Chapter 3
Clark has had an interesting past couple of weeks. Soon after the Farmer's Market, Clark had to defeat Greg Arkin, a childhood friend of Clark and Pete, who was infected by the meteor shower and developed insectoid characteristics.
Then just last week Clark temporarily joined to football team against his father's wishes. That was a disaster. The coach had the ability to make things burst into flames and he almost killed Clark.
Clark had figured out without a shadow of a doubt for reason unexplained that he is allergic to meteor rocks. But on the bright side it seems that Clark can protect himself with lead when shields him from the meteor rock's radiation.
Tess has also had an interesting week. While Clark was getting fitted for a football jersey he never actually got to wear, Tess was defying her father in a business plan, saving several people their jobs.
Tess had explained all this to Clark, who she was surprised even cared, but now that she thought about it Clark always seemed to care about anything she had to say. The Plant is performing twenty percent below projections, so Lionel wanted Tess to cut the work force, but she planed to increase it in a bold move aimed to put her competitors on the run.
Clark had run into Tess at a coffee shop in town. They ended up talking about their parents' expectations. Tess noticed that between the two of them, Clark was standing his ground and he inspired her to do the same.
Lionel Luthor arrived in Smallville to give Tess a hard time about her decision to increase her workforce rather than decreasing it. Since they can't seem to come to an agreement, Lionel suggests that they fence for it. Tess lost and was ordered to reduce her workforce. Instead, Tess found a way to cut the operating budget without reducing her workforce, infuriating Lionel.
Clark was walking down the sidewalk downtown when he hears alarms going off and Tess running towards him holding a gun and carrying a backpack.
Clark grabbed Tess and asked, "Tess what's going on?"
Tess frowned at Clark and with an impossible amount of strength pushed Clark through a window of a shop.
Clark grunted in pain which he wasn't use to without meteor rocks. Greg Arkin had been strong but the force Tess pushed he with, he had yet to experience.
Clark looked up at Tess and his eyes unintentionally focused on her and Clark's vision became blue and he could see Tess's bones. Some of her bones were painted a greenish color.
Clark was utterly shocked. It was like his eyes were X-ray specs.
Tess looked down at him and without a word started running down the street.
Clark and his parents were in the kitchen. Martha was holding the newspaper reading the headline.
Martha looked at her husband, "This is incredible. Why would Tess Mercer need to rob a bank?"
Jonathan sighed, "I've seen some mighty strange things in my day, but this takes the cake."
He looked at his son, "Well almost."
Martha read, "She got away with $100,000."
Clark faced his parents, "I know Tess. It wasn't her."
Jonathan said without looking at his son, "Clark I know she's your friend, but come on you saw her with your own eyes."
Clark said, "I don't know what I saw."
Martha said, "There most be a reasonable explanation to all this I hope."
Clark heard the voice he dreams about say, "Me too. I'd hate to think I have an evil twin. Knowing my father I wouldn't be surprised."
The Kents all turned to look at there back door where Tess Mercer stood.
Jonathan sighed and Martha said, "Tess we didn't hear you pull up."
Tess asked, "May I come in? I promise I'm not packing heat."
Clark nodded to her to come in and asked, "Tess, how are you not in jail?"
Tess laughed, "Because I was hosting a reception for 200 fertilizer distributors in Metropolis at the time of the robbery."
Jonathan asked, "Do the police have any leads?"
Tess sighed, "None. That's why I'm here. I wanted to talk to you Clark. Your name was on the witness list. Did you actually see this person?"
Clark smiled at Tess, "You mean you need a reason to come see me?"
Tess smiled back.
Both of the Kent parents exchanged looks at their son flirting with a Luthor. Worst she flirted back.
Clark said, "Yeah she looked just like you."
Tess said, "Except her fingerprints or handwriting did not match mine. Are you sure your eyes weren't playing tricks on you?"
Clark sighed and thought, I'm pretty sure she looked like you seeing how I see you every night in my dreams. Right till the point I wake up and crash down from floating.
Without answering Tess he asked, "What happens now?"
Tess sighed, "Well hopefully the money will turn up. In the mean time the Metropolis tabloids will have a field day with all of this." She looked directly at Jonathan, "And I'm sure some people's opinion of me will be cemented in stone."
Jonathan not taking the bait said, "I got back to get to work." and started to leave.
He and Martha exchange another look, saying a million things without moving there lips. Clark hoped that one day he would be able to know someone that well one day. He hopes it would be the woman standing next to him.
Tess watches Jonathan leave then sighs, "Clark I'm sorry you got thrown through that window. I promise I'm not a criminal mastermind. My father and brother on the other hand..."
Clark says, "I know. A criminal mastermind would have worn a mask."
Clark and Tess both smiled at each other to his mother's worry on just how her son truly feels for the Luthor.
Clark's week had gotten weirder. During gym class Clark had starting getting massive headaches. When the coach had Clark and Pete climb up the rope Clark's eyes focused and Clark saw through Pete's skin and he could see blood vessels.
In shock Clark let go of the rope and fell to the ground. While on the ground Clark's eyes focused and Clark saw through the walls and into the girl's locker room. Now Clark may be alien but he was also a red-blooded teenage male so he didn't try too hard to look away from the girl's locker room. Hell, he thought, maybe the freak "abilities" aren't so bad.
But then he thought of how he was invading people's privacy and closed his eyes. Not before he got a peek of Lana Lang without a towel. Clark compared Tess and Lana. Not only was Tess's personality so much better but so was her body. Not that Clark cared about appearance. But now that he looks he wonders why he ever gave Lana the time of day. And even if it was extremely tempting Clark vowed to never peek at Tess in this way. She meant too much to him to ruin their friendship over his freak eyes looking where they shouldn't.
Clark had skipped class and ran home to talk to his parents. His parents convinced him to learn to control his eyes. They figured if he learns to turn them on he can turn them off.
Clark was walking downtown when his X-ray vision kicked back in. He looked around trying to get his vision back to normal when he noticed someone walking down the street with their bones painted green just like the bank robber.
His vision went back to normal and Clark saw that the person with the green bones was Tina Greer, a girl from school. After convincing his Mother to go into the same store as Tina, a store her mother owned, Clark investigated.
Clark talked to Tina's mom but she claimed that Tina was at Lana's.
This surprised Clark so he went outside to go for a walk.
Five minutes later Clark watches as someone looking like Clark try to run Martha over.
Clark ran over to Martha who looked at her son in shock and hugged him.
When the Kents discussed what happened, Martha told Clark how Tina's mom was acting very strange. Martha had found $5,000 in cash under a dresser. The money had Smallville Savings and Loan band around the money. And Tina's mom talked about selling the shop.
Martha swore that the person driving the truck looked like Clark. And after thinking about it she had must have lost her keys at Tina's mom's shop.
Jonathan had joked that Tina's mom stole the keys turned into Clark and tried to run Martha over. But Clark thought that was possibly the case.
He told his parents that when he saw Tina's skeleton that it was painted green. His mother told him that is because Tina was born with a soft bone disease. She almost died but miraculously got better around her third birthday. Right around the time of the meteor shower.
So Clark went about trying to control this new ability. After several hours Clark had made some progress.
While this was going on Tess had been ambushed by a reporter named Roger Nixon. He had threatened Tess to write an expose on Tess's earlier life. A lot of things in Tess's early life Tess wanted to stay buried. Things that Tess wouldn't even tell Clark. And Tess swore would never keep things from Clark. He meant too much to her.
Nixon had wanted a $100,000 payoff to keep his mouth shut.
At the Luthor Mansion, Nixon arrived to deliver the files and collect his money. Tess told him that if he walks out that door Tess would make him disappear. She deleted all records of the man's existence, and announces that she wanted Nixon's help. Tess took him to a large room with a wrecked Porsche. She wants Nixon to find out how Tess survived the crash.
At school Clark ended up controlling his ability and was able to see into Tina's locker. In there he saw the stolen money. He told his parents this and together they made an anonymous call to the Sheriff.
Later that night Clark was trying to see through a football piggybank when Tess walked up the stairs.
Tess asked him what he was doing and he responded, "Just trying to figure out how much money I have in here."
Tess smiled, "You could always take it out and count it."
Clark smiled, "Where's the fun in that?"
Tess asked, "Did you hear about the bank robber? It was a girl from your school. They found the money in her locker."
Clark feigned surprise.
Tess went on talking about duel identity, which Clark could relate. Clark had noticed Tess wasn't sounding like herself, when out of the blue she grabbed his face and kissed him.
Now Clark had imagined this scenario numerous of times and frankly it didn't live up to his expectations. Clark had expected sparks or something, but kissing Tess was bland and uninteresting.
Clark pushed her back, "Tess what's gotten into you….?"
Tess face had morphed into Tina's.
Tina said, "I don't know how you found out about that money Clark, but you should have stayed out of my life."
Then she pushed him through the barn wall and he fell two stories onto the family truck.
Tina looked down at him in contempt before walking away.
Clark groaned in pain and thought, "What the hell?"
Ciffhanger ending. Sorry. But any self-respecting Smallville fan should know how this episode ends. Didn't want to end here but was getting too long.
I'm not just rewriting the episode starting next chapter I will be making core changes. Tina will go after Tess next chapter.
Tess like Lex is trying to find out how she survived the crash but will not go completly overboard like her brother. Maybe after a "heart-to-heart" conversation i'm planning on in the chapter after next will get Tess to lay off on the investigation. But will Nixon?
Sorry for update delay. Hopfully will update next chapter tommorrow. But don't hold me too it.
Thank you for all the reviews and story alerts. I thank you all.
Stay tuned,
Dex-El of Krypton
