Visiting Smallville: 12a/21
Leech
Lana stood a few feet away from Chloe, watching anxiously as the blonde stumbled over various pebbles and climbed up the small rock face. “Lana!” Chloe whined, her eyes darting across the rocks as she walked across, hoping she didn’t slip. “You persuaded me to come on the trip; can’t you climb the freaking rocks?”
Lana laughed slightly, gazing up at her friend. “You’re sounding like those Winchester’s you hang out with.”
Chloe grinned, the smile quickly fading as she stumbled slightly. “It’s geology, Lana.” she continued moaning, knowing Lana had stopped paying attention. “I know what the rocks look like. I don’t want to find them.”
“Didn’t Dean say he wanted a geode?”
Chloe snorted. “Dean? Wanting a rock?” She laughed. “No…Sam wanted one, but if he wants one that much I’ll just order him one from eBay.”
Lana rolled her eyes, watching as Chloe bent down and picked up a rock. “Do you think that’s okay?”
“It’s brown and green.” Chloe answered, stuffing it into her bag. “Pretty safe to say it’s a meteor rock.”
Lana smiled, glancing up as Clark Kent walked over, staring quickly up at Chloe before turning his gaze back to Lana. Chloe rolled her eyes, stepping gingerly off the solid rock and onto the wet dirt, surfing down slowly.
“Hey, Clark.” Lana smiled, blushing.
“Hey, Lana.” he replied, not even noticing Chloe had descended from the rock.
“When is this whole geological scavenger hunt thing over?” Chloe asked, annoyed.
“Not having much luck?” Pete had walked over, smirking at Chloe’s irritation.
Lana nodded, eyebrows furrowed. “Yeah, someone’s doing a little more ranting than digging.”
Chloe stared at her in shock, not mentioning how Lana had dragged her onto the trip, how Lana had watched her climb the slippery rock and how Lana had watched as Chloe searched intently for any sign of rocks.
Well, maybe not that intently - but at least Chloe had been searching.
“I’m sorry.” Chloe snapped. “But I find geology even more pointless than algebra. I mean, I could just order these rocks online and have them delivered vacuum-sealed.”
Clark laughed, but quietened suddenly when a basketball player, named Brent, turned to verbally attack the smaller Eric Summers - mousy-haired, thick round glasses, and son of the teacher. Apparently, he had been talking to Holly Connors, girlfriend to the popular basketball player, Brent. Brent grabbed Eric by the collar, pulling his face close as he hissed at him, pushing him into a rock then walking away with his girlfriend.
Eric sighed, pushing his glasses back up his nose. Chloe smiled at him when he caught her eye, then watched as the geology teacher - Mr Summers- pulled the boy aside.
“Get with the program, Eric!” he yelled, and Chloe winced at the teachers harsh tone.
“Dad…” muttered Eric.
“It’s Mr Summers at school.” He corrected robotically. “You have ten minutes to complete this assignment. You better find every rock.”
The teacher stalked off, and Eric hustled down, searching the ground for rocks. Chloe sighed, turning back to her group of friends.
“Ten minutes!” Lana squealed. “Chloe, we better hurry up!”
Chloe rolled her eyes, watching as Lana strode off, determined, before turning back to Pete.
“I’m so glad he’s not my dad.” Pete whispered, trying not catch the attention of either Eric or Mr Summers.
Chloe nodded in agreement, pushing Pete away as she turned to follow Lana.
*
Chloe frowned as thunder rumbled again, counting the seconds as she waited for the lightning flash.
“It’s getting closer.” she whispered to Pete, leaning over him to gaze out of the window at the gray sky. “Hope we get to see a lightning streak before we leave here.”
Pete nodded as Mr Summers climbed back along the bus, turning to face the students.
“Has anyone seen Eric?” he called, frowning. “Apparently, he’s got himself lost.”
There was some murmurs, and then Clark stood up, hand raised. “I’ll find him.”
*
“I’m home!” Chloe called through the house, bounding through into the living room.
“You seem happy.” Dean noted as she went to join Sam on the sofa. “Rock hunting fun?”
“No. I’m happy that it’s over!” Dean laughed, Chloe bending down to rummage through her bag. She straightened up, handing a geode to Sam. “I was going to give you a meteor rock, but I didn’t want to risk you getting infected and going psychotic.”
Sam smiled, taking the rock from her and examining it. She then withdrew a meteor rock from the bag and Sam furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “And the meteor rock’s for…?”
“Dean.” she answered quickly, pressing it into his hands.
“What, so you’re fine if I turn into a psychotic maniac with…I don’t know…super-strength?” Dean asked, chucking the meteor from hand to hand.
“I figured you’d be safe as you would probably just turn into a giant car.” Chloe answered, leaning into Sam.
Dean frowned as Sam chuckled, placing the geode on the side table and wrapping an arm round Chloe. “Anything else happen?”
“Clark got ill.” she said, looking down as if upset. “He went to help Eric out and…”
“Who’s Eric?” Dean interrupted. “Is it that jock guy?”
“No, that’s Whitney.” Chloe corrected him. “Eric’s the teacher’s son.” Dean winced. “Anyway… when Clark came back, he was all pale and shaky.”
“Clark Kent?” Dean asked, staring at her. “Ill?”
“Yeah.” Chloe answered, looking at Dean as if he had just asked her a really strange question. “He hasn’t got ill before but he doesn’t exactly have skin like steel.”
“You’d think that wouldn’t you?” Dean muttered, but Chloe didn’t hear him. Sam did, nodding slightly at what his brother had said.
“I mean, I’m sure a virus can find its way past Clark’s immune system.”
*
Chloe slid out the back of the Impala, glancing at her watch and cursing. Dean sniggered and she turned to glare.
“It’s your fault.” She hissed. “You turned my alarm clock off.”
Dean laughed harder, not noticing when Chloe gasped.
“Clark?” she asked.
The young man turned, just before entering the school. “Chloe?”
“You’re late?” she asked, oblivious to how Dean and Sam stared at the boy in shock. “Clark Kent? Late?”
He laughed, but he seemed nervous. “What, can’t I sleep in once in a while? I’m just not as fast as usual today.”
Chloe grinned. “I’m just shocked Clark, no need to get so defensive.”
He relaxed. “Coming then?”
She grinned. “Of course.”
She linked her arm round Clark’s, waving at Sam and Dean as he led her into the school.
*
Chloe unlocked the door, dumping her bag by the door and striding through into the living room. Dean and Sam were hunched over their dad’s leather journal, Sam writing something in it.
“Hey.” She said, smiling and they glanced up. Sam smiled in greeting but Dean closed the book, putting it into the duffle bag at his feet. “What you doing?”
“Nothing.” Dean answered quickly.
Chloe frowned at him. Sam slid away from his brother, allowing Chloe to sit in between them. “You smell so much better than Clark.” She said suddenly, leaning towards Sam. He gazed at her questioningly. “He stank today after a short run...I’ve never seen anyone sweat so much.”
Both the brothers looked like they really didn’t want to hear that. “Is that strange?” Sam asked.
“For Clark, yes. Normally, he could play four games of Basketball in a row without even breaking a sweat.” She grinned. “It was like he swapped places with Eric.”
Now Dean looked interesting. “The guy Clark saved?”
“Yeah. Now, he’s normally out of breath after 100 meter sprint, but today he seemed...well, like Clark.” Dean furrowed his eyebrows, turning away. Chloe noticed, frowning. “What?”
Dean didn’t answer.
*
“What are you writing?” Sam asked, leaning over Chloe’s shoulder to look at her laptop. She turned, smiling. “Another interesting article for the Torch?”
She grinned. “It was for the Torch - but it’s not exactly interesting.”
“What is it?”
“The Talon’s up for sale.” She said, sounding bored. “Sad to say, it’s the most interesting thing this week.”
“The Talon?” Sam wondered. “I’ve seen the sign but I don’t know what it is.”
Dean strode in. “An old bar? Strip Club?”
Chloe stared at him and rolled her eyes, as Dean smirked lecherously. “Dean, maybe the Wild Coyote’s more your sort of place?”
Dean looked at her. “Oh, really, where is it?”
“Don’t encourage him...” Sam whispered into her ear and she shivered, shaking her head slightly.
She nodded. “The Talon’s an old cinema. I suppose it was nice in the black-and-white era.”
Dean watched them, rolling his eyes and leaving the room to look up this ‘Wild Coyote’ bar.
Sam sat next to Chloe, looking at the article. She glanced up at him, smiling. “If it gets bought and redone, will you take me?”
Sam swallowed, staring down at Chloe. “Who...who owns it now?”
Chloe blinked, looking away. “Oh...um...Lana’s aunt.”
“Her aunt?” Sam asked, sliding away from Chloe as she turned to look back at the screen. “What about Lana’s parents?”
“They’re dead.” Chloe answered easily. “They were killed by a well-aimed meteor.” Sam winced. She look at him and grinned, leaning close to Sam. “Did you know she wears a fragment of that meteor on her necklace?”
Sam wasn’t sure how he was supposed to react to that.
*
They looked up at the large Talon sign, Chloe peering through the boarded windows.
“Do you think we could get in if we said we were friends of Lana’s?” Chloe asked, glancing back at the three boys.
“Doubt it.” Replied Pete, going over to join her. “And can’t you hold your own laptop?”
Chloe rolled her eyes, but snatched it out of Pete’s hand and tucking under her arm. “Fine...” She strode away from the Talon, walking down the street with Pete and the brothers to her left. “I bet we wouldn’t have been banned from entering if Clark was here but apparently, Clark is still doing his chores and that’s why he blew us off.”
Pete frowned. “He’s been acting weird lately.”
Dean and Sam turned to Pete with interest, hoping to hear what was up with Clark Kent. “Well, okay, Clark Kent’s always weird.” Chloe said, grinning. “Why don’t you give me a gauge?”
“He was so tired in maths yesterday, he face-planted on the desk.”
Chloe laughed. “I have two words for you...power bar.”
They continued walking, glancing in the shop windows that lined Main Street. As they peered in the florist’s windows, Chloe felt a tugging on her arm. She turned, yelling as a man grabbed her bag. The three men turned to see what was happening, eyes widening as Chloe whacked the man over his head. He pulled away, bag still held in his hands as he ran down the street.
“Give me my laptop!” she yelled, starting to run after the thief, Sam already far ahead of her.
They stopped.
Eric Summers had appeared in front of the man, a fierce glare on his face. “Give it back.” He snarled.
“Get out of the way kid!” the thief yelled back, pulling a knife out of his pocket.
Chloe gasped, as the thief thrust the knife towards Eric. He raised his hand to shield his face, and the knife shattered against his hand. Eric glanced at his hand in shock , before grabbing the bag and throwing the man across the street.
Chloe’s eyes were wide when Dean and Pete caught up with her. “Did you see that?” she whispered.
“Yeah.” Breathed Pete. “Unbelievable.”
Chloe ran forward, standing next to Sam and gaping at Eric in astonishment.
“Thank you.” Chloe said, sounding awed when Eric turned to her. “That was amazing!”
Eric smiled, still slightly shocked. “Anytime.”
He walked away and Chloe watched, turning back to stare at the brothers, laptop clenched tightly in her hand. “Did you see that?”
Dean nodded, frowning as he glanced at the unconscious body of the thief.
*
“Oh my god!” cried Chloe, running in from the kitchen and grinning at the brothers. They glanced up, wondering what could have got her so excited. “The Smallville Ledger heard that he stole my laptop and they want me to write the article.”
Sam grinned. “That’s amazing.”
“I mean, I’m going to have to check my original article all over again...” she grimaced, running out and quickly returning with her laptop. “I mean, its fine for the Torch...but this is in a newspaper!”
“It’s not the Daily Planet, Chloe.” Dean said, his eyebrows raised.
“I know,” she said. “But it’s a step up.”
She scanned through the article, before passing the laptop over to Sam.
“Check it, will you?” she asked. “You went to Stanford.”
Sam rolled his eyes, but settled back into the sofa, reading the article.
“So what?” Dean asked suddenly. “Eric developed powers over night and Clark became a weirdo?”
“Eric developed powers overnight.” Chloe confirmed. “But what does Clark have to do with it?”
“It’s surprising how oblivious you are.” Dean muttered and she frowned. “Did Clark ever seem anything like Eric?”
“What are you suggesting?” Chloe asked, laughing. “Clark Kent, a super boy who had his powers stolen by Eric Summers?”
Dean raised an eyebrow at the suggestion. “Anything’s possible in Smallville, Chloe.”
“I think I’d have known if Clark had powers.” She laughed, standing up. “Night, Sam.”
He looked up from the article, not having heard the conversation. “Huh? Night.”
She smiled, leaving the room. Dean laughed as Sam watched her walk away.
Next Part