Natasha and Skye's Apartment-7:30 AM
Where's Clark?" Skye asked, handing Natasha a cup of coffee.
"He slept at the farm. He wanted to be able to get a jump on his chores." Natasha replied, taking a sip.
"Seems weird. I keep expecting him to be here ."
"Imagine how I feel. First night I slept alone in over a month."
"I don't need to know what you and the farmboy get up to." Skye said, and Natasha blushed.
"Not what I meant, and you know it. Now do me a favor and take him a cup of coffee. I would, but I've got a faculty meeting." She said, and Skye laughed.
"Sure thing. You want me to give him a kiss good morning too?" She quipped, and Natasha glared at her.
"Do, and they'll never find your body."
"You're kidding right?" Skye asked.
Natasha just smiled and took another sip of her coffee.
Kent Farm-8:00 AM
"Been up long?" Skye asked in greeting, and Clark groaned.
"I've been up since dawn. Never appreciated how much work went into all this before now." Clark said, hammering a nail into the fencepost he had been working on. He wiped the sweat from his brow, accepting the coffee that Skye offered him.
"Thanks." He said, and she nodded.
"I told Nat I'd kiss you good morning for her too." Skye said, and Clark chuckled.
"Bet she loved that."
"I was told they would never find my body." Skye said dryly, and Clark grinned before finishing his coffee and following Skye to her car. He still had his family and his friends. Maybe losing his powers wasn't the worst thing in the world.
Summers House-8:00 AM
"You're late, and I can't wait for you."
"Sorry Dad." Eric said, taking a seat at the table. Neither one of his parent's remarked on the fact that he wasn't wearing glasses. Not that he expected them too. His father tended to only pay attention to Eric when they were in class or talking about grades, and his mother was basically a doormat to her husband. She was more focused on making it seem like everything was perfect in their family then she was on noticing her son.
"Just give him a minute honey." His Mother said, and Eric's father snorted.
""You'll never get anywhere in life if you don't get your priorities straight. Now hurry up."
"Or what, you'll give me a C in science? This isn't a classroom Dad. Oh I'm sorry, Mr. Summers." Eric shot back, taking a bite of his waffle. Eric's father walked behind him and raised his hand, intending to pop him upside the head for his mouth. However, Eric turned and caught his father's hand midswing. His father's hand had seemed to go in slow motion.
"How did you do that?" Eric's father asked, and the young man laughed.
"You're the science teacher Dad. You figure it out." He said, releasing his father's wrist.
Dan Summers stared at his wrist for a moment before grabbing his briefcase from behind his chair.
"Get a ride with your mother."
Smallville High-11:00 AM
"Clark, what's going on with you today man?" Pete Ross asked his friend as they walked back to the locker room after gym class.
"You usually run the bleachers without breaking a sweat, but you're looking a little winded."
"I'm good Pete. Just tired. I had an early start this morning. Farm chores and all that." He said, fighting through the pain coursing through his leg. It was a muscle cramp, or at least he thought it was. Regardless, he wasn't going to complain. Pain was something he was going to have to learn to live with if he didn't get his powers back. He may as well start now.
He walked into the weight room, seeing Eric Summers setting up one of the machines.
"Eric! Got a second?" He asked, and the other boy looked up.
"Sure Clark. What's up?" He asked, and Clark shrugged.
"Not much. We just didn't get a chance to talk about what happened the other day."
"Oh. Right. I guess that was pretty dumb of me huh? Good thing you were there."
"So you're doing okay? Nothing strange going on?" Clark pressed, and Eric shook his head.
"Nope. In fact, I feel pretty great. Thanks again Clark." Eric said, and Clark nodded before leaving the weight room. If he had stayed, he might of noticed the smile on his face as Eric bench pressed 250lbs as though it was nothing. Eric Summers was feeling better than he ever had. In fact, it may be time to take another shot at asking out Holly.
Smallville High-3:30 PM
"You wanted to see me Miss Romanoff?" Clark asked, walking into Natasha's classroom.
"Yes Mr. Kent I did." Natasha said with a smile.
"Hi." She said, kissing him softly once she was sure they were alone.
"Hi. Much better than a kiss from Skye." He said, and Natasha glared.
"She kissed you?" Natasha growled, and Clark laughed.
"No. But she did say something about bodies being hidden if she tried." Clark replied with a smile.
"How are you Clark?" She asked, and Clark shook his head.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. On the one hand, it's amazing. I played basketball today, and lost. I hugged my mother this morning without holding back for the first time in my life. I can hold your hand, and not have to control my strength." He said, taking her hand in his and giving it a squeeze.
"But, there are things I miss. It takes me forever to do my chores, and I can't just run wherever I want whenever I want. Then there's the meteor infected to think about. Without my powers, I might not be able to stop them."
"You have your training, and you're not the only hero in town. Skye and I will back you up."
"Thank you. Now if it's not too much trouble, can I get a ride home? I've got chores to finish and Skye was going to get a cup of coffee with Pete and Chloe." He said, and Natasha smiled.
"Sure thing. I'll even let you drive. If you get done in time, maybe I'll even come back and pick you up. You can bunk over tonight."
"Or you could stay with me." He offered, and she laughed.
"Somehow I doubt your father would approve."
"But isn't sneaking around part of the fun?" He asked, and she grinned before kissing him.
Outside the Beanery-4:00 PM
"Anybody know what's going on with Clark today? He's been acting weird. Like, weird for Clark weird." Pete said, and Chloe shook her head.
"I thought the weird and unexplained were my obsession." She replied, taking a sip of her coffee. Skye took a sip of her own, more for something to do than for anything else. The less she said the better.
"C'mon Chloe, you're telling me you haven't noticed? We played two on two with Fordman and one of his boys and we lost. Clark acted like it was the greatest thing in the world. And he totally fell asleep in class today. Twice."
"He did tell me he was up since dawn working on chores. Maybe he just didn't sleep well." Skye offered.
"I guess. Still, you gotta admit it's strange." Pete said.
Before the other two could reply, they were interrupted by a voice from behind them.
"Chloe! Hey, Chloe!" Eric Summers yelled, catching up to them a moment later.
"Hey Eric. I heard about what happened. How are you feeling?" The blonde asked, and Eric smiled.
"I'm great. Really great. Except for the fact that Miss Romanoff's last russian test totally kicked my butt. If I don't fix that on the next one, my dad'll do the butt kicking. Any chance you could help me?"
"Sure thing. As a matter of fact, Skye, Pete and I were going to study some tomorrow after school. How about we meet at the library at four?"
"Sure, that sounds-Get down!" Eric yelled, stepping in front of Chloe just as a man with a knife reached for the purse Chloe wore on her shoulder. Eric grabbed the man's wrist, and the man growled, lunging at Eric with his knife. However, to the amazement of all those present, the knife shattered when it impacted on the boy's face.
For a second Eric stood there, stunned at what had just happened. Then he smirked, grabbing the man by his shirt and throwing him across the street. The man hit the side of a brick wall and slumped to the ground, unconscious.
"Eric, how did you do that?!" Pete asked, and Eric shook his head.
"No clue. Chloe, where are you going?" He asked, seeing the blonde take off down the street.
"The Sheriff's Office, and then the Smallville Ledger. I've got a story good enough to make the front page!" She yelled back.
Eric and Pete shook their heads before starting to walk down the street. Chloe was a reporter, even when she had just been attacked by a lunatic with a knife.
Skye stood there, shaking her head. She should've stopped this guy, but there was no way to do that without risking exposing herself. Then she walked over to where the unconscious attacker lay, thinking about what Chloe had just said. Clark wasn't going to be happy.
Skye and Natasha's Apartment-6:00 PM
"How was coffee with Pete and Chloe?" Natasha asked Skye when she walked in.
"I think eventful is an understatement. We have a potential problem. I found out what happened to Clark's powers." Skye replied before explaining what had happened outside the Beanery. Natasha listened quietly, saying nothing for a few moments.
"I'm going to go see Clark later tonight. I'll talk to him then, and we'll figure out how to handle this." She said at last, and Skye nodded.
"Okay. Do you want me to call Colson or May, get a couple of extra hands just in case?" Skye asked, and Natasha shook her head.
"Not yet. Let's just see what we're dealing with first." She replied, keeping her tone even.
Kent Farm-7:00 PM
Clark grunted as he threw another bail of hay, allowing his arms to rest for just a moment. His entire body ached, and he knew he would hurt more the next day. It was confusing the way he was feeling. On the one hand, he hated the idea of hurting tomorrow, or worse yet, of falling asleep in class again. He had done it twice, once in science and again in math. Thankfully, his teachers had let it slide given that he consistently got B's on everything. Not top of his class, but good enough so that his teacher's weren't worried if he missed a few minutes. He laughed as he thought of that. He had gotten B's in everything, mostly because it was a great way to avoid answering unwanted questions. No one would suspect him of being anything other than a mild-mannered farm boy if he got average grades. The only class he had an A in was Russian, and that was only because Natasha knew about his secret. But now that he didn't have his powers, maybe that could change. Maybe he could start doing better academically. Maybe his Dad would even let him go out for the football team. The young man closed his eyes, allowing his mind to wander for a moment.
Crows are down by three and they've got time for one more play. Kent steps back, and lets loose with a monster of a throw. The throw's caught by Ross, who manages to hold onto the ball even as he's brought down. Crows score! Smallville wins!
Clark let out a whoop as he heard the announcer's call, feeling his feet leave the ground as he's swept up by his teammates, some of whom have already done the same to Pete.
He hears the ground chanting their names as they're carried off the field, sees his parents grinning broadly in the stands.
Later that night he walks into the loft, seeing a light on. He climbs the stairs and feels his breath catch in his throat. Standing there is Natasha, wearing his jersey. She smiles, walking over to him and kissing him softly.
"Natasha, what is-"
"I know most of the girl's wear their boyfriend's jackets or jersey to the game. Since I couldn't do that, I thought I'd wear it now and we could celebrate your win." She purred, pushing him onto the sofa and straddling his lap. Clark groaned at the feel of her on his lap, groaning even louder when she moved her lips to his neck.
"C'mon Clark. Tonight I'll be your trophy." She whispered.
"Clark? CLARK!"
"Lex." Clark said, turning around, shocked to see the man standing there.
"You okay? I've been calling your name for the last couple of minutes." His friend said, and Clark shook his head.
"Yeah, I'm good. Just, lost in thought." He said, and Lex grinned.
"Good thoughts I hope?" He asked, and Clark felt his face heat up as he thought of the fantasy that had been going through his mind.
"I'm pretty sure it's ok to fantasize about your girlfriend Clark. I guarantee you in your case, a lot of people do." Lex said, and Clark glared slightly. He didn't want to think about other people fantasizing about Natasha.
"So you fantasize about Victoria?" Clark asked, and Lex chuckled.
"No. I don't think we'll be seeing anymore of Ms. Hardwick. She and I have had a parting of the ways." He said with a grin.
"Should I offer condolences or congratulations?" Clark asked, and Lex chuckled.
"Congratulations I think. I won our chess game."
Seeing the confused look on Clark's face, Lex elaborated.
"You remember when you saw her on my computer? She took information. Information that she thought she would be able to use to allow her father Sir Harry to buy Luthorcorp. In reality, I planted it."
"So what she thought would enable her father to take over your family's company actually allowed you to take over theirs?" Clark guessed, and Lex nodded.
"Congratulations then." Clark said.
"But I didn't come here to talk about Victoria. I came to talk to you, and to give you this." He said, pulling a flashdrive from his pocket.
"What is this?" Clark asked, not moving to take it.
"Everything I have on the crash. Plus, everything I have on Natasha." He replied, and Clark glared.
"What the devil were you doing looking into her? I thought you were my friend!" Clark yelled angrily.
"I am your friend. Why do you think I'm here offering this to you?"
"I don't know Lex. How about you tell me?"
Clark knew that his words were unfounded, ridiculous even. Lex was his friend, had kept Clark's relationship with Natasha secret. If he'd wanted to hurt them, making their relationship public would be a very easy way to do that. So Clark knew that Lex's coming here wasn't about exhorting him for personal gain. But the very idea that someone he called friend was looking into Natasha made his blood boil.
"I was trying to do the right thing. Your friendship is important to me Clark. To be honest, you're the only real friend I've got. I don't want to lose that."
He stretched out his hand again, offering Clark the flash drive. Clark looked into Lex's eyes, saying a silent prayer that the other man was telling the truth. Then he took the flashdrive.
"Guess I won't be getting a thank you. Be careful Clark If that had been my father, you would've just told him your achilles heel. He would've had everything he needed to tear you apart, and he probably would've tried to sleep with Natasha while he was at it."
"That's disgusting." Clark said, and Lex nodded.
"Imagine how I feel. He was screwing Victoria." He said, and Clark felt a new wave of revulsion go through him.
"He does know she's young enough to be his daughter."
"I think that's part of the appeal." Lex replied, disgust clear in his voice.
"Can you give me a hand with this?" Clark asked, indicating the bails of hay that still needed to be taken care of.
"You mean you can't do it yourself?" Lex asked, and Clark glared.
"So the drive's got everything huh?" Clark asked, and Lex sighed.
"It does. If you don't believe me, I'm sure Natasha can have one of her SHIELD buddy's look into it."
"Oh I intend to." Natasha said as she walked over to them, kissing Clark in greeting.
"Hi." He said, and she grinned.
"Hi. Are you almost done?"
"Another hour I think. Less if I had a little help." Clark replied.
"Take a second and go get some water. Then I'll give you a hand. After that, we can have dinner."
"You cooked?" He asked, and she grinned.
"Steak and potatoes. Skye made pie." She said, and Clark smiled.
"Sounds fantastic. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Now go get some water, and some ice."
"Ice? What-"
Clark saw her fist coming towards his face a moment later and he blocked, doing the same with her second strike. But he was exhausted. Her third connected with his mouth, the young man tasting blood.
"Geez. Did I forget something?" He asked, and she shook her head.
"Just keeping you on your toes. Now go get water and some ice for your mouth."
"Yes dear." He replied, walking toward the house.
"Did he forget something?" Lex asked, and Natasha glared at him.
"No. You obviously did. I warned you what would happen if you started digging. Now he is hurt because I had to prove a point."
"Which is?"
"Clark Kent is just a good man. That's it, and that's more than I can say for you."
"Are your words supposed to hurt me Natasha? I hate to tell you they don't. My father kind of beat you to the punch when it came to hurting me emotionally." Lex replied, and Natasha snorted.
"Your father's a piece of garbage. But no, I don't care if I hurt you emotionally. I told you that you wouldn't want to find out what would happen if you went digging into Clark." She said, pulling out a silenced weapon.
"You're going to kill me? Here? In Clark's barn?"
"I want to. I should. You deserve it. Do you have any idea the harm your obsession could cause? And I'm not just talking about losing Clark's friendship."
"I stopped, and everything was done through third parties and people I've used before." Lex replied, eyes locked on the barrel of the gun in Natasha's hand.
"People your father used before. People who are more loyal to him than to you, and don't get me started on the scum he associates with. Politicians, military, gangsters. The things I could tell you about your father would give you nightmares, boy. Now convince me why I shouldn't kill you and dispose of your body."
"Clark. He's the only friend I have, and what I've done may have cost me that friendship. Now regardless of how he saved me, I'm grateful that he did. I also realize that my impulses are not always the best. But Clark...he thinks I'm a good man, and I want to be the person he thinks I can be. I want to help him in whatever way I can. I did research on you Ms. Romanoff. Nick Fury put a kill order on your head, but the agent who was supposed to kill you brought you in instead. Now you're an Avenger, because someone decided to give you a chance. Give me that chance now."
"Strike two. There will be no strike three. Do we understand each other?"
"Perfectly." Lex replied, feeling his heart rate slow when Natasha put away her weapon.
A couple minutes later Clark came back into the barn, ice on his mouth.
"Clark, just relax. Natasha and I will have this done in no time." Lex said, going and grabbing a bail of hay.
"You mean you don't want to hit me with a hammer or throw me off a cliff? Maybe hit me with a car?" Clark asked coldly, and Lex shook his head.
"There's no excuse for what I did to either of you. All I can do is say I'm sorry, and hope that someday you'll trust me again."
Clark didn't respond, and Lex just sighed, grabbing a bail of hay and getting to work. It would clearly take time for Clark to trust him again, but Lex was determined to do whatever he had to in order to earn it.
Natasha grabbed a bail of hay, her hands doing the work, but her mind on the two men in the room with her. Clark didn't seem as though he was going to trust Lex overnight, which was a good thing. Lex did seem remorseful, but only time would tell. She had been serious earlier. There would be no strike three. If Lex Luthor crossed either one of them, he was a dead man.
A/N: So we have another chapter! I was honestly unsure about this, especially the confrontation with Lex, but I decided to go for it. The reason is that this one confrontation between Clark and Lex is the beginning of the end of their friendship. I've always viewed it as Clark and Lex's chance to stop a lot of the later damage that happens to them. Whether that happens this time….who knows? We'll see how the story goes. I hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!