Chapter 6

"So, spill it, Smallville."

"Lois, this isn't exactly easy for me."

"Okay, I'll bite. Why?"

"I never know how people are going to react, if they'll look at me differently after they know about me."

"Why?" She was truly puzzled. "You're still you, Clark." She reached up and grabbed his hand and pulled. He kneeled down in front of her. "If you tell me you turn into a werewolf during a full moon, I'm not going to look at you any differently. You'll still be the nicest guy I have ever met. Now, it's not quite that bad, is it?"

Clark chuckled softly. "No, I guess not."

"So, flying, able to start campfires with a single glance. What else?"

"I'm …pretty strong."

"Stronger-than-the-average-bear strong?" she asked, comically.

"If you make that stronger than the average ten bears, you might be more right." He silently added, "maybe even a hundred these days," knowing how his powers seemed to be growing almost daily.

There was a long pause before she answered, and he bit his bottom lip as he watched her face carefully for the tell-tale signs of fright. Of all things, he was dreading that she might begin to be afraid of him.

"Ten bears?" She smiled and he relaxed a little. Lois was definitely not ever going to be afraid of him. "Now that you'll have to prove to me, Smallville. I'm not buying it. But what else? Throw down those other cards, buster."

"Speed."

"Speed? What do you mean?" She felt the whoosh of a sudden wind and momentarily closed her eyes. When she opened them, he was gone. "Smallville?"

"Over here, Lois." He was standing ten feet behind her, just on the edge of the light provided by the fire.

"Oh," she said softly, realizing just how fast he had just moved, "that speed."

He walked toward her, spreading his hands. "I can also hear extremely well. For example, I just heard the jingle of Tess' car keys, so I'll have to be going into Metropolis in a few more minutes."

"Tess? Tess is in Metropolis." She said it almost automatically as the truth sank into her brain.

"Yes." He paused a moment for her to digest that tidbit of information before he continued. "Then there's my sight. Lois, I can also see through things. Sometimes it's like an X-ray, sometimes it's just seeing straight through objects, walls, whatever…"

"This has been going on for a while then?" She was looking away from him now, almost too afraid to meet his eyes.

Then he saw it in her face. The fear. He felt a small part of him die. It really was going to make a difference to her, no matter what she had said.

"The strength, the speed, yes. Since I was little."

"Oh my god, Clark." She pointed to him accusingly. "You're the red and blue blur!"

"Yes."

"You…we…we can't waste any more time here, Clark." She sprang to her feet. "We've got to find some doctors now. Tonight. Stow that tent. At least it shouldn't take you any time to do it. We've got to go. NOW!"

"What?"

"Clark, if those meteor rocks have been working on you this long, there's no time to lose. We've got to get you some help now. This minute. God, I'm so glad you didn't tell your mom. At least she'll assume we'll be gone for a good reason, and however long this is going to take… it won't worry her." As she talked she had poured out what was left of her precious coffee to quench the fire, picked up the heavy cooler, and started toward the open car trunk with it.

"Lois, what are you doing?"

"We're going. Now! We've got to find Chloe. We can —"

"Lois, listen to me! The meteor rocks didn't do this to me." He took the cooler from her and set it back on the ground, before grabbing her shoulders. "I was born like this. I'm from another planet. I arrived here during the meteor shower. The rocks do affect me. They make me sick. But my powers don't come from them, and I don't need any doctors."

He could hear her heart racing and it frightened him. Their eyes locked.

"…Don't need any doctors." She was merely repeating his words.

"No, no doctors. They wouldn't know what to do with me anyway, Lois. My skin is as tough as steel. Bullets, fire, nothing can hurt me except the meteor rocks." And that's not really the entire truth. That look on your face can.

"Bullets?"

"Yeah." It was hard to see the shock displayed in those eyes of hers. "They used to bruise me. Now they don't even do that."