Smallville : Superboy Chronicles

1.01

Clark wakes up to the loud scream of help. He blinks his eyes and searches with room quickly, then he x-rays the house to see if it was his parents. Nothing. Yet he could have sworn that he heard a cry for help. He shrugs it off as a figment of his imagination. He gets up, gets dressed in less than a blink of an eye, and goes downstairs.

"Morning, Clark," Mrs. Kent said cheerfully, bright as ever in the morning.

"Morning, Mom," Clark said, drowsy from just waking up. "Where's Dad?"

"Out feeding the animals, which you should be doing."

"Sorry about that. I'll be back in five minutes."

Clark sprints out the door at superhuman speed, and in a matter of seconds is across the field where his dad, Jonathan Kent, is. Clark picks up a bale of hay, effortlessly as if it were a piece of paper, and tosses it over for the cows to eat. Jonathan sits to take a breather, while his son does the rest of the work. Clark then feeds the rest of the animals and finishes the chores. He then comes back and walks with his dad and talks, as was their normal routine. They discuss things on their mind, sports, the weather, and the plans they have for the week.

"Clark, I was thinking. What would you say to going up to see the Metropolis Sharks play the Gotham Knights?" asked Jonathan.

"That'd be cool, Dad. I'd love to go." replied Clark.

"Then we are set. I'll get the tickets." Just then a bus started to pull away. "You'd better run. Your school bus just pulled away."

"Shoot. See you later. Tell Mom bye for me."

"Will do."

Clark sprints in to the house, fast as a bullet and grabs his school gear and lunch and runs off to school, and arrives long before his bus arrives at school. But he again hears a cry for help, this time a different voice. He scans the area and x-rays, but still finds nothing

Opening Sequence.

"Hey Clark, what's wrong? You look a little intense." Chloe chimed as she walked up to Clark, who was in the middle of scanning for the person who called for help.

"Huh?" Clark said, realizing someone was talking to him. He goes back to normal sight to see Chloe standing, holding her books in an ever so cute way. He smiles.

"I said 'Hey Clark, what's wrong? You look a little intense.'" she repeated playfully, a smile on her face.

"Oh. Nothing."

"What, were you looking at Lana?" she pointed over towards Lana.

"No. I thought I heard my name from some where over there, and was trying to see who it was."

"Was it . . . Lana?" she teased Clark over his previous crush.

"Funny, Chloe, real funny."

"You know I love ya anyways." Chloe kissed Clark on the nose in her usual manner. Ever since the formal earlier that month, they had been an item.

Just then, Pete walked up, holding a letter in his hand. He came up to Clark and Chloe, looking down trodden.

"What's up, Pete? You look like you just lost the world series." Clark asked

"It feels like that. My dad got hit by a car this morning on the way to work. He died on the way to the hospital."

"Oh. God. Pete." Chloe could barely choke out the words. Tears began flowing down before Pete finished, and she hugged him and held him close. Pete began to cry, Clark put his arm around Pete. The three just stood there, in quiet silence. Lana sees this and walks up, wondering what has the three so touchy-feely.

"Hey, Clark. Chloe. What is up?" Lana inquired sincerely. Chloe looked up, the tears clearly visible on her face. Clark also looked up, his eyes red with unshed tears. Lana then saw Pete crying, something she knew did not come easy from Pete.

"What happened?"

"My dad was killed in an accident a few hours ago. He left early so he could be home early to surprise my mother with a second honeymoon. A car hit him head-on. The other driver was drunk, after a late night of partying. He was killed as well." Pete regained enough composure to say it, but then broke down again.

"Pete, I think you should go home. Your mother needs you right now. You shouldn't be here." Clark said.

"Yeah, I'll take you home." Chloe said, drying her tears.

"Thanks, Chloe." Pete hugged her as they walked to her car.

Scene 2:

Lex is at his mansion, reading through reports on his plant. As expected, he was running at optimal performance and maximizing the profit of his plant. He tosses the reports aside, and picks up his bottle of water, and clicks on CNN. The lead story is Luthor Corp's downsizing of middle America plants, starting with Kansas and Minnesota. Lex turns off the TV, and swigs his water.

"Great, Dad. You really want me to fight you on the battlefield. Fine. You have war." he said to himself. He threw the bottle across the room, breaking the glass mirror.

Clark walked home with Lana, something they have not done since he and Chloe were he and Chloe. But this was a special time and Lana knew Clark was not himself, his best friend was in pain and he couldn't help. Clark hated that feeling, and Lana was the only one he would confide in when that happened. Not even Chloe could bring him out of those funks. Lana was always reasonable and was always prepared to comfort Clark in these times.

"So how are you doing, Clark?" she asked sincerely.

"Okay, I guess. But Pete's dad has always been like a second father to me. I was always welcome in his house, and his dad always was ready with a clever joke or an amusing story. I remember going fishing with him one day. We had the most fun. Pete caught his first trout that day."

"That's a nice memory." Lana said, looking at Clark in her caring manner, wanting to help Clark out of his sadness.

"But life goes on." Clark said, trying to cheer himself up.

"Yes it does. And this will make you stronger. And Pete, too." She said reassuringly.

They walked up to Lana's doorstep, She turned before she walked in and said

"I am here for you, rain or shine. Especially when it rains. And if you ever need a hug or a shoulder, I am just across the road." She hugged him, and he hugged back. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and let go.

"Thanks, Lana. You really helped me. More than I could ever repay." Clark said back.

"Sure you can repay, just give me $50 and we'll call it even." Lana quipped with her sense of humor.

"Fifty bucks? I could have called Miss Cleo for cheaper." Clark laughed back as he walked off towards his house. He was already in a better mood.

Just as he was walking back, he heard a blood-curdling scream for help. Clark immediately Scanned the area, going straight to x-ray. Nothing.

Scene 3:

Pete is at home, staring at a wall, tears rolling down his cheeks. His mother walks in, cautiously. She walks over and puts a hand on his shoulder, and stares with him. Her tears have stopped, the mother setting in as the wife fades out. She looks at the wall as though it wasn't there. She is contemplating how Pete will get through this, and how she can help.

"Can I get you some dinner, honey?" she asks, her mother voice in full swing.

"No thank you. I am not hungry." Pete says, never looking away from the wall.

"Okay. If you want something later, just ask. I'll cook it for you." she says, her worry starting to seep in, she hates to see him so sad and depressed.

"Thanks, Mom. But I'll be fine." Pete said, chancing a look at his mother. He looked so young and innocent, almost as if he never grew up past age six. His look almost made her cry again. She walked out, nearly in tears. But she stopped herself. She had to be strong for Pete.

The phone rang. She walked over and picked it up, saying hello as cheerfully as she could muster.

"Hi, Mrs. Ross. This is Clark Kent."

"Oh hi Clark. How are you doing?"

"Fine, ma'am. How are you doing?"

"I am doing a little better, but Pete is still not himself. I was hoping one of Pete's friends would call. Maybe you could cheer him up."

"I'll try my best."

"Hold on a minute. I'll see if he can talk."

"Alright."

She looked into the room, but Pete was not there. She picked up the cordless and went searching for him. She went upstairs, but he wasn't in his room. She looked out his window, and saw him, sitting on the rusted swing set his dad built for him when he was five. She put the phone to her ear.

"Clark?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Maybe you should try again later. He is outside, reliving memories."

"Okay, tell him I called and that I will visit him tomorrow."

"I sure will. Thank you for your concern Clark."

"You're welcome."

She hung up the phone, and stared out the window. The sun was setting and she marveled at it. She then walked downstairs and outside, and sat by her son. They watched the sun set, and listened to the silence.

Scene 4:

Clark is at home, studying, when he hears a scream. He shifts to x-ray vision and searches for the scream. Again he sees nothing. He decides mentally to talk to his parents about it. He closes his book, and walks downstairs.

"Mom? Dad?"

"Yeah, Clark?" his dad said.

"I have been hearing things lately."

"Like what?" his mother asked.

"Screams. Cries for help. But I can never find where they are coming from. Am I going crazy?"

"No Clark. You're not crazy. When did this start happening?" his mother said

"This morning. I heard a scream for help, and I looked around the room. Then I x-rayed to see if it was one of you guys. But I found nothing. Absolutely nothing."

"That is strange Clark. But stranger things have happened." his mom said

"Don't I know it. But what do I make of it?"

"I don't know Clark. Could it be one of your powers?" his Dad asked.

"Like what? Telepathy?"

"Maybe. Can you read our thoughts? What am I thinking right now?"

Clark concentrates, trying to force himself to read his mother's mind. He gets nothing.

"I can't. You sure I am not crazy?"

"You're not crazy Clark. Could it be your hearing? You always had great hearing. I remember times you could hear me over that stereo of yours, when it was full blast." his mother said.