Beyond Smallville: Fan Fiction

Revelation

Evolution Continues with a new revelation.

Clark replaced his shirt, but couldn’t fight the feeling that something had just gone terribly wrong. He slowly joined Lois and Marcus in the lounge. "Should we continue?" Marc asked. Clark nodded. "Yes, I’m fine. Thanks." Lois smirked as she watched Clark walk past her.

She saved her work and closed the laptop, putting the recorder in her purse. "Next up, we have some less dramatic, but important WorthingtonCo creations." Marc led them through another dimly lit corridor. Lois sidled up to Clark, holding his hand. He felt a slight power surge.

"I better hold onto you before you get lost." She joked. Confused as to Lois’s change in attitude, Clark chose to ignore her as much as possible. Marc held a small remote control in his hand, pointing it at a nearby wall. The lights came up a bit, as two large bay doors slid open with a hiss.

Marcus left them in the middle of the large room as he made his way to a mahogany wood workstation. He flipped open a drawer and pulled out a very large control device, roughly the size of a grown man’s shoe. He punched in a code, which Clark committed to memory in case of emergency.

"This is our most recently tested item." Marc pushed a red button and a silver sphere somewhat larger than a beach ball or a basketball whirred out of the shadows, startling Lois. The S31! Clark gasped. "This is a self-propelled recon camera that we created based on the Army’s stealth technology. It’s a type of drone, or Droid, we like to call it." Marc watched Clark’s reaction.

Lois examined it closely. "It has a three hundred sixty degree photographic ability, virtually unlimited memory capacity, films everything in digital, and obviously, it’s self propelled." Marcus explained. "It has the same fuel source as the XS56?" Lois questioned as Clark backed away.

She caught the movement out of the corner of her eye. "Don’t worry Smallville, it won’t bite you." She joked. "Actually, we’ve refined the fuel source exponentially since locating the raw material a few years ago." Marc replied. "You mean the meteor rocks?" Clark grilled. "Meteors?" Marc’s eyebrows rose.

"I suppose they could’ve come from outer space. We did find a number of elements within the material that were unidentifiable." Lois seized on that statement. "You’re using a fuel source with untested material?" She scoffed. "No, what I said was we found elements that were unidentified. We’ve since tested and retested the minerals, with no problems."

"None whatsoever?" Lois was skeptical. "No. Most of the identified and unusual elements are benign. There is a slightly elevated radiation level put out by the raw material. In theory, I suppose tons of the stuff could be hazardous to some life forms, possibly including humans."

"The risks are minimal, and I assure you the US Government has been looking over my shoulder every step of the way." Marcus continued. "We are in full compliance with the EPA, NSA, and OSHA. Generally, government regulation doesn’t really apply, because I haven’t publicly marketed any of the fuel cell secrets. WorthingtonCo owns the full mining rights to the raw material."

"Where is it mined from?" Clark pressed, beating Lois to the inquiry. "I can’t tell you exactly, but we have mines around the world, and all of those are compliant as well." Marc defended.

"Were there any mines near Metropolis?" Clark probed, causing Lois to wince. "I can tell you that WorthingtonCo has not mined any raw material in the Midwest at all."

Marc rubbed his square jaw. What is this guy getting at? He’s hiding something. The young billionaire thought. "Clark, your meteor theory isn’t holding any water." Lois chastised him.

"Again with the meteors?" Marc asked, "What meteors?" He skillfully kept the irritation out of his voice. Clark reddened. He and Lois had said too much. He sighed. Rookie reporter mistakes, he thought sourly. "In and around Smallville, our hometown, just outside of Metropolis, two devastating meteor showers took place in the last twenty years." Lois shared.

"Yes, I remember reading the stories." Marc slowed their walk considerably. "Some people were actually killed, correct?" Lois nodded, confirming what the sly Marcus already knew.
He pressed some buttons on the control, and the S31 moved backward, upward, and then landed softly on a platform.

"My parents were killed in 2002, in a plane crash." Marc informed them as the S31 shut down and darkened. Clark felt no ill effects from the power source.
"I’m sorry to hear that." Lois sympathized as the horrible memories of the smoldering holes in the formerly pristine Kansas cornfields she’d seen flooded back to her.

"Me too." Clark added, witnessing the faces of all those that had died directly or indirectly because of him in his mind’s eye. Marcus began to dredge up his own bad memories.

"My father, Paul, and mother, Victoria, were killed en route to a business meeting in Switzerland. The XS56 was merely a drawing on a piece of paper back then." Clark frowned. "Were their deaths an accident?" He fished.

Lois grimaced. "Clark, that’s none of our business!" Marcus brushed it off. "Don’t worry about it Miss Lane. It’s no big secret. Rumors abounded after my parents’ deaths. The official cause was listed as a plane crash. I don’t buy it, especially not in the light of new information that I’ve just received." Marcus added cryptically. "There was no way to prove any fault at the time."

"I was away at a university, partying at the time." Marc confessed. "I was immature. After I sat down and thought about it, there was no way that it could’ve been an accident. My father flew jets in Viet Nam, his private plane would have been absolutely up to maintenance specs."

"There was a small tropical storm over the Atlantic that day, near the flight route. Yet the jet would’ve been well equipped to handle any turbulence or even a loss of cabin pressure. It could’ve flown on one engine for a while as well. My father would’ve known if something was wrong."

"The plane went down near Bermuda. We recovered the wreckage, though the black box was never found. Rescuers found some…uh…body parts, enough to provide identification." Marcus choked out. "I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up." Clark apologized. "It’s okay." Marc sighed.

"You two are reporters. I should’ve expected that line of questioning. I’ve recounted the story several times over the last few years." Lois mouthed the words, ‘Nice one, Clark’ as she glanced at him with disdain. "Was anyone else killed in the crash?"

Lois’s eyes widened in disbelief that Clark wouldn’t let the subject go. On one hand she admired his tenacity, on the other, she wished that he would just be silent. "Yes, the pilot, Jason Jordan. He was lost at sea. We never found any remains." Marcus answered stoically.

Clark hesitated, looking Marcus in the eye. "Before you wonder…" Marc picked up on Clark’s thoughts. "JJ is what they used to call him. He served with my dad in the war. He’d been a family friend for years, and above reproach. Even so, dad gave him a thorough background check."

Lois placed her hands on her hips. "Satisfied, Smallville?" Clark nodded. "Backing off!" He sniped. "Thank you." Lois added sourly. "Um… Miss Lane?" A new female voice had shown up behind them. Where do these women keep coming from? Lois thought as she turned to face her.

"Hello Brittany." Marcus greeted the new arrival. "Mr. W." The pretty young blonde acknowledged her boss. "Miss Lane, would you be interested in a free spa treatment, while you’re here?" Brit asked pleasantly as Lois gaped. "Thank you, but…" Marcus smiled brightly.

"Before you answer, Miss Lane. We can go on tour later in the day." Clark was automatically suspicious. "You’ve seen the outdoors, and some of the mansion’s décor, and some of our major projects already." Marc coaxed. "The next section is very technical and a lot of the nuts and bolts of our research and development facility. Frankly, it makes my head spin."

"We can rendezvous back at the lobby in say…an hour, and I’ll show you the control center, the brains of our operation." Marc virtually handed Lois off to Brittany. "Please, enjoy. Clark, are you mechanically inclined? The next section may be interesting to you."

Lois and Clark exchanged glances. They’re splitting us up! Why? He silently wondered. "It’s up to you, Lois. It’s your story."

Superman was very curious. "Okay, provided that Clark takes good notes." She said, handing her steno pad to him. "All right." He reluctantly took it. "This way, Miss Lane." Brittany said and she was dressed in the ubiquitous flowered blouse, red halter-top, and Khaki cargo shorts.

"In one hour, in the lobby?" Lois double-checked. "Yes." Marc smiled as the girls left. Clark was nervous as he followed Marcus into the next room. At the center of the room was a pair of silver and black vehicles, roughly the size of a common compact automobile.

Yet, Clark noted that they had no wheels, and appeared to be defying gravity! "Wow! What are these?" He asked as his eyes lit up. Clark grabbed the camera. "Uh…may I photograph them?" Marcus shook his head. "I’m afraid not, Clark."

He placed the camera back in its case. "They’re top secret?" Marcus nodded. "Yes, Clark, you are looking at the very first, personal spaceships. They use the same raw material for fuel as the XS56." Clark reddened, as he hurriedly backed away from the craft. He hadn’t yet felt any ill effects.

"Relax, Clark." Marcus gestured for him to follow. Superman proceeded extremely slowly, moving in a circular pattern nearer to the ships. So far, so good he thought. "They’re not fueled up and ready to go for obvious reasons. The XS 12 and XS 13 are purely experimental."

"One day the ships will make routine trips to outer space and back. The world isn’t yet ready for them. Besides, they’re very expensive, as you might think." Marcus pressed a button on the side of the silver craft. The transparent bubble top opened similarly to a cockpit hatch on a jet fighter.

Clark cautiously glanced inside. The controls were seemingly simplistic, just switches, buttons, and lighted indicators. "The voice activated option would be available as well." Marcus stated as he put his hands behind his back. "I call them Sky Skiffs, for lack of a better term."

"They’re great." Clark said sincerely. Marcus took a deep breath before proceeding further. "Um, Clark…I was wondering…" He began nervously. Superman heard Marc’s heartbeat increase substantially. "Would you by any chance, be The Traveler?" He asked as Clark gasped.

"I’m afraid that I...uh... don’t know what you mean." Superman stuttered. "Clark, I know that you were in possession of my S31 earlier yesterday. I also know that your cousin Kara, lifted a three hundred pound device and placed it in our SUV like it was a beach ball." Marcus stated flatly.

Clark gulped. Now what? He stood there silently as Marcus proceeded along the wall to another file cabinet. "I’m sorry Clark, I shouldn’t have thrown that all at you. To be honest, I don’t have the slightest idea how to ask these demanding questions. Yet, I must have the answers."

"Look, Mr. Worthington...believe me when I say that you’re better off not knowing certain things." Clark said, utterly frustrated. "Clark, I’ll come clean with you. I know all about the strange events in and around Smallville. Your friend Chloe had a substantial data base devoted to ‘meteor freaks’ and the like." Marcus hesitated as he circled closer to Clark. "I hadn’t put it all together until just now."

Clark glanced at his feet. Should I call John Jonz, and see if he can wipe Worthington’s memory clean? He silently debated. If so, the young billionaire’s contribution to Earth’s future could be lost. "My mother, Victoria swore that my Uncle Virgil Swann was a bit eccentric." Marcus continued.

"I investigated the Veritas documents that she’d kept hidden from me all these years. After my cousin Patricia was murdered, I swore that her killer would not go unpunished. I suspect that Lex Luthor had her killed to silence her. Patty had sent me the final piece of information...the identity of The Traveler."

"She’d sent me the DVD record." Marcus paused for effect. "The name of Kal El." Clark reddened. Marcus had him. "Patty also said that The Traveler would find me, when the time was right." Marc folded his arms expectantly.

"Listen, regardless of anything, the story of Veritas and the Traveler has done nothing but bring evil, lies, deceit, and more deaths. That information is dangerous to everyone." Clark stated angrily. "Lex Luthor is not someone to be taken lightly." Marcus frowned. "You must not underestimate Luthor, Clark. I don’t. I plan on doing everything in my power to keep him away from his relentless lust for power."

Clark hadn’t expected that statement from the young billionaire. He sounded more and more like Oliver Queen. I have to test him. "What do you get out of stopping Luthor, Traveler or no Traveler?" Clark pressed. "I gain nothing, Clark. It’s my duty as a citizen of the United States, and of Earth, to keep Luthor’s power in check. It’s also your destiny to stop him. Power must remain in balance."

"Listen Clark, whether you join me in fighting him or not, I won’t relent. You see what I’m capable of?" He pointed to the twin Sky Skiffs. "All of these fancy toys will one day have a specific purpose...to help me defend America and the world against whatever comes our way. There is no gray area here."

"You have to choose your own path, Clark." Marcus concluded. "I have chosen mine."

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