No, I haven't forgotten about this story. Real life has been a bit busy and besides I have been bad enough to write another story though I haven't finished this one yet. Bad Girl!
I hope you will enjoy this part, though it is not particularly fluffy to put it politely. Yes Ann, the evil A-plot is coming up now. 
I need to thank LaraMoon for doing the beta-reading and giving my ego a friendly push whenever it needs one. 
From Part 17:Clark got up again and a rough wind blew in their faces, carrying some loose fresh snow with it. He placed himself in front of Becca to protect her a little. She looked up at him, grateful.
“I don’t have to be happy about it, do I?” Becca asked.
Clark chuckled. “No, you don’t.” He brushed a strand of her hair back under her cap and smiled at her. “I bet you’re hungry. Let’s find a place that is a little less windy and have some breakfast.”
Serendipitous Infinity
Part 18Becca and Clark continued their way, leaning against the strong wind. Of course only Becca struggled with its force, while Clark did his best to help her. They couldn’t move on just as quickly as they had before. Becca had decided to walk beside Clark, feeling that the cold would catch her in its icy grip much more quickly when she sat on the sled. Moving around helped her only a little, though, and she was clinging close to her father in order to get some of his body heat. From time to time, he warmed her up with another beam of heat vision and they approached a shed on Shuster’s property.
Clark couldn’t see much of it yet, but he knew that Mr. Shuster didn’t lock it. His parents had told him that the Shusters were on vacation, which was kind of strange, because Clark couldn’t remember them taking merely a single day off. On the other hand, it had been a long time since he had last spent more than a couple of days in Smallville and things changed. So why wouldn’t the nice old couple take a second honeymoon, or whatever it was. Clark wagered that it was much more likely their first honeymoon, if anything. Clark couldn’t really imagine that Mr. Shuster had ever left his animals long enough for the first few weeks after his marriage to deserve the expression “honeymoon.” Anyway, the Shusters wouldn’t mind if Becca and he searched for refuge in their shed.
As they came closer, Becca began to walk faster. She was looking forward to being in the slightly warmer place. It would at least protect her from the cold wind and she knew that her father would do everything to make her as comfortable as possible. Her grandmother didn’t understand that a picnic outside didn’t necessarily mean it was freezing. A beam of her father’s heat vision was so pleasant after having been in the cold air that it just wasn’t comparable to a warm kitchen. Besides, Becca was hungry and after a walk through the snow everything seemed to taste a little better. The pancakes they had taken with them were sweeter; the hot beverage she was going to get was even more chocolaty than usually.
Clark laughed as he watched his enthusiastic daughter and soon they were both running over to the old shed that probably consisted of more holes than wood. The cold wind was blowing heavily against them as if it didn’t want them to reach their destination. Maybe Lois had convinced the wind to get him home a little quicker. If anyone was able to do that, it would be her. She was determined enough to get everything she wanted.
Clark opened the door of the shed, giving Becca a soft but helpful push inside. She shivered as the wind’s force suddenly stopped. Clark closed the door behind him and smiled at Becca as she stood amidst all the old stuff Mr. Shuster kept there. Clark wondered if he was actually still using any of these antiquities. There was a scythe that was so covered with grind that it was barely recognizable. At least he didn’t have to be afraid that Becca might cut herself by accident. That was pretty much impossible. As for the other things that were nailed on the walls, Clark figured that most of the tools were heirlooms from Mr. Shuster’s grandparents. He might never have used them himself.
Clark warmed Becca up and then searched for a place where she could sit safely. He wondered if anything had been added since their last visit in the shed. He couldn’t remember it being so crowded. As they sat between pitchforks and flails, Clark unpacked the things he had stored in his backpack. The cocoa needed a little reheating just like the pancakes. He handed Becca a cup of the steaming beverage, which she gratefully took.
“Thank you, Daddy,” she said softly and smiled at him as the warmth was slowly filling her, her hands and from her belly through her whole body.
“You’re welcome, pumpkin,” he replied and poured himself some hot chocolate as well. There was enough for both of them. “I hope it helps you to get warmer. It’s not exactly the right weather for such a trip. The sky should be cloudless and it shouldn’t be so windy.”
“It doesn’t matter, Daddy. I like our trip. I’m glad that we’re taking it,” Becca answered and grinned at him. Her eyes were still slightly red from crying. It tore at Clark’s heart. He felt bad for having destroyed her high spirits. She was slowly returning to her smiling self again. His bad timing was forgiven for there couldn’t have been a moment that would have been any better than the one he had chosen to tell her. It was forgiven, but not forgotten. There was a sad lineament to her smile that reminded him of the pain he had caused his little girl.
Clark could only hope that living with Lois would work out and be worth the trouble it was causing before it had even begun. And maybe Becca could accept Lois and forget about the fact that they had both rivaled to be the center of his attention. Perhaps everything would turn out to be easier than it now seemed to be, which was definitely desirable. They continued eating their breakfast silently, studying each other’s faces as if trying to read their minds.
They weren’t successful. Whether it was because reading someone else’s mind was impossible, or because they were disturbed by a faint sound from afar was impossible to say. However, they both listened carefully. The sound returned and what was only something unidentifiable for Becca, Clark identified as voices. A couple of men were talking to each other. He didn’t know them and was pretty sure that he had never before met them on Mr. Shuster’s property. Of course, he wasn’t in Smallville very regularly but his father had only told him of only one new worker who took care of the farm. This was a whole group of strangers.
As they came closer, Clark could hear more of them. There were noises which confused him as they sounded strangely like people working. It wasn’t actually the right weather for work. His father looked after the animals, but in winter there was nothing to do on the fields, at least not on such a stormy and unfriendly day. He was slightly worried. Was the shed damaged and needed to be repaired right away? He couldn’t see anything that looked like it might needed to be restored. Clark used his x-ray vision to find out what was going on.
There were a couple of men with rather strange equipment and shovels. They were obviously searching for something but Clark wasn’t able to detect what that something could be. Kansas wasn’t really known for its hidden treasures. They were too far away from the sea for any ancient pirates to have buried chests full of gold here. And the men didn’t look like archeologists; besides, any scientist in his right mind would have waited for spring to come. If there were any remainders from another culture, they would remain in place.
Clark felt burdened by the fact that Becca was with him. He would rather have her safely at home. But what could really happen to her, given the fact that he was stronger than all those men together? The men were working silently, leaving Clark ignorant as to what they were doing. He wanted to know more, to dislodge them form Mr. Shuster’s land, if necessary. Clark decided to do something and told Becca silently to stay put. She nodded at his gesture and he turned around to go outside. Snow had begun to fall again, rather densely.
“What are you doing here?” Clark asked as he went around the shed. The three men winced and looked at him almost panicked. When the first shock subsided they shot each other glances to silently agree on their next step. The shovels hit the ground and the men approached Clark. All three of them were built impressively. But Clark didn’t feel the least bit intimidated. “This is Mr. Shuster’s private property. Has he given you the permission to work here?”
“Yes, he has!” one of the men confirmed, but it sounded downright like a lie. Whoever had selected those men to do his work had made a rather bad choice.
“I don’t think so,” Clark said sternly and folded his arms in front of his chest in Superman manner. But even this gesture that usually turned the criminals he faced into whining cowards did nothing to stop the three men who were approaching him. They just smiled at him with an air of superiority that was in no way justified. Obviously the guys couldn’t know that and Clark had to remember that Becca was with him. The three men couldn’t be dangerous to him, but they might very well be to her. He could be glad that she was safely in the shed. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
“That’s none of your damn business,” the man who had spoken earlier replied harshly. His two companions nodded. “We have the right to work here and you’d better leave right now…” His words ended with an unspoken threat that remained hanging in the air as the three closed up the distance between him and them. Clark had noticed that the men’s heart rate had increased. Despite the cold wind, there was sweat appearing on their foreheads. Both were clear indications that the men were lying and got nervous because he refused to run off.
“You aren’t working here with anyone’s permission. And *you* are going to leave now.” Clark stated and shot them his best intimidating look. It would probably have been a bit more convincing, had it not been for his glasses. They always gave him the ‘geek of the week’ appearance that he otherwise used to hide his powers. Right now it was hindering him, but he had to live with that.
It was just then that a fourth man started approaching. Through the dense snow he was barely visible at first. Only when he was very close could Clark see him. He was shouting something that sounded very much like “What’s going on here?”
A second later, Clark himself wondered what was happening. He was struck by a searing pain that pushed the air out of his lungs. His legs gave way under him and he fell down in the snow. He managed to remain in a sitting position. But, as his hands were touching the snow, he found out how cold it really was. Within moments, his fingers were icy cold and hurting. His vision was blurry and his mind swayed just like it had in the dark alley, a few days ago. He had hoped to never experience this again, but it was happening. Only he was still awake, which could be considered as some kind of progress.
Clark looked up and saw the fourth man fumbling with something that emitted a sickening green glow. Just watching it was enough to make his stomach heave. The glow pulsed and every time it got a little brighter, a new wave of pain washed through him. It barely receded when the glow got a little weaker. Clark sensed that he had found the source of his discomfort. He needed to get away from it, as soon as possible. He took a deep breath to gather what strength he had left. The sickening green stone had already rendered him almost helpless. His limbs were trembling and felt as stable as cotton wool.
A panicky squeal indicated that Becca was watching him. Becca! She had given away where she was. And the guys around him didn’t look like they would invite her to a picnic. Though it was costing a lot of effort, Clark got to his feet again. A punch landed in his stomach and sent him back down into the snow. He heard another squeal and as Clark lifted his head, he saw that Becca had left her hideout.
*Run away*, he mouthed as she was staring at him. Clark got up again, feeling that he probably couldn’t do that again. His attacker prepared to land another punch, but Clark realized it in time. He backed away and used the man’s own energy to bring him to fall. He had read a lot about the Asian martial arts, which was helping him now. *Run away* he repeated his silent advice and staggered towards Becca. He could hear the men shouting behind him. They were helping their fallen friend and had obviously forgotten about him for the moment. This was the right time for him to get away. Clark didn’t want to give them a chance to do something to Becca and him by staying put. He grabbed Becca’s hand and together they hurried trough the high snow. Their progress was annoyingly slow. Clark would have liked to carry Becca because he usually was likely to be a lot faster than her. But right now, he felt drained and powerless. All he wanted was to escape these men.
The pain receded as soon as he had made the first steps. Getting away from the green glowing object didn’t make his powers return immediately, but the diminished pain alone was helping a lot. Clark panted heavily, he was exhausted and as weak as a kitten. But these feelings would have to wait. The rush of panic and fear allowed his body to use whatever resources he still had. It couldn’t be a lot, judging from the soreness of his muscles. Yet it was more than he had ever expected. And they were closing in; he didn’t need super hearing to know that. Besides, he was feeling the waves of pain increase in their paralyzing force. They were weakening him further. He just didn’t know how much longer he could remain conscious.
“Becky.” He panted. “You’ve gotta… run, no matter… what happens… to me. Run home.”
He swayed again, his feet no longer obeying his will. He needed to run, run. Fly if he could. If only he could. His feet didn’t leave the ground, not that he had really expected that to happen. Becca breathed heavily beside him. Their hurry didn’t leave her the time to understand what was going on, much less ask questions. She just concentrated on her task, which was running. Dragged along by her father, and half dragging him, they made their way through the much too high snow.
The voices behind him came even closer and the last working parts of Clark’s mind wondered how they had managed to escape the men for so long. It seemed impossible and yet sent a jolt of hope through him. Maybe they would make it; maybe the men behind him would give up the chase. It was his last thought before his back exploded in pain. His ribs screamed in protest as the stem of a shovel hit him in the back. He loosened his grip on Becca’s hand as all his strength finally left him.
“Run,” he let out in a last sigh, but it was doubtable that anyone had heard it. The world around him dissolved in front of his eyes before he even touched the snow. He choked on a mouthful of the icy substance. He struggled to remain conscious, knowing that Becca would need him awake if she was caught as well. If they were caught, that was. Clark tried to get up once more but his sore back protested in pain.
Strong hands grabbed his arm and pulled him up until he hung almost lifelessly between two men. They were dragging him along and from what he noticed it was the direction that led to the Shuster’s farmhouse. He tried to struggle against them, tried to get free. It was more like the hopeless attempt of a worm to get out of the bird’s beak. A high-pitched scream told him that Becca was caught as well. Her screams filled his ears and came closer as her captor caught up with them.
How could he have been so thoughtless? Why had he addressed them? Why hadn’t he just stayed in the shed where no one was going to find them? He would have endured a little pain and told Becca that everything was okay. With a bit of effort she wouldn’t even have noticed. Better yet why hadn’t they just stayed at home? Going sledding was just an awful idea. He could have discussed everything at home. His parents and Lois would have left them alone if he had asked them to. But this wasn’t important now, anyway. He couldn’t change their situation, thus had to make the best out of it.
But how was he going to tell Becca that he was still awake? That he was okay, except for the searing pain that was cursing through him? Who was he trying to fool, anyway? Even if he had been a good actor, he wouldn’t have been able to hide the fact that the world around him was swimming. It threatened to fade into blackness and every time he blinked, he tried to get his surroundings a little clearer. It was frustrating because, with every minute that passed, staying conscious got a little more difficult.
His trousers were wet from the snow, his legs getting undeniably cold. Clark gritted his teeth against the new source of discomfort. The rough grip on his arms was hurting, not to mention that his whole position was anything but comfortable. But it was no use worrying about himself. Clark listened for Becca and heard her muffled cries. He was pretty sure that someone was pressing his hand against her mouth. *Bite him*, he pleaded with her silently. But that wouldn’t be easy. Becca had lost a considerable amount of her baby teeth. Even if she did bite the man, it wasn’t likely that she would actually hurt him.
*Kick him*, he thought. *Kick him somewhere where it really hurts.* But Clark wasn’t really sure whether they had already had told her about that place. Probably not, since she was only seven. He cursed himself for not having taken better care of her. *Please let her be okay,* he prayed silently. The mere idea that something could happen to his little whirlwind was enough to shoot new energy through his body. Clark used the remainders of his waning strength for a last attempt to get free. It was hopeless, though. Clark hung between his captors and struggled for air.
to be continued...
