Meanwhile, across town...
Lex drove to his meeting with Harry Osborn still confused about the events he had witnessed the night before. He reached the enormous building that had people buzzing around it. He walked up to the front entrance that had a guard on each side of it. Both guards were dressed in dark suits and looked just like they could have stepped out of a mob movie. "Your ID please, sir." One of the guards requested in an authoritative voice. Lex gracefully pulled his ID out of his pocket and showed to the burly man. "Thank you, Mr. Luthor. You may proceed," the guard said completely unphased. He walked through the double glass doors and saw people milling around each going in different directions on their daily routines.
Lex looked around the lobby for a moment before proceeding to the front desk. It was a beautiful modern styled area with colored with light blues & greens accented with soft violet colors. In one corner was a large semi-circular dark brown wooden desk. Lex walked through the oblivious crowd of people straight to the desk. Sitting behind the desk was a receptionist with dark brown hair and eyes dressed in a violet business suit that seemed to match perfectly with the surrounding colors. She greeted the billionaire with a warm smile. "Welcome to Oscorp, how may I help you?"
"Lex Luthor, here to see Harry Osborn." Lex responded.
"Right this way, sir. Mr. Osborn is expecting you." She came around from behind the desk and showed him to a private elevator that went straight to the board room. She pressed the button and the mechanical doors slid open. "Here you go, Mr. Luthor, the board room is through the double doors that will be directly in front of you when you exit the elevator." Lex nodded politely as he stepped into the elevator.
After Lex exited the elevator he saw two huge, dark oak doors. Lex walked into the board room and saw that it was not any different than any other board rooms. There was a long table that ran the middle of the room. The wall opposite him housed a large window and the remaining walls held the ubiquitous corporate artwork. The only thing that was out of the ordinary was the person sitting at the other end of the table. Lex had to assume that person was Harry. His red hair looked slightly unruly like someone had just come up to him and ran their fingers through his hair. He was dressed similarly to him; he was wearing nice dark blue dress pants and a nice white shirt. The thing that stood out the most to Lex was Harry's eyes. His eyes had a far away look in them like he wasn't even aware that anyone else was in the room.
"Uhmm," Lex coughed to let Harry know that he was in the room. Harry turned around and spotted Lex and some light came into Harry's dull eyes as if a light had been switched on inside of him.
Harry got up and walked over to where Lex was standing and extended his hand. "Hello, you must be Lex Luthor."
"And you must be Harry Osborn," Lex replied.
Harry returned to his previous seat at the table and motioned with his hand for Lex to sit down also.
"I'm sorry to hear about your father. I hear he was a great man."
Harry's eyes grew dark for a moment before replying, "Yes, he was." Then his countenance returned to normal. He then continued, "Your father had an arrangement with mine during a previous experiment before his untimely death. Your father provided certain materials that were needed and in return he would receive part of the profits when the government contract went through." Harry paused for a moment before continuing.
Lex nodded his head acknowledging what Harry had said and letting him know to continue. "The contract was not granted, so the partnership was dissolved. However, I would like to try again, with the help of Luthorcorp," Harry said as he smiled.
"Why do you think it will work this time when it didn't work the last time?" Lex asked.
"Well, I found a flaw in the original plans that can be corrected, so that it will be approved this time," Harry replied.
"Well, you have me intrigued. What materials exactly will you need?" Lex asked.
Peter had to have some time to clear his head, so he did the one thing that always allowed him time to think. He went webslinging across the city. He eventually landed on top of a building and sat there for a while. He sat there with unshed tears in his eyes as he thought about his Uncle Ben. He couldn't believe it. He had never told anyone else what had really happened that awful night. However, in some strange way it seemed to make him feel better to get it out and be able to tell someone about it. The sound of sirens broke Peter from his reverie and he watched as the cop cars went down the street. He stood up and swung after them.
Lex's cell phone rang as he walked to his car. He opened it and placed it next to his ear, "Lex Luthor."
"Yes, Mr. Luthor, I have the test results on the item that you gave me," Dr. Ling replied wearily.
"I'll be right there," Lex said as he flipped his phone shut and slid into his car.
Lex opened the glass door to the small but well stocked lab that Dr. Ling worked in.
"Yes, doctor what do you have for me?" Lex queried.
"Well, I tested the band first. It is not unusual in any way. It is just cheap gold, the type that would normally be used in rings of this type," Dr. Ling explained unemotionally.
"Go on doctor," Lex prodded.
"Then I tested the stone. Well, this is not a ruby as it was probably passed off as. I tested it and its composition is similar to only one other thing I have seen."
"What is that doctor?" Lex asked impatiently.
Dr. Ling turns in her chair and pull a box off of a nearby shelf, opening it to reveal a green meteor rock.
"So, you are telling me, doctor, that the stone in that ring has the same composition as that rock there?"
"No, it doesn't have the exact composition as it. It has a similar composition. I would say that it is the same ore, but a different variety of it."
"Thank you, doctor, you have been very helpful," Lex replied as he walked out of the lab.
The next day Clark was very restless and fidgety. He couldn't seem to settle down and concentrate on anything. He got up from the couch and got a glass of water. He didn't know why he was so fidgety. Maybe it was all those years on the farm that made him feel like he should be doing something right now. Maybe that was why he was so unsettled. No, that wasn't it, or at least that wasn't the main part of it.
He sat back down and flipped the channels on the TV, but nothing caught his attention and he was still feeling antsy. That was when he looked down at his cell phone laying on the coffee table completely harmless looking. He instantly knew that was the reason for his nervous state. He tried watching a football game but even that didn't work. Then he seemed to hear a small voice inside his head that said, "Call them." He turned up the volume on the TV to drown out the voice. The voice continued its plea with the same calm tone, "Call them." Then the part of Clark's brain that was still filled with doubt and self-loathing chimed in, "Why should he call them, they don't care about him anymore." Clark got up and turned on the radio to try and see if that would drown out the battle in his head. He looked down at the phone again and it seemed to be mocking him. The calm voice said again, "Call them."
Clark reached over and shakily dialed the very familiar number. The phone rang and rang. His voice caught in his throat as he heard his mother's beautiful voice on the answering machine. All he could do was try to breath as the message continued. It was as if the ability to make any noise had been sucked out of his body. After the message quit he held on for another few seconds scared to break the connection between the only home he'd known and himself. He finally shut off the phone and place it back on the table. However, if he had remained on the line for another second he would have heard his mother's hopeful voice, "Clark? Clark, is that you? Please come home," before she was met with a cold dial tone.