A Note from Lara: This is the second in a series of AU stories, and I would highly recommend that you read the first one, "Revenge of the Meteor Freaks", before you read this. Its not required because I worked in a nice little recap, but it's a good idea.

Clark stared at himself in the mirror. How could he possibly go to school like this? Lois had seen him exactly twice since that night at the bonfire, and aside from that night, she'd never seen him without these thick-framed glasses. Both times, she'd laughed her head off and told him how ridiculous he looked. No one else would be so vocal about it, but he was quite certain everyone else would think he looked like a freak every bit as much as she did.

But Chloe had given his dilemma some thought, and had convinced him that this was the only way. If he wasn't willing to go masked, he'd have to come up with some kind of effective disguise, and this was the only thing she could think of. He owed Chloe a lot for it though.

He slipped the thick black frames off, and stared at his face. If he stuck with Chloe's plan, the face he saw now would soon be revealed to the world as the mysterious visitor from another planet. His hand quivered slightly. Even with the dress rehearsal he'd had at the Spring Formal several months before, it was a scary thought.

"It'll be alright, Clark," Martha Kent said from behind him. He turned to face his mother, and realized suddenly that he towered a good two feet over her. "I know your father and I... haven't exactly been happy about the idea of a dual identity," she continued. "Maybe we've been too afraid for too long. But the fact is... Clark, you're a man now. Sure, you're still young, only in high school, but I've noticed it ever since the Spring Formal. You're more mature, and wise beyond your years. That experience changed you. Whatever you decide, I wanted you to know that your father and I trust your judgement."

"Thank you, Mom," Clark said after a moment. His mother's blessing surprised him. Ever since he and Chloe had unveiled the idea for a secret identity, his parents had been dead-set against it.

He slipped the glasses back over his electric blue eyes, and walked downstairs. In the kitchen, he cracked a few eggs onto a plate, cooked them with his heat vision and ate quickly. He'd spent so much time debating the glasses issue, he'd nearly missed the bus. "Clark, don't inhale your food!" Martha scolded him. "I'm late. Tell Dad I said 'bye'," he said, and raced out the door. Martha smiled and shook her head.

Clark stepped onto the bus with some trepidation. Not all every student at Smallville High had been at the Spring Formal, and with a few exceptions, he had no way of knowing who had and hadn't been there. Everyone else seemed to recognize this, because although there were more eyes trained on him than there had ever been last year, there was none of the wild applause and cheering he'd experienced spontaneously over the summer every time he encountered more than three of his classmates.

He was quite certain that the enthusiasm his fellow students directed toward him hadn't died down yet, but at least they were smart enough to try and keep his secret from anyone who hadn't been there.

Clark scanned the faces watching him, searching for his friends. He breathed a soft sigh of relief when he spotted Chloe's familiar shock of platinum blonde hair in the back of the bus. He hurried down the aisle as quickly as possible.

Pete and Chloe were sitting together, taking up all the room in their seat, but Lana was alone in the seat across the aisle. He slid in beside her, and noticed as he did so that Pete and Chloe were holding hands. Clark hadn't seen a whole lot of either of them over the summer and he thought now he had something of an idea.

"Hi Lana," he said. "Good summer?" She nodded and smiled. "Whitney's moved to Grandville though. I miss him, but he's going to the community college there, so I can't really begrudge him for moving. So," she paused. "What's with the specs? Fashion statement?"

Clark smiled. "No. It was Chloe's idea actually. I'm going to... Well, you'll see. Most of the school will figure it out pretty quick. Or at least, the part of the school that was at the Spring Formal. You know, everybody who saw me..." He trailed away, not sure how to refer to the incident at the end of the previous school year. He saw acknowledgement in her eyes, and wondered what she was thinking.

Probably, she was remembering that tempest-tossed afternoon in the school gym. Eric Summers and a posse of meteor freaks out for revenge had ambushed Clark at the dance, revealed his secret to everyone in attendance, and locked the gym up so no one could get out. Then they had attacked Clark and while he fought back to give the other students a chance to try and escape, the meteor freaks had tried to kill him. They had very nearly succeeded.

Clark had been knocked unconscious and his breathing had stopped. A girl named Alicia Baker had revived him, but the crazed meteor freaks had sent Sean Kelvin to finish him off while he was still weak. However, a young woman named Kendra Hall had stepped forward alone to face the deadly ice-boy. She had refused to step aside and had sworn to defend Clark to the death. She had then revealed that she herself was a meteor freak and attacked Kelvin.

Most of the school had then followed her lead and fought back against Eric Summer's 'friends'. Many of them also proved to have meteor-induced powers. Once Clark had recovered, he assisted them in defeating the meteor freaks. But they made the mistake of leaving Justin Gaines for last. When the telekine had realized that he was the last one standing, he'd attempted to kill everyone in the gym by bringing the roof down.

Acting in desperation, Clark had launched himself from the floor, caught the slab of concrete in midair... and in that instant, discovered his greatest superpower- the power of flight. Afterward, everyone in the gym that day had promised to keep the secret of his powers and alien origin a secret.

Clark wondered if Lana was thinking about all this. It made sense that she would. Her beautiful face was strained, and he knew that the idea of anyone with powers freaked her out a little bit. He hoped they could get back to the easy friendship they'd developed over the past school year.

Abruptly, the strained look on her face increased exponentially, and she blurted out, "Clark, Nell and I took a trip to Paris this summer." "That's great, Lana! But, from the look on your face... it's not. Why?"

Lana glanced around. "Clark... we've all kept your secret. Now I think I have a secret of my own. We can't... we can't talk here. Too many people. I don't want everyone to know. Could we talk about it... after school?" Clark nodded. He knew all too well what she meant.

Another Note from Lara: Okay, a nice short little chapter to start it off. Keeping it all within the Season One/Two circle of friends for now. Other characters I brought in for 'Revenge of the Meteor Freaks', and some new faces will show up in chapter two. Remember to review please!