Only yesterday, Clark had woken up feeling completely empty inside. What had his life become? A series of activities meant to keep him at the peak of health and reform him: weights to lift, books to check out, jobs to keep him busy. He'd become quite the cook from his kitchen duties, not a skill he'd ever needed before. That didn't keep the futileness of it all from seeping into his soul though many might argue if he even had one.

All his plotting and planning, his father's dreams for him had led to this. To a lifetime of incarceration. He'd had an anger management class recommended to him, but honestly, he didn't feel angry as much as he felt cold. That didn't mean he wouldn't take out all his frustration on the people that had brought him to this point, but the psychologist didn't need to know that.

Even the spiritual side wasn't neglected here. He had his choice of religions, two dozen of them to be exact, which was laughable. Though sometimes as he lay in bed, he wondered if he shouldn't try all of them if it would stop the growing tide of his discontentment within himself, which was only due to the circumstances he found himself in he was sure.

Martha Kent even sent him a care package every month with baked goods that made him the envy of his cell block and a book. The first was a Bible and the second was a books of quotes of supposedly wise saying that were meant to motivate and inspire. He hadn't read them though he hadn't tossed them out either. He did crack open the quote book onto which he rather ironically landed on a page that included a Bible quote, which said, "We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out."

How true that was he was discovering though he found that far from inspirational. He appreciated what she was trying to do and was also finding out why his father had been fond enough of the woman to name him after her.

Today was different. Today, he had a renewed purpose: to make the players of his humiliation feel the sting of regret and the ones he'd target first were Oliver, the orchestrator of his imprisonment and the cause of his loss of superpowers, and Tess, who was supposed to feel some measure of loyalty to him, but who hadn't hesitated to takeover as the head of the LuthorCorp, the moment the opportunity presented itself. And he'd stop the Kryptonian usurpers while he was at it. It would do what no amount of good press could do, restore his good name in the public eye.

sss

"Lo, your husband or I should say soon-to-be ex-husband has been in my ear all day about what a mistake this is," the General said as they waited for the guards to bring him out.

'I imagine he would be, but he and Clark never got along even before his crime spree, ever since they were kids, though I'm not saying Luthor isn't dangerous. It's why he needs military guard."

'Which is me, but you haven't done much to reassure me this is a good idea."

"That's because it's not, but it's the only one that makes sense. And he's not like he was. He hasn't killed anyone since his father disappeared."

He let out a short laugh. "Still not reassuring me here."

"And he doesn't have his powers anymore."

"That makes him more manageable, I admit. It doesn't mean he won't kill again."

She sighed. In truth, it's what she worried about more than anything and that hypothetical person's blood would be on her hands as the one that had advocated for his release. "I know., but there are many, many more lives at stake."

"What is it you're not telling me?" he asked.

"I met another version of him," she mumbled.

"What? Like some kind of parallel universe?"

"Exactly," she said, excited that he'd gotten it so quickly. "And this Clark was a hero. He was kind and gentle. I mean he kidnapped me, but it was only so he could get back to his world, to the ones he loved. What if I met this Clark for a reason, so I could help our Clark walk a better path?"

"I find that difficult to swallow, but then here I am, waiting for a convict to save the world from an alien invasion, who just happens to be an alien from the very same planet, so what do I know? But it sounds like you want him to be the Clark of that world, and that's just not going to happen."

"They're essentially the same people."

"He's had a different life experience, and even if you got him to start making the right choices and become a decent person, he'd never be like this other guy. He couldn't be. Pasts jade you whether you want them to or not. They make you into different people than you'd otherwise have become for better or worse."

Everything he said was valid. If she was smart, she'd forget about him when this was all over, but her heart couldn't help soaring when she saw him coming even with the ankle monitor that was a clear reminder of how dangerous he was. Her hope for him just wouldn't die, prolonging her torment and making her wonder if hope wasn't really the most evil of human feelings.