I've finally seen seasons two and three of Smallville, and now I'm going to take advantage of Lionel being in jail, his power, and his evilness. -grinning evilly- MWAHAHAHA! BTW, please don't kill me for lack of Clark in this chapter. Or for recent lack of updates. Or for the pairings. You can still vote for who Lana and Chloe will wind up with, and I'm open to pairing up the hated Lionel Luthor if someone comes up with a character.

DISCLAIMER: Yuck. This is worse than cooked spinach. :p

Chapter Four: Bug

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM-WHAM!

The other inmates in the gym stayed well away from the man who was at the punching bag, with the exception of the few burly gang-bangers who were indebted to the man and willingly played the part of unpaid bodygaurds. The creak of the under-oiled hinges on the door at the front of the gym drew the man's attention away from his workout. A cold, predatory smile spread on the man's unshaven face. That smile and the dignified yet why-should-I-care way the man stood were the only things that made him recognizable as Lionel Luthor.

"Well, Loader, what brings you here?" Lionel asked smugly. But then, Lionel was always smug.

The man standing in the doorway of the prison's decrepit gym sneered, his distaste for the older Luthor plain to see. He was the crooked FBI agent who'd been 'working' for Lex, then been paid off by Lionel to keep the darkness of the older Luthor's past buried. In the end he had arrested Lionel, and now he was once again a pawn in the Luthors' twisted game.

Loader cast a wary glance around the gym. Lionel nodded to the oldest-looking of his three thugs, and the three quickly ushered everyone out of the gym before they themselves left.

"Well? I may be in prison, but I don't have all day, Loader," Lionel said, knowing his power irritated the FBI agent.

"You were right," Loader admitted grudgingly.

Lionel quirked an eyebrow. "I've been right about so much. Forgive me if I don't know what I'm right about this time."

Loader scowled, and the other suppressed the urge to smirk. God I love getting on this man's nerves, Lionel thought cheerfully. He could always tell when Loader's temper was getting short.

After Loader got a lid on his temper, he said, "The bugs in your kid's study picked up more than the usual yesterday." Again Lionel quirked his eyebrow. Loader quickly spoke again, not wanting to hear the eccentric billionaire's voice any more than he had to. "That Kent kid was there. Here's what we recorded."

Loader fished a dictaphone out of a pocket on the inside of his coat. He pressed a button, and sounds emitted from the lone speaker built into the tiny machine.

-Knock knock-

Lex: Come in. -Click- Ah, Clark, just the man I wanted to see. Take a seat, buddy. -Click- I wanted to talk to you about something, and I assume you have something of importance to talk to me about too.

Lex: I saw you jump off the cliff at Crater Lake last night.

Lionel interrupted, "Don't waste my time with trivial problems imagined up by some teenager."

Loader replied irritably, "It gets better."

Although I must admit I am rather intigued that you survived-- seemingly without a scratch-- that isn't my concern. My curiosity is piqued, but whatever the cause of your survival is, you've kept it a secret up until now, and I sincerely doubt you'll tell me now. But I do ask that you tell me why you jumped in the first place.

Clark: I jumped for the same reason I lived through the jump, and through being hit by your car. Y-You know that disk you found in the cornfield? Well, it's a key. It's the key to a spaceship in our storm cellar. I'm dead serious here, Lex. When my parents adopted me -- they found me in the same cornfield you found that disk in, during the meteor shower. I'm an alien, Lex. Have you ever wondered how those meteor-affected people Chloe's always writing about in The Torch go down? Why they disappear, or give up, or lose their powers? I do that, Lex. Being an alien comes with certain gifts. Those gifts are superstrength, superspeed, superhearing, x-ray vision, and heat vision. So far, anyway.

It was Loader's turn to feel smug this time, as Lionel seemed shocked.

"Now, I'd better get home, or my wife will be asking questions. I'll see you later, Mr. Luthor," Loader said with a satisfied smirk.

Lionel blinked as if he had been unaware of the other man's presence. Then, waving his hand dismissively, he replied, "Yes, yes, go. And let me know if young Mr. Kent says anything more."

Loader nodded, and made his exit.

Well, Clark, now I know why you are so extraordinary. And soon, I'll put your talents to good use. I suppose first I should get myself out of prison, now that I have a good reason to, thought Lionel.

TBC...