Velocity Part 3

At the Torch office…

Lana walked towards the Torch office, assuming that was where she could find Clark Kent after the school day. Sure enough, she saw him through the door window, frowning at a computer screen. It was still weird seeing him with glasses. Lana took a deep breath in. Somehow, this conversation they needed to have was making her nervous. She had no idea how to even start. But before Lana could put her hand on the door handle, her vision blurred, and Alicia had miraculously appeared behind Clark.

"Hi, you." Alicia started to rub Clark's shoulders.

Clark didn't seem surprised by Alicia's sudden appearance. "Hey."

"Whatcha doin?" Alicia moved around so she was sitting on Clark's lap.

"I'm reaching out to some cheap motels in Metropolis, seeing if anyone matching Pete's description checked in. Not having much luck. They either say 'no' or 'pay up'."

"I thought Pete just needed some space?"

"I just need to know he's okay."

"Hey," Alicia ran her fingers through Clark's hair, "I'm sure Pete's fine. If he was kidnapped wouldn't they have made demands by now?"

"I guess." Clark sighed.

"Tell you what; if Pete's not home by tomorrow, I'll join you in a full-out search."

"Okay." Clark agreed. "Want to do a date night? Help keep me distracted?"

"I'd love too, but I already agreed to have dinner with my mom."

"She's still out of town?"

"Yeah. Her trips can take months. But she'll be back soon. I can't wait to show you off."

"I look forward to meeting her."

"In the meantime, why don't you check in with the Sherriff. See if anyone has called in with a ransom note."

"Sherriff? Sherriff!" Clark groaned. "I forgot! I can't believe I forgot."

"What?" Alicia had to get up as Clark began to stuff papers and binders into his backpack.

"I'll explain later. But, yes, I do need to talk with the Sherriff."

"Want a lift?"

"Uh…sure."

Lana watched as Clark took Alicia's hand. Then, both Alicia and Clark evaporated in a cloud of green mist, leaving an empty room.

Meanwhile, somewhere unknown…

Pete did not know how long he and Sarah stayed on the beach. The sun never moved. But Pete knew he had to start figuring out a way to escape.

"So, Sarah, why are you helping Lionel Luthor? Come on," Pete insisted when Sarah sighed. "If I won't remember anything, what's the harm of telling me?"

"Is my break over?" Sarah sighed. "Fine. Let's try this again, shall we?"

Pete blinked and found himself back in the Torch office. Chloe, or rather Sarah, was back to wearing the orange outfit.

"Clark Kent. Ugh." Chloe's image made retching noises. "What's that guy got on you, Petey?"

The image of Chloe began walking towards him.

"Stop it!" Pete spun around. Sarah, appearing as her normal self was seated at a desk in front of him.

"Hey, I'm trying to be nice here. I mean, I get you understand you're in the Matrix but just, like, go with the fantasy I'm giving you. Isn't that what you want?"

"No. It's not." Pete yelped as his pants erupted into flames.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Sarah pointed and laughed.

"Fine. Maybe a little."

"Now we're getting somewhere." Sarah transformed into Chloe again. "I can be her for you, Petey. You can have her in this dream. You just got to tell me what's so special about Clark Kent."

"Nothing." The hem of his pants began to singe again.

"Lying. About…" Sarah pulled a basketball from behind her back and started to twirl it on her fingertip. "Huh. Didn't see that coming."

Pete understood what the basketball meant. But Sarah only appeared confused.

"You can't read my mind," Pete put together. "But by asking questions you get me to think of the answer."

"And then I get to play with the images you give me. Pretty much it."

Sarah transformed the space into a basketball court. The stadium was filled with cartoon characters that cheered Sarah on as she made a perfect free throw.

"How about some one-on-one?" a familiar voice challenged behind Pete.

Pete turned around to see an image of Clark towering over him. Clark wasn't wearing his glasses now; he wore a Smallville High jersey uniform and looked like a proper athlete. Pete looked down and saw he was wearing the same standard uniform; except he seemed so small in it.

"Clark" began to dribble the ball down the court. At the division line, he leapt into the air, soaring towards the basket and did a slam dunk. The scoreboard read "We Love you Clark" with hearts floating over his picture. Several clones of Sarah, dressed in cheerleading outfits went wild by shaking pom-poms in the air. "Clark" blew them a kiss and all of them swooned to the floor.

The basketball was passed to Pete. He had shot free throws plenty of times; he had a good record. Pete took his place, lined up his shot and with the required force needed, sent the ball towards the net.

The ball fell to the ground, never making it into the air. The entire stadium booed.

"Is that all you got?" The image of Clark jeered.

"Sarah, come on. Lionel doesn't care that I think Clark's better at basketball than me, does he?"

"I don't know." Another Sarah, dressed in a referee uniform was at Pete's side.

"What? Can't you ask questions?"

Sarah and the entire stadium burst into laughter again.

"Oh, Petey. No. I can't ask anything."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, this," Sarah motioned around her, "is as good as it gets for me. When you wake up, you get to go back to your body. You don't remember everything that happened here in Wonderland, but you get to walk away on your own two feet. I go back to the dark. I don't know where my body is, or if I even have a body anymore. I just wait in the dark until this voice tells me what I'm supposed to search for."

"You're a prisoner."

"I guess."

"What happened?"

Sarah shrugged. "Last thing I remember is driving in the car with my mom and dad. We were going home after one of my soccer games. I was sleeping in the back seat. Next thing I know, I'm alone in the dark. It was like being in a dark tunnel with this small sliver of light I couldn't get to. I couldn't scream. I couldn't move. Couldn't feel anything. It was like being trapped under the ocean. Then there was this voice."

Sarah shuddered at the memory. Pete knelt next to her. "Sarah, you don't have to do this. Let me go; let me wake up. I can bring help. We'll get you to a hospital with real doctors who want to heal you, not use you."

"But you won't, Petey." Sarah sobbed. "Don't you get it? You won't come back for me cause you won't remember me. I have to do what the scary voices say or there's just pain and darkness. If they give me people, and I tell them what they want to know, I get to use your memories to see the sun. And fireworks. And meadows. And beaches. Sometimes if someone dreams about feeling warmth or happiness, I get to feel it to."

"I'll remember," Pete vowed. "Sarah, I promise I'll help you."

"Nice try, Petey." Sarah stood up from the bleachers and looked ready to change the scene again.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Pete raised his hands. "What's the rush? Right? Come on, what do you want to see?"

Sarah hesitated, but only for a second. "Do you have a dog?"

Pete focused on remembering Spot, the Ross household pet. Pete was a young child at the time, and Spot was an old beagle who died before Pete turned five years old. The Ross family never adopted another pet after that, no matter how hard Pete begged.

The Spot in front of him was a puppy. Sarah grinned from ear to ear as she lifted up the wagging mass of fur and he began to lick her face.

Pete hoped Spot 2 would be enough of a distraction so Clark could rescue him.