Chapter 17 [Riverside Inn—7 AM]

Lana stretched in bed. Aches and burning irritated her. Residual nausea unsettled her stomach. What is this? She rubbed her stomach. I'm not sick. So, what…?

IT IS KRYPTONITE POISONING. THE ROCK YOU WERE EXPOSED TO WEAKENED YOU. DID I NOT TELL YOU ABOUT THAT? Jor-El interjected.

Guess it's kind of like I need to see for myself? Lana grunted her way into a sitting position. Now I really understand why Clark avoided me while I was wearing my old necklace. She ground her teeth. Glad we don't have to face that guy today.

Don't bet on that, Boss. Miranda meditated off to the side. The Stepbastard's shrugged off attacks like those before. We'd better be on alert. Hey, Captain Plaid! You up? She stood. "I'm showering now that you're up. Need the bathroom?"

"I'm good. Thanks," Lana assured her.

Yeah. I haven't been able to sleep. I'm thinking about what we're going to say to Lex. Then, there's your Step…whatever. I know he's gone but…. Clark replied over their mutual link.

THE ONE KNOWN AS ARIGHATTO IS NOT GONE, KAL-EL! HE STRUCK THIS MORNING AT YOUR FRIEND! LOUISE AND I ALERTED HIM! THE DARK CLAD ONE ON THE FLYING FLOOR COVERING SAVED HIM! Jor-El alerted them.

That guy doesn't know when to quit. Just what we need. Dad's going to love this. Anticipation played out Jonathan's next diatribe in Clark's mind. Terrific. That guy?

Looks like Lex isn't that bad? Lana turned on the TV. Let's see what the news has to say. She read the channel card. Then her fingers selected a local channel.

A slender Latino woman sat behind an anchor desk. Her dark eyes looked ahead into the camera out of view. "…This just into our newsroom. Just minutes ago, explosions rocked a neighborhood near the corner of Eighth Avenue and 65th Street. Brad Davis is on the phone from the scene. Brad?"

"Thanks, Maria. Just literally minutes ago, an apartment building was leveled by explosions. The first explosion we have no idea of. Witnesses around the area reported smelling gas before the second explosion demolished what was left of the building. When our news crew gets here, I'll have video. For now, I'm going to see what I can find out," Brad reported into his phone.

"Brad, that crew is on its way to you. Does anyone know what the cause was? Any details?" Maria shook off Commercial's prompt. Priority remained with Scoop and Breaking News.

"Ambulances and Police are blocking off the building's remains. FDNY and the Gas Company are working to get the fire under control. And we have reports that Spider-Man was thrown across the street by the explosion. Then, people are claiming that rubber formed out of thin air to catch him. And…get this…they claim a woman caught him on a flying carpet and sped away." Brad cleared his throat. Incredulity raised his voice.

"A woman…on a flying carpet?" Maria raised her eyebrow. Skepticism narrowed her eyes. "Brad, can you hear yourself?"

"I'm just telling you what they told me, Maria. I didn't see that. There's nothing up there now. I'm as skeptical as you. New York has its share of superheroes so who knows? I'll send it back to you in the studio. Brad Davis, Channel 29 News."

"Brad, thank you and be safe. We'll be right back." Maria sent the newscast to commercial.

Lana switched off the TV. A frown twisted her mouth. That's the masked guy from the museum last night! He helped us to get past Mr. Arighatto. Jor-El, is there anything we can do?

THE ONE KNOWN AS SNAPDRAGON HAS HIM IN A SECURE PLACE. ASK SWANN WHEN YOU SEE HIM. BE AWARE, LANA, OF OUR SURROUNDINGS! KAL-EL, YOU KNOW THIS AS WELL. IT IS FORTUNATE THAT THIS 'SPIDER-MAN' IS WITH AN ALLY. HE KNOWS OUR SECRET. LOUISE, DUBOIS AND I SPOKE TO HIM YESTERDAY. I WAS TALKING TO HIM JUST BEFORE THE EXPLOSION. TALK TO SWANN. PERHAPS YOU MIGHT STAY CLOSE TO HIS FEMALE? SHE IS A TARGET NOW AS WELL.

Yeah. Her and her Dad. Great. Lana heard her phone buzz at her. She picked it up. "Text?" She opened it to find Swann's name on her display. "What now?"

"Miss Lang, My apologies. I spoke to Mr. Parker just before the building exploded. Be aware of your surroundings. We are still meeting at 9. Please let Mrs. Kent and Kal-El know. Thank you. VS"

Great. Dr. Swann still needs that meeting! Lana checked her watch. "7:15. Great….No time for breakfast." She looked at her phone again. Jor-El wants us to stay close to Gwen and her Dad. How much can I tell them? We don't know them. They can't come to the meeting this morning. What about Chloe and Lex? Will Mr. Arighatto try anything with them?

"WHAT THE HELL?" Miranda bellowed in the bathroom. A couple of minutes later, she stalked out. Her hands worked a towel through her hair. "I can't believe this! Peter was doing his job! I mean really?" She slid the closet open. "My phone's local news app just went off." She tossed a blouse, her undergarments and her jeans onto the bed. "Score another for Arighatto."

"Miri, we really…" Lana made a 'tone it down' motion with her hands.

Miranda pointed at her head. "I heard from Joe too. By the way, the Stepbastard did that to my family, Lana! Ask Agents Petersen and Singleton! They'll tell you! Unreal! What did he take pictures of last night?" She glanced at Lana. "I know he was with us at the exhibit. He got the pictures of the katana. Then, I just remember the weird mist and falling asleep. After that, I woke up here." She collected her clothes and went back in the other room. "Someone had better let Mr. Luthor and Chloe know to be careful." She walked back in the bathroom and shut the door.

Wow. That kind of hit home for her. Can't say I blame her. That'd be like something falling on Captain Stacy or Gwen right now. Lana grabbed her own clothes from the closet and set them on the bed. Clark, does your Mom know about what happened to Peter?

Yeah. I got her up. She's talking to Dad right now. Great…. Clark rubbed the back of his neck. I hope what Dr. Swann has is really great stuff. You know that he knows about you and me both. Peter disappeared. You think he got some of those ninja pictures? Maybe he connected them to Miranda's step-whatever?

That's probably it. Our pilot's poisoned. Now Peter's apartment gets blown up. Hate to ask what's next? Maybe Dr. Swann might have something for us?

Probably a great idea. I'll run it by Mom. We should be careful. Wish I knew what was going on! Clark got a buzz from his phone. What the? Chloe's downstairs? Seriously?

Great. Well, if anyone knows, it's her. I'm waiting for Miri to get out of the bathroom. Maybe you can see what she's up to? I thought Lex and she had that meeting? Lana saw Miranda come out. Got to clean up and get dressed.

I'll check on her. Clark went to let Martha know. Then he looked himself over in the mirror. He waved to Martha then he headed out the door.

Unexpected surprises, anyone?