Rescue with kneel_majorzod and <lj site="livejournal.com" user="s

[have_no_mercy]

Tess should have been better prepared for this. But then, there's no handbook for what to do when the clone of your half-brother goes AWOL. Coming after her, she'd been expecting. Going after Lena... not so much. It's a hell of a time for her to start losing her edge.

None of that matters at the moment. All she's concerned about is Alexander, his gun, and how to get herself and Lena out of this apartment alive. He won't listen to her and she's beginning to think he's right. She did abandon him, didn't she? And he knows exactly how to get her back for it.

He won't listen, but maybe someone else will.

"Please," she whispers, "if you can hear me, help us."


[Posting order Zod, Clark, Tess]

Comments

[kneel-majorzod.livejournal.com]

Zod isn't feeling like much of a hero this evening. He isn't feeling much of anything, actually, save for a familiar confused blur of emotions that his wine cellar can't seem to satisfy.

But there's another drink, something more potent, that might provide the distraction he needs, and it isn't unusual that he finds himself seeking her out, intending to pay what would be the first of aforementioned unannounced visits. It's not until he listens for confirmation of her presence that he detects anything out of the ordinary, and when he hears it in the form of a soft plea for help, oddly enough, he might just complete his journey with a bit more urgency.

[smallvillekent.livejournal.com]

Clark hears the quiet cry for help and scarcely takes a moment to say goodbye to his family before he takes to the sky to find its source. He knows it's Tess, and the "help us" of the plea makes him think Lena's in trouble, too.

He sees Zod first, putting to rest the idea that he's the enemy in this situation.

[have_no_mercy]

Lena wants to fight, Tess can tell, because that's what she's been taught. But the girl is only human and just as vulnerable to a bullet as Tess is herself. Trying to keep her calm along with Alexander is more than a chore.

"You don't want to do this," she tries to reason, possibly with both of them. She knows she's likely wrong either way.

[kneel-majorzod.livejournal.com]

Whether Zod's newfound intentions are so pressing that he doesn't notice the other Kryptonian's presence or he's simply choosing to ignore him is unclear. Regardless, the Major doesn't stop to acknowledge Clark's presence.

There's no stopping, in fact, until he finds himself between Tess and the barrel of Alexander's gun.

[smallvillekent.livejournal.com]

With Zod as a shield, Clark swoops down to Tess's side, hoping to remove Lena from the situation. Even if she's been specially trained and looking for a fight, she's still a child, and Clark's priority is to protect her.

[have_no_mercy]

Tess is more than surprised to see Zod. She's of the same mind as Clark, however, and pushes a squirming Lena into his arms. "Take her."

To Zod, "Don't hurt him, he's just confused." Alexander certainly is now, but holds the gun firm aimed now at Zod.

[kneel-majorzod.livejournal.com]

Zod's priorities appear to differ, but Tess' warning doesn't go unheeded. Not entirely, at any rate. Alexander is given a bit more than a gentle nudge, but considering that sending him hurtling across the room and through a wall would have been just as easy, taking the gun and knocking the boy from his feet is a fairly tame method of attack.

[have_no_mercy]

Everything happens in a literal blur, Clark leaving with Lena, Alexander ending up on the floor and disarmed. Tess needs a moment to catch her breath and then rushes to the boy's side, making certain he is still, in fact, alive.

[kneel-majorzod.livejournal.com]

Zod remains where he is, simply watching as Tess goes about verifying what he already knows to be true. The idea of leaving, fleeing the scene of the crime in the same manner with which he'd arrived crosses his mind briefly, but for whatever reason, he doesn't.

[have_no_mercy]

She lets out a sigh of relief upon finding Alexander breathing, although unconscious, and sits back on her heels, running a tired hand through her hair.

"What are you doing here?" She asks after a few more moments of silence.

[kneel-majorzod.livejournal.com]

"By all appearances, saving your life," he answers guardedly, expression reflecting his unrevealing tone. Despite the fact that his gaze is currently safely located at the back of her head.

[have_no_mercy]

Tess shakes her head and then stands, as backup security finally arrives to take Alexander to the New York lab. She fusses over him, in as much as Tess allows herself to, making certain they know to treat him well and demanding they let her know the second he wakes up.

Only once they're alone does she turn to Zod. "How did you know I needed help?"

[kneel-majorzod.livejournal.com]

Zod observes all of this silently and without giving up his current position, only moving enough to hand over the firearm still cradled in one hand. When at last Tess gives him her full attention, he returns the favor.

"You voiced the need clearly enough," he tells her vaguely, choosing to mask the rescue as nothing of note. "I answered."

[have_no_mercy]

"I didn't make him, and Lex didn't make you," she points out wearily. "The chances of the processes being even remotely related are extremely slim."

Tess sighs again. "This is all well above my paygrade and the scientists I do have who know this field have already studied Lex's work inside and out."

[kneel-majorzod.livejournal.com]

"Yet Lex's work is obviously the flaw. Simply knowing it inside and out isn't going to be of much help."

Zod pauses a moment before shifting to sit in a chair beside hers and then studies her. "My people could have saved him in a heartbeat."

[have_no_mercy]

She nods slowly, seeming not to notice or react to him sitting. "Perhaps he's not meant to be saved."

[kneel-majorzod.livejournal.com]

He seems to consider that for a moment. "Does he want to be saved?"

[have_no_mercy]

"He's Lex," she replies. "Of course he wants to survive. But he's still too confused to really understand what he wants."

[kneel-majorzod.livejournal.com]

"He wants to feel real. As if he belongs," Zod tells her softly after another lengthy pause. "Part of him hates what he is, where he comes from, but another part feels he has no choice but to embrace it. Because outside of Lex and his nature, there's no real reason for him to exist."

[have_no_mercy]

She shakes her head this time. "He knows what he was created for, but now that he has all these memories in his head it's difficult for him to determine what's his and what's Lex's. His mind can't handle all that new information."

[kneel-majorzod.livejournal.com]

He glances over at her and nods. "Yes, well. Unfortunately, the cloning process often fails to take into account the emotional effect it's going to have on the end result."

[have_no_mercy]

That garners a soft snort. "Everything Lex ever did failed to take into account any emotional affect."

[kneel-majorzod.livejournal.com]

"When survival is one's topmost priority, it's easy to overlook," he concurs quietly.

[have_no_mercy]

"I'm well acquainted with survival," she snaps, finally glancing over at him. "What they did and what was done to you, it's not the same thing."

[kneel-majorzod.livejournal.com]

He lifts his eyebrows at her. "I'm sorry?"