Beyond Smallville: Fan Fiction

Vixen

"So, on the record…" Lex pulled a hundred page document out of the desk drawer. The report was about Summer West Chemicals and its outstanding record of environmentalism. "This is what I'm promoting." Lois glanced at the document as it thumped atop the old wooden desk. "A puff piece about your new investment?" She sounded disappointed. "You can do better than that."

"Call it what you will." Lex deadpanned. "As I mentioned on the phone, you can sex it up as much as you want. I'll have my Public Relations people send you some statistics and photos." Lois sighed as she took the report bundle and stuffed it into her black and gold briefcase.

"You know Lois, being a cub reporter is not all glamour and glory. Most of the time is spent digging through boring documents and researching mundane facts." Lex offered with unusual sincerity. Could it be that the bald wonder is going soft? Lois thought silently. "Is that all?"She asked tiredly. Lex grinned thinly. "Hardly. Remember this is what's on the record…"

"If you'd like, I'll show you the off the record things." He tempted. Now we're talking. "That'd be nice." Lois returned smoothly. "Very well. Follow me." Lex got up and headed for the doorway. "Uh…the laptop and voice recorder stays here." He pointed out sarcastically. "What?" Lois was caught off guard. "I'm not stupid, Lois." He retorted.

"You're about to view very sensitive corporate information. You may be trustworthy…" He gave her a backhanded compliment. "But company spies are everywhere. This is a very lucrative business." Lois snorted. "Fine. I assume that this office will be locked? You may be trustworthy…" She sniped, using his words. "But this stuff is the property of the Daily Planet."

Lex smiled. "Of course, your security and safety is paramount." He said coldly. Lois rolled her big hazel eyes. He led her through the doorway and locked the room behind them. The security guard watched them with eagle eyes. Lois made a show of flipping through pages on her steno pad. "You don't mind if I take a few notes, do you?"

Lex frowned. "They are subject to my approval, of course." Lois nodded. "Understood." He whipped out an electronic access card and swiped it through the door's reader. The large gray door beeped and slid open. Lois warily followed Lex out into the plant.

At first she saw nothing unusual, a few workers in hardhats cleaning machines, a few forklift drivers toting pallets of supplies, and a couple of lab technician types in white coats. They made their way towards a rear exit.

Lois couldn't have guessed the rest. The next security door required an eyeball recognition device. Lex looked squarely into the miniature camera attached to the lock. A bit of overkill for a common chemical plant, Lois observed. "Lex Luthor." He announced loudly. The machine repeated his name. "Access granted." Lois followed him into a dimly lit corridor that sloped downward.

The phrase ' the road to hell is paved with good intentions' suddenly popped into Lois's head. A red light went off and sirens screeched as Lex and Lois froze in their tracks. He angrily turned towards her. "It seems that I underestimated you, Lois. That won't happen again." He said menacingly. "Huh?" She gave him her best 'innocent' expression.

"Your recording device…remove it immediately please." He threatened. "You do realize that I could send you home right now without any further information, don't you?" Lois grumbled. "I mean really, Lex, it's not as if you and I have a very trusting relationship." She defended.

"Turn around." Lex smirked as he faced front. Lois unstrapped the battery pack from below the waistband of her black skirt, and untaped the micrphone she'd hidden beneath her left breast. "Ouch!" She winced as the tape pulled up her skin. She handed the devices to Lex. He promptly stomped on the microphone, shattering it, and kicked the battery pack into a dark corner.

"Hey! You can't blame a girl for trying." She remarked. "On the contrary Lois, I'm impressed. Please step out of the corridor and return." Lex directed. She complied and this time the alarms were silent. "Shall we continue?" He urged and made a show of opening the next set of doors.

Lois gasped. All around her were hospital beds with patients in them. They were each hooked up to some monitoring devices. "You're running a hospice?" Lois joked. "Not quite." Lex gestured for her to proceed. "You see, Lois, these beings are not yet alive." Lois gawked, and grew angry.

"Cloning? You did this…whatever it is…to my friend Wes! You're trying to succeed where Hitler couldn't! Genetic Engineering! This is Level 33.1!" Lex groaned. "Level 33.1? What's that?"

Luthor Mansion

Lana soared over Smallville, making a beeline for the Luthor Mansion. She dove down through the rooftop skylight shattering it and sending shards of glass all over Lex's Great Room. Naturally, she was uninjured, as she landed deftly at the center of the oversized, paneled room.

"Where is Lex?" She growled at a nearby security guard, who was already on his cell phone. Using hyper speed, Lana zipped up to him, grabbing him by the throat with one hand. He dropped the phone in shock. "Mrs. Luthor? We'd heard that you were dead." He stalled.

"I am no longer Mrs. Luthor, and reports of my death were greatly exaggerated. Sadly, that fate awaits you if I don't receive the answers I want." Lana picked the guard up about a foot above the plush red carpeting. Lana began to crush his windpipe. "Where is Lex? I will not ask again."

"Mr. Luthor is at a facility on Ridge Road near the outskirts of Metropolis." The guard croaked. "Thank you. Your death will be quick and painless…or at least…not as painful."

Near Route 6

Clark and Chloe hopped into the red pick up, unaware of any danger. The young superhero was thoroughly pleased with himself. He enjoyed keeping Chloe in suspense. "Are you sure that you're okay Clark? You seem awfully flighty." Clark flashed her his farmboy smile. "Not a worry in the world, Chloe." She remained skeptical. "I appreciate this good attitude, Clark."

"It sure beats your usual angst filled dramatic expressions." She teased. "I'm sorry. I should be more concerned about your feelings." Clark added smoothly. "Especially after that whole Kara and Jimmy debacle." Chloe waved him off. "Par for the course, Clark. Ever since our freshman year at Smallville High, our lives seemed to be full of weirdness, angst, and depression."

Clark was about to comment when a familiar shape flew low above the pick up. "I believe we're being pulled over…" He joked. Chloe immediately searched the rearview mirror. "I don't see any police!" Kara dove down to the driver's side of the truck. "Kal! Kal! Something terrible has happened!" She yelled excitedly as Chloe nearly jumped out of her seat.

"I knew it was too good to last." Clark grumbled. Kara grabbed the underside of the truck and physically carried it back to the Kent Farm, explaining that she could fly faster than Clark could drive. "What if someone sees you?" Clark chastised his young cousin.

"Well, just think of all the gasoline you could save." Chloe quipped. "Remember, environmental cleanup good, global warming bad." Clark was not amused. Kara hurriedly put down the truck and waited for them to exit.

"Now what's the big emergency?" Clark grilled with some agitation. Kara flew up into the bedroom window, grabbed a bedsheet, wrapped it around Lana's tapestry, and brought it out to them. "This thing Lana bought in China is evil or something." Chloe and Clark exchanged glances.

Kara excitedly recounted her story, gesturing wildly. "What do you mean?" Chloe questioned. "Do you think that the tapestry is made from kryptonite fibers?" Kara began to feel weak, as she paled. She quickly tossed the souvenir across the corral and into the open barn. "I guess that answers that." Chloe commented. Clark mentally kicked himself for not paying closer attention.

"Which way did Lana go, Kara?" The alien teen put her hands on her hips. "I have no idea, Kal!" She sounded frustrated. "I was busy kissing the carpet after she decked me!" Chloe's eyes widened. "Lana hit you, and you felt it?"

 Kara nodded sheepishly, embarassed that she'd been bested by Kal's girlfriend. Suddenly she took a strong disliking to Lana, and mentally hoped that she'd never come back to the farm. "Lana's exhibiting super meteor freak powers." Chloe analyzed.

"Where would she go?" Clark frowned as the realization hit him. "Lex!" He and Chloe chorused. "Kara! Fly ahead to Lex's mansion and try and keep her busy!" He ordered. "Don't hurt her!" Kara blew a straggling blonde hair from her eyes. "Hurt her? What about me?" She whined. "Lana's obviously not herself." Clark added. "We'll take care of the tapestry later."

"Oh whatever, Kal!" Kara muttered. Chloe rubbed her throbbing temples. "That's all we need is 'my psycho best friend' bent on vengeance with Clark's powers and likely immune to Kryptonite! What a nightmare!" Clark agreed. "Talk about a woman scorned! I'll run over to the mansion. It will probably take the two of us to get her back here!" Chloe suddenly had an idea.

Ridge Facility

"Level 33.1 is so last year!" Lex added. "Though you're on the right track." Lex added. Lois was so shocked that she'd forgotten to write anything down. "Actually, I'm building an 'enhanced' army to one day face an alien invasion." He admitted. "You're either insane or a genius!" Lois said as she approached one bed. Lex chuckled. "Some, including my father, have said both." Lois stood in stunned silence.

"Ignoring the obvious moral dilemma, I'd say that we were ahead of our time. Stem cell research can only carry us so far." Lex shamelessly boasted. Lois finally found her voice. "This is illegal!" Lex shook his head. "As our Commander in Chief once said 'that depends on how you define illegal'. I report to a higher authority…" Lois slowly turned to face him. "Who?"

Lex clasped his hands behind his back. "The United States Government." He replied confidently. "Specifically, the so-called 'shadow government.' That's where the true authority is." Lois leaned against a railing. "Holy conspiracy theory!" She remarked. "Exactly." Lex smirked. "Actually, I was on my own until I received a recent visit from a representative of the Department of Homestead Security. Let's just say we arrived at a mutually beneficial agreement."

Lois sighed. "You're up to your elbows in this muck! Our own government, why am I not surprised? My dad, the General, always said the USG was into things that would make my hair curl!" Lex waved her closer. "Better our government, than someone else's, I always say." He replied.

"You can understand my shroud of secrecy, then?" Lex attempted to play the victim. "I don't need to join the Witness Protection Program, and simply be erased." Lois shrugged. "So much for my big story!" Lex folded his arms. "At least you know the truth." Lois placed her hands on her shapely hips. "A lot of good it does me. All I have to give Perry is a standard fluff piece."

"Well Lois, as I stated earlier, no glory and accolades here. Given your tenacity, I believe you'll go far in the Journalism business, though." Lex surprised her with a true compliment. "Can I get a closer look at one of the…uh…subjects?" Lois pushed. He considered that for a moment. There are many ways to win a war…he mused, knowing that he had Lois right where he wanted her.

"Okay, you can look but don't touch. I have one that you should find particularly amusing." He tempted, gesturing for her to follow. Lex led her to a medical bed with a clone resting peacefully beneath a red light. "Model one twenty three." He announced as he flipped on a brighter light.

Lois gasped. "Lex! You are sick! This looks just like Clark! Why? I thought you hated him!" Lex flipped the light back off. "I don't really hate Clark, Lois. I just can't stand his constant moralizing, when the entire future of the world is at stake. He would never permit…"

"How did you…?" Lois was cutoff by another screaming alarm. Lex turned away from her for a moment to reach for his cell phone. A dozen or so security guards rushed them from both directions as the stood on the catwalk between the clone beds.

"What is going on here?" Lex yelled. "Mr. Luthor, there's been a break in! We need to get you to safety!" The nearest guard shouted. Four burly guards ushered Lex down an access corridor. A few more half-dragged Lois in the opposite direction.

 "Hey now! Wait a minute! I'm a member of the press! She protested. At first, the guards ignored her pleas. A woman dressed in black shoved Lois into a darkened room. "It's for your protection, miss!" A man in a white labcoat said.

Another man clad in white dumped Lois into a small lab. He pressed a red button and a thick mist of emerald green smoke entered the room from a ceiling vent. She coughed. "What are you trying to do, gas me?" She shouted, suddenly in panic mode.

Lois got up a running start and launched herself at the door. It was flexible, and deflected her backward, and she landed underneath a green light. Lois choked for a few moments and fell to the floor. All went black.

Kent Farm

"Hey Clark! Kara! Wait!" She motioned them back into place. "We have to hurry, Chloe!" Clark urged. "How do you plan to stop Lana without killing her, or her killing one of you, to say nothing of Lex?" Clark shrugged. "I'm still working on it!" Chloe grinned.

"How about some blue kryptonite?" She said as Clark smiled. "You are a genius!" He kissed her on the forehead. "See, I told you Kara, humans can be quite resourceful." He turned back to a reddening Chloe.

"Can you get the blue K. out to the mansion before falling asleep?" Chloe nodded. "I'll have to. Maybe I should get a double espresso or something along the way." She quipped.

"Go! Try not to hurt her!" Clark yelled as Kara shook her head, allowing her long blonde locks to flap loosely in the wind, as she darted off flying. Clark hit his hyper speed, which was now back to normal. Chloe stood alone in the driveway eyeing the tapestry suspiciously.

"All of this is going to drive me nuts!" She mumbled as she hopped into Clark's truck, remembering to grab a shovel and an empty feedbag along the way.

The Mansion

Kara flew into the room through Lana's entrance. "Hey you! Put him down! I owe you one!" The alien teen challenged the goddess Yuan Ti. Lana dropped the guard and wheeled to face Kara.

"You don't learn your place very well, do you child?" Yuan Ti circled towards the teen. "Yeah, I guess not. My cousin says I have a problem with authority." Kara taunted as she positioned herself across from Lana. Yuan Ti charged Kara, as she attempted to grab her throat.

Kara's reflexes were faster, as she grasped Lana's wrist. This left one fist open though, and Lana landed a devastating right cross on Kara's chin, knocking her to the floor. Yuan Ti's hit was powerful enough to daze Kara, as she wrestled with Lana.

The super powered girls rolled along the floor, neither gaining the upper hand. Finally, Lana used her martial arts knowledge to flip Kara above her head, through the outer wall of the mansion, and out into the foliage in the front yard. This is when Clark showed up.

"Lana! Stop it!" He ordered. Yuan Ti's eyes glowed red. "Some consort you turned out to be! Betrayer!" She shouted. "I'll deal with you later." Lana vaulted into the sky. Clark tried to match her leap, but fell just short. Yuan Ti flew off towards Metropolis. He landed clumsily next to Kara, who was out cold. Chloe pulled up next, in Clark's truck with the blue kryptonite.

"What in the name of?" Chloe stepped out of the truck and gaped at the six-foot hole in Lex's mansion wall. "Oooh! Someone's going to be pissed!" She remarked. "If he lives long enough!" Clark commented.

 "Change of plans, Chlo'. Head out to Ridge Road, and look for Summer West Chemicals. That's where Lana and Lex will be." Apparently, he'd overheard their conversation.

"Uh oh!" Chloe sat back in the driver's seat as Clark picked up Kara, and tossed her over his shoulder. "What?" Clark stopped and stared. The last thing he needed was more bad news.

"Lois is out at the facility interviewing Lex." Chloe informed him. "It was supposed to be a harmless puff piece, that Lex handed Lois for the Planet." Clark grimaced. "Nothing is ever that simple with Lex."

Chloe nodded. "Tell me about it." Clark started feeling dizzy. "I have to go! See you there!" He added with disgust. "C'mon sleeping beauty!" He said as he sped into hyper speed. Here we go again, Chloe grumbled.

Melee

Lana landed next to the Summer West facility, and quickly tore through the outer walls, setting off all types of alarms. "What is that awful noise?" She shouted, covering her ears. Two of the first security guards on the scene drew their weapons. Lana simply used her mind to yank the AK-47's from the men's hands. They would never have stood a chance.

It so happened that Lex's guards led him right into Lana's view. "Hello lover!" She used hyper speed to knock the men from the security detail in all directions. "Lana! What the hell are you doing?" Lex yelled in disbelief. Yuan Ti grabbed Lex by the midsection and flipped him into a vending machine, shattering its plexiglass cover and sending snacks scattering across the room.

"You remind me of the Pharoah Ramatep…" Yuan Ti picked Lex up by his throat and tossed him over a lunchroom table and onto the ceramic tiled floor. "I tore his heart out for his betrayal." Lana hissed. "He lived for a few moments…just long enough to see his own heart stop beating." Lex was in tears. "Lana, I'm sorry…" He pleaded for his life.

Lana held Lex up with her left hand and began to dig her fingernails into his chest with her right. He screamed. Suddenly a black and silver streak hit Lana in the back and shoved her to the floor. Lex gasped as he tried to catch his breath. His chest pounded and eyes widened.

"Lois? Are you insane?" He managed to get out in between wheezes. "Lois? I'm Vixen!" She boasted as she flexed her muscles. Lois's normally hazel eyes glowed bright green. Lana was really ticked now! The evil goddess got up and was about to deck Lois, when the overzealous cub reporter turned all-star wrestler with meteor freak powers, kicked low and took Lana out at her knees.

Lois dropped down on Lana, pinning the smaller girl's shoulders to the floor. "Hey Ref?" She glanced at Lex. "Where's my ten count? That's a legal pin!" An infuriated Lana pushed Lois up and threw her out the hole in the wall using all her strength. Lois sailed into the parking lot.

Clark arrived just in time to drop Kara in the soft grass and catch Lois. "What are you…?" Lana cut Clark off by screaming madly and dashing into the parking lot. "Hi there handsome!" Lois flirted with Clark by rubbing his hair.

Lana whacked Clark with a blindside hit. Lois fell into the dirt and immediately popped back up snarling. "I saw him first, wench!" She yelled as Lana passed her.

Clark somersaulted backwards into a nearby ditch, reeling from Lana's impact. I have to be very careful here…he assessed. Not only do I not want to injure Lana, but I have to hide my powers from Lex and Lois. What I need is a distraction…Kara!

Lana was about to go back in after Lex, when Lois used her hyper speed to block her path. "Take this, bitch!" Lois delivered a textbook roundhouse kick that knocked Lana across the parking lot and into the side of a semi-trailer truck.

Clark gawked. "Lois?" The wannabee wrestler struck another pose. "I'm Vixen!" She corrected him loudly. Meanwhile, Clark bent over Kara and gently…but not too gently, slapped her in the face.

"What? Ma…I don't want to go to class today…" Kara protested groggily. "Kara! Wake up!" The young alien teen's big blue eyes began to focus. "Kal? Now what happened?"

Lana was out cold for the moment. Clark helped Kara to her feet. Lex would see them soon. They had to act quickly. "Kara, this will take split second timing." Clark began. "We have to gather the girls and take them out to that clearing in the forest preserve that I spotted on the way here."

He pointed and Kara used her Xray vision to locate it. "Got it!" Clark checked for Lex. "You take Lois and I'll grab Lana…" Kara smirked. "There's a shocker." She remarked. "First, I'll blast the two cameras at opposite ends of the building." Clark added. "So far all they've recorded is, us getting our butts kicked." He used his heat vision to melt the security cameras. "Go!"

Kara zipped into hyper flight, tackling Lois at the waist and transporting her to the clearing. Clark sped over to the still unconscious Lana, picked her up, and arrived at the rendezvous point a few seconds later. Lex jogged out through the hole in the wall with gun in hand.

He stared open-mouthed into the empty parking lot. He spied the still smoldering cameras, and the damaged semi-trailer. His head hurt, and his chest was bruised. What have I created? He mused.

 "Lex! We have to go now!" An excited female voice attracted his attention. Merci spun the black limo into the parking lot, causing it to skid in a one hundred and eighty degree angle. "The cops are on the way!" She popped the door open.

Lex clambered in just as a black sports car cut across the far edge of the property. He glimpsed it in the rear view mirror. In the meadow, Kara backed away from Lois. "Take it easy!" She argued. "You want a piece of me too, blondie?" She challenged as Kara snickered. Clark placed Lana carefully upon a thick bed of leaves.

Kara's hearing picked up an approaching car. She flew off to investigate. Thankfully, it was Chloe with the blue kryptonite. She again dove beneath the pick up and hauled it to the clearing. "I suppose I should be used to that by now." Chloe said as she yawned. Kara popped up as Clark watched Lois. "Uh…Vixen?" He attempted to be charming. "Can you help me out here?"

Chloe's eyes widened. "Vixen?" She repeated as Kara shrugged. "Sure baby, anything for you." Lois cooed as she sauntered up to Clark. "Baby?" Chloe echoed as she got out of the truck and grabbed a chunk of blue K. She handed it to Clark who quickly gave it to Lois. "This is for you."

Lois smiled brightly. "Oooh! Pretty! Is it a giant sapphire?" Kara and Clark zipped away as Lois's eyelids grew heavy. "Quite…a…work out…today." She yawned and crumpled towards the ground as Clark sped in to catch her, and placed her in the cab of the truck.

"One down…one to go." Clark said as he stretched leisurely. Lois peacefully snoozed with the blue K. in her lap. "It's a good thing I grabbed a triple Espresso along the way." Chloe began. "I broke the blue K. into smaller pieces with a shovel. We still don't know how powerful it is." Clark nodded. "Thanks, Chloe." Kara suddenly jumped up.

"Kal! Your girlfriend wants to talk to you!" She yelled. "What?" Clark turned as Lana came after him with a martial arts inspired flying kick, nearly taking his head off. Only Clark's super speedy alien reflexes allowed him to duck as Lana sailed over his head, landing softly behind him.

"Whoa!" Chloe was shocked as Kara quickly put Lana in a bear hug. Kara was face to face with her, using all the strength she could muster. "The blue K.!" Clark shouted as he zipped in to assist his young cousin. Kara and Clark sandwiched Lana as Chloe reached for the larger of the blue K. pieces. "This is so wrong in so many ways." Chloe quipped as the three of them struggled.

She shoved the blue K. in Lana's jacket pocket, pressing it against her friend's ribcage. Lana screamed. "Insolent fools! You'll pay for this!" She protested as her eyes flared red and then began to cool back to their natural color. Finally the tension in Lana's muscles subsided, and she fell limply into Clark's arms. Her breathing was ragged, but Lana was sound asleep.

Kara let out a sigh of relief. "Can we go home now, Kal?" Clark picked Lana up. "Chloe, can you handle Lois while Kara and I drag Lana back to the farm?" She checked on her elder cousin. "Yeah, Lois is sleeping like a baby, she shouldn't be a problem. There's one other thing…" Chloe said as Kara and Clark stopped in their tracks. Isn't there always? Clark thought sourly.

"I was on the phone with Oliver." Chloe began. "I kept him updated in case…you know, something went wrong. He says that the Ridge Facility is a cloning lab. He's targeted it for elimination."

 As if on cue, the back half of Summer West Chemicals exploded in a ball of flame.  "No!" Clark was horrified. "Don't worry Clark, I reminded Oliver to make sure the building was evacuated." Chloe tried to reassure him. "Sloppy! Very sloppy!" Clark snapped angrily.

"Who did he get to pull the job?" Chloe shrugged. "We have no idea how many people Oliver has…" Clark sighed. There was nothing he could do about it now, except hope for the best. "Whatever! Let's go!" He urged. "Kind of uptight, isn't he?" Kara asked as Chloe nodded.

A sleek black car sped away from the explosion. Clark saw it through the thicket, and heard the unusual sounding engine, but was too tired to pursue it. I suppose Oliver knows what he's doing. Clark rationalized. They headed back to the farm. Lois was snoring comfortably on the couch.

Clark, Lana, Kara, and Chloe found the dragon tapestry. Together, Clark and Kara used their heat vision to destroy the cursed souvenir. The tapestry burst into flames, and when they were sure that it had been incinerated, they went back in the house.

"I'm sorry about all of the trouble I caused." Lana apologized. "You didn't know that the tapestry had unusual powers." Clark tried to ease her embarrassment. "True, but I did enjoy the power trip." Lana admitted. "I just wanted to be like you." Clark and Lana held each other tight.

"At least we found another cloning facility and Oliver destroyed it." Chloe pointed out. "We could never have done it without Lois and Lana's help." A shadowy figure watched them through telescopic x-ray binoculars from the nearby brush. The darkness hid him from prying eyes.

After a moment he climbed into his stealthy black car and sped off. Kara thought she'd heard something, but shrugged it off. Lois had awakened. "Ow! My head!" She glanced around the room. "Why is it that every time I get involved with you people, I either end up in Smallville Medical, or with short term memory loss?" Lois whined. "What about my story?"

Chloe laughed. "Okay cuz, I have a story for you…"

end