Brotherly Love
Written by J.C. Vascardi

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Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in this story that relates to the television show Smallville are the property of its creators. I am not profiting from this story and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The only things about this story that I own are the storylines, places, and characters that are not featured on the show.

Pairings: Eventual Clark/Oliver/OMC/OMC, Jason/OMC, Eventual Lucas/Whitney

Warnings: Alternate Universe, Language, Violence, M/M Sex, M/M/M Sex, Incest, Mpreg, Original Characters

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Chapter Eleven

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Leaving the resident's lounge, Oliver kept his eyes peeled for Clark, but he didn't bother asking any of the employees if they'd seen him since he knew all too well that none of them would have seen Clark while he was running at his top speed, or even anywhere close to it. Not finding any trace of Clark inside the building, Oliver headed outside to search the grounds. Unbeknownst to him, Martha Kent had finished her errands and was parking her car as Oliver headed down one of the paths that led towards Lemaris Pond, a body of water full of water lilies and goldfish that was next to the retirement center.

Reaching the end of the footpath he was on, Oliver scanned the area for Clark and after a moment, he spotted him, collapsed on the footbridge over the pond. Moving quickly, Oliver reached him and asked, "Clark? Clark, what's wrong?"

"Weak," Clark whispered, clearly struggling to form coherent speech. "So weak."

Oliver had never seen Clark like this in his life, so he had no clue what could be causing it. Scared out of his mind, he desperately began looking around for a possible cause. It was after a few seconds that he spotted several rocks in the water and unless it was a trick of the light, they had some sort of green mineral on them, and they looked like they were glowing. Reaching into the pond, which was relatively shallow where the footbridge's support posts were, he plucked one of the rocks out of the water.

Clark winced as the rock came out of the water and Oliver noticed that Clark's skin got paler the closer the rock moved towards him.

"Oliver?" Martha asked, who had seen Oliver heading this way as she was getting out of her car and followed him. "Oli… oh my god, what's wrong with Clark?"

The sudden and unexpected voice startled Oliver, as he turned to look over his shoulder and saw Martha Kent standing behind him. As he did this, he unintentionally dropped the rock which fell onto Clark's hand. Looking back to Clark, Oliver's eyes widened as he saw that where the rock was touching Clark, he could see all the veins and arteries in Clark's hand, as they seemed to be swelling and darkening in color, as his skin turned even paler.

Picking up the rock and moving it away from Clark, Oliver was relieved to see Clark's veins disappearing and his skin returning to a more normal color. Holding it up to Martha, he asked, "What is this?"

"It's a meteor rock," Martha said. "Oliver, what's going on?"

Unseen by Martha, Oliver's eyes widened as he guessed what the problem was. Throwing the rock back in the pond, he said, "The whole pond is full of them… help me get Clark away. I think… I think he's allergic to the meteor rocks."

Moving next to Clark's right side, Oliver put Clark's arm around his shoulders and pulled him up as Martha did the same on the other side. It was a bit of a struggle to move Clark because he was basically dead weight, but between the two of them, they managed to drag him to the other side of the footbridge. As he got further away from the water, Oliver's hypothesis seemed to be true, as Clark seemed to be returning to his normal self.

There were a few picnic tables on the other side of the bridge, as the pond separated the retirement center's grounds from those of Lemaris Park and Botanical Gardens, which had a picnic area in the park section, along with the one and only golf course in Smallville. Now able to move on his own, Clark sat down on one of the benches of one of the picnic tables, his back leaning against the tabletop, as he took a few deep breaths.

"We should take you to see a doctor," Martha said after a moment.

Clark and Oliver shared a look at that, before Oliver said, "Martha, I know your instinct is going to be to ignore me on this but trust me on this: Clark does not need a doctor."

"A healthy boy doesn't collapse to the point of being almost non-responsive for no reason, Oliver," Martha said.

"I don't dispute that," Oliver said. "However, there's nothing a doctor is going to be able to do for him. You have experience with this town and the meteor rocks, do any of the doctors here understand them or their effects?"

"Well, no, I suppose they don't," Martha said, as she remembered the numerous conversations she'd had with Cody's and Derek's doctor over the years. Even now, thirteen years later, the man was no closer to figuring out anything about the meteor rocks. And even the fact that it was the rocks themselves which fused Cody and Derek in the womb was just a working theory with no real scientific proof to back it up. Almost all of the doctor's colleagues dismissed the idea as ludicrous and thought the ultrasound picture had to have been faked.

"One thing you don't have to worry about is medical bills of any kind for Clark," Oliver said.

Nodding, Clark said, "Yes, I've literally never been sick a day in my life. Until just now on the bridge, I've always been the picture of perfect health."

"Not living in Smallville, we never encountered meteor rocks before," Oliver added. "So, we never realized that Clark is apparently allergic to them."

"Why is he allergic to them though?" Martha said. "And how bad is it?"

"Maybe we should go back to the farm for this conversation," Oliver said as he spied a young couple with a pair of kids picnicking about fifty yards away.

After a moment, Martha nodded and said, "All right, let's go."

-o-0-o-

Clark and Oliver had hoped to be able to have a whispered conversation in the back seat of Martha's car on the way back to the farm to figure out what exactly they should tell the Kents. That wasn't possible, however, because Martha's errands had seen her picking up a few things that left half the backseat full so that there was only room for one person to sit in it. So, Clark ended up sitting in the backseat behind Martha, while Oliver was in the front passenger seat, making any sort of whispered conversation impossible.

Arriving back at the farm, Clark and Oliver helped Martha get the stuff she'd picked up into the house, which turned out to be a few groceries and houseware items. This included a new serving platter since Oliver had accidentally dropped the Kent's old one while helping with the dishes the night they'd arrived. It broke sufficiently enough that gluing it back together wasn't an option.

Oliver apologized profusely, of course, but Jessica waved it off saying that she'd been planning to buy a new one anyway. The platter had apparently been an anniversary gift from her parents about ten years ago before they passed, and she'd never particularly cared for it, but hadn't gotten around to replacing it.

"I'll just put this stuff away," Martha said as she motioned to the groceries she'd bought, some of which were frozen. "Go wait in the living room for me."

Clark and Oliver nodded and headed for the living room where they found Cody, Derek, and Chris all working on their homework. Hiram was seated in a chair near the fire reading the newspaper, while Jessica was in the chair across from him knitting.

Scrutinizing what Jessica was knitting, Oliver saw that it was blue at the bottom, followed by a strip of red with white Christmas trees, before going back to blue until a larger strip of white with red snowflakes. Unless he was very much mistaken, she was knitting a sweater and this realization made both Oliver's and Clark's eyes widen as they remembered what Cassandra had said about Oliver's future.

"Is that a sweater?" Clark asked as he sat down on the sofa.

"Yes, it is," Jessica confirmed with a smile.

Chris grinned and said, "Mom and Grandma knit sweaters for all of us for Christmas. We spend most of the day on Christmas Day lounging around the house in pajama bottoms and the new sweaters which we get on Christmas morning."

"This may seem like an odd question," Oliver prefaced, "but are they couple's sweaters?"

Folding the paper down to look at Oliver, Hiram smiled and said, "For Jessica and I, Jonathan and Martha, and Cody and Derek yes. Jessica and Martha started knitting sweaters for everyone before Jonathan and Martha adopted Chris and the twins. After that, however, in an attempt to make Cody and Derek more comfortable, they started doing couple's sweaters for themselves and Jonathan and me."

"It was a little odd at first," Jonathan said, as he walked into the room. "But, I'll use any excuse I can to hug Martha, so I really don't mind sharing a sweater with her on Christmas."

"Mine is the only one that's a single," Chris said. "Since I don't have a girlfriend, I'd have nobody to wear it with."

"Martha and I did consider making one that Chris could wear with Cody and Derek," Jessica revealed. "But we never did. Although I suppose it would have been good practice for when Cody and Derek eventually start dating. As I suppose we'll have to make them a sweater with four neck openings then."

"How did you guess that it was a couple's sweater?" Derek asked. "Grandma hasn't really knitted enough of it for that to be obvious yet."

"Well, um, at the retirement center, after we did our set," Clark said, as Martha walked into the room. "We met and talked with one of the residents, a Ms. Cassandra Carver."

"She was blinded in the meteor shower," Oliver continued. "And apparently ever since she's been able to see people's futures by touching their hands. In touching my hand, she saw two women, presumably Aunt Jess and Martha, knitting. She also saw what she figured was a Christmas celebration with the two women she'd seen knitting wearing couple's sweaters with who she assumed was their husbands."

"You might want to knit Chris a couple's sweater this year," Clark said with a grin, before really thinking about it. "Cassandra said she saw a teenaged boy and girl wearing one."

"Well, how do you know it was me that this Cassandra saw?" Chris asked. "And not one of you? Did she describe me or something?"

Oliver blushed bright red at this, unfortunately, unable to control it, which told everybody there had to be a reason why he did that. Clark had been hoping to keep this part of what Cassandra had seen in Oliver's future a secret, but with a sigh, as he realized the inevitability of it coming out, Clark said, "We know that the teenage boy was you, Chris, because Cassandra got the feeling that Oliver and I were… well… sharing with Cody and Derek."

Several eyes in the room widened, perhaps none more so than Cody's and Derek's, as Cody asked, "This Cassandra said she saw the two of you sharing a sweater with Derek and me?"

"Yes," Oliver said. "When she first said it I was totally ready to dismiss it as I couldn't understand why we'd be sharing a sweater, but she specifically said that it was one large sweater for all of us. And she said that Clark and I were sharing with a pair of twins, one of whom wears glasses and the other doesn't."

"I was still ready to dismiss that the future she saw was going to happen," Clark said, "but now, hearing about your sweater tradition for Christmas… it's harder to do that. Is there any way that Ms. Carver could know that?"

Shaking his head, Hiram said, "No, I can't see any way that she'd know that. I think we went to high school together. She was Cassandra Miller back then if I recall right. She was a year ahead of me and moved to Granville to get married after graduating. We weren't close or anything, but I do seem to recall hearing that she'd moved back to Smallville a widow about six months before the meteor shower."

"I don't really know how anybody outside of the family could know about that tradition," Jonathan said. "With the exception of Martha's parents, we never have anyone else over to the house on Christmas Day and with the exception of Cody and Derek, we don't go out in public wearing the sweaters. They're just for lounging around the house in."

"Christmas Day isn't the only day that we wear them," Cody added. "Derek and I wear ours a lot more often throughout the winter. While the rest of the family wear them occasionally, especially if it's a particularly cold evening and they just want to cuddle up by the fire. But Christmas Day is the only day when all of us are wearing them for the majority of the day."

"So, that makes it sound like the future Cassandra saw for Oliver could actually happen," Clark said, with a frown. "Which suggests that what she saw for me could also happen."

At this, Clark, pulled his legs up onto the sofa hugging them as he rested his chin on his knees. He was tempted to run again, but the experience at the retirement center had him thinking he really needed to be more careful, as he didn't know where else in Smallville there might be a large collection of meteor rocks.

Oliver sighed. "We're not sure how, because Cassandra said it's never happened before with anybody else, but Clark could see the vision of his future that Cassandra saw. Unlike mine, which by all accounts seemed to be a happy family Christmas, Clark's was darker. He was in the middle of what looked like an endless graveyard, surrounded by the graves of all of our friends and loved ones."

"Which suggests I'm going to outlive everybody and be all alone," Clark whispered, his voice muffled by his knees.

Wrapping an arm around Clark and pulling him sideways against him, Oliver said, "There are things about Clark which very few people know. I'm afraid I can't share all of it with you because no offense meant, but I don't really trust you. We've known each other less than a week, after all."

"That's understandable," Martha said. "If I were in your shoes, I'd feel the same way. I think we can all agree that none of us would go around telling our most closely-held secrets to people we'd only just met."

"Thanks," Oliver said, as all of the Kents nodded. "Well, I guess what I can say is that Clark and I were in Smallville on the day of the meteor shower. Our dad, Robert Queen, was in Metropolis to close a business deal and afterward, we went on a picnic and a drive in the country. We ended up here in Smallville and the meteor shower hit on our way back."

"I remember you mentioning that the day you arrived," Jessica said.

"So, is Clark like us?" Derek asked. "I mean that he got some kind of ability from the meteor rocks?"

"Ability?" Oliver asked, confused.

"We're not really sure," Cody answered, "but Derek and I think that the meteor rocks actually did more than fuse our bodies together. We think it's also the source of my intellect and memory. And that it's also the source of our greatly enhanced dexterity and stamina."

Nodding, Chris said, "I've never seen Cody and Derek trip, well, with the exception of once or twice when they were learning how to roller skate. But, in less than half-an-hour on skates, you'd think they'd been skating for years. After that, ice-skating came easy for them and they never tripped once even the first time they'd done it."

"We can also do a lot more strenuous physical activity without getting tired," Derek added. "Or mental activity, in Cody's case. If I allowed him to sit still long enough, he could probably study for twelve hours straight without the words bleeding together on the page."

"Well, Clark has numerous abilities," Oliver said, as he turned his head to look at his brother. "How is part of what I can't say, but after what happened today, I don't think the meteor rocks are the cause of Clark's abilities."

"What happened today?" Jonathan asked.

"After Cassandra told his future, Clark ran out of the room," Oliver said, "and I didn't chase after him immediately, as I stayed to talk to Cassandra for a few minutes. That was when she told me what she and Clark had seen, along with a few other things. Anyway, when I did eventually find Clark, he was collapsed on the footbridge over Lemaris Pond, weak and barely responsive."

"Oliver thinks Clark is allergic to the meteor rocks," Martha said. "I found them not long after Oliver found Clark and I helped Oliver move him away from the footbridge. Once he got far enough away from the pond, which is full of meteor rocks, Clark quickly recovered as if he hadn't just been lying on the ground barely able to move."

"Did you take him to a doctor?" Jessica asked.

Shaking his head, Oliver said, "No, we didn't and a big part of why we didn't is something that I'm not willing to share. But, I guess, some explanation is better than none." Oliver fell silent for a moment, before he said, "Clark has never been sick a day in his life, but he's also never been vaccinated for anything. The reason is that the needle can't pierce his skin."

Spying scissors on the end-table nearby, Clark grabbed it and said, "I'll buy you a new pair," and before anyone could stop him he opened the scissors and closed it over one of the fingers on his left hand. Except, there was no blood or any sign of injury… instead, the scissors broke. Not just the two separate pieces of it, either, as the blades literally broke in half.

"You… you just broke solid metal with your finger?" Cody asked the first to say anything.

"Yeah," Clark said. "As Oliver said, needles can't pierce my skin. Neither can scissors, knives, or anything else. They tend to break instead, sometimes shattering into multiple pieces in the process. My hair is the same way. When Dad took Oliver and me for our first haircuts, the barber broke three pairs of scissors and an electric clipper trying to cut my hair."

"So you mean you're invulnerable?" Derek asked.

Nodding, Clark said, "Yes. That's not all though."

"There's more?" Hiram asked.

"Clark can run very fast," Oliver answered. "We're talking faster than the speed of sound. And he's very strong. He could lift a full-size grand piano over his head when he was five."

Looking around the room, Clark could tell just from the expressions on the Kent's faces that they didn't really believe what they were hearing. Not that he could particularly blame them. So, making up his mind, he decided to prove it. Super-speeding out of the room, he shot over to his and Oliver's bedroom above the barn, where he changed clothes, and grabbed two of the smaller trophies from the shelf, one of his and one of Oliver's.

While he was in the barn, he grabbed something of Chris's and the twins' from their bedroom, and a crowbar from the workbench. He then sped over to the main house, grabbed something from each of the adult's bedrooms, and a slice of bread from the kitchen, before returning to the living room and placing what he'd taken from each person's bedrooms in their laps. His trip out of the room had been so fast that barely a second had passed since he'd left and thus nobody in the room even realized that he'd left.

"What the hell?" Cody asked as he found a pair of his and Derek's underwear sitting in their lap, while Chris had his copy of the computer game Myst sitting in his. Jessica and Martha both found a piece of jewelry from their respective jewelry boxes, while Jonathan found one of his ties and Hiram one of the medals he'd won in World War II.

"As I said, Clark is very fast," Oliver said, as he lifted his 1st place archery trophy. "Fast enough to get something from each of our bedrooms before we even realized he was gone."

"Okay then," Jonathan said. "Speed definitely confirmed."

"Why do you have a crowbar and a slice of bread?" Jessica asked.

"To demonstrate other abilities with," Clark answered. "I didn't want to risk breaking one of your figurines by lifting the piano."

On top of the upright piano, Jessica had a collection of china figurines which she'd collected over the years. She'd inherited two from her late mother and received others as gifts over the last fifty-odd years.

Standing up, Clark walked over to Hiram and asked, "It's a real crowbar, right? Solid metal?"

Feeling it, Hiram said, "Yes, it is."

Taking it back from Hiram, Clark grinned and taking it in both hands, he said, "Well, as you can see," here he bent it in half as easily as if it was a licorice stick, "that isn't much of an impediment for me."

"Clark is trusting you with the knowledge of his abilities," Oliver said. "So, I hope you can all repay that trust in kind by keeping them a secret. I'm sure there are instances on a farm where Clark's strength could be useful, so I'm sure he'd be willing to help where he can in exchange for your discretion."

"I also doubt that Ms. Sterling would be very happy if any of you blabbed," Clark said, as he returned to his seat. Of course, Drew's grandmother didn't know about Clark's powers, but the Kents didn't know that. And it's not like any of them was actually in contact with her, as no contact had been necessary. She just set up an account in Metropolis where the money she was paying them would be direct deposited each month and gave them access. All of this, was, however, handled through intermediaries and thus unless they'd seen her picture in the news, they probably didn't even know what she looked like.

Shaking his head, Oliver said, "I'm very sorry if it sounds like Clark is threatening you. I'm sure that isn't his intention, but we take knowledge of his abilities very seriously. When they first started manifesting, our parents agreed that it would be best to hide them, as they were afraid that if the wrong people found out about them, that Clark would be taken away to be studied. A fear which, I've long held onto myself, especially after our parents died, as Clark is the only family I have left."

"Isn't Geoffrey your cousin?" Chris asked.

Nodding, Clark said, "Yes, he is, but while they are good friends, they're not as close as Oliver and I are. But then, Oliver and I have spent the majority of the last thirteen years together, while outside of school, we mostly only saw Geoff on holidays."

After a few moments of silence, Martha nodded. "Well, I can understand your fear about the wrong people finding out. I've occasionally had the same thought in regards to Cody and Derek. While perhaps not as impressive as running faster than sound or bending a crowbar in half, their abilities could still be very interesting to some people. Interesting enough that they wouldn't have any qualms about kidnapping them to see what makes them tick."

"Yes, and with the Luthors and LuthorCorp in town," Jonathan said, the disdain in his voice very clear, "you can never be too careful."

"Agreed," Hiram said. From time to time he still cursed the Ross brothers for selling the family's creamed corn factory to Lionel Luthor, which is what brought LuthorCorp to town. He knew that their father, who he'd been good friends with, would have been furious with them over that decision. Still, as much as he hated the LuthorCorp facility being in town, he did have to admit that it played a part in the population boom that Smallville had experienced over the last decade or so, which had provided more customers for the products that the Kent Farm produced. And without the creamed corn factory, in time Hiram and Jonathan agreed to diversify their fields a bit more, including growing crops that sold for a lot more than corn did.

"I think I can safely speak for everyone here," Jessica said, as all of the Kents nodded, "when I say that you have our word that we won't tell anyone about Clark's abilities." Pausing for a second, she then asked, "Now, what on Earth is the bread for?"

"To demonstrate one of my newer abilities, which only manifested a couple months ago," Clark said. "I've practiced with it and I now have control over it. I didn't when it first manifested. It could, however, be considered my most dangerous ability."

With that, Clark held up the bread and his eyes glowed orange as concentrated twin jets of flames shot out of his eyes at the bread, toasting it. Finishing, Clark grinned as he held it up and asked, "Toast anyone?"

"Wow," Derek said after a moment of stunned silence. "Well, I guess if we go camping, as long as Clark is around, it won't be a problem if we forget the matches."

"Anything else?" Jonathan asked.

"Well, I suspect that Clark does also have the enhanced stamina and dexterity that Cody and Derek have," Oliver said. "And a seemingly photographic memory. As Chloe once commented, Clark's memory is like a titanium trap and he never forgets anything." Looking over at Clark, Oliver smirked and said, "Enhanced intelligence, however, is highly debatable."

Clark shook his head and playfully hit Oliver in the forearm. Looking over at the Kents, he said, "Obviously, I've had to develop very firm control over all of my abilities so that I don't accidentally harm anyone." After a moment, he smiled and said, "And that's about it for my abilities, well, except for one other. Nice tattoo, Uncle Hiram."

Hiram Kent's eyes widened, as he realized that Clark could see the tattoo he'd gotten while he was in the Marine Corps, which was on his left forearm and very few people knew about it considering that it was almost always covered up by clothes.

"X-Ray Vision," Clark said when Hiram didn't say anything. "Initially, when I developed that ability I could only see through clothing, but now with practice, I can see through both skin and muscle, all the way down to the bone." Blushing slightly, he added, "It does, however, require that I actually concentrate on doing it, so, I'm not actually using the ability all the time. Honestly, I strive to be as normal as possible, so, I actively try not to use it as much as possible."

Grinning at Clark, Derek said, "So, Clark, what kind of underwear is Chris wearing?"

Chris's eyes widened as he hit Derek and turned imploring eyes to Clark as he said, "Clark, please, don't."

Grinning, Clark super sped over to Chris and the twins, and whispered only loud enough for the three of them to hear, "Don't worry, Chris, I'm not going to embarrass you by telling everyone about your Spiderman briefs."

"You just told them," Chris whispered back, motioning towards the twins.

Raising an eyebrow, Clark whispered, "You share a bedroom and a bed with them, I figured they already knew. Was I wrong?"

Rolling his eyes, Cody said, "No, you weren't."

Martha smiled. "Is it Spiderman, perhaps?" Chris looked over at her, horrified. She just smiled and said, "Honestly, Chris, you may do your own washing, but do you honestly think I've never seen your underwear before? Just because you use the dryer in the basement instead of the clothesline doesn't mean they're invisible."

While there wasn't a dryer to accompany the compact washer in the linen closet in the barn, there was a full-size dryer and washing machine in the basement of the main farmhouse. During the warmer months, the Kents tended to hang a lot of the laundry out to dry. However, on rainy days, or during the winter when it was too cold and there was snow on the ground, they did have a dryer to dry their laundry. As a general rule, they also tended to use the dryer for underclothes year-round rather than hanging those up outside.

Chris groaned but otherwise said nothing. After a few more minutes, sensing that the conversation was over, Hiram went back to reading his paper, all of the teens, including Clark and Oliver, got their homework done, and Jessica went back to her knitting. Jonathan read the sections of the paper that his father was finished with and Martha joined Jessica in knitting for an hour or so before they both headed into the kitchen to get started on dinner.

-o-0-o-

On Saturday afternoon, Landon and Geoffrey dropped by the Kent Farm to visit.

"So how's Chloe and Lana?" Oliver asked as the four of them played basketball.

"Chloe is fine," Landon said. "Lana, however, is beating herself up."

"Why?" Clark asked.

"She lost Harry Bolston," Geoffrey asked.

"What do you mean she lost him?" Oliver asked.

"She took him for a ride around the grounds," Landon explained. "She left him on the footbridge over the pond for a few minutes as he asked her to go back to his room and fetch him a scarf. When she came back, his wheelchair was in the pond and there was no sign of him."

Geoffrey nodded. "The entire pond is shallow enough that you can walk in it and you can see the bottom, so there's no way his body wouldn't be visible if he'd drowned. He's just completely disappeared."

Nothing more was said, as the four teens concentrated on their game, although they all couldn't help but notice when the Lowell County Sheriff's car pulled up in front of the house. Curious, they headed over as the man got out of the car.

"Hello Sheriff Miller," Landon said, recognizing him immediately.

"Landon," Ethan Miller said. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "And who are they?"

"This is my aunt's cousin, Geoffrey Potter," Landon said, motioning to Geoffrey. "He's staying with us for a while. And this is Clark and Oliver Kent."

"Clark and Oliver Kent?" Ethan asked. "I went to school with Jonathan and have known the Kents for years… I don't think I've ever heard of either of you."

Oliver smiled. "We lived in France until recently. Clark and I are the grandsons of the late Michael Kent. He's Uncle Hiram's brother who stayed in France after World War II."

"Uncle Hiram and Aunt Jess took us in recently," Clark added. "After our parents died."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ethan said. "You have my condolences both of you. Speaking of Hiram is he around?"

"I'm right here, Ethan," Hiram said, as he walked out of the kitchen door. "What can I do for you?"

"A man went missing from the Smallville Retirement Center recently," Ethan said. "A Harry Bolston."

Shaking his head, Hiram said, "Never heard of him."

"He changed his name after he got out of prison," Ethan said. "I'm fairly confident, however, that you'd recognize his original name, considering you were on the jury that convicted him: Harry Volk?"

Hiram grabbed the porch railing to steady himself, as he felt momentarily weak in the knees. "Why would they release a convicted murderer from prison? The man strangled his piano teacher's son to death with piano wire."

"It was over fifty years ago and he's an old man now, Hiram," Ethan said. "He's been confined to a wheelchair for the last ten years and has had a quadruple bypass. Combined with good behavior in prison, the parole board decided to grant him clemency."

"Okay, so why are you here?" Hiram asked.

"I just wanted to let you know," Ethan said. "I don't expect that he'll show up here. As I said, he's an old man and he can't walk, but until he turns up, I figured it was prudent to warn the jurors who are still alive while he's unaccounted for." Sighing, he said, "Especially after last night."

"What do you mean after last night?" Oliver asked.

"Jim Gage was found dead late last night," Ethan answered. "Strangled to death with piano wire. I highly doubt that Harry Volk had anything to do with it, as Jim should have had no trouble overpowering a man twice his age who can't even stand up without help. But, considering that Jim's late father was also on the jury, I figured it would be prudent to warn the jurors and their families to be careful."

"So you think it's a copycat killer?" Geoffrey asked.

Ethan nodded. "That would be my guess, yes. Anyway, I just thought I'd come out as a courtesy to let you know to be on your guard, Hiram. If there is a copycat killer out there or someone who is trying to get revenge on the people who sent Volk to prison…"

"I understand," Hiram said, as he shook hands with the sheriff. "Thanks for letting me know, Ethan."

After saying his goodbyes, Ethan turned to get back into his car when his radio went off. Picking up the mic, he said, "This is Miller."

"Sheriff, Harry Volk has been found," the operator said. "He's weak and is going to be kept overnight for observation at the med center, but we expect he'll be returned to the retirement home tomorrow morning."

"Thanks for letting me know," Ethan said. Returning the mic to the holder on his dashboard, he turned back to Hiram and asked, "I assume you heard that?"

Hiram nodded, "Yes, I did. I'm glad he's been found. Hopefully, that'll dissuade the copycat from doing anything further. As I agree with you that it couldn't possibly have been Volk."

"Indeed not," Ethan said.

-o-0-o-

The next evening, with Harry safely back at the retirement center and no sign of any further criminal activity, possibly due to the sheriff stepping up patrols in the area, just in case, the Kents felt comfortable enough to go out to eat in town. They didn't do it often, as they usually couldn't afford it, but about once a month they figured they could treat themselves. Martha decided to stay home, as she had a headache and while the others were a little leery about leaving her alone due to recent events, they all knew that she could take care of herself.

As they were coming out of the restaurant, Chloe found them and said, "Clark, Oliver!"

"Hey Chloe," Oliver said with a smile.

"Harry Bolston is missing from the retirement center again," Chloe said, wasting no time. "And I think he's the one who killed Mr. Gage."

"How could he possibly have done that Miss Lang?" Jessica asked. "I doubt he has the strength anymore to strangle a man to death."

"I found this old picture of Harry Volk from his trial in 1945 in the newspaper archives," Chloe said, as she showed everyone the picture. "That's when I remembered that I'd seen him, this younger version of him, that is. I was having coffee with Jason and Drew at The Beanery and this guy in the picture was at the table next to ours eating a burger. We even talked to him for a few minutes."

"How could that be possible?" Jonathan asked.

Eyes widening, Clark said, "Meteor rocks. The first time Harry disappeared his wheelchair was found in Lemaris Pond, which is full of meteor rocks."

"You think they might have what, de-aged him?" Cody asked. "That's impossible."

"I've read about numerous strange and unexplainable things happening in this town since moving here, Cody," Chloe said. "Honestly, I'm not sure anything is impossible in this town."

"Yeah, come on, Code," Derek said. "You and I know better than most what those things are capable of."

Shaking his head, Cody said, "It's just a working theory, we don't have any definitive proof."

"The line has been disconnected," Chris said, getting his family's attention. Motioning towards the nearby payphone, he said, "I called home and the operator said the line was disconnected."

"Martha," Jonathan said, eyes widening. "Everyone in the truck." Turning to Clark, he asked, "Clark, can you?"

"Sure," Clark said, as he sped off.

"The Kents know?" Chloe began, but Oliver cut her off. "I'll fill you in on the way."

-o-0-o-

Meanwhile, at the Kent Farm, Martha Kent was in the kitchen making herself a cup of hot tea. Her headache had thankfully subsided and she was feeling much better now than she had been when the others left for dinner. The tea kettle had just whistled when there was a knock on the door. Turning off the stove, she moved over and opened the door.

"Yes, can I help you?"

"We got a report of a gas leak. You mind if I come in?"

Martha certainly did not smell any gas, so she was instantly on her guard. "Gas leak? I don't smell any gas."

"Your husband called about it about half an hour ago. Is he around?"

This told Martha that this was definitely not the gas man because she knew that Jonathan and the rest of the family were in town eating dinner and had been for a little over an hour now, so there's no way that Jonathan called to report a gas leak at the house half-an-hour ago.

"He and my family will be back shortly," Martha said. "Where's our regular gas man, Kurt?"

"Vacation."

Nodding her head, she said, "That's right. Would you excuse me a minute?"

Shutting the door in the man's face, she headed over to the counter to grab the phone. There was no dial tone, however. Before she could contemplate that, the door that led into the back hallway where the rear entrance of the house was located opened to reveal the young man who had been at the door.

"Kurt isn't your regular gas man, is he, Mrs. Kent?"

"What do you want?"

Smirking, the man said, "To kill your father-in-law."

"What did Hiram ever do to you?"

"He killed all of my dreams, so I'm going to kill all of his. Starting with the mother of his grandchildren."

Grabbing a vase from a nearby table, Martha broke it against the man's head and ran. Taking her keys as she passed she made her way out to her car, but before she could get in she saw that all the tires had been slashed. Making a split second decision she ran over to hide in the barn, but rather than go upstairs, she opened the panel that led into the grain silo, figuring that would be the last place anybody would look for her.

A moment later, she heard the young man entering the barn, shouting, "Come on Mrs. Kent, I'm too old to play hide and seek!"

-o-0-o-

Arriving at the Kent Farm, Clark ran into the house. "Martha? Mrs. Kent!" Searching through the entirety of the house, it wasn't long until he realized it was empty. Just as he came downstairs and noticed the broken vase and flowers strewn on the floor, he heard a truck on the gravel driveway. Exiting the house, he found the Kents getting out of the truck, as Jonathan had pretty much ignored the speed limit the entire way home. How he managed to get all the way home from town without getting pulled over was anyone's guess.

"Clark? Have you found, Mom?" Chris asked.

Shaking his head, Clark said, "I checked the house is empty. I did find a broken vase and flowers strewn all over the floor near the door to the back hall though."

"Well, Mom's car is still here," Cody said.

"And the tires are slashed."

Since she wasn't in the house, Clark, turn away from it and concentrated as he used his X-ray vision to quickly search the barn. It's when he got to the grain silo that he saw two human skeletons.

"The silo!" Clark said as he and the rest of the family ran towards it.

Reaching it first, Clark pushed his hand through the metal side and ripped an entire section of the side off, sending grain spilling all over the ground. Nobody was concerned about that, however, as Clark and Jonathan scrambled to pull Martha out of the grain that she was buried in. Getting her on the ground, Jonathan quickly started CPR on his unresponsive wife.

"Mom, come on!" Derek cried, clearly scared.

"Martha!" Hiram, Jessica, and Jonathan all cried.

"Come on, Mom, breath!" Cody said.

After a tense few moments, Martha coughed and took a deep, gasping breath.

Sitting up, Martha hugged Jonathan, who worriedly asked, "Are you okay?"

Coughing a bit, she asked, "Do you think I'd ever leave my family alone?"

Clark, Oliver, and Chloe moved off to one side, to allow the Kents to check on Martha. After a moment, however, Clark found a pair of arms wrapping around him as he was pulled down into a hug by Cody and Derek since at sixteen Clark had experienced more growth spurts than the thirteen-year-old twins. Clark couldn't help but think that it felt a little strange to be hugging a single human body and yet having a head on each side of his own, but he didn't dwell on that as he returned the twins' hug.

Pulling back, Cody said, "You saved our mother's life, Clark."

Derek nodded. "Thank you. We'll never be able to repay you."

"Repayment isn't necessary," Clark said. "I've lost both of mine, so I know what it's like to lose a parent and I'm just happy that I could help prevent you from experiencing that."

At this a hand clamped down on Clark's shoulder, causing him to look up at the smiling face of Hiram Kent. "You saved my daughter-in-law's life, Clark. On behalf of the entire family, I say thank you and I want to assure you that we will do everything in our power to protect you and your secret."

Jessica nodded. "Yes, Clark, whether the future that Ms. Carver saw for Oliver is real or not, from now on, you're family and we'll do anything for family."

-o-0-o-

To be continued…

And there you have Chapter 11 of Brotherly Love. One thing you may have noticed is that Cassandra is still alive. I figure without Lex around, she isn't going to see his uber-disturbing future and die from the stress of it. So, she'll live at least a few more years after her appearance. At the very least another five to when she died canonically on the show, but possibly longer than that.

Obviously, the last two chapters involved events from the season one episode "Hourglass". I will not be covering every single episode of Smallville, but I will pick at least a few to cover in order to ensure that Clark doesn't have a boring rest of his junior year in high school, the summer to follow, or senior year and beyond. If there are any episodes that you'd like to see me cover, let me know and I can consider it. I have Seasons 1-9 on DVD so I can re-watch any of those episodes to refresh my memory. I never watched Season 10, however, so I'm not sure what if anything I'll be covering from that, but that would be a long way off anyway since as of now Clark is still in high school and unless I'm mistaken, Season 10 was set after he'd already completed college.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? I love hearing from my readers, so feel free to contact me in a review, by email (Gmail: jaycolin25), my LiveJournal (jaycolin), my Yahoo group (storiesbyjayson), or on Twitter JVascardi. Alternatively, you can also try to contact me via Skype (text messaging only) at . Also, profiles for at least some of the characters can be viewed on my wiki: .com.