Notes: Smallville belongs to DC and the WB. Gabrielle is from Xena Warrior Princess comes from StudiosUSA and Renaissance Studios. All other characters belong to me. Please send comments to dante0220@yahoo.com .


Preface [Talon, December, 2005]

Lana writes…

Dear Diary,

Despite being away at school so much, the Talon keeps holding its own. And, as with any job of waiting on the public, there are surprises. In this case, Professor Dubois held the Child in check during a conversation with Sheriff Adams and worked things out.

When I get this straight in my mind, I’ll give this to Gabrielle for her scrolls. But you all get a sneak peek first.


Chapter 1 [Talon, Smallville, An early Saturday morning in mid-October]

The sun rose over the Kansas prairie, waking up the residents to their chores. The crisp fall air hinted at the coming winter yet cleared heads and lent a bit of urgency to everyone’s step. Not surprisingly, the townspeople flowed into the Talon, seeking their coffee and pastry and filling every table in the process.

Accordingly, Lana and Miri hustled from table to table, making sure that the customers were happy. While they should have been still asleep in Tucson, the girls stepped back into their familiar roles and kept things moving.

“Wow,” Lana sighed. “I forgot about the rush.”

“I didn’t,” Miri replied from over her shoulder, as they headed back to the cappuccino machine. “I wish your aunt would help.”

The former cheerleader shook her head. “She doesn’t want to be around us anymore, Miri, ever since she found out. You know that.”

“She ought to get a clue,” Miri retorted, pouring three more cups of coffee and setting them on a tray. As she did so, she looked in the corner where her uncle sat, reading over his latest piece. She couldn’t help but notice the townspeople’s looks at him and how they were avoiding him. “I need to get these out. You sure you don’t want Uncle Dave to help on the register? He would do it and he’s got the experience.”

Lana frowned. Twenty minutes earlier, the Professor had offered to pitch in to help them. However, she also knew that the other customers wouldn’t like it. She’s right. I just wish they weren’t so afraid of him. If only they’d understand that the Child isn’t a monster but a misunderstood little boy. “I know and I’m sorry.”

Miri shrugged and took the tray over to her uncle. “Uncle Dave, how’s the reading?”

He looked up at her. “It’s going fine, Sunshine. How are you both holding up? This is some crowd.”

“Yeah, I guess,” she surmised glumly, placing a cup of Cherry-Vanilla coffee in front of him. “I just wish people wouldn’t be so scared of you.”

“Hey, sometimes I scare myself, Miri,” he told her.

“People should remember that without you, there wouldn’t be a Talon,” she declared.

“True. But remember, being different means standing apart. They don’t want to understand me, that’s fine. I can’t help how they feel,” he conceded, casting a knowing glance about the room.

“Yes, they can,” she argued. “You’ve done nothing to hurt them, Uncle Dave. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Can we talk about this later?” he requested, seeing the other patrons looking at them.

[“Ah think we whup ‘em, the Child declared.]

That’s your response to everything. Well, it won’t work here, all right?

[“An’ why the heck not? Miri-Ma’s right. They don’t know shit.”]

Because it’s that very attitude that has them scared, all right? Dave sighed, stuck between his inner persona and the patrons’ attitudes.

“I’ll leave you alone. Be back in a while,” she told him, going to check on the other customers.

The medievalist shrugged, going back to his manuscript.


Chapter 2 [Twenty minutes later]

Sheriff Adams parked her cruiser in front of the café and got out. Her patrols hadn’t turned up any crime or activity out of the ordinary. Might as well get myself some coffee. She walked into the Talon and looked around at the bustling crowd. “Figures,” she muttered.

“Hi, Sheriff,” Lana greeted, hustling over to the counter. “Your usual?”

“Good morning, Miss Lang. Yes, that would be great. Business is good, isn’t it?” the sheriff wondered.

“Yes, it is. Sorry, there isn’t a table for you,” Lana apologized.

“That’s all right. Have a good day,” Adams replied gruffly, turning and starting for the door.
As she made it to the door, she heard a voice ask, “Want to share a table, Sheriff?”

She turned to see Dave pulling a chair out from the table he was sitting at. Should I sit with that boy? Oh why not? At least I can keep an eye on him. “Sure,” she replied warily.

He forced himself to smile. “Relax, I don’t bite.”

“That’s not what I hear,” she mentioned while sitting down and eyeing him carefully. “You have quite a history here.”

“That’s true. But then, so do you from what I understand,” he retorted, motioning for Miri.

“Hey, Uncle Dave, what do you need?” Miri inquired.

“Put her coffee and whatever she wants on my tab, all right?” he requested.

Sheriff Adams looked at him and then at Miri. “What is this?”

“It’s called breakfast, I think,” he retorted with a tone mixing sarcasm and humor. “And I want to talk with you. All right?”

“Bribing a police officer’s not too wise,” the sheriff told him.

He sighed and closed his eyes, feeling the Child surge within him. “Look…I…just…wanna talk. Okay?”

“Sheriff Adams, please,” Miri requested. “Don’t get him riled.”

Sheriff Adams arched her eyebrow and watched him shudder briefly. The other customers’ reaction wasn’t lost on her either. “Maybe you should leave before I have to take you in.”

“Ya’ll don’t wanna do that,” the Child rasped, glaring at her angrily. “Ya think yer hot shit, don’t ya?” He shook his head. “ ’Lax. Ah ain’t gonna do nothin’. Now, Big Bro asked ya what ya want fer breakfast.”

“I’ll get you a cherry turnover,” Miri offered before hustling off.

Two minutes later, Lana returned with the pastry. “Is everything all right over here?”

“If she’d chill,” the Child retorted.

“Sheriff, please, just listen, all right?” Lana requested. Looking at the Dark One, she asked, “If she doesn’t threaten you, will you do the same?”

“That’s cool,” he agreed.

“All right,” the sheriff conceded.

The co-owner nodded, heading back to the counter. We’d best keep an eye on them.


****

“All right, you want to talk. What is it?” Sheriff Adams wondered testily.

“Ah’m lettin’ Big Bro back out,” the Child told her, taking a deep breath and starting the change back.

Thirty seconds later, Dave looked at her. “You see what I go through?” He took a sip of his coffee.

“That just goes to show that you’re a menace,” she assessed.

“Only to people who don’t think before they leap,” he countered, taking a bite of his turnover. “Pastry’s good. You should try some.”

After she had taken a couple of bites, she asked, “And I suppose you’re an expert in that regard? I think you’d explode and take this place with it.”

“This place—no. Wouldn’t happen,” he told her without hesitation. “How familiar are you with Smallville’s history, Sheriff?”

“I know some. Why?” she inquired.

“You know about the incident back in 1981?” he asked, feeling another tremor.

“Just that there was a riot between the developers and the townspeople. Some crazy kid went through the window. Probably some lunatic,” she presumed.

He shook his head. “There’s your problem, Sheriff, you don’t consider who you’re talking to or the situation first.” Seeing her stiffen with indignation, he continued, “I’m your ‘lunatic’. I did what I did because I wanted this place to be here now and years from now despite what my father and Lionel Luthor thought. And actually, I helped to keep things under control.”

“That’s an interesting view. From what I hear, you helped to incite things,” she scoffed.

He rolled his eyes. “Who do you think called in the Feds? That was me too. Ask Lex Luthor. He saw me make the call. Jonathan and Martha Kent will vouch for it as well.” He ripped off another chunk of pastry and put it in his mouth. After swallowing it, he continued, “My father and Lionel wanted a scene. However, I bet you never heard that, did you? No, I would never do anything to harm this town.”

“What about the fight last summer?” she inquired. “You were seen here.”

“In case you didn’t notice, we were being invaded by aliens. I was defending the town along with my friends,” he pointed out.

“And the scene with those suit types from the summer before?”

He sighed, “They were here, looking for trouble. Again, I helped to stop them.”

“It seems you’re always in the wrong place at the wrong time, Professor. Wouldn’t have a hero complex now, would we?” she wondered, frowning at him. “I hate vigilantes.”

He glared at her. “I don’t have to go looking for trouble; it finds me well enough on its own. Besides, I don’t think you could handle the Magog or the suits. Or didn’t you hear how the latter took out my family a couple of months later?”

“That should tell you to leave well enough alone. Some of us have a job to do,” she indicated.

He sighed, “Sheriff, if you can handle them, be my guest. Meantime, you might want to reconsider the attitude.”

She stared at him coldly. “I’d say you’re the one with the attitude. Keep going and I’ll haul you in when we’re done.”

“For what? Speaking my opinion?”

“No, try obstruction of justice,” she accused, her eyes narrowing.

He laughed in her face. “Lady, you need to understand something. You don’t have anything to prove to me. But I don’t have anything to prove to you either. I haven’t broken any laws here. The chip on your shoulder doesn’t become you. I’m sure you’re very good at what you do. Remember though, crime prevention is a neighborhood deal. Work with everyone and they’ll work with you. It works down in Tucson. You ought to try it sometime,” he retorted, getting up from the table. “Have a good day.” With that, he walked up and paid his bill.

Miri looked at him anxiously. “Are you okay? She didn’t tick you off too badly, did she?”

“No more than expected,” he replied, rubbing her arm. “I’m fine, Miri.” He smiled at Lana. “The turnovers are great. Get Sheriff Adams another cup of coffee if she would like one.”

“You’re not going to get arrested, are you?” the co-owner wondered.

“I don’t do trash detail well,” he quipped, allowing the smirk to spread across his face. “Besides all I wanted to do was give her some food for thought.” He shrugged. “I told her to lose the ‘I need to prove myself to the world’ attitude. She’s doing a good job—when she’s not harassing Clark, Lex, or me. I also told her that crime enforcement is a neighborhood activity where we all work together. She should watch our Community in action. So when do you think you’ll be done here?”

Lana looked around and saw Nell slip into the café and head toward the back. “I think we can be out of here in ten minutes, Professor. Let me tell Nell and then we can get back to school.”

As she left, Dave took another look at Sheriff Adams, who in turn watched him. “She never quits, does she?”

“No, Uncle Dave, and neither do you,” his niece replied. “You two are a lot alike.”

“That’s a scary thought,” he declared. “I can see what you mean, though. We both have turf issues, I guess. I’m trying to keep control.”

She smiled warmly at him. “I’m proud of you, Uncle Dave.”

“For what?” he asked, furrowing his brow.

“You’re being very diplomatic with her,” Miri pointed out. “Other than a momentary slip, you didn’t let You-Know-Who out.” Seeing Lana walk over, she asked, “Are we ready?”

“We are. Nell’s got Jill coming in about ten minutes. She’s still not keen on working with us,” the former cheerleader reported. “Well, I guess it’s time for Dr. Kane’s latest test.”

“Yeah,” Dave agreed, looking over at Sheriff Adams. “I just wish we could get along.”

“You tried,” Lana complimented. “Come on, it’s time.”

He nodded, as they headed out the door and around to the alley. Once out of view, he opened the portal. “Come on, ladies.” After they stepped through, he followed and closed it behind him. What a day and it’s only 10:00.



Conclusion [A Month later]

Dave sat in the Talon, enjoying a cherry mocha and looking over a lesson plan. With final exams only a month away, he wanted to make sure that he had addressed everything in his lectures.

“Excuse me, Professor?” Sheriff Adams asked, coming up to him.

“Good evening, Sheriff. Please, take a seat,” he invited.

She nodded grimly and sat down. “Thank you. Been kind of quiet today.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?” he inquired, signaling Sandra for a refill.

“Let me,” she offered and ordered their drinks.

“I appreciate that,” he expressed. “Sorry if I stepped on your toes last month.”

“You pushed it to the limit. But I thought about what you said…and the restraint you showed as you said it. I also noticed this summer when the Kents were home, they were less likely to get mixed up in police business. Your doing, I presume?” she wondered.

Maybe because they had enough during the school year. “I think they can figure things out like that on their own. Besides, they saw me take my lumps this year,” he said cryptically.

“I suppose,” she conceded, seeing his point. “You know, you aren’t so bad.” Seeing him raise his eyebrow at her in surprise, she added, “I’m still watchin’ you. But keep up the good work.”

“Speaking of which, I was wondering if you would be willing to team up on something next month?” he offered. “Something completely normal.”

“Normal? From you, Professor? I’ll believe that when I see it,” the Sheriff cracked.

“I mean it. I was wondering if we could arrange something on drug prevention over at the high school? Maybe bring in some folks from the FBI and Metropolis?” he inquired. “Best to head off a problem before it starts.”

She nodded. “Well, I have made some busts. All right, you’re on. I’ll make the arrangements with Reynolds over at the high school if you can work with us on this one.”

He smiled and held out his hand. “I’ll be back here Thanksgiving weekend. We’ll talk then.”

She shook it. “Count on it. Thank you though for caring. We may not always see eye to eye on our methods, but if we can stay out of each other’s way, we’ll be fine.” With that, she walked out of the café and resumed her rounds.

For a minute, Dave sat there with his work, finishing things up. Then he smiled. “You can stop gawking, Lex.”

The billionaire smirked, as he came into view. “That was incredible.”

“What? I volunteered us for some community service. Big deal.” Seeing Clark walk over with Lana, he added. “It’s better than trash detail.”

“Yok it up, Professor,” Clark replied, managing a smile. “How do you keep control around her? She’s infuriating.”

“Discipline, Clark,” Lex interjected. “We need allies. Here in Smallville, it doesn’t hurt to have her on our side.”

“And not spying on us every five minutes,” Dave added, motioning for his friends to sit down. “Besides, I was reading the manual when she walked in.” He handed Lana a thin blue paperback.

“The Prince?” she asked.

Lex smirked. “Machiavelli’s the master at that. Figures.”

“His is the delivery, but you still have to have your heart in it. I meant what I said last month about neighbors helping neighbors. However, she doesn’t need to hear everything,” the medievalist told them. “On that note, I’m going to visit your parents, Clark. Meet me there?”

“We’ll be there as soon as we close,” Lana promised. “In fact, there’s a cup with Melissa’s name on it.”

“Great,” Dave replied. “Thank you, Lana.” With that, he got up and walked over to the counter. After kissing his niece’s cheek (and ruffling her hair), he took the cup and strode into the storeroom. Once there, he opened a portal and vanished.

Miri shook her head as she straightened her hair. “He would have to do that.”

“Oh, it could be worse, Miri,” Lana told her. “I think we should all be proud of Professor Dubois.”

“Indeed,” Lex concluded. “Diplomacy has never been one of his strong suits at least not until now.”

Clark nodded, recalling some of the Professor’s fits. He’s been gaining control lately. Hopefully, that will remain a positive trend.

Thinking such thoughts, the four friends were glad that their professor had exhibited such control and worked out an understanding with Sheriff Adams. Hopefully, that understanding would benefit all parties concerned. After all, neighbors had to help neighbors and isn’t that what life’s all about?

THE END

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