Author's Note: After this, in an attempt to be less confusing, I am going to permanently move this story to the CHARMED section. I kinda flipped a coin, because I really couldn't decide otherwise. And it doesn't seem fair to keep moving it around. I hoped you SMALLVILLE fans will check for it in the CHARMED section. Or you can use the Author Alert feature. Thanks! And happy reading.


CHAPTER ELEVEN

"Lex was there?" Clark asked, a hint of worry in his voice. Reaching into the back of the truck, he lifted a 25 pound bag of feed like it was filled with cotton balls. Effortlessly, he tossed it on top of three others right outside the barn door.

"I was too busy to notice at the time," Chris said "but, according to your mom, he was pretty much there the whole time." Chris held his arm out towards the truck, and made a lifting gesture with his hand. Another bag of feed rose into the air, seemingly on its own. A flick of a finger sent the bag flying past Clark to land neatly atop the growing stack. "And he would have to be blind not to realize something…out of the ordinary was going on."

"And you told him?" This time, the worry in his voice went beyond a hint. Clark had spent almost three years trying to hide his secret from Lex. Evading his questions, coming up with excuses for all the weird things Lex had seen, outright lying on more than one occasion.

Yet, even while Clark was trying to hide the truth from Lex, a part of him thought it would be easier to just tell him. Clark even had a pretty vivid nightmare in which Lex found out the truth. And Dream Lex didn't care that Clark was from another planet. What made him furious was that Clark had lied to him for so long.

But the importance of hiding his secrets had been grilled into him since he was old enough to talk. It was second nature to him now. An almost involuntary reflex.

And here was Chris, spilling his secrets like they were no big deal.

"I didn't exactly tell him anything," Chris said. This time, he TK'd two sacks from the truck. "More like I didn't try to pretend what he saw was normal." Depositing the sacks with another wave of his hand, he gave Clark a quizzical look. "Bad idea?"

"Well, not really," Clark hedged. "Lex isn't a bad guy. He's one of my closest friends. It's just…he has a tendency to let his curiosity get the better of him, especially about things that are hard to explain."

"Like you?"

"Like me," Clark nodded. Subconsciously not wanting to be outdone by Chris, he grabbed two sacks out of the truck. "He's seen me do enough, and seen enough strange stuff happen around me, to know something's up with me, he just doesn't know what it is. And, once he gets…interested in something, it's kinda hard for him to let go."

"Well, it not like he saw me orb out right in the middle of main street." Chris shrugged. "He'll probably just figure I'm psychic or something. Which is weird, yeah. But not 'from another dimension' weird."

Giving it some thought, Clark decided Chris might be right. After all, Lex had taken Ryan being a telepath in stride. In fact, he acted like being around a kid who could read his mind was no big deal. Even went out of his way to spend time with Ryan when he was sick in the hospital. So, maybe Lex would just figure Chris had some kind of ESP and leave it at that.

Maybe.

After that, the two worked in silence. Chris had just TK'd the last bag onto the stack when Clark saw a familiar car pull up.

"Who's that?" Chris asked, eyeing the car with interest.

"Some friends of mine." Clark gave Chris a serious look. "And remember. You're the son of one of my mom's old friends."

"Got it," Chris said. "Believe me, it won't be the toughest part I've ever played."

The car parked a few feet away. It had barely come to a full stop when Chloe shot out of it like a force of nature, gold hair and red coat making her stand out amongst the surrounding greenery.

"Hey, Clark," she said, but her eyes were most definitely on the guy beside him. "You must be Chris, the mystery man who showed up on the Kents' doorstep without warning after traveling halfway across the country."

"Uh, yeah," Chris said, looking a little taken aback. The young reporter sometimes has that effect on people. "That would be me."

"Chris, this is Chloe," Clark said, wary eyes shifting from Chloe to Chris and back again. She looked about ready to pounce on the poor guy.

"So, what brings you to Smallville?" Chloe asked. "I mean, it's nice place and all, but I'm sure it doesn't hold a candle to San Francisco."

Just then, the passenger door opened, and the car's other occupant stepped out. "Chloe, can't you wait five minutes before starting the interview? I mean, you just met the guy."

"What?" Chloe threw an indignant glance over her shoulder. "I'm just curious."

"And this is Pete," Clark said, concluding the introductions.

"Nice to meet you, man," Pete said.

Chris nodded in his direction. "You to."

"So, what brings you guys over?" Clark asked, as if he didn't already know. He was surprised Chloe held out for this long.

"Consider us the Welcome Wagon," she said. "We brought sodas, pizza, and other assorted junk foods. I figured we could all hang out." She threw one of her thousand-watt smiles in Chris's direction. "And get to know each other better."

And Clark would swear Chris looked a little scared.


They took their little impromptu party up to Clark's loft.

By the time most of the pizza was gone, Chris decided he liked Clark's friends.

Pete was friendly and outgoing, but laid back at the same time. He reminded Chris of some of the friends he'd had before his life disintegrated into chaos.

Chloe's energy and enthusiasm was intimidating at first. But, once he answered a few of her questions—which were all pretty innocent—she settled down. When she mentioned she was the editor of the school newspaper, Chris almost told her Aunt Phoebe was a columnist for the Chicago Bay Mirror. Then he remembered she might not be in this dimension. And Chloe definitely seemed like the type who would check.

"So," Chloe began, lounging on the sofa next to Chris. "We heard about the little adventure you had this afternoon. Only your second day here, and you're already rescuing lost children and stray puppies."

Chris was surprised. "You heard about that? Already?" It only happened a few hours ago, and it hardly seemed like news worthy of the local grapevine.

"Something like this might not be a big deal in a place like San Francisco. But Smallville is a slow news town."

"Right," Pete snorted as he reached into a bag of chips. "Nothing exciting ever happens here."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Okay, sometimes we have a rampaging meteor freak causing all kinds of havoc and mayhem. But, most days, like today, things are pretty quiet. So, by dinner, just about everyone will know how you saved Tracy Newbern."

"I didn't save her," Chris pointed out. "First of all, the only thing she was in danger of was being licked to death by a puppy in serious need of a bath. Secondly, and pretty much guessed where she was."

"Maybe so. But, to some people, you're a hero…whether you like it or not. Which means you and Clark have something in common." Then she turned a very pretty, very charming smile on Chris. Which instantly made him nervous. "You know, I sometimes do pieces on local heroes for the Torch. And, while you're not exactly local, your damsel in distress was. So, how would you feel about a brief interview?"

Eyes widening, Chris stammered, "Uh, I don't know. I…I uh…I'll think about it?"

"Oh, come on. It'll be painless, I…"

"Hey, Chloe," Clark interrupted. "Didn't you mention something about strange lights being spotted over Peaceful Meadows Cemetery?"

Pete chuckled. "Oh, smooth move, Clark."

Eyes narrowed, Chloe glared at Clark, as if she knew exactly what he was doing. But it seemed the tale of the strange lights was one she found too irresistible to ignore. "Well, according to my sources, it started about a week ago. Several people…"

Sighing in relief, Chris looked in Clark's direction and mouthed the words, 'Thank you'. Clark shrugged, mouth curving into a smug smile.

Grabbing the last piece of pizza, Chris listened as Chloe explained her investigation of the strange lights. And it was actually kind of interesting.


Lex sat at his desk, elbow resting on the arm of his chair, fingers pressed to his temple. Anyone looking at him would think he was idle, completely relaxed. But his mind was racing, going over this afternoon's events again and again. Forcing his mind to see details he'd missed before.

He'd been dealing with Clark's evasiveness for so long. Not only did his friend refuse to tell him what his secrets were, he refused to admit there were any secrets to tell. Lex was a patient man but, after nearly three years, the situation was becoming a little frustrating.

Meeting someone who didn't try to deny that something out of the ordinary had happened, didn't think flimsy excuses could make Lex discount things he'd seen with his own eyes, had been…refreshing.

Eyes narrowed, Lex read over the definition splashed across his computer screen again.

psychometry, also called Object Reading. A process whereby facts or impressions about a person or thing are received through contact with an object belonging to or associated with that person. Rings, photographs, items of clothing, and similar tokens are often used. Contact with a person's belongings may bring about images or visions in the psychometrist's mind that correspond to real facts (sometimes still in the future) in the life of the owner. Psychometry has been used to find lost persons or things, and to solve crimes.

That certainly seemed to fit what Lex saw Chris do this afternoon. When he found the necklace Shelly Newbern lost, touched it, he sensed her fear. Later, by touching Tracy Newbern's doll, he was able to find the little girl.

All very interesting, but not really unusual in Lex's experience. He'd had dealings with psychics before. Like Ryan, who could read his mind. And, in college, he knew a girl who often got a "feeling" when something bad was going to happen. She never knew what it was exactly, or who it was going to happen to. Still, when she said she had a bad feeling, the people around her knew to worry, because she was always right.

But, something—some instinct, or maybe some sixth sense of his own—told Lex that Chris was more than a young man with psychic abilities. There was more there, a bigger mystery to be solved.

And nothing tempted Lex Luthor more than a good mystery.

(TO BE CONTINUED)