PurpleBy Blueowl
Summary: Not all Kryptonite is bad, but they all certainly have their side effects. [Takes place in season 2, some time after 'Individual Responsibility']
A/N: This fic started out as an answer to the challenge - Somebody has taken a little stroll...or flight?...while completely sound asleep. Who is it? Where do they go and what do they do? Who sees them? And what happens the next morning?
Well, the story has ballooned from there.
A/N 2: Thanks to Morgana and FOLC's Skype group for being a soundboard and helping me sure up the plot.
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Part 1: Chimes Clark smiled as he smelled his mom's apple pie cooling by the window.
The smell always brought back memories of his years as a boy, running through the fields playing before being called in for lunch or dinner.
Now, he was visiting his parents for the weekend and while life in Metropolis was going well, it was always nice to take a little break, especially when it included pie.
"Clark, how was Main Street?" Martha asked as he entered the kitchen behind Jonathan.
"Good. I picked up another tie. See?" Clark said, showing off a colorfully patterned tie that would join his already extensive collection.
"That's nice, honey," she said, amused but happy he was happy as the phone rang.
“Hello,” Jonathan answered. “Oh, hi, Rachel! How are you? . . . Good, good. . . . Why, yes he is!” He looked over at Clark. “Here he is,” he said before handing the phone over to Clark.
“Hello?” Clark asked, a little confused.
‘Hi, Clark. I heard that you were in town and was hoping I could ask for a favor?’ she asked, sounding rather serious.
“Sure, Rachel. What do you need?” he asked.
‘Could you come down to the Station? I need to show you something,’ she said.
“Certainly,” he assured. “Shall I come now?”
‘Please.’
“Alright. I’ll be there in ten or so minutes,” he said.
‘Thank you. See you in a bit,’ she said before hanging up.
“That was odd,” Clark commented. “Do you know why Rachel might want to see me? She seemed a little antsy.”
“No idea,” Jonathan said, curious as well.
“Well, I suppose I’ll see,” he said, before heading out.
He got to the Station after parking his father’s truck in the nearby lot. It was just after 4:30pm so the workday was winding down as people began to head home for dinner. Entering the precinct, he spotted Rachel behind the front desk and waved at her as soon as she looked up at him.
She smiled back, but she looked more relieved than anything else.
“So what’s this about?” he asked.
“This way, it’s in my office,” she said, all business.
He followed her, a bit at a loss. He nodded at the few officers they passed, each of them people he had known all of his life. They seemed a little confused but happy he was there, although they didn’t attempt to start any conversation with him. Likely because of the expression on Rachel’s face.
Going down the hall, he was suddenly aware of a soft almost musical tune. It was weak, but he was struck by how strange it was to hear something like that within a police station. It reminded him of chimes.
“When I heard you were in town, I realized there is no one I would want to trust with this more than you, and considering what had happened last time, there’s no way I’m going to bring in any outside help with this,” she said as they entered her office.
She closed the door.
“Er, okay?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, but I think it’s better if I just show you,” she said, going behind her desk and pulling out a wad of cloth.
The chimes became a little louder.
She placed the wrapped item on her desk and opened it.
He all but leapt out of his skin.
“What the--!?” Clark gasped as the sound of chimes intensified, but he was more concerned with what he was seeing.
The crystal was no doubt a form of kryptonite, but instead of green or red, it was purple and shined with a glow that pulsed in time with the chimes he was hearing.
What was this?
Was he okay?
“Clark?” she asked, concerned.
“Oh, sorry. It just surprised me,” he said, not taking his eyes off it as he cautiously approached.
He silently took stock of himself.
Was he feeling any differently?
Hurt anywhere?
Did he have any sensation that was not normal?
Other than the sound, everything seemed fine.
“Yeah, it surprised me too when Wayne brought it to me,” she said.
"He found more?" he asked, alarmed.
"This is all he found. It was near where he had found the green rocks. Kryptonite, I mean," she said, before frowning. "There's a green kind and a red kind, right?" she asked. "Both dangerous to Superman."
He nodded, inwardly wincing at the reminder that his weakness was now known to the world. The incident with Metallo blew the existence of green kryptonite out in the open and a few months after that the existence of red kryptonite was ruthlessly displayed. Thankfully the red's mental effects seemed to be manageable now, so if he were to be exposed again he wouldn't make a fool of himself.
"Well, all the more reason to give it to you. If red and green are bad, I imagine purple is bad for him too," she said, wrapping it back up.
"Uh, Rachel, just for future reference, if you encounter any more kryptonite, it'd probably be best if you store it in a lead box. Although, uh, we don't respond to it like Superman, it is still radioactive. We don’t know if long term exposure has any side effects. Also, please take any more you find to my dad. He'll be able to call me and I’ll take it from there," Clark said, thinking fast.
"Okay. Thanks, Clark. I knew bringing this to you was the right answer," she said, grateful as she picked up the wrapped shard. “Do you want me to find a box first?” she asked.
“Uh, no thanks. I think I can take it,” he said before he could stop himself.
Thankfully, she didn’t seem to find his words strange as she held it out.
He took it gingerly even as the sound of the chimes became clearer.
It was actually rather pleasant. And it almost sounded . . . familiar.
He smiled at her as he put it in his pocket before she walked him to his dad's truck.
"Thanks again, Clark. That thing has really been weighing heavily on my mind," she said.
"No problem, Rachel. And thanks for keeping it safe. I'm sure Superman will be happy to know this won't be falling into the wrong hands," he said.
She nodded gratefully and waved as he pulled out.
Driving down the road, Clark took the wrap from his pocket and put it in the seat beside him.
The chimes were still there, but they seemed to be more background noise than anything else now.
He wasn't sure what to feel. He still felt uneasy and, if he was honest with himself, afraid. But other than the sound of chimes, he couldn't detect anything wrong.
"Dad, Mom!" he called as soon as he had parked in the driveway.
His parents ran out, no doubt hearing his uncertain and worried tone.
"What is it, Clark?" his Dad asked as he got out of the car.
"Rachel got, well, Wayne found some more kryptonite, but it's different. It's in the truck.
"What! Get inside the house!" Martha cried, rushing over to the passenger side of the truck where he had pointed.
"I think it might be okay. It doesn't hurt," Clark countered, even as he headed into the house.
"Neither does the red, but it still causes you problems!" Martha returned.
"I'll get one of the boxes," his dad said, running off to the barn.
Fifteen minutes later, the three of them were around the kitchen table, staring at the small lead box that Jonathan had procured - purple shard within.
"I can't hear the chimes anymore," Clark said softly.
"The chimes?" Jonathan asked, worried. They hadn't heard anything.
"When I was close to it, I was hearing something that sounded like wind chimes, but it was more musical. Almost like a lullaby," he said, frowning. "It sounded . . . well, I think it sounded familiar, like I should know what it was."
"Are you sure you feel okay, though?" Martha asked.
"I think so. I just feel confused about what exactly I was hearing and why. This is definitely a type of kryptonite, but it's not like the green or the red."
"Well, it's better to be safe. I don't want you around it at all," Martha said. "The fact you drove all the way here from town while sitting right next to it. . . ."
"What should we do with it, though? What if I encounter it again?" Clark asked.
"As much as I'd like for you to just throw it into the sun, maybe learning more about it would be helpful. You've mentioned S.T.A.R.Labs before, and we know they have some of the green. Could they look into this one?" his father hesitantly proposed.
"Determine if it really is dangerous to me, you mean?" Clark asked, thinking.
"Yes."
Clark nodded. "Alright. Well, Dr. Klein tends to work late, I'll go ahead and drop it off now. I doubt he'll mind if I pop in."
O o O o O
Dr. Klein scanned the test results of the recent sample. Nodding to himself, he jotted down the figure on his spreadsheet as someone knocked on his lab door.
"Come in," he said absently.
"Dr. Klein?" a voice asked by the door.
He looked up. "Superman!"
"I'm sorry I didn't call in advance. If I need to come back later, I can," the Kryptonian said.
"No, no, it's no problem. Come in," Klein said quickly, excited to have an impromptu visit by the hero.
Superman closed the door behind him and Klein noticed a small, metallic box in his right hand.
"So what can I do for you?" he asked.
"Well, I've actually come with something I'd like you to study for me, as well as keep safe until I decide what to do with it," Superman said, putting the box on the counter while adding, "Please don't open this while I'm here."
"Oh! I'll certainly do what I can. Do you know what it is?" he asked curiously.
"It's, well, purple kryptonite. Today is the first time I've encountered it."
"Encountered . . . You mean you were exposed?!" Klein asked, concerned. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, but other than hearing musical wind chimes, I had no reaction to it as far as I can tell. No pain, no emotional change, nothing like the green or the red. However, the . . . tune, I suppose you could say, did sound familiar to me, but I don't recall ever hearing anything like it before," Superman explained.
"Do you know if only you could hear these chimes?"
"Those who were with me told me they couldn't hear anything," he answered. "But the other thing I noticed was that the glow from it isn't like the green or red, but pulses in sync with the sound of the chimes."
"Interesting. Well, thank you for trusting me with this. I'll get started on it right away. Please let me know if you feel any differently. If there are any side effects, they may not be immediate. Do you mind telling me where it came from?"
"It was found near to where the green kryptonite was found a little over a year ago," he said. "And this was all there was in the area."
"Alright, thank you, Superman. I'll contact Clark Kent when I've found anything; is that alright?"
Superman nodded before giving his thanks and heading out.
O o O o O
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