Fanfiction for m_strangchild - Olympus Awaits, Chapter 4
Title: Olympus Awaits
Fanfiction for: m_strangchild
Three things you'd like in a fic: Porn! An ancient Rome AU where Clark is a gladiator. Hurt/Comfort
Three things you do NOT want in a fic: Lois, anything past season 8, anything where Clark and Chloe don't end up together
Banner art by iluvaqt
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
“Clark,” she whispered. She looked up at him, his eyes wide with concern as he bent over her.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “He didn’t…?”
“No, no; I’m fine.” He helped her to her feet, and they watched as the would-be rapist stomped towards them, his sword drawn and raised high above his head.
“That whore is mine!” he shouted. “And you will die for interfering, you fool!”
He swung the blade down hard, but the trajectory was cut short when Clark grabbed his approaching wrist in mid-swoop. The impact against Clark’s invulnerable grip caused the bones in the man’s forearm to crack with a sickening crunch. He fell to his knees, screaming in pain.
“That’s what you get for trying to force yourself on an unwilling woman,” Clark warned. “Now get back on your horse, leave this land and never come back. Unless you want your other limbs to suffer the same fate.”
“The king shall hear of this!” the man shrieked. “You dare raise a hand to me? Do you not know who I am?”
“I neither know, nor care,” Clark replied, completely disinterested.
“I am Ajax of Oileus, and you, foolish brute, shall pay for this in blood!”
“I know who you are!” Chloe cut in.
The man named Ajax smiled through his pain. “So you have heard of me?”
“Of course. Along with Ajax, son of Telemon, who is also known as Ajax the Greater. You are otherwise known as Ajax the Lesser, correct?” Chloe said, her whittling gaze focused squarely on his crotch. She smothered an obvious giggle. “No wonder you need to resort to rape to guarantee a woman’s company.”
Ajax’s face turned an ugly shade of mottled red. He roared and clenched his fists and took a step towards her, then stopped in his tracks as Clark put himself between them.
“If you value your life, leave now,” Clark said, his voice ominous with deadly calm. “I won’t say it again.”
Ajax’s left eye twitched in fury, but he backed down. He managed to climb back onto his horse with his one good arm, and after another scorching glance at them both, galloped away as fast as he could.
Clark held Chloe to him and rocked her gently. “I’m sorry. I should have been here sooner.”
“I told you, I’m fine.” She took a deep breath. “I just hope we haven’t made things difficult for our host.”
“It’s a miracle,” whispered an awed voice.
Startled, they both turned and saw Diomedes standing a few feet away from them.
“Um… how much did you see?” Clark asked warily.
“Ajax is one of the finest warriors of the land, yet you bested him with your bare hands,” he said, walking towards them. He stared at Clark in awe. “Never before have I seen such a display of speed and strength. You, young man, are a demigod.”
“Oh, no, definitely not…”
“So the prophecy is true after all,” he continued. “You are the one that will release the land from this tyrannical rule!”
Chloe frowned. “What prophecy?”
“That a son of Zeus will walk amongst us unknown,” he continued. “From a faraway land he will come, with insurmountable strength… I can’t remember it word for word, but I have it inscribed somewhere. If you accompany me to the homestead, I will show it to you.”
***
“The strength of Hercules, the wings of Hermes and the beauty of Apollo united in one soul,” Freya read aloud. “A son of Zeus will walk among you unnoticed, his valour insurmountable lest from an emerald drawn. In armour of lead, he will triumph. Your freedom will come from the sky. Olympus awaits you.”
She lowered the parchment and smiled. “And here we all thought these were the errant ramblings of a deranged mind.”
“Who gave this prophecy?” Chloe asked.
“Cassandra, daughter of Priam of Troy.”
“Oh my God,” she breathed. “Clark… this is huge!”
“I don’t think she’s talking about me,” Clark said, shifting uncomfortably.
“Come now, there’s no need to be modest,” Diomedes said, waving his hand dismissively. “Your display of strength was unlike any other, even with no weapon of your own. The work you’ve done on my farm amounts to the duties of ten men, and even then it would have taken them days - nay, weeks to complete. You are special, child. Do not run from the gifts the gods have given you. Speaking of gifts…”
He studied the parchment again and nodded. “There is a gift for the one who defeats twelve warriors before the king in his arena… a wristlet within which is nestled a yellow stone, said to bestow great powers upon whoever wins it.”
“You want me to fight twelve warriors?” Clark exclaimed.
“You are the only one who can, Clark. From what I saw today, they will be no match for you. And with the bracelet, your power will be beyond compare.”
“You say this bracelet has a yellow stone?” Chloe interrupted.
“Indeed. Imbued with great power.”
As Freya and Diomedes pored over the parchment, Chloe took Clark’s arm and steered him to a quiet corner.
“I think this could be our ticket back to the twenty-first century,” she whispered excitedly.
“How so?”
“You said the stone in the temple was purple, correct?”
He nodded. “Yeah… so…?”
“So, purple and yellow are on opposite sides of the colour wheel,” she explained. “Think about it, Clark. “Blue kryptonite strips your power; red kryptonite enhances it. Red and blue make purple. So whatever power we activated in that stone that brought us here…”
“…should be counteracted by the effects of the yellow stone, and will likely take us right back to where we started,” he finished, his eyes alight with hope. “Chloe, you’re a genius.”
She grinned. “And that’s why you love me.”
They walked back to where Diomedes was chatting excitedly with his wife, and Clark spoke.
“If what you say is true,” he began, “then how do I go about defeating these… warriors? How do I even meet them?”
“You must demand an audience with the king,” Diomedes replied. “State your intentions, and he will select the warriors. If you win, your victory will be talked about through all of Greence, and even secure freedom for Argos from these untenable taxes.”
Clark swallowed. “And if I lose?”
Diomedes shook his head. “You won’t lose.”
“Let’s say for argument’s sake that I do,” he said calmly. “What happens to me and Chloe?”
Diomedes swallowed. “The king will decide whether or not you will live as slaves, or fall in the arena,” he replied quietly. “But I have faith in you, Clark. You must have faith in yourself, lest you be defeated in your mind before you even set foot in the arena.”
“Fine. How do I find the king’s palace?”
“’Tis a good thing that my cart is now fully repaired,” the older man said with a smile. “I will take you there.”
***
Chapter 5…