Troublemakers

Author’s Note: Contains slash. Challenge fic suggested to me. I don’t own any characters from Smallville or any other small town…

She could hear him.

Her eyes quickly adjusted to the gloom; she could pick out gleaming chrome and panels of Plexiglas lining the walls. A spider’s web of copper pipes wove across the ceiling, closing in on her oppressively.

She was supposed to meet Chloe for a latte, fer cryin’ out loud…

Her cousin’s Wall of Weird was a veritable shrine to meteor freakdom and a thing of legend for as long as she’d edited the Smallville High Torch. The enormous collage of photos and screaming headlines made her eyes swim just looking at it before Chloe dismantled it piece by painstaking piece. She’d done that little lip-biting thing and she evaded Lois’ prodding - which was inevitable. Lois, like Chloe, was an insatiable snoop.

Years of clippings bit the dust. Lois wanted to scream over such a loss of detailed information and living, breathing folklore that wasn’t just the dirty little secret of Smallville, but its lifeblood.

It was unthinkable.

Lois could always tell when her cousin was keeping a secret. Again, the lip-biting. The manic little smile, like Betty Cooper from the Archies on crack. Stammering. The evasive little way she turned her back and busied herself with things that were already done.

“Spill it.” Lois used her best drill sergeant voice. Her father would have been proud.

“There’s nothing to spill.”

“Sure,” Lois agreed, as Chloe turned away to scan through the database one more time and hit save. She hadn’t made any changes to save. Lois’ eyebrow shot up into the air. “I don’t believe you.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be cleaning up that editorial for the Star?” Chloe inquire innocently, enjoying the dig. Lois rolled her eyes. Lois still hadn’t succeeded in selling Perry a story for the Planet that he hadn’t deemed “sensational, frivolous journalism at its most tawdry.” Lois was doomed to share jump pages with UFO sightings and unflattering celebrity photos.

Somebody just kill me now…

“That story was just an appetizer. Already finished it.”

“Yay,” Chloe quipped as she shut down her Mac.

“Still hungry,” Lois trilled.

“Hungry for what?”

“33.1.”

“You heard me. I want to know what you and Smallville found there.” Prodding Clark for anything related to the meteors was like pulling teeth. Chloe was a soft touch. Chloe’s smile evaporated. “And I wanna know how you’ve been getting in.”

“Lois…you don’t know what you’re asking me.”

“The hell I don’t!” She planted her hands on her hips, standing like a five-pointed star.

“Lois - “

“LuthorCorp just had another shareholder’s meeting. Lex’s stocks just shot up ten points, and he’s not diversifying his interests to include fertilizer anymore. I took some pictures of the construction site out by the old grain mill, Chloe.” She held out her cell phone. Chloe looked skeptical as she toggled through each photo. Tractors with Lex’s insignia plowed through the enormous trench of brittle soil.

“Meteor rocks,” Chloe murmured before she handed it back. “Hate to tell ya this, Lois, but he’s digging on his own property for green rocks. There’s no story here in this picture that his own spin doctors can’t bend to make him look like a visionary or an eccentric.”

“Lois…I can’t let you do this.” She rose from her desk and tugged Lois after her, surprising her with her strong grip. Chloe led her behind the phone booth on the edge of the news room, her whisper practically a hiss.

“It’s not just some little lab in someone’s basement with a few test tubes and a biohazard sign on the door. I don’t remember everything that happened to me when I was there, Lois. I don’t know if that’s because they took the memories away, or if something deep inside me couldn’t deal with it. But I remember the room. It was huge, and dark. And cold.” Her tactile recall of being laid out on a cold lab table, restraints binding her wrists and ankles, made her shiver; she could still see phantom eyes peering down at her, their faces obscured. She heard them, but they wouldn’t hear her.

“I don’t want you to do this.”

“I’ve gotten out of more tightly locked places than LuthorCorp. I went to private school and grew up as an Army brat,” she boasted. Chloe sighed in disgust.

“I’d feel better if you didn’t go through with it. I’m worried about you.” Her voice was pleading, but she knew it was a lost cause.

“I can’t NOT do this. And don’t worry about me.”

“Fine. If you won’t listen to me, I’ll have to sic Clark on you instead.” Lois didn’t like the gleam in her cousin’s eyes.

“You wouldn’t.”

“He’s got those big farmboy muscles. Come on, Lois. What’s the harm in having a big strong knight in shining armor protect you for a change?”

“I can’t even begin to describe how many things are wrong with that question,” she deadpanned.


~0~

And that brought her here.

She’d crossed her fingers behind her back when Chloe made her pinky swear not to break into the plant. She’d set a coffee date with Chloe and begged off at the last minute. A migraine was a convenient excuse.

She was asking the powers that be to forgive her for lying.

She felt cold eyes on her, watching her. Her breath was shallow; she held it until her chest ached. She was glad she’d worn soft-soled Converse low-tops.

From the moment she’d slipped out of the air vents overhead, the security locks were tripped, as the hive of corridors became a maze of dead ends. She counted room numbers out of habit, trying to retrace her steps.

She’d eavesdropped on Lex’s receptionist telling his father in the lobby that he was in a board meeting. She’d scoffed at the lie when she followed his voice.


~0~


Elsewhere:


“You can’t walk through town like that.”

“Why not? What’s wrong with it?” Her blue eyes pinned him, endless questions in their depths. A bike messenger pedaled by and whipped around to give her a blatant double-take. He bounced off the curb into oncoming traffic, where he was greeted by a series of angry honks.

“That’s what.”

“Oh.” She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I still kinda like it.”

“Couldn’t you just borrow something from Chloe?”

“We aren’t the same size.”

“Same height,” he pointed out. She sighed and curled her hands into cups, pantomiming someone measuring a large chest. “Oh. Well, never mind, then.”

“She took me to Buckle. They had a sale, or something like that. I tried a lot of stuff on and listened to Chloe complain about her butt and telling me how lucky I was from around the door.” Her honesty was rewarded with a slow, lazy smile.

“You’re gonna be trouble, Kara.”

“Jor-El told me the same thing about you.”

“Cuuuuuuute,” he drawled. “Stay out of mischief. Here.” He handed her his mobile phone.

“What do I need this for?”

“I’ve got to meet up with Chloe today at home. She said she’s come over once she was done having coffee with Lois.”

“Who’s she?”

“Ya don’t wanna know. Better yet,” he amended, “you guys might get along pretty well. She’s a bigger troublemaker than you.” Despite himself, he smiled at the memory of a brief, scorching kiss in the alley. His face was obscured by Oliver’s green hood and sunglasses, but Lois’ smile was knowing and confident when she fisted her hands in his cowl and took over his mouth before he could even speak. Kara stared at him curiously, and he schooled his face to behave.

“She is not,” Kara sang, beaming prettily at him.

“Keep that with you. Go ahead. Do a little more sightseeing. Get to know the locals. Just…try to tone it down a little. Oh, and don’t bend over in that.” She ran her hands over the back pockets of her tiny denim shorts and peeked over her shoulder at a shop window, appraising her reflection in a universal gesture of “Do I look fat in that?”

“No biggie,” she assured him. She was satisfied with how she looked despite his misgivings.

“Bye,” he tossed back before speeding of. A nearby rack of magazines at the newsstand rustled as he kicked up a strong, gusty backdraft. Kara grinned. She preened herself in the antique shop window one more time and straightened her baby blue tube top. She giggled at a sharp whistle from a boy about her age from across the street, and she waved.

No sooner had he left when his phone jangled in her hand, playing a tinny rendition of some song by a group called the White Stripes. She unfolded it hesitantly and pressed it to her ear, flipping back her long sheaves of honey blonde hair.

“H’lo?”

“Shit,” greeted a harried, hushed voice. “I dialed the wrong number!”

“Oh, wait,” Kara pleaded. “It’s okay. This isn’t my phone. I mean, it’s Clark’s phone,” she corrected. I sound like an idiot, she berated herself.

“Oh, thank God,” cried the voice on the other end. “Where is he?”

“He’s back at the farm.”

“Wait… my phone’s dying, and I’m as good as dead if I don’t get out of here. Please, I need Clark!”

“Where are you?”

“LuthorCorp. It’s…I don’t know what to say. I’m in 33.1.” Kara felt a light go on in her head. Clark had mentioned that wing of Lex’s company, and his face darkened any time anyone mentioned his name.

“Thirty-three point one,” she repeated.

“Tell him to hurry! It’s breaking up…someone’s after me - PLEASE!”

The phone went dead. Kara checked the battery. Still charged. She peered at the caller ID.

Lois Lane. Nice, easy name, she mused. Straightforward and sharp, just like her voice.

It was time to introduce herself. Kara ducked into an alley, right behind Oliver McQueen’s corporate office, and she launched herself into the sky.

~0~

Lois hugged her phone to her chest and fought back a scream. Clark… damn it. The girl on the other end sounded perky and clueless. She hadn’t even gotten her name.

The ledge she crouched behind was cold chrome; the neck of the wall concealing her was claustrophobic. Her heart pounded in her ears. If she wasn’t careful, he’d hear it.

He already had.

She moved like a cat. Sleek, almost silent - to anyone else - and on light feet. Someone had trained her, he reasoned, much like they’d trained him.

Don’t wound what you can’t kill, Luthor had bragged while he made him soak in the tank. He had bits and snatched of conversation filtering down to him while he was immersed in that “miracle formula,” breathing tubes stickling out from his mouth like makeshift gills. Luthor Jr. had a weird sense of humor, and he quoted stuff ad nauseam, but he’s promised him an out. He’d still be counting ceiling tiles at Bell-Reeve if not for that slick rich kid pulling a few strings.

Lex despised his father. They had that much in common. He didn’t have much luck with women, either. He could relate to that, too. His girlfriend left him a fucking note on the table when she took off. Said she couldn’t stand his temper ever since he was discharged. She said he was hard now. Unstable.

He saw her face when he’s beaten that exotic dancer who’d flirted with him and turned him down to a pulp. Luthor offered him an out. And it had been months since he’s seen daylight.

In the meantime, he could see in the dark. Anything. Infrared vision was one of the benefits of the meteorite cocktail swimming through his veins. He could see her finger prints where she’s tried to pry open the door. She smelled sweet. Same perfume as his ex, dabbed at her throat. He’d enjoy it at close range once he squeezed her neck in his hands.


~0~

Kara hadn’t been around Smallville long. She was learning useful tidbits under Clark and Chloe’s tutelage, but subtlety was an art she’d had less time to master.

She told Lex’s receptionist that she needed to use the rest room, dancing gingerly from one foot to the other. The older woman rolled her eyes at the perky eye candy, who’d left the other half of her clothes at home and waved her on.

From there, she rode the elevator straight up.

“Excuse me, miss, you’re not allowed up here - “ She removed his glasses and impudently flicked him between the eyes with her finger and thumb, knocking him out cold.

It was time to take a look around. She stared at the wall, noticing a dead zone of paneling made from lead. She searched further along with her X-ray vision and saw pipes that didn’t lead to the plumbing. She pried open the door to the furnace room and tossed it aside like the lid of a tin can.

She found Lois’ footprints as she followed the air ducts. Up inside the vent. The alarms had already been tripped, but the claxons were silent. Someone knew the intruder wanted to leave as silently as possible.

The most chilling, macabre sight greeted her as she wrenched open an enormous vault when it prompted her to provide the necessary security clearance.

“Sorry, I don’t have an invitation,” she murmured. She couldn’t tell if the occupants heard her. They were staring sightlessly ahead. Physically perfect. Perfectly still. Nearly lifeless. Tubes and shunts riddled their flesh. It was an abomination.

She felt a nauseating lurch in her gut that doubled her over. Pain flooded her limbs and she backed away, sensing that it came from the glowing green tanks. One of the subjects resembled the fetal pig in her advanced biology class, and her heart shattered at such disregard for human life. Humans were fragile, and that made that more precious and worth protecting. She shared these staunch beliefs with Kal wholeheartedly.

Before she dragged herself away, she noticed one cell was empty. Up ahead, there were two sets of fingerprints. She centered herself and shifted her concentration to the faint sounds of the complex. Someone had designed it to be soundproof, no doubt to drown out the screams.


~0~

She was scared now. He savored it. He’d toy with her a minute longer. Her heartbeat was strong and fast. He smiled, his eyes gleaming in the darkness like cold steel.


~0~

Kara was hesitant to call her name. She toyed with the idea of calling her back before she remembered her phone was dead. She encountered more lead walls and decided to rely on her sixth sense. She offered up a silent prayer and asked Zor-El to guide her steps.

Lois heard nothing. Long minutes dragged by. I can make my move now and look for a way out, or I can wait for him to find me…

The choice was taken from her hands when an enormous fist knocked a hole through the wall overhead, mere centimeters from taking her head off. She released a bloodcurdling scream.

He enjoyed the chase. Despite his dad being a sick, twisted sonofagun, he’d taught him to love the thrill of the hunt. Luthor joked that he was letting him stretch his wings and take his new gifts for a test drive. Make sure no one gets out of here. No problem.

She led him a merry chase. She was good. He didn’t flinch when she clipped him with a roundhouse kick. He merely grinned as she slammed a long, broken piece of pipe over his head. It cracked uselessly in two. He could see her mulling plan B in those intelligent, luminous brown eyes.

Plan B tapped him cavalierly on the shoulder.

“Excuse me? I seem to be lost.” He gaped at the size four fantasy in Daisy Dukes and wanted to ask her how the fuck she’s gotten inside. Her fist stopped his line of inquiry when she rammed it into his teeth. His landing made a dent in the steel wall.

“Shit,” Lois breathed, looking dazed. She pointed at him numbly, hand shaking. “You took him out!” she blurted.

“No she didn’t,” he argued, getting up with a strained grunt. There wasn’t a mark on him.

“Oops.” Kara looked chagrined. Lois’ eyes bulged.

“OOPS?”

“Think I’m more than enough man to take you on, Sunshine, along with Spy Girl here. Someone’s been naughty.” Before Kara could react, he rushed her, clotheslining her around the waist. He gave back as good as he got, punching Kara so hard her ears rang before she could recover. She pushed her discomfort aside; Lois needed her. So she had to lure him away from her. Piece of cake. All she had to do was provoke him.

“You don’t look man enough to me.” He sneered.

“What you see is what you get, little girl. I like ‘em young. I’m gonna make you like me.”

“You could be wearing a suit of solid chocolate and waving a platinum card at me and I still wouldn’t want you.” She caught his fist in her palm and squeezed. He felt the faint pop of his knuckle being dislocated and he roared more in shock than pain. He’d learned to block pain.

Lois wasn’t one to look a gift savior in the mouth. She also wasn’t always practical. Instead of running away, she followed them as they barreled through the corridor, heedless of the narrow space. They widened it one dent at a time. She winced every time he landed a blow against that pert, perfect little face. She looked deceptively delicate, but there was a powerhouse wrapped up inside that candy shell. Her voice sounded strange to Lois’ own ears.

“The Red Room,” she cried. “Open it! Quick!” He took advantage of Kara’s pause to hammer at her again, and he stepped on her throat, twisting his foot into her windpipe. She struggled beneath him, her features twisted in pain. Her eyes glowed with yellow fire as she took aim. His skin bloomed red-hot as she burned him. Even though his dense skin didn’t blister, it was excruciating, and he staggered, freeing her. Lois only stared and shuddered.

“Damn. Heat vision,” she muttered. He turned toward her voice and lunged at her, but Kara would have none of it. She ran at him and stiffly shoved him face-first against the steel door. He spoke around his flattened cheek, his words garbled.

“You can’t stop me. You don’t know how.”

“I believe in trial and error.” She dragged him back by the scruff of his neck and his waist and heaved him against it again, and then again. Each blow deepened the dent in the door until it buckled and imploded with a sonorous clang.

The chamber glowed an eerie, blinding red. Crimson energy pulsed through long tubes, illuminating the room and throwing intense heat that made Kara shrink back.

They’d harnessed red sunlight. She’d tried to speak but couldn’t. her strength leaked out from her limbs, and she fell to her knees. Her dance partner was similarly weakened, and his eyes no longer glowed that strange green, but he still remembered his prime directive. Nobody got out. His masculine bulk and upper body strength worked to his advantage, even as Kara’s resolve was flagging. He was on top of her, his crotch straddling her heaving chest. His fists squeezed her throat like a ripe orange.

“I’ve still got enough juice, honey, but you don’t look so good anymore!” His shoulder was wrenched back roughly, and it was on his lips to tell the other bitch to wait her turn.

This time Lois’ foot connected with his jaw with a satisfying crack.

“I’ve got plenty of juice left to handle you, asshole! And no, you’re not enough man for me!” she crowed. He rolled off of Kara, and she plowed her elbow into his sternum before finally knocking him out. Kara stared up at her with weary eyes.

“H-how…?”

“Whatever’s in here doesn’t affect me. C’mon, Sunshine,” she beckoned as she shrugged herself under Kara’s arm and dragged her outside.

“Wait,” she groaned. She gulped in the cool air from the corridor once she was free from the oppressive light. She aimed for the doorframe and seared the steel. Lois felt the heat radiating from it as it dripped like quicksilver in large gobs, creating makeshift bars. She turned to Lois with a weak but grateful smile. “You’re okay.”

“I’m okay,” Lois confirmed.

“I’m Kara.”