Since I couldn't come up with very many good scenes to include Lex in before now, I've decided to make up for his lack of appearances in the next several chapters. This one here focuses entirely on the Smallville characters, but it gets the next wild adventure started, so hopefully you guys have fun reading Part 2. Also, the chapter title is meant to be a joke, but it's still accurate.

Part 2

Secrets

Chapter 1

Troy Turner is a Douchebag

For a couple of months after John Winchester and Daniel Elkins left town, nothing interesting happened in Smallville, but that all changed when Sam Phelan wormed his way into Clark's life after he stopped a bus accident in Metropolis. Despite the dirty cop's attempts to manipulate and blackmail him, Clark still managed to outsmart him when he tried to steal the breastplate from the museum. In the end, Phelan went down in a gunfight with police and museum security, but he refused to tell Lex what happened while he lay there, dying on the floor.

It was nearly two weeks later, and Lex found that he couldn't forget about the mysterious blur that he saw on the surveillance footage from the museum. It was late in the evening, and he was in the library of the mansion, looking over some files on his computer that contained falsified reports about Cadmus Labs, but it wasn't enough to distract him from obsessing over what happened between Clark and Phelan.

Lionel had been complaining for months about the Hardwicks and their attempts at taking over Luthor Corp, so Lex planned to set a trap for Victoria while she was in town, to trick Sir Harry into making a bad investment. If he managed to take over Hardwick Enterprises instead, he knew his controlling father would have a reason to compliment him for once, but it was difficult to concentrate when he couldn't stop thinking about that mysterious blur. Fortunately for Lex, he soon got the distraction he needed when the double doors of the library opened, and Darius the guard came in with the courier the Luthors always hired to transport expensive cargo from overseas.

"Your delivery is here, Mister Luthor," Darius announced.

Lex got up from behind his desk and walked around to the front. "Thanks for bringing him in, Darius."

The courier brought Lex the documentation for the artifacts he ordered and took his signature, to confirm that the shipment had arrived, and then the three of them went back outside so they could bring in the goods. With the help of the courier's haulers, they brought the big, wooden crate into the armory, where swords, rifles, and a variety of ancient weapons from around the world were on display. Once the cargo was right where Lex wanted it, the security guard escorted the courier and his crew back outside.

After they were gone, Lex pried the wooden crate open with a crowbar and pulled the lid off so he could look inside. With a smile, he muttered, "These are going to look good above the fireplace."

Inside the crate, surrounded by thick foam, was a pair of bronze battle axes that had been imported from China for his collection. Lex picked them up one at a time and using a fold-up step ladder that he kept in the room, he placed each of them on a pair of unused display hooks that were embedded in the wall above the fireplace. When he was finished, he sat down on a tan, leather couch with a glass of scotch so he could relax by the fire. Victoria stuck her head in the room to see what he was up to and found him admiring the new decorations while he made himself comfortable.

Then she leaned against the doorway with her arms folded over her chest. "You're such a nerd, Lex."

Lex glanced at the doorway with a smile. "What's wrong? Are you afraid I'll put my collection ahead of you?"

Looking at him seductively, Victoria bit her lip and put her arms down by her sides, giving him a good view of the low-cut top she was wearing. "So, where'd you get your latest toys from?"

Lex got up off the sofa and inspected her with his eyes as she casually strolled into the room. "China. They were crafted during the early years of the Zhou Dynasty, but I get the feeling you didn't come here to discuss ancient weaponry."

"Perceptive, as usual," Victoria said with a soft chuckle.

They exchanged a kiss and then she took him by the hand and led him out of the room. Lex closed the door behind them as they headed for the stairwell, but they didn't get very far when the lights started flickering and they heard the sound of metal striking stone in the room they had just come from.

Victoria looked up at the lights and then glanced back at the door to the armory. "Lex? What's happening?"

Lex looked around at the flickering lights as well. "I'm not sure."

Then he led the way back to the room and slowly opened the door, just as the flickering of the lights stopped. As soon as he entered, he discovered that one of the battle axes he unboxed was embedded in the wall, just to the left of the doorway.

"What the hell?" he asked himself, before grabbing the handle and yanking it back out of the wall.

He started to inspect the blade for signs of damage, but Victoria became irritated and ruined his concentration. "Is this your idea of a joke, Lex?"

He gave her a confused look. "I don't know what happened. I can't explain it."

Still not believing him, Victoria shook her head. "If you find this amusing, then you're just as immature as those teenagers you spend so much time with."

Ignoring her, Lex went over to the fireplace and climbed back on his ladder so he could put the damaged weapon back in its place. He turned to defend himself when he got back down, but he noticed that Victoria was no longer there, and he could hear her angry footsteps as she stamped her feet down the hallway. Still more confused than disappointed about not getting laid, he looked up at the axes one more time, before leaving the room and closing the door again. This time, they remained right where they were supposed to be, and the lights never flickered again that night.

The following afternoon, Clark met up with Chloe to help her with the Torch paper again and Pete was already in the room before they got there. He seemed to be hard at work behind the computer and had an intense look on his face as he stared at the screen, making it appear that he too had developed x-ray vision and was attempting to see the inside of the monitor.

Chloe gave him a weird look as she entered the room. "Hard at work on the sports column I see…"

Pete looked up at her and smirked. "Yep, you know me. Always the hard worker."

Chloe glanced back at Clark with a smile and started walking around the desk. Clark, on the other hand, was already suspicious.

When Chloe saw what was on the screen, the look on her face suddenly changed and she became visibly worried. "Pete, that doesn't look like the sports column…"

Clark went over to investigate. "What's going on?"

Pete glanced back and forth between his friends and then he caved. "I'm still trying to find Jodi. I'm hoping that if I look for clues, maybe I'll get a lead on her."

Chloe looked up at Clark and then down at the screen again. "You're not going to find anything on conspiracy theorist sites, Pete. You'd be better off trying to contact those guys that tracked her down last time."

Then Pete looked up at Clark. "Clark can probably call them. His dad has their number."

Clark gave him his deer in the headlights look and took a step back. "But Pete, my dad keeps that business card under lock and key. He doesn't want me going anywhere near those guys."

"Can't you just try to call em?" Pete asked. "Ask your dad to give you their number."

Clark looked to Chloe for assistance, but she held up her hands. "Don't look at me. This is between you guys."

Then Clark looked down at Pete again. "It's too dangerous. The last time you tried to help Jodi, you nearly got yourself killed."

"But that was Dustin that attacked me, not Jodi," Pete reminded him. "Besides, those hunters brought you along, didn't they? How is it any more dangerous for me than for you?"

Clark glanced at Chloe again, but realizing she was no help, he gave Pete a stern look. "I only went there because I was worried about you. Those guys promised to look for a way to save Jodi, but if they don't find one, they'll probably just…"

"Kill her anyway?" Pete asked. "If you don't want to help me, then just come out and say it."

Finally, Clark got to the point. "Okay, Pete, I won't help you with this. I won't let you put yourself in danger again."

Having lost any interest he had in helping Chloe at the Torch, Clark turned and went back into the hallway, leaving his friends behind. Not sure what he should do now, he made his way through the crowded corridor, trying to think of a solution, but then he ran into Lana.

She smiled when she saw him and held a clipboard out to him. "Hey, Clark. I volunteered to recruit people for the blood drive. Would you like a permission slip?"

Pushing the situation with Pete out of his mind for a moment, Clark smiled back. "I'd like to, but… I may have to pass on that."

Lana suddenly looked disappointed, so then he gave her his reason. "I kinda have a fear of needles. It's a little embarrassing."

Once she understood, she smiled again. "Well, you're not the first to admit that, so you're not alone."

Clark started to feel embarrassed and shifted around on his feet uncomfortably. "That's good, I guess."

Then Whitney and his friend Troy Turner came up from behind him. Clark stepped aside, giving them some space, and they signed up to donate almost immediately.

After grabbing his permission slip, Troy looked at Clark and slapped him on the shoulder. "What's the matter, Clark? Afraid of needles?"

Clark felt his face turn hot when he looked at Troy. "Yeah, something like that…"

Troy laughed. "It won't hurt much. Just a little poke and then it's over. Come on, don't be a pussy!"

Deciding to ignore him, Clark looked at Lana again and smiled. "I could hand out cookies to people that donate."

Lana gave Troy a look of disgust and then Whitney grabbed his friend by the shoulder. "We should go. Come on, man."

Troy glanced at Clark one more time and smirked. "See you around, Kent."

Clark glanced back as the guys ran off with their permission slips and he overheard Whitney say, "You're a douchebag, man!"

"You're one to talk!" Troy shot back, before they disappeared into the crowd.

"Are you okay, Clark?" Lana asked, bringing his attention back to her.

"Yeah. Let me know if the people from the Red Cross need someone to hand out cookies."

She smiled at him. "I'll look into it and get back to you."

"Anyway, I better go," Clark said. "My dad needs my help on the farm."

The hallway began to clear out as he hurried towards his locker and then he opened it up with a sigh. He was still worried about the situation with Pete, but now he was also afraid that Lana thought less of him for not being willing to donate. He knew he had to come up with some kind of excuse, to avoid having to explain why the needles couldn't puncture his skin, but what upset him the most was seeing the effects keeping secrets had on his friends.

When he shut the locker, he turned and saw Jenna Barnum standing directly behind where the door had been. "Jenna!"

Looking quite nervous, she turned as if to walk away and said, "If this is a bad time, I can just go."

Then Clark smiled and slung his backpack over his shoulder. "No, it's fine. I just didn't expect you to be there is all. Is something wrong?"

She shook her head and forced herself to smile. "No, it's just that… I wanted to talk to you about what happened with Sean. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to bring it up, but… I saw what you did in that house."

Clark's smile faded and he looked around to make sure no one was close enough to hear them. "We can meet up at the Beanery after school. I've been wanting to talk about it too, but after what happened, I figured you needed your space."

With that out of the way, they picked a time and agreed to meet up so they could discuss things. After parting ways, Clark left the school as he thought about how he was going to handle this new problem. He was glad that Jenna never made a big deal out of it the way Phelan did, but he was still worried about the possibility of her telling someone.

Back at the Luthor mansion, Victoria was looking through the files on Lex's computer while he was away at the fertilizer plant. She found the reports on Cadmus Labs and smiled.

"Lex, you really should learn to encrypt your files," she said to herself with a laugh.

Thinking that this could be a huge win for Sir Harry, she inserted a USB flash drive into one of the ports and copied the files onto it. Feeling quite proud of herself, she leaned back in the chair and twirled a strand of her hair with her finger while the files were being transferred.

Once the process was finished, she looked up to make sure that no one could see what she was up to and ejected the flash drive. "Check. Let's see how you get out of this one, Lex."

She signed out of Lex's Luthor Corp account and got up from the chair. Slipping the flash drive into her purse, she picked it up off the floor and snuck over to one of the side doors, so she could escape from the massive library without drawing attention. She was almost out when she heard something heavy fall to the floor behind her.

Nearly jumping out of her skin, she yelped and turned around. Looking across the room at one of the bookshelves, she spotted an open book lying on the floor near the baseboard. "Oh, God, get a hold of yourself, Victoria. It's just a damn book…"

She carefully walked over and picked it up. The page that it was opened to contained a poem called Song of Myself and she furrowed her brow as she looked down at it. When she closed the book and saw that the title was Leaves of Grass, she chuckled and then put it back in its place.

"Lex, you can't even take care of your own library properly," she said to herself in a mocking tone. "I'm surprised the crap factory hasn't been run into the ground already."

Chuckling to herself again, she turned to leave once more, but as soon as she did, the empty glass that Lex had left on his desk the night before flew through the air and hit the floor, instantly shattering, and sending broken shards flying in multiple directions.

"Oh, God!" Victoria pressed her back against the bookshelf for a second and stared down at the mess.

When nothing else happened, she made a beeline for the double doors at the main entrance, without even caring if someone saw her. After escaping from the library, she fled down the hallway and decided to leave the mansion for a little while, just to calm her nerves.

After dropping off his stuff in the loft, Clark went back into town and entered the Beanery. He looked around until he spotted Jenna sitting at a table and she waved to him when they noticed each other. Giving her a friendly smile, he went over and took a seat.

"Can I get you something?" he asked.

Jenna shook her head. "I already ordered a cappuccino, but thanks for the offer."

A waitress brought Jenna her drink and then Clark ordered something for himself. After she left, he looked across the table and started to feel a bit nervous. "So…"

Jenna took a sip of her cappuccino and looked over at him. "So… I never thanked you for saving me. I'm sorry I didn't say something sooner."

"It's okay," Clark said with a grin. "Better late than never."

She nodded and smiled at him. "I hate to say it, but I honestly thought you were a vampire at first."

When Clark raised his eyebrows in surprise, she chuckled. "I couldn't tell if you were fighting over me or if you were there to help. Almost getting my blood sucked… It freaked me out, so I guess I wasn't thinking straight."

Clark nodded and gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sure most people would've felt the same way. It was a traumatic experience."

Jenna's smile faded and she took another sip of her drink. "It was just a good thing those other guys were there to help. I didn't tell them anything about you when they were driving me home, but they said you might be a hunter like them. It made a lot of sense, but there's more to it than that, isn't there?"

Clark nodded. "Yeah. It's complicated."

"I've heard of Chloe's wall," Jenna admitted. "I know about her meteor rock theory, and I've been wondering, is that what happened to you?"

Clark glanced around nervously and then answered, "I'm not exactly sure. I don't really remember the meteor shower. I was just… Kinda there. Jenna, I would really appreciate it if you could keep this between us. I'd rather not end up on Chloe's wall, if you know what I mean."

Jenna smiled and reached across the table to put a hand on one of his hands. "I promise to keep it to myself. I won't tell anyone."

Clark thanked her and pulled his hand away, making her feel a little awkward. Then the waitress brought him his drink and when she left again, Jenna apologized. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

"It's okay," Clark said. "It's nothing personal."

Jenna nodded as she remembered that he was known for having a crush on Whitney's girlfriend. "All I want to do is forget that any of this ever happened and move on with my life. After I graduate in the spring, I want to leave Smallville and get away from all of the weird things that happen here."

Agreeing with that statement, Clark added, "I know the feeling. I can't wait to get away from here either."

Then Jenna gave him an odd look. "You're still a Junior, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

Then she chuckled again. "You look like you should be halfway through college already. How's that possible?"

Clark shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe the meteor shower had something to do with it? Anyway, I'm just glad you're okay."

Then she smiled at him in a way that made him feel self-conscious. "I was disappointed when I heard you left the football team. I never really got to know you back then, but I was hoping to see you play after I noticed you at the pep rally."

Clark's face grew hot when he realized that she was starting to flirt with him. "I better get back to the farm. I've got chores…"

Without protesting, Jenna said farewell and watched him as he got up out of his seat. Leaving his unfinished coffee and some cash on the table, he hurried out the door, found a good spot to take cover, and then ran back home.