Beyond Smallville: Fan Fiction

Traveler

Clark had been riding Kara about trying to fit in. He didn't want her to attract any unwarranted attention, but Kara was not Clark. The alien teen had talked her way into a part time job at the Talon. This put her directly in Lex Luthor's path. Kara had no idea what was about to happen. She quickly filled multiple coffee orders for the Talon customers.

Kara also couldn't resist judicious use of her super powers. Glancing around the room to make sure no one was watching, she sped through cleaning the counter, pouring the coffees, and restocking the pastry display. In walked Lex Luthor, wearing his usual black full length coat, blue dress shirt with open collar, and his designer shoes which cost more than Kara made in a week.

Lex stood out like a sore thumb. He seated himself near the window overlooking the bustling downtown Smallville area. Kara knew who he was of course, based on Clark and Chloe's warnings. She hoped that he'd forgotten all about her rescue. Kara's hopes were soon dashed. She had to wait on his table.

Kara learned quickly how to assimilate into the human culture. She flashed a bright toothy smile at him. "Can I help you, sir?" Lex was unaware of her at first, but soon recovered. "Yes thank you, can I have a double latte and a raspberry Danish please?" He glanced up at her and their eyes met. "Certainly, sir." Kara tried to politely escape, but it was too late.

"You!" Lex nearly shouted as he read her name tag. "Me what?" Kara nervously played it off. "You're the one who saved me." His eyes grew large. "Saved you from what?" She asked innocently. "That day at Reeves Dam. You're one of them!" Lex accused.

"Excuse me?" Kara feigned irritation. Lex forced himself to calm down. "Who are you?" Kara sighed and pointed to her name tag. "Kara Kent. I'll get your order, now." She hurried away before Lex continued. This exchange went largely unnoticed, with the exception of a couple seated nearby. They also didn't quite fit in with the common clientele of the Talon.

A tall, stocky man, with short cropped black hair, a squared jaw, green eyes, and wearing an expensive gray and black business suit faced Lex. He appeared to be in his early thirties. The guy observed the frantic discussion between Lex and Kara, but made it a point not to make eye contact with either of them. Opposite him was a younger attractive female.

She was muscularly built but still quite feminine in appearance. The lady had long flowing reddish blonde hair, clear sky blue eyes, high cheekbones, and a small face. She wore an elegant, off the shoulder black dress, which made every hayseed man, trucker, and working class teenage boy stare at her. They were obviously not from Smallville.

Fortunately, the locals had short attention spans and soon went back to contentedly munching on their snacks and downing coffee. Kara had no choice but to serve Lex. She returned promptly, hoping to speed the uncomfortable situation along. It was to no avail. Lex was now obsessed with young Kara. "Your order sir, is there anything else I can get you?"

"Yes. You're related to Clark Kent, aren't you?" Lex was over his initial shock by now and was into being catty. "Yes, Clark is my cousin. I just moved here from Minnesota." She declared, devoid of emotion. "Do you know who I am?" Lex began. "Should I?" Kara sniped.

"Yes. I'm Lex Luthor, the owner of this establishment." He tried to keep the anger out of his voice with limited success. "Really?" Kara extended a hand. "Pleased to meet you." She said, far too sweetly. "I've only just been hired. Thanks, by the way." Lex was stunned.

"You're not fooling anyone you know." Lex challenged in a low menacing tone. "I've been saved from a watery grave twice by people named Kent. I don't believe in coincidence." Kara gulped. "I'm afraid you have me confused with somebody else." She defended.

Lex was about to press the point, when the man at the nearby table gestured towards Kara. "Excuse me, miss? I don't mean to be a bother..." He began. Kara nodded to Lex. "I hope you find who you're looking for, Mr. Luthor." She spun on her heel and went to take the man's request.

"I'm afraid I've let my coffee sit too long. Can you heat it up again for me?" He asked as his lady friend smirked. Kara smiled brightly, relieved to be away from Lex. "Certainly, sir. Is there anything I can get for you, miss?" The lady smiled warmly. "No thanks, I'm good."

Kara reached for the man's coffee, bending over the table. He pretended to knock it over, but Kara's reflexes were too fast. She snapped up the coffee before it would've fallen. "Oh my!" The man exclaimed, "I'm so clumsy today." The woman fought back a snicker.

"No problem." Kara said calmly. "I'll be right back." She left to refill the coffee machine. Meanwhile, the female customer shook her long locks. "Smooth, Marcus, really smooth!" She folded her hands on the table. "You really think she's the one, mate?" The man casually glanced down. He put away a small gray device, about the size of a cell phone, in his suit coat pocket.

"We will find out shortly, Zara." The man replied, adding: "Did you see the speed of her reaction to the spilling cup?" Zara nodded. "Yes, but that alone proves bloody nothing." Marcus nodded. "We've had our suspicions for years. The government has many layers of secrets."

He added conspiratorially. "The Shadow Departments have known for decades..." Marcus was interrupted by Kara's return. "Here you go, sir." She stated pleasantly. "Will that be all?" Zara quickly sized up Kara, committing her features to memory. "Yes, thanks." He answered.

Kara ripped the check from her book and gave it to Marcus. "As you might have surmised, we're new around here." He casually struck up a conversation. "Marcus Worthington." The man held out a hand, and Kara carefully shook it. "This is my girlfriend, Zara Rolfe."

"Kara Kent." She nodded towards Zara. "Pleased to meet you. I'm actually new to the area as well." She held back a snicker. "Thank you, and have a good day." Kara said loud enough for Lex to hear.

Zara sneered. “You are a real piece of work, Marcus. She didn’t notice the microsized tracking device you attached to her blouse at all.” He returned a half-hearted smile. Zara simply shook her head.

“You know, mate, I’ve seen a lot of weird things in my life, yet I don’t ruddy believe that I’ve ever seen a space alien before.” Marcus folded his hands before him. “Now you have.” He stated casually.

“I still think you’re a bit wonkey, Marc. Are you sure that this type o’ thing is going on?” He gave her a barely perceptible nod. “Absolutely.” They get up, leaving Kara a substantial tip. Marcus pretends to spot Lex. “Lex Luthor.”

            Lex was in no mood for polite conversation. “Well hello! How are you?” Marcus began pleasantly.  Lex gazed up from his Danish. “I’m sorry, do I know you?” He forced himself to be civil. Zara flanks Lex, staring down at the young billionaire. He cast a glance her way.

            “Marcus Worthington, President and CEO of WorthingtonCo out of Chicago.” He introduced himself and gestured towards Zara. “Now you I know.” Lex added. “International Archaeology Weekly, correct?” She nodded confirmation. “Professor Zara Rolfe. Charmed, I’m sure.”

            Lex noted that Zara’s voice lacked a certain sincerity. “You’re the daughter of Professor Andre Rolfe.” He extended a hand to them. “Would you care to join me?” Marcus shook his head. “Regretably, we can’t stay. By the way, you know me from a recent bidding war for the new Space Station, that could be sponsored by a number of progressive thinking countries across the globe.”

            “Of course.” Lex stated coldly. “WorthingtonCo, WayneCo, and LuthorCorp were the three finalists for the lucrative international contracts. As I recall, you lost.” He threw in the dig. Marcus wouldn’t be swayed. “As did LuthorCorp. WayneCo hasn’t finalized all the details yet.”

            “Good. Maybe LuthorCorp can still come up with a piece of the action.” Lex said hopefully. “One never knows, does one?” Marcus’s eyes narrowed. Zara grinned evilly. “No, one doesn’t.” Lex was growing impatient. “Best of luck, Lex.” Marcus said cordially. “Zara, I guess we’re off.”

            “Nice meeting you, Mr. Luthor.” Zara took Marcus’s arm. “We’re off then. Good day.” Lex waved them away and began to scowl, as Kara had apparently disappeared. Zara and Marcus strolled out into the bright afternoon sunlight.

"Do you think Lex knows?" Zara prodded as she beeped the alarm on her late model Mercedes SUV. "He knows something, I assure you." Marcus replied. "The question is how much...and can we get to her first?"

"How does one approach a young space alien, Marc?" Zara questioned playfully. "Carefully my dear, very carefully." He smirked and opened the door for her. "Now let's see what we've got?" Marcus plugged in the flash drive to the SUV computer system, which was cleverly disguised as a GPS.

The computer assimilated the data and began to process it. Zara started up her truck and they drove off towards Metropolis. "As I suspected..." Marcus added. "Her vitals are all off as compared to a normal human female."

"Wow! The bone and muscle density far surpasses any known beings in our database." Marcus studied the readings. "Audio and visual senses are way off the charts." Zara gulped. "I'm not sure if I like where this is going, mate."

"Zara, I surmise that young Kara could easily toss our SUV across a road, travel to near the speed of light, hear us from miles away, and see us from miles above." Marcus shook her head. "You'd better not piss her off, then,ducky."

Zara said as the truth set in. "No question about that, love." Marcus agreed. "How would you get her out to Arizona?" Zara wondered aloud. "And should you?" Marcus placed the flash drive back in his jacket pocket.

"I'd try to catch our little butterfly with honey, not vinegar." Marcus said. "In any event, she wouldn't come out unless I asked her nicely and promised to keep her identity secret." Zara nodded. "You're taking an awful chance, Marc."

"True. In my estimation, the risk is worth it." The billionaire added. "We could learn so much from her, just by discussing the state of the world and it's future." Zara sighed and flipped on the auto tracking device that Marcus placed on Kara's blouse.

It beeped to life, showing Kara as a red dot back at the Talon. "You'd better hope that she doesn't locate the pin, Marc, or you'll likely be one dead beau." Zara warned. "You know me, honey, I believe in people's good nature." He joked.

Zara sped into Metropolis, where she was due to appear at a spectacular display of some ancient Egyptian artifacts at the Metropolis Museum of Natural History. She'd pulled some of the artifacts out of Egyptian pyramids herself.

"The Swann Institute has been tracking the possibilty of space aliens visiting Earth and living among us for decades, until Virgil Swann passed away a few years ago." Marcus informed her. "We will succeed where they've failed."

Zara grinned brightly. "Marc, I can't tell whether your daft or a genius!" She teased. "You haven't seen the body of evidence yet, my dear." Marcus countered. "Ah yes, the mysterious Area 51?" Zara prodded. "Hardly." He replied.

They crawled along in the heavy early morning traffic in downtown Metropolis. "Area 51 is archaic by WorthingtonCo standards." Marcus playfully boasted. "Oh, well Marc, nothing impresses a girl like traversing through levels and levels of research and development labs. It's on to Arizona, then?"

"Not just yet, love." Marcus said kindly. "We are going to introduce ourselves again to young Kara Kent and her family, if she has one." Zara's large eyes narrowed. "That's quite a bold move, Marc." 

“I understand.” Marcus continued. “We are nearly out of time. The Swanns, The Teagues, The Luthors, and The Queens have all tried to corral our traveler and failed.

 Dr. Swann never fully trusted the other members of his secret society, Veritas. That is how I came into possession of the artifact.” He explained.“The inexplicable seven faceted broach?” Zara guessed. “Exactly, love.” Marcus confirmed.

“When you unearthed it below the Aztec ruins right here in our backyard within Central Mexico, I knew that it was more than an unusual find.”“Our radiological studies have affirmed that the item emits far more white energy than a common piece of gaudy decorative jewelry.” He added.

“I was having a hard time matching it with any of my outfits.” Zara joked. “On you anything looks lovely or for that matter, nothing on you looks lovely.” Marcus flirted, cracking Zara up. “Shame on you, Marcus.” She playfully chided him following up with a passionate kiss.

The couple pulled into the Hotel Beaumond parking lot in downtown Metropolis. Naturally, Marcus had rented the most expensive suite, high atop the world renowned hotel.

They had a valet park their SUV and headed upstairs via the VIP entrance elevator. Marcus held the door for Zara as they entered the three bedroom penthouse.

Two young women were busily attaching Marc’s devices to the room’s limited electric outlets, and internet connectors.“Afternoon, boss.” A pleasant young woman with long straggly blonde hair, green eyes, and classic European facial features said. “Miss Rolfe.”

The second young woman glanced up from her laptop. She had shoulder length reddish brown hair, brown eyes, and a round face. “Afternoon, Tara, Charlene. Are we all set up?” Marc questioned, not anticipating any problems.

“Good to go, boss!” Tara replied. Charlene agreed. “We’re hooked up and secured, Level 29 encryption.” Tara nodded. “Great!” Marc said appreciatively. “Ladies, you are now welcome to hit the main Metropolis Shopping District.” He dismissed them politely.

Zara snickered as the two young women, most likely in their early twenties, hustled to gather their things. It’s like a bloody army, Zara silently praised. Everything’s planned down to the last flippin’ detail.

“Mr. W.?” Charlene began. “Elisa Spencer called from the ranch. She’d like you to call her back at your earliest convenience.”“Thank you Charlene.” Marc acknowledged.

He opened a box filled with credit cards. “Here’s your budget detail, and don’t forget to tip everyone substantially.” He directed, handing the girls their cards.

“Have a good trip home.” Tara said as she passed them. “Miss Rolfe, good luck with your seminar.” “Thank you Tara.” Zara said cordially. “Yes, we’ll see y’all back at WorthingtonCo.” Charlene said pleasantly as she exited the suite at Tara’s side, locking the doors as they left.

“Alone, at last.” Zara sighed as she kissed Marcus. “I’m hitting the shower.” She mentioned.“I’ll check on our little project.” He announced, inserting the high tech flash drive in the laptop computer port. The girls had painstakingly set up the laptop with the highest encryption.

“Ah, here she is.” He remarked as the laptop screen came up. “Our bird has flown away for the day.”Zara glanced over her boyfriend’s shoulder. The red dot had quickly moved from the Talon to a place some miles away.

 “Wow!” Marc exclaimed as Zara whistled.Kara had zipped twenty or more miles in no time. “That’s some fast bird!” She commented. “You don’t suppose…?” Marc and Zara exchanged glances. “She flew?” Zara gasped.

 “Marc, what’ve we got our bums into?” Marcus shook his head. “Curiouser and curiouser.” He commented. “Beats the hell out o’ the bloody local traffic jams.” Zara remarked. “I should say so.” Marcus agreed.

He studied Kara’s route and quickly triangulated her current position. “Outside of Smallville….likely a farm.” He added after double checking and confirming his analysis. "After your museum engagement, we'll return to young Kara's home."

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