Previously On Soul Desire:
Within the hour, Clark and the others had eaten a hasty breakfast of frozen waffles and were headed off to the woods outside of the city limits, near to where Perry had his fishing cabin. Xena, Gabrielle, and Iolaus rode with Hercules in his car. Lois drove on ahead of them, alone in her Jeep, while Clark flew above, scouting the area. They reached the woods with no incidents, pulling their vehicles off the road and carefully winding through the trees to a small clearing that Clark directed them to. They had seen neither hide nor hair of Ares, Aphrodite, or Hades, though one of them had left Iolaus, Gabrielle, and Xena's old battle clothing for them. Xena looked grateful to be back in her dark leathers. Hercules and Xena seemed to believe that they would not be seeing the gods again until the dust settled from the impending battle.
Clark and the others were leaning against the Jeep, talking, when an old red Chevy Blazer with tinted windows burst into the clearing. Clark was instantly on his feet, standing away from the car. His hands were balled into tight fists as he prepared to meet his rival face to face. The car stopped as the driver threw it into park and killed the ignition. Clark focused his senses, aware of everything around him. The rejuvenating, warm shafts of sunlight. The light breeze that rustled through the leaves and made his cape flutter out behind him like a battle standard. The sharp bursts of yellow and red leaves on a handful of trees. The increase in Lois' heartbeat. The steady, even breathing of the four ancient warriors who stood two steps behind him and to either side. The nearly imperceptible rasp of Xena's fingertips on her chakram. Iolaus, clearing his throat, impatient for the battle. The ticking of the Chevy's engine as it began to cool.
And then the sound that made Clark's heart stop.
Three distinct heartbeats that were half his own and half his wife's.
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The door of the red Blazer opened and a tall, impossibly gaunt woman emerged, dressed in tight dark jeans pants and a black and purple shirt. She smiled malevolently as she turned to face Clark. Clark felt his blood run cold as she fixed him with her stare. Even without knowing of her unholy pact with Dahak, he could feel the evilness that exuded from her body. It froze him in his very tracks.
"Alti," Xena said in a hard, cold voice. "You look pretty good for a woman that I left half dead yesterday."
"Xena. You'll pay for what you did to me. You'll be the first one that Dahak and I kill once he is released."
"Over my dead body," Hercules said, his voice a dangerous growl.
"Oh, I'll get to you too, Hercules."
Clark heard Xena's hand tighten on her chakram. "Stand down," he ordered, afraid of what the shamaness might do to his children.
"Now Clark," Alti said, shifting her attention. The same vile smile was on her face. "It is so very good to meet you. I have something that belongs to you."
She popped open the trunk of the car and hauled out each of his children, throwing them roughly to the hard ground. They were blindfolded and bound with heavy lengths of chains. They struggled against their bonds, wriggling like fish out of water. Clark could hear the hammering of their hearts as fear gripped them.
"Let them go," Clark demanded, his voice like stone. "I'm here. There's no reason for you to hold them hostage any longer."
"Dad?" Michael called out.
"It's okay, I'm here," Clark said, mustering up the calmest, most reassuring voice that he could.
"Grandma and Grandpa are in the back seat of the car," Hunter added.
"Daddy, help us," Rebecca pleaded. "Hurry!"
Clark tuned in his hearing and heard the muffled protests of his parents beyond the darkly tinted windows of the car. He grit his teeth in anger, then softened as he addressed his children again.
"It's all right," he repeated to them. "I'm going to get you out of here. Just stay calm, okay?"
"Leaving so soon?" Alti asked, a knowing smile curving her lips. "You make one move and they will be dead before you can reach them. You may be fast, but I can kill your precious children with no more than a thought. That goes for any of you."
"You're bluffing," Clark said, though he dared not make a move.
He didn't even feel confident enough to use his heat vision to melt the chains that bound his children. It would take several long seconds for him to cut them all the way through, seconds he didn't have if Alti truly could kill them with a thought.
"Am I? Care to find out?" Alti asked, one eyebrow raised and daring him to test her.
"What do you want?" Clark asked.
"Oh, I think you already know the answer to that," the shamaness replied with a smirk.
"You know that I'll never surrender myself to you and your evil god. I'll fight you with my last breath."
"You can fight me, but you will not win. I'm too powerful, even for you. And as for the rest of you..."
Alti put two fingers to her mouth and blew out a sharp, high pitched whistle. From the surrounding trees, figures emerged. All wore ancient looking leather armor and carried an array of weapons. Some of the grizzled faces were scarred, some bore tattoos, and some had missing fingers or other evidence of the hard lives they had led. They stopped about twenty feet from where Alti stood. Clark heard Xena's sharp intake of breath as she sized up the violent looking gang that had them encircled.
"Recognize them?" Alti asked her rival.
Xena crossed her arms and nodded. "The last time I saw these men, I was killing most of them. So what? Dahak's in the business of resurrecting dead murderers and warlords now? Doesn't seem like his style."
"This is but a taste of Dahak's new found power," Alti said. "Between his power and my mastery of the dark arts, the world doesn't stand a chance. None of you can stop us, not even you, Superman."
Alti motioned sharply with her hand and the dead warlords moved forward. Xena's sword was out in a flash. Gabrielle's sais were clenched in her hands; Clark could hear the leather grips creaking in protest as her grasp tightened. Iolaus and Hercules, though weaponless, stood in a battle ready stance, ready for the fight ahead. Xena was the first to launch herself into the fray as the first warlord drew near. Her war cry pierced the air and her sword glinted in the sunlight. Her sword met his in a loud clang that rent the air. In a flash, the others had also engaged the enemy.
Clark had the fleeting impression of being on an island in the midst of a raging sea as the battle surged around Lois, Alti, and himself.
Alti stood back, watching the action with great amusement. She eyed Lois and Clark, a self satisfied smile on her face. Lois stepped forward, coming to stand at Clark's side. She fixed the shamaness with a look that could have killed. Lois took another step forward. Alti raised a warning finger, wagging it back and forth in the air before her.
"That's close enough," she warned. "Think of the children."
"Touch one hair on my kids' heads and I will rip you apart," Lois threatened.
Alti snorted a laugh in response.
"Clark," Lois whispered, so quietly that only his super hearing could pick it up, "what's the plan?"
He shook his head, so slightly that she barely missed it. "Not sure yet."
"I'm getting growing tired of this game," Alti said in a bored voice. "I'll make you a deal. I'll trade you. Your life for that of your wife and children. I was just going to kill them all after I got done with you."
"And I'm supposed to believe that you are just going to honor this agreement? I don't think so." Clark shook his head, crossing his arms before his chest. He was stalling and he knew that she knew that. But he had to buy himself some time to think, and for Xena to make her move.
"You don't have a choice," Alti said, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Either submit and save your family, or resist and watch them die. Either way, it doesn't matter to me. I will have your soul."
Clark hesitated again, his mind racing. He really hadn't expected Xena and the others to be forced to fight a group of thugs. He could have used Xena's help at the moment. He wished that she could find a way to break free of the fight to help him deal with the shamaness.
Alti sighed in impatience. "Fine, have it your way."
She produced a razor sharp hunting knife from a sheath that hung from her belt. The steel glinted in the sunlight, cold and deadly. She stepped to Rebecca's side and grabbed a fistful of her long, dark hair. Pulling roughly, she bared the child's throat to her blade, pressing it carefully against her flesh. A small, thin trickle of blood appeared on her skin. Rebecca squealed in pain and fright. Alti smiled cruelly.
"Not so invulnerable," she observed, obviously pleased with the revelation.
Rebecca whimpered fearfully, frozen stone still in her terror. Clark raised his hands in a pacifying gesture.
"Okay," he said. "You win. Leave her alone. Please. Don't hurt her."
"I knew you'd see things my way."
Alti pulled the knife away from the girl's throat, sheathing the blade in a swift, graceful motion. She released Rebecca's hair and pushed her to the ground once more.
"Let them go," Clark repeated. "And then, I'm yours."
"I'm not stupid enough to do that," Alti said, shaking her head. "First, you die."
"First I want to see that my family is safe," Clark pressed, still trying to buy Xena some time.
"You aren't in any position to make demands," Alti growled, her raspy voice barely audible over the din of fighting that was all around them.
Alti fixed Clark with a cold, hard stare. Clark felt as if his body was stripped away, allowing her to look into his very mind and soul. In fact, she was doing just that, ransacking his memories, even those he'd carefully tucked away and had tried to forget. There were plenty for her to choose from; sinister memories of pain and fear that she could use against him. Clark realized this far too late, though even if had had known, there was nothing that he could do to escape her power.
Pain shot through his body as Alti turned his memories against him. Clark felt the burning, tearing sensation of the Kryptonite bullet that he'd once taken in his shoulder. He cried out in surprise as the hurt tore through his body. His hand shot up to injured body part of its own accord, though, of course, there was no bullet and no wound. It was all in his mind. He gritted his teeth and remembered Xena telling them about this particular ability of the shamaness. Another jolt of pain rocked his body as Alti used his memory of the Kryptonite bullet that had grazed his neck. That one had been thanks to a sniper rifle when his powers had gone haywire from exposure from the red variety of the deadly rock. His hand flew from his shoulder to his neck, his mouth agape from the shock of the pain.
Next, Clark found himself within his memory of his fight with Metallo, the Kryptonite powered cyborg. Clark once again experienced the anguish of that battle. He felt the cyborg kick him as he once had. Clark's body reacted to the memory, and he flew backwards in the air. He slammed violently into the side of Lois' Jeep, caving in the passenger side nearly all the way through the vehicle. Clark groaned and forced his body out of the tangled mass of twisted metal. Alti allowed him to stumble forward, nearly to the place he had started from. Clark wheezed from the remembered exposure to the Kryptonite that Metallo had carried within him.
"Clark?" Lois screamed, but he had no breath to answer her with.
Alti smiled and found a new memory to assault Clark with. Once more, he felt the agony of the Kryptonite cage when Lex Luthor had imprisoned him in his wine cellar. That had been on the day that Lois had almost married Luthor. The pain brought Clark to his knees, crippling him in place. He tried to fight the pain, tried to force his mind and body to recognize that the pain was an illusion. But Alti's power was the greater force. He was dimly aware that Alti probably hadn't been bluffing when she'd said that she could kill his children with a mere thought. He was infinitely glad that he hadn't dared to test her.
But what was her game now? If she really could kill with a thought, why hadn't she already killed him? Had she been bluffing about her powers? Or did his molecular make-up make him different, and more resistant to her powers? Or was she just playing some sick game with him, getting her amusement from his misery?
He felt his body growing weaker with every passing second. Before he knew it, he was laying on his side in the grass and dirt, no longer able to sit, let alone stand. He drew his body into a tight fetal position, groaning in anguish. He no longer saw the woods around him. He was back in the musty wine cellar. He could smell the dust in the air. He could see Luthor, standing above him, taunting him. He could hear the man's laugher.
Suddenly he was ripped from that memory and found himself on the street before the Daily Planet. The street was completely deserted. He saw Lord Nor on the ground, defeated in their duel. The next thing he knew, there was a hiss and a pop as a rocket exploded, filling the air with a green cloud of gas that was laced with deadly Kryptonite. He felt the gas enter his lungs, tearing at the organs like shards of glass. He coughed and sputtered, trying to catch a clean breath of air.
"Clark!" Lois' terror-filled voice sounded a thousand miles away.
At first, Clark couldn't tell if her voice was coming from his memories or from the present, until he realized that she'd called him Clark. He tried to call out to her, but his tortured lungs seemed incapable of doing anything more than wheezing - and they were rapidly losing that ability too. His breaths became more shallow and his body began to feel like it would shut down at any moment.
"Stop it!" Lois roared, launching herself at Alti, reckless in her panic. She barely made it three steps.
Alti darted her eyes at Lois, entering her memories even as she continued to hold Clark in the mental hell she'd devised for him. Lois felt an excruciating jolt of pain rocket up her leg from her ankle. The scene flashed before her eyes. She'd gone skiing with Perry and Jimmy and various other members of the Daily Planet staff when she'd first started out at the paper as a reporter. She'd managed to break her ankle on that trip as she lost her balance coming down the slope. The remembered pain took her by surprise and sent her sprawling forward onto the grass. She yelped in pain as it radiated through her body.
Around them, the battle raged on. Xena's sword was slick with blood. Three of the warlords already lay dead by her hand, a tribute to her battle skills. Two others lay bleeding into the dirt, a testament to Gabrielle's own handiwork. A few others were unconscious, thanks to the efforts of Hercules and Iolaus. But many more were still on their feet. Iolaus threw a punch, catching one of the men in the gut. The man doubled over and Iolaus finished the job with a swift round house kick that swept the warlord off his feet. Hercules dodged a punch that a man named Draco threw at him. In the same moment, Gabrielle came up behind Draco, plunging her sais into his back. The slender blades sunk into his spinal cord. Gabrielle pulled the weapons free as the man fell to one side. A bright bubble of blood oozed out of his mouth and burst as he expelled his final breath.
"I've been wanting to do that for a long time," she said coldly.
Draco had once stalked her and tried to force his affections on her after Cupid's infant son, Bliss, had used one of the love arrows on him. He'd even threatened to kill her so that no one else could have her. Gabrielle had never stopped being disgusted by the lovesick warlord's attempts, though it seemed that the spell had worn off in death. He had fought as brutally as he had before the divine intervention that had altered his life.
Xena, meanwhile, was doing battle with a man named Darfus. He'd once been her right hand lieutenant in the days when she herself had been a ruthless warlord, back before Hercules had helped her to change her life around. Darfus had turned on Xena, stealing her army and forcing her to walk the gauntlet - a double line of men who had beaten her so savagely that it had been a miracle that she'd survived it. Xena easily parried Darfus' every move as they fought. She knew his fighting style well; after all, she had been the one to teach him many of the maneuvers. She feigned a thrust to his left side, then pulled out of the move and struck out against his right side instead. He was too slow to block the blow and took a gash to his shoulder and upper arm. He grimaced and struck out. Xena nearly caught the point of his sword in her own shoulder, but managed to sidestep just in time. She jumped and flipped, landing behind the warlord who had snuck up behind her as she'd faced Darfus. Her sword erupted from the man's chest in a spray of red blood. He fell face first to the ground. Xena stepped around him, facing Darfus once more. Her sword met his, the force creating a shower of sparks. He raised his sword again. Xena stepped beneath the swing, thrusting upwards with her own blade. It caught him in the gut. The weapon dropped from his hands as they fled to his wound. Xena's blade was already on the move again, arcing through the air until it neatly severed his head from his neck.
"Consider that payback for the gauntlet," she spat at his corpse.
Clark was in a world of pain. He seemed to be held in multiple memories all at once. He could still feel the throbbing agony of the radioactive cage that Luthor had built. His lungs still felt as though flaming glass was lodged within them from the Kryptonite laced gas bomb. He felt the weakness from the Kryptonian virus that had once ravaged his body. His body was reacting strongly to that memory. His body temperature had risen in response and sweat poured from his body. His sodden suit clung more tightly to him than it normally did. Xena had said that Alti could only make a person experience the pain of their memories once more but could not make the wounds appear in actuality. He wondered dully if that was still true. He felt as though the life was bleeding out of him. Could Alti's alliance with Dahak augment her abilities enough to give her the power to kill him with his memories? After all, a mere memory had sent him flying through the air already.
He tried several times to push himself up off the ground enough to move towards the shamaness. But each time, his limbs turned to jelly beneath him and he'd flop back into the grass. Another bolt of pain shot through him as a phantom crossbow bolt slammed into the juncture of his chest and shoulder, a reminder of his adventure in ancient Greece when he'd been powerless and shot by Tempus. A cry erupted from his lips and he silently cursed himself for allowing that to happen. He didn't want to alarm his kids any more than was necessary.
Beside him, Lois was experiencing a similar assault to her body and mind. Her ankle throbbed fiercely. She felt hands around her neck as Alti brought out her memory of being strangled by Mr. Make-Up, a man who could alter his appearance with make-up and prosthetics to look like just about anyone. She began to choke and gasp as his fingers tightened around her throat. Lois clawed at the air before her, trying to fight the apparition who loomed over her. It continually surprised her when her hands cleaved nothing but thin air. She tried to call out for help, but found her airway too restricted. She gasped and wheezed, trying to suck in enough air.
Hercules and Iolaus were fighting back to back. Iolaus laughed as he leapt and kicked one of the approaching warlords. More surrounded them. Iolaus reached out to Hercules, and the demigod grabbed his wrists. Spinning as quickly as he could, Hercules helped Iolaus to rise off the ground. As the shorter man's feet left the soil, he began to kick his legs, taking out enemies with each strike. After a few moments, Hercules gently brought his friend back down to earth. But a couple of the warlords were already staggering back to their feet.
"Old routine?" Iolaus asked.
He didn't wait for a response. They both faced each other and clasped hands. Together, they jumped and kicked outwards, slamming their feet into their attackers' chests. Coming back down, they quickly went back to back. They swiftly flipped each other, one over the other, momentarily confusing their foes. Taking advantage, they both punched, knocking the men they faced unconscious.
"Works every time," Hercules grinned.
"And it never gets old," Iolaus grinned back. "By the gods, I've missed this!"
Xena disposed of another warlord, hardly paying attention as his dying body hit the ground. He hadn't been much of a challenge, all things considered. Zagreas was known more for his insanity than his cunning. Seeing her chance as the rest of the warlords were engaged in battle with the others, she pulled her chakram free. Taking only a split second's pause, she threw the weapon in the direction of the three Kent children. The chakram sliced through the air until it reached the chains that bound the children. As it ricocheted from one coil of chain to another, the metal snapped and fell away from the children. As soon as they were free, each of them pulled the blindfolds from their eyes and blinked at the sudden influx of sunlight.
"Dad? Mom?" Michael asked as he took in the scene.
"Run!" Xena instructed them.
"I can help!" he shot back, yelling over the din of the battle.
"There's nothing that you can do! Now run!" Xena yelled back.
Michael nodded slowly, as he realized that Xena was right. What could he really hope to accomplish in this fight?
"Run!" Xena screamed again.
A warlord came up behind her as she spoke. At the same moment, her chakram returned to her hand, completing its journey. Xena deftly caught the weapon, turned to meet her foe, and used the razor edge to slice the warlord's throat. Gagnon crumpled to the ground. Xena shot another look at the children, but they had already turned their back to the battle and were running towards the safety of the surrounding woods. Xena breathed a soft sigh of relief, then turned to impale the warlord who was currently trying to disembowel Iolaus.
"I had him!" Iolaus said, good-naturedly.
"Sure you did," Xena smirked.
Alti watched the scene play out. She did not move when she saw the Kent children flee. They had served their purpose. She had no more use for bait. She already had Clark right where she wanted him. True, she still meant to kill Lois and the kids, but that could come later, at her leisure. Now it was time to end the game, as much as she was enjoying every moment of Clark's pain. She reached into the tailgate of the Blazer and pulled out the lead case she held hidden there. With a grim smile that even touched her eyes, she popped open the case.
Clark was instantly writhing in redoubled pain, his eyes squinted tightly shut. Even through the haze of agony that was his mind, he knew that this new assault was not a memory. Rough moans of pain escaped him as he rocked his body, trying to get away from the deadly chuck of Kryptonite that Alti had somehow procured. His body was already weakened from Alti's mental battering; he could feel how much more quickly the actual stone was bleeding his life from him as a result. He silently cursed his nearly flawless mind for not having forgotten those brutal memories in the first place.
Alti crossed the clearing and knelt by Clark. Clark whimpered as the Kryptonite was brought closer to him. He forced his eyes open, forced himself to see the world around him instead of the world of his tortured memories. The chuck of stone that the shamaness held was thick on one end but tapered down to a sharp, pointed end on the other side. It looked sharp enough to puncture his skin.
"I can hardly wait to take in your soul," Alti said, kneeling in the grass beside him. "Dahak thanks you for your sacrifice."
With that, she plunged the stone into his stomach. Clark cried out in anguish as the radioactive substance entered his body.
To Be Continued...
