The first place Jonathan took Clark was out in the middle of Shuster's field. The twilight was playing gently on the luscious vegetation, and Clark felt a sudden unfamiliar sense of peace.

After looking pensively around for a few moments, the older man spoke. "This is where we found you in your spacecraft all those years ago. I figured beginning here would be the best place to start."

Clark stared down at the ground, almost able to sense the exact spot that the pod had lain, himself hidden away inside, just a child, probably terrified of the world.

"We were driving in the truck when Martha spied a meteorite crash in this field. Curiosity can kill the cat, but in our case it brought a miracle into our lives. We weren't able to have children, and we were resigned to our fate...Martha was so devastated when she found out..." The man heaved a large sigh. "I had never thought a person could be so heartbroken. When we found you...Oh, you were the answer to all our prayers. Bundled up into a little blanket, you were. You had thick, dark hair, and you were the envy of many Smallville parents, I'll tell you that," Jonathan chuckled. "We packed the ship up in the truck and took you back home, wrapped in your blanket. We still have it, if you want it."

Clark Kent knelt down, taking up some of the dirt in his hands and sifting it through his fingers. His fingers tingled, almost as if a repressed memory was longing to be let free but was unable to break loose.

"Come on," Jonathan finally grunted.

The inside of the barn looked like something out of a dream to Clark. Farm equipment lay about, and an intense feeling of deja vu fell upon him.

He knew the place well.

He knew which floorboard creaked the loudest, which boards were slightly loose—he even knew the hole in which a family of mice always seemed to dwell.

But most of all he knew the smell.

The scent of hay mingled with the smell of farm equipment and various other scents of the country that he had never been able to name.

It smelt like home.

And yet, Metropolis was his home as well. There was something about the fast-paced city life that seemed to call to him. He felt torn between two utterly different places that contained two utterly different sets of people.

But even as he was torn between the rush of Metropolis and the comfort of Smallville, a part of him still wanted to run away from it all...To be a coward...To give in to the fear.

Suddenly, the barn seemed to darken, and it felt like the walls were closing in on him. Swallowing, Clark whispered, "Get me out of here..."

Frowning, Jonathan quickly complied. After Clark had been given a minute to recover, he inquired, "What's wrong, son?"

"Sorry, I felt closed in for a moment there...Is—is there anything else to see?" Clark said, forcing himself to breathe slowly.

"I was saving the best for last, but if you're not feeling up for—"

"No," Clark cut him off quickly, "I'm fine. Let's go."

The nervousness in his son's eyes spurred Jonathan on, and he led Clark to a large tree in which an obviously well-loved treehouse rested. "It's your Fortress of Solitude. I built it for you when you were—Clark?"

Clark had been hit by a barrage of flashbacks.

Himself, helping his dad build the treehouse.

Himself, looking out from it with a telescope at the stars, wondering what they were like.

Himself, crying over something someone had said to him at school, not noticing that his father was climbing up until he spoke.

Himself, sitting in the Fortress of Solitude, more scared than he had ever been, for he had discovered he possessed some mysterious powers.

Himself, again in his beloved treehouse after having discovered yet another ability that left him feeling even more alien than he had before.

Himself, leaning heavily against one of the walls as a young man, wondering if his special powers would block his chances of finding his soulmate.

With that pouring of memories came more, as if the dam had broke and a flood had been released.

His first day at school.

His first ride on a horse.

His first attempt to shave.

His first time driving his dad's truck.

His first time to ever ask a girl out on a date.

But even as happier memories came, another memory slowly entered his mind, overriding all the others.

Lex Luthor's pawn, Nigel, though he had not known his name at the time, was moving towards him. In his hands, Nigel held some strange green substance that he had never seen before, though he thought he almost recognized some of its effects, for he had felt a similar though weaker feeling sometimes around the farm, as if something hidden within the ground were trying to affect him.

The green rock pained Clark, brought him to his knees and then to the ground as Nigel came ever closer.

An evil grin was on the older man's face, the last thing Clark saw before he was taken into darkness.

He had floated in and out of the darkness and pain, sometimes seeing doctors standing over him. But doctors were no comfort to him; all he wanted were his parents.

The strange sinister man watched over all their progress, and Clark began to hate him.

And then they restarted his brain.

He felt helpless, terrified, as a smiling but somehow unsettling man bent over him, trying to talk to him, though it was only gibberish to his ears. His head pounded as if a thousand drums were beating upon it.

He felt alone. Who was this man? Why was he here? What did he want?

The man spoke more gibberish.

He brought his knees up to his chin. He was scared.

The fear permeated his senses, it erased his questions, and it left a nothingness that screamed at him, biting at his nose, scratching at his eyes.

He gave an inhuman howl as the fear became too much, and he tried to jump off the bed, but he was held by some strange restraints that bit at his skin.

His head hurt. He just wanted to go back to the darkness. The darkness was nice. It didn't try to hurt him.

He struggled again, ignoring the man's impatient mutterings.

Why couldn't he move? He needed to move! He needed to escape the fear!

He whimpered. He wanted to make it go away.

The man tried to comfort him, but he wouldn't have it.

He snarled, still struggling.

With a sigh, the man picked up a needle, and the fearless darkness overtook him.

When he awoke, he was more submissive. What was this fear that was biting at his senses? He needed to get away from it. Staying here wouldn't make it leave, but he knew he himself would be unable to leave until he pleased the odd man that was still attempting to talk to him.

He sighed, looking at the man with questions in his eyes.

The man smiled, pointing at him and making a noise.

He furrowed his brow, finally copying the noise after it was repeated several times. "Clark." The word came easily to his tongue. He was a quick learner.

The man made more noises, pointing to himself.

He finally reiterated, "Lex Luthor."

Lex seemed satisfied, extending the lesson to other words...

Jonathan had moved towards Clark at the beginning of his flashbacks, but finally Clark broke himself free of them and engulfed his adoptive father in a hug, muttering, "Dad, dad, I remember, I remember. He was horrible. I was so scared. So scared. The fear. The fear, Dad!"

A tear trickling down his face, Jonathan whispered, "I'm so glad you remember, son. I'm so glad."

When the two men finally entered the house, both Martha and Lois immediately jumped up, sensing the change that had come over Clark.

He grabbed them both in a large embrace, whispering, "I'm all right now. Everything is going to be all right now."

"Oh, Clark!" Tears started streaming down Martha's face, and she had to run into the other room and grab a tissue after she hugged her son one more time.

Lois smiled, her own eyes slightly moist, though she would have never admitted it. "I'm happy for you, Clark."

He pulled her into his arms again, breathing into her ear, "Thank you so much, Lois. You've given me my life back."

"No," she pulled back, looking into his eyes. "Thank you. You've given me a different perspective on life. You've made me realize that there are some things that are more important than work."

Clark smiled. "Jimmy told me you were a workaholic."

"Were is the key word...Sorta."

Eyes shining, Clark embraced Lois tightly one more time. "Come with me. I want to show you my treehouse."

Lois laughed. "You have a treehouse?"

They sat in the treehouse quietly for a while until Lois spoke quietly, "It's so peaceful up here."

"I used to stay up here for hours just thinking. I think it was really necessary to help me accept—"

"What?" Lois inquired after he broke off.

Avoiding her eyes, he looked down at his hands, which had somehow become intertwined with Lois's. He frowned thoughtfully.

"There's something I haven't been telling you, because I haven't...because I didn't...because..."

"It's okay, Clark. You can tell me," Lois said soothingly, rubbing the top of his left hand with her thumb.

"I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid...I didn't want you to...Well, anyway, you deserve to know now. If you run back to the Planet and never talk to me again, I'll understand."

"Clark, what are you talking about—"

"Shh," he silenced her. "Don't speak until after I tell you. Even then, you probably won't want to."

She glared at him, but he started talking before she could say anything. "There's something that I've never told anyone, except for my parents. Lex knew, though how he first found out I have no idea, and I imagine Nigel had his suspicions."

He sighed. "My life wouldn't be the way it is if it weren't for who I am. I'm not Clark Kent, son of Jonathan and Martha Kent. Martha Kent was unable to have children..." He gave a weak chuckle. "You probably won't even believe me, but I was found in a spaceship." He studied Lois's face as he went on, but it was expressionless. "They found me out in a field and adopted me. I looked like a normal human baby. Little did I know that years later strange things would be happening to me...

"My dad thinks I might have been part of a Russian experiment, but I don't think so. I don't think they would able to make me do what I can do...I have these...well, powers, is what me and my parents call them." Clark hesitated, fear starting to creep into his nostrils. He shouldn't be telling anyone this. He shouldn't be—

A reassuring squeeze evaporated all the fear. He stared into Lois's supporting eyes and somehow found the strength to go on. "I...can see through walls, I can crystallize a bowl of water with my breath, I can...warm a cold mug of coffee with my heat vision, I can hear things from miles away...I have...superhuman strength, and my skin can't be punctured by any ordinary objects...The only thing that can hurt me is Element X. Nigel had some that day, in that lead box...In this lead box," Clark held it up. "I can't open it though. The lead prevents it from affecting me, but when the box is opened..." He shuddered.

Lois listened intently as Clark spoke. What he said was so weird it couldn't make sense—yet, the weirdness of his explanation did make sense. She knew why Luthor wanted him, why the box Nigel had held seemed so threatening to Clark...And she suspected that Clark didn't leave Luthor because he didn't want others to know about his powers...

Luthor had taken advantage of Clark's powers, had known what use they could be to a crime lord...

Clark had lived the life of the free and then the life of the oppressed...With Lois, it had been the opposite, but she knew how he felt.

She moved her gaze down to their intertwined hands, feeling more at peace than she ever had. Though her barriers threatened to go up, she knew she should force them down. She felt happier with Clark.

She could not extinguish Mad Dog Lane completely, however, and she looked up at Clark, who seemed to sense that she desired proof.

He smiled at her. "Whisper something that no ordinary human should be able to hear, get as far away from me as you can."

She could not help but look a little skeptical as she complied.

He immediately repeated what she had just said, though he appeared to know that one example would not be enough. "Let's do another test. See that box there?" Lois nodded. "It's filled with odds and ends. I will turn the other way, and you will grab two things from it and hide them somewhere in here. Not only will I be able to pinpoint where the objects are, I will be able to tell you what they are."

She went to the box, shuffling it around to make noise that would prevent him from knowing what she was choosing. Lois finally picked a small fossil and a baseball glove, concealing them from ordinary eyes.

"Ready?" he queried after she stopped making noise.

"Yes."

He turned back around, scanning the treehouse. "The baseball glove is behind the chest, and the fossil I got when I first went fishing with my dad is under the rug. One more test." He turned around and grabbed a piece of paper and pencil, both of which had sat there undisturbed for years and showed obvious signs of age. "Write something on this, then put it under the rug so that there is no way I can know what it says unless I am telling the truth."

Clark turned to face the opposite direction as Lois stared at him, hard in thought. What should she write?

A grin spread across her face.

After a few minutes, Clark was instructed to turn around. Immediately, he gazed at the rug, staring through it.

Three simple words were written upon it:

I believe you.

Clark smiled at Lois, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Thank you for your trust, Lois. You don't know how much it means to me."

"After the time you've had," Lois said quietly, "I think it's about time you had some trust."

Clark felt a warmth spread throughout him that he had not felt in a long time. He had trust, he had a name, he had a family. All was right in his world.

He looked at the brunette reporter, and he could see the questions dancing in her eyes, though she was trying to suppress them. "Let's go inside, then we can have a question and answer session with my parents."

As she gathered up all the empty glasses, Martha smiled at Lois. "I'm so glad our boy finally found someone he could trust. When he was little, it killed him not to be able to tell anyone about his powers. He understood why he couldn't, but there were times he needed someone other than a parent to talk to."

Jonathan spoke up, "I guess the only question we have left now is where we go from here."

"More specifically," Martha said quietly, "where you want to go, Clark."

Clark looked at his mother for a moment, his brow furrowed for a moment before he understood what they meant. Was he to stay in Kansas with his parents? Or was he to go to Metropolis with Lois?

"I love it here in Smallville," Clark stated. "It's so peaceful...It makes me feel at home." Clark hesitated. "But Metropolis is also my home. It may be fast-paced, but I've lived there for eleven years, and it's grown on me."

"You could always live in Metropolis and come home and visit us every weekend," Martha pointed out.

"That might get a little expensive," Lois said, though she appeared reluctant to burst their bubble.

Martha laughed. "Not by plane, honey."

Lois raised an eyebrow. "Then how?"

Martha turned to Clark. "Don't tell me you didn't tell her about flying?"

Lois looked confused, and Clark looked sheepish.

Jonathan Kent grinned. "Well, son, why don't you go take her for a spin and show her that there is absolutely no problem with airplane costs." He couldn't help but add, "But be careful that no one sees you."

Smiling at what had once been a very familiar phrase, Clark motioned for Lois to follow him. The pair disappeared out the door into the darkness, Clark hearing his parents' voices as he went.

"Oh, it's nighttime, Jonathan, who do you think is going to see them? A bat? ...Let our boy have a little fun for once."

"Sorry," Jonathan grunted. "Old habits die hard."

"I'm going to pick you up, so be prepared," Clark warned.

Lois nodded, bracing herself. Suddenly, she was in his arms.

It was a strange sensation. He had picked her up like she was lighter than a leaf, and he was holding her as if she were mere air. There was none of the jolting that was usually felt when she was scooped up into someone's arms; instead, the process was smooth...

Oddly, she felt at peace, as if she were meant to be in his arms...

She placed her arms around his neck for support, lazily looking down at the ground, then doing a double-take. She was in the air. They were flying!

She stared down at the light which marked the farmhouse, her eyes widening in disbelief as the speck grew smaller and smaller.

Clark tilted his head and smiled over at her. "How do you like it?" he asked.

"L-like it?" she stuttered. "I love it!" She grinned. "You're going to regret telling me this secret."

"Why?" Clark faltered, suddenly looking alarmed.

"Because I'm going to demand that you take me flying every day!"

Clark relaxed, chuckling. "I think that can be taken care of."

Mmm. If he took her flying every day, Lois would certainly not mind! Looking at the stars...at the town below...Being held in his arms, listening to his gentle breathing...

Lois moved her gaze from his face to the stars. She was surrounded by such beauty...The irony was not lost on her.

"So, how fast can you move?" Lois asked at last.

"Faster than a speeding bullet. That's all I know. I've never really measured before."

"All right, so let's review your powers so far. You can fly, you can see through things, you can move quickly, you can hear really well..."

"Invulnerable except to Element X, heat vision, freezing breath...Umm, I'm really strong."

"And really lucky," Lois added. "I don't know how you've kept it a secret from everyone for so long. If it were me, I would have tried to fight crime and let the whole world know how I could help."

"You know what happened with Luthor," Clark said. "Imagine what would happen if every crime boss in Metropolis knew. They'd be fighting right and left for me."

"Yeah, but it was Lex Luthor that knew your weakness. He's dead."

"Still..."

Lois shifted in his arms to face him a little better. "Yes?"

"My parents would be placed in danger. Even if crime bosses couldn't find out a way to hurt me, if they just kidnapped my parents, then I would be at their service."

Lois pondered that for a moment. "Well, what if it wasn't you, Clark Kent? What if you...had some sort of costume? Another identity. You could have an entirely different look and personality when fighting crime."

Clark looked dubious. "Do you think that would work?"

"There's only one way to find out."

Clark scowled as Lois and Martha laughed. The leopard print costume had been the most hilarious and humiliating so far. "I'm not wearing this, Mom."

"But it has so much character," Martha said teasingly.

"Mom," Clark said, his face red. In spite of his embarrassment, he smiled. It felt so good to have someone to call "Mom" again. To have a family. To belong somewhere...

"All right, we'll move on."

The somewhat ninja turtle-esque costume was a definite no, along with the wanna-be Hermes outfit. A few more tries later, they got to a blue, red, and yellow spandex suit.

"It's better," Clark admitted, which was the closest thing to approval that Lois and Martha had gotten so far.

"I have an idea," Lois said, and she and Martha proceeded to go into the next room and whisper.

When at last the outfit was completed, Clark was sent off to go change. Martha and Lois had plopped down on Martha's bed, exhausted.

"What about that one?" Martha asked hopefully.

"I dunno," came Clark's reply. Soon, he entered, a flowing red cape following his every step.

Martha and Lois exchanged grins. This was the one, and they both knew it.

Clark posed in front of the mirror, peering at the image in front of him through the glasses that he hadn't wanted to take off. "Hm." After a moment, he asked, "What do you think?"

Martha answered honestly. "Well, one thing's for sure, no one's gonna be looking at your face."

Simultaneously and respectively, Clark and Lois exclaimed, "Mom!" and "Martha!"

Martha laughed, patting her son's stomach. "Well, they don't call 'em tights for nothin'!"

The trio chuckled, Clark beet-red.

"There seems to be something missing, though," Lois pointed out.

Martha looked at her for a moment. "I know!" She went straight to the bed, pulling out a trunk from underneath it.

"What's that?" Clark inquired.

Martha opened it. She pulled out a blue blanket, smiling like the proud mother she was. "The baby blanket we found you in so long ago." After a moment, she put the blanket down and brought up a red and yellow S-shield. "And this."

"Your folks'd be proud of you," Martha said, smiling. "We sure are."

"Thanks, Mom."

"I'm not so sure about the cape, though," Clark stated.

"Really?" Lois asked, looking at him. "I love it!"

"Yeah, it'll be great when you're flying," Martha added.

Clark Kent stared at the mirror, finally removing his glasses.

"That makes a world of difference, Clark," Lois pointed out. "You can wear the glasses as Clark Kent, and without them you're...Superman," she breathed.

"What?" Clark turned to look at her.

"It's perfect!" Martha exclaimed.

"Wait a minute, hold on!" Clark protested.

"That'll look perfect in the headlines!" Lois told Martha.

"Wait a second!" Clark protested. "Remember me, Clark Kent, the one wearing the costume?"

Martha turned to him sweetly. "What would you prefer to be called, honey?"

"Uh...Ssss...Sam."

Martha patted Clark's belly. "Nice try, honey. Now, let's go show your father."

Grumbling, Clark followed the two women into the living room, where Jonathan was sitting and watching television.

"You don't get many shows like these nowadays," Jonathan commented as he heard the three walk in. "Why, when I was your age, Clark—" He turned to look at his son, then stopped short as he saw what he was wearing.

"What do you think?" Clark asked tentatively.

Smiling, Jonathan answered, "That's my boy."

A newscaster came on the television. "We interrupt this program to bring you an important news bulletin. The lives of many are in peril today as—"

"Clark," Jonathan turned to his son, but he was already gone.

Lois looked at Martha. It was finally time to see if Clark could live up to his name.