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Chapter 2

"Why do I feel like we've done this before," Clark asked as he stood outside an examining room watching as a doctor examined the boy they had brought in.

Jonathan stood beside him and didn't say anything. He knew Clark's thoughts had drifted to Ryan, and the truth was that he had been thinking the same thing. He patted Clark on the back as the doctor came out and approached them.

"How is he," Clark asked as soon as the doctor stopped to stand in front of them.

The doctor glanced through the glass and responded, "He's okay. He's a little banged up and tired, but it's nothing a little R and R won't fix."

Jonathan was instantly glad to hear that the boy would be okay. Now that he knew it was nothing serious, it was time to get down to business. "Okay, doctor, did you happen to find out what his name is, or how he ended up in our barn? He was unconscious the entire time we drove here, so we weren't able to ask."

The doctor hesitated for a second and said, "His name is David, but that's all he would tell me. He told me he didn't have any parents to call, so I called Social Services. They should be here shortly to take him somewhere until they can figure out what to do with him."

Jonathan's eyes immediately went to Martha's because he already knew what she wanted to do. He learned from past experience, after all. He saw the look in hers, turned back to the doctor, and said, "When they arrive, tell them that we would like to take him until they figure something out."

The doctor smiled knowingly and said, "I had a feeling one of you were going to say that."

As the doctor walked off, Martha said, "Yeah, and I'm surprised it wasn't me."

Jonathan shrugged and said, "So, I guess I have a soft spot for strays, too."

"There's no guessing to it, Jonathan," she responded with a small laugh. "You always have."

Clark listened to his parents and couldn't help but smile, but then he grew serious. "As much as I appreciate you taking me in, I don't think I like to be referred to as a 'stray.'"

Martha and Jonathan exchanged worried looks quickly. "Son," Jonathan began.

Clark instantly laughed and said, "I'm just kidding."

They all laughed and turned back to look at the little boy. Yep, they were definitely experiencing déjà vu.

David walked around the Kent living room and said, "I really appreciate you letting me stay here."

Clark smiled and said, "Don't mention it, buddy. Just sit down and make yourself comfortable."

Martha walked in the room and said, "David, do you want anything to eat or drink?"

"No, thank you, Mrs. Kent," David replied. "I'm actually just a little tired."

"Of course," Martha said and went to go get some blankets and a pillow from the closet in her bedroom.

David looked around the room again as he sat down and said, "You have a nice family, Clark. And, this is a really nice house."

Clark nodded and said, "Yep, I think so, too." He sat down beside him and wondered if he should bring up what happened in the barn. He didn't want to upset the boy but he already felt the need to protect David from whatever he was running from. Maybe the need was so intense because he was already associating him with Ryan. He had let Ryan down and he was not going to make the same mistake twice. He was determined to help David. He looked down at his hands which where resting in his lap and said, "So…"

"So…" the boy echoed.

Clark sighed and said, "I want to talk to you about earlier."

David looked almost terrified for a brief moment but then covered it up with a blank expression. "What about earlier," he asked coolly.

Clark turned his body slightly to face him and said, "In the barn, you asked me to help you. What's going on? Why are you refusing to tell anyone your last name? Who are you running from?"

The only reaction Clark received was silence. He watched as David turned away from him and stared at the wall. Clark touched his shoulder and said, "Hey, you can trust me, David. I promise I won't tell the authorities or even my parents, if you don't want me to. I want to help you."

David turned back to him and unshed tears were glistening his eyes. "I know you want to help me, but I don't think you can."

Clark squeezed his shoulder and said, "Just let me try. Besides, it'll be good to get it off your chest."

David took a deep breath and stood up. "I'm running from a man named Lionel Luthor. Perhaps you've heard of him."

Clark also stood up and stared at the boy clearly shocked. "Yeah, I've heard of him. Why he is after you?"

"I don't know," he cried frantically. "I used to think of Mr. Luthor as my sole benefactor. He took care of me. He paid for me to go to private schools. He made sure I had a great foster family, but one day, all that changed. He stopped by the house one day to talk to my foster parents. I don't know about what, but all of a sudden, I heard my mom screaming. Lionel rushed into the room and tried to grab me. I ran as fast as I could, Clark. I hid out in an abandoned warehouse for a couple of days. When I went home, my foster parents were gone. There was no note or any indication where they went. Since then I've been avoiding Lionel and his men. When I snuck into your barn, I was being chased by some of his people. I know eventually they're going to find me here. That's why I need to keep moving. I've got to stay a few steps ahead of him."

Clark's mind was racing from the information he just received. What did Lionel want with this boy, but more importantly, why was Lionel his benefactor? He looked at him carefully and didn't see any resemblance between him, Lionel, and Lex. "Appearances can be deceiving, though," he thought to himself. He once again squeezed David's shoulder. "You can't keep running," Clark said, slowly. That was the one thing he was sure of. "No matter where you run, Lionel will eventually find you. It's better to just stop and face him."

"But how?" David looked so terrified that Clark couldn't help his next words.

"Look, David, I've been up against Lionel more times than I cared to. I know how intimidating he can be, but you can't let him get to you. Take it from personal experience, Lionel can be beaten. He doesn't always get what he wants, and I promise you this will be another one of those occasions. He won't get you, not as long as I'm around."

David stared up into Clark's eyes and said, "How can you be so sure?"

Clark smiled and said, "Just trust me. Nothing is going to happen to you. What we need to worry about right now is finding out why Lionel wants you and what exactly happened to your foster parents."

"Oh, I know what happened to them," David said, sorrowfully.

"What?" Clark almost feared the answer.

"Lionel either frightened them away or he paid them to leave. I'll never see them again. I'm completely alone."

Clark sighed and remembered the days when he used to feel that way. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. He wrapped his arm around David's shoulders and said, "You're not alone. I'm here for you, and so are my parents. We will all get through this together. You'll see."

David smiled and looked up as Martha and Jonathan walked into the room.

They were eavesdropping from down the hall. They walked in carrying everything they needed to turn the couch into a makeshift bed. "Clark's right, David," Jonathan said, confidently. "You're not alone, and we will make sure Lionel doesn't get his hands on you one way or another. You're safe here."

David immediately smiled and nodded.

Lex had never seen his father so…chipper before. Lionel had grinned at him as soon as he had walked into the room and now he was staring out the window with the biggest smile he had seen on him in years. "Why are you so happy," he couldn't help but ask.

Lionel turned to his son and asked, "Don't you just love it when a plan starts to come together?"

Lex rubbed his chin and stared at the papers on his desk. "This wouldn't have anything to do with a meeting you had with a David Shandler, would it?"

Lionel's smiled immediately faded. "What do you know about him?"

"I know that he had a meeting with you," Lex said, getting up from the seat behind his desk. "I know you have been paying foster parents to take care of him and that he is currently on the Kent farm." Lex walked to his father and whispered, "What are you up to now, Dad?"

Lionel laughed and stared at Lex. "You make me proud, son. You knew more than I thought you did."

Lex was almost amused at his father's statement. "So, I'm finally making you proud after all these years? I don't know if that's necessarily true, though. Sometimes I think I frighten you because I'm now staying two steps ahead of the game."

"Obviously you're not, son, if you don't know why Mr. Shandler is at the Kent's." Lionel smirked and went to pour himself a brandy.

"Let me guess," Lex said following him. "You're using David to find out more information on the Kents, and especially Clark. It's pretty good plan, Dad, but there's just one problem: Clark won't let his guard down, not even for that young boy. Sooner or later, David is going to slip up and show him exactly what kind of person he is and then it's all going to be over."

"I doubt that seriously, son," Lionel said with a smile. "David has a way of getting things done, you'll see. Then both of us will have the answers we want to our biggest mystery: Clark Kent." He paused and said, "And, even if David doesn't find out any information on Clark, he'll certainly make things…interesting for the Kents."

A shiver ran up Lex's spine. "He has another agenda, doesn't he? He's not only there to get information on Clark."

Lionel smiled and said, "You see, son, you still have a lot to learn. When someone is in opposition to you, Lex, the best course of action is to break his or her spirit. Take everything away piece by piece, and where better to start than the home?"

Lex swallowed roughly and said, "Dad, Clark and I may have our disagreements, but I still consider him my friend…"

"He isn't your friend, Lex," Lionel said roughly. "We are Luthors. We can't afford to have friends; we can only afford to have each other. That's all we need, son. Clark is our opposition. He is the key to everything you and I have been searching for these past few years. The boy has ruined more of my plans than I care to admit, and I'm sure you can say the same thing, son. I think it's time we did something about it. It's time to make sure it doesn't happen again…it's time we found out the truth. Where did he come from? What are the Kents hiding?"

Lex sat down in his chair and stared at his father who looked like he was deep in thought:

"Mr. Kent," Lionel said with a smile as he stepped out of his limo.

Jonathan immediately shut off the wood-chipper and took off his gloves. He extended his hand to Lionel, and they shook hands. "It's good to see you, Mr. Luthor."

"Yes, yes, it's good to see you, too."

They stood there for several seconds and Jonathan's eyes drifted towards his house. Martha was on the porch sweeping it, and Clark was sitting down on the dirt in front of the steps. He was playing with one of Jonathan's old airplanes from when he was a kid.

Lionel followed Jonathan's gaze and saw Clark. He smiled and said, "I must admit, Mr. Kent, that I was shocked when you called yesterday and told me you needed a favor concerning your son. Is everything okay with him? Is there something medically wrong with him?"

"Oh, no," Jonathan said quickly, nervously scratching the back of his head. He took a deep breath and sighed. He looked back towards Martha and their eyes met. She looked like she was almost pleading with him to do this. He swallowed roughly and decided to get this over with as quickly as possible."The truth is that I need your help to make sure no one takes my son away from me."

Lionel widened his eyes slightly and looked back at the little boy. "Why in the world would anyone take him away from you, Mr. Kent? He looks happy enough."

Jonathan knew what he had to say next. He could only hope he wouldn't regret it. "They would take him because he isn't really my son."

Lionel turned abruptly back to Jonathan as he continued to speak. "The truth is that I found Clark on the day of the meteor shower." He paused with his story and looked into the man's eyes feeling like he was also pleading. "Nobody is searching for him, so I'm assuming somehow his parents were killed." He looked back at Martha and couldn't believe he was about to say this, but it had to be done. "Mr. Luthor, we want to raise Clark. We want to raise him as our son, but we can't do that…legally. We might lose him in the system. They might think we don't earn enough money or think that someone can raise him better. I know it sounds selfish, but my wife and I love this little boy, and if you could somehow help us, we'd be forever grateful."

Lionel smiled and said, "So, you just found the boy on that highway?"

"Yes, sir," Jonathan said nervously.

Lionel looked at him for a second, sensing that Jonathan was hiding something from him, but he didn't care. Now that Jonathan had asked such a huge favor of him, he knew the farmer would have no choice but to help him convince the Rosses to sell their factory. He smiled and said, "What you need is adoption papers."

Jonathan nodded, unable to speak any longer.

"Consider it done," Lionel said. He shook Mr. Kent's hand and started to walk away.

Jonathan's jaw dropped. He was astonished that Lionel didn't have any hesitation or more questions. Something didn't sit right, but he was grateful anyway. "Thank you, Mr. Luthor," he called out.

Lionel turned back and said, "You saved Lex's life, Mr. Kent. The least I can do is help you keep your son in your life, as well." As soon as he got into the limo and shut the door, he laughed. He loved it when people played right into his hands.

"I should have asked more questions," Lionel said aloud.

Lex raised an eyebrow and said, "What?"

Lionel shook his head. "Nothing," he said. He walked in front of Lex's desk and said, "You know you want to know more about Clark, just as much as I do. We'll get our answers, son, even if we have to force them from Clark."

Lionel left the office and Lex went back to staring at his papers.