THE LAST CHILDREN OF KRYPTON
SMALLVILLE : PART 1
BY PHOENIX FURY.
CHAPTER 26:
From outside the LuthorCorp plant Lex watched LuthorCorp Helicopter slowly lowering to the landing pad, making his black trenchcoat billow behind him. Lionel Luthor flashed his son a wolf like grin as the helicopter landed and he got out, walking briskly toward Lex.
"Beautiful day, isn't it?" Lionel said loudly to be heard over the helicopter.
"So far, but they're calling for storms later," Lex said also speaking loudly to be heard.
Both men turned and headed toward a set of stairs that leads to an outdoor platform.
"Well, you know the heartland - some things can change in a minute!" Lionel said, and Lex rolled his eyes, as if his father knew anything about living outside the city.
The two men began climbing the flight of stairs.
"Is everyone assembled?" Lionel asked.
"24 hours isn't a lot of notice. Do you plan on giving me the heads up as to the nature of your remarks?"
"Just one of my customary motivational speeches you've heard hundreds of times." Lionel reached the landing and greeted Gabe Sullivan with a handshake. "How are you?"
Gabe smiled, "How are you doing?"
"Good to see you." Lionel said to various other managers assembled on the landing. "Good morning. Good to see you. Good morning. Fire up the troops!"
Lionel started up a shorter flight of stairs toward a large platform, with Lex in tow.
"The plant made a profit this quarter for the first time in two years. My people are expecting a pat on the back and they deserve to get it." Lex said.
"I'll try not to disappoint them." Lionel said and then came out onto the platform to the sound of cheers. He raised his hands, waving in a victory like pose. In front of the platform sit the employees of LuthorCorp Plant Three, cheering and waving to Lionel. Lionel headed toward a podium in the center of the platform as Lex and the other managers fan out behind him.
"Thank you. Thank you." Lionel adjusted the mic while the cheers die down. "As most of you know, you've all worked extremely hard this past year and you should all be proud of yourselves."
The crowd cheered and applauded. Lionel made hand motion to quiet the crowd, while Lex looked out on his employees proudly, clapping along with them.
"Just as a ship can only follow the course set by its captain, any business is only as good as its leadership."
Lex glanced at his father in surprise, as he didn't expect his father to comment on Lex's leadership in his remarks.
"Due to management failures beyond your control, this plant will be closing, effective immediately."
The crowd jeered angrily and booed, while Lex just stared at his father, the earlier surprise on Lex's face giving way to shock.
"Good luck to all of you." With that, Lionel swiftly turned and headed toward the steps, Lex quickly followed him. The crowd quite agitated and upset behind them.
Lex followed his father, furious, "You just fired 2500 people and blamed it on me."
Lionel seemed completely unconcerned and unrepentant. "One day you'll thank me, Lex. Smallville isn't in your future. It's just a brief chapter in your biography."
"Don't do this!"
"We live in a meritocracy, Lex. The weak get left behind. The plant wasn't producing. I had no other option."
"Spare me the corporate barbarian spiel! Those people have husbands and wives, children, mortgages!" Lex said angrily.
Lionel headed toward the helicopter, "We're in business to make profits, not friends! You can't let your emotions get in the way of making tough decisions."
"Don't lecture me about letting emotions get in the way! This plant was showing a profit. You're only shutting it down because I wouldn't go work for you in Metropolis!" Lex shouted angrily, and not just to be heard over the helicopter.
"Lex, you may have felt that you found a home here, but you were mistaken! This was just your training ground." Lionel started toward the helicopter. "Well, your training is over!"
Lex looked on, his face one of anger and disbelief.
His father opened the door to the helicopter, "You're coming home, son!"
With that, Lionel climbed inside and the helicopter takes off, leaving Lex standing there, clenching his jaw in anger, looking again at the grey sky as the helicopter flew away.
"Black or red?" Clark asked his sister as they walked down the hallway at school.
"Either."
"You're helpful."
"Black is stylish, goes with everything. Whereas red will go with Chloe's dress and is one of your favourite colours."
"Pete! I need your opinion." Clark tapped Pete on the shoulder and showed him some magazine pages. "Classic black or traditional red?"
"For what?" Pete asked as he walked with the twins.
"My tie-cummberband combo. I gotta get my tux order in today!" Clark said frustrated.
Pete grabbed the pages from Clark's hands, "If I were you, I'd stick with the traditional black. This is no time to get adventurous."
Clark took the pages back, "You're right."
Lana came up from around the corner and walked up behind the boys, hearing the end of their conversation. "I don't know Clark. Red always looks good on you."
Clark smiled, "Then red it is."
Pete looked at Lana, "Thanks. Now I got to go make a call and change my order. Don't want people mistaking us for twins."
Clark looked at his friend who was a head shorter then he was, with chocolate skin and short shaved black hair. "Yeah, because that happens all the time."
Pete walked off, and the other three continue down the hall.
Lana laughed, "You seem really excited about the dance."
Clark nodded, "I am. But between the tickets, renting the tux, and buying flowers, it gets expensive."
"You should try finding the right dress." Lana said dryly exchanging a look with Jessica.
"And the right shoes, and how to do your hair and nails," Jessica listed.
Lana turned back to Clark, "I guess the limo's out."
"I'm actually thinking of asking Lex if I can borrow his. Chloe said she doesn't care, but deep down I know she wants one. I'm trying to surprise her though, so keep it between us."
She grinned, "My lips are sealed."
Chloe, wearing an upset expression on her face, rushed toward the other three teens. Clark turned and saw her, and his expression instantly went from one of amusement to one of concern when he saw her face.
"Chloe?" Clark said concerned.
"They're closing the LuthorCorp Plant."
The twins entered through the front door and came up behind their sitting on the couch in the living room, reading the newspaper.
"So you heard," Jessica said, noticing the Ledger's back page was a story on LuthorCorp, this one regarding the history of the plant.
Martha nodded and held up the paper. The bold headline informed them this is a special edition, and the lead story announced 'LuthorCorp Plant To Close.' "The Ledger rushed a special edition. They haven't done that since the meteor shower."
Clark crossed the room, taking off his backpack and sitting across from his parents. "I talked to Chloe. She's pretty upset." He said sadly.
Jonathan nodded, "I spoke to her father. He's in shock."
"I don't blame him." Martha said.
"How's this gonna affect us?" Jessica asked concerned.
"Well, that plant was Smallville's biggest employer. Shutting it down is gonna have a domino effect on everyone." Martha explained.
Jonathan rubbed his face, "I can't believe that Lex would run the thing into the ground in less than a year."
Clark and Jessica blinked, "Why are you blaming Lex? His dad closed the plant. Lex just..."
Jonathan interrupted, "Son, whatever issues Lionel Luthor has with his son have now cost half the town their jobs."
"That isn't Lex's fault," Jessica defended.
Clark meanwhile was getting annoyed with their father, "You should be happy then. It means Lex is going back to Metropolis and out of our lives."
"The plant closing is going to hurt a lot of people, Clark." Jonathan said angrily. "Now as much as I would like Lex out of our lives, I wouldn't wish that one anybody."
Clark looked apologetic, "I know, Dad." He got up from his seat and leaned against the fireplace mantle, "It's just...Lex cares about the town. He said he had big plans."
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Jonathan got up and left, as Clark and Jessica watched him go, thinking about what he said.
In an open field Whitney was walking behind Lana, covering her eyes with his hands, guiding her toward a surprise he had for her.
"Okay. Turn. We're almost there."
Lana laughed, "All right. Okay."
"Stop. Open your eyes."
She stopped, and Whitney removed his hands from her eyes, and embraced her from behind as Lana looked around. Her eyes widened as she took in the romantic picnic Whitney has spread out before her, next to a pond in the field, flowers, strawberries, drinks chilling.
Lana looked impressed, "Wow." She turned to him, puzzled, "Why are you being so mysterious?"
"Can't a guy plan a picnic for his girlfriend?"
Lana laughed, "I'm not complaining. It's just kind of spontaneous."
The two sit down on the blanket.
"Are you saying I'm usually boring?" He joked.
She laughed again, "I'm saying this is very nice. I'm just wondering what the occasion is."
Whitney presented his girlfriend with a rose, "It's to thank you for everything. It's been a difficult year, and you stood by me. I pushed you away, you could have made other choices, and you didn't."
Lana smiled, "We've been together a long time. I would never abandon you when you needed me."
"There's something I wanna tell you." He said seriously and he turned and pulled something out of his backpack. As he's doing this, Lana continued talking nervously, internally panicking at his serious tone. (Is he going to propose?)
"Whitney...you know...ahem...maybe we should..."
Whitney retrieved what he's looking for, and turned to hand it to Lana. It's a folded piece of paper.
Lana looked seriously at Whitney, "What's this?"
"Read it." He said nervously.
She unfolded the letter, at the top of the stationary, the letterhead read 'United States Marine Corps'. "The United States Marine Corps?"
Whitney was excited but nervous, "I enlisted. I think it's the right thing for me to do."
Lana continued to stare at the letter in shock.
"When I found my dad's medals, I felt he was telling me which path I should take."
She looked at him, "You can't do this for your father..."
Whitney shook his head, "I'm not. I'm doing it for us."
Lana looked shocked.
"Please. Don't be mad."
She shook her head as she went back to staring at the letter, "It's just so fast, you know? I need some time to process it."
"I don't have a lot of time."
She looked up and met Whitney's eyes, upset.
"I ship out for basic training Saturday night."
Lana's jaw dropped. "What about graduation?"
"The only thing I'm gonna miss in Smallville is you." He paused, "Will you wait for me?"
Lana just stared at Whitney, unsure of what to say.
The twins were waiting for Lex in his study but they'd noticed a small metal octagonal disc on Lex's desk.
Jessica reached out and picked it up looking closely at the small engraved symbols. The twins looked at it and then shared a look. They were similar to the symbols on their ship. The disc was also the same shape as an indentation on the ship's side and looked to be made out of the same material.
It was a part of their ship.
Clark swallowed nervously and the twins glanced around, unsure of what to do.
Lex entered the study carrying some folders of work, "Hey, I got your messages... but I've been having a bad day." He crossed around and went behind his desk.
"Nice paperweight." Jessica said.
Lex saw her holding the disc. "Yeah. Very unique. Sure you can afford being seen with the town pariah?"
Jessica reluctantly set the disc down, smiled slightly, "We'll take our chances." They sat across from Lex's desk and they turned serious, "What happened Lex?"
"The two theories seem to be...I either ran the plant into the ground through incompetence, or did it deliberately so I could go back to Metropolis."
Clark leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "Your dad already offered you a job in Metropolis. Just tell people the truth."
"Then I get stuck with the incompetence rap. Being reviled is the lesser evil."
Clark sat back, "I guess you're going back to Metropolis then."
Lex leaned forward on his desk, "That's why my father orchestrated his coup, but this isn't over."
"You have a plan?" Jessica said, noting an almost calculating eager look on Lex's face.
"Maybe." Lex stared off, looking pensive, as the twins watched him.
"You have a lot of work to do." They got up to leave Lex to his work.
Lex looked up, "Hey, thanks for stopping by. It means a lot."
"What are friends for?"
Lex gave them a small smile as they turned to leave. As they walked out, Lex picked up the disc and studied it for a moment, sighing. He then opened a compartment in a small box on his desk and placed the disc inside for safekeeping. He had to concentrate on trying to save the jobs of his employees.
Clark entered the Torch's office and found Chloe working on a computer. "I thought I'd find you here."
"My dad and I can't really do the whole depressed thing together, so..."
He reached over to grab a chair turning it so he could sit down facing her, "You know, if you're not up for Saturday night, I understand."
She turned quickly to look at Clark incredulously, "Are you kidding me? It's the only thing I have to look forward to right now." She got up to put some papers in a file cabinet. "Besides, I want to enjoy all the quaint Smallville High customs while I still can."
"Why? Where are you going?"
"My dad's talking about moving us back to Metropolis. Permanently." Chloe said matter of factly. It was funny when she first moved to Smallville all she wanted was to go back to Metropolis and now all she wanted was to stay in Smallville.
He got up from his chair upset, "What about the Torch and all your friends?"
Chloe tried to brush him off, "I can't even think about that right now."
She tried to cross the office quickly, but Clark reached out and stopped her. "Hey!"
She sighed, "Clark, I'm not exactly psyched about having to fight my way through the high school hierarchy all over again."
Clark gave her a sympathetic smile.
"You're gonna miss me, right?"
Clark was insulted she even had to ask, "You even have to ask?"
"Just promise me Saturday night is gonna be great."
He smiled and promised, "It'll be a night you won't forget."
Chloe returned his smile, before reaching out and picking a piece of lint off his shirt. They continued to smile at each other.
Inside Lex's study Gabe Sullivan and several other managers from the plant came in. Lex greeted them as he entered the room.
"I appreciate you coming. My father doesn't know about this meeting, and I'd like to keep it that way." Lex walked behind his desk, "When I first came here, people assumed I was just another glaring example of nepotism - unskilled and promoted over the heads of the more competent and deserving. But I'd like to think the people in this room feel differently. If we can raise the capital for an employee lead buy-out, we can keep the plant running."
Lex handed a folder containing his proposal to the managers.
"Buyout?" One of the mangers repeated.
"I can raise nearly 90% of the capital."
"What about the rest? We're supposed to mortgage our houses?" Another Manager asked looking dubious.
"It's a risk, I know, but in exchange, the investors will become minority owners."
"Doesn't your father control the board? What makes you think he's gonna go along with a buyout?" Gabe asked.
Lex looked confident, "I know a couple of members I can convince, and I don't need a unanimous decision. I'm offering you the chance to take control of your own destiny. Stand with me, and we will win."
The Talon sign lit up against the night sky, the display sign declared it the home of 'Smallville's Best Cappuccino.' A couple of kids filtered out as Clark came in, obviously upset. He leaned against the wall, lost in thought.
Lana, looked up from clearing tables, saw him. "Clark? Out wandering the streets of Smallville?"
She smiled, but Clark doesn't return the smile as he sighed and walked over to sit on the steps leading to the balcony. Lana went over concerned, "What is it?"
"I just...uh...found out that Chloe might be leaving for good. I'm not sure I really believe it's true." Clark sat down on the steps.
"Know what you mean," Lana sat on a chair across from Clark.
Clark looked at her in surprise, "You do?"
She took a deep breath, "Whitney's going off to join the Marines."
Clark stared for a second. Sometimes he forgot that Whitney was in the graduating class. Whitney was old enough to go and die for his country though not old enough to drink. "That's intense."
"He told me he was doing it for us...and asked if I'd wait for him."
Clark looked at her in surprise, "Really. What did you say?"
Lana laughed disbelievingly, "Nothing. I kind of just stood there in stunned silence. One day he's worried about his English paper, and the next he's putting on a uniform and saving the world."
"So you didn't commit?"
She glanced down, "I told him I wasn't sure." She didn't think long distance relationships worked, that if you were out of sight then you were out of mind. She was just fifteen and if she was honest she knew Whitney was not 'the one' for her. She'd been going to break up with him but his father had died and she hadn't been able to abandon him when he needed her.
"When's he head out?"
She looked down at her hands, "Saturday night."
"I guess you don't have to worry about your dress," He said dryly.
Clark's joke worked as Lana laughed.
"I can't believe both Whitney and Chloe are gonna be out of our lives." She said emotionally. She felt of two minds about Chloe and Whitney leaving, sad they would be gone but also a little relieved since she knew without Whitney and Chloe there was a chance for her and Clark.
"Me neither."
"I guess we get left behind Clark." Lana said matter of factly.
Clark and Lana just stare at each other sadly.
A fencepost was pounded into the ground with great force. Clark and Jessica were in one of the farm's field, planting posts for a fence into the ground or rather Clark walked back and forth, grabbing fenceposts out of the back of the pickup truck, then driving them into the ground angrily. After a few posts, he stopped and sighed, leaning against a post and thinking about what had him upset.
"You finished with your anger management therapy?"
He looked over at his sister as she leaned against the truck watching him.
"She's my friend too; you're not the only one who's going to miss her."
"It feels like everything is changing. Whitney's leaving to be a marine, Chloe's leaving, the plant's closing and we have no idea what that means."
"Yeah," She agreed, "but that's life unfortunately. Getting upset is not very helpful."
Clark snorted. Jessica worked hard to control her emotions, because when she lost control of them, like letting her anger get the better of her, she tended to lose control of her abilities and break things. He sometimes envied how calm she seemed but he knew underneath the surface was a different story.
"Enjoy the time you have with her and you can keep in touch. Now let's go get something to eat, that always cheers you up."
He smiled and went over and grabbed his jacket off the roof of the truck, pulling it on. Jessica put up the tailgate and climbed into the passenger side of the truck as Clark climbed inside the driver's side. He shut his door and started the truck.
As Clark turned the key on the truck, the engine turned over and then the truck exploded into a massive fireball, quickly engulfing the entire truck in flames and a huge fireball from the explosion billowed into the sky, black smoke everywhere.
The truck doors flew off with great force, and the twins calmly stepped from the truck, their jackets were a little charred from the flames but they were physically unharmed, and walked away from the burning truck.
Their faces were covered with soot as they turned and stared at what was left of the truck.
Parked nearby Roger Nixon held a camcorder in one hand, which was filming Clark and Jessica staring at the burning truck and in the other held a detonator.
Clark came down from his room, clean and buttoning up a clean blue flannel shirt. "What do you think caused the explosion?"
Martha and Jonathan approached him as he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Son, my guess is it was a leaky fuel line. The fumes must have ignited the fertilizer in the back of the truck. I'm sorry. I should have checked it better."
"I'm just glad we were in the cab and not one of you guys." Jessica said coming down the stairs dressed in a red top and jeans and braiding her wet hair.
Martha hugged the twins tightly, "Oh!"
The twins hugged her back and then stepped back, glancing at each other, "The truth is, we barely felt the heat this time. And the debris didn't leave any bruises."
Martha and Jonathan shared a concerned look.
"As you get older, your body must be getting stronger." Martha guessed.
Clark looked surprised, and looked to Jonathan, who simply nodded. "Great just great," Jessica muttered making Clark smirk since Jessica broke more stuff then he did with her powers.
In his study Lex sat in a leather chair, his feet propped up on the matching ottoman in front of him. His laptop open on his lap, and he rubbed his temple as he read the screen, an email with the subject "Crisis" …
..rebel, prompting Alexander to march on their city. Calmer heads do not prevail. Alexander seizes the "opportunity" to send a powerful statement to the rest of his empire. he and his armies kill six thousand Thebans, demolish the city and sell the 30,000 survivors into slavery. Scorched earth, Lex. That was how Alexander the Great chose to inaugurate his reign at what my college history professor liked to call the modern empire's birthplace. But that is only history. Now you have a choice between seizing the opportunity or fleeing from the danger. What you do will define your regime, as Alexander's actions defined his for generations to come.
Lex smiled for a second and swallowed hard, before pushing a button and switching the screen over to some standard spreadsheets...not a moment too soon, as Lionel threw open the doors to the study.
"What? You're not in a hurry to pack?" Lionel said sarcastically looking around, holding his arms out.
He sighed, "That's because I'm not leaving."
"Accept your fate, Lex. It's time to move on."
"I'm forcing a vote of the board of directors to accept an employee lead buy-out of the plant." Lex said matter of factly.
Lionel laughed as he poured himself a drink, "What are you going to do? Convince the employees to take out a second mortgage?" He said in mock surprise. "Cash in their IRA's."
"Something like that."
"Even if you sell all your stock and drain your trust fund, you still come up short, Lex. What are you going to do about the rest of the money, hmm?" Lionel crossed the room to stand behind Lex. Lex quickly closed his laptop so Lionel couldn't see the screen and Lionel half-sat on the back of the chair.
"Take the buyout now and you can keep your dignity." Lionel laughed. "It's more than you left me."
"That's very gracious of you, son. You might want to look at this first." Lionel pulled several folded papers from his suit pocket and tossed them onto Lex's lap. Lex unfolded them and read them as Lionel got up from the back of the chair and stood in the center of the room, sipping his drink and looking out the window behind Lex's desk.
Lex didn't look surprised, "You've bought the Smallville Savings and Loan."
"Go ahead. Lead your buy-out. But remember, I own your employees mortgages. As soon as they begin missing payments, I won't hesitate to foreclose on each and every one of them." Lex just smiled, annoyed, and rubbed his eyebrow as Lionel talked. "They'll be homeless, and it'll be your fault. You ready to accept that kind of responsibility?"
Lex remained silent, rubbing his eyebrow as if he has a Lionel induced headache and studying the deed to the bank.
"If you're going to take me on, son, you're going to have to bring your game up to a whole different level."
Lex just gave Lionel a small, annoyed smile.
In a stairway in Smallville High, bustling with students.
"Chloe! Where have you been all day?" Clark saw Chloe coming down the stairs and met her on the half-landing and they descended the stairs together.
"I just went to pick up my dress."
"We have a problem."
She looked dismayed. "You can't go."
"I just can't pick you up. My transportation kind of went up in flames." Clark explained. "I was gonna ask Lex if I could borrow his limo, but with all the plant craziness..."
Chloe looked relieved that was the problem, "Clark, I'll drive."
"That ruins the whole Prince Charming vibe," He said embarrassed.
She smiled, "Cinderella was never really my role model."
Clark and Chloe laughed. As they walked down the hall, they passed Lana and Whitney, who were surrounded by Whitney's football buddies, listening to Whitney explain why he joined the Marines. "I dunno, man. It's just something I gotta do."
Once they're out of earshot of Whitney Chloe said, "So...Whitney's off to fight evil for Uncle Sam."
"I heard."
"That technically makes Lana a free agent."
The pair reached Chloe's locker. Clark leaned against the locker next to hers while she fiddled with the combination of her locker.
"He asked her to wait for him."
Chloe laughed slightly as she turned to look at Whitney and Lana, "Long distance relationships never work. People change, have different experiences." She turned back to Clark, "It's kind of like us, you know? I'm sure after a couple of weeks, you'll forget all about me."
Clark looked upset. "Chloe!"
She sighed and rushed through her speech, "OK, I just- I have this horrible nightmare that you are going to rush to the bus station after Whitney leaves and profess your undying love for Lana, and I'm going to be waiting at the gym all alone, and if you do that to me Clark, I will never speak to you again, OK? I said it."
"Chloe." Clark said seriously.
She looked at him worriedly, but he put his hands on her shoulders, leaned in and gave her a gentle, lingering kiss on the cheek. As he does so, Lana walked by. From her perspective, it looked as if Clark was kissing Chloe on the lips, and Lana frowned somewhat bothered by that as she passed them and continued down the hall.
Clark pulled back from Chloe and smiled reassuringly, "I'm going to the dance with you, not by default, but because I want to."
She smiled, a little embarrassed by her outburst. "All right, I feel better now."
Clark returned her smile with one of his own.
It's afternoon, and the Talon display read 'Congrats Grads. Now what?'. Inside, Clark and Jessica walked through each with a styrofoam cup of coffee, talking quietly. As they walked past, a hand darted out and grabbed Clark's arm.
"If I could just have one minute of your time, Clark, Jessica..."
The twins looked in surprise at him, suspicious. "How do you know our names?"
"Roger Nixon. I'm a journalist with the Inquisitor...and I would very much like to write a story about you."
"Thanks. But we're really not interested." Jessica said pulling Clark with her and walked past Nixon, who followed them.
"Why weren't you hurt in that explosion? You were in the truck on the farm."
They stopped dead in their tracks and Clark said nervously. "Wh...we were nowhere near that truck." Jessica was interested in how he knew about the truck.
"Am I missing something interesting?"
"Lex?" As Nixon turned around, to see Lex standing in the doorway behind him, watching the three of them. Nixon studied Lex a little fearfully.
Clark and Jessica looked confused at Nixon's tone, it was of familiarity.
Lex walked towards them, "You know my name, but I don't know yours."
Nixon was a bit suspicious, "Roger Nixon. I work for the Inquisitor."
"When is someone going to put that bad excuse for a tabloid out of it's misery?" Lex asked amused.
Nixon looked insulted, "It was nice meeting you, Lex." Lex nodded, and Nixon turned to the twins, "I'm sure we'll talk again soon." With that he left.
The twins stared after him nervously and Lex studied them for a moment, before turning to watch Nixon leave.
"What was that all about?" Lex asked.
"He wants to do a story on us. Make us out to be some kind of heroes." Jessica said.
"The Inquisitor's a rag. If I were you, I wouldn't get mixed up with him." Lex advised.
"We don't intend to." Clark said, and swallowed because he got the feeling that the reporter did intend to get mixed up with them.
Lex looked back to where Nixon exited, "If he gives you any more trouble, let me know." He walked off, and the twins watched him, thinking about what just happened.
Inside the Kent barn Jonathan was sawing something with the table saw, while Martha watched, drinking some coffee. The twins walked in, slowly, as if they has something to tell them but didn't want to.
"Hi kids." Jonathan greeted them.
They didn't reply.
"Something wrong?" Jonathan asked reading their body language.
"A journalist from the Inquisitor wants to do a story on us. He knows we were in the truck." Clark said quietly.
"I don't think it was an accident...I think he set it up. To test us." Jessica said.
"How did he know you'd survive?" Martha asked concerned.
"He must have seen us do something before." Clark said leaning against a ladder up into the loft.
Jonathan looked a bit upset at this news, remembering what happened last time.
"Look, I swear, ever since Phalen we've been so careful!" Clark said as he walked away frustrated and worried.
"Clark, it's not your fault," Jonathan assured the upset teen.
"What do we do?" Jessica asked.
"Carry on like everything's fine. Go to school, take Chloe to the dance, and if this reporter's really got something, I'm sure he'll come talk to us." Jonathan said.
Martha nodded in agreement.
They nodded, then paused. They started to leave, then turned back to their parents, then turned to leave again, obviously torn between wanting to tell them something and wanting to keep it to themselves.
Martha noticed this. "What else?"
The twins glanced at each other and then Jessica admitted hesitantly, "I think Lex has a piece of the spaceship."
Jonathan looked shocked and took steps toward them, and asked intensely, "Are you sure?!"
The twins turned around nodding. "We saw it on his desk. It's the missing piece," Jessica confirmed.
"He must have found it out in the field. I don't know if he suspects anything, but who knows what he's going to do?" Clark said. "We all know how persistent Lex can be, and..."
Martha shook her head upset, "He can't trace it to us."
Jonathan agreed, "You're mother's right. We'll just keep our heads low. So when you do your chores, don't use your abilities. And whatever you do, stay away from that storm cellar."
The twins nodded in agreement, a concerned look on their face.
Outside the farm Roger Nixon sat in his car staring at the barn wearing earphones, listening intently to the entire conversation inside the Kent barn which he'd bugged.
Inside the Luthor Mansion a hand opened the small compartment on Lex's desk and removing the disk. It was Roger Nixon. He studied the disk, and clutched it in his hand, hiding it, as he heard Lex coming down the stairs toward the office.
Lex entered his study, an annoyed look on his face. The annoyance was intensified as he saw Nixon sitting in Lex's chair with his feet propped up on Lex's desk.
"You wanted to see me, Lex? I'm surprised you even remembered my name." Nixon said casually as he chewed some gum.
Lex crossed his office, "I warned you to stay away from the Kents."
Roger slid out of the chair and said sarcastically, "Well, let me guess. This is where you remind me of all the terrible things you can have done to me."
"Roger, as I'm sure you're well aware, I'm a little pre-occupied at the moment. I don't have time to deal with your petty annoyances." Lex said angrily.
"Well, what I have discovered is beyond you and your problems. And your threats." Roger sat in the leather chair and put his feet up as Lex glared at him from behind his desk.
"This new found self-assurance doesn't suit you, Roger." Lex said. Nixon had been this cocky when they first met when he thought he could blackmail Lex and then he'd learned how dangerous Lex was and the cocky attitude had disappeared.
"Be nice Lex. Or I may not let you bid on my discovery. And I know you want to...especially when you consider all your interest in the, uh, crash site, and the Kents."
"What was found out there has nothing to do with the Kents or with you."
"Are you certain?"
"Roger, for all your bravado, you have yet to show me anything."
Roger stood up, "I'll show you all the evidence you need. Tonight. And you'll see for yourself, there's a whole lot more to your friends Clark and Jessica Kent than meets the eye."
This last statement angered Lex further, and he came out from behind his desk, walking up until he's nose to nose with Nixon and said threateningly, "I swear, if you harass Jessica or Clark or their parents-"
"Who said anything about harassment? Maybe I'll just tell them the truth - that you turned me on to them. And if you're not interested in what I have...I know of another Luthor who will be."
Lex shook his head slightly, "You are playing a very dangerous game. You'd better pray you're not wrong."
Martha was having the time of her life.
She'd cut the twins hair herself, luckily the twins didn't want anything too complicated and she'd taken a short hairdressing course so that she could do her family's hair, with the twins that was extra useful since to cut their hair she'd had to use sharp pliers used to cut wire, when they were younger when their strength was still developing they'd been able to go to the hairdressers but as their strength grew so it did the strength of their hair.
She supposed it was an early sign of their invulnerability.
Now Jessica sat with her face slathered in a thick white clay like cream and had a similar cream on her feet. She'd already used an exfoliating face scrub and foot scrub to clean her face and feet, the masks were supposed to leave them feeling soft and smooth.
"This is boring and I feel like my face has been set in cement," Jessica muttered trying not to move her lips, keeping her eyes closed and the cucumbers balanced over her eyes. If it had been up to her she'd have settled for the haircut and a shower and then got dressed.
Martha smiled; Jessica wasn't one for fuss or frills. But when she'd been her age and there'd been a dance or a date she'd done girly things like this with her mother and her sisters and she wanted to carry on the tradition. "Humour me, sweetheart, it's not often you get the chance to do yourself up. Any way you can wash it off in a few minutes."
A few minutes later Jessica had a shower, used a pumice stone on her feet and a flannel on her face to get rid of the creams, washed her hair thoroughly and used an exfoliating coconut body scrub. Then dried off and used a leave-in-conditioner in her hair that smelled of honey and peaches, and then applied a hydrating mask which was basically face moisturizer, you left it to soak in and wiped off the excess after 10 minutes. She rubbed a tinted moisturizing over her body to give her creamy ivory skin a hint of gold.
Jessica massaged a soothing foot balm into her feet and then sat back down while Martha carefully painted her toenails a shimmery cobalt blue with a top coat of silver glitter, while her fingernails were soaked in warm almond oil for five minutes.
"So you looking forward to the dance?"
"It sounds like it's going to be a good night but everyone seems to be putting up a lot of fuss about it. You know renting a limo just for a few hours, getting the expensive dress and matching accessories, kinda seems over the top."
Martha almost laughed at her daughter's response. (Typical Jessica.)
Jessica pulled her fingertips out of the oil and then massaged in some hand cream then Martha started applying three coats of nail varnish to match her feet.
"And your date, Lance?"
"It's not a date-date, it's friends going together," Jessica said firmly.
"So there's no one who catches your interest that you would have liked as a date-date?" Clark had always been locked onto Lana like a heat seeking missile though he was going with Chloe to the dance. But Jessica had never shown any interest in anyone much to Jonathan's relief. In some ways it made Martha worry more about Jessica then Clark.
Jessica shook her head, "No. Boys are exactly that little boys. Anyway I'd have to keep secrets and lie all the time wouldn't I? I do that enough with my friends but a boyfriend… If I let someone into my heart I'd want them to be honest with me but it's not fair if I can't be honest back."
"Clark's fooling himself by believing he can be with Lana or Chloe." Jessica said quietly. "Lana always drifted away when Whitney never showed her enough attention or made her his first priority, and with Clark running off to help people which I don't see us stopping, well she'd drop him sooner or later. And Chloe, she's not stupid; sooner or later she'd start asking why we were in the thick of things, catch us out on a lie."
Martha couldn't argue with Jessica's statement, and felt a little guilty encouraging Clark's romances now that Jessica had brought up what could come from it. But she also worried about Jessica, it sounded like she thought relationships were completely impossible for them. Had her and Jonathan's lectures about keeping everything a secret, blending in and not drawing anyone's attention gone too far?
And deep down she wondered if Jessica wasn't right. She didn't want her children to be alone; yes they had each other but that wasn't the same. But she was aware that not everyone would see the twins the way she and Jonathan did. The twins had been the answer to their prayers, a miracle, but to the rest of the world...
What could she say to her daughter?
Then Jessica sighed and changed the subject, "Plus between farm chores and everything else there isn't really a lot of time to date."
Martha internally winced. She and Jonathan had chained the twins to the farm to protect them, isolate them, it had the added benefit that they did the work of three farm hands each. But she wished things could be different for them, but the twins never complained. Martha checked the time, "Your nails are done just rub some of that almond oil into your nails, I just need a minute." She got up and went to the door.
"Mom, thanks for all this."
Martha smiled and then shut her daughter's bedroom door and leant against it, furiously blinking her eyes, upset. (Thank me for what sweetheart? Making it so you'll keep people at a distance, you'll never get close to someone, never let anyone close enough to know what a beautiful person you are.)
She gave herself a moment and then stepped back into her daughter's room and began styling her hair. She envied Jessica for her hair - long and thick with natural waves that curled gently at the ends. And the colour was beautiful, a rich, unique shade, not quite completely black, but black intertwined with the colour of dark red rubies, a shade that burned with inner fire. Most assumed since she was a redhead that the colour and Jessica's skin tone came from her side of the family.
She enjoyed messing with Jessica's hair when she was younger trying out different hairstyles but as her little girl grew older she took responsibility and most of the time put it in a simple ponytail or a braid.
So since she had the chance she went all out. She twisted and pinned, gathering it up at the back of her head, leaving tendrils to frame her face which curled naturally.
"Ok make-up."
Jessica made a face, she didn't wear make-up, didn't need to, and she didn't like to fuss or draw attention.
Martha first used make-up primer and a little concealer around the eyes and then lightly brushed a coverup on top.
To emphasise her deep blue eyes Martha used a slivery highlighter around her eyes and then a darker silver steel shadow over the eyelid and at the corner and then a soft black eyeliner, her long thick feathery black eyelashes didn't need mascara. A shimmery pale blossom highlighter on her cheekbones and then a shimmery clearish gloss on her lips.
Jessica then sprayed some vanilla perfume on her pulse points and pulled her dress out of it's protective plastic covering and held it up. It had an empire waist with a sweetheart neckline, ribbon straps crossed over her back.
"It's a beautiful dress, sweetheart," Martha said admiringly. She had learned from Jonathan's mother and grandmother how to knit and sew and passed on her knowledge to Jessica who had much more of an artistic flair for it.
She then slipped the dress on; it hugged her waist and flowed over her hips and then flared slightly around her legs with a slit up her right leg to mid-thigh.
"I'll leave my shoes till last. What do I put in my purse?" Jessica asked.
"Money, lip gloss and breath spray," her mother listed and pulled a wrapped box out of her pocket, "This is for you."
Jessica unwrapped and opened the jewellery box; it was a silver contemporary styled moonstone pendant. It went with the dress and suited her tastes perfectly, simple but elegant. "Mom, it's gorgeous but you shouldn't have."
"Special occasions deserve jewellery. My mother gave me a necklace on my first dance and I still wear it. I thought it would be nice for you to have something like that too." Martha smiled and took it out of the box and put it around Jessica neck.
"Thank you, Mom." Jessica said hugging her mother.
Martha pulled back and looked at her daughter, "You look beautiful, sweetheart."
Inside the barn loft Clark was standing in front of a mirror, dressed in his tuxedo and fiddling with his bow tie. A wind blew through the window flipping the pages of a book and ruffling his hair.
"Jess?"
"Don't look at me, I don't know since I don't have to wear one." She muttered from where she sat fiddling with the buckle for her heels. "I have to wear these contraptions."
Clark chuckled and then heard a noise below and assumed it was their mom. "Mom, can you gimme a hand with this?"
When he got no answer and heard footsteps too heavy to be her, he stopped what he was doing.
"Who's there?" Clark called out suspiciously, hoping it wasn't that reporter and turned toward the steps and saw Lex ascending the stairs.
Lex chuckled, "It's me, Clark. You all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Clark said relieved.
He came over to the teen, "Really. You seem a little tense."
Clark grinned nervously as he resumed fiddling with his tie, "It's just the dance and everything."
"And he can't tie his bowtie," Jessica said as she stood up.
Lex stared at her. She wore a long shimmering silk dress the colour of indigo that emphasised her slender feminine figure, a slit up the side to above her knee. Her dark hair was gathered up with curled tendrils escaping to frame her face which had a little make-up on for once. "You look beautiful Jessica."
A delicate blush appeared on her cheeks, "Thank you."
Lex blinked snapping himself out of his admiration and looked over at Clark fumbling with the tie, he smiled amused, "Come here." He reached out and began to tie the bowtie correctly, "I'm sure I've tied more of these than your mother."
"I thought you were holed up in the mansion," Jessica said taking a few cautious steps in the heels.
Lex concentrated on the tie, "I needed to clear my head. Took a drive, ended up here. I didn't mean to bother you two on your big day."
"We've got a little time. Chloe's picking me up."
Lex chuckled as he finished the tie, "That's very progressive. What happened to the truck?"
"Farming accident. You know how it is." He said evasively as he grabbed his tuxedo jacket off a nearby hook. "So how goes the bailout?"
"Not sure. I think it's going to get ugly before it gets better. My father is dead set against me succeeding."
"Why would your father be against the plant?" Jessica asked as Clark pulled on his jacket. Since the Level three fiasco she began to understand her father's mistrust of Lionel Luthor and what little Lex told them about him wasn't exactly encouraging.
He walked past them and spoke with his back to them, "We have a complicated relationship. My father wants me to believe it's built on trust, but it's not. It's built on lies and deceit. Any relationship with that foundation is destined to fail." Lex gave them a small smile. "Lucky we don't have that problem."
Clark smiled nervously, thinking of the part of their ship Lex had, of the lies the twins had told him. "Lucky us." He went back to the mirror and Jessica joined him to adjust his jacket, as Lex come to stand next to them.
"I want you to know whatever happens in the next few days, I'm still your friend and that's never gonna change. I hope you feel the same way." Lex said sincerely.
They looked at Lex with a concerned expression. "We do. What do you think is going to happen?"
He walked back to the top of the stairs, "I don't know. Just got a bad feeling. Kind of like when you can smell the air change before a storm."
Jessica looked at him seriously, "Storms are a way of life around here, Lex. The trick is not to get caught out in the open."
Lex studied the twins for a moment, then gave them a small smile. "Look after yourselves." Lex turned to leave and they watched him go.
Whitney and Lana were in the hallway of Smallville High by the trophy case, studying the trophies.
"It's hard to believe. I thought my whole life was in that trophy case. Now it all seems so trivial." He said sadly as he and Lana started walking away from the case, arms around each other.
"I should get you to the bus station," Lana said reluctantly.
Whitney stopped and turned to face Lana, "Hey. My bus doesn't leave for an hour. How about we go check out the gym."
"Okay."
Whitney kissed Lana on the forehead and led her to the gym and flipped on the lights. There are balloons all over the floor, decorations all over the walls, small twinkling lights hanging from the ceiling, mirror ball above the dance floor.
"It's beautiful." Lana crossed the floor to stand in the center of the gym to take in all the decorations.
"Where is everyone?"
"An hour before the dance, the set up committee goes home to get ready."
Whitney made his way over to a small radio left by one of the kids on the set-up committee. He popped open the top and inserted a CD he'd brought. He pressed play, and 'Everything' by Lifehouse began to play as he walked over to Lana. He smiled, and she smiled back as he reached out and pulled her bag off of her shoulder and set it on the floor.
"You're missing the spring formal because of me. We still have time for one last dance."
Lana smiled and moved into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder as they begin to slow-dance.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before I enlisted." He said softly.
She pulled back to look up at him, "I think you're very brave." She then put her head back on Whitney's shoulder, as they continue to dance. Her expression hidden from him was unsure - not sure of how she felt about Whitney leaving.
"I know this is kind of sudden...that you're not sure how you feel about us..."
Lana pulled back to look into Whitney's eyes again, "Whitney...let's just dance."
She put her head back on his shoulder and they both continued the dance, their conflicting emotions crossing their faces.
Jonathan opened the front door and saw Lucas Jackson there.
"Hey Mr Kent."
"I assume you're here to pick up Jessica."
"Yes."
Jonathan thought about giving the kid the same speech he'd been given when he'd gone to pick up his dates by their fathers. But since Jessica could benchpress a tractor and had assured them they were going as friends he didn't think it was needed. And Martha had told him to be nice.
"Dad be nice."
He turned and saw Jessica walk down the hall and wondered where the little girl who'd beg him for piggyback rides had gone, she was growing up so fast… and then he reconsidered giving the 'look after my daughter or I'll bury you under the chicken coup' speech. "You look beautiful, sweetheart."
"Thanks dad."
"You look great," Lucas said. "This is for you," He handed her a white corsage and helped her slip it onto her wrist.
"Thanks and this is for you," She then pinned a white rose to his jacket.
"Pictures." Martha called from the kitchen.
"Humour her," Jessica murmured to Lucas.
They posed for pictures for about five minutes.
"Ok let's go." Jessica said bored with posing.
"Have a good time." Martha said.
"Will do."
"Imagine your Cinderella, home before midnight." Jonathan said with a stern look at Lucas.
Jessica rolled her eyes, "Yes dad."
The pair stepped out onto the porch and Jessica saw Chloe's red car coming up the drive and opened the screen door. "Clark, Chloe's here." She called back and took Lucas's arm. "Let's go."
She waved to Chloe as she got in Lucas's car.
Clark came out of the house, clutching a corsage box in his hands. Chloe climbed out of the car, the wind whipping at her dress.
"Hi!" She said excitedly as she hurried over as fast as she dared in the high heels she was wearing and then stopped so Clark could see her dress; it was strapless and pink, just like Ryan had said, with gold detail down the front and at the hem. It kinda had an Indian sari feel to it. Her blonde hair was pinned up, with gold dangly earrings at her ears. "Whaddya think? Too pink?"
Clark looked at her in surprise, "No, you look... you look beautiful."
"Thank you." She said happily, laughing, and indicated Clark's tux. "You clean up nicely yourself." Touched Clark's tie, "What happened to the red tie?"
"Oh. Instinct told me it was the wrong way to go."
She laughed and then pointed to the corsage box, "Is that for me?"
"Oh, yeah." Clark opened the corsage box, and slid a pretty pink corsage on Chloe's wrist.
"Oh, wow! It's beautiful!" She smiled happily at Clark, then remembered, "Oh! I have yours!"
Chloe pulled out a white rose boutonnière from her bag and held it up to Clark's lapel, fumbling with the pin. "Okay..."
Chloe pinned the flower on to Clark's lapel, flinching as she pricked her finger. "Oh! Did I get you?" She asked concerned.
He shook his head, "Nuh-uh."
Clark and Chloe stared at each other, Clark looking as if he's seeing her for the first time. It was a look she'd always wanted to see on his face when he looked at her. Chloe broke the stare first, "We should go."
Clark grinned widely, "Yeah. Well...here we go."
She headed for her car but Clark said "I'll get the door."
Chloe grinned, Clark always had been a perfect gentleman. "Okay."
Clark opened the driver's side car door and held it open for Chloe. "Thanks." She slid into the car and looked up at the sky, "Looks like a storm is coming."
"Yeah." He looked up at the dark sky and then looked back at Chloe, "In?"
"In." She confirmed.
Clark closed the door and crossed over to get in the passenger side.
Roger Nixon, watched the Kent twins leave from his parked car through a pair of binoculars. He then opened his closed fist and began turning the piece of the ship he swiped from Lex over in his hands.
Limos were pulling into the school parking lot, and couples dressed in formal wear scurried across the parking lot as the rain began to fall and the wind began to pick up. Chloe's managed to get a space right next to the school, and Clark hurried to open the car door for her.
"This is crazy!" Clark said as his hair was being blow every which way by the wind.
"I know!" Chloe called back as she climbed out the car laughing.
Clark helped Chloe from the car. "You okay?"
Chloe nodded, and Clark put his arm around her, trying to shield her from the wind. She put her arm around his waist. "Let's go!"
"Let's get inside."
Chloe laughed, and the two joined the mass of students rushing inside the school. As Clark and Chloe entered the school, they were greeted by Whitney and Lana, who were leaving.
Lana looked at them impressed, "Wow! You guys look great."
Chloe laughed as she modelled her dress, "Why thank you, Miss Rivers. It's faux-Wang."
Pete and his date - who looked like a young Mariah Carey dressed in blue – came over.
"Hi! Hi Erica!" Chloe greeted them excitedly.
"Hi!" Erica said, her arm through Pete's.
"Hey, Chloe...could you, uh..." Pete stammered incoherently.
Erica took the camera from his hands, "He wants you to take our picture."
"Oh, yeah, sure!" Chloe turned to Clark, "I'll just be a second." She reached up, and wiped some stray raindrops from Clark's face, "I think he wants proof that this night actually happened."
As Chloe walked off with Erica and Pete, Clark turned to Whitney and Lana.
"Well...I guess this is it." Whitney said a little nervous.
"Good luck, Whitney," Clark said sincerely.
Whitney looked at his girlfriend, "Lana, could I have a minute alone with Clark?"
Lana nodded, "Sure. I'll, uh, bring the truck around."
"Okay," He handed her the keys.
"Thanks." She smiled and headed out the doors as Whitney and Clark watched, then walked toward the doors.
Whitney sighed, "You and I have had a weird year. I started out thinking you just wanted to steal Lana." He looked apologetic. "I'm not trying to make excuses, but... I did some things I'm not proud of. I'm sorry, Clark." He held out his hand.
Clark shook his hand, "I appreciate that."
Whitney took a deep breath, "Listen, Clark...there's something I want to ask you. A favour."
Clark looked a bit confused and surprised. "Okay."
He glanced at his girlfriend, "Lana's not sure how she feels about our relationship right now. But I am. I need you to look after her until I get back."
Clark was hesitant and surprised, "I really don't know what to say..."
"Say yes."
He thought it over for a second, "Okay."
"Clark?"
Clark looked at him seriously, "I promise."
The conversation was interrupted by a horn honking. The two looked out to see Lana waiting outside in the parked truck. She motioned to Whitney to come over.
Whitney clapped Clark on the shoulder, "Thanks."
"Good luck." Clark called out after him and moved to stand in the doorway, watching as Whitney got in the truck. Lana looked out the passenger window and she and Clark stare at each other for a moment, before Lana raised her hand in a sad wave. Clark gave her a sad smile and raised his hand to wave back. The truck pulled away, and Chloe approached Clark from behind.
"What was that all about?"
"Oh, just guy stuff." Clark said dismissively and then looked Chloe up and down. "Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?" He asked offering her his arm.
Chloe took it and they headed to the gym, "Yeah, but frequent reminders are always appreciated."
Whitney's truck pulled into the Smallville bus station; people were already boarding a Grayhound bus. Whitney parked the truck next to the bus, and turned to Lana.
"Do you have everything?" Lana asked with false cheerfulness.
"You're only allowed one bag."
"I'd never make it as a Marine," She said dryly.
The couple laughed at her joke.
"I want you to have this for luck." Lana took Whitney's hand, and placed her meteor necklace in his palm.
Whitney looked touched and promised, "I won't lose it this time."
Lana smiled sadly, and Whitney pulled her into an embrace. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to cry, and Lana did the same.
"Goodbye, Lana." Whitney said softly and released her, and got out of the truck, he grabbed his bag out of the back, looked at Lana one last time, and headed for the bus. Lana watched him go, and a look of realization crossed her face - he's really leaving. Whitney set his bag on the bus steps and turned to look at Lana one last time. As he did, Lana flung open the door to the truck and ran to Whitney. She threw her arms around him and embraced him tightly, trying not to cry.
"I loved you the first moment that I saw you. I'll still love you when I see you again." He said in a loud whisper, in her ear, trying to be heard over the whipping wind.
Lana pulled back from the embrace, and she and Whitney kissed tenderly. As they break the kiss, Whitney and Lana gave each other a last look, their hands slowly letting go, before Whitney boarded the bus. Lana sighed and watched as the bus pulled out of the parking lot.
In the Kent storm cellar, light spilled down the steps as the door opened, and with cautious footsteps Nixon descended the stairs, armed with a video camera, with a light mounted on the top. He peered around, and stopped in front of a large mass covered by a tarp. He reached down, and pulled off the tarp, revealing the twin's ship.
He looked amazed. "Oh Roger! Baby! You are going to be filthy rich!"
As he circled the ship, Roger zoomed in on an octagon shaped impression that perfectly matched the piece in his possession.
Inside the high school gym the Prom is in full swing, with Remy Zero on stage performing 'Save Me' as students pack the dance floor. Pete was standing by the punchbowl, enjoying the music as Clark approached.
"Hey!"
"Hey, Chloe's having a great time!" He said excitedly, looking over at where Chloe was standing with Jessica and Erica and a few other girls, talking and laughing.
"I promised her a night she'd never forget." Clark said happily.
Pete watched Chloe, "I'm glad you finally stepped up, Clark."
Clark drank some punch, watching Chloe as well, "Me too." He pointed to the band on stage. "Hey, I like these guys."
"Yeah." Pete shouted excitedly toward the stage as he raises his fist, "Remy Zero!"
Remy Zero wrapped up 'Save Me' as everyone applauded and then launched into 'Perfect Memory.' Chloe looked thrilled as she heard the song.
"Oh! I love this song!" Chloe said to the other girls.
"Hey, you know this is one of Chloe's favourite songs." Pete pointed out.
Clark grinned, "Why do you think I requested it?"
Pete laughed, cheering him on as Clark headed towards Chloe, "Ha ha ha ha! Now that's what I'm talking about!"
Clark approached Chloe, who stopped talking to the girls and smiled as she saw him. All the other girls grinned excitedly at Chloe.
Clark offered his arm, "May I have this dance?"
She took his arm, "Of course."
The two smiled at each other and laughed as they head out to the dance floor. They found a spot on the floor, and Clark pulled Chloe close for a slow dance, stared into her eyes.
Jessica grinned from the sidelines, (Well done Clark.) She was happy for her brother and best friend, maybe he would finally let go of Lana and move on. She went to borrow Pete's camera to take some photos, she knew Chloe would love to have evidence of the night she and Clark were finally moving forward.
The sky was filled with dark clouds, the wind howling and pushing at trees, as Lana drove down the road, tears streaming down her face. She wiped at the tears, and jumped as thunder rumbled nearby.
Too focused on the road and her own tears she didn't notice the air filled with debris being carried by the wind. From out of nowhere, a mailbox appeared, flying through the air and smashed into the windshield, and she screamed as she lost control of the truck, ploughing it into a ditch. She's pitched forward hard as the truck hit the ditch, but wasn't hurt. Scared and crying, she opened the truck door and fell out onto the grass verge. Her dark hair whipped around as she climbed to her feet, struggling against the wind, which was whipping with gale force. She walked toward the road, trying to push her hair out of her eyes so she could see. She finally succeeded, and stopped, a look of terror and shock crossing her face.
Across the road she could see three skinny tornadoes known as a tornado family heading straight for Lana. Frightened, she backed away and looked around for shelter, before climbing back into the truck.
On the Kent Farm Jonathan and Martha struggled against the wind as they headed for their storm shelter. "The animals are all put away. There's nothing more we can do here! We gotta get to the storm cellar!" Jonathan shouted.
Martha carrying some blankets, shouted back, "What about Clark and Jessica?!"
"School's on the other side of town! They'll be fine!" Jonathan stopped as he saw the door of the storm cellar - open and flapping in the wind.
Inside the storm cellar, Nixon ran his fingers over the octagon impression. He pulled the missing piece from his pocket, and held it up. As he did so, the piece began to shake violently, as if it was being pulled by a magnet before flying out of Nixon's hands. It twirled around as if it had a mind of it's own and hovered over the impression, twisting several times in different direction like a combination lock, then it matched it's sides with those in the impression, before sliding down inside the impression.
Nixon jumped back in astonishment. As he did so, Jonathan and Martha come down the storm cellar steps.
"Mr Kent!" He went forward.
Jonathan rushed toward Nixon, "Who the hell are you?!"
"Roger Nixon, Metropolis In-!"
Jonathan grabbed Nixon by the collar and threw him against the wall angrily. "You're that reporter, aren't you?! You're the one who threatened Clark and Jessica!"
"Don't do anything!" Martha yelled trying to pull Jonathan off Nixon.
Jonathan turned to his wife, "Why shouldn't I? He tried to kill our children!" He turned to Nixon, "Did you blow up that truck?"
"I knew it wouldn't hurt them..."
Jonathan threw Nixon against the opposite wall. "Who sent you? Was it Lex Luthor." He asked even more angry, "Was it Lex Luthor!"
"No! Jonathan please...stop!" Martha screamed.
"I don't need Lex Luthor! I'm gonna tell the entire world about your children!" Nixon said.
"You will not!" Jonathan punched Nixon and advanced on him as Nixon fell to the ground. He grabbed Nixon by the throat. "Come on! Get up!"
Martha screamed. "No! Jon-!" Martha heard something and turned to look behind her, and got a shocked look on her face. "Jonathan, look!"
Jonathan turned to see what she was looking at. The ship rose off the ground and was floating in the air. It turned toward the exit behind Martha and Jonathan. Nixon took advantage of the disruption and bolted for the stairs. As he did so, Jonathan turned to go after him, but Martha grabbed him.
"Jonathan! The tornado!" She said pleadingly.
"Martha, he knows everything! I will not let him destroy this family!"
Martha started crying, "No! Please!"
Jonathan pushed Martha away, "No!"
"Jonathan!" She screamed after him.
Jonathan headed out into the storm in pursuit of Nixon. Martha noticed a golden glow filling the room, and turned back toward the ship, which was now glowing. She watched fearfully as the ship lights up, and several panels on the ship open along with the sound of the ship powering up.
At the Prom, Perfect Memory was still playing, and Clark and Chloe were still dancing.
Chloe smiled as she looked up at him, "Clark Kent. Man of mystery. Just when I think I have you figured out, you surprise me."
"How's that?" Clark asked puzzled.
"The song...the tux...tonight." She listed.
"And I'm still here."
She grinned, "Yeah, you are."
Chloe rested her head on Clark's shoulder. Clark grinned, and closed his eyes happily as he nuzzled against Chloe's hair. Chloe smiled as she pressed her cheek against his shoulder. Clark pulled back and looked deeply into Chloe's eyes. His eyes fall shut as he lowered his lips to hers. Just as their lips brushed, the music stopped and feedback from the microphone caused both of them to jump back.
"Stop. Stop the music, please. Excuse me for a second. Can I have everyone's attention please?" Assistant Principal Gibbons said and everyone stopped and turned to the stage. "Um, thank you. The National Weather Service has just issued a tornado warning. Apparently three funnels have been spotted heading toward Smallville."
Murmurs ran through the crowd, Clark and Chloe exchanged a fearful look and Jessica came to stand beside them.
"Now, uh, please, everyone stay calm. The twisters are going to set down south of here, but for your own safety, no one will be allowed to leave the gym." Assistant Principal Gibbons explained.
A look of realization crossed Clark's face. "The bus station's south of town. Lana's there."
"Clark, don't worry about it. I'm sure she's home by now." Chloe assured him. "You know, what...I'll go call her on my cell. You wait here."
Chloe started to walk across the gym floor. She only got a few steps away, before she stopped, feeling something wasn't right. She turned back to where she left Clark.
And he was gone.
"Clark? Clark?"
Chloe was left standing in the middle of the gym, alone... Clark and Jessica were nowhere to be seen.
"Chloe is not going to forgive you for this." Jessica said as she followed her brother out of the gym. She put a hand against the wall and quickly unbuckled her shoe and then did the other. She was not going to run at superspeed in high heels, she had barely managed to walk gracefully in them.
"Lana's her friend, she'll understand." He ran off at superspeed not waiting for his sister.
Jessica scoffed as she stuffed the shoes in her locker and then quickly followed her brother.
Lex flipped open the small compartment on his desk. It was empty. He knocked the compartment off the desk. He angrily started going through the papers and books stacked on his desk, hunting for the disk. He tried to open a small wooden box on his desk, then slammed it down. He crossed to the bookshelves that line the wall. He began angrily pulling books from the shelf, throwing them to the ground in frustration.
"Damn it, Nixon!" Lex yelled.
Lighting flashed from outside, as the doors to the study are flung open and Lionel strode in. "So...you're using your mother's stock to fund the buyout. That's your secret source."
Lex rolled his eyes, extremely annoyed.
"I must admit, it's a bold move, Lex. But it won't work!"
Lex crossed the room to check a small bookcase on the other side of the study, "Did you brave the weather to tell me that?"
Lionel started raising his voice, "It's suicide, Lex! You may get the plant, but you're putting your employee's homes on the line. Forfeiting your own future!"
Lex turned toward his father angrily, "Or forging a new destiny free from you!"
His father looked shocked, "You're not my enemy. You're my son."
Lex gave his father a small, cold smirk, "I never saw the distinction."
He crossed the study again, going back to recheck the bookcases next to his desk. Lionel followed him. As they talk, Lex walked around the office, picking up various things sitting in the shelves and tables, and tossing them down in frustration.
Lionel raised his voice, "When Alexander the Great was dying, his generals asked who he would leave his empire to. If he would appoint a successor, it would keep the legacy intact...prevent generations of bloodshed! His answer was simple - I leave it to the strongest."
Lex turned and stood nose to nose with his father and yelled back, "I believe the term is 'Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!'"
Lionel reached out and angrily grabbed the sides of Lex's head, yanking him forward so they were nose to nose. "I'll bury you and everyone in Smallville who takes your side!"
Lex reached up and violently threw his father's hands off of him. As he did so, a burst of wind from the tornado ripped through the windows behind Lex's desk, shattering the glass, and sending Lionel and Lex spinning to opposite sides of the study. Lionel fell to the ground, and Lex slid across the floor, into a small bookshelf which crashed down on top of him. As Lionel struggled to get up, one of the large columns holding the ceiling up collapsed on top of him, pinning him to the ground from the hip down. Lex threw the bookshelf off, a large gash had opened up over his eye, covering one side of his face with blood. The roof support beams began to collapse, and one crashed down, it's jagged edge hovering right over Lionel. Lionel struggled to push the column off of him, but it is too heavy. Lex struggled to his feet, clutching his head as his father called out to him.
"Lex! Help me, Lex! Lex! I can't...move!" Lionel pleaded as he continued to struggle against the column. The wind ripped through the room, sending paper and debris everywhere. Lex slowly crossed the room to stand near his father.
"Help me! Lex!" He reached a hand out to Lex. "Son..."
Lex just stood there, coldly staring as his father struggled, thinking how much easier his life would be without him in it.
In the field across from Lana, the three twisters merged into one gigantic tornado. Inside the truck, Lana, in a panic, desperately attempted to use her cell-phone, punched buttons on the phone, "Please...please." Glancing up fearfully to see the twister moved across the field, engulfing a barn.
But it was no use. "Damn it!" Lana screamed in frustration and threw the phone aside, before looking out the window and watching the barn disappear completely, her eyes wide with fear. She breathed heavily, her hands pressed against the glass, trying to see anything through the massive cloud of darkness moving closer.
Clark speeded along the Smallville roads, Jessica not far behind him. He slowed next to a sign indicating he was on route 90. He saw a massive twister converging on the pickup truck.
Lana who was looking out the window at the twister in absolute terror, saw Clark standing in the road. She began banging on the windows, "CLARK!"
Clark looked at her fearfully and screamed back, "LANA!"
"CLAAARRRKKKK! AHHHHH!" Lana screamed as the twister lifted up the truck and sucked it in.
"NOO!" As the truck disappeared from sight Clark speeded into the centre of the tornado.
Jessica arrived just to see her brother disappear into the churning tornado. "CLARK!"
END OF CHAPTER 26
Yes! That's the end of Season 1.
Onward to Season 2, I'm slow but I'll get there … eventually.
In previous episodes Clark's clothing survived fires, maybe a little charred but presumably his invulnerability extended out from his skin to include his clothes.
Chloe was supposed to wear a pink dress but in the episode it looks more red - I thought a rose pink would suit her. I added that bit about Martha helping Jessica get ready for mother-daughter bonding where Jessica talks about her opinion on relationships which has a lot to do with why there's not much written about Jessica prom date because it's not romantic thing so it's not as complicated as Clark/Chloe.
PHOENIX FURY.