Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 17:53:29 EDT From: Vampyreslyer@aol.com Subject: Hero for a New World - 1 Hello everybody, this is probably the first Smallville/Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter crossover in the history of the net. So since it's the first, I'll try to do it justice by writing a kick ass fic. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. I do not own any characters here in his this fic. They are the copyright of Marvel Comics, WB Productions, or Laurell K. Hamilton. The timeline that I'm imagining is about three years after the show, Smallville, making Clark 21. For the Anitaverse it will be after the tenth book, Narcissus in Chains. Chapter 1 The wind ghosted across his face as he ran. Clark ran as if his life depended on it. Lakes, farmland countryside's, and cities blurred past him as he ran faster, heart pounding loudly over the roaring wind. Sweat poured down his brow, as his legs never stopped their endless inhuman run. After a year of fighting and working hard, he had finally done it. He lost the farm. The farm that his parents worked... had worked, bleed, and sweat tears for. His parents were dead and so, too, was the farm. A scream of rage and sorrow left his lips, as he pushed his aching muscles on, harder, faster. His green eyes were narrowed trying to focus on the view ahead of him, but he was running too fast to clearly make anything out. His tight, black shirt clung to his chest like a second skin, as sweat poured down his chest. Still Clark raced on, black hair flying behind him. Many troubling thoughts kept bombarding his mind. What would his parents had said if they knew what a failure he was? Losing their farm, he could sink no lower than that. White, blue sparks blinked around Clark's running body. He was so focused on his running, trying to block his dark thoughts, that he didn't notice the sparks. Steadily, the light built up, turning brighter with its intensity. A low, crackling sound rang through the air, almost like electricity being channeled through a conductor. Clark's eyes snapped open as he finally became aware of the glowing light, surrounding the air around him, and tried to stop running. But it was too late. There was a loud crack, a ripping sound, and the air itself seemed to split apart, with Clark Kent running right through it. Colors. Lights. Clark found himself in a long tunnel of whirling colors and light. Stars drifted around him, twinkling and shining bright in the tunnel of ever-changing light. He spun around looking behind him. Nothing, but blurring colors and more light, greeted him. "Where am I?" he asked, spinning around, looking everywhere around him. What in the hell happened* he wondered, deciding that the only thing to do was to go forward. And that was what he did. Clark found he had begun to jog, then minutes passed, and that turned into a breakneck run. His heart thudded in his throat as he felt more lost as every second passed. The feeling of never getting out was overwhelming. "Yes!" he cried loudly, smiling, noticing light up ahead. He didn't know what the bright light could be, but it most likely had to be an end. A way out. A way out of wherever the hell he was. Clark ran through the light and everything happened at once. There was a sound like a shotgun, an explosion of light, and a wave that hit him with the force of a meteor. The air left his lungs and sweet blackness covered his mind. *** Outside the southern United States city of St. Louis, a storm raged. People ran into their homes, or into the nearest building trying to get out of the relentless rain. Thunder rumbled through the air, shaking buildings, and lightning flashed, knocking out power in some quadrants. In the downtown district of the city a ripping sound echoed off the bricked buildings. The air itself seemed to rip, as if someone took some scissors to it, forming a giant hole in the sky. Clark's limp body fell from the rip, falling more than twenty feet, landing onto the wet, cold cement. There was a sucking sound and the rip closed it as if never there. Clark laid there on the ground, unconscious, the rain still falling onto his knocked out form. A figure ran through the rain, stopping, as they almost tripped over Clark's unmoving body. Gasping softly, they bent over placing two figures against Clark's neck. Standing up, the figure looked down upon Clark. Finally, they came to a decision and with surprising strength for a person so short, they hauled Clark up. The short figure carried Clark fireman style, running as fast as they could, through the raging storm. *** A groan left Clark's mouth as his eyes lazily opened. Green eyes looked around the room. Sheets cuddled around his lap, as he sat up in the king-size bed. The cool wind crawled across his body, and Clark realized that he was indeed naked except for his boxers. *Now this is starting to freak me out* Clark thought, still looking around the bare room. Across the room was light coming from an open doorway. He caught the sight of a bathtub and a shower. With the light on a dim glow covered the room, letting Clark see bare, stone walls. God, where was he. His super hearing kicked in at the sound of the bathroom door opening. A short blond man, maybe five three, entered the room. He was handsome with his short, blond hair cut into a businessman style. Clark swallowed watching as the man walked forward, shirt missing, revealing smooth, smooth chest, and rippling abs. Clark's eyes drifted up to the man's face. Green eyes met blue eyes, the color of the spring sky. "Who are you and where am I?" asked Clark at once. Times like this being tactful wasn't appropriate. Hello, he did run through a tunnel of weird ass light. He had no idea where he was now. "I'm Jason. Jason Schuyler." The blond man smiled, making his entire face light up. Clark nodded, and replied, "Clark Kent. Now, where am I?" He was abrupt and to the point. There was no reason to sugar coat it. This guy could be some kind of psycho killer. Not like he could hurt Clark, but it was about principle. Jason sat on the edge of the bed, making the simple move seem graceful, and said, "Well, you're in my bedroom. We're currently underneath the Circus of the Dammed." Clark raised an eyebrow. "You live in a circus?" Jason shrugged. "Some people live in boxes." A sigh left Clark's lips, "Where are my clothes? I need to get out of here." Jason immediately stood up, placing a hand against Clark's solid chest, stopping him from moving. "Your not going anywhere, buddy," he said, stubbornly. "I have questions, too. For starters, why were you knocked out cold in the street, during St. Louis's worst storm of the fucking year?" "St. Louis?" mumbled Clark, inaudibly. His voice was low, and soft barely audible, but Jason heard him. The blond nodded, giving Clark a confused look. "Yeah, you're in St. Louis, Missouri. What's with the Alice in Wonderland routine? You did know you were in St. Louis, right?" Clark nodded, quickly. "Of course, I knew," he said lying. "I'm just never all together after waking up." "Which brings us back to the question of why were you knocked out? I took off your clothes so you wouldn't get sick. Who knows how long you were out there?" said Jason, concerned. Clark looked everywhere but at Jason. He had to get out of here. This guy was asking too many questions. He just had to settle for a lie and then go from there. "I don't remember," he lied, smoothly. It wasn't exactly a lie. Not really. He really had no idea why he got knocked unconscious. The only thing he knew was that he went through that weird ass tunnel of light and now... and now he was in St. Louis? But for some reason that didn't seem right. Clark wasn't stupid, not by a long shot. He'd seen a lot of things growing up in his hometown of Smallville, and while living in Metropolis, and never had he encountered an anomaly such as that tunnel. There was no way that it just deposited him in St. Louis. It had to have done something else. He was Clark Kent, the last son of Krypton. His life was never that easy. Jason's face washed with sympathy. "Maybe we should get you to the hospital then?" "NO!" said Clark immediately, rising higher in the bed. The sheet drifted lower, stopping directly above where his pubic hair started. Wisps of black could be seen, and the toned muscles of his torso, led down to the Promised Land below. Clark blushed, pulling the sheet up higher, as Jason's eyes followed the sheets descent. Jason laughed long and hard, seeing his embarrassment. "Don't worry about it," said Jason in between laughs. "I see more than that every night at work. Believe me." Clark nodded; cheeks still flushed a cheery red. "Where do you work then?" "Guilty Pleasures." Clark gave him a confused look. "Is that some type of bar?" Jason gave him a teasing smirk. "No, Guilty Pleasures is the hottest strip club the District. It's big around here because of its preternatural strippers. Most people know this." "You work there, so I guess you're a stripper," guessed Clark. A long time ago, he would have been shocked. But he lived in Metropolis now. Being a stripper was pretty mild in the part of town he lived in. It wasn't like he could afford better. "You guessed right," replied Jason. Clark frowned. He wanted to ask, what's a preternatural. But he decided to stay quiet. A feeling in his gut was telling him to play it low for now. He knew nothing about this guy and something about this whole situation just felt off. "Not that I don't enjoy having you here," began Jason slowly. "But do you have someone you can call or something." "I just need to get back to Metropolis," replied Clark, running a hand through his thick, black hair. Jason cocked his head. "Metropolis?" Clark nodded. "Largest city in the U.S. Well, it ties with Gotham but Metropolis is better." "Look, there is no city like that," explained Jason. "The largest city in the U.S. is New York City. I've never heard of Metropolis or a Gotham City before." "That's impossible," snapped Clark. "Everyone knows those cities." Jason was starting to get a little tired of arguing. It had been a long day at work, and now here he was trying to be a good-Samaritan and the guy was a total nut job. "I'm telling you those cities don't exist," he said with finality. Clark was starting to get a sinking feeling in his gut. That tunnel of light had to have done something other than deposit him in another city. Something had happened and now he had to find out what. To Be Continued... If you want to contact me then you may do so at Vampyreslyer@aol.com The next part of the series will be out whenever. Can't make promises. Honestly, it depends on people even read this.