Disclaimer: I don't own "Smallville"
Chapter 4: X-Ray
Sarah, Brianna, and Allison were at Brianna's house clearing out furniture from Brianna's late "brother" Greg's room. They were using his room for their new hangout to go to after school when they didn't have to do anything with the "Jr. Torch". Brianna and Sarah started with Greg's old bed, pushing the matress out the door.
"OK," Brianna sighed. "We need your brother to help us. He can get this out in 5 seconds,"
"Why don't we get your dad to help us?" asked Allison while sitting on a chair, stuffing her face with Starburst.
Sarah put her hands on her hips.
"Why don't you help us out instead of pigging out?" she asked.
"I'm coming," Allison groaned as she got up to help push the matress out.
The girls all pushed with the bed, and they finally got it out in the hall. When they got back into the room, it was totally empty.
"All right," Brianna clapped her hands. "Let's get painting,"
"Sweet," Sarah said. "...Wait. Where's the paint?"
"Oh!" Allison breathed. "That's what I was forgetting,"
Sarah and Brianna rolled their eyes.
"And you're supposed to be the smart one," Brianna said. "Now we have to go into town to the hardware store to get red paint,"
"Let's go," Sarah rolled her eyes.
After Brianna informed her dad that they'll be back, the girls got their bikes and rode into the heart of Smallville. They passed Clark getting a hot dog at a stand.
"Hi Clark!" they said.
"Hey Sarah!" he said. "Hey girls...Hey Sarah! Come here!"
Sarah rode back as her friends contiuned to go to the hardware store.
"What?" she asked.
"Can you spot me a dollar?" he smiled. "I'm a bit short,"
Sarah laughed and rolled her eyes. She dug into her pocket and took out a dollar bill.
"You owe me," she said before speeding off.
Clark smiled, and paid for his hot dog. Sarah caught up with Brianna and Allison in the hardware store.
"We got the paint," Brianna said holding up a few cans. "You got the money,"
"You know I do,"Sarah said digging into her pocket.
Sarah took out a 50 dollar bill, and they paid for the paint. On their way out, they heard a bell giong off.
"Where's that coming from?" asked Allison
Brianna looked around with Sarah. Her eyes gazed toward a bald man in a suit with an orange backpack full of money. She backhanded Sarah's arm hardly.
"Ow!" she said "Hey! Why did you..."
"Quit your yapping!" shouted Brianna. "Look over there!"
Sarah and Allison looked where Brianna was looking and gaped with open mouths.
"That's Lex!" shouted Sarah.
"Okay," Allison said. "What is a rich-boy doing robbing a bank?"
"I don't know. But I know for sure that that's not Lex,"
"Um..Sarah," Brianna started. "Look with your own eyes! It looks like Lex, it sounds like Lex, it is Lex!"
Suddenly, Sarah saw Clark stopping Lex in the street. Incredibaly, Lex threw him to the side so hard, Clark crashed into a store window. The girls still gaped. Sarah narrowed her and put her hands on her hips while looking at Brianna.
"Would Lex throw Clark into a window that hard?" she asked. "I don't think so. Come on!"
Sarah, Allison, and Brianna ran across the street to Clark. Sarah and Allison went over the shattered window, and helped Clark up.
"Are you okay?" Sarah asked, wiping glass from his jacket.
"Sarah," he said. "That's not Lex,"
The next day, Sarah and Clark were sitting with their parents in the kitchen looking over the front page of the "Smallville Ledger". The headline said "LEX LUTHOR ROBS BANK" in bold letters.
"This is incredible," Martha said "Why would Lex Luthor need to rob a bank?"
"I've seen some strange things in my day," Jonathon said. "But this definately takes the cake,"
"Dad!" shouted Clark.
"Well, almost,"
"He got away with 100,000 dollars," explained Sarah
"I know Lex," Clark said. "It wasn't him,"
"Clark, I know that he's a friend of yours but come on," Jonathon said. "You saw him with your own eyes,"
"We don't know what we saw," Sarah repilied.
"There must be some reasonable explanation for this,"
"Me too," said a voice. "I'd hate to think I have an evil twin,"
"Lex," Sarah turned to the screen door from the kitchen.
"May I came in?" Lex asked. "I promise I'm not packing heat,"
"Sure,"
"Lex, why aren't you in jail?" asked Clark as Lex came in.
"Because I was hosting a reception for 200 fertilizer distributors in Metropolis at the time of the robbery,"
"Do the police have any leads?" asked Jonathon.
"None. That's why I wanted to talk to Clark and Sarah. Their names were on the witness list. Did you actually see this person?"
"Yeah," Sarah said.
"He looked just like you," Clark said
"Except his fingerprints and signature didn't match mine," Lex explained. "Are you two sure that you're eyes weren't playing tricks on you?"
"Postive," Sarah scoffed. "Ask Brianna and Allison. They're on the witness list too,"
"Brianna Arkin and Allison Harper?"
"You know them?"
"No. I just remember seeing their names on the list. Friends with them?"
"Since third grade,"
"What's gonna happen now?" asked Clark
"Hopefully the money will turn up," explained Lex. "In the meantime, the Metropolis tabloids will have a field day, and I'm certain people's opinions about me will be cemented in stone. I'm sorry you got thrown through that window Clark. I promise you two, I'm not a criminal master mind,"
"You're not," Sarah said.
"A criminal mastermind would've worn a mask," Clark smiled.
The next day, the girls were standing in line for climbing the rope. Brianna, Allison, and Sarah were talking about the other day of the robbery.
"OK," Brianna said. "So Clark saw Lex, but he really didn't see Lex. Right?"
"Correct-a-mundo," Sarah said.
"That is freaky,"
"Hey," Allison said. "This is Smallville. Everything's freaky,"
"Kent!" shouted the Coach. "Harper! You're up!"
Sarah groaned as they started to go up to the rope. Allison started climbing, but Sarah just swung there at the bottem. She hated climbing the rope. She was never strong enough to get to the top, let alone a few inches off the ground.
"Come on Kent!" shouted a boy. "What are you? Afraid of heights?"
Sarah looked down. The boy had freckles and was a bit shorter than her.
"Shut-up Ned!" she shouted.
"What're you gonna do?" Ned grinned. "Cry for your mommy?"
Sarah was about to jump down, when Allison called from above.
"Let it go Sarah!" she shouted. "He ain't worth it,"
Allison was right. Ned wasn't worth beating up if she had to do laps. Heck, she had to do laps, anyway. Well, she thought. I can at least try to get to the top. So, she tried...and failed. By the time she was able to get the hang of it, she lost her balance and fell off the rope, and hit the ground. Everyone groaned at Sarah's fall. The coach bent down by Sarah.
"Kent," he said. "You okay?"
"Yes sir. I'm fine." Sarah answered.
"Anything broken?"
"No sir...Do I have to do laps?"
"No. You tried. I know you're not that very good at climbing rope,"
"Whoa whoa whoa," Ned said coming up. "Back up. She didn't even get an inch up from the end of the rope, and yet you don't give her laps after school. I don't beat Bryant up the rope, and you give me laps after school,"
"Sarah's not that flexible as you Ned. It's not her fault. And she tries. You just like to show off, no offense,"
Sarah choked out a laugh. Ned glared at her.
"You are so dead," he threatened.
"Right," Sarah said getting up. "Like I'm so scared of you,"
"Oh really. Let's settle this right now!"
"Hold it right there Hutson!" the coach warned. "You pull a stunt like that, and you're getting after school detention. All right everyone. Hit the lockers! Great job today!"
Ned was still glaring at Sarah as they walked to the lockers. When they were far away from the coach, he stood in front of her.
"Are you gonna stand there all day with that annoying look at us?" asked Allison
"Yeah. Cause it's gonna give us nightmares," agreed Brianna
"Kent," Ned said to Sarah. "Meet me by the football field after school."
"Look Ned," Sarah waved in disgust. "Just because I'm not that very good at climbing the rope, doesn't mean you have to get mad at me. I know it's not fair that you get laps and I don't. Maybe we can work something out."
"We will. The football field. After school. Be there. Or I'm coming to look for you,"
And so Ned walked away. Allison folded her arms.
"Well," she said. "That went well,"
After school, the bell rang, and everyone rushed out of the building. Sarah, Allison, and Brianna skipped down the steps.
"So," Brianna said. "You coming to my house to study and finish painting the room?"
"Nah," Sarah said. "I gotta see if I can work things out with Ned,"
"Sarah," Allison said. "No one can ever work things out with Ned. He's just a slimeball,"
"Well, maybe he has some good in him,"
"Good luck. You're gonna need it,"
Sarah rolled her eyes, and walked across the street to the high school. She's been doing that a lot lately, but that was either to watch Clark play football, or go see Chloe. Now it was different. She found Ned and his friends, Bryant and Taylor behind the bleachers.
(A/N: Yeah. Here is Taylor again. He still hates me and I hate him, although I sort of have a restraining order against him when I'm at school...literally. I do. I talked it over with the principal, and Taylor's not supposed to say anything offensive to me...and he went over the line again)
"All right," Ned said. "You're here. Drop your bag and put your fists up,"
"Ned," Sarah said. "Why don't we work something out? I mean how about I do the laps for you, and you can just go on home. You won't have to fight me,"
"But I want to,"
Without another word, Ned punched Sarah in the gut. Before she could stand up straight, he punched her again, and was on the ground being beaten. She tried to get up, but everything seemed slow. The boys around Ned yelling "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!", Sarah trying to block Neds hits. But Ned seemed to be moving fast.
Meanwhile, Chloe and Clark wre inside the "Torch" office working on their paper.
"Hey Chloe," Clark said getting up. "I finished the paper on the debate team,"
"Thanks," Chloe said taking the paper. "Ugh. I cannot believe we have to work on this all day. I really need a decaf,"
Suddenly, Chloe's head jerked up as she thought she heard something. She looked out the window behind her, and she saw three boys beating up someone. But she gasped as she saw the victim was Sarah.
"Clark!" she nearly shouted. "Look out the window!"
Clark looked where Chloe was looking and his eyes went wide.
"I'll be right back," he asid grabbing his coat and running out the door.
When Clark was out of sight, he started using his super speed to get to Sarah faster. He stopped when he got behind the bleachers.
"Hey!" he shouted pulling Ned off Sarah. "Leave my sister alone. Now go home before I call your parents,"
Ned and his possy ran for it, scared of Clark's anger. Sarah never saw Clark so angry before, and it also scared her. But she knew he was protecting her. Clark bent down as she sat up.
"Are you OK?" he asked.
Sarah nodded, as Clark put a hand on her chin. He turned her face around to see if anything was wrong, but suddenly he could only see Sarah's muscles instead of her skin. There were light brown spots on some of them. He shook his head, and he could see the regular Sarah again.
"Your muscles are sore on your face right?" he asked.
"How'd you know?" asked Sarah as Clark helped her up.
"I don't know,"
A little while later, Sarah sat with Clark and her parents in the living room. They were discussing about what Clark saw through Sarah, and how he kept having these kind of things.
"So when you have these flashes, you can see through things?" asked Martha. "Objects? People?"
"Sometimes I can see through things," explained Clark. "Other times it's like an X-Ray,"
"And there's no warning?" asked Jonathon. "This just happens?"
"Well I get a headache and it hits me. I mean, the first time, I thought I was hallucinating, and then it happened again,"
"Clark I'm sure there's some way to control this," Sarah said.
"You guys I can see through things. How do you control that?"
"You got to practice Clark," Martha said. "Your eyes have muscles just like your legs,"
"Your mom is right son," Jonathon said. "Look, all you have to do is you have to figure out a way to, uh, condition them so you don't get these random flashes,"
"Oh, that sounds great," Clark said sarcastically. "How am I gonna do that?"
Clark left the room, clearly annoyed. Sarah shook her head. The phone rang, and she got it.
"Hello. Kent's residence," she said.
"Hey Sarah!" Brianna said from the other line. "How's it going?"
"OK...I guess. I'll explain everything later,"
"Good. Cause me and Ali need you to help paint the room,"
"I'll be there in 5 minutes. 8 tops,"
Sarah hung up the phone, and grabbed her backpack by the door.
"I'll be back in a little while," she said to her parents. "I'm just gonna help the girls with the room,"
Sarah went out the door and grabbed her bike that was sitting by the stairs of the porch. She went down the road like she always did, and parked her bike in front of Brianna's house. Mr. Arkin opened the door a few seconds after she knocked.
"Hi Sarah," he said.
"Hi Mr. Arkin," Sarah smiled.
"How's your family doing?"
"Pretty good actually,"
Sarah walked down the hall, and opened the door to hear music playing loudly. Sheets were on the floor with blobs of red paint, and Allison and Brianna were covered in spots of red.
"Hey guys," Sarah screamed loudly over the music.
"Grab a brush and get painting Kent," Brianna smiled. "We're on a roll here,"
Sarah smiled, and grabbed a brush and started painting the walls with her friends.
"So," Allison said. "Did you settle things with Ned?"
"No," Sarah groaned.
"Ha! Told you Brianna. Pay up,"
Brianna groaned and took out a 5 dollar bill. Allison swiped it, kissed it with happiness, and contiuned painting.
"So what happened anyway?" asked Brianna.
"I got beat up by a kid who is part weasel, part rat, and part shrimp," Sarah groaned again.
"He did what?" asked Brianna and Allison in unison.
Brianna turned off the music, and they sat down togethor on the ground.
"You got beat up by a shrimp?" asked Allison in disbelief.
"Yeah," Sarah said. "I know. It's embarassing,"
"How'd you get out of it?"
"Clark. But here's another part about what happened. After he pulled Ned off of me, he told me my muscles were sort of sore on my face. Without touching it to see if I could wince,"
"How'd he do that?"
"Lately he's been having these flashes and he could see through objects, people, all kinds of stuff,"
"Like an X-Ray," Brianna pointed out. "Is that why he knew Lex wasn't the one who robbed the bank even though it was him?"
"Um...Yeah," Sarah said confused. "The question is who did it?"
"Whoever it was," Allison said. "He or she has to be infected by the meteor rocks,"
The next day, Sarah, Allison, and Brianna were doing homework during their study break.
"Allison what'd you get for number one?" asked Brianna
"X9" Allison said.
"Me too! What'd you get for number two?"
Sarah shook her head and laughed silently. Math was not Brianna's strong point. Soon, the teacher came up and put a hand on Sarah's shoulder.
"Sarah," she said. "The principal would like to see you,"
Everyone around Sarah "ooed" except Brianna and Allison. Sarah just shrugged it off and walked down the hall to the principals office. She was gonna be fine. She did nothing wrong...or did she? When she walked through the front door, she found her parents sitting in front of the Principal Ferald's desk.
"I appreciate you coming down here, Sarah," he said. "Take a seat,"
Sarah sat down by her mother.
"What's going on?" asked Sarah
"Ned Hutson is absent today," the principal said. "Do you know why?"
"No sir," answered Sarah.
"He has a broken arm...that was broken by you,"
Sarah's eyes widened.
"Me?" she asked in disbelief. "How? I haven't seen Ned since late afternoon yesterday. When did this happen?"
"Late last night," the principal answered. "He was playing outside when he claims that you snuck behind him, and started beating him up. I'm not making any acuusations here,"
"I know. Yes, I have a motive about Ned, but not enough of it to beat him up. I also have an alibi. I was at home, working on my homework. And a person can't be at two places at once. We all know that,"
The principal sighed and nodded.
"Mr. and Mrs. Kent," he started. "Your daughter is a very bright student. In fact, is also the most well behaved in my school. But we don't know if what our sources tell us is true. Until then, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to suspend Sarah for the rest of the week,"
"WHAT!" asked Sarah
"I'm sorry Sarah. But we're going to have to suspend you so we can figure this out,"
When Sarah and her parents got home, Sarah was still ranting on about how she hated this.
"I don't believe it," she said as she threw her backpack on the couch. "Suspended for something I didn't do. It's not fair. You guys believe me don't you?"
"Of course we believe you," Mr. Kent said. "But it still doesn't explain why Ned would accuse you of hurting him,"
"It's payback! I know it!"
"Payback for what, sweetheart?" asked Mrs. Kent.
Sarah just let out a scowl, and started toward the door. She passed Clark on the way. Clark looked back at her and looked at his parents confused.
"Wow," he said. "Sarah's home early. What's the matter with her?"
"She got suspended," Martha explained.
"Suspended? Why? She wouldn't do anything wrong, would she?"
"A student named Ned Hutson claimed she beat him up last night,"
"Ned Hutson?"
"Do you know him?"
"Yeah, he...Listen. Sarah was being beaten up yesterday by Ned, all because the coach went easy on her for climbing the rope. She said she was going to work things out with him, but looks like it didn't work. I saw the whole thing and got Sarah out of there,"
"How come she didn't tell anyone about this?" asked Mr.Kent sighing.
"She think's she can do everything by herself," Mrs. Kent said. "It's a phase that goes through teenagers. Sarah's growing up. She wants to be more independent in her life. Clark does anybody else know about this?"
"Chloe was the one who first saw what happened," Clark explained. "And I told Lana and Tina Grier last night at the Beanery. Lana wanted to know how she was doing...I'm gonna go talk to Sarah,"
Clark went outside to the loft. He found Sarah listening to music, while lying on the couch, throwing a tennis ball up in the air. He smirked
"Putting yourself in solitary confinement?" he joked.
Sarah looked up and threw the ball at Clark hard. Clark ducked and Sarah let her head drop against the arm of the couch. Clark sat down by her, sighing.
"Bad day?" he asked
"Oh, what are you Clark?" asked Sarah sarcastically. "A man of steel and a mind-reader?"
Clark started laughing. Sarah however did not. He stopped as he saw a tear stream down her cheek. He put a hand on her knee.
"Hey," he whispered. "I know you didn't hurt that boy. You're too gentle to be like that. Come on. I know something that'll cheer you up,"
"A one way ticket to Jamaica so I can get out of here?" asked Sarah getting up.
"You can ask Lex that," Clark joked. "But I've got something even better,"
"What?"
Clark went behind the couch, and held up a bat, a glove, baseball hat, and a softball. Sarah smiled. She knew what he was doing. He was gonna play her favorite game with her. Softball. She played for the Smallville Crow's softball team in the summer. She followed Clark outside in the back of the barn. He handed her the bat and walked a few yards away from her.
"Welcome to the 27th annual Smallville softball game. Smallville Crow's against Grandville Tiger's," Clark imitated an announcer. "The bases are loaded. It's the last inning in the game, and Sarah Kent is at the bat last. If she hits this, the Crow's are going home with a trophy. If not, well, you get the idea. The handsome, tall, hottest pitcher in the world..."
"Stop bragging pretty boy!" Sarah smiled. "Just throw the ball,"
Clark laughed, and he threw the ball at Sarah. Using perfect hand eye coordination, Sarah hit the ball with a force, and it went flying, so high, it would almost outfly a bird...or a plane. Clark looked at Sarah and smiled.
"You haven't lost your touch," he said.
The next day, Clark and Sarah were in town running errands for their mother. Sarah spent the morning at home, doing chores on the farm, and spent the afternoon waiting for Clark to come home. After he did, Mrs. Kent asked if they could go into town and shop for her. They started coming out of the flower shop.
"OK," Sarah said looking at her list. "We already got mom's 2 dozen tulips. So we just need..."
Sarah looked up and saw Clark staring at something. She looked in his direction and saw Tina walking into her mother's antique store. She looked back at him.
"Did it happen again?" she asked
Clark nodded.
"Let's go home," Sarah said nervously
"No Sarah," Clark stopped her. "It's okay...Didn't we need to go to the antique store?"
"It's actually next on our list. Come on,"
Clark and Sarah walked into the antique store. Sarah looked around. There was no one there.
"Hello?" she called.
Suddenly, Mrs. Grier came out from the back with a smile on her face.
"Sarah," she said. "How are you?"
"Good," Sarah answered with a smile. "How's your business going?"
"Couldn't be better. I'm doing so many estate sales in Metropolis, I'm thinking of selling the place,"
"That's too bad. I thought you loved this store,"
"Not really. I never wanted this life, it just kind of happened,"
"Is Tina around?" asked Clark. "I thought I saw her come in,"
"She's at Lana's. They're inseperable these days,"
"Really? I could've sworn..."
"You must be seeing things,"
Clark nodded, and turned to Sarah.
"I need some air," he said. "I'm gonna go for a walk. You have the keys to the truck?"
"They're in my bag. I'll meet you out there,"
Clark smiled and walked out the store. Sarah turned back to Mrs. Grier.
"I came by to pick the lamp," she explained.
"The lamp?"asked Mrs. Grier confused
"The one you were restoring for my dad,"
"...Oh yes! Silly me. It's in the back,"
Sarah nodded as Mrs. Grier went into the back of the store. After resting her ourse on the counter, she started looking around at the place, and spotted a very nice mirror in the corner. She smiled, as she looked at her reflection in the big mirror, and tilted it slightly. Suddenly, she double taked and saw a stack of bills under a dresser. She looked back, and saw what was true. A stack of 100 dollar bills was sitting on the floor. She picked it up and saw a "Smallville: Savings and Loans" band around it. Thoughts raced through her mind. Could this be part of the money that was stolen days before?
"It's not finished," Mrs. Grier said coming back. "Could you..."
Mrs. Grier stopped and looked at Sarah with the stack of bills in her hand. Sarah had a look of shock on her face.
"Um..." she stuttered. "I, uh, found this under the, um...dresser,"
"Oh," sighed Mrs. Grier. "I'm such an airhead today. A client paid me in cash. I've been looking for this all day,"
"That's a lot of money. You should be careful,"
"Thanks. Why don't you stop by next week. Your father's lamp should be ready than,"
Sarah slowly nodded and began walking out the door.
"Sarah!" called Mrs. Grier. "You forgot your purse,"
Sarah turned around and laughed silently.
"I guess we're both being airheads today," she joked.
Sarah waved goodbye at Mrs. Grier as she swung her purse on her shoulder. Outside, she noticed the newspaper stand with Lex's picture on it. It had something to do with the robbery. She shook her head. Suddenly, she heard tires screeching, and screams. She looked up and saw Clark driving the truck on the sidewalk swerving around.
"Clark?" she asked herself in disbelief.
The truck suddenly came toward her, and Sarah started to run for it. She dropped her bag accidently, but she wasn't going back for it. Just as the truck was about to hit her, she jumped out of the way, and the truck swerved around the corner. Sarah looked behind her and saw Clark running toward her.
"Sarah!" he shouted as he bent down. "Sarah, are you all right?"
"Clark," Sarah sighed with relief.
Sarah hugged him tightly closing her eyes. She was safe.
Later, Clark and Sarah were at home sitting in the kitchen with their mother. They had hot chocolate in their hands, and Sarah sat sipping it. Jonathon came in.
"The police found the truck,"he informed."Abandoned out by the Stewarts farm,"
"Did anybody see the driver?" asked Clark
"No,"
"I could've sworn it was you Clark," Sarah said shaking her head.
"I guess I'm not the only one with the vision problem," Clark said smiling at Sarah
"Look I don't understand," Jonathon said. "Whoever it was how did they get the keys?"
"I don't know," Sarah answered. "I only went to the antique store and..."
Sarah stopped and the whole room was dead silent.
"What is it Sarah?" asked Clark.
"Nothing," Sarah replied. "It's just that Mrs. Grier was acting very strange. I found like about 5,000 dollars in cash under a dresser. And it had a "Smallville Savings and Loans" band on it. She said a customer paid her but..."
"You think it's from the bank robbery?"
"It crossed my mind,"
"So wait a minute," Jonathon said. "Rose took the keys that you were watching for Clark, turned into Clark, and then tried to run you down?"
"It's crazy,"
Clark thought about this for a while.
"I saw a flash of Tina Grier's skeleton," he finally said. "It was wierd and green. It didn't look human. You know, like the ones you see in anatomy books?"
"That's probably because Tina was born with a soft tissue disease," Martha explained. "They had that poor girl on all these experimental drugs. Doctors didn't believe she'd live to see first grade,"
"She did get better right around her third birthday," Jonathon put in.
"That was right after the meteor shower wasn't it?"asked Clark
"Yeah,"
"Clark what do you think Tina's doing?" asked Martha
"I don't know," Clark answered. "I saw the same weird skeleton flash just after the robbery, I think. I just wish I could control this,"
"What if you try focusing it, like a telescope?"
"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "Like...um...Oh! Hang on!"
Sarah dug into her pocket with her hand closed as she pulled it back out. She held it up like a fist as she showed it on front of Clark's face.
"What do I have in my hand?" she asked.
"Your lucky bracelet," Clark replied.
Sarah smiled and opened her hand. Her bracelet rested on her skin, with it's red, yellow, and blue beads close together.
"You could see right through my hand," she commented.
"No, you always carry your bracelet in that pocket," Clark smiled
Sarah smirked and shook her head. She could tell that Clark had a lot of work to do.
The next day, while Sarah was at home, Brianna and Allison were having their lunch break and decided to spend it with Chloe, Pete, and Clark. They met Chloe and Pete in the Torch office.
"Hey Chloe," greeted Brianna. "Hi Pete,"
"Hey girls," Pete smiled.
"Where's Sarah?" asked Chloe.
"Didn't you hear?" asked Allison. "She got suspended for beating up Ned Hudson,"
"Yeah," agreed Brianna. "But the weird part was, she didn't do it,"
"Wow," Chloe said as they went out into the halls. "Who knew Sarah Kent would be a prime suspect in a school fight?"
"But why would Ned accuse Sarah of something she didn't do?" asked Pete.
"Maybe it's because Clark scared him, he wanted to get revenge,"
"Clark scaring a kid? I don't think so,"
"Yeah," Allison nodded. "We're gonna stop by the shrimp's place and see if he noticed anything strange about the attacker,"
"In the meantime, let's grab Clark and grab a bite to eat. I hear they're serving Sloppy Joes today and it's first come, first serve,"
Allison, Brianna, and Chloe laughed as they turned the corner. They found Clark staring at someone. Brianna looked in the direction he was staring, and saw that he was looking at Tina Greir. Probably waiting for Lana she thought to herself. Allison waved ahand on front of Clark's face.
"Earth to Clark!" she shouted.
Clark snapped out of it, and looked at his friends.
"Is everything okay?" asked Pete.
"Have you guys ever noticed anything strange about Tina Grier?" asked Clark
Chloe looked at Tina strangely.
"Nothing that would require the intense concentration your exerting to look at her," she responded
"The only weird thing about Tina is the amount of time she spends idolizing Lana," Allison commented.
"Yeah. She's practically her clone. We'll meet you in the Cafeteria,"
As Chloe and Pete took the girls to the cafeteria, Clark still stared at Tina. After a while he turned away and started walking around. The halls became less crowded, and soon everyone except him had either gone to Lunch, another class, or ditched school. He came across Tina's locker, and focused on it carefully. Then suddenly FLASH! He could see what was inside. There, in her red backpack, was loads of cash. He smiled to himself.
"Clark!" came a voice.
Clark's concentration broke and turned around to find Taina with an angry look.
"What's your glitch, huh? Why do you keep staring at me,"
"Um..." Clark said. "I don't know. Sorry,"
And with that Clark left the school heading straight for home.
Sarah was in the hayloft with her parents, carrying big stacks of hay to the trailor attached to the tractor. It was not her brightest day yet.
"Come on Sarah," Jonathon smiled encouraging Sarah. "If you want to be strong like Clark, you're gonna have to move faster with that hay,"
"Dad," Sarah said wiping sweat from her forehead. "Clark is stronger than any other man on this Earth. There is no way I could end up strong like Clark,"
Martha smiled as she helped Sarah put the stack of hay on the back of the tractor. Sarah let out a sigh of exhaustion as though she would collapse at any moment.
"Why don't you go inside and take a nap?" suggested Martha. "You've had a hard week,"
"Unh-Unh," Sarah smiled. "Someone besides Clark has got to help you with these chores,"
As if on cue, Clark came running in. Sarah rolled her eyes.
"Oh don't tell me you got suspended too," she groaned.
"Clark why are you home so early?" asked Martha worried.
"More vision problems?" asked Jonathon
"I controlled it," Clark smiled. "Once, sort of. I concentrated and it worked,"
"That's great," Sarah said excited. "What'd you concentrate on?"
"Tina Grier's locker,"
"What'd you see?"
"The money from the bank robbery,"
After school that day, Brianna and Allison walked over to Ned's house. It seemed forever to get there. Allison groaned and sat down on the curb.
"Why can't we talk to him on the phone?" she complained. "My feet are killing me. We need Clark for this. He can get us there in a second flat,"
"We're reporters Ali. We don't reveal anything unless it's necessary," Brianna replied. "Come on. His house is just around the corner,"
Allison groaned and mummbled something as she got up. "The things I do for friends. Sarah owes me big time for this,"
By the time, they turned the corner, the girls felt like they were pulled into a different dimension. Ned's house was brown, and so was the front lawn. The house was gaurded by fences of barbwire and there were signs like "Trespassers beware" or "Beware of Dog," In fact, a dog was lying on the hard ground. The girls opened the gate cautiously.
"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore Allison," Brianna commented.
"I don't think we'll live to see Kansas, Brianna," Allison replied softly while eyeing the great dane that was chained to a wall.
The dog seemed to have noticed this, and started growling, which grew into loud barks.
"Agh!" Allison jumped. "Rabid dog! Rabid dog!"
The girls reached the front door safely, and knocked on the door. Ned was the one who opened it.
"What do you want?" he asked rudely.
"What does your momma want?" asked Brianna coolly.
Ned raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"We're here to talk to you about the night you were attacked," Allison informed. "Can we come in?"
"No," Ned said. "But I can tell you this. Kent better watch where she's going when she somes back to school, because after I'm done with her, she's gonna wish she was never born,"
"Is that a threat?"
"Could be,"
"We just want to know what you saw that night," Brianna said. "A few questions isn't going to hurt. Why were you oustide at night?"
"Hanging out,"
"What did your attacker look like?"
"I don't know. It was too dark to see,"
"Then how do you know it was Sarah?" asked Allison
"Hey! All I know is that I heard her voice,"
"What did this voice say?" asked Brianna
"She said 'That's what you get for messing with Lana Lang's friend'"
Sarah sat on the couch watching an old movie, when the doorbell rang. She sighed and turned off the TV, as the doorbell continually rang.
"I'm coming!" she shouted. "Quit trying to break the doorbell!"
Sarah opened the door to find Brianna and Allison with serious looks on their faces.
"What's wrong?" Sarah got worried.
"We stopped by the weasel's place today after school," Allison explained as she and Brianna came in.
"Oh no," Sarah closed the door. "What'd you do?"
"We just questioned him Sarah," Brianna reassured as she sat down. "We didn't accuse him of anything. Trust me,"
"We just asked him if he recognized his attacker," Allison explained. "He said he didn't see it, but all he could recognize was your voice saying 'That's what you get for messing with Lana Lang's friend'"
"That's weird," Sarah said. "Is he sure it was my voice?"
"Postitive," Brianna said.
"I threatened to break his other arm if he wasn't telling the truth," grinned Allison
Sarah and Brianna sniggered at the thought of Allison threatening Ned. Suddenly, outside, they heard a noise. It was a crash that sounded like it came from the loft.
"Oh no," Sarah whispered. "Clark,"
Sarah and the girls ran outside in the night. They ran across the dirt road and to the loft where they found Clark by a pile of lumber that he fell with. Sarah helped him up.
"Are you all right?" she asked
"Yeah," Clark answered. "I'm fine. But I don't think Lana will be,"
That night, after Jonathon dropped off Allison and Brianna home, he came back to the loft with his flashlight after searching for hours. Clark, Sarah, and Martha were waiting for him
"Well," he said coming in. "There's no sign of Tina or Lana or..."
"Are you positive you saw her turn back into Tina?" asked Sarah
"I think the meteor shower did something to her bones," Clark commented.
"So she can change her appearance at will?" asked Jonathon
"Yeah and it gives her strength. That's how she threw me out of the loft,"
"What should we tell the police?" asked Martha
"Nothing. Tina can turn into whoever she wants and I'm the only one who can see it,"
Sarah nodded and was about to go inside but stopped. Her eyes grew wide in realization.
"It was her," she whispered to herself.
"What'd you say sweetheart?" asked Jonathon.
"It was her! I can't believe she got me suspended! Wait till I get my fingers on her!"
"Sarah honey," Martha said soothingly. "I'm sure she didn't mean to get you suspended,"
"Mom! I'm Lana's friend too. She used to babysit me when I was seven. That's how she and I grow attached. Tina knows that I'm her friend too,"
"So you're saying this because Tina knows that you and Lana are friends, and that automatically makes you her friend too?" asked Clark.
"I don't know! It's just that why would she get into my personal life and get me blamed for something I didn't do?"
Sarah growled in frustration and headed out into the house. Clark sighed.
"It's my fault," he said. "I should've never told Tina and Lana that she got suspended,"
"Don't blame yourself son," Jonathon put a hand on Clark's shoulder. "You don't have to be so hard on yourself. Sarah's growing up. Remember when you did all those tricks to her when she was little and she didn't care?"
"And by the time she was 8, her tolerance staged a revolt?" laughed Clark
"Yeah. Sarah's growing up son. And she's mindful of the things that's around her world,"
"Just like she was mindful of your secret," Martha said.
Clark looked up at his parents.
"Did she ever complain about keeping my secret?" he wondered.
Martha smiled.
"No," she answered. "But when she found out, she was a bit scared. And from that day, me and your father knew that you two would be inseperable,"
"Why?"
"Because Sarah looks for the good in people, Clark. Not what they are,"
The next day, Sarah was still at home for suspension, and while she was at home, Clark, Pete, and Brianna were walking down the street to the antique market.
"So you're telling us that Tina Grier can bend her bones like a contortionist and become anybody she wants?" asked Pete.
"I saw it with my own eyes," Clark answered.
"That must've been her portraying Sarah and framing her for Ned's attack," Brianna realized. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine,"
"I'm sorry," Pete chuckled to himself. "This is usually Chloe's territory. I cover girls, football, and general guy stuff. She does the tales of the unexplained. So why don't you give her a call?"
"I did. She said she was busy with something else. Did you try Allison?"
"She's working on a science project, and later she's babysitting her little cousin," Brianna said.
"You realize that's like getting turned down by the National Enquirer," Pete commented
"Remind me again why we're friends?" Clark raised an eyebrow as they arrived at the shop
"Because even though I think you're whacked, I show up ready to rumble,"
Brianna rolled her eyes as she looked through the window with Clark. It was dark and she could hardly see a thing.
"Clark, Bri," Pete said. "Haven't you ever watched 'Cops'? The last place Tina's gonna be hiding out is in her mom's store?"
Clark didn't listen. Focusing his eyes, he used his x-ray vision to see a better look around. Inside he saw a skeleton stuck inside a cabinet. Brianna noticed what he was doing, and snapped her fingers close to his ears.
"Earth to Clark," she said annoyed. "Is everything okay?"
"I need to get in there," Clark said to Pete and Brianna.
"Why?"
"Just...a hunch,"
Brianna nodded.
"OK. My mom used to work here for a part-time job. There's a back-door. Come on,"
Brianna led the two high-school students to the back of the store. Under the mat, she found a key, and unlocked the door. Pete walked in front of Clark and Brianna while Clark whispered in Brianna's ear.
"It would've been easier with me to just break the lock," he said.
"True," Brianna whispered back. "But it would've been a lot easier with me having a key and you'd still have your secret safe,"
Clark smiled as they caught up with Pete into the store.
"Search for clues," Brianna said.
"But what are we looking for?" asked Pete.
"I'm not sure,"
As the two searched around, Clark looked at the cabinet curiously.
"Pete come here," he said.
While Brianna was still looking around, Pete walked over. Once he did, Clark opened the cabinet door. A woman, who was sickly pale, fell out and onto the ground. Brianna turned around from where she was looking and screamed.
"Whoa," Pete whispered. "Who's that?"
"It's Tina's mom," Clark replied
"How'd you know she was in there?"
"Because I can see right through the door, Pete,"
"Very funny, Sherlock. How do you think she died?"
"Broken neck,"
Pete looked at Clark curiously.
"I'm guessing,"
Pete looked at Brianna, and she only just shrugged. But inside her, she just smiled, knowing something that Pete didn't know. Like she was under the impression that she was smarter than a freshman.
"My call," Pete's said. "Tina's already on a bus to Metropolis,"
Brianna looked behind her on the counter, and saw something strange. It was Lana's signature written a number of times.
"I don't think so," she said to the others. "Come over here. I think I found something,"
The boys came up behind her and looked at the notepad.
"Why's she writing Lana's signature?" asked Pete
"Allison said that Tina was obbsessed with her," Clark said. "She's gonna take it to the next level,"
"She wants to kill Lana?" asked Brianna
"Worse. She wants to become Lana,"
Later that night, Sarah was riding her bike along the gravel road trail with her bicycle light on to see. She was silent all day and was still angry at Tina for framing her. For so long she couldn't remember how long she had held a grudge against anybody. Not even with Clark, and he used to get on her nerves all the time. She noticed a horse tied to a post by the Smallville Cemetary, and realized it was Lana's. Well she thought I haven't spoken to anybody today. I guess I could talk to her. So Sarah turned off her bike light and set it by the fence. After taking off her helmet, she walked through the misty cemetary. It's like something out of an old horror movie she thought. Where's the pop out ghosts? She stifled a laugh at her own humor as she found Lana standing by her parents grave.
"Hi Lana," she whispered but loud enough for Lana to hear.
Lana looked up and smiled at Sarah, a little embarrassed.
"Hi Sarah," she said. "How are you?"
"Fine," Sarah sighed. "...Look. If you wanted a moment alone, I'll just go,"
"No! No, no, no, no. It's okay. I was just talking to my parents. You must think I'm pretty weird but..."
Lana stopped as she looked at Sarah. She noticed she had a sad look on her face.
"Sarah, what's wrong?" she asked softly as she went over to her. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Sarah answered softly. "I just had a pretty bad week,"
"I know how you feel,"
"What do you mean?"
"I found my mother's journal. The one she kept in high school. It turns out that she's been feeling the things that I've been feeling lately,"
"What were you feeling?"
"I've been depressed, frustarted, and it turned out that she hated cheerleading as much as I did. That's why I decided to quit,"
Sarah looked at Lana with tears in her eyes. She started to cry softly. Lana took her friend in her arms and started to calm her.
"Sweetheart, you musn't cry," she whispered
"Lana?" asked a voice
Lana and Sarah looked behind them and saw Whitney, Lana's boyfriend.
"Whitney, what are you doing here?" Lana asked.
"Your aunt said you went riding," Whitney explained. "I just followed the path,"
"I was just talking to my parents,"
Whitney looked at Lana's parents grave, and looked back at her in a ridiculous way.
"They're dead, Lana," he said. "You have this great life and you can't even see it. You have no right to be unhappy. They're not coming back, Lana. Deal with it,"
Lana was shocked by Whitney's words. So was Sarah. Lana doesn't deserve him she thought to herself.
"What are you saying?" whispered Lana.
"I'm saying you don't deserve your life," Whitney growled.
Lana wrapped her arms around Sarah, as Whitney started to form. Sarah glared at this figure, as it turned out to be Whitney.
"I do," she said.
"Sarah run!" shouted Lana.
Sarah ran for it across the night, as Lana tried to struggle from Tina's grip on her neck. But she stopped and looked back. She couldn't leave Lana like this.It wouldn't be right. She started to run back.
"Stop it!" she screamed. "You're killing her!"
Lana collapsed to the ground, unconsious, as Sarah jumped on Tina and they rolled on the ground, fighting. When Sarah was on top of her, she pinned her to the ground.
"Why did you beat up Ned?" she shouted.
"You don't even have the guts to beat up someone," Tina jeered. "A friend of Lana's needs to stand up for themselves,"
They rolled again, and this time Tina was on top.
"Then how is it that I have the guts to beat up you?" Sarah spat.
They rolled on the ground again, with Sarah on top.
"You framed me for something I didn't do!" she grabbed a hold of Tina's collar, and pulled her closer to her face. "I'm gonna make you pay,"
Tina had had enough of this girl. With her strength, she picked themselves up, and threw Sarah to the ground. Sarah hit her head on a tombstone, and darkness came to her eyes.
Clark, meanwhile, was looking for Lana down the cemetary. He was also looking for Sarah, because she hadn't come home for dinner that night. When he noticed her bike was there, he started to be calm. He had also seen Lana's horse, and figured that Sarah was with her. But then, he started to get nervous. Lana had an emerald necklace that she wore around her neck all the time. It was made from the meteor that killed her parents, and it weakened him every time he got near her. Still, he had to look for Sarah. When he went there, he found Whitney.
"Clark," he noticed him come. "What are you doing here?"
"I was gonna ask you the same thing," Clark said. "Where's Lana and Sarah?"
"I don't know," Whitney said coming over. "Nell said Lana came out here, but now I can't find her anywhere. I haven't seen Satah either, so, it looks like you're out of luck,"
Suddenly, Clark started to feel very weak. He bent over a little bit in pain, and saw that Whitney had Lana's emerald necklace.
"What's the matter, Clark?" asked Whitney. "Not feeling well?"
Without warning, Whitney pulled out a pipe from behind, and swung it at Clark. He got up again with more determination.
"Tina, where's Lana and Sarah?" he asked
"Tina doesn't exist anymore!"
Whitney swung the pipe again, but Clark super-sped out of the way, so now, he was right behind him.
"Where's Lana and Sarah?" he asked again.
Whitney swung again, but Clark ducked, and grabbed Whitney. He slammed him against a tombstone.
"Who are you?" grunted Whitney.
Clark was pushed against another tombstone. But he was the better of Whitney. He threw him on the ground. He started yelling
"WHERE ARE THEY?" he shouted.
"They're dead," Whitney said getting up.
Clark didn't believe him. Whitney grabbed the pipe, and swung again. Clark grabbed the other end of it, and swung it to a tree, with Whitney banging his head against it. Losing conciousness, he slowly formed back into Tina. Clark started to call out his friend and sister's name.
"Lana!" he shouted. "Sarah!"
No answer came from both. He decided to use his x-ray vision. Focusing, he could see the insides of coffins, the ground, everything. He stopped. Inside a crypt, he could see two bodies that were trying to get out, but they collapsed in exhaustion or lack of air. He super-sped to the crypt, and ripped off the gate, throwing it aside, like it was nothing. Inside the coffin, he punched his hand throuh, and found Lana and Sarah lying togethor unconsious. First he got Lana out, and carried her all the way to the base of the tree.
"Lana," he whispered.
Lana started coughing and fluttered her eyes open. She smiled a bit.
"Clark," she whispered back.
Suddenly, Lana eye's grew big as she realized something.
"Where's Sarah?"
"It's all right. Just rest. I'm gonna go get her,"
Lana closed her eyes, resting. Clark super-sped back to the crypt, and gathered his sister in his arms. When he got her outside, he set her down on the ground, and rested her head in his hand.
"Come on Sarah," he urged. "Wake up. Don't die on me. Come on,"
Sarah groaned as she opened her eyes slowly. Her vision started to clear as she saw Clark with a worried look on his face.
"Clark!" she said softly.
Clark smiled, and hugged his sister tightly.
Later, the ambulence was at Lana's house. Sarah was still being carried in Clark's arms, but was warm from the blanket she was given by Lana's Aunt Nell. Lana stood by the fence post as the paramedics loaded Tina into the ambulence. Chloe came running up.
"Hey," she said to Clark and Sarah. "I heard what happened,"
"Hey," Clark said as Sarah snuggled her head into his chest in a sleepy grunt.
Chloe smiled at her little friend, and pulled the blanket out of her face to get a better look at Sarah.
"Well aren't you the tired little one," she playfully said. "Must be hard trying to risk your life for someone you love,"
"You don't know the half of it," Sarah grunted. "I still got a headache,"
Chloe laughed.
"Did you come by to see if we was okay?" asked Clark
"Actually," Chloe smiled. "As concerned as I always am about your personal well-being, I'm not here to see you,"
As Chloe went over to Lana, Martha and Jonathon pulled up in their truck and came out to their kids.
"You kids all right?" Jonathon asked.
"We're fine," Clark explained. "And don't worry. So is Sarah. Doctors say that all she has is a splitting headache,"
"Oh, sweetheart," Martha softly said as she put a hand on her daughter's head. "What were you thinking?"
"Not trying to get myself killed," Sarah groaned. "That's for sure,"
"How's Tina?"
"She won't be able to hurt anybody else," Clark explained.
"I still don't understand why a girl would do all that," Jonathon shook his head.
"I do," Clark said. "You go through life with a gift you have to keep a secret. When you see everyone around you being normal, you get jealous. You just want to be somebody else,"
"You'll always be normal to me Clark," Sarah said softly. "Even if you are sometimes a bit weird,"
Clark laughed as his sister reached up and kissed him on the cheek. Meanwhile, he noticed Lana go in and through his x-ray vision, he could see her and Whitney...togethor. They were kissing. He shook it out of his head and looked down at Sarah in his arms, who was looking back at him.
"You really like her don't you?" she asked.
"Sarah if you could see anything, what would you do?" Clark asked.
"Learn to close my eyes," Sarah yawned.
"Which is what you need to do, young lady," Jonathon said. "It's way past your bedtime. Clark, go ahead and take your sister home. Your mom and I will meet you there,"
As Jonathon and Martha went back to the truck, Clark started walking away with Sarah.
"But I'm not tired," She said sleepily.
"You always say that," Clark smiled at his sister. "But still, you're always tired,"
Clark didn't get a come-back from his sister. She had already fallen asleep.
The next week, Sarah was allowed to go back to school. By the time 2nd period rolled by, Sarah started getting nervous. They were going to climb the rope again. But this time she was more determined. Everyone stood in a line as the Coach talked to them
"All right," he said. "Today's Monday. And you know what that means,"
"We suffer pain and death from the torture of climbing rope," shouted out a random boy.
Everyone started laughing. The coach just smiled.
"Very funny," he said. "Remind me to give you 8 laps after school, Henderson. Now who would like to volunteer?"
No one raised their hand. Not even Allison, who was always more than willing to climb rope. Suddenly, Sarah stepped up in front.
"I'll do it sir," she said softly.
The coach smiled.
"Kent," The coach held the rope in his hands. "The spotlight's yours,"
Sarah took a deep breath, and grasped the rope in her hands. The itchy feeling benath her fingers made them sweaty, but she couldn't stop there. She pushed her self up and dangled there, but just for a moment. Using all her strength, she managed to pull herself up a bit...then more...then more...then more...Until she was just beneath the bell. She reached her fingers...and grabbed the ring of the bell, and started ringing it. As she did, several of the students started cheering for her accomplishment. As she slid down, the coach gave her a proud smile.
"Conrgratualations Kent," he said. "You're a real supergirl,"
Sarah smiled as she joined her friends, who gave her high-fives and pats on the back.
"Good going supergirl," Brianna said.
"Call me that again," Sarah said still smiling. "And I'm gonna have to pound you,"
Allison laughed, as she pulled her friends into a group hug.
(A/N: Yea! I've finally finished this chapter. And I'll be updating a lot more because school's out and I have three months of summer! Anyways...update!)