Welcome to another Smallville.
Where Lex is NOT rich.
Where he was never caught in the meteor shower.
Where an important friendship began on the Loeb Bridge. But not with an accident. Just a simple discussion between two high school outsiders..
It is also a place where the tall lanky red-haired Lex takes some people...hostage.
"Confess to what you've done!"
"I won't confess to anything, Lex." Even at gunpoint, Dominic Santori had his usual look of muted anger and arrogance.
The bearded Santori had combed strands of hair over his tan bald head, and he wore a black tie with his short-sleeved shirt and pocket protector, still loaded with pens.
"What is it you want, Lex?" Santori asked. "Not to shoot us all, I hope."
Santori had a look of quiet defiance. Much like the hostage-taker.
At that point, Lex Luthor turned away from his science teacher and directed his attention to two students in the classroom.
And he pointed his gun at the tall dark-haired guy. And the girl with him.
Before Lex took his science class hostage at gunpoint, some other alarming frightening things happened. Like when Lex told Clark he shot some students at a pep rally.
There was also Lex's clash with the janitor Mr. Maffei. Not to mention the shop teacher Mr. Franklin.
The conflict began when Lex was pulling items out of his locker.
It was Locker Clean-Up Day. Mandatory for all students. Lex was so tired he forgot. So he returned when the school was empty.
There was a long row of red lockers, and Lex and Maffei ended up being the only ones in a long empty hall.
Maffei stood holding his broom like he was on guard duty at Buckingham Palace. And he smiled. Not a good smile.
"Well, your locker certainly is messy," Maffei said. The janitor had sharp eyebrows, and some kids at school said he looked like Spock as a bald accountant. Except Spock would never wear the kind of smug smile Maffei wore as he confronted Lex.
"I've been busy," Lex mumbled. With dark lines under his eyes, Lex looked slightly disgusted as he pulled out a piece of paper with the word "LOSER" scrawled on it. .
"Hmm," the janitor said. "You still need to clean out your locker." His voice dripped with venom. As his eyes narrowed, his voice became low and snide. "Are you some kind of pig? You and Lionel both."
Normally, Lex would just ignore the janitor. This was, after all, the creep who once asked him if he read "Playboy." "Playboy," the janitor insisted, was for perverts.
This was not, Lex guessed, meant in a religious fundamentalist kind of way. It was just another of Maffei's snide put-downs. If you like women, he suggested, there was something wrong with you. Maffei wanted to get inside your head, create conflict. Some people were like that.
Maybe he even wanted to make some guys gay. Just to make fun of them. Make them his new targets of ridicule.
At the time Maffei made his snide "Playboy" remark, Lex suspected the janitor was into all kinds of Internet porn. Usually, the biggest critics of others were the biggest wrongdoers.
Whatever else Lex was—poor, living in a shack, 21 years old and a senior in high school—he was remarkably intuitive. In some ways, an expert in evil. The subtle evil people engaged in.
"As I said, I've been busy." Lex's tone was dismissive. Lex was, of course, very tired. But going to the Beanery for his usual cup of coffee just was not possible. Cleaning out his locker was something to do and it would keep him out of trouble.
"Hmmmph." Maffei laughed. It was a "hmmmph" combined with a snorting laugh.
Again, Lex recalled the "Playboy" remark. At the time, Lex pointed out that teen involvement in pornography was a serious matter, not something to joke about. In response, Maffei dragged him before the principal.
At first, Lex was silent as Maffei offered his false accusation that Lex had started an argument with him. Lex was used to that sort of thing. Ever since grade school.
But then for whatever reason, Lex lost his cool. Maybe it was that flickering smile from Maffei.
You could spend years enduring unfairness and then one day just snap.
"Consider everything that's been done to me!" Lex shouted. Maffei looked delighted with the reaction. Even more so when Lex yelled at Kwan.
"You know nothing about the situation! You don't want to know! Or even try to find out!"
As a result, Lex got a lengthy lecture from the stern-faced Kwan. Though at least Maffei was gone while Lex got the lecture.
And now here he was with Maffei again. Unfortunately, Lex was too tired to be cautious.
It seemed like whenever Lex was tired that's when the mean people showed up to "haunt" him, as it were. Of course someone like Ray was on him every day with his snide put-downs..
It was almost as if some people with their flaws and their jerk attitudes were directed by some evil being or evil source. Sent at the right time to prey on the tired and vulnerable.
As if to confirm Lex's theory, the shop teacher, Mr. Franklin, arrived. Franklin looked like Marge's husband in the movie "Fargo." Only with a smug grin.
"Hey, Lex. What's the deal? Why are you still here? We need to clear out the building, get things locked up. Kwan is waiting."
"Why is Kwan still here?" Maffei asked.
"Ah, giving Walt another lecture. "
As they both stood there with their snide smiles, Lex thought how a small town was supposed to be nice and friendly. Yeah, right. Small town friendly, my butt. As with any place, some people were just mean.
While wearing his smug grin, Maffei tilted his head toward Lex. "I was just asking Lex if he and Lionel are pigs."
Now a smug grin from Franklin. "That's a good question, Lex. Are you and Lionel pigs?"
Again, normally Lex would not speak to the two sadists. But because of a lack of sleep, he slammed the locker shut. Then he struggled to gather up all his stuff in his arms.
With a look of mock alarm, Franklin held up two open palms. "Whoa, Lex. Take it easy there. You seem a little angry."
"What do you expect from a twenty-one-year-old pervert? Probably deliberately flunked grades just to be around high school girls. Pervert. You're a pervert, aren't you, Lex?"
While tucking a notebook under his chin, Lex had the good sense not to respond.
"You don't want to show anger, Lex," Maffei said. "You don't want to lose your temper there, buddy."
"He's right, Lex," Franklin said. "I might feel threatened. In fact, I think I am feeling threatened. How about you, Joe?"
Lex glared at them. "That's what you two are about, isn't it? You're bullies. You get jobs at a high school so you can pick on a student who can't fight back."
Once the words were out, Lex regretted them. Any mention of "fight back" could be dangerous. When he mentioned this during a confrontation with a Metropolis cop, Sam Phelan, the cop wanted to know his home address. Just in case Lex decided to "fight back."
Beaming now, Franklin put his open palms up higher. "Easy there, Lex."
"O-o-o-o-oh!" Maffei exclaimed gleefully. "Hear that? Lex wants to fight back."
Lex wanted to leave quickly. But it was hard with all the stuff bundled in his arms.
Then he dropped them. Groaning in disgust, he scrambled to pick them up.
Franklin stepped on one of the items.
First, Lex looked up. Then he stood up.
"You're supposed to be protecting us," Lex sputtered. "And instead you act like this?"
Leaving the stuff there, Lex started to walk away.
Maffei used the broom to block his way. "Did you hear that, Mister Franklin? Lex just threatened us."
Lex pushed the broom up but now Franklin blocked his way.
"Did he?" the shop teacher asked.
"Oh, yeah! And he left this mess, too. Threw stuff at us. Hey, let's drag him off to see Principal Kwan and say he threatened us."
"Yeah, I'll back you up on that, Joe."
"I'm sure Kwan will believe us. Look at the angry hot-tempered guy we got here."
Sighing deeply, Franklin moved with amazing swiftness. As if arresting someone, the teacher grabbed Lex's wrists and joined them.
He smiled. "How about that, Lex? You're about to get kicked out of school."
"Not that I care," Lex muttered.
Franklin tilted one ear toward him. "What was that, Lex? Another threat?"
Lex glared. "Why don't you two back off?"
"All right, Lex. Let's go."
But Lex felt too angry to just be silent. "Let's face it: you two feel like nothing. You are nothing. So you pick on other people as a fringe benefit of your job. I can understand high school students being like that. What's your excuse?"
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Lex. Let's go." Franklin tightened his grip on Lex's wrists.
Of course a teacher shouldn't touch a student in any way. Ever. And certainly not like this. Not unless he wanted to get sued.
But Franklin knew Lionel couldn't afford a lawyer and was usually too drunk to find one. Assuming Lionel even cared.
And Lex knew all that, too.
He also knew the game Franklin would play. Once they got to Kwan's office, Franklin would free Lex's hands. Kwan would never know of the violation of school rules.
Lex could live with all that. He could just ignore it. He had learned to ignore a lot of things. All his life.
But then he heard Maffei snicker, and that set Lex off.
Swiftly, he lifted his fists, breaking free of Franklin's grasp. Delighted, the two men laughed.
"Ho!" Franklin roared.
The laughing stopped when Lex head-butted him.
Almost simultaneously, Lex grabbed Maffei. Instantly, the janitor's smirk was gone. In its place was this brief mean look. A look that said, "You're nobody. You can't do this to me! You can't hurt anybody!"
That look was gone, replaced with a startled look, when Lex head-butted him. Twice.
Lex was unclear what happened after that, so great was his rage and fury.
It was all a blur for the red-haired young man. Fists flew, mainly his. Franklin and Maffei got slammed into the lockers. More than once. Both were silent, save for the occasional grunt or groan. Each man looked terrified. Which Lex loved.
First Maffei went down then Franklin.
Both lay unconscious on the floor.
Heaving angrily, teeth gritted, Lex stood there with black-gloved fists clenched. (Sunglasses and black gloves didn't make Lex less of an oddity at school.) Then he saw them.
Ray and Lucy. They stared at him. Then they ran off.
To tell someone, no doubt.
Lex's normal life, such as it was, was over.
But Lex felt no need to flee the scene.
Instead, he simply let the intense vivid vision fade from his mind.
"Lex, did you hear me?" Maffei the janitor asked in that almost sing-song mocking voice.
Quietly, calmly, Lex closed the door to his still-messy locker, and he walked briskly to the nearest exit, Maffei all the while shouting after him.
"Lex, you still didn't clean out your locker!"
Once outside, Lex increased his pace, ignoring the taunts of the janitor as he shouted through the open door. He'd clean out his locker in the morning.
Even when Lex almost collided with Ray and Lucy, sending the girl into spasms of laughter, he ignored them.
He just kept going.
Lex didn't know it but he had a meteor rock ability.
It came from hanging out with Greg Arkin and Tina Greer. The two were always exposing him to meteor rocks as he talked about what he wanted his future to be.
As a result, Lex could consider a course of action and in his mind, he would see how it played out. The visions were intense and vivid.
Lex called them visions. But it seemed like more than that. It was like he was really there, actually living it. So much more than a dream. It was like he was really visiting a possible future.
With this ability, Lex had an advantage over most other teens. Over most other people, really.
Bereft of any religious or spiritual framework, Lex found the visions were the only guidance he had. Almost like compensation for a father who might as well not exist. Who was not even really there. Who was actually detrimental to Lex's life. In a way, Lex had raised himself. Whatever good was in him was in spite of Lionel not because of him.
When Lex heard the story of how Lana Lang once ran away from home, Lex attempted the same. But his first job interview didn't go well.
At that interview, the interviewer did her best to hide her deep frown. Then she quickly offered Lex a quick hasty handshake as she wished him well in his job hunt.
After that, the visions showed Lex filling out application after application. Only to be immediately told, "We have nothing for you. Thank you for dropping in." It was always said in a polite tone that was much too polite.
Liars! How could people routinely practice deceit like that? And engage in all that phony politeness? Evil was everywhere. It was just so subtle people didn't see it.
Although his first job search did not go well, Lex should not have been discouraged. Things might have been better later. Maybe. Remember: at the time of his first interview, he was an eighteen-year-old who had not yet completed high school. A nobody from a little town called Smallville.
Unfortunately, after only a few days on his own, Lex had to return to the shack. Lionel, of course, was not even aware that he had been gone.
Lionel was an interesting creature. He could go to the print shop and do his job well, no problem. But once he was home, he spent most of his time drunk.
Needless to say, it didn't make for Father of the Year.
Something else happened before the hostage situation.
It happened just after Lex was banned from the Beanery.
At first, he felt hot tears. But whatever else Lex thought of Lionel, his farther was right on one point.
Don't waste time on tears, son. Or on hurt feelings. Take action, Lex.
Sound advice. Even if it came from a drunk, he sounded like he knew what he was talking about. Like some kind of military commander. Even if he issued his orders through slurred speech.
If Lex's father sounded like a military authority, it was not surprising. Lionel had once been in the Army. If only briefly.
In any case, Lex followed his father's instructions. He took action. First, he ran home. It was a long way from the Beanery to a shack near the Kent farm. But Lex had so much energy from all his anger that to him it seemed like only a few seconds.
Once he got his father's gun from the dresser drawer, Lex went back to the Beanery. But naturally Santori was gone already. Yet, Lex thought, there were other people he could get even with. There was the pep rally.
An eventful half-hour passed. With the pep rally abruptly finished, Lex returned to the Beanery. There he found his friend Clark Kent just as he was leaving.
"Hey, Lex," Clark said. He pointed to the Beanery entrance. "Did you know Lana is a waitress here now?"
"And I hear you're joining the football team. Congratulations, Clark."
"I'm not sure how it will work out. Coach Walt has kind of a temper."
"So I've heard."
Clark squinted slightly to see his friend. Lex was an incongruous sight. With a smile on his face, he looked almost beatific.
Then Clark saw it. Blood was sprinkled all over Lex's black coat and purple T-shirt.
Clark hadn't noticed it right away because Lex stood half in darkness, half in light. And Lex wore clothes that were dark, not the usual bright primary colors sported in Smallville.
"Lex, what happened?" Clark asked.
"The most wonderful thing, Clark." Lex continued to smile, a smile that was not quite right. Plus he also had a weird distant look in his eyes. "I was at the pep rally, and in the bleachers I saw Ray and his friends looking over at me and laughing. As I walked over to them, I think Lucy was laughing the loudest. And when I got there, for a while I just stood there in front of them, letting them laugh. And then I pulled out my gun and shot Ray."
Stepping back slightly, Clark gaped. Lex didn't even notice. Wearing his peaceful serene look, he just went on, as if telling a pleasant little story about how his day had been.
"You should have seen it, Clark. One moment Ray's friends were laughing. The next moment they were absolutely terrified. Especially Lucy." Putting his hands in his pockets, he lifted his shoulders, all the while wearing that smile.
"It was the greatest moment of my life, Clark. I wish all of my life could be like that."
When Lex pulled out the gun, Clark stepped back. Still smiling serenely, Lex examined the gun while turning it in his hand. It was like he was looking at it from all angles. Like it was a thing of rare beauty. Like he couldn't get enough.
"Don't worry, Clark. I didn't shoot Lucy or Kyle. It was enough just to see them so afraid. Finally they were afraid. Of me. For the first time in their lives..." As he grinned, he made no eye contact with his friend. Just kept studying the gun.
Finally, Clark managed a choked whisper. "Lex."
As Lex looked up at the sky, he held the gun against his black coat then let it hang at his side.
"You know, Clark, I wish there was a way so that when people act like jerks, you could correct them, show them the error of their ways. Without any consequences." A pause. In the next moment, Lex looked puzzled then thoughtful. "I suppose there is a way. In the imagination. Get it out of your system that way."
"That would probably be better than shooting someone," Clark said.
"It would certainly take less effort.."
Speechless, Clark just stood there, staring at his friend..
As he did, Clark was suddenly aware of flashing red and blue lights and the wail of sirens. The police must have been gathering for the last few seconds. But Clark had been completely focused on Lex. Lost in another world with just the two of them.
Out of the darkness, a sharp voice.
"Lex Luthor! Drop the weapon on the ground! Put your hands up!"
As Lex turned to face the deputies, his gun hand went up. The flashing lights emphasized the exploding red dot that suddenly appeared on his forehead.
The gun went down and Lex with it.
It was the last thing Lex experienced in his vision.
This was not the course to go, he realized as he stood outside the coffee shop he had just been banned from.
Leaving the Beanery behind, Lex began the slow walk home.
On the way, he could decide what to do next.
Sometimes the visions, or experiences, were very intense.
The one with Clark and the Beanery certainly had been.
Lex's ability was almost like having an eidetic memory, when the person saw mental flashes of things he'd been exposed to in the past.
Only in Lex's case he caught mental flashes of the future.
Life at Smallville High had not been easy for the young man from a background of poverty. He was considered a freak. Mainly because he was a high school senior who was 21 years old.
His father had enrolled him in elementary school a year late. Believing school to be a waste of time, Lionel might never have enrolled him at all, except government officials were quite insistent.
Made fun of for having a drunk as a father, Lex had struggled in school.
Consequently, he had to repeat fourth grade and sixth grade.
You know how sometimes you get stuck with a teacher who's critical and discouraging so you don't do your best work? Lex got stuck with such a teacher twice. In fourth grade and sixth grade. Mrs. Frederickson.
After struggling through elementary school, things didn't get better in junior high or high school. Because of the age difference, he had no real friends. Just a pathetic older guy seen as a joke.
As Lex walked home, he thought of his father. How he had read von Clausewitz, the great military strategist, while in high school. How he enlisted in the Army. And he got kicked out. Not for bad conduct. For being innovative.
When Private Luthor got an order, he attempted to fulfill the intent of the order, not realizing the Army was a stickler for the letter of the law.
Had Lionel been allowed to serve beyond one year, such an ability might have served him well.
As it was, the Luthors were a family of unrealized potential.
That was when Lex had a dark thought.
Maybe there was no winning.
Maybe it was time to make people listen.
And if they wouldn't listen, then Lex would just lash out.
And he knew exactly the situation to do it in.
When Lex swiftly took his science class hostage, he let most of the students leave.
But a few were told to stay behind.
They were, Lex said, his "special chosen ones."
After that, Lex began his lectures, his demands.
Some would call it his tirade.
Clark certainly would.
"You accused me of stealing," Lex said firmly as he waved his gun at Mr. Santori. He had his finger off the trigger, though. Surprisingly, Lionel had taught his son the basics of gun safety.
"And you did that other thing to me," Lex said. To say Lex's voice was stern was putting it mildly.
Clark wasn't sure what to do. Slowly, he rose, with his hands up.
"Lex, I should go."
"No, Clark, stay. I need someone here I can talk to. Someone I can trust."
Clark knew if he could get out of the classroom he could use his super-speed to knock the gun out of Lex's hand. Without being seen.
But maybe in this situation the best thing he could do was stay. Maybe try to talk Lex down.
Only recently Clark had learned he was from another planet. He had even seen his ship, the one his parents found him in. The one they stored in the storm cellar.
Clark was still getting used to the idea. He didn't really need this new situation.
And the situation was not good. Mr. Santori and a handful of very frightened students. And Lex with a gun.
And Lex didn't seem very stable as he walked around waving the gun and repeating himself.
"So, Mister Santori," Lex said, punching each word. "You accused me of stealing. Right in front of the entire class."
Nervously, Santori pursed his lips. "I didn't accuse you. Just asked you a question."
"Here's what you said. Your exact words: 'Hey, class, what if I told you something was stolen? And what if I told you Lex Luthor was out of the room when it happened?'" Lex glared at Santori. "You don't think that planted a seed in people's minds? You don't think I knew you were accusing me?"
Another nervous look. "I had reasonable suspicion. Reason to believe you did it."
"You assumed!" Lex shouted. "Just because my father and I live in a shack outside Smallville we must be scum, is that it?"
"Lex, take it easy," Clark said.
Lex turned to his friend. "Do you know what else he did, Clark? I was in the Beanery having some coffee. Mister Santori accused me of staring at his sister. I wasn't staring! I was just tired. The night before I worked in the print shop with my father. Then we drove all the way back from Metropolis. I wasn't staring. I was just tired. You have to believe me, Clark."
Clark held up an open palm. "I believe you, Lex."
"Well, he didn't!" Lex waved the gun toward Santori, causing the teacher to jump back. "He had me banned from the Beanery!" Lex sounded almost tearful.
Was he on drugs? Clark wondered.
Pushing aside the thought, Clark turned to Santori. "You had him banned from the Beanery? Was it just for that night?"
"Permanently!" Lex shouted.
Wincing, Clark gave Santori a look "That seems a little harsh."
Again, Santori wore his look of muted anger. But there was also some fear mixed in.
"I was only trying to protect my sister," he said quietly..
Glaring and whirling, Lex now pointed the gun straight at him. With a slight gasp, Santori tilted his head back. "Well, don't worry, Mister Santori. She's protected. How protected is everyone else? How protected are you?"
Clark put both hands up. "Lex, put the gun down. You don't want to hurt anyone. I know you don't."
Lex was silent. After some consideration, Lex folded one arm over his chest, gun now angled toward the ceiling.
"Do you know when all this began?" he asked quietly. "When I asked questions about evolution. That's when you got all hostile toward me. Didn't you, Santori?"
A flash of anger from Santori. "No one should question the bedrock foundation of science."
"Oh, is that what you are, Dominic? Someone who believes in something and can't back it up? Is that why you got all hostile toward me?"
"I wasn't trying to be hostile."
"They were reasonable questions. How does one species turn into another? How does inorganic matter turn into complex organic life? How does matter arise from nothing?"
Santori narrowed his eyes slightly. "You shouldn't have shown disrespect to me in front of the entire class."
"I wasn't showing disrespect! I was asking questions! That's what a student is supposed to do!"
Clark had seen Lex get like this before. Getting all dramatic. Even wild. Manic, some would say.
Still glaring slightly, Santori held his hands up. "You questioned the truth, Lex. Evolution is the truth. That's the way it is."
"Oh, yes! 'That's the way it is!' I remember you saying that in class. Like it was some kind of stern warning. 'Don't ask any questions, class!'" Lex glared. "Is that what you are, Santori? One of those people? You believe in something but you can't back it up with facts and explanation. Isn't that what a man of science is supposed to do?"
As Lex and Santori continued to clash, Clark contemplated what he could do to help, to intervene.
"Confess to what you've done!"
"I won't confess to anything, Lex."
"What is it you want, Lex?" Santori asked. "Not to shoot us all, I hope."
Clark was brought out of his thoughts when Lex pointed his gun at a big tall dark-haired guy and the girl with him. The name of the tall guy was Ray. The girl's name was Lucy.
Lucy had big brown eyes. Just like Lana.
At the moment, Lucy's big brown eyes were wide and full of fear.
"You want to know why you're here?" Lex shouted. No answer. "You're here because every day in the lunch room you do or say something to me. And it doesn't matter how much I ignore you." He glared at Lucy. "And all you do is laugh at me! You can't find a better purpose in life?"
"Lex, calm down," Clark said quietly. "Take it easy."
But Lex stayed focus on Lucy. "You know what I hate most about you? Now every time I see a woman smile all I think of is you and your mocking smile. And your awful laughter!"
Quietly, Lucy sniffled.
"What is it you want, Lex?" Santori asked sternly.
The gun dropped to Lex's side. "I want you to change. I want all of you to start changing."
"That isn't going to work, Lex." Clark gave him a look. "When you do something like this, people just think how evil you are and how good they are. How they're better than you."
"Mister Kent," Santori said in a low warning voice.
Lex just stood there, staring, gun still at his side.
Clark gave him a direct look, the most serious direct look he had given anyone in his life. "All you're doing, Lex, is letting them win."
Lex considered. "If that's true, Clark, maybe it's too late to go back."
"No, Lex. It's not."
Gun down at his side, Lex quietly considerd.
"You may be right, Clark."
As Lex put the gun on Santori's desk, his expression changed. He looked almost peaceful.
The anger was gone. Lex just looked thoughtful and contemplative. Almost serene.
It was the same look he had as he stood in the lunch line. As his very vivid vision faded away.
"Lex, you all right?" Clark asked.
"Yeah, Clark. I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"Just getting something out of my system. By using my imagination. You know how that is."
"Yeah, I kind of do."
"I'm fine now."
"Good to hear."
Though Lex had met Clark only weeks ago, he was grateful to have him as a friend.
Recently, the two young men had struck up a friendship while talking on the Loeb Bridge. It wasn't surprising they would both gravitate to that bridge as a place to think. Both were relative outsiders in the high school hierarchy. From that talk on the bridge, a friendship had formed, even though Lex was a senior while Clark was a freshman.
"Hey, Luthor!" someone shouted. It was the tall dark-haired Ray "Flash" Thompson. "I found your issue of 'Warrior Angel.'" He held up a comic, tore it in half. "Now it's a two-parter."
Next to him, Lucy laughed.
"Forget it, Lex," Clark said. "He's not worth it."
"I know that, Clark," Lex said calmly. "I was thinking about what you said earlier. About filling your life with positive things so other people don't bother you so much."
"That seems like a good way to deal with Mister Santori," Clark said with a nod. "Sorry about all the stuff he's done to you. Not to mention the janitor and Mister Franklin. And Ray and Lucy."
"It's all right, Clark. I think I know positive ways to deal with them.."
Clark gave him an inquiring wince. "What do you think you're going to do?"
"Maybe I'll write, maybe I'll invent."
"Hey, why not both?" Clark offered with a smile. "What about those websites you make at the library? Where you spliced together music and dialogue from 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars.' That was pretty cool."
"Yeah, it was," Lex said as he moved his tray down the line. "And it sounds like a good way to spend an afternoon."
Clark smiled. "Better than some things you could do."
Ignoring the taunts shouted by Ray, Lex grinned. "You know, Clark, just now I imagined this little scene. You were in it. You were from another planet. And you had these amazing powers. Like super-speed and super-strength."
"Really?" Clark said with a little laugh. "You've got some imagination, Lex."
As he grabbed a hot cup of coffee, Lex looked thoughtful. "Maybe I'll write a story about you, Clark. Or a whole series of stories. 'The Adventures of the Incredible Amazing Clark Kent.' And I'll turn it into a website. With music, sound effects, you name it."
They took their lunch outside.
"Is that what you were thinking about so intensely just a while ago?" Clark asked with that slight wince. "Me as some guy from another planet with powers."
Lex shrugged. "It was more than that, Clark. I envisioned this whole scene where I was acting out. And through it all, you were the voice of reason. You were my conscience, Clark."
Clark smiled. "Did I look like Jiminy Cricket?"
Both were fans of "Pinocchio." It was another thing that made them outsiders. They knew all kinds of strange movies and TV shows. And they actually referenced them at school. (Sparingly, of course.)
A grin from Lex. "It doesn't matter what you looked like, Clark. The point is, I was going the wrong way. You encouraged me to turn back."
"Hopefully, I can always be there for you, Lex."
"But each of us has to make our own decisions, Clark."
"What you said is true, though. If you start going the wrong way, though, you can always turn back."
"Right you are, Clark." Lex sipped some of his coffee. "It's like in that Christmas special 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.'"
"I love that show!"
Some people at another table stared. Lex thought how this wasn't really helping his outsider status. Or Clark's either. But he didn't really care.
"So do I," Lex went on. "Especially that song about turning back, going another direction. Just like you were talking about, Clark."
"I think you mentioned that song once. How does it go again?"
Instead of singing, Lex casually recited some of the lyrics.
"If I want to change the reflection
I see in the mirror each day,
Are you saying it's just my election
To vote for a chance to be reborn?"
"Nice," Clark said.
"I'll see what I can do this afternoon, Clark. Get my mind off this place and some of the people in it." As he raised his coffee cup, Lex looked peaceful. And to ensure he stayed peaceful, he would flee the school as soon as possible. "Congratulations, Clark."
Clark wince-smiled. "For what?"
"Even without any remarkable powers, you make a difference."