Resurrection Part 2

Pete leaned back in the driver's seat. He adjusted his sunglasses and sighed in contentment at the perfect moment. The top of his red convertible was down, letting in the wind and sun; nothing but the open road stretched in front of him.

No worries or cares in the world.

The perfect day.

"Nice dream you got going on here, Petey."

A brunette wearing a soccer uniform sat in the passenger seat.

"Still waiting on that rescue, Petey. Come on. You promised."

The scene transformed and Pete found himself dressed in a suit of armor with a drawn sword. Straight in front of him was a tower that looked like it came straight out of a fairytale book. Through the lone open window, Pete could see the mysterious girl now wearing a pink, frilly dress, dramatically crying "Save me!" as she ran in circles.

Well, at least there isn't a…

A wall of flames erupted, blocking Pete from the tower. He jumped back, and glancing to his right he saw a snarling, green dragon. Pete raised the sword, unsure of what to do next. The dragon's mouth lunged towards him, the tongue acting as a whip and snaking around his ankle.

Pete felt his body tossed into the air. There was nothing for him to grab onto as he plunged down towards the dragon's mouth. But before Pete could feel the dragon's teeth snap his bones, he sat up in a cold sweat in his bedroom.

Weird dream. Who was that girl?

At Smallville High…

Jordan thought that once he knew the identity of the Smallville Shooter, he would feel better. Once he knew who it was, it would be easier to avoid the person.

Jordan was wrong.

It took extra care to stay out of Van McNulty's way. Van even seemed to sense Jordan's fear and that he was trying to avoid him. It was like Van was hunting him in the school.

Despite Clark's warnings, Jordan knew he had to mention something to Megan. She was definitely on the hit list, and she had suffered the most since her gill photo had been posted all over the school. That meant he had to risk crossing paths with Van. Thankfully, the killer was unlikely to do anything at school in the middle of the day.

"Megan," Jordan whispered, getting in step with her. "You got to stay away from McNulty."

"Van? Why?"

"He's not safe."

Megan rolled her eyes. "I've hung out with him plenty of times with Jake. Van's a bit too macho for his own good, but he's not dangerous."

"Watch it!" a familiar voice shouted as Jordan nudged against a passerby.

The veil was peeled back. Van stood in the hospital, gun in hand. His attempt to shoot a pale stranger was stopped as another figure grabbed him by the throat. Van gasped for air as the hand around his windpipe squeezed and squeezed.

Van fell dead to the floor.

"What?" Van demanded as the veil returned.

"Nothing." Jordan took a step back. The fear disappeared; he felt himself relax the first time all year.

"Just having a real good day." Jordan grinned as he walked past.

"Freak," Van muttered.

But Jordan knew he had nothing to fear.

In just a few days, Van McNulty would die.

At the Luthor Mansion…

"How's she doing?" Lex asked from the doorway to one of the mansions guest bedrooms.

Lana was sleeping peacefully, a nurse at her side, monitoring her vitals.

Lex's research into projects his father was currently pursuing led him to Project Velocity. Except this project was unusual in that it combined multiple projects Luthor Corp had used in the past and in development to achieve a united goal.

What goal that was remained undisclosed.

One project Lex had read up on was Levitas: a truth serum. It had been shelved after the serum's toxicity levels proved to be off the charts.

Lana's monologue of admitting fear in front of a group of people had been uncharacteristically her. Between that and her showing signs of intense headaches, another side effect of the serum, Lex had brought her to the mansion to be tested for the toxin by his own medical staff. Her blood tested positive and showed signs an overdose. Lex had been able to retrieve the antidote from the Luthor Corp vaults.

"Stable," the nurse reassured him. "The antidote seems to have neutralized the toxin that was in her system."

"I'm here," said Chloe as she joined Lex in the doorway. "I got a bag of extra clothes, just like you asked. What happened?"

"Lana's fine now. Nothing you need to worry about."

"Lex, Lana is still a minor who lives under my dad's roof. He has the right to know of any medical issues. Especially if they're off-the-book."

Lex hid his smile. That was the Chloe Sullivan he knew.

"Lana was exposed to a manufactured toxin. It's been successfully neutralized. She should wake up in a few hours completely fine."

"Why didn't you take her to the hospital?"

"They couldn't have done anything."

"I take it this toxin was something out of your father's underground, nefarious vault." Chloe puffed a strand of hair from her face. "Why would Lana be a target?"

"You tell me, Chloe. Admit it; you know something from my missing memory."

Chloe stayed silent as she placed the overnight bag on a nearby chair. "Lex, just drop it."

"You know, I recommended your father to a few jobs I knew he'd be well suited for."

"Thank you."

"Funny thing is none of the companies would touch him. Not even with my endorsement. That means Gabe must have done something very naughty. Or maybe…it was his daughter."

"Lex, let it go." Chloe kept her gaze to the floor as she tried to exit the room. Lex made sure to stand in her way.

"Chloe, I can help you. Just tell me what happened."

This time, Chloe looked him straight in the eye. "The last time you said that, you ended up in the psych ward."

Lex allowed Chloe to pass, and she made a fast exit down the hall.

I was right, Lex thought as he made his way to the study. Months ago, he had discovered something his father wanted to remain hidden. And somehow Chloe was connected. Lex would discover the truth in time.

But right now, there were other guests to take care of.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

"Mr. White. Glad you could make it."

Mr. White stood up from the sofa as Lex entered the study. The disgraced journalist tried to shove his flask back into his inside pocket.

"Well, your security team was rather insistent. What can I help you with?"

Lex sat down behind his desk. "There's a five o'clock bus leaving Smallville. Be on it."

"You know, this 'get out of Dodge' routine is pretty heavy handed, even for a Luthor."

"So is ambushing a teenage girl for a sound bite."

Mr. White shrugged. "I was just doing my job."

"You used that line before when I was sixteen and you were scourging for dirt on my father. You played the friendly conversation card extremely well. I believe it was a full ten minutes before I told you to go to hell."

"So that's what this is really about: your father's secrets."

"If you had anything it would have come out years ago."

Mr. White chuckled. "And if you actually believe that, I almost feel sorry for you."

"Just make sure you're on that bus."

"Don't suppose I could get a ride. My transports a little wanting."

Lex motioned for his driver to be called. He pulled out his laptop and began researching the name Dr. Teng.

He had more important things to do than play chauffeur.

At the Kent farm…

Clark tossed the basketball into the air for the fiftieth time. He allowed his mind to drift as it fell back down.

"Ugh!" Alicia stomped her foot. "I don't get it. Theoretically, this should work."

"Huh?"

Alicia gave Clark a pitying look and walked over. "Thinking about your dad again?"

"Yeah," Clark confessed. "And what Lana said. And who that crazy lady was this morning."

Alicia took hold of his hand and teleported them onto the couch in the loft. She positioned Clark so he was once again laying down with his head in her lap. She ran tender fingers through his hair and softly hummed.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

"Where were you?"

"No place important." Alicia used her free hand to swipe Clark's eyelids shut. "Breathe," Alicia commanded as she continued to pet him.

Clark concentrated on breathing. Eventually he was able to relax by the soothing touches. Allowing himself to be held by someone else had felt weird at first, but Alicia seemed to enjoy holding Clark as much as she enjoyed Clark holding her.

Clark didn't know how much time had passed, but eventually he opened his eyes again to see Alicia smiling down.

"Did I make you feel better?"

"Yeah." Clark sat up and kissed Alicia's cheek. "Thanks. You know, I got to meet your mom."

"Oh? You know, you and your mom should come over for dinner. I'm sure the two of you could use a home cooked meal."

"That would be great. Thanks."

"How about we go get ice cream?"

"Can't." Clark took hold of Alicia's hand. "I got extra-extra chores now that dad's in the hospital. Besides, I promised to help you with your experiment, and I wasn't doing a good job just now. What are you trying to do again?"

"I'm trying to catch something in midair by teleportation. See, theoretically I should be able to teleport midair, catch something, and then to another location on the ground. Maybe I just need a kiss for good luck."

Alicia leaned in close for a kiss. Clark put his finger to her lips to stop her.

"You don't get any more kisses until you try again."

"Mean!" Alicia pouted.

"Come on. Just one more try. I promise I'll help this time."

"But I want kisses now."

"One more try. Maybe you just need to take a step back. Just teleport into the air first without catching anything and then change direction."

"Where should I go?"

Clark supersped to the other side of the barn. "To me."

Alicia concentrated. She disappeared in the cloud of green mist. Her body appeared to float in the air by the barn's ceiling; then, just as quickly she disappeared again, showing up in front of Clark.

"I did it!"

Clark effortlessly lifted Alicia up by the waist to twirl her around. Alicia wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled their lips together for a kiss. Clark held Alicia in place with his hands, so they were at the same level.

The kiss lasted longer than they had in the past. When a decent enough time had passed, Clark began to pull away. Alicia's hands moved to hold his head in place as she pressed their lips together harder. Her hands grabbed fistfuls of his hair and pulled. Clark felt no pain, but he could tell the tugs would for a normal person.

Clark was stuck keeping his hands to hold Alicia up or she would drop to the ground. He let go with one hand as he moved the other around her waist to keep her in place. Alicia's legs wrapped around his torso. With his free hand, Clark tried to pry Alicia's fingers from his hair. This was a difficult part; knowing how much strength to use to get her off without hurting her.

Alicia broke the kiss as he managed to get one of her hands to let go. Clark gulped down some much needed air as she leaned over to the side of his face.

"Never. Deny me. Your lips. Again." Alicia purred into his ear. To emphasize the end of her sentence, she bit his earlobe.

Clark wordlessly lowered Alicia to the ground. She stood in front of him, smiling as if she hadn't said anything that could bear the slightest possibility of a threat. "So, when do you and your mom want to come over?"

"What was that?" Clark finally managed to say.

"What was what?"

"That..." Clark didn't know what to call her behavior. He had only known Alicia to be gentle. The kiss they just shared had not been the tender display of affection he had gotten used to.

A solid minute passed between them; neither saying a word.

"I'll see you later, sweetie."

Alicia disappeared, leaving Clark alone in the barn.

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Pete drove to the Kent farm. He was long overdue for a talk with his friend. Pete meant to talk with Clark during school, but it had been impossible to catch up between classes.

Clark was tinkering with a tractor in the field at the side of the driveway. Pete pulled over and made his way over.

"Hey, man." Pete waved.

Clark nodded an acknowledgement but kept his attention on the tractor.

"Look, I wanted to stop by and say how sorry I am to hear about your dad. Your dad's the strongest guy I know besides you. He's going to be fine."

To Pete's relief, Clark looked at him and gave a small smile. "Thanks, Pete."

"Hey, want to play some hoops? Get your mind off things?"

"Can't. I got to get this thing fixed."

"Well, if there's anything I can do…" Pete said as Clark began to lift the heavy machine onto a block.

Except the tractor didn't budge.

Pete watched in confusion as Clark desperately tried to lift the tractor. Clark clenched his teeth and grunted from the effort.

"Hey, come on. I've seen you lift generators before. No need to put on a show."

"I'm trying, Pete." Clark stepped away, gasping for air. In a fit of anger, Clark kicked the piece of farm equipment. To Pete's surprise, it didn't dent. "Not again!"

"You sick or something?"

"I don't know. One second I'm completely helpless." Clark knelt to lift with his knees, "The next…"

The tractor sprang high into the atmosphere.

"I'm in overdrive."

Pete and Clark stared in disbelief as they watched the tractor sail miles across the open fields.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

What is happening? Clark thought as he sped after the flying tractor.

To Clark's dismay, the tractor shattered as it hit the road. He left superspeed once he came across the remains. The tractor had flown all the way to the Smallville bus stop.

But Clark was not alone.

Standing by the bus sign was the drunk driver. He stared at the metal fragments, strewn across the road, open mouthed, flask overturned and brown liquid draining from the spout.

"Where'd you come from?" the man asked as he noticed Clark's sudden appearance.

Great. This is just what I needed.