Chapter 21
At the Institute...
"Hmm."
"Is that a good 'hmm' or a bad 'hmm'?"
"It's a 'hmm'."
"Helpful Mr McCoy. Real helpful," Clark mutters sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. He was down in the infirmary as Beast reviewed his latest tests to check he was back to normal after his exposure to the spider statue.
Hank looks up from across his desk at the young teen sitting on the other side and chuckles. "It's a more a contemplation of what this means. Do you feel back to normal?"
"More or less. Nothing noticeable anyway. Why?"
"You remember previously your powers seemed to increase by a margin over 50% every 3 months?"
"Of course."
"Well assuming you are back to normal according to these results in the last 3 months your powers have increased by a margin under 50%."
Clark blinks in surprise. "May I?" he asks, holding his hand out, indicating he wishes to see his own results.
Beast hands the clipboard over and Clark peruses over them. "So the increase is slowing?" he wonders.
"When you first came back after the summer you could lift 4625tons and run at 1078mph. The 3 months after that followed the normal curve and you lifted 7168tons and ran at 1670mph. However the 3 months after that did show a slight slowing of the rate to 10895tons and a top speed of 2538mph. I dismissed it as marginal which it was in many ways. Now it's only been just shy of two months since the last quarterly test but I can definitely see the decline in the rate of increase as can you I'm sure."
Clark could. He currently stood at 14381tons and a speed of 3350mph. That's roughly an increase of 48%. "I'm plateauing off," he comments.
"Perhaps...but your powers are still increasing Clark and considering how fast and strong you were under Jor-El's influence, which you referred to as your physical peak, I think there is a long way to go for you yet. I'm not even certain when you'll reach your physical peak."
"When I'm 60-70," Clark rattles off.
Beast arches an eyebrow in interest at how Clark can so easily answer that.
"Jor-El mentioned it to me," Clark says with a shrug. "Though I think he's guessing a bit since no Kryptonian has ever lived that long under a yellow sun but if you take the fact the normal Kryptonian lifespan was thrice that of a human then I suppose that's roughly right."
"Your people lived 3 times longer than humans?" Beast inquires with astonishment.
"Oh sure. 250-300 years was pretty normal so even if I lost my powers tomorrow I've got the best part of 3 centuries to enjoy."
"You don't sound happy about that," Beast mentions from Clark's tone of a lot less than ardent enthusiasm.
"Outliving all my friends with only Logan likely to keep me company, can you blame me?" Clark asks trying to make it a joke about the horror of having Logan for company.
Beast laughs a little. "I suppose not."
"It is what it is, Mr McCoy. I choose not to dwell on it as much as I can."
"I understand," Hank says sympathetically. "I am curious why you seem to fly at the same speed you run," he remarks about those test results. "Surely flying is easier than running."
Therefore Clark should fly faster than he can run.
Clark takes a moment to ponder that. "I actually can't explain that," is all he can come up with. It's a good point but Clark doesn't know why. "Still not as fast as Bart," he comments.
"No," Hank agrees. In fact they've been unable to find any sort of upper limit for Bart's speed. Basically he moves as fast as he wants to and Hank still can't explain how Bart does it nor identify the strange energy within Bart's cellular structure that has to be the source of Bart's power simply because there is no other explanation. As Sherlock Holmes would say once you eliminate the impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
"So anything else to report or am I back to normal?" Clark asks, eager to get off this medical watch he's under. He's a bit fed up because even when he was released from the infirmary he's been resting up as ordered, all week essentially. You know apart from when he sees Callisto. While that is a great stress reliever it's not exactly him taking a rest. More like a slight workout.
"No. You seem to be back to full health, Clark," Hank can confidently report.
"That's good," Clark says with audible relief.
Hank smiles in understanding. No-one likes being told not to do things. "Well don't overdo it," he advises Clark. "And if you have any further problems I will be reachable over the weekend I'm away."
"Oh you're going to Smallville with the Professor?" Clark seeks confirmation. He had heard about Lilandra's problems and how the Professor was leaving today to go aid her in the town meeting tomorrow.
"I am," Hank confirms. Not just to back up his friend but to check in on the mutant community and gather more data. He needs it if he is going to find a cure to their cellular degradation disease. He was consulting with Moira on Muir Island about it but both of them are a long way from a solution.
Clark blinks and his expression goes far off. That...thing he feels like he has forgotten. It's still bothering him but...Smallville?
That's resonating with him for some reason.
Is there something there he was suppose to do?
Nothing immediately comes to mind but he could talk to Chloe. Maybe she has a clue as in perhaps there is something happening there that is causing this that she knows about.
Clark excuses himself from Beast's company and goes to do just that.
Chloe, as it turns out, helped in an odd way round. In fact she was just about to call him. Over a video link she sent him an image in an old newspaper of a man wanted for murder. A man who looks almost exactly like Clark...and around his neck was the memory pendant. Jor-El's memory pendant Clark found on Nova Roma.
"So it's your father?" Chloe seeks to clarify over the line over who Clark told her he thinks it has to be.
"He was on Earth roughly at the time that paper is dated...and he did say I had not yet seen everything the pendant had stored," Clark summarises it. Chloe knew enough of the story from his time on Nova Roma to understand what he's on about.
"So this is what you've forgotten?" Chloe presses him on what he was telling her about this 'feeling' of his.
"Has to be," Clark thinks it must be the answer. It's the only one he can think of. "It's all in my head as far as I know. I just have never been able to access it."
"Weird," Chloe remarks, wrinkling her nose as she does so.
"Yep."
"You remember when our lives were normal?"
"Nope."
"No. Me neither," Chloe complains.
"So by what weird coincidence did you come across this?" Clark wants to know. And though he says coincidence Clark knows it almost certainly isn't. Nothing in his life seems to happen by coincidence.
"I was researching Mayor Tate to try and help Lilandra. He's changed track quite severely from trying to forge cooperation with the mutant community to trying to get them removed. I'm pretty sure Lex is behind it somehow."
Clark pinches the bridge of his nose. "Why I am not surprised," he mutters.
"Can't imagine."
"So how is the Mayor involved in this if he is?"
"He was the Deputy Sheriff back then and the whole thing looks pretty dodgy if you investigate a little. Her husband was convicted that he killed her in a fit of jealous rage. From what I've dug up so far it smells like a set-up, a frame job."
Clark trusts Chloe's instincts. If she thinks it's dodgy it probably is. "Why?"
"Can't be certain. Tried asking. Everyone who was around then is pretty stummed on the subject. I suspect Tate might have had a 'thing' for her despite her being married. As for your father...well from the people who did talk to me there were, uh, rumours..."
Clark makes a face. He can guess her implication from her tone. "Oh please don't say jilted lover and love triangle Chloe," Clark begs. "I've scarred enough that my father slept with Selene."
"Ok. I won't say it," Chloe says with a shit eating grin.
Clark rolls his eyes. He suspected, from the previous memories, that Jor-El was on some sort of rebound when he met Selene and this finally seems to be what it must be from. He just lacks details of what actually happened. "I have to come to Smallville. See if I can jog the memories loose," he tells Chloe.
"Well I'll help anyway I can," Chloe promises.
"Thanks Chlo," Clark says gratefully. "By the way what was the woman's name?"
"Louise McCallum."
Clark frowns. "McCallum?" he queries. He knows that name. "Wasn't that...?"
Chloe nods. "Yeah, Louise is Lana's great Aunt," she confirms for Clark what he suspects.
Smallville Mutant Community...
It had only been essentially a month since Lionel's devastating attack and therefore the community was only partially rebuilt. Most of them were still living in the temporary shelters constructed that day.
Of course if the Mayor got his way there would be nothing here because they would all be expelled.
Lilandra had enough problems without this.
The attack had already driven away a couple members of her community, the more extreme ones she has previously been able to keep in check. She didn't know where they were now. Joined up with Magneto or simply wandering the country causing who knows what trouble.
There were others who were now becoming deeply cynical and distrusting of humans which is the 1st step towards something more extreme...and the fact they face being forced from the only home they have is only pushing them further and further. Lilandra is doing her best to keep a lid on it but if the meeting goes against them she may not be able to stop the explosion that could follow.
Therefore she is extremely happy to see the x-jet come into land. While she does always wish to see Charles, for today and tomorrow she needs his help more to stop everything she has spent close to a year now building being lost.
As Charles and Beast exit the jet Lilandra virtually canters up to Charles and throws her arms around him.
Hank smiles behind his hand. If fate had allowed them more time to spend in each other's company Hank has no doubt they would be in a full and deep relationship but alas, fate was not a kind mistress.
"I am so glad you're here," Lilandra says, emotion cracking her voice.
"Of course," Charles says, as if being here for her was the most natural thing in the world. He gently pats her on the back in a reassuring gesture.
Lilandra smiles brightly as she pulls herself back and makes sure to remember her manners. "Hank," she greets him.
"Lilandra. How are you?" Hank greets her back.
"I've had better days."
"And your community? Any symptoms I should know about?" he asks in reference to the meteor mutational disease.
"Nothing anyone has told me about," Lilandra replies...though it deeply worried her that she might have to watch the majority of her community grow sick and die.
"That's good," Hank comments.
"We should get started," Charles says. For as much as he would like to just spend time with her they don't have the time. They need to prepare for this meeting tomorrow.
"Of course. Follow me," Lilandra says in full agreement as they head into the farmhouse. It was never that badly damaged and is fully repaired.
Smallville High...
The gust of wind that blows all her papers about is the signal he's arrived in the office of the Torch.
"Clark!" Chloe snaps at him. "How many times," she grumbles at him because she has told him so many freakin times not to do that!
"Sorry," Clark apologises as he picks up the papers at superspeed and sets everything back in place.
Chloe glares at him. Clark just grins his big adorable goofy one back.
"So not in school?" Chloe queries.
"I've been off all week, Chloe. Seemed rather pointless for one day, even more so when I feel like I need to do this...whatever it is."
Chloe is quietly pensive. Clark and memory loss are generally not a good combination.
"How's Lois?" Clark asks out of politeness. After all she was shot in the arm a month ago when the whole thing with Lionel blew up.
"Better. Probably a couple more weeks before she can get her stitches out but apart from that she's got full movement in her arm back. She's going to consider the scar a memento."
Only Lois. That's all Clark can say.
"So how are you doing?" Chloe asks him back, knowing he has been laid up half the week.
"Fine. I'm back to normal."
"What's normal for you?" Chloe jests.
Clark chuckles. "Good point," he accepts her humour in his stride. "So what have you got to show me?" he asks, seeking to get straight to it.
Chloe spins round in her chair and picks up a box full of her research so far and gives it to Clark.
His eyes flash electric blue and Chloe watches his eyes flicker back and forth. He frowns. "Some of the police records are missing," he spots.
Chloe arches an eyebrow. "That is so unfair you can do that," she complains. She had to sit and spend hours reading through that stuff. He does it in seconds and doesn't even have to open the damn box.
Clark shrugs. "I can see why you think it's dodgy," he agrees with her view.
"Yeah, convenient isn't it that the only bits that are left are the ones that all point to Louise's husband Dexter," Chloe says sarcastically. "In a case like that...the evidence in those documents makes it sound too simple and straight-forward. It looks open and shut but with at least a 3rd party involved...there should be way more leads than there are. Plus you know I talked to him. Dex McCallum. Visited him in jail. Swears blind it wasn't him...and I know, I know, everyone probably says that but for some reason I believe him."
Generally if asked Clark trusts Chloe's judgement so if she says she believes Mr McCallum then at the very least Clark would help her look into it. "What does he say happened?" he asks, aiming to get as much background as possible.
"Said he heard shots in the barn and ran out to see a man running away. He didn't get a good look in the dark so couldn't identify the man. When he entered the barn he found a pistol and picked it up. Then he spotted Louise dead and was just cradling her in his arms when our good friend, the now Mayor Tate, entered the barn and found him. He swears blind he loved Louise and would never harm her."
"And he's been locked away for 50 years now."
"Yeah," Chloe says, pursing her lips. "I doubt he has too long left and if he is innocent I would like to try and give him a few last years of freedom."
"And if we end up proving he was in fact guilty?" Clark asks her, playing devil's advocate by putting forward the other possibility.
"Then we prove justice was done. Point is there is just too many questions not to look and our new police service is still trying to find its feet. Don't have time for cold cases."
"Sheriff Adams survived didn't she?" Clark inquires about his and Chloe's old 'friend'.
"She did," Chloe confirms. "Me and Lois have been annoying her for days about this but she refused to help because and I quote 'I've got crimes committed this century to deal with'. Personally I think that you have to wonder after that massacre that she has to be suffering PTSD. I mean I still get nightmares about Gabriel."
Clark's face softens. "Chlo. Wasn't your fault," she assures her about Gabriel's death.
Chloe's face becomes pained. She's just never been so directly responsible for someone's death before, accident as it was. She shakes it off. "So where do we start?"
"Well in those reports there was something about the 'drifter' saving Louise from a mugging in the Main Street. Since that more than likely puts Jor-El in one easily accessible place that would be a good place to start," Clark suggests. What he means is it's a place where he knows Jor-El was and hopefully going there will trigger the memories to surface.
Chloe nods. "I'll come with you," she offers. It's lunchtime anyway. She rises to her feet and grabs her coat and purse. "By the way did you notice the name of that would be mugger?" she asks him.
"Yeah," Clark says with a sad inevitability. "Lachlan Luthor."
"Lex's grandfather. Not quite the entrepreneur the Luthors portray him as huh?"
"And we're suppose to be surprised they embellished the truth?" Clark asks her with the false sense of irony.
"Nope. Still how did he go from mugger to starting Luthorcorp because he did."
"Probably not an entirely legal way I'm certain...and boy I've gotten cynical haven't I?"
"Where the Luthors are concerned that's always best," Chloe gives her opinion.
Smallville Main Street...
Clark and Chloe wander down the street while Clark discreetly touched random objects. Like on Nova Roma he's hoping when he touches the right thing it will trigger the memory.
Jor-El did say when the time was right the memories would come and he's at a loss how else to explain his weird feeling of having forgotten something so it has to be this.
Otherwise why did Chloe notice the story about what was obviously Jor-El in the old newspaper. Like he was thinking before he left Bayville; there are no coincidences in his life...or that is what it feels like to him.
"So do you know why your father was here?" Chloe asks him about the reasons Jor-El would be in Smallville.
"Not the full reason. Jor-El wouldn't tell me. Said I had to discover it for myself. What I do know is that it was a punishment from his father, my grandfather, for something wrong Jor-El had done. He was suppose to learn a lesson about responsibility and actions having consequences or something along those lines. While he was here I guess they tagged on checking up on the 3 stones for him to do as well."
"And he had to come to Earth of all places to do that why?" Chloe seeks the answer to why Earth? There had to be other places. A lot of them if what Clark has mentioned from time to time is accurate.
"Haven't a clue," Clark answers with a shrug. "Especially considering from what I know humans were viewed as a very primitive and barbaric species," he gives her the Kryptonian opinion of the human race.
"Oh charming," Chloe mutters sarcastically.
Clark's getting nothing so far in the triggering memories stakes. He pauses and stops. "Ok Chlo. Lets take a think. We're talking 50 years. What wouldn't have been moved in that time?" he asks. Actually he should have asked that earlier rather than just go around touching random objects.
Chloe looks up and down the street. Even for a small town like Smallville 50 years is a long time and considering it's twice been hit by meteor showers and had to have been rebuilt in places there can't be many items left from half a century ago. "Hmm...how about the mailbox?" she suggests pointing at it. A mailbox is the kinda thing that stays put.
Clark thinks that's as good an idea as any. They wander over and Clark touches the top of it...and the memory explodes within his mind.
There's Jor-El, the virtual spitting image of Clark himself, dressed in a leather jacket and shirt and pants, blending in or trying to, walking down the street when he spots Louise McCallum being mugged. What is remarkable is how like her great niece Lana Lang she looks. She tries fighting back but Lachlan Luthor knocks her down.
Jor-El, in a fit of anger at seeing this woman attacked, superspeeds to her rescue and throws the older generation of Luthor into a streetlamp. Sheriff Tate arrives on the scene to arrest Lachlan while Jor-El helps Louise. The moment their eyes lock it's clear there's an instant attraction between the two.
The moment is interrupted when her husband, Dex, arrives to see if she is alright. Sheriff Tate then shoos them home, saying he'll get Louise's statement later...but it's clear from his gaze that lingers too long he is also attracted to her.
Clark snaps back to the present.
"Clark?" Chloe asks at seeing his far off expression.
Clark swallows. "Memory...saw...one sec," he requests a moment to process it. He blows out a breath. "My father really needs to stop being Casanova. It's mighty disturbing seeing him have the hots for someone other than my mother."
"So you saw him and Louise?" Chloe makes the educated guess.
Clark nods. "Just like the police report. He stopped her being mugged and then they shared heat filled stares with each other."
"Well it can be very arousing to watch you big strong heroes at work," Chloe quips.
Clark gives her a withering look.
"I'm just saying. I'm all for equality but remember this was the 60s. Even now I think deep down a part of us women wants that big handsome white knight, Prince Charming type, to ride in and sweep us off our feet."
Clark rolls his eyes. He thinks that's nonsense but sadly he can't deny what he saw. Jor-El and Louise certainly shared a moment of lust for each other.
"So what now?" Chloe asks.
"Well this proves that my theory was right. That odd feeling I've been having is these memories. I need objects to touch."
"Things Louise owned?"
"That would work expect it's impossible."
"No. It's not."
Clark looks at his blond BFF intrigued.
"Lana showed me once. Her family kept a box of Louise's personal effects."
"How is Nell?" Clark asks about Lana's aunt since the topic of Lana's family has been raised.
"Ooh touchy topic. Since Lana 'vanished'," Chloe says using air-quotes, "she's not exactly been Ms Personable. I wouldn't bother asking her about this. She's likely to bite your head off."
"She did that to you?" Clark asks, guessing from her tone.
Chloe shrugs. "She's upset. It's understandable and it's not like I can tell her the truth."
Truth being Lana is possessed by her own witch ancestor and is off somewhere enslaved to that ancestor's immortal sorceress mother. Wow, gee, if she said that out loud Chloe thinks they would section her.
Clark sighs. He does feel bad about that. Really, really bad.
"By the way mentioning secrets I'm keeping Andrea is wondering why you're ignoring her. I don't enjoy lying about it," Chloe tells him off unhappily that she is getting the brunt of it while he's off a thousand miles away.
"You know why I'm ignoring her, Chlo. We can never tell her what happened when she was split in two." That being the fact Andrea's dark half killed a man and Clark and Chloe are covering it up. As far as anyone else knows, including Andrea herself since she can't remember what happened, the man simply died of a heart attack.
"You need to say something to her," Chloe argues so that it gets Andrea off repeatedly asking her why it seems like Clark is ignoring the Latino woman...which he is.
"Like what? I don't know what to say. That's the problem Chlo. I liked her a little. She liked me. What am I suppose to say to explain why I've suddenly gone cold that doesn't involve anything near the truth?"
Chloe sighs and rubs her head. It was all so damn complicated and there's no real good answer she can think of to give to Clark's question. "If that had never happened would you two have...?" she asks, leaving it hanging but her meaning is pretty clear. Would they have hooked up?
"Maybe. I think I would have at least given it a go," Clark says in low sullen tones. He was attracted to Andrea. They even had a sort of 1st date but fate wasn't kind to him. "It's far too late for all that now," he tells Chloe where he feels its reached. "We're past the point of no return. We can't have anything meaningful where I have to keep this secret from her. If I tell her the truth I'll destroy her. If she remembers one day she'll know I lied to her and she'll probably destroy me. Professionally, if she requires my help I'm there. The most I can do is be her friend...only a more distant one than before. Beyond that I have nothing more I can give her," he explains how he sees it, though with a hint of sadness at the loss of something great he might have had with Andrea.
Chloe reluctantly accepts that. She hates concealing all this from Andrea but to this day can't find an argument against Clark's view. If they tell Andrea they'll destroy her inside. She does so much good, she is trying really hard to be the hero Metropolis needs and she can do so much more in the future so if the price of Andrea continuing to be that is a little stain on Chloe's soul for covering up a murder...well then she guesses she'll just have to find a way to live with that. "So plan?" she asks, getting back to the task at hand.
"I need that box," Clark states. They literally have nothing else to go on right now.
"Great. So breaking and entering?" Chloe assumes.
Clark shrugs. "What else can we do? Besides we'll return it."
So a new one to add to her RAP sheet. Going to be one of those days Chloe can see.
Author's Note: It occurred to me it had been awhile since I gave an indication of how powerful Clark was so I thought I'd drop it in here. Now he's 18 I also decided to slow down how fast his powers are growing. Otherwise he'll be too powerful faster than I originally intended when I started. So yes, this is me doing my slant on Relic and putting that to bed. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; Relic part 2 as Clark and Chloe continue their investigation.