"So, night owl, how was Metropolis?" Mom asked as we came into the barn. Clark turned around.
"Fine."
"Come on. A reception at the Metropolis Museum and it was just 'fine'?" I asked him, making quotation marks with my fingers when I said 'fine'.
"The museum was amazing. It's just..."
"It's just what?" Dad asked.
"Something happened. It could have been worse. I stopped the bus before anyone was hurt." He said.
"Clark, are you all right?" Mom asked, her motherly instincts kicking in to make her instantly worried.
"I'm fine."
"What if somebody had seen you do it?" Dad asked.
"Dad, everyone was still in the museum."
"I think its fine. There's no mention of any witnesses in the paper." Mom reminded dad.
"Look, I better get to school. Come on, Cynthia!" We started to head out of the barn, but dad's voice stopped us.
"Hey, Clark. Look, I am real proud of what you did."
"We both are." Mom added. He nodded and we hurried out of the barn.
I was just walking to the barn when I heard a voice I didn't recognize.
"Kid, I don't know what they've been feeding you, but that was pretty impressive." I ducked into the barn and out of sight behind the tractor without Clark or the other man seeing me.
"Who are you?" Clark asked.
"I am your new best friend, Clark." The man said.
"How do you know my name?"
"Oh, I asked around. That's the beauty of a small town. Everyone's just so eager to help. A far cry from Metropolis..."
"What do you want with me?"
"Your help. You see, Clark, I'm in a battle that I can't afford to lose. Because if I do, the bad guys win. And you have this gift that I need."
"I'll never help you."
"You have a secret you don't want the world to know about. I'm guessing that's why you didn't stick around for the TV cameras last night. You want to keep things that way, you'll do as I say. Drop by that overpriced coffee shop tomorrow afternoon and we'll talk about your future. Nice catch." The man walked off. Clark ran out of the barn towards the house. I got off the floor and hurried after him. Clark had already explained what happened to mom and dad inside the house by the time I got in.
"He just dropped the generator right on top of you?" Dad asked.
"How did he know it wouldn't kill you?" Mom asked.
"He saw me stop the bus last night…"
"Maybe we should call the police." Mom suggested.
"He is the police. I saw his badge, Metropolis P.D. Dad... look I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."
"Clark, you didn't do anything wrong, okay?" Dad told him.
"He told me to meet him at the Beanery tomorrow."
"I don't want you going anywhere near this guy. I'll talk to him and I'll find out what he wants." Dad decided.
"Until then-?"
"Until then, you live your life, you see your friends. And we're not gonna let this change us."
"Morning, guys." Clark muttered as he came into the kitchen. I looked up from my homework I was finishing last minute.
"What time did you get in last night? I didn't hear you." Mom said.
"Uh... late... I was helping Lana at the Torch. I sort of lost track of time…" Clark told her.
"Clark, has um... has Phelan tried to contact you?" Dad asked.
"Dad, don't worry. I think he's out of our lives forever." Clark said. There was a knock on the door and dad opened it. The sheriff and a couple deputies were standing there.
"Ethan, Bob, what's going on?" Dad asked.
"We got a warrant. It's a warrant to search your property, Jonathan." Ethan told him, holding up a piece of paper.
"A warrant? Come on in. What for?" Dad asked. The Deputies was already heading towards the barn.
"We got a tip from the Metropolis P.D." A deputy came back into the house.
"You better come and take a look at this."
"Looks like he was shot in the heart. You want to explain to me what a dead body's doing in your barn, Jonathan?" Ethan asked as the dead body found in our barn was loaded into the ambulance.
"I have no idea. I've never seen that man before."
"Ethan, we found this hidden under the seat in the truck." A deputy said, walking over to us, holding a gun.
"That is not my gun, and I have no idea how it got in my truck." Dad said.
"I'm sorry, Jonathan, but we're gonna have to place you under arrest." Ethan said, starting to handcuff dad.
"Dad..." Clark started.
"It's all right. Call Bill Ross and have him meet me at the jail." Dad told him.
"You're not taking him!" Clark started to step forward.
"Clark. Clark! I need you to stay here and I need you to be strong." Dad told him. They put him in the police car.
"I'll follow in the car." Mom said.
Clark stormed back into the house with me right behind him.
"That's what you get for trying to be a hero, Clark. You're a pretty smart boy, but you forget. I've been doing this a long time." We both turned around as Phelan came into the house.
"Who's that man?" Clark asked.
"Did you really think you could double cross me? Clark, my job is about scenarios. You never enter a crack house with one plan, you go in with ten! That's how you survive! The truth is, kid, you didn't leave me a lot of options!"
"I want my dad out of jail." Clark demanded.
"You complicate my life, I'm gonna complicate yours!" Before I could blink, Clark had run across the room and punched Phelan. He grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him against one of the columns in the kitchen.
"Call them now and tell them what you did!" Clark demanded. I ran over and grabbed Clark's arm.
"Clark, let him go! Clark!" I tried to get him to pay attention, but Clark was completely ignoring me.
"What is it, Clark? You wanna kill me? You think that's the answer to your problems?" Phelan asked.
"I want him out!"
"Clark, let him go! Clark, come on, don't kill him!" I pleaded. Clark's eyes flickered to mine. He let him Phelan go.
"Then we both want something. Only you have a lot more to lose. I don't want anymore surprises. I'm gonna let you think about last night. Stay close, I'll be in touch." Phelan left ago.
Clark and I went to the jail to see dad after that.
"Hi, son, Cynthia... Where's your mother?" He asked, standing up and walking over to the bars of his cell.
"The police are questioning her. I lied to you." Clark admitted.
"What do you mean?"
"I did see Phelan again."
"When?"
"Last night. I went with him to Metropolis broke into an apartment, found a safe with confidential files."
"Oh, Clark…"
"I didn't have a choice."
"Well, I'm sure that's what he wanted you to think, Clark, but you always have a choice, son…"
"I was protecting you and mom and Cynthia!"
"You cannot protect your mother and me by lying to us. Come on!"
"Dad, there's more. Phelan came back after you were arrested. I got so angry that I grabbed him. And for a second, I wanted to... I wanted to kill him." And punched him, I wanted to remind him. I bit my tongue.
"But you didn't, right?"
"Yeah… but I was close. If Cynthia had talked me out of it, I probably would have, dad…"
"Believe me, son, I know all there is to know about losing your temper. But you can't afford to do it. This is Phelan's game, and he will play your fear and your anger but you cannot let him get to you."
"I don't care. I won't let anybody hurt you or Cynthia or mom!"
"And he knows that. But once you cross that line, there's no going back…"
That night Clark disappeared again. Mom was still at the jail talking to dad so I was home alone. I could only think about what Phelan had Clark doing this time…
"All the charges have been dropped with profuse apologies from the state and Metropolis Police Department." Dad said the next day. Apparently Phelan had tried to get Clark to steal something from the museum and it failed. Everything had been cleared up pretty quickly.
"Then it's finally over." Mom said.
"This time… Unfortunately there's more than one Phelan out there in the world." Dad said.
"What do we do next time?" Clark asked.
"I don't know, son. We're just gonna have to deal with it when the time comes." Dad told him.
"Maybe I should stop using my gifts. That would solve all our problems."
"No it wouldn't, Clark. Your gifts are who you are. You can't live in fear." Mom reminded him.
"Although a little caution wouldn't hurt." Dad added.
"Clark, are you sure nobody saw you last night?" Mom asked.
"I'm positive, Mom."
