager in the world."
Zoey glares. "And you think that gives you the right to write about my life? To publish whatever the fuck you want without giving a damn about the real people you write about? They have to face the consequences of what people like you write. Of photographers taking pictures of events that they shouldn't even be a witness to." She stands up and walks towards him. "You write about me or my family and I guarantee that your career will be over."
Nixon rolls his eyes. "Little girl, there's nothing—"
"The entire fucking country still sees me as a seven-year-old, covered in her mother's blood, sitting in a hospital waiting room. You're a reporter who was seen harassing a teenager in public. Who do you think has the power here," Zoey angrily says. She holds out her hand. "Give me the tape."
Nixon stares at her. He knew she had a point. Reluctantly, he pulls the tape out of his jacket pocket and hands it to her. Zoey yanks the film out of the tape and drops it on the ground before smashing it. She turns and walks back to the corner she had previously been sitting in. She doesn't see the proud look on Jonathan's face.
Jonathan clears his throat. "The mortar here is weak. We might be able to dig ourselves out."
Zoey groans as she pushes herself up. The tunnel that Jonathan and Nixon had been working on had collapsed. They had all been knocked out. She looks around and finds Jonathan covered in dirt and debris near where he had been standing. Nixon was lying on the ground, a couple of feet away from her. "Uncle Jonathan," she says, crawling over to him.
Nixon starts coughing. "I can't breathe."
Zoey glances at him. "The tunnel collapse must have cut off the air supply."
Nixon sits up and looks at the collapsed tunnel. Jonathan coughs. "Dying in a tomb, that's ironic," Nixon says. "At least you've got a legacy to leave behind. That's something to be proud of."
"First time Clark used his abilities, he'd crawled under a big oak bed that my grandfather had made and I-I crawled underneath to try and get him out and then all of a sudden the-the frame just came up in the air. He was a toddler lifting, I don't what it was, five hundred pounds over his head," Jonathan tells them.
Zoey places a comforting hand on his shoulder. "What did you do," she softly asks.
"We decided to take him to a doctor or a scientist. Somebody more equipped to understand than we were. But when we got in front of the office Martha…she said that if we left him there that they would want to keep him and we'd never see him again. So, I took him home. Now, that may have been a mistake. But it was a mistake I'd gladly make again."
A loud rumbling noise comes from above them. Zoey looks to see sunlight suddenly shining into the crypt. "Dad! Zoey!" Clark runs down into the crypt. Zoey jumps up and tightly embraces him. Clark moves to start to pull Jonathan free but falls to the ground.
"Kent, what's happening to him," Nixon asks, watching as Clark groans in pain. Zoey looks around and realizes that the rocks were actually meteor rocks.
"We need to get him away," Zoey says, running over to Clark. She grabs his arm and starts to pull Clark. "He's allergic to the meteor rocks."
Nixon grabs a meteor rock and moves around to Zoey. He bends down and shoves the rock into Clark's jacket pocket. "What are you doing," Jonathan yells. Nixon shoves Zoey to the side. She stumbles and falls to the ground.
"I don't need the tape. I got all the evidence I need right here," Nixon says, grabbing Clark's shoulders. He pulls Clark up the stairs and out of the crypt.
"Nixon! You don't understand! The rocks..." Jonathan trails off, letting out a groan of pain. Zoey pushes herself up. She looks between Jonathan and the stairs. "Go!"
Zoey takes off up the stairs. It doesn't take her long to catch up to Nixon and Clark. She finds a tree branch and grabs it. She smacks him on the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. "You don't get to kidnap people," she snaps, smacking him with the tree branch. Nixon grabs the tree branch and yanks it out of her grasp. He raises it to hit her when a gunshot rings out.
A pool of blood starts to form on Nixon's chest. He looks at her, confused, then falls to the ground. Zoey quickly moves out of the way. She looks up to see Lex standing there, with a gun in his hand. She stares at him for a moment, then runs over to where Clark is still lying on the ground. "Zoey, are you okay," Lex asks.
Zoey nods. "I-I'm fine. Uncle Jonathan...he needs help. He's still in the crypt. There was a cave-in."
"I'll go help him. Wait here," Lex tells her, then walks over to where she had motioned. Zoey kneels down and quickly searches Clark's pockets. She finds the meteor rock and throws it as far as she can.
"Clark," Zoey says, helping him sit up. "Are you okay?"
Clark nods. He notices Jonathan slowly making his way towards them. "Dad!" Clark jumps up and runs over to him. Zoey slowly stands up. She spots Lex standing next to Nixon's body. He looks up and she turns to make her way to Jonathan and Clark.
A hand grabs her arm. Lex drags her behind a tree. "Zoey, you can't tell anyone what happened," he quietly says.
"You killed—" Zoey begins.
Lex covers her mouth with his hand. The tree bark digs into her skin. "I need you to promise me you won't tell anyone what happened." She nods, agreeing to not tell anyone. He moves his hand to her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Zoey stares at him for a moment, then pushes past him and throws up. She feels a hand on her back. "Zoey, are you okay," Clark asks. He was standing a few feet away from Jonathan.
"I'm fine," Zoey shakily says. She wipes her mouth and stands up. She anxiously smiles. "I'm fine."
I used to say I couldn't do it but I did it (Yes, I did)
After telling everybody that I wasn't with it (Oh, yes)
Though it brings tears to my eyes, I can feel it
And I know inside I'ma be alright (I'ma be alright)
I said I couldn't do it but I did it (Yes, I did)
After telling everybody that I wasn't with it (Oh, yes)
Though it brings tears to my eyes, I can feel it
And that voice inside says I'm gonna be alright