Velocity Part 2

Clark yawned as the final warning bell rang. He had spent last night searching for any sign of Pete. He even ran as far as Metropolis but couldn't find his friend. In the end, he had only gotten a few hours of sleep.

After Mrs. Ross had broken down and began crying in the Kent kitchen, his parents had called the sheriff over.

"Has anyone contacted you?" Sherriff Adams asked after she arrived.

"No," Mrs. Ross shook her head.

"Mrs. Ross, you mentioned that Pete had been avoiding coming home. Is it possible he just ran off?"

This question made Mrs. Ross burst into a new set of tears.

Clark felt guilty; Pete hadn't mentioned any of the problems his parents were facing. Clark called Chloe immediately to inform her of Pete's disappearance. His friend didn't seem too concerned.

"You know, when my parents split, I hid in the garage," Chloe shared during their conversation. "Maybe Pete just wants some space."

"But we made plans to meet," Clark insisted.

"Look, this can't be easy on him."

"But he never said anything."

"It's a hard thing to admit," was all Chloe gave as an explanation.

Still, Clark searched through the night, to no avail. He fumbled his way through the hallway to his locker to grab the books he needed.

And then, as he was about to head towards his first class, Clark saw her at the other side.

Lana Lang.

She was standing opposite of him, her leg in a brace and leaning on a cane with a backpack weighing her down.

Clark gulped. He wanted to go to her; to ask how she was doing. How she was feeling and to offer to carry her books to class, no matter if that meant he would be late himself.

I have to stay away from you. Lana's words echoed in his mind.

It would be selfish of him to go to Lana to appease his own guilt. He had to respect her wishes to remain distant. Thankfully, just at that moment his girlfriend appeared.

"Hi, you," Alicia kissed him on the cheek.

"Hi." Clark smiled, grateful at the distraction. He pulled Alicia close to him and started to walk in the direction of his first class.

Away from Lana Lang.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Lana couldn't believe it.

Clark had looked at her; looked straight at her and turned away as soon as Alicia appeared. Her suspicions that Alicia was doing something to interfere with Clark seeing her was now confirmed.

Lana didn't know what she had expected. In her dreams, she wished Clark would come racing over when he saw her.

Instead, he turned away. Leaving her alone. Just as everyone else had in her life.

"Look who it is," Van McNulty said as he sidled up beside her. "No crutches. I hardly recognized you."

"Thanks?"

"Can I help you with your books?" Van asked.

"Yes. Thank you," Lana said as she continued to hobble to class.

Meanwhile, in a place unknown…

Pete knew he was in danger, but all he could see was the familiar surroundings of the Torch office. "Chloe" calmly stood in front of him; staring with a faint smirk.

"Who are you?" Pete demanded.

"Haven't you figured it out, Petey?" The figure waved a hand at the sight before his eyes changed. He was now seated at a table in the middle of a meadow. "I'm the Mad Hatter and you're in Wonderland!"

"Chloe" had turned into a girl wearing an obnoxious top hat, curling brown hair peeking beneath the rim. Pete looked down to see he was wearing a black and white checkered suit, complete with a matching bow tie. "Chloe" or the "Mad Hatter" or whoever was there began to perform the role of conductor for the teapot and various teacups as they began to float and sing the chorus of "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne.

"I'm in hell, aren't I?"

"No, Petey. Not hell. Not yours, anyway. Hey, what's your favorite spot?"

There was a flash of light and Pete's surroundings changed. He heard the familiar voices of his siblings playing touch football on a beach.

Pete remembered the day he now watched play out. He and his entire family had gone to the family cabin for a summer retreat. The cabin was a short distance away from a local lake. They often played all day in the sand; either football or volleyball. When they had been younger, they often built sandcastles or did chicken fights in the water.

Pete watched as a treasured memory played out before him. All his siblings had been there. They played touch football the entire day. No one had argued or brought up any topics that led to dangerous discussions. Everyone had smiled as his father manned the grill and his mother had prepared the sides for the hamburgers.

That was the last day Pete remembered ever feeling like a complete family.

Pete noticed that he was wearing the swimsuit he had worn that day. When he looked to his left, he noticed the girl laid stretched out on a chaise in a bikini and wearing sunglasses.

"Gotta hand it to you, great place," she said.

"What is this? Who are you?"

The girl sighed. "Name's Sarah. You're dreaming. I control it. Tell me what's so special about Clark Kent and you wake up. That's all you need to know."

"Dreaming? If I'm dreaming, then I can control it." Pete willed for the girl to be smashed by a tree.

Sarah pulled her sunglasses down to peer at him over the rims. "No, Petey, this isn't a movie. I'm in control here. Not you."

Pete pictured a grey cloud. Immediately the sun disappeared.

"Oh, come one!" Sarah protested.

"Hah! I do control it."

"Kinda, but really 'no'." Sarah settled back into the chaise as the sun came out in radiant heat.

"Who sent you?"

Sarah sighed again. "Can I just have like five minutes please?"

Pete settled into a nearby chaise lounge that had miraculously appeared. He focused on picturing grey clouds and hurricanes and downpours. Each time he thought of them, they were immediately pushed aside with beaming sunlight.

"How are you doing that?" Pete finally shouted.

Sarah sighed. "Look, I don't know how this works. I was failing anatomy. I couldn't tell you the hippopotamus from the cerebral palsy."

"Hippocampus." Pete said.

"Huh?"

"The part in the brain is called the hippocampus."

"Whatever. Look, you think it, I control it. Got it?"

"No."

"Good. That makes two of us." Sarah laughed. "I love the beach. It's been a while since I've been to one."

"Sarah," Pete leaned closer to the girl beside him, "if I tell you what's special about Clark Kent, do I get to wake up?"

"Yep."

"But, what if there isn't anything to tell?"

"That's too bad. Lionel thinks there is."

"Lionel Luthor!?" Pete kicked at the ground. "Of course, he's behind this. Wait, why tell me? Are you going to kill me?"

"No, Petey. Just like in any dream, when you wake up you won't remember it."

"People can remember dreams."

"Not this one, okay?"

Sarah returned to lounging on the chaise. Pete tried to picture a blazing, scorching hot sun. The girl only sighed in contentment and began to rub on suntan lotion from a bottle that appeared out of nowhere. Pete eventually sat back in the lounge chair, trying to think of his next move.