Chapter 1 Part 2

Pain that was the first thing Clark felt as the world started to come back to him. The next thing he felt though was confusion, confusion over the fact that he was in pain. Opening his eyes he was greeted by a bright light that for a second blinded him. Blinking a few times her turned his head and looked around and noticed he was in some kind of medical room.

Being naturally afraid of being experimented on the next thing Clark suddenly felt was fear. Quickly sitting up he focused his senses on the room and calmed slightly when he noticed that there wasn't any weird medical equipment set up. Except for the annoying beeping sound which he quickly realised was a heart monitor that was connected to his chest. Pulling off the pad on his chest he kicked his feet over the side of the bed he was on and noticed that his backpack was on a nearby table.

Walking over to his backpack he opened it up and was grateful that some of his clothes were in there. Reaching into the backpack he pulled out a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt along with a change of underwear and a pair of socks. He got changed as quickly as possible without resorting to the use of super speed before making his way towards the door.

To his surprise the door opened automatically, so without any thought he walked out of the room. As soon as he got into the corridor he was suddenly hit with a cold war feeling as he looked around the metallic walls and frames that seemed to be holding the place up.

Activating his x-ray vision Clark looked around for a way out of wherever he was. After a few minutes of searching he came across an elevator and walked up to it and pressed the button. A few seconds later the doors opened to reveal an empty elevator. Letting out a sigh of relief he walked in.

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Chloe sat at the table in the dining room with the other students who were laughing and joking around. In truth she wasn't really up for all the messing around as she was still worried about Clark. That said though she had to admit the little antics had lifted her spirits slightly.

"Good morning everyone" Ororo said as she walked into the dining area happy to see that the students were up and about for a change. Although she knew that they were up so early purely because they were curious about Chloe and Clark. Turning her attention to Chloe "How is Clark doing this morning" She asked.

"Umm…He was still out when I went to check on him a little while ago" Chloe responded sadly.

"I am sure he will be fine" The weather witch said hoping to lift the young blonds spirits.

"Come on you guys…He'll be fine…And you have to admit he give as good as he got" Evan said much to the annoyance of the other students. "It makes you wonder what he can do though" He then added.

"Evan now is not the time" Ororo chastised at the insensitivity in her nephews voice.

"Come on auntie O…You gotta be just as curious as the rest of us" The teen said back.

"Well maybe you could just ask me yourself" Another voice said from the other end of the room with a bit of annoyance evident in the tone.

Chloe hearing that all to familiar voice spun around in her chair to see Clark standing at the end of the room leaning against the door frame. "Clark" She said as she got up out of the chair and run straight into him wrapping her arms tightly around him.

Clark wrapped his arms around her in return and rested his chin on the top of her head "I'm alright Chlo" he said with a small smile knowing how worried she had probably been.

Chloe pulled back and looked up at his face and was shocked at what she saw. Less than an hour ago his face was still full of small cuts and bruises, but as she looked at him now they were gone. "Clark…Umm…How did you heal so fast…I checked on you less that an hour ago and you were…Well to be honest a mess"

Clark let out a little chuckle and smiled until he noticed a small look of annoyance on his friends face. Taking a quick glance around the room he noticed that the others seemed to be quite curious as well. Oh well they know that I got abilities of my own…I just wont be telling them about the whole alien thing. He thought to himself before looking back down at Chloe "Umm…Well when I was younger…Whenever I got hurt all my parents had to do was take me outside into the sunlight…For some reason the sun just heals me almost instantly…So when I woke up I just went straight outside into the sun and a minute later I was back to normal"

"Oh" Was all Chloe said in response before she slapped him across the side of his head as another look of annoyance appeared on her face "And you couldn't have told me that little fact before…It would have been nice to know that all I needed to do was leave you on your ass outside and you'd be fine…I spent most of the last eighteen hours wondering how long you were going to be laying on that bed"

Clark could see that Chloe had been really worried about him so he did the only thing he could do and pulled her into another hug "I'm sorry Chlo…It's not something that's ever come up…That guy is the first person I've come across in the last two years that could actually hurt me"

"I know and I'm sorry for getting annoyed…But I was really worried about you…I've never seen you hurt like that before" Chloe said in response.

"So like what can you do" A female voice asked causing both Clark and Chloe to look towards the table where the other students were sitting. The voice belonged to Kitty Pride who was currently eyeing Clark up and if she had one word to describe him it would be WOW. Because as far as she could tell he was like really built with the body that sent little shivers down her spine just by looking at it.

"That would be Kitty" Chloe said answering the question she knew Clark was about to ask.

Clark glanced at the young brunette that Chloe pointed towards "I can do a few things" Was all he said before turning his attention back to Chloe "My cell was totalled so can I borrow yours…I wanna check in with my parents"

"Sure" the blond responded before pulling out he cell phone and handing it to him. Clark took the cell and instantly disappeared in a blur. "It's really annoying when he does that" Chloe muttered to herself before turning around and seeing the others just looking at her. "Relax guys…Clark isn't used to opening up to people" She said knowing that they were probably thinking Clark was just blowing them off. Which of course she knew he was but it wasn't about him being rude, it was simply what he was used to doing. "Just give him some time" With that she sat down and picked up her coffee.

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It only took Clark a few seconds to get outside the mansion where he dialled his mothers cell. He waited a few seconds until his mother answered. "Chloe"

"No mom it's me" Clark responded knowing his mother probably saw Chloe's number on the caller id.

"Clark how are you using Chloe's phone"

Oh how do I answer that one. Clark thought to himself before an idea popped into his head. "Well mom you know how I sometimes smash my alarm clocks…Well I kind of crushed my cell" He finally said and started wincing before his mother even said anything.

"Clark Kent…How many times do we have to tell you to take it easy on things when you wake up" His mother shouted down the phone. Clark wasn't really worried though as he could hear the slight humour in his mothers tone. "So how are things going there with Chloe"

"Umm…Not to bad actually…Chloe seems to have settled in with them quite nicely"

"What about you Clark…What do you think of them"

"Not much…I'm trying to avoid them as much as possible" Clark responded which was true in a way as he had barely said anything to them. That and the fact that his dad had told him in no uncertain terms that he wasn't to reveal anything to them, at all. That was a promise that he's already broken but his parents don't need to know that, well not yet anyway. "The less time I spend with them the easier it will be…These people got abilities of their own and I'm still hiding from them"

For a few seconds there was no response to what he had said until he heard what sounded like a door closing and footsteps walking somewhere. "Clark honey…I know what your father said about not telling them anything but I don't agree with him on that one"

"What do you mean mom…You and dad have made it pretty clear where you guys stand when it comes to my secret" He responded with confusion in his voice.

"Clark I'm not telling you to go and tell them everything about yourself…But from what you and Chloe told me when she was first invited to that place…They all have abilities of their own…In that respect Clark your not that much different from them" As those words left his mothers mouth Clark could hear a soft sigh coming from her. "Clark in a lot of ways these people have something in common with you…They are different from the rest of us and from what you told me about that place it is somewhere where they can let their hair down…A place where they can express themselves without fear"

"Mom…What are you trying to tell me" Clark asked still confused over what his mother was trying to say.

"What I'm saying Clark is that if these people have abilities of their own then maybe you should let them know about yours…I'm not telling you to tell them everything…But for once Clark you are in a place where there are others who are like you in terms of having their own abilities…So what I'm telling you is that for once if you think they will be ok with your powers then maybe you should let your hair down and enjoy being around people who can at least understand what it's like to be a little different"

"Mom what about dad…He'd go nuclear"

"Oh you leave your father to me…Look Clark I know your father and I have always been dead set against you telling anyone about your secret…But the truth is that since Chloe found out about you…I've never seen you more at peace than you have been over the last few weeks…I know things with Pete haven't exactly been the same but I think the big difference is that Chloe has an ability of her own and can understand that…In a way she can probably understand you even better than your father and I can"

"Mom…You know that's not true"

"Yes it is Clark…You father and I have always tried to protect you and be there to help when something happens with you…But the sad truth is that even though we are here to help the best we can, there are many things about you that we cant understand…We don't have abilities like you do and because of that we cant really understand what it is that you are going through"

"I don't know what to say" Was all Clark could say in response to what his mother just said.

"It was one reasons why I was glad you went with Chloe…I was hoping that even if it was just for a few days that you could really live and enjoy yourself without having to completely hide yourself from people…I know how much it hurts you to keep yourself so closed off to people"

"You know I love you mom…You and Dad are great and you do understand me a lot more than you think you do" Clark responded hoping to reassure his mother.

"We love you too Clark…But promise me that for just this once…If you feel that you can use your abilities around them without any problems, that you will at least think about it…For just this once Clark…Be a teenager and enjoy yourself…And don't worry about your father…I'll have a good long chat with him…Now hang up before you use all of Chloe's minutes up"

"Ok…Bye mom"

"I'll see you in a few days…Bye Clark" With that said Martha hung up the phone leaving Clark standing there just looking at it. Did my mom just tell me to have fun with my powers. He thought to himself before turning back towards the mansion.

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Charles was sitting in his office reading over some reports about the students grades when Logan ran into the room. "Chuck the kids gone"

Hearing that Charles put down the report he was reading and instantly started using his telepathy to ask the students if any of them had seen Clark who had disappeared. A few seconds later he got a response stating that Clark had been in the dining room only a few minutes earlier but had simply left after borrowing Chloe's phone. "Apparently young Mr Kent has already made himself known to the others…He was in the dining hall with them a few minutes ago but he's already left"

Logan let out a small growl in annoyance at hearing that. He had only gone to grab a coffee and was only away for ten minutes and the boy just disappeared. "Remind me to make sure I give him a few of my personal training sessions if he decides to stick around" With that said he turned around and walked out of the room still quite annoyed.

Charles for his part let out a small chuckle at Logan's annoyed attitude before his face took a more serious expression. He had some information on how Clark would join the institute but how he was to get him to do so he didn't know. All that the Kal that he knew said was to trust his instincts and that he would know when the time was right to broach the subject. In truth he was still dubious on whether or not to reveal what he knew to Clark, but he also knew that he had to eventually. That also meant that he would have to talk with Jean eventually as well. That will most certainly be an interesting conversation. He thought to himself as he now made his way out of the room.

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Clark returned to the dining hall to see Chloe and the others there chatting away. Again like he did when he first went into the dining hall he stood there leaning against the doorframe just watching them. He could see and hear them laughing and joking away about some of the things they had gotten up to with their powers. Chloe herself was talking about how she accidentally blew a whole through the side of a car with one of her abilities and the memory almost made him laugh.

As for Chloe's ability Clark knew that she was still slightly afraid of it and in truth he didn't know how to help her. When her ability manifested itself he recognised some of the things she did, that only served to confuse him. She had used three different abilities and he recognised them all, they were abilities he had seen some of the meteor mutants use. From what the professor said Chloe was some kind of empathy that could replicate another persons ability within herself. Apparently from what the professor had said and what he had witnessed Chloe seemed to be able to hold on to three different abilities at the same time. "Nice to see you up and about kid" A gruff voice said from behind Clark causing him to turn around only to see Logan standing there.

"Thanks" The alien teen responded "So what happened to the big guy"

"Chuck sent him back to his prison…He shouldn't bother us again…For a while anyway" Logan responded before letting out a small grunt "And next time you wake up from a nap like that it might be a good idea to tell someone"

Clark knew that Logan was probably referring to the fact that when he woke up in that medical room he just disappeared. "Sorry about that…I kind of have a problem with waking up in medical labs"

"You and me both kid" Logan responded with a bit of anger in his voice as a small memory flashed back into his mind.

"So what's on the agenda for today"

"Well some of the kids are going to be giving your friend the tour of Bayville" With that said Logan made his way into the dining hall but came to a stop a few feet away from the teen "You may want to check it out for yourself…That is if your going to be joining us"

Before Clark could respond Logan turned and carried on walking towards the table where the other students were. What does he mean by that. He wondered before turning around and leaving the room before anyone else noticed him. As he started making his way through the mansion he heard a female voice calling him, turning around he saw a girl about his age walking up to him. Looking at her he could instantly see that she was very, well to put it simply hot especially with that fiery red hair. As he looked at her though it was her eyes that captured him the most. They were a powerful emerald green that when you looked into them seemed to pull you in. "Yeah" He finally answered as he pulled himself together.

As Jean approached Clark she had to admit that Kitty was right, he was really built. She took note of his muscular body and it actually sent a shiver down her spine as she saw his muscles pull on his t-shirt. Oh knock it off Jean…You've only just broken up with Duncan. She chastised herself for her reaction to the very built and hot guy she was walking up to. "Umm the professor wants to see you"

"Alright…Where is he" Clark asked while trying his hardest not to stare into her green eyes.

"Just follow me" She responded before turning around and making her way towards where the professor was.

Clark simply nodded and just stood there for a second as the red head turned around and started to walk. Before he could stop himself though he found his eyes wandering south and before he knew it he was checking out her butt as he hips swayed slightly as she walked. After a few more seconds he shook himself out of the thoughts that were starting to pop into his head while hoping she wouldn't turn around and notice what he was doing.

As she was walking Jean was suddenly hit with the strange feeling that she was being watched or stalked even. It was a feeling she couldn't really describe and for some reason beyond her ability to understand the sensation actually thrilled her, even turning her on slightly. She somehow knew that Clark was checking her out and despite her recent break up with Duncan and not wanting to be involved with any man at the moment she found herself excited by it. Of course she also knew it could just be wishful thinking that he was checking her out.

Feeling slightly awkward about her rising hormones Jean decided that a little chitchat was in order "So…Umm I don't know if you know but my name is Jean Grey"

"Yeah I know…The professor give me a quick rundown on you guys yesterday before the big guy showed up" Clark responded letting out a small sigh as the memory of the fight played back through his mind. Sometimes he really hated the fact that he could remember everything as he could recall every single detail of the fight.

"So what can you do" Jean asked as she was just as curious as everyone else about what Clark was capable of doing. Since Chloe wasn't talking getting an answer out of him seemed to be the only way.

"I can do a few things" Was all he said in response as he still wasn't completely comfortable with outing himself about his abilities.

Jean turned her head towards him and looked the young man in the eyes and she could see that he wasn't comfortable with where the current subject was going. It made her wonder if he was one of those mutants that ended up hating themselves simply because they were different from everyone else. However despite seeing Clark's discomfort she wanted to know what he was capable of. "Care to elaborate on that"

Clark came to a dead stop and just looked at the red head for a few seconds "Look…I don't mean to be rude but I'm not going to be giving you my biography…Chloe is the one that maybe becoming a student here…Not me…So if you don't mind can you drop the not so subtle attempt of trying to pry info out of me" His tone wasn't nasty but there was absolutely no emotion behind his voice as he spoke.

For a few seconds Jean just looked at Clark with a bit of shock in her expression. His tone wasn't rude or anything like that but it was cold and emotionless and it sent a small cold shiver down her spine. Realising that he had no intention of answering her question she just turned around and carried on walking. "Fine just follow me to the professors office" With that said the two of them just walked to the professors office in complete silence.

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Charles was still sitting alone in his office going over the student reports when he heard Jean in his mind saying that she and Clark were just outside. Telling her to come in he set the report he was reading down on his desk and looked up as Clark and Jean walked in. As they entered the room the first thing that he noticed was that Jean was slightly annoyed while having a slightly hurt expression on her face. "Jean is everything alright" He asked.

"Umm yeah professor…Everything's fine" She responded while giving Clark a quick glance.

"If your sure everything's ok" Charles stated to which he just got a simple nod of the red head in response. He actually suspected that Clark had said or done something that had upset Jean but as it didn't seem to be a big problem he decided to let it slide for now. "Thank you for bringing Clark here Jean…If you could give us a few minutes"

"Ok Professor…I'll see you later" She said as she turned and left the room leaving Clark and the professor alone.

Once Jean had left the room Charles turned his full attention to Clark. "It's good to see you up and about…I wasn't sure how long it would take you to recover from the fight with my brother"

"I usually heal pretty quickly…Although it's been a long time since I was actually hurt" Clark said back in response while taking a seat opposite the professor.

"When I invited Chloe here, had I known about you I would have invited you as well…It was quite a surprise to see you fighting off my brother the way you did"

Clark let out a small sigh and shook his head slightly "Yeah it was a surprise…I wasn't exactly expecting to be fighting anything while I was here"

Moving from behind his desk Charles manoeuvred himself around until he was only a few feet away from Clark. "I wanted to say thank you for what you did yesterday…Had it not been for you…My brother could have done some serious damage…You held him at bay until the others could arrive"

"Yeah well I wasn't exactly strong enough to stop him though" Clark admitted sadly as he didn't remember the end of the fight at all. He could only assume he was out cold by that point.

"You kept him outside the mansion long enough for the others to arrive…They were able to remove his helmet allowing me to use my telepathy on him…Until recently I had never seen anyone who had the ability to go toe to toe with my brother…In fact I believe you're the first person I have ever known that has been able to draw blood from him…It would appear that my brother is not as invulnerable as he believes he is" As those words left his mouth he kept a close eye on the young man sitting in front of him looking for his reaction.

Not really wanting to think about the fight Clark decided to change topics. "So Umm Jean said you needed to talk to me about something"

Charles instantly recognised Clark's attempt to change the subject and decided that he would give into the young man on this occasion. "Yes I did…Considering recent events and the fact that you have abilities of your own...I wanted to ask if you would like to attend the institute along with Chloe at the beginning of the next semester"

Ok Clark had to admit he hadn't seen that one coming. Truth be told Clark was kind of in two minds as he sat there thinking about it. On the one hand it would be nice to be around others who had abilities of their own where he wouldn't have to hide his. On the other hand though he also knew that he would still be lying to them about what he was. He wasn't a mutant despite the abilities he had and because of that he would have to hide things from them. Then there was the part of him that didn't want to leave the farm as he knew his parents would need his help, especially with his mother being pregnant and all. At the end of the day he knew he had responsibilities back home and that they came first, so with that in mind he made his decision. "Professor I appreciate the offer…But I can't…I have responsibilities back home and I can't turn my back on them"

Charles watched the young man as he give his answer and could see a slight bit of uncertainty in his decision. He knew that Clark would be weary of joining the institute as well as knowing that the young man had a life back in Smallville. However he also knew that this was an important decision to make, one that Clark would have to discuss with his parents even if the answer would be no. "Clark…You don't need to make this decision yet…You and Chloe will be returning home the day after tomorrow and this is something that you should discuss with your parents…I assume that they know about your abilities"

"Yeah they do" Clark answered which was completely true. That and the fact that he kind of crash landed right in front of them means that they knew all about him, well almost all about him.

"Then in that case…I ask that you at least think over my offer…There are still a few weeks left until the end of the current semester so you have time to make a decision"

Reluctantly Clark nodded in agreement and decided that he would at least think about it. He already knew that his father would be dead set against it which doesn't surprise him in the least. In fact that was one thing that often annoyed him about his father and that was his overdeveloped protective streak, it sometimes bordered on psychotic.

Happy with the fact that Clark was at least going to think over his offer Charles decided that it might be a good idea if he interacted with the other students a bit. He had given the students the day off School since they were supposed to be away so getting Clark to spend the day with his other students should be easy. "Clark the others are taking Chloe around Bayville to have a look around…Why don't you go with them yourself and see the town for yourself"

"Alright professor…I'll do that…It will give me a chance to get to know some of them anyway" Clark responded even though in truth he wasn't looking forward to it. Manly because he knew Chloe would end up doing some shopping.

With all that said and done Clark left Charles alone in his office while he went back to meet up with Chloe. Once Clark left Charles sat there thinking things over and he couldn't shake the feeling that something important was going to happen around the institute over the next few years. The Clark that he met years ago hinted that Bayville was where everything would start and that he would be right there in the middle of it. That however left the question of what was to come.


RESPONSE TO REVIEWS: Chapter 1

My response to the review in question is written in italics.

Review From: Connor K

good start, i think that you might have rushed the fact that the reason Charles knew about Clark was because of the legion ring, as well as having jean see Clarks memory. I think those could have been left for a later chapter to build questions as well as suspense about them.

I decided to put the fact that Charles knows about Clark in early for a reason which will become clear within the first three or four Chapters of the story. As for the part about Jean seeing a part of Clark's memory, I think you may be right and that I put it in a bit early. (Came to the same conclusion you did after I went back over the chapter) There is a reason why Jean can get into Clark's mind so to speak while the professor cant. (This will be explained later on as the story progresses)

I do like the fact that you didn't put Clark at his peak power to start with were he could kick Juggernaut ass in a millisecond, instead keeping him at a fraction of his strength so it was a fight he couldn't really win.

As for not having Clark at his peak I decided early on when I was putting together the concept for this story that having Clark too powerful early on would make things too easy for the X-Men when in a battle. To counter this I decided that I should tone down all his abilities and build them up over time. In my version I decided to leave him more vulnerable to outside forces. Fairly early on in the story there will be a part that looks over the abilities that Clark currently has and what the levels are currently at. I have also decided to change the way Clark's powers work slightly (This came from something I was reading online about how Clark's powers work but I wont go into that here and just say that it will be brought up as the story progresses)

I know that Scott is a hard ass that is rather distrusting but i think you made him a little to paranoid this chapter only because i think that the professor would have taught Scott to be more open minded, mind you i haven't read the comics or watched the shows in a long while so i could be wrong.

As for Scott, I agree with what you said about him being a little too paranoid and he will be mellowing out more. I made him a little more paranoid purely because I did some research into the X-Men evolution series and at the point where the series is at, Scott seemed to realise that there was a lot of things that the professor was hiding from him and the others (Mainly the existence of Magneto and things like that)


So there you are people Chapter 1 part 2 is finished

Let me know what you think all feedback good and bad are welcome