Here you go with Part 20. I know it's taking me ages, lately. I'm sorry.
Special thanks to LaraMoon for beta-reading
From Part 19
*Don’t discourage yourself!* Clark admonished himself silently before he went over to Becca again. She was standing close to the ladder and clutched her arms around her body to keep warm. Clark tried to use his heat vision on her, but it was futile. *Not good,* a hopeless voice in the back of his mind stated, but Clark did his best to calm it down.
Part 20
“Becky, honey, please go over to that bed,” he said and flashed the light in its direction to show her the way. Her face was so pale, contrasting with her red eyes that were swollen from crying. His heart ached as he saw her so defeated. Nobody should be trapped in a shelter and most definitely not a child her age. A rush of helpless anger filled him. He was angry with these men who were ruthless enough to capture a child and leave her in the darkness. And he was angry with himself for having put her in danger in the first place. He should have known; he should have been wiser.
Clark followed Becca to the bed and sat down beside her. He bent over to blow a soft kiss in her hair and embraced her. Becca wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against him. She had stopped crying, maybe because all her tears had already been used and there was nothing left to show her fear but the constant tremor of her muscles. It could also be the cold air, but Clark considered her fear as the more likely cause.
“I’m so sorry, honey,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.” He didn’t know how to apologize properly. How could he expect anyone to feel safe in such a situation, let alone a little girl?
“It’s not your fault,” she replied softly, her words muffled as she pressed her face against him.
“Becca, I will try to get us out of here. I can’t promise you that it will work, though. I need to be honest with you: I’m pretty weak right now. These men had something that can take away my powers. They will return but that might take a while. But I will do my best to get us out of here now. I need you to stay here and hold the light. Don’t go over to the ladder, I want to know you’re safe.” Clark explained and awaited her nod before he handed her the flashlight. “Everything is going to be all right, pumpkin.”
“Be careful, daddy.” Becca pleaded and pressed herself against him. “I need you.”
“And I need you, honey,” he replied. “I’ll be right back.”
Clark kissed Becca on the cheek and tousled her hair softly before he and got up. He went over to the ladder and climbed it. In Becca’s trembling hands, the cone of light that was emitted by the flashlight wandered restlessly up and down, one moment lighting Clark’s way and leaving it again a moment later.
“Becky, try to hold it a little steadier, please.” Clark asked and in response he saw a little more of the ladder as he climbed it. Beads of sweat were streaming down his face as his task proved to be more of an effort than he had first assumed. *Not good,* the pessimistic voice in his mind repeated, this time louder and not as easy to fight back. He needed to feel capable of this, if anything. If he was loosing hope right away this would lead him nowhere but back to the bed without having managed to do anything.
He approached the massive skylight that seemed threatening enough in his weakened state. Clark steadied himself on the ladder, trying to stand there as safely as possible before he lifted one arm to press it against the door. He pressed against it with all his force, but it didn’t move even a fraction of an inch. He took his second arm to be able to use more pressure, but the skylight remained stubbornly in place. Clark panted at the effort and even more sweat was running down his face and back. His shirt felt clammy under the jacket and he could really be grateful that it was only chilly and not windy in this shelter.
Clark groaned heavily as the door still refused to move. His muscles protested painfully, still sore from his encounter with the mysterious green glowing stone. What was left of his strength was seeping out of him, leaving him exhausted and gasping for air. His mind was swimming and black dots were appearing in front of his eyes, warning him that he would faint if he didn’t stop his fruitless efforts soon. He pushed against the door one last time with all his force, but finally had to give in. He would only end up crashing on the ground after losing his balance. With a broken neck he wouldn’t be very useful to Becca. As much as it pained him they would have to wait until he was stronger. Clark bit back a curse and climbed down the ladder, feeling somewhat relieved as his feet touched the solid ground.
He went over to her again, limping on his weak legs and sadly shook his head.
“I’m not strong enough, pumpkin,” he muttered and sank down on the bed.
His clothing was wet and he could tell that Becca’s wasn’t any drier. She had to get out of them, before she caught pneumonia. And he had better do the same. Since his powers and invulnerability were all gone, he probably would be in danger of getting sick as well. By no means was this something he was willing to try.
Becca only stared at him, her expression disappointed at his admission. He seriously couldn’t blame her for it. Just like him she had hoped that their being trapped was nothing but a short unpleasant episode in their lives. Now that this hope was shattered, her heart sank to unknown depths. He could very well understand her. But before he tried to cheer her up again, he had to keep her warm.
Clark got up once more and went over to the chest he had seen previously. He hoped that his guess had been right and there were nice and dry blankets in it, preferably a couple of them.
He was lucky for the Shuster’s were very careful and tidy people. They had several blankets stored in their shelter, though the tornado season wasn’t actually in winter. But Mrs. Shuster had obviously been afraid that one of her loved ones might feel uncomfortable and had done her best to avoid that. Clark had hardly ever felt something so fluffy and warm. Not that his mother wasn’t very protective of her family, but Mrs. Shuster had certainly her own ideas about perfection.
For now, he was rather happy about this character trait, though at other times it had given him a hard time. It had never been possible to step into the Shuster’s farmhouse without receiving a raised eyebrow from Mrs. Shuster, the worst punishment she was capable of. No matter how hard he had tried to clean his shoes at the front door, no matter how early he had taken them off, it had never sufficed to keep the floor of her kitchen as tidy as it was before he had come into their house. Mrs. Shuster’s raised eyebrows had been dreaded amongst the children of Smallville. Lily had been a master at imitating her, making them all laugh and shudder at the sight of it.
Clark sighed as he was suddenly reminded of Lily. He had disappointed her; he hadn’t been able to keep Becca safe like he had promised her, like he had promised himself on that horrible night. When he hadn’t been able to rescue Lily, he had vowed that he would never allow anyone to harm his little girl. And yet he hadn’t been able to keep her out of the hands of madmen. Clark swallowed down his pain and the tears that were threatening to come. He needed to be strong for Becca, if this was all he could do.
“We need to stay here, don’t we, Daddy?” Becca asked and he could hear the lump of fear in her throat.
“Yes, pumpkin. I’m afraid this is all we can do for now. We need to stay warm. Get out of your wet clothes, dear,” he said softly. “I’ve found some warm blankets. They will help us.”
Becca nodded obediently and took off her jacket and trousers. Clark followed her example and soon they both stood there in t-shirt and underwear. They quickly slipped underneath the thick warm blankets, both shivering until their body heat had warmed the blanket. Becca was sitting on Clark’s lap, leaning against him. He wrapped his arms around her.
“Are you warm enough, Becca?” Clark asked. “This might take some time, and I want you to tell me if you get cold. This is not the time for heroism.”
“Don’t be afraid, Daddy. I’m not a heroine,” Becca whispered and looked at him. “My feet are cold.”
“I’ll rub them warm.” Clark offered and gently kneaded her feet with his fingers until they felt warmer.
“You’re pretty warm, Dad.” Becca remarked and pressed herself more firmly against him.
“I guess I’m running a fever,” Clark admitted. Like he had said, this was no time for heroism. Not on his part or on Becca’s. He needed to be honest with her, someone she could model herself on. Clark was pretty sure that it wasn’t cold enough down here that they were really facing the possibility of freezing to death. He was bruised and Becca knew it. He needed her to trust him if they were supposed to go through this together. He had deliberately violated her trust in him earlier this day. Truth was an important part in their relationship. “I don’t feel so good right now. But I’m sure it will be better soon.”
“What did they do to you?” Becca asked, and gently caressed the back of his hand to soothe him. Clark smiled at her comforting gesture, feeling that everything between them was going to return to normal again.
“I’m not sure, Becca. I always thought that there was nothing that could injure me. But that isn’t true, obviously. These men had some sort of stone. It is green and when I came near it, my power vanished and I became vulnerable.” There was no need to tell her about the searing pain that he felt. He could tell that he had already worried her. Becca wasn’t used to a father who had to be careful with knifes and who couldn’t protect her from villains. “Did you feel any different, Becky, when the men were near us?”
“I was afraid,” Becca replied. “I am still afraid.”
Clark breathed a sigh of relief. Fear was bad enough, but he didn’t want to see his little girl in pain. Clark didn’t know what he what he was going to do if anyone ever hurt her. He was probably going to kill them, even if he didn’t mean to. But so far she looked rather unharmed, at least considering their situation. As much as he would have liked to help her, this wasn’t possible for the moment. He had to regain his strength and then he would get them both out of here. If he tried to soon, he would only spend his strength in a useless effort. That wouldn’t help them in any way and only serve to keep them stranded in this shelter even longer.
“We are safe for now, Becca,” Clark reassured her. “We only need to wait a little while. I guess, we have more time to discuss things than I planned,” he stated wryly.
“Do you really love Lois?” Becca asked, trying to distract herself from the darkness around her. “And how do you know she loves you too. That’s important, isn’t it?”
She had her eyes closed, not willing to open them before her daddy told her that he was all right again and would bring her away from this terrible place. She didn’t want to see the shape of the ladder her daddy had climbed earlier only to realize that he couldn’t help her. A rush of disappointment had washed over her and while she consciously knew that it wasn’t his fault but the bad guy’s, she couldn’t help but be angry with him. She was so used to his making the world a better place for her whenever there were moments of distress, that she could hardly believe this wasn’t possible right now.
Of course, it wasn’t rational any more than it was rational to blame it on Lois. Becca didn’t know much about the relationships of adults. She had never really wondered about how they ended up together in real life. Other than in fairy tales, she had never experienced it, for her grandparents had already been together. But one thing was obvious for Becca: Lois hadn’t exactly set out to be the woman her father would fall in love with. She had been mean to him; mean in a way that he couldn’t have been mistaken for affection.
“Yes, Becky, that’s very important.” Clark interrupted her thoughts. “Well, honestly I fell in love with her because I was fascinated by her enthusiasm for her work, her temper from the moment I first saw her.”
Becca pulled a face and let out a sigh of disapproval. Clark laughed at the sound and tousled her hair. She didn’t understand how he could honestly have been fascinated by someone who had called him a hack from Nowheresville. Lois Lane hadn’t noticed him until the moment when there had been absolutely no other way. She hadn’t hidden the fact that she wasn’t keen on being partnered with him.
“Oh, Becky. Love isn’t always rational. And I said I was fascinated. I like how strong she is, but that doesn’t mean I liked how she treated me at first. I could see that this was some kind of self-defense. I think Lois is afraid to let anyone see the weaker sides of her. This was when I decided that I wanted to know her better, wanted to see the reasons behind her behavior. And what I found is a nice woman under her defensive attitude,” Clark continued his explanation.
“So when?” Becca insisted to have him tell her the exact date and time.
“I guess it was on Christmas Eve that I couldn’t deny anymore how I felt for her. That was before she told me that she had feelings for me as well. That happened yesterday after you had gone to bed.”
* * *
“What are we going to do with the guy and the girl?” The man who spoke tried to look impressive, but he seemed rather ridiculous now, given his black eye. He silently cursed the weakling who had hardly been able to defend himself, but for the amazing shiner that had once been his right eye. It was embarrassing, particularly since his two companions stood completely unharmed beside him.
Neither of them could really see the man in front of them. He remained in a dark corner of the room and there was nothing but a shade indicating that he was there at all. The shade got up, rising to an impressive height. He looked down at them. Their boss’s eyes were almost gleaming in the dark. He stared at the three men in front of him intensely. The man with the shiner would have killed anyone who would ever dare call him a coward, but now he was afraid. He thought about all the things they had taken care of. They had firmly closed the entrance of the storm shelter. Their fourth man was having a look at the shelter fairly regularly. He couldn’t possibly have done anything wrong.
Their boss had advised them to take care of any passerby. Of course he hadn’t done it in person, but nonetheless. If there had been a misunderstanding, the boss surely wouldn’t blame him, would he? But there was no way to be really sure about this. They hadn’t been working for him for a long time, yet and he had warned them all that these days were the most important steps to their ultimate goal. They were approaching the day when the boss would finally get the respect he deserved, from anybody not just the people who already followed him. In his wisdom, he was always right. Even if the man with the black eye didn’t really understand much about the green glowing stones and the large energy source, he was pretty sure that the boss would know what he was talking about.
“The guy and the girl…” their boss said in a low voice. They had to listen carefully to hear his words. “Do you know who they are?”
Panic was rising inside the men who were standing in front of him. Hugh Danes saw it with a certain feeling of content. His old friend was right, it was so easy to influence people and the best weapon was fear. They wanted to please him, but there was just never a way to be good enough. Of course they didn’t know who the guy and the girl were. And there wasn’t actually a good reason why they should have asked. It was good that they hadn’t, because that now provided him with the chance to let them think they had failed. They would be eager to please him the next time, only to stumble into the next pitfall he would set up for them.
Hugh Danes let out an unduly frustrated sigh. “Of course, you don’t,” he said as if he was talking to little and annoyingly stupid children.
They flinched at his words, their expressions guilty as they awaited his orders. He let them wait; knowing that with every second of silence their fear would increase. As long as he was silent, their minds would play tricks on them, feeding them in with all sorts of horrible punishments he could have in store for them. He counted the seconds, while he was waiting to speak again. His friend had taught him so. Hugh Danes was far too impatient for the role he played. And he knew it. But this farce was necessary to achieve the power he longed for so much. Usual people only dreamt of being famous and powerful but he would turn this dream into reality. And as long as he hadn’t reached his goal, he needed to play this stupid act. And count the seconds. After an unholy long time, he could speak again.
“Don’t let them go away. For now I want them alive, so take good care of them. I might want to talk to them later,” he said somewhat mysteriously and went back to his chair in the dark corner of the room. Before he sat down, he shot the three guys in front of him a glance that clearly indicated that their presence was no longer desired. They quickly made their way out of the room. Every single one of the three seemed to be as relieved as if he had just given them a second life. They were forgiven.
When the three men were gone and assumingly too far away to overhear anything, a second man, who had been hiding in the darkness, left his safe place. He applauded with a grin on his face, his eyes were wet with tears and he seemed rather shaken.
“Brilliant, Hugh, absolutely brilliant,” Jack the aesthetic academic said, giggling lightly. “Too bad, I can’t do it, would be lots of fun, I believe.” He laughed harder and tears of joy streamed down his face. “I really shouldn’t be in the room when you are giving this show, it’s just hilarious.”
“I don’t know what’s so funny about it, Jack,” Hugh Danes replied good-naturedly. He studied his friend’s face and recognized a lot of the things he had so much liked about his roommate back in their university days. His good humor never left him and he was too much of a prankster anyone to take him seriously.
“Oh, it is funny, Hugh. Don’t you remember the first night that you returned from your new job at the Smithsonian as scientific assistant? How did our beloved Mr. Meadows call you?” Jack, his philosopher friend, asked with a slightly wicked grin. He was about the only person on this planet who could smile at Danes like that.
“Freshman,” Danes growled, still angry as the memory resurfaced.
“And what did you do?” Jack laughed like madly. “*Nothing.* You just let it happen. Did you look at those guys? They carried their hearts in their boots! I call that a change!”
“I call that a farce,” Danes replied. “But I have to admit that it feels pretty good to see those guys flinch at the mere sight of me. There were times when they would have pushed me around if I had tried to give them orders. But thanks to you, they are obeying my every word and are grateful if I only call the idiots.”
He looked at his eldest friend and fell silent. Even now, when they were already so close to make their dreams come true, he still couldn’t really believe that his life had changed so dramatically. Soon the world would see that it wasn’t wise to snigger at people like him. They had already stopped calling him a geek and they would soon stop smiling. With this new (?) source of power and destruction he would make sure that he got the respect he deserved. He would never ever allow anyone to look down on him again. Together with his three friends he would become wealthy and powerful and all the things he had always dreamed of.
“What comes now, Hugh?” Jack asked and his expression turned serious, which was rare.
“How much Danesium have they found yet?”
“It’s almost enough, at least Dan says so,” Jack chuckled at the word almost. Dan was well known for the fact that he just couldn’t decide for something. Whenever he made a statement there was a word in it that allowed him to escape the real decision. The friends still liked to tell each other the anecdote of going to lunch with Dan. It had ended with Hugh ordering Dan’s meal, because Dan couldn’t pick one.
“Well, then I guess, we could need your help to prepare our first series of blackmail letters. Is your writing hand all right?”
“Couldn’t be better.” Jack grinned and kissed the fingertips of his right hand before he left Hugh Danes alone.
to be continued...
