Sorry it's been so long since my last update, real life and other stories got in the way. But I plan to make this a more main focus in the near future. For now, I hope you guys enjoy this.

Green Hal37: Yep. Yeah, Mary-Jane is a good example, especially in recent years. Probably.

JiN: I completely, it's a complete disappointment that the writers failed to follow up on such an important and traumatic moment in Clark's life. I plan very much to finish this story.

Kent Farm

Morning

Jonathan wiped his hands, standing back to inspect his work. It had taken him most of the morning, but the front door was as good as new. If he didn't know any better, Jonathan could have sworn it was never broken down the previous day.

Martha walked up beside him and it was silent between husband and wife for a moment.

"He's back Jonathan," Martha said softly.

"No, he's not," Jonathan said with a sigh before turning to look at his wife. "Martha sweetheart, that wasn't Clark. Wherever he's been the last few years…he's let the other side of him take over. I barely even recognized him Martha. I think we've really lost him."

"No. I won't believe that. We lost Clark to his Kryptonian side once, we got him back. We'll get him back again," Martha said firmly.

Jonathan refrained from telling her that this time it was Clark's choice to embrace his Kryptonian heritage rather than brainwashing by Jor-El. He knew Martha needed to hold on to the hope that Clark would return to them again. Jonathan wasn't so sure.

"And even if he won't forgive us, we both know someone he'd never shut out," Martha pointed out and Jonathan immediately knew who she was talking about.

"Chloe."

Metropolis

Same time

Lois was in her car, on the way to work when, suddenly, a black man around her age in a blue shirt and pants walked out into the middle of the road, not seeing her. Lois immediately slammed on the breaks but it was too late to stop. She expected to run over him but, to her shock, the man held out his hands and the car jerked to a stop. Lois lurched forward, her head smashing against the dash board as the wind shield shattered. Dazed, she looked up, surprised to see that the man was simply staring at her.

On a rooftop, Clark was listening to the sounds of the city when he heard the sound of a car crash. Immediately, he sped towards it.

Seconds later, he appeared on the scene. A black man was opening the door of a car, helping an injured woman out. Clark immediately recognized her.

"Lois," he said gently.

The black man turned towards him, startled. Clark then took in the scene. The man was covered in glass and there was two handprint like dents on the hood of Lois' car. Clark had dealt enough of those to understand what was happening.

"What did you do to her?" Clark demanded angrily.

"Nothing," the man denied.

"Smallville?" Lois asked dazed before she slumped to the man's side, out cold.

Clark sped over, yanked her out of his arms, placed her lying down on the car before grabbing the man, pinning him against the back end of the car.

"Going after one of the few people I still car about, big mistake," Clark snarled.

"It was an accident!" the man snapped, pushing him back.

To Clark's surprise, he went flying into a fence, which toppled over upon the force of the shove. Definitely not human, Clark thought as he laid there for a moment.

"Are you alright? I didn't mean to," the man said apologetically as he rushed over.

"Fine," Clark said as he got to his feet, deciding to check something out.

Clark quickly used his X-Ray Vision. To his shock, he saw some heavy machinery on the man's skeleton, which was human. So he was human, at least partially.

"Some heavy hardware you're packing underneath," Clark mentioned and the man started.

"What are you?" he asked.

"I was about to ask the same question," Clark mentioned before looking back at Lois. "She needs a hospital. I'll be right back."

Without another word, Clark sped over, grabbed Lois, and sped down the road.

Second later, Clark sped into the hospital, deposited Lois on a gurney, and sped back out. Within seconds, a doctor spotted Lois.

"Hey, I need some help over here," he called over as he rushed over, opening Lois' eye as he started to examine her.

Seconds later, Clark appeared back in front of the man, realizing why he looked so familiar.

"Victor Stone," Clark said and the Victor started. "Met high Wide Receiver?"

"Do I know you?" Victor asked.

"In another life, I was known as Clark Kent," Clark said and Victor's eyes widened in recognition.

"Right, Quarterback. I remember. That's some arm you got," Victor noted.

"I don't play anymore," Clark said.

"Me either," Victor said bitterly.

"Let's get out of here, and you can tell me all about it," Clark offered.

"What is this place?" Victor asked as Clark led him into the loft he had lived in while on his crime spree on Red K.

"Mine," Clark said simply. "You wanna tell me what's going on Victor?"

For a long moment, Victor was silent. Then, he spoke.

"We were all in the car. Laughing, carrying on. Then it started to snow. Alexis always loved the snow. My Mom. My Pops. My little sister," Victor took a deep breath as Clark looked at him, beginning to realize where this was headed. "Pops lost control and we crashed. I should have died with them. I passed out, expected to see some angels next time I woke up. Instead, I got a bunch of SynTechnics playing Frankenstein."

"SynTechnics, they did this to you?" Clark asked and Victor nodded, looking broken up about it.

"I wasn't the first dead guy they brought back, just the first that survived their experiments. If it weren't for this one doctor, I'd be more machine than man right now," Victor explained.

"'Machine'. You mean bionics. That's what all the metal is in your body," Clark noted and Victor nodded.

"How'd you know about that anyway?" Victor asked.

"You're not the only one who's different. Only difference is I was born this way," Clark explained.

"And the girl you were so mad I hurt, she your girlfriend?" Victor inquired.

"No. She's just a friend. One I haven't seen in two years," Clark explained and paused. "My last girlfriend died."

"I'm sorry Kent," Victor said and Clark shrugged.

"It was two years ago, I'm over it," Clark shrugged but it felt like a lie even to himself.

"I hope Katherine is to," Victor muttered and Clark raised an eyebrow.

"Katherine?"

"My girl," Victor said, pulling out a photo and handing it to Clark.

"She's beautiful," Clark noted as he looked at her.

"We were planning on getting married after school. Some wedding that'd be now," Victor said dryly.

"She know you're alive?" Clark asked after a moment.

"No. I want to see her but…if she found out what I am now, what they did to me…how could she ever love a thing like me?" Victor asked emotionally.

"Sometimes, you'd be surprised by how accepting the ones you love are," Clark said as he thought of Chloe.

"Your girlfriend, she knew?" Victor asked and Clark nodded.

"So did my best friend. They both accepted me," Clark said and Victor was silent for a moment.

"It won't even matter if SynTechnics catches up with me," Victor sighed.

"I think I know a way to find out more about these guys, get them off your back," Clark said and Victor was taken back.

"You'd do that for me?"

"People like us, we have to stick together. You should be safe here, wait for me," Clark said before he sped off.

Daily Planet

Same time

Chloe was at her computer, working on an article when she heard someone clear their throat. She looked up, surprised to see Jonathan Kent standing over her shoulder.

"I remember seeing you work on articles with Clark at The Torch. Look at you know," Jonathan said with a hint of fatherly pride.

"I'm not front page or anything, but it's a step up from The Torch. So what brings you here Mr. Kent?" Chloe asked curiously.

"Clark," Jonathan said, taking her back. "He's…he's back Chloe."

"What?" Chloe asked in shock.

"Yesterday, two people with the same abilities as Clark showed up at the farm. He showed up, threw them into some kind of vortex, then left. Martha was hoping..." Jonathan trailed off.

"That Clark may have contacted me. I'm sorry, but no," Chloe said, sharing his disappointment. "But now that you mention it…"

Chloe turned back to her computer, exiting out of her article and bringing up several news articles. All of them about people being saved in ways they couldn't explain, Jonathan noted as he skimmed through.

"For the past three days, there have been reports of people in danger miraculously having that danger vanish. A fire being put out for no apparent reason, a woman getting mugged when the mugger was suddenly thrown into a wall. Some of them even report seeing a black blur," Chloe explained.

"Clark," Jonathan muttered and Chloe nodded.

"I didn't know what to make of it, but now that I know Clark's back, it makes sense," Chloe said.

Before she could continue, her cell phone rang. Pulling it out, she was it was an unknown caller. Frowning, she smiled at Jonathan apologetically and answered.

"Hello?...yes, this is she…what? Is she okay?…yeah…okay, I'll be right down there," Chloe said before she hung up.

"Is everything alright?" Jonathan asked.

"No, Lois is in the hospital. They won't tell me what's wrong, just that she's hurt," Chloe said as she began grabbing her stuff.

"Come on, we'll take my truck," Jonathan said as they began heading out.

As they headed for the elevator, neither noticed Clark heading down the stairs, dressed in a black T-shirt and matching jeans. He 'accidently' bumped into an employee.

"Sorry, my fault. Wasn't watching where I was going," Clark immediately apologized.

"Just watch your step kid," the guy said before walking off.

Clark then glanced down at the Daily Planet badge he'd swiped before pinning it to his shirt. Walking further down, he took a pen and notepad from an unsuspecting reporter before spotting a pair of reading glasses on a desk. Couldn't hurt, Clark thought to himself before he picked them up and put them on. Clark then walked over to the nearest reporter.

"Hey, would you mind helping the new guy out? It's my first assignment and I'm having some trouble," Clark said, putting some extra nervousness into his voice.

"Sure kid, what are you working on?" she asked as she looked up, deciding to take pity on 'the new kid'.

"Well, I'm writing an article on a company called 'SynTechnics'. They specialize in biometrics but they're pretty hush-hush if you know what I mean. I keep coming up with more flowers than dirt on them. I figured our database might have more on them," Clark said.

"Sure sweetie, just give me a minute," she said, typing in SynTechnics and searching, seeing what came up. "Well, from what I see, their latest project is the Machina project, which deals with cutting edge cyber prosthetics meant to replace damaged or served limbs."

What happened to Victor was much more extensive than a severed limb, Clark thought. Another dead end. Unless-

"Would it happen to say who owns SynTechnics?" Clark inquired.

"According to this, SynTechnics is owned by Luthor Corp," she said.

Clark tried very hard not to react. Knowing Lex, it really wasn't a surprise. Just further proof of how much his former best friend had fallen. But it did give him an in, with Lionel.

Luthor Mansion

Same time

Lionel was walking down the hall of the mansion when he heard voices coming from the library. One of them was Lex, but he didn't recognize the other voice. It was female, that for certain. And if Lex had female company, he certainly wouldn't have it in the library.

With that in mind, Lionel walked over to the library and opened the door.

Lex was sitting at his desk, a red haired woman with a clipboard standing in front of him. Lex looked towards him, annoyance on his face as the red head turned around, revealing curious green eyes. Although Lionel couldn't figure out why, he felt something familiar about her. Very familiar.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had company son," Lionel lied.

Judging by the annoyed look on Lex's face, he wasn't buying it. Lionel would be disappointed if he had.

"Its fine Dad, we're just finishing up," Lex said as he turned to the red head. "You'll have to excuse my father; he's readjusting to being back."

"Of course," the red head said smoothly, grabbing her clipboard and walking over to Lionel. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Luthor."

"Please, call me Lionel," Lionel said politely as he offered his hand to her. "I didn't catch your name."

"Tess Mercer."

It took all of Lionel's restraint to not react as he shook Tess's hand when she took his. They dropped hands and then Tess exited. Lionel turned, watching her leave as his heart raced.

"They grow up so fast, don't they? Of course it helps when you abandon them at five years old," Lex noted and Lionel turned to him.

"You know?"

"I suspected when I met her. There was just something familiar about her. It was simply a matter of doing a blood test without her knowing," Lex said with a smirk.

"What are your intentions with your sister?" Lionel asked after a moment.

"It's a little late to be playing protective Dad for her, isn't it? Don't worry; she's my flesh and blood. I'm simply looking out for her," Lex assured him.

Lionel stared at him for a long moment. He knew Lex too well to think his son had benign intentions for Lutessa. Lex was far too much like him for that. Lionel destroyed his son, he knew that. But he would not allow Lex to twist his sister into something like himself. He was a failure as a father, but he would protect his daughter.

Since I fast forwarded two years, I can play fast and loose with the timeline and do 5x15 without it messing anything up.

Yes, Tess is here. Since we know that, by season six, Tess was probably working with Lex, I couldn't not include her. Especially since we were robbed of any real Lionel/Tess interactions in the show.