Chapter 4 – Revelations

"Chloe! Chloe, wait up!"

Chloe Sullivan turned round. The hallway was packed with students going this way and that, and for a second she struggled to pick out who had called her. Then Tyler appeared out of the throng and came over to her.

"Hi," he said, "How are you?"

"I'm good," she replied, "How are you?"

His smile got wider, "Truthfully? I've never felt better."

Chloe returned his smile and started down the hall again. Tyler fell in step beside her.

"So what's up?" she asked.

"Actually, I need to ask you a favour."

"Sure, what is it?"

"I need for you to show me something."

"What?"

"The Wall of Weird."

She stopped dead and turned to face him, a frown creasing her brow.

"How do you know about that?"

"Clark told me."

"Oh," she said, but the frown remained, "Why?"

"Do you always ask this many questions?"

"I'm a reporter," she informed him, "Reporters ask questions."

"Is that just an excuse for being inquisitive?"

"I'll ask the questions."

"Okay. Suffice it to say that I too, am an inquisitive person," he said, smirking a little, "And my natural curiosity has been piqued by this wall Clark told me about," he paused, "Good enough for you?"

She smiled, "Good enough."

-----

Chloe's Wall of Weird was situated in a storage room just off the office of the school newspaper. It was a large billboard that covered an entire wall. It was pinned up with clipped articles, photographs and printed stories of just about every unusual event that had occurred in Smallville since the meteor shower twelve years before.

"This is intense," commented Tyler, staring unblinkingly at the wall.

His eyes immediately drifted to the cover of Time magazine, dated the time of the shower. The headline read "Terror in the Heartland", and showed a dark- haired little girl, crying, while being comforted by another woman.

"Lana," he whispered.

"Yeah," said Chloe, coming to stand beside him, "She was there, she saw it all. I can't imagine what it must be like to watch your parents die like that."

"I can," said Tyler, softly.

Chloe glanced up at his face. His features were set, but he was staring straight through the wall.

"You saw them die?"

He nodded. He took a deep breath and without looking at her, said, "Yes, last Friday. We were on our way home from yet another party in the maze of Metropolis high society. I had another engagement earlier in the evening so I was driving my own car. My dad he," Tyler paused, struggling, "He had too much to drink. I told him. I told him to leave the car and let me drive them home but he was always so damn stubborn! A stubborn, stupid man..." he broke off and looked away.

Chloe found she had no words. All she could do was take his hand, squeezing it gently. Tyler gave her a tiny smile, then returned his attention to the wall.

"Man, look at this stuff," he said, "A bugboy... A guy who can't stop shaking... A gang who can walk through walls... This is some screwed up shit."

Chloe giggled, "That's one way of putting it."

"So these meteor rocks. They're the cause of all this?"

"Well, all this happened between now and the time of the shower."

"So in other words – yes," he said, "Have they found out where these meteors came from?"

"Space," said Chloe.

Tyler smiled, and gave her a playful shove, "I mean specifically," he explained, "Was it an asteroid? Or are they fragments of something else?"

"I know that the meteor rocks have been analysed over and over infinitum," she told him, "But if anyone's found any answers they're not sharing."

Tyler nodded, looking thoughtful.

"It can't be just a regular asteroid," he mused, "Asteroid fragments are pretty common, as far as I know, and they've never caused anything like this," he gestured at the wall.

He was silent for a long time. His eyes flicked over the headlines of the articles, pausing on some of the photographs. Then, almost to himself, he said,

"Whatever came down with these things is the key."

Chloe frowned, "What do you mean, whatever came down with them?"

But Tyler appeared not to hear her, instead, he was staring through the wall again. A bell rang out in the hall, and it jerked Tyler from his thoughts.

"I've got to get to gym," he said, "Thanks for all your help, Chloe. You're a sweetheart."

"It was my pleasure."

"I doubt that," said Tyler with a cheeky smile, "One last question before I go."

"Sure."

"Can I escort you to my party tomorrow night?"

At first, Chloe couldn't speak. She flushed beet red and had to look away, then: "It's a date," she said.

"Super," Tyler leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her forehead, "I've got to go."

"Bye."

He turned and left, leaving Chloe alone in a daydream of Tyler Ring's strange eyes.

-----

"Alright listen up!" Coach Klein paced about in front of the senior class, "Coach Watkins called in sick today, so the freshman gym class will be joining us."

"Whoohoo, fresh meat!" one of the boys piped up.

The class laughed.

"None of that!" Klein bellowed, "We'll start of with a few laps and then toss around some footballs. And I am warning you, any mucking around with the freshman and it's the bleachers for all of you. Here they come. Let's go."

Tyler jogged over to Clark and Pete as they came out onto the field.

"Hey," he greeted.

"What's up Tyler?" said Pete.

"You guys got gym with us today," said Tyler, "Should be entertaining. Maybe you can get a clean shot at Whitney, Clark."

Clark just stared at him, but Pete laughed.

"Come on!" Klein shouted, "Five around the field!"

Tyler shrugged at them, and they took off at a leisurely pace. After five laps, Coach Klein called them in. They lined up in front of him, and he set a bag of footballs down on the grass.

"Okay, nothing fancy," he said, "Split up into groups of five. You'll line up in single file and each gets a turn to chuck the ball. Let's test your distance."

The students broke up and started sorting themselves into groups. Clark, Pete and Tyler were joined by Whitney and another senior Tyler didn't recognise. Clark was at the front of the line. He picked up the ball, and tossed it. It flew well, but landed only about forty yards in front of them.

"Great throw Clark," sarcasm dripped from Whitney's voice, "What's the matter, they teach you how to chuck pigs instead of pigskins out on that farm of yours."

Clark's eyes blazed for a second, but he said nothing and moved to the back of the line. Tyler stepped up. He pulled back and released, careful to hold a lot back. The ball zipped through the air, striking the goalpost halfway up.

"Whoa!" said Pete, his mouth hanging open.

"Beat that quarterback," said Tyler.

He stepped past Whitney and gave him a light pat on the cheek. Pete and the senior had their turns, throwing the ball a moderate distance. Then Whitney launched one that cleared a hundred yards, but fell short of the kind of power Tyler had displayed. Clark stepped back to the front. Whitney decided to get his two cents in again.

"Maybe if you had more talent than an amoeba you'd actually stand a chance with Lana."

Clark growled. Anger flashed through him, and he turned around and whipped the ball at Whitney's head. I bounced off and Whitney crumpled to the ground in a heap. A shrill blast from Coach Klein's whistle stopped everyone.

"Okay, that's it," he barked, "I warned you about this. Bleachers, now! Fifty up and down!" He came and bent over Whitney, who was out cold.

The rest of the students mumbled and grumbled and reluctantly made their way to the stands. Tyler fell in next to Clark and started running.

"Nothing wrong with that throw," he said.

Clark said nothing, still seething. They mounted the stands and started up. After ten sprints up and down, Tyler and Clark had pulled away from the rest. Tyler glanced at Clark, he seemed fresh and untroubled. Tyler pondered this as they carried on. After twenty, they were well ahead, and neither seemed unduly affected. Both were now asking questions about the other, but they kept these to themselves and carried on. Thirty, forty, they broke fifty and both went to go stand a little way off, away from the class.

"You're quite fit," said Clark.

"So are you," said Tyler.

"What's your secret?"

"A healthy breakfast."

-----

Clark sat on a bench with his back against a locker door. He could not take his eyes off Tyler Ring. Tyler had just emerged from the shower and was towelling himself off. He was very well built, his biceps were toned and the muscles of his solar plexus well defined. And Clark was troubled.

"Didn't your mother teach you not to stare?"

Clark looked up at Pete, who stood next to him, pulling on a shirt.

"I wasn't staring," said Clark.

"Yes you were," Pete told him, "You're looking at the guy like he's carrying the plague or something."

Clark said nothing. The run on the bleachers bothered him. Clark's alien heritage had blessed, or cursed, him with unbelievable strength, speed and stamina. Except for the effects of the meteor rocks, Clark was virtually indestructable, and could probably toss a tractor like a shot put if he ever had the inclination to try. And up until this day, nobody had ever matched Clark in gym class. Yet somehow Tyler Ring had, and so Clark was troubled.

"I know what it is," said Pete as he laced up his sneakers, "You're jealous."

"What?" Clark blurted, shocked.

"You're jealous," Pete stated, "Because nobody has ever pushed you like Tyler did today, and you can't handle that."

"You're out of your mind."

"Face it Clark. You're not the strongest man in the world," said Pete, "You're just going to have to deal with that."

Clark didn't reply. As far as he knew, he was the strongest man in the world. Or at least he had been.

-----

The dismissal bell rang with shrill insistence and students poured into the hallway and out onto the grounds. Lana Lang stood at the bottom of the steps, a wad of yellow fliers clutched in her hand. With the other she handed them out to the students as they streamed past.

"Party! Tomorrow night! Bring your friends!" she called, "Party! Tomorrow night! Bring your friends!"

Chloe came and stood beside her, studying a flier.

"Keep handing them out at this rate and we'll have to use Clark's place as well," she said.

"I'm sure half won't even show up," said Lana.

"Lana, this isn't Metropolis," said Chloe, "The people around here aren't exactly spoiled for choice when it comes to Saturday night entertainment."

Lana didn't respond, just kept handing them out.

"Need some help?" asked Chloe.

"Yeah, thanks." Lana gave her half the stack and Chloe immediately started pestering people.

"So," said Lana, "Do you have a date yet?"

Chloe's face brightened, "Uh huh."

"Ooh, I know that look," said Lana, "Tyler asked you, didn't he?"

"Yes he did."

"You must be excited."

"I am," she beamed, "I mean he's just so... so..."

"Gorgeous?"

"I was going to say kind and sensitive but... yeah!"

Lana grinned, "What about Clark?"

"What about him?"

"Well I just figured, you'd be hoping... maybe..."

"Clark and I are just friends," said Chloe, "That's the end of it."

"If you say so."

The flow of students petered out and they went back inside, heading for the Torch office.

"Have you spoken to Whitney?" Chloe asked.

"About what?"

"About what happened with Clark today."

Lana stopped, turning to face her, "What are you talking about?"

Chloe waved her hand dismissively, "You should be talking to Whitney about this," she said, "Let's just say your boyfriend got taken down a peg or three."

She made to carry on, but Lana grabbed her arm.

"Chloe! Tell me!"

Chloe sighed, "Pete says Whitney was mouthing off in gym today. He kept on insulting Clark, and Clark... I dunno, he just snapped I guess."

"What did he do?"

"Clobbered Whitney with a football."

Despite herself, Lana started laughing. Harder and harder, until the tears were streaming.

"What's so funny?"

"I don't know," said Lana, wiping her eyes, "The irony of it, I guess."

Chloe giggled, "Not the typical Clark Kent reaction, is it?"

"No its not," Lana confirmed, "What did Whitney say?"

The smile vanished from Chloe's face, and she hit Lana with a long, hard stare.

"What do you think he said, Lana?"

Lana could not reply.

-----

"Just five more Clark," said Jonathan, picking up a fresh pile of firewood and heading for the door, "And when you're done with that, could you move that pile of hay over to the corner of the barn?"

"Sure thing dad."

"Thanks son," Jonathan disappeared through the door.

Clark picked up another log and laid it on the block. He stood up, straightened the fingers on his right hand, and tensed them. Then he pulled back his arm, and hit the log dead centre with a viscous chop, shattering it. "

Very impressive," said a voice by the door.

Clark spun around, his heart hammering. There stood Tyler, calmly leaning against the frame of the door.

"Tyler, I..." Clark spluttered.

"Its okay Clark," said Tyler, in a reassuring voice, "I know."

"What do you know."

"I know that you're not exactly who you pretend to be."

"I could say the same thing about you."

"True, true," Tyler nodded his head in acknowledgement. He stepped forward into the barn and came to stand before Clark, eye to eye, "But then, I am what I am, because of you."

"Me? What are you on?"

"I'm talking about that sunny October day twelve years ago, Clark," said Tyler, "And your role in the events of that day."

"I don't have any role in what happened," said Clark, "I came to Smallville after the shower."

"No, you came to Smallville during the meteor shower," Tyler persisted, "I don't think you were responsible for it, but you were definitely a part of it."

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Clark was getting angry now.

Getting caught chopping firewood with his hand was careless thing to do, and Tyler definitely seemed to know a lot more than Clark first suspected.

"Neither of us have been entirely honest with each other, Clark," said Tyler, "And its time for that to change because, unless I'm severely mistaken – which I doubt, we're both in the same boat now."

"Carry on," said Clark, still hesitant.

"Okay, I can see you're new to this revelation thing," said Tyler, "So I'll start," he paused to gather his thoughts, "You see Clark, I remember exactly what happened to me the day of the meteor shower. Every second of it. I remember it as clearly as if it happened tomorrow." Clark was intrigued, and kept silent. "You remember I told you that my mom came to visit with Nell that day?" Clark nodded, and Tyler continued, "Well, what I failed to mention, was that I ran off. I was fooling around and I ran right off Nell's property," he paused, "And onto this farm. Then the shower started. I was five years old for Christ's sakes, I was frightened. So I took shelter in a patch of trees until it was over. After that, I discovered that not only meteors landed on Earth that day. There was something else, and I think you know what that is." Clark could only nod.

He found he was unable to speak, barely able to breathe.

Tyler smiled. "It was a spaceship," he declared, "It landed quite near to me and I happened to stumble upon it. Typical kid, once I'd discovered it; I just had to check it out. Especially this little green light on top of it. I touched the light, and the same thing happened, that happened when I touched the meteor rock. A big green bolt of lightning, only that time, it changed me," he stepped in close until they were face to face again, "It changed my right eye, and it also did this..."

Clark watched him unstrap the black glove he always wore, then Tyler held the back of his hand up in front of Clark's face. Clark did a double take, three metal squares were inserted into his skin.

Tyler continued, "I never mentioned it to anyone, and I don't even know why," he started pacing the floor, "My parents knew that something must have happened but I always claimed I couldn't remember. Besides, except for the eye and the squares, there was nothing different about me. I just put it down to unexplained phenomena and got on with my life."

"Until you came to Smallville."

"Exactly," said Tyler, "That's when the meteor rocks started affecting me. First Lana's necklace, then the sceptre. And then..." he stopped, seemingly unsure.

"And then what?"

Tyler looked at him and their eyes met. Clark could see that he was struggling.

"Its okay Tyler," he said, "You got this far."

Tyler let out a long breath, and nodded.

"Ever since I got here, I've been having these dreams. Strange dreams. But when I wake up, they're gone. All I can remember is that they're important. They have something to do with what's happening to me."

"What's a strange dream got to do with the meteor rocks?"

"Last night I had another dream," Tyler explained, "When I woke I found that I'd been sleepwalking. Clark, I was out in Nell's field and I'd been digging a hole."

"Digging a hole?" Clark was struggling to keep up with all this.

"There was a meteor rock in it, a big one. So big it hit the ground and buried itself four feet under. I touched it and the same thing happened like with the sceptre, only more powerful. Something's drawing me to these rocks. Every time I touch one I drain it, and it changes me."

Understanding suddenly dawned in Clark's eyes, "That's why you're..."

"Stronger, faster," said Tyler, "Hell! I can hear a mouse hiccup a hundred yards away for God's sake! And this is the thing," he pointed a finger at Clark, "I think you can too."

"What makes you say that?"

"Our little testosterone charged bleacher race this afternoon was very enlightening," said Tyler, "I saw the way you looked at me in the locker room afterward. I was very surprised that you could keep up with me, Clark. But then I realised that you were even more surprised I could keep up with you. So the way I see it," Tyler resumed his pacing, "Is that we're both two very unusual beings – Me by accident, you naturally. That ship crashed on the Kent farm. Who else but the Kents would have found it?"

With a huge sigh, Clark sat himself down on a bale of hay. He hung his head in his hands, trying desperately to control his swirling thoughts and emotions.

Twelve years. Twelve long years of hiding who was and who he could be. Now all the hiding was over. He looked up and held Tyler's gaze. In that instant, he knew. He didn't know how he knew, but he knew. This was someone he could trust.

Here, at last, he had a brother.

"Let me show you," he said.

-----

They stood in front of the large, bulky shape, hidden under tarpaulin in Clark's storm cellar. Tyler found he could barely catch his breath. Twelve years ago he'd come face to light with this thing and, whether he liked it or not, that encounter had altered his destiny.

Clark grabbed the tarp with both hands, and pulled. It slid away with a sharp hissing noise and the construction underneath was revealed.

"Its exactly as I remember it," said Tyler in an awed voice. He ran a shaking hand over the metallic surface.

"I only saw this thing for the first time a couple months ago," Clark told him, "My parents hid it from me."

"I'm not surprised," said Tyler.

"Well I am."

They both spun round, and Clark's heart leapt into his throat.

There, standing atop the steps, taking the scene in with a crazed, manic look in his eye, was Lex Luthor.