Beyond Smallville: Fan Fiction

Zara slid behind the wheel as they headed out. "I guess some of the things I’ve done seem a bit wonkey to you as well." Zara quipped.

Marcus Worthington and Zara Rolfe." He said as Kara repeated the names into the phone.

"I assume you can prove that this thing belongs to you?" Kara fished. "Yes." Marc pulled out a remote control and a typewritten description of the S-31, showing them to Kara. "Seems legit." She assessed. "Follow me." Marc and Zara hesitated. "What?" Kara inquired.

"Uh…the device weighs quite a bit." Marc mentioned. They had brought a small high tech WorthingtonCo lifter with them. Zara headed for the back of the SUV. The lift was self-powered and had the unusual ability of using gravity to unload itself out of the truck.

Kara grew impatient, and without thinking, went into the barn, uncovered the S-31, and carried it easily back out to them. Zara had her back turned, but Marc’s jaw dropped. "Miss Kent, please be careful with that. It’s an expensive device." He added after his initial shock.

Marcus knew from the design specifications that the S-31 weighed nearly three hundred pounds. A young girl like Kara couldn’t weigh more than one hundred ten to one hundred twenty pounds. There was no way she should have been able to lift the S-31 let alone carry it to the SUV.

Marcus had read about the area surrounding Metropolis, and it had gained a reputation over the years of being the scene of many unusual or unexplained situations. Clearly there was more to this rural agricultural community than he’d realized. Why had LuthorCorp adamantly claimed the area for its personal experimentation? He wondered silently as Kara impatiently spun the S-31 in circles.

Kara hefted the S-31 onto her left shoulder like a beach ball. Marc’s eyes widened. "Let’s see that Bill of Goods again." Kara requested. He complied as she checked the company name and model number against the notations on the machine. "S-31, eh? What’s it do?" Kara handed him the paper.

"I’m afraid that’s classified, Miss Kent." Marc responded smoothly. "Let’s just say that it’s the next generation of photo reconnaissance." Zara turned from the SUV and gasped, nearly dropping the remote for the techno-lift. "My sainted father’s moustache!" She exclaimed.

Kara cocked her head, allowing her long golden locks to drape across her shoulder. She glanced at Zara with confusion. "May we have the S-31?" Marc asked in a level tone. "Oh! Sure!" Kara walked over to the SUV, sidestepped the techno-lift and placed the S-31 in the SUV carefully.

Zara gawked as the weight of the S-31 caused the SUV’s cargo area to lower slightly. Kara rubbed her hands together and smiled. "Is there like a reward or finder’s fee for it?" She quipped. Zara was about to protest, when Marcus waved her silent. "How much would you like?"

"A hundred bucks?" Kara chuckled. Marcus wrote out a check against WorthingtonCo for the money immediately, handing it to her. "Thank you." The young alien girl grinned. "Wow! I get to eat free all week!" She joked, asking. "One more question, how did the thing get on our property in the first place?" Marc shrugged. "It must’ve been a guidance system failure."

"Would you like to come in for coffee?" Kara invited politely. Marcus was very tempted to investigate the bubbly teen further, yet time was of the essence. Kent? He thought silently. Wasn’t one of the Daily Planet reporters he was to meet with named Kent?

"Uh, no thank you Miss Kent, what’re your relatives’ names again?" Marc pried. "My Aunt is Senator Martha Kent, and my cousin is named Clark, why?" Kara became suspicious. "Um…Marcus is just a wee bit nosy, Miss Kent. We really need to get going. Thanks for returning the S-31." Zara urged.

"No prob." Kara said cheerfully. "I hope it still works after being shut up in that musty old barn." Marcus thanked Kara again and he and Zara drove off towards Metropolis. "Marc, what the bloody hell have we gotten ourselves into, here?" She asked.

"I’m not sure, but we’ll have to keep investigating the Kents, Smallville, Metropolis, and what LuthorCorp has been up to around here."

Lois and Clark followed their guides into an open air courtyard within the Worthington Ranch compound. Mists sprayed down from above them, adding humidity to the parched desert air, and helped to cool the observers. Prairie dogs, roadrunners, and jackrabbits scampered away.

Above them was a type of greenish brown netting that allowed filtered sunlight through. Lois was reminded of the Army’s desert camouflage covers that she’d seen while touring Kuwait with her father, during the first Gulf War. The nets helped cool the area and kept a good portion of the dusty desert sand away from the equipment. Immediately, warning bells went off in Lois’s head.

"Stay sharp, Smallville." She warned. "This looks suspiciously like a military compound, albeit a fancy one." He nodded, quickly checking the area for Symone. She’d made a fast getaway, and Clark hoped that the AI Unit didn’t possess too many super powers.

"I am Moira." The darkest skinned hostess began, "And this is Riley McClellan." She introduced her co-hostess. "Worthington Ranch was built in the late 1940’s." Riley launched into her well rehearsed spiel. "This post WWII structure was originally designed as a bomb shelter."

"The Worthington family has been in America since the 1890’s." Moira contributed as they guided their guests below the stone archway, which served as the entrance marker to a gravely access walkway. "William and Julia Worthington emigrated to the U.S. from Great Britain in 1898."

"19 year old Julia was pregnant with her first child, whom they later named Cyrus, after the inventor, Cyrus McCormick. The Worthingtons lived in California’s Wild West until Julia died of natural causes in 1950. Her husband Will died a year later." Moira concluded.

"Cyrus took over the family business, mostly investments in new inventions, and ran it throughout the war years." Riley chipped in. "He met Helena Sturgard during WWII, and they married in 1951. Cyrus and Helena converted the bomb shelter into a ranch compound by 1948."

Lois was furiously taking notes to use as background for their story. "In 1952 the Worthingtons had a child, a miracle of sorts, because Helena was thought to be unable to bear children." Moira filled in as they advanced up the slight incline of the walkway.

Clark gulped, because he could immediately relate to what Helena and Cyrus had likely gone through. "They named their boy, Paul William. He took over the family’s quickly growing businesses in 1975. WorthingtonCo was now an international company. They experimented with the first multiprocessing super computers, which were roughly the size of a good living room."

Riley added to the background: "Right here, in Northern Arizona, Paul had discovered a new power source. They hadn’t named it yet. It was based on geothermal technology, yet had its own unique properties." Clark swallowed hard, unable to keep the fear and dread out of his mind.

"You mean like a hot spring beneath the desert?" Lois guessed, in full journalism mode. "Yes and no." Moira answered evasively as they led the reporters toward a garden of sorts. "In 1976, Paul married Victoria Swann, and in 1977, Marcus Steven was born." Clark nearly jumped.

Lois stared at him like he’d grown a third eye in the middle of his forehead. "What’s up, Smallville? You need to cut back on your caffeine intake." She quipped, as he ignored her. "Swann, as in Dr. Virgil Swann?" He gasped. Moira and Riley both nodded. "Yes, you knew Dr. Swann?"

"He’s passed on, you know, mon." Moira added. Clark frowned. "I met Dr. Swann briefly in New York." Lois folded her arms. This just gets better… She mentally grumbled. "You are indeed fortunate, Clark. Dr. Swann was a recluse. Very few people spoke to him in person near the end."

Riley silenced, as if weighing what next to say. "In 2002, Paul and Victoria were killed in a plane crash over the Andes Mountains." Moira continued her story. "At the ripe old age of 25, young Marcus became the sole heir to the Worthington legacy, an instant billionaire."

"Now why couldn’t that happen to me?" Lois quipped. "Lois, what would you do with all that money?" Clark teased. "I’m sure that I’d think of something." She countered. Riley and Moira led them past a large decorative fountain at the courtyard’s center.

"This fountain is an exact replica of one that sits in a Milan, Italy town square." Riley added. "The fountain is made from Italian porcelain, and each square was hand painted."

"Nice." Lois admired the seven foot high layered fountain rimmed on all sides by bizarre looking gargoyles which varied in style and height. The edge of the fountain pool furthest from them marked a pathway leading towards another archway. This one was decorated with Japanese symbols.

"The Japanese Garden is painstakingly maintained by a crew of four." Riley announced. "Follow me." They walked leisurely beneath the archway, and immediately the humidity hit them. "Whoa, bad hair day coming up." Lois remarked, as she trailed Clark and the guides.

The well manicured garden was fairly large, with a number of native Japanese plants, and fanciful decorations, including a full array of brightly colored lanterns. Again, Lois wondered how they could keep up the garden’s appearance in the middle of an arid desert.

"This structure depicts the eternal battle of good versus evil, the Yin and the Yang, of humanity." Moira pointed out the large sculpture, placed at eye level. Waterfalls gently rolled over the smooth rock outcropping, and filtered throughout the garden. "It’s beautiful!" Lois remarked.

They wound their way through the preliminary garden which led to a separate display a bit higher up. The pathway the guides took them on elevated slightly every so often. Lois glanced upward, and spied a large multicolored building atop the bluff’s ridge.

"I take it that the mini-castle up there is the Worthington main residence." Lois gestured to the mostly bluish gray stone building roughly eight stories above the desert floor. The visitor pathway led in a circular pattern around the bluff, finally ending at the main access road to the mansion.

"Yes, that is one of Mr. Worthington’s residences." Riley confirmed. "As you might expect, the Worthington family has several homes across the world." Lois nodded. "Uh huh." Clark had been silent for a long time, trying to determine how much Worthington may know about Dr. Swann.

He dreaded the idea that Virgil Swann could have told his sister about Veritas and The Traveler.

The next decorative garden featured a Persian theme. The ancient country now known as Iran, held much beauty beneath the militant, western hating, theocracy’s surface. Fanciful Persian carpets lined the entrance wall, and at the display’s center was a large black obelisk suspended about six feet above ground. The onyx sculpture bore no unusual markings, Clark observed.

Moira stopped along the circuitous path around the obelisk, waiting for the others to catch up. "This sculpture represents the soul of Mohammed, eternally suspended between heaven and Earth, never reaching Allah, but above all peoples." She explained. Lois nodded politely, but was growing restless.

Riley took the lead next, and they followed the walkway through the Persian garden, and around toward the back of the bluff. Lois noted a definite temperature difference. These gardens were heavily shaded at this time of day. The first display they came across had a Greek theme.

The elevation was slightly higher here, about two stories above the desert floor. Giant Cypress trees, Palm trees, and the more native cactus gardens lined the walkway. Again, the path circled around a moderately sized centerpiece, a model of the Parthenon, roughly eight feet high by ten feet long.

Riley pointed out the statuary. Representations of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, Artemis, the goddess of fertility and the hunt, Ares, the god of war, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love, were placed at the four corners of the garden. The six foot statues all faced the Parthenon centerpiece.

As impressive as all this was, it still didn’t get them any closer to meeting Marcus Worthington, Clark silently mused. Riley expanded on the Greek Garden concepts, and after a few moments, led them upward to the next display. Lois had pulled off her high heels, and carefully walked barefoot.

The next garden had a definitive Romanesque theme. It’s centerpiece, of course, was the famed Roman Colosseum. The eight by ten model had been painstakingly built, even showing the damage incurred by the various wars Rome fought, the society finally falling before Emperor Constantine.

It had similar statuary, Mars, the god of war, Venus, the goddess of love, with arms in this case, and Diana, goddess of the hunt and fertility. Clark examined the Diana statue closely. For some reason, he’d keyed on her above all else. Lois had given up walking, and sat beside the Venus statue.

Riley took the hint, and kept her explanations to a minimum, moving everyone along. Finally they entered the last two gardens, now a good five stories above the desert floor. The nearest was an Egyptian theme garden. Its centerpiece was a nine by seven replica of the Sphinx.

The Egyptian god statues lined the walkway as it twisted higher. Amun Ra the Sun God, Bastet, the Cat Goddess, Osiris, the jackal, and Isis the huntress, had all been beautifully hand painted. A six by eight replica of the Pyramid of Giza marked the way out, between the very tropical looking plants.

Lois sighed with impatience as she broke down and held Clark’s hand as they entered the final garden display. This one seemed unfinished, in Clark’s opinion. The decor seemed partially Roman, and partially Greek in theme. Hadn’t they just gone through all that? He wondered silently.

Riley and Moira stopped at the under construction garden’s center. "Okay, I don’t get the theme here." Lois tiredly commented. "We wouldn’t expect you to." Riley smiled. "This is Atlantis." Clark and Lois gasped. "Atlantis?" She echoed. Clark noted the mysterious sea creature replica to his left.

"Mr. Worthington firmly believes that he has, and will discover Atlantis." Moira said, purposely deepening her voice to sound mysterious. Lois immediately dismissed the idea, choosing instead to believe that Worthington was a bit eccentric. He could certainly afford to be. She thought cynically.

Clark wasn’t so sure. After all Arthur Curry, Aquaman, had to come from somewhere... Did Worthington find the lost continent of Atlantis, or was it just wishful thinking? He wondered. The Atlantis garden was the final walkthrough before they reached the bluff’s plateau.

"Here is Mr. Worthington’s residence." Riley pointed out. Lois replaced her shoes, briefly leaning on Clark. The guides led them up the last path towards the mansion entrance. "Uh...is there some place we can freshen up?" Lois asked, glancing at Clark.

Translation: We need to talk. Clark considered. "Certainly, Miss Lane." Riley said politely. In a matter of seconds, a new, younger woman showed up. Neither Clark nor Lois had seen where she came from. "This is Courtney Collins, of Employee Relations and Guest Facilities." Moira introduced them.

"It was nice meeting you both." Riley said as the guides left. Courtney was about their age, in her early twenties, and bore a slight resemblance to Kara. She had long blonde hair tucked neatly in a ponytail, and wore the same red halter top, flowered shirt, and beige cargo shorts that the others had on.

"Hello." Courtney greeted them with a typical bubbly smile. She produced two small packets of information for the visitors. Each included a map of the facility with red ‘x’s marked in areas that guests weren’t permitted to enter, an electronic pass key, and a CD Rom info disc.

"Thank you." Clark said courteously as he listened for Courtney’s heartbeat. Human, that’s a good start, he thought. "Listen, Miss Collins..." Lois began in an even tone. "We enjoyed the lengthy tour of the theme gardens, but to be honest, I think we’re being stonewalled here." Clark rolled his eyes.

Instead of a denial, Courtney admitted the truth. "Yes, well unfortunately Mr. Worthington and Miss Rolfe were called away on urgent business. They planned to be back before the interview, yet now they should be returning later tonight. I’m sorry for the inconvenience."

Courtney had a polished tone to her voice, that bred sincerity, Lois observed. Suddenly, Clark received a text message from Kara. The musical ring tone distracted Lois from her thoughts. "It’s from Kara." He explained. "What, was there a chicken coop raid?" She snapped and Clark ignored her barb.

Clark frowned as he read her story about the missing silver sphere. He texted back; ‘Worthington and Rolfe? R U sure?’ Kara confirmed his suspicions. The evidence against Worthington was piling up.  Clark reminded himself not to underestimate any opponent after the years of dealing with Lex.

"Anyway," Courtney continued. "The washrooms and lounge are just to the right of the central fountain in the domed foyer. Follow me please." Clark angrily snapped off his cell phone, and Lois made a mental note to ask him about it later. They trailed Courtney beneath another stone archway.

Lois gasped. "Smallville, will you look at this place?" Clark was doing just that. The domed ceiling Courtney spoke of was a representation of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, though smaller in scope and limited to the area specifically above the foyer.

Courtney dutifully led them to the washrooms and lounge. "Can I get you something from the bar?" She inquired. "Bar?" Lois’s eyes lit up. "You have a bar in here, too?"

"Actually, three of them." Courtney stated. "The nearest one is the Tiki Bar next to the Olympic sized swimming pool across from the Caribbean Room." Lois gawked, as Clark thought it was a good way to rid themselves of Courtney. "Sure. I’ll have an iced tea. Lois?"

"Um...how much is a Malibu Breeze?" Lois ventured warily. Courtney smiled. "All drinks are complimentary, up until a certain point." She qualified. "Great. I’ll have that." Lois said. "Anything to eat?" Courtney offered. "Is the food...?" Lois began before Courtney cut her off. "Complimentary."

"I take it Mr. Worthington won’t be joining us for supper?" Clark pressed. Suddenly, Courtney seemed distant, unresponsive. Clark heard a murmur, and focused his hearing on their young concierge. The hostess had a minuscule earpiece, about the size of a diamond studded earring, in one earlobe.

"Mr. Worthington is en route to base as we speak." The voice on the other end was saying. "He ought to be landing on the helicopter pad by 9:30 PM." Courtney returned her attention to them. "No, I’m afraid Mr. Worthington won’t be available until around 10 PM."

"Good enough." Lois remarked. "Can I get a club sandwich with extra mayo?" Courtney nodded. "And for you, Mr. Kent?" He nodded. "The same. Thank you." Their concierge left promptly. Lois and Clark exchanged glances. "For someone who doesn’t get a lot of visitors, Worthington’s got this place running like a well oiled machine." She commented. "What do you think, Smallville?"

"I think that there’s a lot more going on here, than an eccentric billionaire coming out of his shell to grant an interview." Clark sidestepped saying what he was already thinking: Worthington was likely mixed up with Veritas and the Traveler. He’d been the one that originally approached Perry White.

Out of all of the newspapers and interviewers in the world, why had Worthington picked the Daily Planet, and specifically Lois Lane? Clark wondered silently. "Okay what do we know about our wealthy, eccentric host?" Lois recapped. "WorthingtonCo, as far as we know, has kept it’s nose clean."

"WorthingtonCo won a slick, shared contract with WayneCo, and subcontracted out to Queen Industries." Lois recalled. "Worthington himself isn’t really running the business. He’s been jet setting across the globe with his main squeeze, Archaeologist Zara Rolfe."

"He’s looking for something." Clark’s eyes narrowed as he weighed how much to share with Lois. "We’re all looking for something..." Lois countered. "No, I mean Worthington is looking for something specific." He added. "Okay, I’ll bite. What would an eccentric billionaire want that he doesn’t already have? Or has access to get?" Lois frowned as she paced the length of the lounge.

"Chloe’s discs!" Clark snapped his fingers, causing a minor shockwave in the air.. "Huh? My errant cousin sent him two discs worth of info, to save her butt." Lois shrugged. "He might have been fascinated with the meteor freak stories. I mean you saw his weird art collection."

"Worthington could just be a bored billionaire with too much time on his hands." Lois offered. Clark washed his hands and happened to glance at the monogrammed towel. The Worthington logo! He observed. The company’s traditional blue and gold ‘WC’ was everywhere, including imprinted on the silver sphere that Kara had naively given back to its rightful owner.

"Worthington is testing advanced technology!" Clark told Lois excitedly. "Okay. What orifice did you pull that one out of, Smallville?" Lois was skeptical. "My guess is that WorthingtonCo is researching, developing, and testing new technology." Clark defended.

"I’ll buy that." Lois rubbed her thin chin. "WorthingtonCo wouldn’t be on top of the big bucks pyramid if they didn’t keep up with the industrial Joneses. Why is Worthington prowling around ancient ruins with his babe? That would seem to be the opposite of where the company is going."

Clark was afraid that he’d actually stumbled on the answer. The Wand of Fagan. He thought. It may very well be a piece of Kryptonian technology. All legends seem to have some basis in fact. Lois was staring at him. "Hello? Did your brainstorm dry up?" She taunted. "You know how I hate silences."

Courtney had returned with their supper. "I’m sorry Mr. Worthington wasn’t available at the expected time. I’ve been assured that he and Miss Rolfe will return before 10 PM." Lois thanked her for the food and drinks. "Miss Collins, how long have you worked for Mr. Worthington?"

The young journalist began her grilling. "About three years. I applied after a received an undergraduate degree in Human Resources from MIT." Courtney explained briefly. "Why does Mr. Worthington predominantly hire women?" Clark matched Lois’s interrogation tone.

"You’d have to ask him that." Courtney shrugged. "I’ve heard that he doesn’t view women the same way he does men. In Mr. Worthington’s mind, men create an undue level of competitiveness. At least that’s what I believe." Lois shook her head. "That doesn’t figure." She put down her sandwich.

"I find it hard to believe that a twenty-first century billionaire would harbor such an ancient prejudice towards women. I mean, I’m sure that some of the women at the top of Worthington’s food chain are more than capable of running his business." Lois added with an edge to her voice.

Here we go, Clark thought, rapidly changing the subject. "Do you know anything about Mr. Worthington’s unusual taste in art and garden decor? Especially that Atlantis garden, I mean really." He scoffed. Courtney would not be swayed. "Mr. Worthington believes that there’s more out there."

Lois jumped on Courtney’s cryptic remark. "More? Like what?" Courtney began to backpedal. "I don’t really know him that well. We’ve only spoken a few times since I’ve been hired. It seems to me that there is more out there. Mysteries, I guess. Each garden had a theme."

"Yes, we saw all of them." Lois said tiredly. Clark was mentally putting together a file on Mr. Worthington. Each garden’s theme was good versus evil, absolute power, meaning the power of the mythological gods, yet, how did that fit with his advanced technology?

If Clark were human, a chill would’ve run down his spine. The power of a god? He gulped loudly. "Hey, Smallville, take it easy on the sandwich, you’re going to choke yourself." Lois brought him back to reality. Courtney soon excused herself. "Feel free to wander around the mansion."

Lois nodded as she wiped her mouth. "You bet we will." She said with determination. Clark glanced at his sentimental watch, the one given to him by Jonathan Kent. They had roughly two hours to investigate. Lois would drag him down, however. He could’ve sped through the whole place in seconds.

He sighed in resignation. It was her story, after all. They walked into the main section of the mansion, past the Olympic sized swimming pool, Tiki Bar, and Caribbean Room. They were all pretty, and very detailed, but didn’t offer any additional insight into Mr. Worthington.

Several women passed them by, in various states of dress, or undress. Two young women were clad in bikinis, heading for the pool. Three more had common lab coats on, and cast the visitors a curious glance. A few had the ubiquitous flowered blouses, red or blue halter tops, and cargo shorts on.

"God, Clark, I feel like I’ve just been sent into some type of psycho sorority house." Lois complained as he smirked. "Now Lois, don’t let your imagination run away with you." They wandered into a room across from the pool with a definite Greek theme.

There were colorful frescoes depicting the Greek Mythos. Clark identified the image of Sisyphus who was condemned by Hades to spend eternity pushing a boulder uphill, the image of Atlas, with the circular world perched atop his back, and one of the battle of Troy. Trojan horse and all.

He wasn’t sure why, but the sculpture of the beautiful Helena with her two soldier lovers poised to strike each other down with their swords, reminded him of Lois. "Again, these are pretty, but they’re not helping to get to the meat of the story." Lois grumbled. Clark agreed. It was time for answers.

Lois and Clark continued on through the house, admiring paintings, sculptures, and gardens. Meanwhile, Zara and Marcus were on board the WorthingtonCo private jet. Marcus had checked over the S-31, and found no external damage. He was busily investigating Chloe’s informational DVDs.

Zara slept peacefully by his side on a comfortable plush couch. Marcus put on his reading glasses as he read the laptop screen’s accounts of Smallville’s meteor freak population. All instances that Chloe recorded had ended in the mutant human’s destruction, memory lapses, or being institutionalized.

"By all the gods, what the hell’s been going on there?" He muttered rhetorically. One name kept coming up. Clark Kent. Another was Lex Luthor. Marcus bristled at seeing the bald young billionaire’s countenance. Marcus firmly believed that there was much more to this story.

They approached his private landing strip about thirty miles from the Worthington Ranch Estate. Mr. Kent has been immediately rushed up my priority list, he thought. As is Kara Kent. Marcus closed the laptop and removed his reading glasses. He brushed back his short cropped black hair.

The billionaire checked on Zara, and then began to pace the length of the jet’s cabin. In a few moments, he would be face to face with a new puzzle. Marcus loved puzzles, even seemingly insurmountable ones. This puzzle had a name: Clark Kent.

link to chapter 7: Alliance