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Jonathan Kent possessed many praise worthy qualities most notable being a loving husband and father, but like everyone he also possessed several less than admirable qualities chief among them being his distrust of anyone he did not know well. But neither of these traits were what most people would talk about when they spoke of Jonathan Kent, instead they spoke of a singular quality that not only straddled the line, but also made it hard for even his wife Martha to keep from getting aggravated with him.

If Jonathan Kent possessed a singular chief sin or virtue, it would be his self-reliance – though some might call it pure pride.

While he normally had no problem with this facet of his personality, as in his view it had long been an essential quality any successful small farmer, he did occasionally experience misgivings about it. Most usually when he inadvertently upset Martha or more commonly when his son Clark displayed his own streak of self-reliance most usually in relation to his powers. The latest example being when Clark developed heat vision while dealing with Lex Luthor's would be (murderous) wife, Desirée Atkins.

Now, Clark did not try to hide his newly developing powers from either of his parents, but he had also not sought their help in controlling them. If they had allowed it, Clark would have handled the whole situation on his own.

"He'll be fine Jonathan."

Turning away from the kitchen window where he had been staring at the barn in absent thought, he smiled reflexively at his wife. Martha Kent smiled back, luring him away from the window and to a seat beside her at the kitchen table.

"I know, but still...I'm worried about him."

"Of course you are. So am I, anyone would be given everything that's happened." Martha said, taking his hand. "But imagine what it must be like for Clark right now. Not only did he recently have an extremely dangerous power kick in, but it's also one tied to his sex drive."

"That's just being doubly cruel. But at least he learned to use it without having to get turned on."

"Okay, let's not talk about that." Martha said suddenly looking highly uncomfortable.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

Martha shook her head while covering her eyes with her other hand. "I just realized we were talking about our son and sex."

Jonathan responded the only way he, like any father, could - by having an uncontrollable fit of laughter. In response to this Martha, like any wife, let go of her husband's hand and swatted him upside the head while hissing his name in irritation. Jonathan mock cringed, holding his hands up in half-hearted surrender.

"Sorry, sorry...but still...that was good."

"Jonathan Kent, don't you dare mock me for not wanting to talk about our son and the poor girl he's going to end up ruining."

"Ruining?"

"He's a Kent man," Martha quipped with a sly grin of her own. "Once you've had a Kent, nothing else will do."

Jonathan stared at her for a moment and then broke into another fit of helpless laughter, joined this time by an equally amused Martha.

"Jonathan," Martha said as the humor faded. "We need to talk. About Clark."

"Martha-"

"Don't you Martha me! We can't keep doing this. We had a hard enough time when he just had super-strength, speed and invulnerability...but now he's got X-ray vision and some kind of heat vision." Martha said, fixing him with a hard gaze. "Jonathan, our boy, our son can literally incinerate anything with a glance. Do you realize just how close he came to hurting or even killing his class not to mention Lana?"

"I know." Jonathan said, looking down, just thinking about the possibilities left him cold. "But we can handle it we just need to be extra careful."

"I'm not sure being 'extra careful' is going to cut it." Martha said. "His powers have always pushed the limits of what we understood of science, but now? His powers are growing stronger and he's developing powers that are breaking the rules of physics in ways neither of us can even understand."

"I know, which is why I said we just need-"

"What do we do when he starts flying and lord knows what else?" Martha asked, cutting him off. "Jonathan, do you really think we can cope with new powers showing up at random forever?"

"He'll stop gaining powers eventually." Jonathan said, before standing abruptly and stalking across the kitchen.

A lot of what she said made sense, hell even though Clark had avoided hurting anyone with his heat vision he had still been detained by the police. The only reason Clark had been released without charges had been their longtime standing friendship with Ethan who ran the Sheriff's department. Still, even if it did made sense, it left him wondering why the woman who had insisted they keep Clark would be saying all of this.

Taking a deep breath, Jonathan turned back to face Martha, knowing that she must have had a point to make.

"There's a school, the Xavier Institute-"

"The what?"

"The Xavier Institute for Gifted Children. They help people gain control over their 'gifts'."

"You told them about Clark?! Martha, why would you do that? What if it's actually some of kind of government lab? Do you know the sort of things that would happen to Clark if -"

"Jonathan Joseph Kent, do you think I would risk my son's life like that?" Martha asked in such a dangerously quiet tone that Jonathan almost stopped breathing. Taking his silence as an acknowledgment of his blunder, she continued in that same tone. "I love you Jonathan, I do. But you have this habit of thinking you're the only one that thinks about what's best for Clark, so I suggest you rethink that for the rest of this conversation."

Jonathan nodded, not quite trusting himself to avoid upseting her further.

"As for why I would even consider them, Ororo is working there." Martha said, giving him a flat look at his lack of reaction.

"Wasn't she your roommate in college?" Jonathan asked, trying to picture the other woman.

"Roommate and best-friend, she was also the one that encouraged me to talk to you."

"Ah, right." Jonathan said. "So, uh, how does her working there let you trust this place?"

"Well for one thing, unlike you Jonathan, I actually keep in touch with my friends. Considering the fact that she had powers in college and is currently working at the Xavier Institute, I seriously doubt its connected to the government."

"Wait, what do you mean she has powers?"

"I mean she's like Clark, well not exactly, she seems to control weather but its close enough."

"But how do you know?!" Jonathan half-asked and half-demanded.

"Seriously? We shared a dorm room for four years, it's impossible to live with someone and not notice that sort of thing."

"Huh, good point." Jonathan said, deciding to avoid asking why she had never mentioned that before now. "Still, it's a big risk and we don't know for sure, I mean the Institute could still be part of the government."

"Maybe it is, but at this point I think we need to at least consider it." Martha said as her facade of strength cracked to reveal the worried mother beneath. "I love our son, with all my heart and soul. I want him to be happy and healthy, here with us - but I also know we're in over our heads. We have been for a while, but we've stuck it out and we've done okay, but 'okay' isn't good enough anymore. We need to do what's best for Clark, and the only way I can see us really doing that is by getting help from people that specialize in dealing with powers."

Jonathan said nothing, merely closed his eyes, trying to find a reason to argue against it. But Martha had just used the one argument he had yet to find a good counter too.

"Where is this Institute?" He asked at last, opening his eyes.

"Bayville, in New York."

Jonathan let out a sharp breath, fighting against his instinctive urge to continue arguing. Part of him truly believed that Clark would be better off staying here, with them, than going to the other side of the country. But the rest of him knew better, Jonathan knew that if they did keep Clark here, and something tragic happened their son would never recover.

As much as Jonathan wanted to keep Clark on the farm, he needed to do what was best for his son.

"We need to talk to Clark."

Smallville: X-Men
Episode 1: Leaving the Farm - Pt. 1
By Geor-sama

One Week Later...

Clark moved in a half-circle while eying the rim of the basket closely before abruptly bursting into a flurry of movements designed to break free of opposing guards, which culminated with a jump shot. A burst of super-speed let him recover the ball before it touched the ground and return to his original position, however, instead of attempting another shot Clark instead opted to take the moment to enjoy the silence that surrounded him.

He loved living on a farm for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being due to the fact that since his nearest neighbor lived a mile or so down the road he did not have to hide or worry about other people seeing his abilities. Sometimes having to constantly hold back drove him nearly insane, but the alternatives - whatever doubts he had possessed before were erased in light of recent history.

Academically he had long been aware of how dangerous he could be to other people, but he had never truly believed it until his heat vision developed. He had nearly killed his friends while sitting in class and then later, Lana...needless to say his nightmares were far more gruesome lately. The whole experience had left him with a dread of losing control, explaining why he had agreed without hesitation when his parents brought up the Xavier Institute.

Shaking off his rather morbid thoughts, Clark returned to wasting time shooting basketball while waiting for the people from the Institute to arrive for his interview.

After another twenty minutes, Clark heard the faint sound of an approaching car and paused in mid-shot to retrieve the recently acquired black-framed glasses from his pocket. Like his earlier colored contacts, they would keep his extremely crystal blue eyes hidden, but Clark still hated the idea of wearing them. Slipping them on, while frowning, he turned to face the drive just as a dark sedan came into view.

A few minutes later the car slowed before coming to a stop and a brown-haired young man about Clark's age and height, wearing dark red sunglasses, got out of the driver's side. The other teen scanned his surroundings briefly, pausing as he looked at Clark, and then adjusting his sunglasses moved to the trunk. A moment later an attractive African-American woman with flowing white hair emerged from the passenger side.

Spotting Clark, she gave him a brilliant smile and approached with confident strides. "Hello, you must be Clark."

"That's me," Clark said matching her smile, offering his hand. "Ororo Monroe?"

"Indeed." Ororo said, shaking his hand and turning gestured to the teenager helping the bald middle-aged man out of the backseat and into the waiting wheelchair. "This is Scott Summers, one of the Institutes oldest students, and the other gentleman is Charles Xavier."

"Hi," Clark said with a nod to each before turning back to her. "I guess we should go inside, huh?"

"I believe that would be best." Xavier said, his tone serious but no less pleasant. "We have much to discuss, and I think it best if we were all comfortable."

Nodding Clark led the way to the house, only to be greeted at the backdoor by his mom.

"Ororo!" Martha said brightly, moving to embrace the other woman "It's been a long time."

"Not that long," Ororo countered with a laugh, stepping back and taking a good look at Martha "You've hardly aged a day, my friend. What is your secret?"

"I live on a farm," Martha responded lightly "we can't afford to get older."

"The price of clean living I suppose." Ororo chuckled, before looking at Jonathan. "You're looking well Jon, have you been keeping Martha out of trouble?"

"I've been trying," Jonathan said, reaching out to shake her hand, and then after a beat of almost-but-not-quite awkward silence, added "Well, come on in."

"I figured we could talk in the living room." Martha said, as Clark helped Scott with the Professor's wheelchair.

Once inside the group headed to the living room, Clark paused in the kitchen aware that his life would soon be irrevocably changed. Logically he knew that he should be used to having his life upended, it had been a constant for as long as he could remember. That did not mean he had to like it, but sadly like always saw only two options: either deny the whole affair or take the situation as it came and make the best of it.

"Does anyone want anything to drink?" Clark asked and upon receiving a chorus of polite no's, moved to join them in the living room.

His parents had taken a seat on the couch while Ororo and Scott took the recliners as Professor Xavier settled himself between the two. Clark in contrast, remained standing, awkwardly aware that not only had they all divided into groups but that nobody seemed sure how to start. He debated briefly about trying, but the sad fact was he was a bit hopeless in social situations with new people.

"You have a lovely home," Ororo finally said, breaking the silence. "Though I do imagine, having a rooster as an alarm must get old fast."

"You get used to it." Martha answered, giving Jonathan a look "Especially, as someone is fond of pointing out, there is no convenient snooze button."

"If I may ask," Charles interjected politely "How long has your family lived here?"

"My entire life, I'm a farm boy born and bred." Jonathan answered, his tone taking on a hint of pride.

"The Kent's have lived and worked here since 1871." Clark added helpfully, unable to help his own echo of pride. He was proud of his family, even if they were not his birth family, and he loved the farm itself.

"Impressive," Charles said with a genial smile, before he adopted a more serious expression. "Now, I think it best we discuss the situation we find ourselves in sooner rather than later."

"In other words, me." Clark said

All eyes turned to him, but Clark refused to show how much the attention affected him. He had spent his whole life hiding and now they were expecting him to open up about them – and to strangers no less. It did not matter that they supposedly had their own abilities, or that one of them had been friends with his mom in college, the fact remained that he was going to be revealing himself.

"Quite." Professor Xavier said, "I founded the Institute to help those with unique gifts, and you would indeed benefit from attending. Unfortunately, there are issues we must address before we discuss that."

"Such as?" Clark asked with a frown.

"For example, you have powers and yet before now I never detected you with Cerebro."

"Cerebro?" Jonathan asked.

"An invention of mine, which allows me to detect and locate the first manifestation of special gifts, as you can imagine it can be very overwhelming and sometimes even traumatizing when they first appear. Occasionally a few slip through the cracks, but given the sheer rarity of those who possess the necessary genetic markers, it rarely happens."

"You said first manifestation, as in the first time they use their powers?" Jonathan asked and at Professor Xavier's nod shared a look with Martha. "When we adopted him, Clark already had some of his abilities."

"How old was he?"

"Three." Clark said, trying to ignore his irritation at the fact that they had still ended up focusing on his adoption. It almost seemed like nothing in his life could revolve around anything else other than his not being born on Earth.

"Impossible." Scott muttered.

"No, though it is exceedingly rare, as until now I have only encountered one other who shared a comparable age." Charles corrected gently. "Normally powers only develop at the onset of puberty. However, they can be triggered by a traumatic experience of either an emotional or physical nature."

"I wasn't traumatized." Clark said abruptly, bothered by the implication.

"No, I rather believe you weren't." Professor Xavier said, inclining his head fractionally. "I was merely explaining the typical reasons. When it comes to gifts we must keep an open mind."

"You said issues," Martha said breaking the tense silence. "What else is there?"

"My adoption." Clark said with a sudden suspicion.

"Please understand, normally an adoption would be a non-factor. However, your adoption of Clark raised a...red flag so to speak."

"It's legal." Martha said swiftly, her gaze challenging.

"It certainly appeared that way at first, but I do have resources of my own and as I've said, this is an unusual situation." Charles countered firmly, but not unkindly. "I know that prior to 1989, Metropolis United Charities didn't exist and that they were only in business for six months. Yet the most intriguing thing was the fact that in their six months of operations, they only handled one adoption."

"To be honest, that's news to us." Jonathan said. "We're grateful that they were there to help us, but we were focused on Clark and getting our lives settled again."

"Indeed. Yet I must ask if you were aware of the fact that the M.U.C. was founded by a Lionel Luthor?"

Clark stopped breathing, shock washing over him at this revelation. He had spent so long wondering about the details, yet constantly afraid of asking. Yet now they were so easily exposed, and worst they involved Lionel Luthor. Slowly he turned his attention to his parents, wanting and expecting them to deny this, but instead they simply sat there looking defeated.

Anger and frustration surged in Clark, he wanted to shout and badger them to explain everything - but instead he stood and started for the backdoor.

"Clark?" His mom called after him.

"I'll be outside." Clark said without slowing.

For all his anger, Clark remained mindful of his strength and made sure not to slam the door too hard. Once outside he paused, taking a deep breath, trying to settle his emotions. As his anger subsided, questions started to appear - why was Lionel Luthor involved in his adoption? Did Lionel know the truth about him? Why had his parents never told him this before, did they simply not know or was it something else?

Shaking his head, Clark let out an explosive breath, trying to clear his mind. He briefly considered going back inside and apologizing, but knew that his emotions remained too volatile. He needed to cool off, otherwise his control might slip and bad things would happen. Still, it chilled Clark to know that someone like Lionel had any connection to his adoption... and how could his parents not tell him!?

Abruptly he shut his eyes, fighting down the sudden surge of heat that welled up within them.

"Damn it."

As everyone else watched Clark leave, Scott no doubt puzzled by his outburst, Charles instead kept his attention focused on Jonathan and Martha. He noted the way Martha put a hand on Jonathan's knee, subtly indicating that he should give Clark some time alone and filed it away for later. He did not need to be a mind reader to pick up on the fact that the Kent's were a loving and genuine couple, almost the ideal family.

This made Charles regret raising the topic like that but he had been fooled before and when dealing with a being like Clark, not to mention Lionel Luthor's influence, he could take no chances. For the first time in a long time, Charles was thankful for his experience as part of Division X since it had given him his first exposure to an alien mind – even if the encounter with the Chitauri had left him paralyzed. Still now he had to make a decision on whether to continue discussing the adoption or raise the topic of Clark's Extraterrestrial origins.

Ultimately he decided that discussion of Clark's origin could wait until after Scott left especially as it would involved revealing his involvement in classified missions while 'part' of the government.

"I'm sorry about that," Martha said, interrupting his thoughts. "Clark's always been a frustrated about not knowing where he came from and we've kept putting off talking about his adoption."

"No, it's perfectly understandable. If anyone should apologize, it should be me. While your adoption raised a red flag I should have been more sensitive about the issue."

{Professor, should I go with Clark? I mean that is why you brought me right?} Scott asked telepathically.

{In a moment, allow him a chance to cool off and for us to discover how forthcoming the Kent's wish to be concerning the details involving their adoption of Clark.}

"We should have told him," Jonathan said softly, focusing on his now clasped hands, and with a deep breath continued. "Alright, Professor Xavier, the truth is I asked for a favor from the devil so that I could keep my son. In return, as you might expect, he wanted something from me that I would otherwise refuse to do."

"You faked an adoption." Ororo said, her tone slightly chastising.

"We had been trying to have a child for years," Martha explained, her voice breaking slightly "and then suddenly there Clark was, all alone, helpless. He was - it was as if God sent him to us. He was the only good thing that came out of that horrible day and we couldn't just give him up, but it wasn't like we could just say we found him."

"What of his family?"

"If he has any they aren't from around here." Jonathan countered with a hint of hostility, glaring at Ororo, and then reaching out placed a reassuring hand on his wife's shoulder before adding. "Trust me, I brought up that point to Martha, but she was stubborn about it and ultimately she was right. We found each other for a reason."

"What did Lionel want you to do?" Charles asked, frowning.

"He had a deal with the Ross's, but they were trying to back out. In exchange for the adoption papers he required that I talked them into going through with the deal."

"So you used Lionel's offer to do what you otherwise couldn't."

"Yes."

"But why?" Ororo asked voice laced with frustration. "Martha, Jonathan, what would make you agree to such a thing? You had other options. You could have turned him over to the state and then adopted him legally. Why the need for this?"

"Ororo-"

"Please, before we go any further there are things I should explain." Charles said, interrupting Martha before turning to address Scott. "I think now would be a suitable moment to speak with Clark."

"Yes Professor."

Lacing his fingers together as Scott left, Charles observed the those left. Jonathan and Martha seemed highly anxious while Ororo appeared only mildly curious. It almost made him smile, but Charles knew that doing so would not set the Kent's at ease, so he retained his serious look.

"Before you answer Ororo's question, I feel it best that I explain some pertinent details first. In the early 1960s, during the height of the Cold War when the world teetered on the brink of a nuclear war, the United States established a special division of the CIA codenamed Division-X to deal with the more 'unusual' situations. Among those recruited was both me and Erik Lehnsherr, my best friend at the time."

"You work for the government." Jonathan said with a dangerous edge to his voice.

"I did in the past, yes." Charles said calmly, ignoring the fury building in the other man's eyes. "At the time it seemed the best option, the world came far closer to nuclear war that the history books would lead one to believe. Does it truly surprise you that the government possess knowledge of those with extraordinary abilities?"

Neither Kent answered, though Charles could sense them reevaluating their opinions.

"I should also mention that while they are aware of our unique abilities, the government also has no interest in experimenting on us. Not only because it is unethical and illegal, but also because while I am sure there are some in the government who would and have overlooked those facts, they rest are not so stupid."

"What do you mean?" Martha asked.

"Because once word got out that the government was experimenting on mutants, there would be another civil war, one that would dwarf all others in its intensity. Despite the deterrents the government possesses, there are mutants capable of destruction on a scale that no bomb or weapon could equal."

"So it's a cold war?" Jonathan asked.

"Not quite, it is more of a quite understanding as neither side wishes such a confrontation." Charles said lips quirking into a smile. "At least, that is the excuse the majority uses to keep the tiny, but dangerous, extreme elements in check. The majority of those who are aware of our existence think that provided we don't rock the boat, we should be treated like any other citizen and taxed like them as well."

Charles allowed Jonathan and Martha a few minutes to absorb the information, before continuing.

"Now, before we were sidetracked, I was explaining my involvement in Division-X. The most pertinent information is that during one of my last missions as part of the division, I encountered a being not of this Earth called a Chitauri."

"Charles, when you say not of this Earth..." Ororo started, trailing off at the end in uncertainty.

"I mean an extraterrestrial." Charles confirmed, noting the shock blossoming on the faces of Jonathan and Martha. "I have encountered only one alien in my lifetime. Though I could not read its mind, I am somewhat familiar with the feel of an alien psyche."

"What-" Martha started, only to stop as Jonathan had grabbed her hand tightly. She considered her husband a long moment before continuing defiantly. "What was this Chitauri like?"

"I assure you, the Chitauri was nothing like Clark." Charles said. "Physically it resembled a bipedal reptile though it could shape shift. Personality wise it would have been right at home Nazi Germany."

Ororo gasped softly, and Charles fell silent, deciding that he had said enough.

"Martha...is that why, I mean, is Clark?"

"He's our son." Jonathan said fiercely before giving Charles a furious glare. "You want to know the truth so damn much, fine. The day of the meteor shower changed everything. I'm not just talking about how the meteors nearly wiped out the town, or killed a lot our friends. I'm talking about the fact that after it flipped our truck we found Clark, naked and alone among all that devastation, with only his spaceship."

Jonathan might have said more, it was clear that he was angry with Charles, but Martha place a hand on his shoulder stilling him.

"I'm not sure why I decided we had to keep him, but something just told me we did." Martha said. "But when Ethan, Deputy Miller, came round to check up on us after he found our truck and found out we had Clark. We didn't have an explanation, not really, and I just blurted the first thing that occurred to me."

"Oh Martha," Ororo murmured softly, before frowning. "Why would Lionel Luthor help you though?"

"It's complicated." Jonathan said tiredly. "Our truck had been wrecked and we were stuck in the field with Clark and his ship, so I went looking for help. I couldn't find any, which in hindsight seems only natural considering how badly Smallville had been hit. Eventually I found a pickup, a flatbed for hauling hay...I loaded the ship, got Martha and Clark inside and we were headed home."

"But we didn't get far before Lionel suddenly ran into the road and flagged us down." Martha said.

"I nearly hit him." Jonathan said before getting up and moving to the stare absently out a window.

"It was his son, Lex. The boy was, I don't know, but Lionel was in shock. Jonathan had to carry the boy back to the truck - We, we managed to get him to the hospital. Lex was ok, and Lionel insisted that if we ever needed anything that all we had to do was ask."

"So you asked him to help with the adoption." Ororo said.

"He did, of course. A point of pride for him, always keeping his word." Jonathan said tone disgusted as he turned to face them. "But Lionel Luthor is a manipulative monster and I should have known better than ask him for anything. When he came by with the adoption papers and after he thanked me for helping Lex, that's when he asked me to help convince the Ross's to sell. I tried to refuse, but he 'warned' me about letting the Department of Family Welfare find out about the adoption."

"So you convinced the Ross's to sell." Charles summarized sadly.

"I helped the Luthor's get a foothold in this community. The smokestacks, the toxic dumping, all the people who were cheated, including the family of our son's best friend. None of that would've happened if it weren't for me!"

For a moment the only sound was the ticking of a clock.

"So there you go. That's my big secret. I made a deal with the devil so I could keep my son." Jonathan said furiously, his gaze shifting between Charles and Ororo.

"You are a good man who was in a poor situation with no other options, hardly the greatest of sins." Charles said with deep sympathy, knowing that he had no other choice but to accept Clark. He could not leave Clark unprotected from Lionel Luthor; if the man ever realized what Clark was the world would be doomed.

"Now what?" Martha asked, moving to Jonathan's side and taking his hand.

"Now, we talk about Clark attending the Institute." Charles said. "However, before we call Scott and Clark back, I am curious about one last thing."

"What?"

"How exactly did you figure out that my Institute was designed to help 'gifted' individuals?"

"Yes, I have been wondering that as well." Ororo said, frowning slightly "Due to the nature of the Institute, we are extremely private."

In response, Jonathan and Martha shared a ghost of a smile, before she explained.

"I made an educated guess. I knew that Oro had powers –"

"You did?" Ororo asked, clearly shocked at the announcement.

"It's like I told Jonathan, it's impossible to live with someone and not notice that kind of thing."

"But how?"

"Well, over time little things started piling up and I began to suspect. Then in our sophomore year there was a Tornado, and it mysteriously turned away from the school..."

"You knew better?"

"Everyone else called it a freak occurrence, but I've never seen a tornado freeze in place before making a 90 degree right turn. It also didn't hurt that I saw you sneaking out of the shelter right before it happened. After that I paid closer attention and eventually saw you using your powers."

"I – I had no idea that you knew. If I had..."

"I thought about bringing it up, but I figured that you were keeping them quiet for a reason and I just, I didn't want to corner you."

"So you knew of her powers and thus when she came to work for me you made an educated guess." Charles said, sounding a little amused.

"Well, her powers plus the fact that Ororo is an Intellectual Property Law major. So Occam's razor, either she changed majors and never told her best-friend or she had a job that involved children who were like her."

"I must say that you are an impressive and very insightful woman." Charles said in amusement.

"You have no idea." Jonathan said, kissing her cheek.

"And yet I had to practically lock you both in a closet to get you to start dating."

Charles could only laugh, not only at Ororo's dry comment, but the disgruntled look on the faces of Martha and Jonathan.

Scott was rarely so thankful to remain out of a conversation, as he was when Professor Xavier dismissed him from talking with the Kent's. Some of his relief stemmed from the fact that Scott was a male and like most males, he did not like dealing with emotional situations, but the rest of it came from his personal experience. After the plane crash and the loss of his family, Scott had temporarily become a ward of the state, at least until his powers manifested and the Professor took him in.

Ironically, while that should make Scott ideally suited for connecting with Clark it instead left Scott even more uneasy. Perhaps if he did not have a tendency to let Jean to deal with the emotional drama they encountered that would not be the case. Somehow, though, Jean was simply the perfect choice; not that it had done much good when they tried to recruit Rogue -

Shaking his thoughts off before they could slip into self-doubt, Scott instead focused on Clark and wondered what exactly he should say. Normally he allowed the person they were visiting start the conversation, new mutants always had questions about their powers or the institute. Clark though, did not appear particularly interested in asking such questions; rather the other teen seemed to be treating this whole situation as a foregone conclusion.

Frowning Scott decided that was as good an icebreaker as he was going to get.

"You know," Scott said as Clark took a jump shot. "I have to ask. Aren't you the least bit curious about the Institute or us?"

"You have no idea," Clark said, moving to catch the rebounding basketball. Turning he glanced at Scott, with an intensity that was almost frightening. "I've spent most of my life actually looking for others like me, wanting to know who and what I am, where I come from. Then I got to meet a few and suddenly my interest started to wane."

"Bad experiences I take it." Scott said in understanding, there was no doubt that if he had met Lance or Toad before Jean or the Professor, he would be standoffish as well.

"You could say that," Clark said, "The first guy I met, Jeremy Creek had the ability to manipulate electricity. But he was also out for...revenge I guess is the best word for it."

"What happened?"

"There's a Homecoming tradition in Smallville," Clark answered, taking another shot and retrieving the ball once more. "Every year the senior football players pick a male freshman, who they then take into the cornfields and strip down to his underwear. Then they paint a red S on his chest and tie him to a cross as a scarecrow – Jeremy was the scarecrow during the meteor shower, he spent twelve years in a coma and when he woke up, he went after the people that did that to him."

"My god," Scott muttered, and he thought Duncan and his cronies were bad. "So how does it involve you?"

"Last year I was the scarecrow," Clark admitted, his voice suddenly tight. "Jeremy had already killed everyone that did it to him, and when he learned about what happened to me-"

"He decided to take care of the people that did it to you." Scott guessed.

"Not just them, he was going to kill everyone at the homecoming dance." Clark explained, turning to face Scott "I had to stop him, even if I understood...and he decided that made me a valid target as well."

"Man that sucks."

"He was just the first," Clark said heavily, shaking his head. "It seems like everyone I met that has any kind of 'gift' ends up psychotic."

"Power corrupts." Scott said, understanding all too well about mutants drunk on their own superiority. The story was the same, only the names changed, and each time it only served to depress Scott even more. Shaking his thoughts off yet again, he focused on Clark who seemed to be studying him "But it's funny, if what your saying is true you should be more eager to go someplace with mutants that aren't psychotic. But you don't really seem interested in going."

"That's because I'm not." Clark admitted, tossing the ball aside casually. "For all the problems that are here, I honestly would rather not go. My family is here, all of my friends are here...my entire life is here."

"Then why are you?" Scott asked trying to figure out the emerging enigma that Clark Kent was becoming.

"Because it's not about what I want, but what's best for everyone else." Clark answered, unconsciously reaching up to adjust the black-framed glasses he wore. "When my heat vision came in, I was sitting in the middle of class. I nearly burned the school down, I could have hurt a lot of people...could have killed them. Without meaning to, just because I was there and my eyes decided that it was time for me to start unleashing heat beams."

"I..." Scott paused, struck by how similar that was to his own event. "When mine started I was at school too, between classes and I didn't so much burn it down as cave it in."

"So it's not heat?"

"My eyes produce a concentrated beam of concussive force," Scott answered, turning to spot a discarded tractor tire and lowering his sunglasses unleashed a quick optic blast launching it into the air before it crashed to the ground ten feet away. Satisfied, he readjusted his glasses adding, "Unfortunately, outside of closing my eyes, only lenses made of ruby quartz can contain the energy."

"That sucks." Clark said after a moment, echoing Scott from earlier. Turning away, he stared off into the distance "I'm constantly worried about losing control of my powers and each time a new one turns up, it only gets worse."

"I understand." Scott said, while at the same time hiding his surprise at the use of the words 'powers' and 'new one'. Then again, the professor did say that Clark was unusually powerful for a mutant, so it should not be so surprising. "Most of us all have similar fears, and then there are - sometimes our gifts cause a...physical change."

"Physical change?"

"Oh yeah," Scott said with a nod "A friend of mine, Kurt Wagner, he can teleport and stick to walls...great guy, real funny. But for whatever reason his powers left him with a tail, and covered in blue fur."

"Huh." Clark said, clearly trying to picture it.

"When we first met he was...painfully shy about pretty much everything." Scott added, then reaching up touched his sunglasses. "As for me, Professor Xavier found me shortly after my powers first manifested. He raised me, so I'm far more comfortable discussing them than most others - but I get that same fear Clark. I even got a taste of it at a football game recently, my glasses got knocked off and I literally lost control of my powers."

"Oh." Clark said his look one of genuine sympathy.

"I was lucky that Jean was there," Scott added, his mouth twitching into a grin as he thought about her. "That's really what the institutes about you know? All of us being there and helping each other out."

"Sounds nice." Clark admitted, the scratched the back of his head. "So, what about uh, Jean?"

"Jean?" Scott echoed, his grin growing "She's amazing, MVP of the girls soccer team and shoe-in for Valedictorian. She's also unbelievably kind, I mean sometimes a little too nice, but she's amazing."

"Uhm, actually I meant what can she do?" Clark asked with a grin of his own.

"Oh, uh," Scott stammered, realizing his mistake and with a cough tried to redirect attention to her powers. "Jean's a powerful telepath and telekinetic."

"Wow," Clark said with a low whistle before adding, "So, how long have you had a crush on her?"

"What?" Scott asked, his cheeks flushing at the question. "No, it's not like that. She's my best-friend."

"Mhm," Clark said, his grin not diminishing "So, I take it there are other students?"

"Yes," Scott answered a little irritated with the fact that Clark had managed to get under his skin like that. "But if you want to know what the others at the Institute can do, you'll just have to wait until you get there."

At that Clark shrugged, leaving them both standing there in silence, at least until Scott asked another question.

"So," Scott said. "What exactly is your other power - since you've pretty much made it clear that you have more than one?"

"Sorry, not used to talking about this," Clark said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, I've spent so long being careful and not talking about them."

"It's ok." Scott said with reassurance, then when Clark remained silent sighed heavily "Well?"

"Ok, ok." Clark answered, sounding somewhat nervous, before taking a steadying breath. "Besides my heat vision, I have X-ray vision, super-speed, super-strength and invulnerability."

"Uhm," Scott said, looking at Clark with incredulity. He had never heard of a mutant having so many powers and then his mind latched onto one super power in particular. "X-ray vision?"

"Yeah," Clark said with a drawn out breath "It's exactly what you're thinking."

There was a beat of silence at that.

"So you ever..."

"Once or twice." Clark answered swiftly, as if knowing exactly what Scott was about to ask, adding hastily with a flushed face that belied his words "by accident."

"Right." Scott said, chuckling but wishing he had not asked. However, how could he not, that sort of power demanded he ask, it was an unwritten rule. Still, Scott changed the topic before they both grew too uncomfortable "So, uh Super-strength and invulnerability. What are we talking here?"

"I got hit by a Porsche going 193 MPH, knocked into the river 20 feet below the bridge I was on, and the only sign I was hit were my wet clothes." Clark answered dryly. "As for strength, by age 10 I could bench-press our tractor and my pa's truck at the same time, and my powers are getting stronger."

"Right," Scott said faintly, struggling to keep from freaking out. "And uh, the super-speed?"

"We stopped trying to keep track once I started keeping pace with pa's hunting rifle." Clark said, and then as if sensing Scott's look hastily added, "He didn't shoot at me, I just raced them."

"That's got to be fast."

"It's a standard .22 riffle, so about 800 mph...I don't really go that fast though." Clark admitted with another sheepish grin "My shirts tend to get shredded from the wind..."

"Yeah, the girls will love that." Scott said laughing, thinking of how much torment Kitty was going to give Clark. "So how fast do you normally run?"

"Not much faster than a car, so maybe 80 or 90, depends on in how big a hurry I'm in."

Scott could only whistle at that, flabbergasted at such power - Clark was easily the most powerful mutant he had ever met or heard of.

"Oh and uh," Clark added in a forced casual tone, "I think I might be able to fly."