title: Little Hero

author: lisa roquin

rating:

fandom: btvs/smallville

characters/pairing: Clark Kent, Drusilla

disclaimer: all copyrighted characters and their "universes" belong to their respective authors, writers, creators, production companies, producers and long lists of people that are so very much not me. Quite simply, if you recognize it, it isn't mine. No profit made, no harm intended, just having fun.

summary: strange encounters in Metropolis

author's note: TtH ficforall 2004

wordcount: 1022

His parents had reluctantly allowed him to come to Metropolis with Lex the day before to do some Christmas shopping after school dismissed for Christmas break. The shopping part had been interesting, Lex wouldn't set foot in anything like Walmart or Target. Clark had saved up but couldn't afford the stores Lex liked. They'd compromised on the new Metro Mall, which neither had been to yet and was supposed to be the second largest mall in the country, second to Mall of America. Any mall on December 20th anywhere in America was packed, even one as large as Metro Mall which timed it's grand opening with Thanksgiving weekend.

They'd had fun. Lex hadn't even complained too much about rubbing elbows with shopping-maddened 'commoners'. Clark had finished off most of his shopping--namely his mom, Chloe, Lana and Pete. His dad's gift he'd gotten from the co-op (a new pair of work gloves and replacements for three socket wrenches that were either getting worn out or missing). He was still stumped on Lex.

They had stayed overnight, intending to return to Smallville late that evening, Lex had a couple things he needed to sign at his lawyers and at the LuthorCorp offices.

Best laid plans and all that.

Lex was called about midnight by some LuthorCorp exec. Trouble with some deal in Sydney. Of course, the papers he needed to deal with that were at the office. Neither had thought much of the light snow that had started coming down.

By morning, no Lex back at the penthouse and one of the worst blizzards to hit Kansas in the last sixty years blowing full strength.

The sun had set. The blizzard had finally slowed to light flurries, though blowing snow and wind chill were still deadly problems. Electricity was out throughout most of the city, though Lex's building had generators in the basement, leaving the penthouse cozy and warm. Clark really couldn't believe the number of idiots that were out and trying to get around as well as the number of those stranded. Clark hadn't been able to sit at the penthouse any longer. Not when his hearing had taken to flaring up. Clark had the ski mask that Lex had mocked on the way to Metropolis after the show Martha Kent had made of making sure it was in Clark's pocket because it was supposed to snow and she wanted Clark to have it just in case. Hopefully the ski mask would work as enough of a disguise.

The nurse at the ER desk at Metropolis General had tried to stop him from going back out this last time after his fourth time turning up with a patient for them.

The cold didn't bother him, better him out there than some of the emergency workers (which the last one he'd taken into the ER had been) The ski mask was an effective disguise and in this weather no one thought anything of a man who had his faced covered by a navy blue ski mask with badly placed eye-holes becuase it didn't quite fit right seeing as Clark had had the damned thing since he was twelve and this was the first time he'd ever worn it, despite his mother shoving it in his coat pocket every time the forecast called for snow for five years.

"Oh my god," Clark breathed at the woman he spotted. She was wearing an old fashioned long black dress spinning around in a circle laughing and trying to catch stray snow flakes on her tongue. No coat, no gloves, and the dress didn't seem all that heavy. Long black hair flying in snow-soaked streaks around her. The dress was wet too, not just the hem and bottom of the skirt, but the whole thing.

She flopped back into a pile of snow....and started making a snow angel.

"Miss," Clark shouted breaking into a run. Forcing himself not to superspeed. She was going to die of exposure or pnuemonia or something if she stayed out here. "Miss--" he slid to an ungraceful stop in front of her, "You really shouldn't be out here, it's too dangerous."

She smiled up at him. "Ohh, you are the one the stars sang about."

"Uh--" Clark stared.

"Stars sang, said you would be out. I wanted to see."

"It's too cold for you to be out dressed like you are."

"Cold as my daddy's heart" she giggled, then looked sad. "But my daddy doesn't love me anymore."

"Uh--Listen, it's dangerous to be out tonight."

"It's dangerous to be out every night," she whispered then laughed.

"Here, let me help you up, you really shouldn't be out without a coat, and it's just not a good night to be playing in the snow." He reached down, she took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Then she stepped flush against him.

"I'm hungry," she purred, trailing a rather sharp long fingernail over the tiny bit of flesh on his neck that had become exposed. "But not you, I'd break a tooth."

"Uh--" Clark swallowed. "Miss." he squeaked as she rubbed herself against him.

She tugged him to lean his head down, then pressed her lips against his ear through the knit material covering it. "Stars sing such songs little hero."

"Uh, yeah, you need to get inside."

She laughed. "So pretty, such a shame I can't have a taste."

"Miss,"

"Go little hero, save the lost lambs you can. I'm hungry. I'll play nice, you get the good ones, I get the naughty ones."

She spun away from him as her face changed, morphing into something monsterous, her dark eyes now shining feral yellow. "I'm hungry, but for you little hero, I'll only eat the naughty ones in your city."

Clark stood there stunned as she skipped off laughing. What was she?

By the time he recovered enough to move he heard screams. A stranded motorist, a woman her baby had stopped breathing from the direction opposite where the strange woman/creature/monster had skipped off.

He hoped whatever she was she wouldn't hurt any innocent, the baby took precedence and superspeeded towards the sound of the hysterical mother's screams.