Chapter 98 [Next Day—Kent Farm]

Clark stood at the Loft's upper doorway. His eyes looked out over his father's recently seeded fields. He could see a few puffs of clouds meandering across the blue backdrop. He glanced down at the ground two floors down. He sucked in a deep breath.

Fear was foolish. The ground couldn't hurt him.

Flight could happen. He just had to focus.

I can do this. Remember the other night. Focus and concentration. Push the concerns away. He sucked in a deep breath. He cleared his head of any and all things around himself. He closed his eyes.

YOU CAN DO THIS, KAL-EL. DEEP BREATH. RELAX AND PUSH OFF, Jor-El coached.

I can. I can. I can. He cleared his mind. He flexed his legs and jumped into Abyss' void….

…and managed to float…moreover to glide along at a meandering pace….

For several seconds he kept this up.

Clark? Clark, are you there? Lana called.

Lana? What? Her questions jarred him. Concentration broke. He fell face first into the manure pile. He winced. He spat out the offensive matter. "Great." He slowly stood up and considered himself. "Mom's going to kill me." He saw Lex watching him. "Lex?"

Lex sipped from a Talon To Go cup. "That was a hell of a landing, Clark. Just saying." He handed his friend another cup. "Got a cappuccino for you. Something in honor of the occasion."

"Thanks. I need it." Clark gulped a couple of mouthfuls.

"So what's the deal with the…?" Lex pointed toward the sky. "I didn't know you could fly."

"Neither did I. I was trying it for the second time. I'm not going to wow any birds or girls." Clark shook his head.

"The Wright Brothers' first flight was 90 seconds. You had them beat." Lex held up his phone. "Three minutes. I timed you myself. Not bad. So you still need some practice." The Smirk spread across his face.

"That landing wasn't what I had in mind." Clark rolled his eyes.

"No. I definitely would agree with you there." Lex coughed. "I heard Professor Dubois helped you with the weakness?"

"She helped me with some transference exercises. They worked great. I channeled the bad stuff, pushed it into another thing and got rid of it." Clark took another draught from his cup.

"Really? Too bad you can't bottle it. You'd make a mint." Lex batted his hand in front of his nose. "So what you channel it into?"

"I…umm…put it in the toilet bowl. Then I flushed it." Clark squirmed.

Lex nearly spit up his drink. "You...? Guess that's one way to do it."

"It seemed a good way to get rid of it at the time." Clark raised an eyebrow. "It worked."

"That much is obvious." Lex leaned against the car. Sarcasm accented his tone. "Hey. Whatever it takes. Right?" He sipped on his drink again. "So you going to tell Lana about it?"

"As soon as I can get over to the Talon." Clark finished his drink.

"She'd like that. Just one thing." Lex motioned to his clothes. "You might want to change. You don't want to come off like my father. Do you?"

Clark's nose wrinkled. "Guess not. Are you heading back?"

"I'm on my way to the mansion. Maybe you might catch Jasmine and Gwen at the Talon? They're getting the dress adjusted for next week." Lex motioned toward the house. "Change first. Remember?"

"Yes I'm doing that." Clark frowned. He hustled (at human speed) toward the house.

Smooth move, Clark. Lex glanced up toward the Loft's upper door. He shook his head. And now you can fly. Incredible! He toasted the scene with his cup. Love the landing though. He snorted before taking a gulp.

Some things were best left to one's self….or Blackmail's later teasing after all….