Previously on Soul Desire (6/14):
Clark scooped up the son of Zeus once more. "All aboard! Next stop, Norway," he announced with a wry smile.
Clark gently floated upwards, lifting them both into the air. He ascended into the sky much slower this time, much to Hercules' relief. Twice now, he'd experienced Clark's super speed first hand. He wasn't in a hurry to endure it again. He allowed his body to relax a little as Clark climbed in altitude. He even found it to be a little thrilling and enjoyable this time around.
Clark stopped briefly once he'd gone as high as he desired. He let the healing rays of the sun soak into his skin after expending so much energy in the utter darkness. Feeling recharged, he oriented himself in the general direction of Norway. At first, he went at a reasonably slow pace, allowing Hercules to get more comfortable.
"You okay?" he asked, shooting a glance to his passenger.
Hercules nodded. "Just fine," he answered truthfully. "I think I'm getting used to this. I can see why you like flying."
"It's always been one of my favorite things," Clark admitted. "As wonderful as my strength and speed and the rest of my powers can be, I could live without them. But I don't think I could ever be whole again if I couldn't fly."
"What about your children? Can they fly too?" Hercules asked, genuinely curious.
"They're still a bit young," Clark said. "Their powers are only just developing now. And only half of their DNA is Kryptonian. So there's still a lot that we just don't know yet. But my secret hope is that all three of them do inherit the ability to fly. There's nothing quite like it. The peace of mind it can bring. The feeling of freedom."
"Not to mention all the money you can save on gas," Hercules joked.
Clark laughed. "All part of the perks," he agreed with an amused smile. "But in all seriousness, I hope they can experience what I do when I fly." Clark picked up some speed, tearing through a bank of clouds like a bullet.
Both men grew silent, each now occupied with their own thoughts. Using his telescope vision, Clark kept tabs on various landmarks as they slid past, miles beneath them. He increased his speed again, using thermals and air currents, and avoiding a storm or two as he raced along. A glance at the sun when they'd emerged from the polar cavern had told him that more time had passed than he would have liked. He hoped to make up some of that lost time as he flew. He had the nagging sense that the easiest of the challenges now lay behind them, and he worried about what they might find in the other resting places of the stone shards.
*************
Clark slowed his flight speed down as he and Hercules approached Norway. He altered his altitude, dropping lower so that Hercules could clearly see the landscape spread out beneath and before them. Hercules scrunched his brow, forcing his mind back to try and remember exactly where the Rainbow Bridge to Asgard was located. It had been many, many years since he'd last stepped foot in the country. He was still friends with the gods Balder and Thor, but his hectic life as an actor kept him too busy to spend much time traveling for pleasure. He wondered how long it had been. Two, maybe three mortal lifespans since he'd been to the Rainbow Bridge. He directed Clark as best he could, apologizing often for his vague memories.
"There!" Hercules called out triumphantly. "Finally!"
"Where?" Clark asked.
Hercules pointed northeast. "Don't you see it?"
"See what?"
"The bridge," Hercules explained.
Clark shook his head and he changed his course once more. "Sorry, no. I don't see a bridge."
Hercules furrowed his brow. "Okay. See that valley between the two mountains there? The sort of narrow one?"
"That, yeah. I can see that."
"Land there," the demigod instructed.
Clark picked up a little speed again and landed where he'd been told. Gently, he put Hercules back on his feet. The half god stretched a little, arching his back as he looked around. Hercules looked up, drinking in the sight of the bridge that marked the way to Asgard. It was good to see it again, he mused, though the sight always brought back bittersweet memories. The first time he'd come to this place, he'd been grieving over the death of Iolaus before Dahak had inhabited his best friend's body. But he'd also met Balder and Thor in this country; the only two gods besides his half sister, Aphrodite, that he'd ever built a true friendship with. He wished that the two gods were around now, if only so that he could say hello.
He pointed up and Clark followed with his eyes.
"You really can't see that?" Hercules asked again.
Clark looked up, seeing nothing but the blue sky and puffy white clouds sailing passed. He said as much to his companion.
"Huh," Hercules said. "Weird."
"Well," Clark said, thinking aloud. "You are half a god. Maybe the immortal blood in your veins allows you to see things that the rest of us aren't supposed to." He shrugged.
Hercules nodded thoughtfully. "Could be," he agreed. "I guess I just thought that since your blood isn't the same as Earth mortals, that maybe you might be able to see it too."
"So, now the question is: where is the stone hidden and how do we get to it?" Clark said.
"And what surprises have the gods left along the way?" Hercules sighed.
Clark nodded. "There is that too, I suppose."
Clark surveyed the valley, standing with his hands on his hips. A stiff, cold wind was blowing, making his cape stream out behind him. Every so often, the material snapped in the breeze. Hercules turned his back to the wind and shoved his freezing fingers deep into his pockets. At first look, there was nothing to indicate a secret labyrinth or chamber. Clark gave the area a look with his x-ray vision, but again, nothing turned up.
"Nothing," he muttered, more to himself than anything else.
"Let's split up," Hercules suggested. "I'll go this way. I'll call for you if I find anything."
Clark nodded and began walking into the wind. His boots left firm imprints in the snow covered ground. This high in the mountains, there was always snow on the ground. Clark remembered the time, eight years ago, when he'd been assisting a disabled plane near this very spot. It had been a scorching summer, but the mountains had had snow even then. Back then, he'd have never guessed that he'd been close to the entrance to the home of the Norse gods. But, then again, back then he'd thought that the gods were only a myth in his universe.
He walked slowly, scanning the ground and surrounding cliffs as he went. After a while, he picked up his pace, becoming more frustrated. Pulling himself from his thoughts, he realized that he'd covered more than two miles and was at the outer most edge of the mountains. He stopped and turned back, wondering if he should check on Hercules' progress. The demigod hadn't called for him yet, but perhaps he should x-ray the ground that Hercules had covered so far, to ensure that they didn't miss anything. Making up his mind, he floated back over the ground that he'd already checked, rescanning as he went, just to be on the safe side. Before long, he came to where Hercules' footprints began in the snow.
Clark came to a rest on the ground once more. Following Hercules' footprints, he began to x-ray the area, just as he had over the miles that he had covered. Nothing turned up, adding to Clark's frustration. Time was slipping away. And then there was Lois. She was not exactly unprotected at home, but he hated to be so far away from her when he knew that a danger was being posed to either of them. His hands curled into fists and the muscle in his jaw twitched. Where was the piece of the stone?
"Clark!"
Clark snapped to attention as his super-hearing picked up the demigod's call. He allowed himself a burst of speed, snow spewing out behind his boots as he raced along. In seconds, he was at Hercules' side.
"What did you find?" Clark asked, skidding to a halt.
Hercules gestured to the cliff face to his left, particularly a slightly discolored section of rock. Clark knocked a fist to the left and right of the section, then on the section itself. He heard a distinct change in the resulting thuds. The middle section sounded somehow hollow to his super hearing.
"This is the only section I've seen where the stone is a slightly different shade of gray," Hercules explained.
Clark quickly x-rayed the section of stone and nodded. "Looks like this section is a few feet thick, but there does seem to be an empty space behind it. Nice catch."
"Thanks."
"Wait a second," Clark said, still x-raying the stone. "It looks like this section is a door of some sort." He slipped back into his normal vision. "I can't see exactly how this is rigged. It's too dark. Let's see what we can do though."
They tried pushing on the discolored stone, first at one end, then on the other. It would not budge. There was no way to slide it either. Hercules bent to the ground, searching for a space to wedge his fingers. There was a shallow indent in the middle. He stuck the fingers of both of his hands into the crevice as far as they would go. He began to lift, the muscles in his arms and neck straining with the effort. He grunted as he struggled with the stone.
"Let me," Clark said.
"No. I've got it," Hercules said through gritted teeth.
With a terrible grinding sound, the stone began to move, disappearing into a hidden crevice higher up in the side of the mountain. Hercules continued to struggle with the door. He shifted his hands to place his palms beneath the bottom of the door once it was a few inches off of the ground. That seemed to help him a little, and the door began to rise more swiftly. Clark placed his own hands beneath the stone to help.
"No," Hercules said, shaking his head. "I want to do this on my own."
Clark frowned, troubled that the half god wouldn't allow his help. The door cleared Hercules' knees and continued to rise. The demigod continued to straighten, bringing the door's bottom up to his waist. When it was high enough, Hercules stepped beneath the door and rested the stone on his shoulders, behind his neck.
"Go," he instructed Clark, his voice reflecting the strain of his body.
Clark ducked into the opening. Just at the edge of the sunlight that penetrated the eternal darkness of the passageway into the mountain, Clark caught sight of a torch in a sconce on the wall. With a burst of heat vision, he set it aflame. On the opposite wall was another torch. In less than a second, he had lit that one as well. Hercules was watching and grunting under the weight of the door. As soon as there was light enough to see by, he threw his body out from beneath the doorway, tucking into a roll as he did so. The heavy door crashed to the ground with a deafening screech of stone on stone, and with a thud that sent both heroes scrambling to maintain their footing. Hercules coughed as a spray of dust and dirt was thrown into the air.
After a moment or two, Clark lifted his torch from the sconce closest to him. Hercules did the same. It was cold in the passageway, but warmer than outside. Hercules, in particular, was grateful to be out of the wind. He brushed some dirt and snow from his jacket.
"You know, I could have done that for you." Clark raised his brows questioningly at Hercules.
"I know," Hercules said, shrugging a knot out of his right shoulder blade.
They began to walk into the inky black passageway before them, taking it slow so that they did not miss any important signs or trip any deadly traps.
"So...why didn't you let me?"
"I just...every once in a while, I just need to remind myself that I can do stuff like this. I'm sure you've experienced the frustration of not being able to use your...unique talents. Having to hide what you can do. Having to pretend that you are something that you're not."
Clark nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. That's why I created Superman. I needed a way to be able to use my powers in public without fear of exposing my true identity. And I do get frustrated anytime I'm not able to use my powers. Like the first two years that Lois and I worked together. She didn't know that I was both men, and it pained me to have to pretend to be more inept than I was, when all I wanted was for her to notice me. I almost lost her because of the need to hide. But I was lucky in that I had at least some outlet to be able to use my powers. I can't imagine being in your situation."
Hercules nodded. "So, anyway, thanks for letting me do that."
Clark smiled in the dark. "Anytime."
They walked in silence for a long while. Nothing attacked from the darkness. No traps were sprung on them. Hercules and Clark each kept one eye ahead and one eye on the walls to either side. Unlike the passageway in the previous location, nothing was scratched, scrawled, or otherwise written on the walls. No runes of power, no graffiti, no instructions on where to go next.
The dark and silence weighed on Clark like a physical load on his body. He could scarcely wait to get out of this place and back out into the sunlight.
"Hey," Clark said, after a long while of enduring the oppressive silence. "Can I ask you something kind of personal? If you don't mind, of course."
"Sure."
"Well, I was wondering. What's it like to live as long as you have?"
Hercules sighed. "Not as great as some might think it would be. I know that for Iolaus, Xena, and Gabrielle, that a life as long as mine must seem desirable. I've been to the Underworld before to help Hades, and even the Elysian Fields is a sort of flat comparison to the world of the living. But I have to say, I'm a little disillusioned with this unending life of mine. I don't have a death wish. Far from it. But sometimes, well, sometimes it just gets downright depressing. Having to shed identities every so often, watching everyone I get close to age and die...it's too high a price to stay in this world. Why?"
"Just...curious."
Hercules threw a look over at Clark. "You're worried about your own life, aren't you?"
Clark frowned, drew a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "Yeah. My body...because of the yellow sun and my genetics, my body doesn't seem to age the same way as a normal person. I mean, I look the same now at forty five as I did ten years ago. Not even a gray hair to speak of. And I still feel as good as I did at twenty one. The point is, I fear winding up in a situation like yours. No offense of course. But I just hate to think of what I might do if I outlive Lois and my kids." He sighed heavily. "Hey, there's a fork up ahead."
They moved forward in the darkness to where the passage split off to the left and right. They checked the walls and floor, looking for some indication of what direction they should be heading in. There was nothing.
"Now what?" Hercules asked.
Clark shook his head. "I don't know. But Ares did call this location and the one in Egypt labyrinths. I'm not willing to just pick a passageway and hope for the best."
"I agree. There has to be some indication of which way to go. We just haven't seen it yet."
They stood in place, side by side, for a long moment, then rechecked every inch of the walls and floor, as though some marker would miraculously appear for them. Again, they found nothing. Clark stood still for a moment, centering himself between the two forks and closed his eyes. He stretched out his hearing, straining against the utter silence, and blocking out the sounds of Hercules' steady heartbeat and deep breaths. He heard nothing. He clenched his jaw again and took a calming breath in through his nose. His eyes popped open.
He faced the right passage and took another deep breath in through his nose. He did the same with the left fork. Yes, he was certain of it now.
"It's the right fork," he announced.
"Are you sure?"
"It has to be. The air isn't as stale down this fork. There has to be an opening somewhere further down. The left fork smells much more stale and dusty. I'm guessing it branches off into dead ends."
"Okay then," Hercules said, moving towards the right fork. He seemed slightly disturbed that he hadn't thought of that old trick. He smiled to himself after a minute. "Iolaus would have thought of that. Him and his old hunter's tricks."
For a long time, Hercules and Clark meandered through the passageway. New forks began to appear ever more frequently. Writing now appeared on the walls in various languages, some even in the ancient Greek that Hercules knew, though the intervening centuries had made him a little rusty. Still, he was able to help navigate them through the maze of passageways. All of the writing was in riddles, causing them to pause frequently while they worked the clues out. They made a few wrong turns and had to backtrack a couple of times. Clark noticed that the further in they got, the more confusing the labyrinth became. And more deadly.
For the third time, Clark threw himself in front of Hercules' body. Sharp, ancient looking crossbow bolts skipped harmlessly off his impervious skin. The first time, it had been poisoned darts. The second time, it had been bursts of flame. Now the arrows. Clark wondered darkly what else the labyrinth had in store for them. Of course, the bolts that Clark had just deflected hadn't really come close to skewering Hercules. But Clark had simply reacted the instant that his sensitive hearing had picked up the shifting of ancient gears hidden within the walls.
"Sorry," he apologized to the demigod. "Force of habit."
Hercules chuckled and clapped one hand on Clark's shoulder. "I understand. And I appreciate it."
"Are we doing something to set these things off?" Clark asked, glancing around. He was sure that he hadn't touched, knocked into, or stepped on anything.
Hercules shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. "We're here in this place. That's all that matters. The traps must be set to react to any sort of human life coming near them." He bent and picked up one of the bolts. The arrowhead was untouched by rust, and the shaft was free from rot. "The gods and their spells," he said with disgust, tossing the weapon aside. He tossed it with enough force that it buried itself halfway into the wall.
Time seemed to stand still in the eternal gloom of the labyrinth as they moved forward once more. There was no telling how long that they had been wandering the passageways. Clark began to grow antsy again. To give himself something to do, he began to scout ahead, trying to trigger any traps well before Hercules could get close to them. He succeeded in finding two more places where spikes shot out from the walls and floor.
At last, the passage spit them out into a large chamber. Crystalline pillars ringed the circular room in a double row. Clark touched one of them with a tentative hand. They were as cold as ice and as solid as stone. He wasn't quite sure what they were made out of, but they glowed with a blue-white light bright enough to mimic daylight. They also vibrated ever so slightly with energy, the source of which Clark couldn't determine. More spells from the gods, perhaps.
Hercules and Clark doused their torches in the dirt floor, as they were beginning to sputter and die anyway. As with the first piece of the stone that they had retrieved, this piece of stone was situated on a raised altar, this one in the middle of the room. The altar glowed with the same ethereal light as the pillars. Clark's hearing picked up a faint buzzing sound in the room - the energy that ran throughout the room and made the crystalline stones glow.
The piece of the Stone of Creation stood in a holder in the middle of the altar. This time, no weapons stood around the shard. It was completely alone. Clark scanned the room quickly, looking for anything threatening. He saw nothing and took a hesitant step towards the altar. When nothing happened, his steps became more confident that nothing was going to happen to Hercules. With a determined stride, he made his way to the raised altar, Hercules trailing behind at a safe distance.
He slowed to a more deliberate, respectful step once he reached the first of the three steps leading up to the altar. He did not hesitate to plant his foot on the first step. In a second, he was standing on the top step, looking down on the altar. Unlike the first one, this one had no writing on it at all. He glanced back at Hercules, making sure that the demigod was still safe, then reached his hand towards the shard of stone. It looked like the second part of the top section of the stone. His fingertips brushed the frigid surface and he gently lifted it from its cradle.
Immediately, the chamber began to rumble and the altar sank into the ground, disappearing from view. A door slid open at the far end of the room and two hulking shapes entered the chamber. The door slammed shut behind them. The ground shook slightly as the figures made a beeline for Hercules and Clark. Clark hastily put the piece of stone in the pocket on his other side of his cape, remembering Ares' warning to keep the pieces separate until all three were in hand.
The immense creatures picked up speed as they came. They were blue-gray giants, at least fifty feet tall. Their bodies looked as though they were made of ice and stone; great lumps of both seemed to be thrown together with next to no order. Gruesome faces were twisted into nightmarish grimaces. Eyes like polished onyx burned with hatred and violence.
"What the heck are these things?" Clark asked as he dodged the grasp of one of the giant creatures.
"Frost giants," Hercules said, clearly troubled.
"How do we stop them?" Clark asked, speeding over to Hercules and flying them both out of the giants' grasps. There was barely enough room between the giants' reach and the ceiling.
"I don't know," Hercules admitted. "I've heard about them in passing, but I've never actually fought one."
"Wonderful," Clark grumbled, zipping out of the way of a groping hand that was trying to pull them out of the air. "Any guesses at least?"
"I'm working on it," Hercules replied.
One of the giants stretched up and gave a slight jump. Clark was so busy assessing the situation and avoiding the other giant, that he never saw the hand behind him. The giant swatted them from the air so hard that Clark and Hercules were sent flying across the room and into the wall. Clark barely had enough time to twist in the air, so that he struck it with his back, instead of crushing Hercules between the wall and his body. He smashed into the wall with such force that he formed a slight crater in it, which split and shed large chunks of stone. Clark was dazed from the impact and all of the air was driven from his lungs. He and Hercules slid to the ground before he could compose himself once more. Hercules fared better, with Clark's body taking the full impact of the hit. The demigod was instantly on his feet, reaching down a hand to help Clark up. Clark coughed and wheezed as he tried to take in enough air. His lungs burned with the effort, but he took Hercules' hand and pulled himself up.
"Thanks," he managed, as they both avoided being squashed by a giant foot.
"Don't mention it," Hercules shot back.
Hercules grabbed the giant's foot and began lifting, trying to throw the behemoth off balance. He succeeded in causing the monster to fall backwards, then jumped back away from the giant as it crashed to the floor. Immediately, the frost giant was struggling to get back onto its feet. Hercules and Clark dashed off between the legs of the second giant, just missing the groping fingers that reached for them. They reached one of the pillars and ducked behind it. The fallen frost giant was already back on his feet.
"That bought us about eight seconds," Clark said wryly. "I guess we're past the point of talking out our differences."
Hercules chuckled, despite his slightly labored breathing from the exertion. "You know, you remind me a little of Iolaus," he said with a smirk. "No wonder why I like you so much."
Clark chuckled in response. "You're not so bad yourself."
They were forced to run again as the frost giants converged on their pillar.
"Towards the door," Clark shouted to the half god. "I'll distract them. Go!"
Hercules heard the command in Clark's voice and obeyed, just as the first giant wrapped his hands around the pillar that they had been hiding behind. There was a deafening crack, then the pillar was in the monster's hands. It used the jagged pillar like a club, swinging at Clark. Clark saw that the demigod had turned back to look at what was happening.
"Hurry," he yelled again. "Get the door open!"
For the briefest of seconds, Clark had ceased to exist to Hercules. Only Superman stood there, doing battle with a frost giant and issuing orders. Hercules shook his head and went to do as Clark bid.
The giant swung the makeshift club at Clark once more. Clark caught the other end and tried the wrest it away from the monster. He strained every muscle in his body, but the giant had a strength and power that Clark hadn't really expected. The giant raised the pillar, lifting Clark right off the floor along with the glowing club. It swung Clark into the closest standing pillar with such force that the end that Clark was clinging too cleaved straight through the crystalline stone. He let go of his end, flying off to one side.
The second giant was doing battle with Hercules. He hadn't yet gained the door. Clark twisted in the air and sped towards the demigod. As he had hoped, the frost giant that he'd been fighting turned to follow. Clark alighted on the second monster's shoulder. The monster was so fixed on Hercules that it never noticed the tiny figure on its shoulder. The other giant raised its club and roared at Clark. It took aim and gave a mighty swipe.
Clark darted away at the last possible second. The stone smashed into the frost giant's neck, severing the head from the body. Clark winced as the head flew through the air and hit the far wall with a solid thud. He hadn't meant for the creature to meet its end; he had hoped only that the blow to the head would disable the creature long enough for them to get to the door.
"Thanks," Hercules called up to him. "Get the door. I'll deal with the last giant."
Clark nodded sharply, then sped off towards the sealed door. He set to work trying to find a groove to set his fingers into. He refused to just smash through the stone if he could avoid doing so. He wanted to be able to seal the monster inside the chamber, assuming that the giant still lived by the time Hercules was through with it.
Behind him, Hercules nimbly dodged the glowing stone club that the giant swung at him. It didn't seem to notice that Clark was at the doorway, and that was just fine with the son of Zeus. He ducked behind another pillar and grabbed it tightly. With a roar of his own, Hercules managed to tear out a section of the pillar, like a long, jagged spear. He ran towards the giant a few steps, then launched the makeshift spear at the giant's head. The stone flew through the air in a straight and true path, and found a resting place in the giant's left eye. The force of Hercules' throw allowed the stone to bury itself deep into the monster's brain. It dropped the club it was carrying and fell to its knees, thick, huge hands reaching up to its hideous face. A scream ripped from its throat the entire time.
Clark, meanwhile, had not found a finger hold in the stone door. He pounded his fist into the rock twice, making an indent in the stone. With a slight amount of effort, he began to lift the door until he'd made enough of a space to pass under.
"Hercules!" he called. "Time to go!"
Hercules threw one last glance over at the dying frost giant, then raced to the door. The monster groaned, a soul wrenching sound that was primal rage and sadness all at once. Hercules ducked under the door as soon as he reached it. Clark ducked under as well, letting the heavy door fall back into place. They now faced a long corridor of the same glowing crystal rock. Apprehensively, they began to follow the path.
"Sorry for interrupting with that frost giant," Clark teased.
Hercules laughed and smiled back. "Eh, he was giving me a pretty cold reception."
Clark chuckled in response. He felt perfectly at ease with the son of Zeus. In fact, he could see a long lasting friendship forming with the man.
At last, the corridor spit them out into the open again. It looked to Clark like they had traveled straight through the mountain to the other side. He took a deep breath, glad to taste the crisp, fresh, snow-tinged air again. He lifted his face to the sun, glad to be drinking in its healing rays again.
Hercules stomach rumbled and he laughed, slightly embarrassed. Clark smiled at him.
"Come on," Clark said. "I know a place we can go to get some food. It's getting late, but we have plenty of time before I want to be in Egypt."
Clark gathered Hercules in his arms and made a beeline for Italy.
To be Continued...
