Title: A Fallen Hero

Author: DCForever

Contact: bryanc23@yahoo.com or dcforever23@yahoo.com

Feedback: Who doesn't want it? It is definitely welcomed.

Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction

Archiving: Archiving is permitted as long as I know of where it will be posted and that all the above info stays intact.

Disclaimer: Lets get this straight...I'm not affiliated with anyone...don't have anything of major value. Think that about covers it.

Author's Note: This is not only my first attempt at writing a Smallville story, but its also my first non-romantic or erotic story that I've written. Wanted to try something different. Wanted to see if I could actually write something that could be used as an actual storyline on the series. So here it is. And I definitely would like to know what people think after they read it. As soon as Fanfiction.net is back online, good and strong, I will submitting it there for sure. Oh, and this story wasn't beta-ed so there are sure to be a ton of mistakes. Plus, this story was written as a stand alone story.

Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion...mouths wide open...stares of uncertainty and confusion...tears frozen on the flesh...heart beats stalled...expressions varying from face-to-face.

Casings of metal floating through the air leaving ripples in wake much like that of objects moving in water.

The glistening metal was coming from all directions. Some connecting with the hand...others the face and chest...but none seemed to pierce the flesh. Shell after shell emptied to the ground...movement was swift and on target...the movements were a blur to the on-lookers, but expressions started changing from sadness to that of joy and those scared turned to those of cheer.

The situation was turning itself around and their faces told the story. All was okay.

Empty shells and pellets lined the floor, though none had gone further than the court's out of bounds line. A midst everything that had happened in the fleeting moment...stood a boy. A boy that everyone knew and many admired. His clothes in shambles...flannel material barely hanging on by threads...muscles unseen by anyone revealed at their peak...minature bullets holes in the clothing that was left, yet somehow he was alive and still standing. Breathing wasn't easy and pain like none he had ever felt coarsed through his body...yet he remained standing.

He had endured the wraith of 20 gunmen occupying auto and semi-automatic weapons whose only objective was to kill everyone in the room if their ransom wasn't paid. Though hurt and beat down, the young boy knew that his secret was no more, but his friends and fellow classmates would live for another day.

Then the blur was seen once again, though this time much more noticeable. The beating had taken much strength and speed from the young boy, but he found the strength to scurry throughout the gym gathering all the gunmen and their arsenal. Moment later their weapons had been squashed into a ball of metal and their body's wrapped up with volleyball nets. As before, the blur suddenly regained the form of a that of a young boy...a boy in much pain. He turned to see his classmates, but as he turned all he noticed was the dizziness he felt in his head, the spinning of the room and the floor as his body and finally his head landed.

No one in the bleachers moved...they weren't sure what had just taken place, but they knew they had just witnessed a miracle and he was one of their own. He was a fellow Smallville Crow and one of the local farmboys. Though all they saw now was their savior..lying in the middle of the gymansium's floor beaten to a pulp. The question wasn't 'how had he managed to stop all those bullets', but 'how did he survive being hit by just one of them?' Many of the students started heading towards the young man while others seeked the exits.

All motion suddenly came to a stop as they heard a loud, sudden noise from above. Everyone's eyes and attention focused on the noise coming from the roof. A hatch on the roof flew open and a rope descended to the floor followed by a masked man wearing what looked like a cat burglar's outfit. He quickly observed the damage in the room and noticed the young man lying on the floor and 20 or so men struggling to get out of their netted predicament. Shaking his head and chuckling, he pulled out a small black box that triggered a small explosion from the back of the gym. Bricks and mortar went flying through the air as another explosion occurred and then another, and another. The students panicked and ran for the exits as fast as they could. Some were knocked to the floor and trampled on as the panic ensued.

The man (Cleaner) had done his job and earned his money. In a few moments, 20 or so men and probably a few not so lucky students would meet their maker and no one would be the wiser. Why had this all taken place? Who had orchestrated everything? The black, masked man quickly was raised from the floor back through the roof. A black helicopter was seen flying away from the scene of the crime.

Most of the student body, that had attended the after school rally, had escaped the disaster, but there were a few unlucky ones as well. One in particular...valiant, young student by the name of Clark Kent. He had risked his life and had taken on all the gunmen himself, but in the end he couldn't save himself. The explosions could still be seen and heard as Smallville High's Gymnasium came tumbling to the ground. Bricks, steel rafters, support beams, nets, goals, and metal bleachers alll crumbled as dust quickly arose from the ground. Sound of prayers and crying and verbage of disbelief could be heard from the masses...school teachers, principals, some parents, and other on-lookers watched in amazement and shock as the building fell to its dimise.

Questions were popping up everywhere...though no one had any answers? Why had it happened? Why them...why now? How was one person ableto initially save all their lives? Bullets had been coming from all angles...some no more than 20 feet from the targets, but yet no one had been initially injured. The speed...the blurred image...the courage...where did it come from? Clark? Kent? The clumsy, wholesome, ordinary farmboy...where...how...did they all imagine it? The questions came in all forms, but they seemed to center around the same thing...how had Clark Kent done what he had done? How was he able to single handedly save all those people. Though some had their theories, no one knew the real answers. They all knew they were saved once and would have probably been saved again if the young man (he became a man when he saved his fellow classmates) could have had time to recover. Screaming...crying...and build up of anger started echoing through the crowd. On this day, many had been lost, yet many lived.

A short, blonde girl came running through the crowd, holding a digital camera, screaming out Clark's name. She was asking everyone she ran into what had happened and where Kent was, but no one could bring themselves to tell her. They knew she was a friend and colleague so they wanted to spare her for they were uncertain themselves. Had anyone seen him escape with the rest? Was he buried somewhere in the midst of the rumble as a result to the explosions? Had he gone to meet his maker as well? They had all left him lying there on the floor while they ran for their lives. They had left him...after everything he did for them...they just left him. Many asked if he had made it out, but everyone knew deep down that they had failed as human beings and had left their savior to die.

Hours later, police, firemen and a large number of students that had stayed around, dug throughout the rubble hoping to find some sign of life. After hours of digging and hard work the police chief called off the search. All the bodies that had been found was laid out in a row on the ground. Many on-lookers grieved over the lost...some friends...others not, but at this moment in time it didn't matter. The students knew that it could have easily have been all of them under the rubble, but because of a gracious miracle they weren't.

The count was never established. Some students went to the rally and others didn't. There was no true way of knowing who had been lost in the unfortunate event. The police chief felt that all the bodies had been found, but the survivors knew better. Confusion reached the faces of the masses again as they realized that their hero's body had not been uncovered. Where was it? Did they overlook it?

The students rushed the building's rubble once again and tore through everything they could manage to tear through. Thirty minutes later, a loud shrill was heard. Someone had found remnants of flannel material hanging from an arm, but it under what was left of the scoreboard that once hung high over the glossy gymnasium floor. The volunteers worked together and removed the scoreboard from the scene and there laid the missing body. The volunteers stood around the beaten, lifeless body of their fallen hero.

A few came forward to pick up the remains and to their surprise found another body beneath. This body was still warm and visually shaking from fright. The students immediately recognized the popular, ex-cheerleader. The EMT personnel immediately rushed in and started checking the girl's vitals and to their astonishment found no physical damage...she was just in shock. The brunette's hair and clothes were a mess, but otherwise she was okay. One of the students bent down to the body of the fallen hero and tried to retrieve what looked to be a necklace, from inside the young man's mouth. With some help, the piece of jewelry was pride from his mouth. There was a small rock attached to the necklace that gave off a bright greenish glow. Once free, the necklace was handed over to the sole survivor.

Chloe had finally gathered enough courage to see the body of her deceased friend. Upon seeing Clark's body, she turned and immediately saw a fellow student handing Lana her necklace. The
bright green glow was no more. Reporter instincts kicked in as Chloe realized that she had seen Lana's necklace glow on a few occassions. Everytime it occurred, Clark had been nearby and was either stumbling or in some sort of shock or pain. She quickly crossed over the rubble and grabbed the necklace from the young lady and threw it with all her might. The meteor fragment became bright again for a second or so as it travelled over Clark's body and then the glow was gone again as it landed far away.

Lana and the others weren't sure why Chloe had reacted that way, but stood in amazement as the stone reacted to the prescence of their hero. Chloe wasn't sure what she had uncovered, but quickly left the scene with her hands covering her face and tears. Lana waved off students and EMT workers and slowly made her way towards the body. By this time her boyfriend, Whitney, had joined her by her side. He tried his best to comfort the girl in her time of need and sadness.

He and Clark had their differences, but this had been the second time that Clark had saved his life and countless time he had saved his girl. He now accepted the fact...all those times Clark had been present when someone was in trouble...it wasn't luck or good fortune that he happened to there...he was there because he knew he could make a difference. Hugging and leaving Lana's side, Whitney and a few of his friends gathered around the body and succeeded in lifting it in the air.

As quick and easily as they had lifted the body, it was just as quick at hitting the ground again. Whitney and his friends immediately scurried away as they had realized that the body was no longer lifeless. A head jerk here and a finger flinching there was great cause for the EMT to push their way through the students. They immediately started working on the young man, but they were unsuccessful in extracting any vitals from the young man's body.

They had witnessed small signs like these on previous death-bed ridden patients so they knew they were wasting their time. The body sometimes has nervous flinches when it shuts down, but the workers had never witnessed a dead body whose eye lids suddenly pop open. There they were, starring eye to eye with the young man, but still there was no other movements...not even the eyes. Though there was no movement among the body, there was plenty of movement by the students and on-lookers. Both girls and boys alike were dropping left and right...fainting from seeing the eye opening event, Lana included. The workers waved back over Whitney and his friends and together they were able to get Clark's slumping, beatened down, possibly dead body to the ambulance.

Kent was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors and specialists ran every type of test known to man, but none yeilded anymore information than when they first started. The body was warm and gaining in temperature, but still no movement. Jonathan and Martha Kent pushed their way through the hospital's double doors and made a b-line for their son. Lex Luthor followed close behind with a team of lawyers and specialists of his own. At the request of the Kent's and some help from Lex's attorneys, all hospital personnel wase removed from Clark's room, tests were halted and all findings and results were seized and given over to the Kents.

Lex knew his friend was in trouble and had been through a huge ordeal. He hadn't seen or witnessed what had happened, but from the news that was circulating throughout the town he knew it wasn't good. His best friend could die because of his actions. Clark was supposed to be where he was always at after school...at his farm helping his dad. Why of all days had he broken his routine...why on the day that was supposed to his pay day?

There was no way for him or his Cleaner to know. He blamed it all on the bumbling idiots that he had hired. Why had they tried to take a school hostage after having stolen $20 million of untraceable bonds from the Metropolis National Security Holdings Bank, owned by his father? They had been told to hide out and lay low. Taking over a gymnasium of students and faculty wasn't Lex's idea of hidding out. They had their own agenda. They wanted to steal Lionel Luthor's money and double cross Lex in the mean time, but everything fell apart. After they raided Lex's mansion, The Cleaner was sent to track them down and dispose of them. Lex should have sent a Cleaner that actually had somewhat of a heart. If Lex had known that his man would have taken down an entire building packed full of innocent people, he would have taken care of the problem himself. He failed himself, his best friend, and the town...yet no one knew, but him.

Lex knew that Clark was always holding something back. He had secrets that he kept locked away and would probably never reveal, but Lex had his own secrets. Like Clark, he hoped they would never get out. Lex watched as Clark's parents kneeled by this bed praying for some kind of sign...a sign of anything...just a sign, but nothing came forth. Clark's body never moved, eye lids still open and eyes gleamed like they always did, but nothing more.

It was 1:30 am the next morning when the doctors were allowed back in Clark's hospital room. It was then they announced his death. What more could they do...the body was lifeless and showed no vitals. At first they were going to suggest a coma stasis, but even coma patients show vitals. Clark's body showed nothing.

As the news filtered through the hospital hallways, what students were left, broke down in tears. A tearful and anger ridden Lex Luthor walked furiously down the hall and exited the building. Students, faculty, and volunteers flocked to the large glass window that allowed them to look in on Clark's form. They still had no answers to what had happened the previous day...they only knew that there layed the body of a fallen hero...their hero...their superman.

The funeral was held two days later. The Kents had requested for a small, personal funeral...only close friends and family were allowed. Clark's best friends, Chloe and Pete, listened as the pastor and Kents said their final farewells. Lex then followed suit, leaning over the body, kissing each cheek and placed something in the palm of the still warm hand. He stood back up, said his goodbyes to the Kents and said farewell to Smallville for good. Moments later he was gone. Chloe and Pete reached their friend's body and broke down in tears. They said their goodbyes and thank yous. Pete had been in Metropolis when everything went down. Chloe reflected back on the day and blamed herself for losing her best friend. She had asked Clark to cover the rally until she could finish up an article she had been struggling with. She had been walking out of the main school building when the explosions first started and arrived on the scene moments later. She knew that if she had gone herself and allowed Clark to go on home, that she would have been part of the bloodbath that was destined to happen. No, she wasn't mad about that. She was mad because she wished she could have witnessed her best friend in the peak of his performance. She, like Whitney, realized that after everything that has happened to the people of Smallville...Clark was special...he was brave...he was nothing of this world. She only wished that she could have witnessed his heroics...and died by his side. The tears that flowed down her face weren't of sadness, but of pride, assurance, and joy.

Martha stood by Jonathan's side and watched the scene unfolding before them. She looked at Jonathan as if she was asking for his acceptance and started walking toward the two teenagers. She wrapped her arms around Chloe and Pete's shoulders and gave them a great big hug. As she led them away from the casket and towards the cars she smiled at her husband. Martha once again stood by her husband as she reached in their truck and pulled out a floppy disk container. She smiled at the two young people and handed the case and a letter over to Chloe. Chloe slowly opened the letter and read its contents. The letter mentioned that the floppy disks were Clark's daily journal entries...from the time he was able to write and type. They told of his abilities, his misfortunes, his adventures and everything that he had ever felt or experienced. They were now Chloe's responsibility and she could do whatever she wished with them. Certain people deserved to know the truth...if not all the people of Smallville, then at least those closest to Clark. The others could just write it off as being another freak incident in the Meteor Capital of the World.

That very night, Chloe was in The Torch's office reading the contents from disk-to-disk. She was astonished at everything that Clark had kept from her and the rest of his friends and even somethings from his parents. She was amazed that she was able to read through most of the 125 diskettes in one night. Being the curious person she was, she inserted the last diskette into her Mac and clicked away. There was only one folder on the diskette and it was labeled 'My Best
Friend-Nosey Reporter-Cant Keep Out of Everyones Privacy-Lana Wannabe-Much Have An Answer for Everything-Cute Blonde-Ms Attitude-Amazing Looking-Fashion Emergency Reject-Dearest To My Heart-My Everything-CS.'

Chloe wasn't amused, but she immediately knew the folder was addressed to her. She quickly opened the file and there before her was a file called 'Here's The Answer.' Without hesitation, he clicked on the file and immediately the screen went blank...then all the other computers in the room went blank as well. A virus had been released into the school's network and all was lost. A symbol, out of nowhere, appeared on all the computer monitors. It looked like a Large 'S' with a red open shield encasing it.

Chloe read the message that quickly scrolled across the screen. Sorry Chloe, it is for your own good. I know you kept records of everything meteor related on The Torch's computers and wasn't sure about the school's network so I've erased everything. Including the files you kept relating to my adoption. I knew, as an up and coming reporter myself, that there was no way that you would get rid of the files so I did it for you. Don't try your laptop...you'll find that it isn't your's. Neither is your camera. All replaced with Lex's resources. You may not understand everything that is going on, but I hope you read all the files that were given to you. If not, you only get one chance per diskette. Each disk was lined with viruses so after they were read and ejected the next time inserted they would cause a chain reaction of viruses. I left my parents the instructions on how to setup the viruses so don't be mad. I mainly wanted this done so no one close to me could ever be hurt because of what I was or who I became. But Chloe, now you know.

By this time, my parents should have given Lana and Pete exact copies of all the diskettes, but the last one. Each of the last disks are different and addressed to the individuals. And if you are wondering, the journal you read was an ongoing journal. I decided on taking these extra precautions after I realized Lex wasn't who or what he made me believe he was. And I hope that you aren't receiving this journal because of any event that might have caused harm to you, Pete, Lana, or myself. I've made a huge decision in my life, I know what I want to do and who I want to be. So this was to be a goodbye for whenever I finally decided to leave Smallville and the ones I loved forever. Guess this means goodbye. Life with you has been wonderful and I will miss you all. Take care Chloe and remember to follow your dreams.

The screen went blank again. Tears flowed harder and faster down Chloe's cheek. She missed his best friend. She missed her one true love.

The screen came back to life. Oh, yeah, one more small thing...if you noticed that my parents had a small funeral for my closest friends...then I should let you know that somewhere or somehow... Screen went out again, but then the same symbol that had appeared earlier slowly centered itself on the screen and below it read,

'Superman Lives.'

The End
(Comments and Criticisms Welcomed!)