Chapter 1: The Discovery
Clark stood at the edge of the cornfield, watching the world pass him by. It was early evening, and as he stared at the stars above he wondered just what life had in store for him. It had been two days since he had made the discovery, and from that moment on his life had been irrevocably changed. For the better, or for worse was the question that preyed on his mind. He would never have imagined things would turn out the way they had, but he knew now it would be a turning point in his life. He softly sighed, his mind wandering back to the events that had already transpired…
Sunday
Chloe turned, searching the woods for her fellow explorers. It was a bright, sunny morning, perfect for a trip through Smallville's infamous woods. It wasn't entirely a fun outing though, she had been told of something amazing in the woods, and had convinced the rest of her friends to go with her. No doubt it was all some practical joke, but Chloe couldn't resist the challenge
"Guys, do you see anything?" She shouted, hoping the others could hear her, "I don't," She muttered
Lana ambled up by her side, scanning the undergrowth as they passed it
"Are you sure the guy that told you about this just didn't want you in the woods alone Chloe?"
The teenager pondered the question. It certainly was a possibility and she knew it, Rich Tyler had had a crush on her for a long time now, but he had appeared so sincere when had told her about his sighting that she felt she needed to give him the benefit of the doubt
"You could be right, he's liked me for a long time, but I don't think he would go that far" She peered at her surroundings wondering where the other two members of their group had gotten too, "He seemed so genuine when he told me about this thing, I have to check it out, I mean this is Luthorcorp land, anything could be going on here"
Lana nodded, she may be in partnership with Lex, but she also knew what kind of nefarious dealings he could be capable of if he thought there was any financial gain to be had
"Maybe we should try over there? It looks like someone's made a clearing"
Chloe glanced over to where her friend was pointing into the distance and had to agree, it definitely looked suspicious, perhaps they were finally getting somewhere.
The dense thicket provided excellent cover for watching the group. He moved as they did, shadowing their every step. He hadn't expected them, at least not yet, he wasn't ready, but it didn't matter. He pulled back a branch and noted the girls were moving towards the clearing. He had anticipated that, the other two were already there, staring at the 'thing'. He laughed to himself as he wondered what they would make of it all; let them guess for a while; it gave him more time for his own purposes. Things weren't happening quite as he'd hoped, but he could still make this work to his own ends if he were patient.
Clark and Pete stood in the clearing, mesmerised by what they had found. Their feet almost touched the waters edge they had tried to get so close to it
"What do you think it is?" Pete queried, dragging his gaze from their discovery to glance at Clark, "It looks like some kind of ship to me, maybe it came down with the meteor shower?"
Clark wasn't convinced. The thing lay just beneath the surface of the water, it was bigger than his own ship, and there was no obvious resemblance. It shimmered a silvery grey, catching the eye of all that glanced its way
"I think someone would have seen this by now Pete, there's no way it's been here all that time without being exposed, besides, if it were meteor related I wouldn't be able to get so close, surely?"
Pete shook his head, he had never seen anything like it, and to him it sure as hell looked alien. He didn't like bringing that word up to Clark though, not since he had found out his friend's secret, because even though he knew Clark came from another world he had come to terms with it now. Clark was Clark no matter where he had originally came from
"So what do you think it is Mr smart guy?" He smiled, getting his friend to theorise about such a weird find had to be fun, "I mean do you think it's a prank to fool Chloe?"
The thought had crossed the young Kent's mind. Chloe always made her wild and wacky ideas known to everyone, maybe they decided to send her on a wild goose chase, but somehow he doubted it. This thing before them was a true Smallville mystery. Tentatively he crouched down and skimmed his hand across the water where the thing was submerged, and instantly he wished he hadn't. He felt his knees buckle beneath him, and he began to fall forward in to the shallow part of the pool. His body was out of control as the meteor rocks effects took hold, and as he hit the water the feelings grew worse and he feared he would pass out. Then mercifully a hand grabbed him from behind and pulled him back
"Oh man, I thought you had more sense than try that!" Peter chided him as he hauled his friend to safety, "I guess you were wrong and I was right, this is meteor related"
Clark coughed as Pete set him down a safe distance from the pond, he stared at the water and the strange riddle it held
"Thanks Pete, I guess I didn't think"
He looked up at his friend, grateful he had been there, and that he no longer had to hide his secret from him. Pete guessed what Clark was thinking and winked
"What did you do before you had me to watch your out of this world butt?"
The pair laughed, but then two voices shouting out in unison stopped them
"Clark!"
Both Lana and Chloe ran into the glade having just seen what had transpired, both stared at Clark with fear in their eyes, after having just seen him almost drown for no apparent reason
"Are you all right?" Lana beat Chloe to the question by mere seconds
Pete grinned, if he were in Clark's place he would be feigning illness right now, he loved getting the girls attention, but he knew Clark would never think of such a thing. Clark however had realized his best friend's thoughts and the famous Kent smile appeared right on cue
"I'm fine" He beamed at both girls, "I think I just overbalanced, it must have been the sight of that"
He pointed to the mystery find and all eyes followed. Finally, after an eternal silence Chloe broke the moment.
"What on earth is it…?"
*Author's Note: This is what we were given to have our story start out with. The rest of this story is my work following this chapter.