"Jenna, stop pacing. You're not going to find Jack any faster."
She shot him a resentful look, but stopped walking across the loft floor and dropped into a chair instead. "I can't help it, Clark."
Chloe looked up from her laptop computer, which she had set out on Clark's coffee table. She'd been working away in silence for several minutes, but now she frowned.
"According to the wire service there's still no news from the Metropolis P.D. But Clark's right-pacing up and down isn't going to find your friend any faster."
After the distressing visit to the State Hospital, Jenna and Clark had sat up half the night trying to figure out what might have happened. Both the Kent's and Dr. Iverson had asked them to drop it, to let the police handle it.
Jenna was still convinced Garner was behind the disappearance. But Clark wasn't quite so sure.
First, there was the problem of the bars: the police said they'd been partially unbolted, but bent from the inside. He wasn't sure if someone with telekinesis could accomplish that, but it did sound slightly more likely than someone scaling the building from the outside. As far as he knew, the only people capable of that were Jenna and himself. And since they'd been together all week.
Second, the timing just seemed way too coincidental. If Garner had wanted Jack back he could have taken the boy out of the hospital any time in the last several months. So why would Garner move now?
Against Clark's own better judgment, not to mention Jenna's, he'd called Chloe. He hoped the three of them could put their heads together and make some sense out of things.
Bless Chloe's wall of weird mentality-she wasn't at all skeptical about what they told her about Jack's escape. But so far Chloe didn't know much more than they did.
Jenna ran her hands through her hair.
"I just can't believe this is happening. If anything's happened to him." She trailed off menacingly, but Clark understood. He had reacted the same way when his friends were threatened.
"Jenna, there wasn't anything you could have done," he said gently. "You couldn't have watched him 24-7."
Of course, that was exactly what she'd been doing for him. Clark felt a little guilty about that now. But of course neither of them had suspected Jack would be in any kind of danger. Or would have recovered fast enough to break himself out of that place.
"I gotta admit," Chloe spoke up, unconsciously giving voice to Clark's thoughts, "if I were in Jack's shoes I'd have broken out of that place, too. Can you imagine being held someplace with bars on the windows?"
"If Jack did snap back he might very well have freaked out," Clark mused. "Maybe he though he was back at Summerholt and had to get out of there to save his life."
Jenna looked hurt. "Look, I keep telling you guys, Jack wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone break someone's neck. I've been visiting him every week for months. Don't you think he'd have let me know somehow if he aware of what was going on and needed help?"
"Not if he didn't want to endanger you, too." Clark sighed. "It doesn't make much sense either way."
Chloe rested her chin in her hand.
"Stranger things have happened, though. Jenna, why do you think Garner might have needed Jack again?"
"Because the guy think he's working towards a Nobel. But I'm sure he must need more subjects." Jenna shot Clark a glance, making it quite clear he shouldn't mention his near-abduction in Metropolis. "My dad says if Garner tries to come out with his research now no one will take him seriously-this kind of thing is just way too out there. The only way to get credibility it to have incontrovertible evidence of psychic ability, and lots of it."
Chloe nodded. "OK, I hear that. But, no offense, your dad's stuff is way out there and he's considered an expert in his field."
"Yeah, but there's a world of difference between talking about how DNA might mutate under certain circumstances and saying there really are people out there who can bend spoons with their minds. That's why Garner low- keyed that part of his research in the lecture."
"If Garner does get that kind of knowledge he could be seriously dangerous."
Clark shook his head. Extraordinarily dangerous. And not just to people like him and Jenna.
"Right-what's to say he won't start trying to induce abilities in people who never had them? Who maybe shouldn't have them? I mean, I don't want to get all 'X-Files' on you guys but in this case knowledge is a very dangerous thing." Jenna looked thoughtful for a long moment. "I mean, that's why my Dad quit the human genome project. He didn't want to be remembered as the next Oppenheimer. You know, 'Lo I am become death, the destroyer of worlds'?"
"There's a big difference between unlocking the genetic code and unleashing the atomic bomb," Chloe said. But even she looked troubled by the comparison.
"Look, I'll keep plugging away at my sources, and I'll let you know if anything turns up." Chloe rose and brushed off her jeans. "But, Jenna, I have to tell you, I think Clark's right and it's a lot more likely your friend broke himself out than that someone else did."
Jenna closed her eyes. "I'll be back in Metropolis on Saturday-first thing I'm going to go back to the hospital and see if there's something we missed."
Chloe glanced at Clark with an enigmatic expression he couldn't quite interpret, but smiled at the other woman.
"That's too bad. I'm sure Clark's liked having you around."
Jenna smiled at the girl. "Maybe."
Chloe stuffed her laptop into its case.
"I'll see you two around. Call me if anything new develops."
Clark nodded. "Will do. Thanks, Clo."
After Chloe had disappeared down the loft stairs Jenna shook her head.
"She's glad I'm leaving," she told Clark.
"Huh? No, I'm sure you're wrong-she likes you."
"It's got nothing to do with me, Clark-I'm on her turf." She smiled. "Y'know, for a smart guy, sometimes you can be really, really dense."
*******************************************
Martha hung up her gardening tools in the shed. She saw Chloe pulling away from the driveway in her Beetle and waved. The three young people had been holed up in the barn all afternoon, but Martha felt fairly confident they would be safe. Jenna had had numerous chances to reveal Clark if she had wanted to, and she had not.
True, neither she nor her father had yet realized Clark wasn't a metahuman-wasn't a human at all. Even though the doctor hadn't remarked upon Clark's unusual wound, Martha and Jonathan had decided it would be wise to continue to withhold that information. Just in case.
Dr. Iverson was leaning against the pasture fence. He was watching the cows meander through the grass with a bemused expression on his face, and Martha walked over to join him.
"I never thought the cows were that interesting," she told him with a laugh as she stood next to him. "Maybe I've been missing something."
He laughed. "I suppose I'm just feeling a little nostalgic. I grew up in a little village outside of Canterbury, and the farmer next door kept a cow for fresh milk. Your son is very lucky to grow up out here."
"I think so. But I can tell sometimes Clark gets anxious to be out in the world. Especially considering.what he can do," she finished sheepishly.
"Jenna was the same way. It's been hard for her to learn her limits. Clark will learn his-you just have to give him some time."
"I hope so," she sighed.
After a few minutes spent in companionable silence, Iverson looked at Martha with a gentle smile.
"You can ask me about it if you want. I don't mind."
Martha blushed slightly. "I didn't want to pry. But, well.you and your wife are Jenna's biological parents?"
"Yes."
"And when she was born she was.normal?"
The doctor's smiled widened. "Oh, yes. I was there when she was born. She weighed eight pounds, two ounces and screamed like a banshee."
"Do you know what caused her abilities to develop? Jenna said it's something in her genetic code."
The man nodded. "I think there are only a handful of people on earth who would recognize it, but it looks distinctly different from other people. Almost as if its been resequenced."
"But how is that possible?" Martha looked at the other man for a long moment as comprehension began to dawn. "You don't think it happened accidentally, do you?"
"No, I don't." He rubbed his face. "You have to understand, Mrs. Kent, had I known."
"You mean you didn't cause it?"
He looked horrified. "Of course not."
Martha was silent for a long moment, watching white clouds blow across the sky. Then she suddenly remembered something the doctor had said in passing about his late wife. That she, too, had gotten her doctorate from Princeton. Only in biochemistry, not genetics.
"You think."
He stared out over the field for a long moment. "My wife and I had two sons before we had Jenna. Both were stillborn."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said genuinely, laying a hand on the doctor's arm. "I know what Jonathan and I went through before we adopted Clark."
"We went to every doctor we knew, tried everything: no one could tell us what had happened. I told Elizabeth.I told her I didn't think we should try any more. I didn't think it would be fair to either of us to go through that again. But then she became pregnant for a third time."
He shook his head. "She kept insisting that this time everything would be all right-that this baby would live. At the time I told myself it was just because she couldn't bear the thought of losing another child."
Martha squeezed his arm. "Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to any woman-to any parent. I can't imagine what she was going through."
Iverson took a breath. "When Jenna was born, and she was beautiful, and healthy, I didn't think any more about it. I thought we'd just been lucky."
"But you think your wife." Even though she understood the woman's motivations better than most people would, she still couldn't quite bring herself to say the words.
"She destroyed any records she might have kept. And then not long before Jenna's second birthday Elizabeth was killed in a car accident. I have to say, I've sat up many a long night since, wondering."
"But Jenna insisted she didn't know what had caused her powers. Haven't you told her?"
"I've tried, Mrs. Kent, but she refuses to listen. Maybe when she's a parent herself she will understand that whatever her mother might have done, she did out of love. Elizabeth saved Jenna's life."
As terrible as the story was, Martha had to nod. "Jenna might not be here."
"It's more than that. Jenna was in the backseat when that drunk driver hit my wife's car. He killed my wife, himself, and four other people on the road that day. But Jenna didn't have a scratch on her. The doctors told me it was a miracle. But maybe it was much more than that."
Martha shook her head. If true, it was quite a story.
"Isn't it strange-how much time we spend trying to protect our children from the truth? No matter who they are and what they can do?"
Martha was thinking of the secret she and Jonathan had withheld from Clark until he was nearly sixteen-the secret of where he'd come from.
But Dr. Iverson nodded.
"Sometimes knowing the truth makes things harder, not easier, Mrs. Kent. For everyone involved."
********************************************
It was beautiful, sunny Monday afternoon, and Clark waited patiently until the school bus was out of sight. Then he carefully looked up the road, and then down, and then back up again. Nothing. Perfect.
He took off running straight ahead into the cornfields opposite his house. As first he didn't move faster than any other boy would. But as he moved his arms and legs, his backpack swinging hard against his back, his speed accelerated until he wouldn't be more than a blur to anyone looking at him. To him, however, everything remained in sharp relief: the rows of corn that stood just taller than he did, not quite ready to harvest; the birds flying overhead in the blue sky.
True, he got winded a lot sooner than he normally did, and he hadn't gotten anywhere near his top speed, but it still felt good to be moving again.
He remembered how Jenna had joked about his operating on "quarter power." Well, now, if he had to guess, he'd say it was more like "three quarter power." The idea made him so cheerful he didn't mind that he had to walk the remaining distance to Lex's mansion.
As he followed the edge of the road he remembered how Jenna had smiled at him when she and her father had said goodbye on Saturday. She'd kissed him-on the cheek, of course-and reminded him to be careful. Dr. Iverson had shaken hands with each both of his parents, and then Clark himself. Clark had been careful not to grip the man's hand too tightly.
"Remember-you promised to tell me more about genetics next time. And Chloe Sullivan wants to pick your brain about the meteor mutations."
He had smiled. "Of course. Next time." Then his smiled had faded somewhat. "Clark, may I give you a word of advice?"
"Of course."
"I know people like you want to test your limits, find out what they are. But you mustn't let your guard down." As he spoke Iverson shot a brief glance at Clark's mother, making him suspect they'd discussed this subject before. "Remember something, Clark: what you can do, it just makes you different. Not better. Not worse. Just different."
Clark had nodded solemnly. "I understand that, Dr. Iverson."
Now as he buzzed the intercom at the Luthor's front gate he couldn't help but wonder what his mom had told Dr. Iverson about him.
Did he think he was special? As the gates swung open and Clark slipped through them he shook his head. No, his mom and dad had always made it very clear that his abilities didn't make him better than other people. In fact, if Clark really thought about it he'd have to say he'd spent most of his life feeling inferior to other people.
One of the endless parade of Luthor security guards was waiting at the front doors and let him into the mansion. As always the place was about ten degrees too cold, and Clark was glad he'd enjoyed the sunshine while he could.
As he walked down the hall to Lex's study he could hear raised voices. He paused outside the closed doors, wondering what he should do. Before he would make up his mind the doors opened inward and Lionel Luthor nearly walked right into him.
"Uh, hello, Mr. Luthor," Clark said.
Clearly Lionel had been fighting with his son-again. The older man's brown hair was in disarray. He looked at Clark like he was some unfortunate species of insect that had wondered into the mansion.
But even Lionel Luthor could be polite, when it suited him.
"Hello, Clark. How is your mother?"
"Fine, thank you."
"Good." Without another word Lionel strode off down the hall back towards his own suite of rooms.
Clark cautiously went into the study, where he could see his friend pouring himself a stiff drink. That was always Lex's first reaction to a fight with Lionel. If Clark had ever seen Lex drunk he might have worried about that, but he never had. In fact, he'd never seen Lex out of control at all. Unless you counted that first day on the Loeb Bridge.
"Sorry about that, Clark," Lex was saying. "Hope the old man didn't run you over on his way out."
Clark tossed his backpack on a chair. "He almost did, but I got out of the way quick enough."
Lex stared into his glass. "My father has the ridiculous notion that because I invited Dr. Iverson here for lunch I'm trying to hire him. Dad thinks I'm trying to add a genetics subsidiary to LexCorp." Lex smiled ruefully. "Which I'd do, in a second, if my capital wasn't all tied up elsewhere."
Clark grinned. "Iverson wouldn't take you up on an offer like that anyway. He seems pretty content being retired."
"Maybe so. You know him better than I do." Lex frowned. "My father has some kind of personal antipathy for the man I find most intriguing. Too bad Iverson left before I could grill him about it. Might have been useful."
Clark shook his head. Lex was always looking for ways to leverage his father, but Clark doubted Iverson would have enlightened Lex anyway. As far as Clark had been able to tell, the man guarded his personal life closely, just in case it should shed too much light on Jenna.
"Iverson and I did have a chance to discuss some fascinating things. I still say it's too bad he dropped his work for an academic career." Lex walked over to his rack of pool cues and grabbed one. "I mean, how boring is that?"
Recognizing the invitation to play, Clark followed.
"He told me he did it because he was a widower and his daughter was growing up never seeing him. Makes sense to me."
Lex sent him a vaguely pitying look.
"That's what nannies are for, Clark."
Clark racked up the balls. "Oh, come on, Lex, from what you've told me nannies are no substitute for parents. Admit it-if you had a daughter you wouldn't want her being raised by some stranger."
Lex shrugged, and leaned down for the break. "Then it's a good thing I don't have one, isn't it?"
Clark ignored his friend's sarcasm and concentrated on the game. Strength and speed weren't much good when you were playing pool-instead it took a lot of concentration and strategy. Which was why Lex was so good at it.
After several shots Lex smiled at him.
"So I guess you must miss your houseguest."
Clark managed to sink a ball in the corner pocket, so he let Lex's innuendo slide.
"She had to get back to classes, Lex. And Dr. Iverson's leaving for Star City tomorrow anyway, so it made more sense to spend the weekend in Metropolis."
"Still-it's too bad. From what I hear she was doing wonders for your reputation." Lex carefully chalked the end of his cue. "So did Jenna ever say anything to you about what happened at the Future Tech lecture?"
"Yeah, she did."
Clark waited until Lex straightened back up. Clearly he was intrigued.
"What did she say?"
"She said it's not her fault you and Chloe have lousy memories," Clark laughed.
Lex smiled slightly. Clark wasn't sure if he believed him or not, but since that was all Clark was willing to say Lex let it drop. Clark was relieved: if Lex had pressed him on the subject Clark wasn't sure what he would have said.
Lex won the first game, and Clark was setting up for a second one when Lex's cell phone rang.
Lex set down his cue and grabbed the phone off his antique desk. He flipped it open.
"Luthor here."
Behind him Clark rolled his eyes. He didn't know what Lex couldn't just say "hello" like everyone else.
But Lex was too busy listening to whoever was on the other end to catch Clark's expression.
"Yes. Yes, he's here."
To Clark's great surprise Lex held the cell phone out to him. Lex's expression was troubled, and Clark felt a twinge of fear in his gut. His parents had gone into Grandville to buy seed-were they ok? Was it the baby?
Clark did his best to remain calm as he held the phone up to his ear. To his tremendous surprise the voice wasn't that of either of his parents.
"Clark? Clark, is that you?"
"Yeah, Dr. Iverson, it's me. Sorry, but for a moment."
"Clark, are you all right?" The other man interrupted.
"Uh, yeah, I'm good."
On the other end he could hear the doctor expel a long breath. "Thank God. When I didn't get any answer at your parents house I feared the worst."
"The worst?"
A few feet away Lex raised his eyebrows, but Clark could only shrug.
"Clark, listen to me-I want you to go home and stay there until your parents get back. Don't go anywhere, and don't talk to anyone."
"Doctor Iverson, you're kind of freaking me out. Everything here is fine. What's going on?"
For the first time Clark picked up on the strain in the older man's voice.
"Jenna is gone, Clark."
"Gone? What do you mean, gone? Where'd she go?"
"She's just gone, Clark. Disappeared. Like Jack. I don't know what to do."
Clark dropped the phone.
She shot him a resentful look, but stopped walking across the loft floor and dropped into a chair instead. "I can't help it, Clark."
Chloe looked up from her laptop computer, which she had set out on Clark's coffee table. She'd been working away in silence for several minutes, but now she frowned.
"According to the wire service there's still no news from the Metropolis P.D. But Clark's right-pacing up and down isn't going to find your friend any faster."
After the distressing visit to the State Hospital, Jenna and Clark had sat up half the night trying to figure out what might have happened. Both the Kent's and Dr. Iverson had asked them to drop it, to let the police handle it.
Jenna was still convinced Garner was behind the disappearance. But Clark wasn't quite so sure.
First, there was the problem of the bars: the police said they'd been partially unbolted, but bent from the inside. He wasn't sure if someone with telekinesis could accomplish that, but it did sound slightly more likely than someone scaling the building from the outside. As far as he knew, the only people capable of that were Jenna and himself. And since they'd been together all week.
Second, the timing just seemed way too coincidental. If Garner had wanted Jack back he could have taken the boy out of the hospital any time in the last several months. So why would Garner move now?
Against Clark's own better judgment, not to mention Jenna's, he'd called Chloe. He hoped the three of them could put their heads together and make some sense out of things.
Bless Chloe's wall of weird mentality-she wasn't at all skeptical about what they told her about Jack's escape. But so far Chloe didn't know much more than they did.
Jenna ran her hands through her hair.
"I just can't believe this is happening. If anything's happened to him." She trailed off menacingly, but Clark understood. He had reacted the same way when his friends were threatened.
"Jenna, there wasn't anything you could have done," he said gently. "You couldn't have watched him 24-7."
Of course, that was exactly what she'd been doing for him. Clark felt a little guilty about that now. But of course neither of them had suspected Jack would be in any kind of danger. Or would have recovered fast enough to break himself out of that place.
"I gotta admit," Chloe spoke up, unconsciously giving voice to Clark's thoughts, "if I were in Jack's shoes I'd have broken out of that place, too. Can you imagine being held someplace with bars on the windows?"
"If Jack did snap back he might very well have freaked out," Clark mused. "Maybe he though he was back at Summerholt and had to get out of there to save his life."
Jenna looked hurt. "Look, I keep telling you guys, Jack wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone break someone's neck. I've been visiting him every week for months. Don't you think he'd have let me know somehow if he aware of what was going on and needed help?"
"Not if he didn't want to endanger you, too." Clark sighed. "It doesn't make much sense either way."
Chloe rested her chin in her hand.
"Stranger things have happened, though. Jenna, why do you think Garner might have needed Jack again?"
"Because the guy think he's working towards a Nobel. But I'm sure he must need more subjects." Jenna shot Clark a glance, making it quite clear he shouldn't mention his near-abduction in Metropolis. "My dad says if Garner tries to come out with his research now no one will take him seriously-this kind of thing is just way too out there. The only way to get credibility it to have incontrovertible evidence of psychic ability, and lots of it."
Chloe nodded. "OK, I hear that. But, no offense, your dad's stuff is way out there and he's considered an expert in his field."
"Yeah, but there's a world of difference between talking about how DNA might mutate under certain circumstances and saying there really are people out there who can bend spoons with their minds. That's why Garner low- keyed that part of his research in the lecture."
"If Garner does get that kind of knowledge he could be seriously dangerous."
Clark shook his head. Extraordinarily dangerous. And not just to people like him and Jenna.
"Right-what's to say he won't start trying to induce abilities in people who never had them? Who maybe shouldn't have them? I mean, I don't want to get all 'X-Files' on you guys but in this case knowledge is a very dangerous thing." Jenna looked thoughtful for a long moment. "I mean, that's why my Dad quit the human genome project. He didn't want to be remembered as the next Oppenheimer. You know, 'Lo I am become death, the destroyer of worlds'?"
"There's a big difference between unlocking the genetic code and unleashing the atomic bomb," Chloe said. But even she looked troubled by the comparison.
"Look, I'll keep plugging away at my sources, and I'll let you know if anything turns up." Chloe rose and brushed off her jeans. "But, Jenna, I have to tell you, I think Clark's right and it's a lot more likely your friend broke himself out than that someone else did."
Jenna closed her eyes. "I'll be back in Metropolis on Saturday-first thing I'm going to go back to the hospital and see if there's something we missed."
Chloe glanced at Clark with an enigmatic expression he couldn't quite interpret, but smiled at the other woman.
"That's too bad. I'm sure Clark's liked having you around."
Jenna smiled at the girl. "Maybe."
Chloe stuffed her laptop into its case.
"I'll see you two around. Call me if anything new develops."
Clark nodded. "Will do. Thanks, Clo."
After Chloe had disappeared down the loft stairs Jenna shook her head.
"She's glad I'm leaving," she told Clark.
"Huh? No, I'm sure you're wrong-she likes you."
"It's got nothing to do with me, Clark-I'm on her turf." She smiled. "Y'know, for a smart guy, sometimes you can be really, really dense."
*******************************************
Martha hung up her gardening tools in the shed. She saw Chloe pulling away from the driveway in her Beetle and waved. The three young people had been holed up in the barn all afternoon, but Martha felt fairly confident they would be safe. Jenna had had numerous chances to reveal Clark if she had wanted to, and she had not.
True, neither she nor her father had yet realized Clark wasn't a metahuman-wasn't a human at all. Even though the doctor hadn't remarked upon Clark's unusual wound, Martha and Jonathan had decided it would be wise to continue to withhold that information. Just in case.
Dr. Iverson was leaning against the pasture fence. He was watching the cows meander through the grass with a bemused expression on his face, and Martha walked over to join him.
"I never thought the cows were that interesting," she told him with a laugh as she stood next to him. "Maybe I've been missing something."
He laughed. "I suppose I'm just feeling a little nostalgic. I grew up in a little village outside of Canterbury, and the farmer next door kept a cow for fresh milk. Your son is very lucky to grow up out here."
"I think so. But I can tell sometimes Clark gets anxious to be out in the world. Especially considering.what he can do," she finished sheepishly.
"Jenna was the same way. It's been hard for her to learn her limits. Clark will learn his-you just have to give him some time."
"I hope so," she sighed.
After a few minutes spent in companionable silence, Iverson looked at Martha with a gentle smile.
"You can ask me about it if you want. I don't mind."
Martha blushed slightly. "I didn't want to pry. But, well.you and your wife are Jenna's biological parents?"
"Yes."
"And when she was born she was.normal?"
The doctor's smiled widened. "Oh, yes. I was there when she was born. She weighed eight pounds, two ounces and screamed like a banshee."
"Do you know what caused her abilities to develop? Jenna said it's something in her genetic code."
The man nodded. "I think there are only a handful of people on earth who would recognize it, but it looks distinctly different from other people. Almost as if its been resequenced."
"But how is that possible?" Martha looked at the other man for a long moment as comprehension began to dawn. "You don't think it happened accidentally, do you?"
"No, I don't." He rubbed his face. "You have to understand, Mrs. Kent, had I known."
"You mean you didn't cause it?"
He looked horrified. "Of course not."
Martha was silent for a long moment, watching white clouds blow across the sky. Then she suddenly remembered something the doctor had said in passing about his late wife. That she, too, had gotten her doctorate from Princeton. Only in biochemistry, not genetics.
"You think."
He stared out over the field for a long moment. "My wife and I had two sons before we had Jenna. Both were stillborn."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said genuinely, laying a hand on the doctor's arm. "I know what Jonathan and I went through before we adopted Clark."
"We went to every doctor we knew, tried everything: no one could tell us what had happened. I told Elizabeth.I told her I didn't think we should try any more. I didn't think it would be fair to either of us to go through that again. But then she became pregnant for a third time."
He shook his head. "She kept insisting that this time everything would be all right-that this baby would live. At the time I told myself it was just because she couldn't bear the thought of losing another child."
Martha squeezed his arm. "Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to any woman-to any parent. I can't imagine what she was going through."
Iverson took a breath. "When Jenna was born, and she was beautiful, and healthy, I didn't think any more about it. I thought we'd just been lucky."
"But you think your wife." Even though she understood the woman's motivations better than most people would, she still couldn't quite bring herself to say the words.
"She destroyed any records she might have kept. And then not long before Jenna's second birthday Elizabeth was killed in a car accident. I have to say, I've sat up many a long night since, wondering."
"But Jenna insisted she didn't know what had caused her powers. Haven't you told her?"
"I've tried, Mrs. Kent, but she refuses to listen. Maybe when she's a parent herself she will understand that whatever her mother might have done, she did out of love. Elizabeth saved Jenna's life."
As terrible as the story was, Martha had to nod. "Jenna might not be here."
"It's more than that. Jenna was in the backseat when that drunk driver hit my wife's car. He killed my wife, himself, and four other people on the road that day. But Jenna didn't have a scratch on her. The doctors told me it was a miracle. But maybe it was much more than that."
Martha shook her head. If true, it was quite a story.
"Isn't it strange-how much time we spend trying to protect our children from the truth? No matter who they are and what they can do?"
Martha was thinking of the secret she and Jonathan had withheld from Clark until he was nearly sixteen-the secret of where he'd come from.
But Dr. Iverson nodded.
"Sometimes knowing the truth makes things harder, not easier, Mrs. Kent. For everyone involved."
********************************************
It was beautiful, sunny Monday afternoon, and Clark waited patiently until the school bus was out of sight. Then he carefully looked up the road, and then down, and then back up again. Nothing. Perfect.
He took off running straight ahead into the cornfields opposite his house. As first he didn't move faster than any other boy would. But as he moved his arms and legs, his backpack swinging hard against his back, his speed accelerated until he wouldn't be more than a blur to anyone looking at him. To him, however, everything remained in sharp relief: the rows of corn that stood just taller than he did, not quite ready to harvest; the birds flying overhead in the blue sky.
True, he got winded a lot sooner than he normally did, and he hadn't gotten anywhere near his top speed, but it still felt good to be moving again.
He remembered how Jenna had joked about his operating on "quarter power." Well, now, if he had to guess, he'd say it was more like "three quarter power." The idea made him so cheerful he didn't mind that he had to walk the remaining distance to Lex's mansion.
As he followed the edge of the road he remembered how Jenna had smiled at him when she and her father had said goodbye on Saturday. She'd kissed him-on the cheek, of course-and reminded him to be careful. Dr. Iverson had shaken hands with each both of his parents, and then Clark himself. Clark had been careful not to grip the man's hand too tightly.
"Remember-you promised to tell me more about genetics next time. And Chloe Sullivan wants to pick your brain about the meteor mutations."
He had smiled. "Of course. Next time." Then his smiled had faded somewhat. "Clark, may I give you a word of advice?"
"Of course."
"I know people like you want to test your limits, find out what they are. But you mustn't let your guard down." As he spoke Iverson shot a brief glance at Clark's mother, making him suspect they'd discussed this subject before. "Remember something, Clark: what you can do, it just makes you different. Not better. Not worse. Just different."
Clark had nodded solemnly. "I understand that, Dr. Iverson."
Now as he buzzed the intercom at the Luthor's front gate he couldn't help but wonder what his mom had told Dr. Iverson about him.
Did he think he was special? As the gates swung open and Clark slipped through them he shook his head. No, his mom and dad had always made it very clear that his abilities didn't make him better than other people. In fact, if Clark really thought about it he'd have to say he'd spent most of his life feeling inferior to other people.
One of the endless parade of Luthor security guards was waiting at the front doors and let him into the mansion. As always the place was about ten degrees too cold, and Clark was glad he'd enjoyed the sunshine while he could.
As he walked down the hall to Lex's study he could hear raised voices. He paused outside the closed doors, wondering what he should do. Before he would make up his mind the doors opened inward and Lionel Luthor nearly walked right into him.
"Uh, hello, Mr. Luthor," Clark said.
Clearly Lionel had been fighting with his son-again. The older man's brown hair was in disarray. He looked at Clark like he was some unfortunate species of insect that had wondered into the mansion.
But even Lionel Luthor could be polite, when it suited him.
"Hello, Clark. How is your mother?"
"Fine, thank you."
"Good." Without another word Lionel strode off down the hall back towards his own suite of rooms.
Clark cautiously went into the study, where he could see his friend pouring himself a stiff drink. That was always Lex's first reaction to a fight with Lionel. If Clark had ever seen Lex drunk he might have worried about that, but he never had. In fact, he'd never seen Lex out of control at all. Unless you counted that first day on the Loeb Bridge.
"Sorry about that, Clark," Lex was saying. "Hope the old man didn't run you over on his way out."
Clark tossed his backpack on a chair. "He almost did, but I got out of the way quick enough."
Lex stared into his glass. "My father has the ridiculous notion that because I invited Dr. Iverson here for lunch I'm trying to hire him. Dad thinks I'm trying to add a genetics subsidiary to LexCorp." Lex smiled ruefully. "Which I'd do, in a second, if my capital wasn't all tied up elsewhere."
Clark grinned. "Iverson wouldn't take you up on an offer like that anyway. He seems pretty content being retired."
"Maybe so. You know him better than I do." Lex frowned. "My father has some kind of personal antipathy for the man I find most intriguing. Too bad Iverson left before I could grill him about it. Might have been useful."
Clark shook his head. Lex was always looking for ways to leverage his father, but Clark doubted Iverson would have enlightened Lex anyway. As far as Clark had been able to tell, the man guarded his personal life closely, just in case it should shed too much light on Jenna.
"Iverson and I did have a chance to discuss some fascinating things. I still say it's too bad he dropped his work for an academic career." Lex walked over to his rack of pool cues and grabbed one. "I mean, how boring is that?"
Recognizing the invitation to play, Clark followed.
"He told me he did it because he was a widower and his daughter was growing up never seeing him. Makes sense to me."
Lex sent him a vaguely pitying look.
"That's what nannies are for, Clark."
Clark racked up the balls. "Oh, come on, Lex, from what you've told me nannies are no substitute for parents. Admit it-if you had a daughter you wouldn't want her being raised by some stranger."
Lex shrugged, and leaned down for the break. "Then it's a good thing I don't have one, isn't it?"
Clark ignored his friend's sarcasm and concentrated on the game. Strength and speed weren't much good when you were playing pool-instead it took a lot of concentration and strategy. Which was why Lex was so good at it.
After several shots Lex smiled at him.
"So I guess you must miss your houseguest."
Clark managed to sink a ball in the corner pocket, so he let Lex's innuendo slide.
"She had to get back to classes, Lex. And Dr. Iverson's leaving for Star City tomorrow anyway, so it made more sense to spend the weekend in Metropolis."
"Still-it's too bad. From what I hear she was doing wonders for your reputation." Lex carefully chalked the end of his cue. "So did Jenna ever say anything to you about what happened at the Future Tech lecture?"
"Yeah, she did."
Clark waited until Lex straightened back up. Clearly he was intrigued.
"What did she say?"
"She said it's not her fault you and Chloe have lousy memories," Clark laughed.
Lex smiled slightly. Clark wasn't sure if he believed him or not, but since that was all Clark was willing to say Lex let it drop. Clark was relieved: if Lex had pressed him on the subject Clark wasn't sure what he would have said.
Lex won the first game, and Clark was setting up for a second one when Lex's cell phone rang.
Lex set down his cue and grabbed the phone off his antique desk. He flipped it open.
"Luthor here."
Behind him Clark rolled his eyes. He didn't know what Lex couldn't just say "hello" like everyone else.
But Lex was too busy listening to whoever was on the other end to catch Clark's expression.
"Yes. Yes, he's here."
To Clark's great surprise Lex held the cell phone out to him. Lex's expression was troubled, and Clark felt a twinge of fear in his gut. His parents had gone into Grandville to buy seed-were they ok? Was it the baby?
Clark did his best to remain calm as he held the phone up to his ear. To his tremendous surprise the voice wasn't that of either of his parents.
"Clark? Clark, is that you?"
"Yeah, Dr. Iverson, it's me. Sorry, but for a moment."
"Clark, are you all right?" The other man interrupted.
"Uh, yeah, I'm good."
On the other end he could hear the doctor expel a long breath. "Thank God. When I didn't get any answer at your parents house I feared the worst."
"The worst?"
A few feet away Lex raised his eyebrows, but Clark could only shrug.
"Clark, listen to me-I want you to go home and stay there until your parents get back. Don't go anywhere, and don't talk to anyone."
"Doctor Iverson, you're kind of freaking me out. Everything here is fine. What's going on?"
For the first time Clark picked up on the strain in the older man's voice.
"Jenna is gone, Clark."
"Gone? What do you mean, gone? Where'd she go?"
"She's just gone, Clark. Disappeared. Like Jack. I don't know what to do."
Clark dropped the phone.