You've probably noticed that I changed the title and summary to this story. The reason is that this story was originally going to be 4 parts, but I decided to shorten it and split it up into two separate stories. Since this is my first time writing a crossover for these shows, I think "Meteor Freaks and Supernatural Things" makes a better title for a series.

Chapter 6

The Luthors and the Hardwicks

Clark was in the loft of the barn when he hung up his phone. He tossed it onto his couch with a sigh and went over to the window, to look out at the fields beyond the row of trees next to the driveway. A fresh layer of soft, fluffy snow covered the driveway and the shed down below after coming down during the night. The sight was almost beautiful, but everything that happened at the mansion weighed heavily on his mind, preventing him from being able to enjoy it.

Then he noticed Bill Ross's truck pull into his parents' driveway. After they came to a stop in front of the barn, Pete jumped out of the drivers' side and headed into the barn, while his dad got out on the other side and headed up to the house to see Jonathan.

Clark turned around when he heard Pete climbing the stairs and he was happy to see him. "Hey, Pete!"

Pete had a guilty look on his face when he reached the top of the stairs. He put his hands in the pockets of his coat and sighed. "Hey, Clark. My dad and I stopped by so I could apologize about the other day."

Clark smiled. "It's alright. You were worried about Jodi, so I understand."

"No, Clark, it's not," Pete argued. "I acted like a dick and I'm sorry. Besides, you were right about it being too dangerous. I thought about it, and I realized that Jodi still attacked her dad, even if she was tricked into becoming a vampire. I know he survived, but what happened is gonna haunt him forever."

Clark nodded and his smile faded. "I'm glad you stopped by. I've been wanting to tell you and Chloe about the ghost situation anyway."

Intrigued, Pete smiled, showing that he was ready to rock and roll. "Alright, so what'cha find out?"

Clark told him about the girl that Lex saw and about how Dean used the rock salt in his shotgun to repel her. Then he talked about the books flying off the shelves, right before Lex decided to go stay with Victoria for the night.

Pete gave him a confused look. "He used rock salt? Seriously?"

Clark nodded. "Yeah, that's what he used. I wanted to try talking to her, but that didn't go so well."

Pete stopped to think for a minute and shook his head. "I don't think it was a coincidence that she went crazy after those Winchesters showed up. She probably knew why they were there, and it just pissed her off more."

Clark paused to think about it as well and realized that his friend was probably right. "It was probably the EMF readers and the weapons that tipped her off."

Then Pete hit Clark's chest with the back of his hand. "Dude, you and I could go in there and look around. Maybe if we go in the daytime and try not to piss this girl off, we could see what kind of secrets the Luthors are hiding."

"But Pete, it's too dangerous," Clark said. "I shouldn't have been there with them. I almost got hit with a flail, and if they hadn't warned me to get down, I would've died."

Pete pictured the potential aftermath and shuddered. "Man… I see your point. Maybe we should just leave all this to the experts."

"Exactly," Clark said. "Anyway, I have chores to do, so I better get to them."

Then Bill called up to his son from the bottom of the stairs. "Pete, are you ready, son?"

Pete glanced back at the stairs briefly, and then he shook his head at Clark. "I gotta go anyway. My dad's taking me to a hardware store in Granville, to help him load some stuff up when they open."

"At least he's letting you drive," Clark said with a chuckle.

Pete grinned at him. "Yeah, I'll see ya around man."

Then he hurried down the stairs and Clark went over to the railing so he could watch Bill and Pete leave the barn. Once he was sure they were gone, he retrieved his phone from the couch and sat down so he could call Sam and let him know what Lex told him about Victoria.

Sam was in the Beanery with his brother when Clark called them, and Dean was in the middle of devouring a massive stack of waffles. The little squares in every single waffle were flooded with syrup, and Dean was chewing a massive bite that stuck out of his mouth a little bit, much to Sam's disgust, when the phone started to ring.

Sam answered, "Hey, Clark, how are ya feeling?"

"Not bad," Clark replied. "What happened last night sucked, but I'll live."

Sam chuckled and his brother looked up from his waffles at him without saying anything. "I imagine it did. I'm just glad you're okay."

With his mouth still full of food, Dean smiled and said, "Hey, Sah… Tuh Carl teh Beam…"

Then he finished chewing the big bite and gulped it down. "Tell Clark the Beanery has good frickin waffles for a coffee shop."

Sam raised his eyebrows. "I'm sure he knows that, Dean… He's lived here his whole life."

Clark chuckled on the other end. "What was that?"

"Dean was just being a moron," Sam said with a grin.

Dean glared at his brother briefly, but then resumed his feast. Clark chuckled again and gave Sam an update. "Lex thinks that Victoria might know who the girl is."

Then Sam furrowed his brow. "Victoria… She's Lex's girlfriend, right?"

"Yeah. He suspects she knows something about her, but she wouldn't tell him anything. I think we should look into this."

Sam paused for a second, causing Dean to glance up at him. "What's going on, Sam?"

Sam held up his finger, interrupting him. "We're gonna have to check out her room again. We weren't in there very long last night, so I'm sure we missed something."

"Whenever you guys are ready, you can stop by and I'll go with you," Clark said. "It's probably dangerous, but I think I can handle it."

Sam nodded. "I'm sure you can. Look, as soon as Dean gets done pigging out over here, we'll stop by. We could use an escort that knows the Luthors anyway."

"Okay, see you guys then."

Sam hung up his phone and brought Dean up to speed. They both agreed that they needed to return to the mansion, to see if they could find any more clues about Victoria, and they hoped that going there in the daytime would make things a little safer.

When Clark got off the phone with Sam, he set it down on the table in front of his couch, but he heard more footsteps on the stairs, so he jumped up in surprise when he realized that it was his father coming up to the loft.

Clark stared at him, wondering if he heard anything, but Jonathan didn't waste any time telling him the truth. "I know you were talking to those Winchester boys, Clark. Do you want to tell me why?"

Once again, Clark looked like a deer in the headlights, as he tried to explain. "Dad, I know you think it's too dangerous, but I feel like I have to help them finish this case. The ghost in the Luthor mansion was a girl, and I think Lex's girlfriend, Victoria, knows who she is. All I want to do is try to talk to her."

Jonathan smiled at his son. "What makes you think she wants to listen?"

"I'm not sure she does, but I have to try," Clark said. "She's probably been dead for a while, and she's been through so much that she's turning into a poltergeist. If I can get her attention, then maybe I can get through to her enough to help her."

"What's going to happen if you can't get through to her?" Jonathan asked.

Now looking sad, Clark sat down on his couch with a sigh and his father took a seat next to him. "Sam and Dean are going to burn her bones. According to John's journal, that's the best way to stop ghosts, but I'm sure it's painful for the spirit. I just want to give her a chance to stop this on her own and be at peace."

Jonathan sighed. "Son, I don't know what kind of secrets are buried in those halls, but I'll tell you this. If you dig too deep, you might come across something that they don't want you to see. Whether it's part of the Luthors' past, or whatever family Victoria's from, you could end up in their crosshairs."

"I know there's a risk," Clark said. "But if I don't try to help her, then I won't be able to forgive myself."

Jonathan gave his son a proud smile. "In your place, I'd probably be doing the same thing. Just promise me that when this is over, you're done hunting."

Clark grinned. "Okay. After this one, I promise not to do it anymore."

"Good," Jonathan said. "So, I take it those boys are on their way here?"

"Yeah, they're gonna pick me up before they head to the mansion. All we need to do is find out what Victoria knows and then we should be able to finish this."

"I hope so, son." Jonathan got up from the couch and headed back to the stairs. "Just be careful, you hear me?"

"I will, Dad," Clark assured him. "Don't worry about me."

Then his father started heading down the stairs, but Clark jumped up and followed him when he suddenly remembered something else. "Um, Dad?"

Jonathan stopped halfway down the steps and looked up. "Yeah?"

Clark looked down at him, suddenly feeling nervous. "I forgot to tell you this, but Sam and Dean saw me use my abilities last night."

Jonathan sighed, but his smile never left his face. "Oh, Clark."

"I swear it wasn't my fault," Clark said. "The ghost tried to kill me, but I survived her attack."

Then Jonathan warned him to be careful one more time, before heading the rest of the way down the stairs and leaving the barn. Once his father was gone, Clark went back to the barn window and looked out at the snow-covered trees and the windmill just beyond. After seeing what the ghost was capable of, he felt confident that he could handle anything she threw his way. The only thing that concerned him now was the possibility that it was too late to help her.

Clark and Jonathan were waiting in front of the barn when the Impala finally rolled up their driveway around noon. Clark was wearing a red flannel shirt and his blue jacket, showing that he was ready to get things done. Dean parked the car and then he rolled down the window as Clark and Jonathan approached his side of the car.

"Mister Kent, about last night," Dean started to explain. "We-"

"Don't worry about it," Jonathan said, interrupting him. "I've already given Clark my blessing. Just promise me that you boys'll come back in one piece."

Dean saluted him. "We'll do our best, Sir." Then he smiled a little. "You can count on us."

Clark leaned down into the window, to let them know about his new plan, but based on the expression on his father's face, it was obvious Jonathan didn't like it. "I'm going ahead of you guys, to sneak into the mansion and look around."

Dean's smile faded and he became confused. "What are you talking about? I can drive you there!"

Clark grinned. "You'll only slow me down." Then he gently patted the roof of the Impala. "No offense."

Sam and Dean exchanged a glance, before Sam asked, "How are you gonna get there?"

Still grinning, Clark turned towards the road, became a blur, and vanished, leaving behind a swirling cloud of puffy snow. Sam and Dean got out of the car, now a little freaked out, and Dean said, "Son of a bitch…"

Sam gave Jonathan a funny look and shook his head. "How did he do that?"

Jonathan shrugged. "Meteor rock infections are a strange thing. What can I say?"

Sam smiled and started to laugh, while Dean looked around curiously at the snowflakes that were coming down, after being thrown into the air so violently. Then they got back in the car and backed out of the driveway.

In the armory of the Luthor mansion, Lionel and Darius were looking around at the damage. The security guard picked up the destroyed flail and held it up to his boss.

"I don't know what happened in here, Mister Luthor," Darius explained. "The hidden camera lost its signal while those boys were in here. By the time it started working again, they were long gone."

Lionel scoffed as he took the damaged weapon from the guard. "That is quite unfortunate. These artifacts were priceless and cannot be replaced!"

Then he handed it back to Darius and motioned for him to take it away. The guard left him alone in the room, to prepare the weapon for shipping so it could be sent away for repair, and Lionel went over to the Chinese battle ax that lay on the floor near the wall.

He picked up the ax and sighed when he saw the chips in the blade. "Lex… You really need to do a better job of taking care of our collection."

He went back over to the fireplace, where the more severely damaged weapon was still on its hooks on the wall above it, and set the one he was holding on the small table by the couch. Then he shook his head and went back out into the hall. After closing the door behind him, he went to the library, where one of the mansion's many housekeepers was mopping up the polished stone floor.

The middle-aged woman turned towards him and smiled when he entered the room. "Good morning, Mister Luthor!"

Lionel smiled back. "Good morning to you as well, Miss…"

"Plumber," she reminded him.

"Oh, that's right," Lionel said with a chuckle. "Lex is quite fortunate to have you cleaning up his messes, isn't he?"

Then she laughed nervously and finished up her work. "It's good to see you again, Mister Luthor."

She hurried out of the library with her mop and bucket and Lionel walked across the wet floor, leaving behind shoe prints and specks of salt that the treads on his soles picked up from outside.

He approached the shelves, where he noticed the haphazard way in which the books were placed, and scoffed again. "Lex… You have some explaining to do."

Behind him, Lex's voice came into the library from the main entrance of the room. "Good morning to you too, Dad."

Lionel turned towards his son and gave him a look of disapproval. "What were you and those boys doing last night, hmm?"

Lex smirked at him as he entered the library. "Someone died recently and needed a place to haunt. Clark and his cousins were curious, so I invited them here to check it out."

Lionel shook his head at him. "You should be careful about spending time with teenagers, son. In some circles, that might be considered predatory behavior."

Lex scoffed. "Come on, Dad. Are you really gonna lecture me about predatory behavior? You, of all people?"

Without even trying to answer his son's questions, Lionel just gave him a stern look and said, "I came to discuss your relationship with the Hardwicks, not your fantasies about ghosts in the mansion."

Lex smiled as he approached his father. "If you're here to make sure Victoria's gone, then I have good news for you. She hasn't been here for a couple of days."

Lionel chuckled. "Did your ghost scare her away or did you do that all on your own?"

"Well, Dad… I'd answer that question, but I assume you've already decided which answer is the right one, so I won't even bother."

Lionel went over to the bar to pour himself a glass of scotch, but when he discovered that the glass bottle was gone, he looked back at his son with a smirk. "Your ghost isn't a fan of scotch, I presume?"

Ignoring the fact that his father was trying to give him a hard time, Lex decided to open up about his suspicions about Victoria. "Speaking of the Hardwicks, I'm convinced that Victoria and Sir Harry have covered something up from their past. If my suspicions are right, it's something so damning that it could be the end of their company."

Lionel turned away from the bar with a smile. "Every family has its share of secrets, Lex. Ours is no different."

"What a shocker," Lex said sarcastically.

Lionel ignored the sarcasm and asked, "Did Victoria ever tell you that she had a younger sister, when she was growing up?"

Lex nodded. "She mentioned her once when we first met. Victoria told me her death was an accident. Why?"

"Harriet's death was ruled as an accident, but some still suspect that foul play was involved," Lionel explained. "It was never proven, but as you can probably imagine, Harry sometimes hired men like Sam Phelan, to bury his family's secrets."

"Then you two have a lot in common," Lex said with a chuckle.

Anger suddenly flashed across Lionel's face, and he spoke in a stern voice. "I hired Phelan to cover up your mistakes, son. You'd be rotting in a cage if it wasn't for him, considering some of the stunts you pulled while you were running wild in Metropolis!"

Lex's smile faded and he fell silent. They stared each other down for a moment, but then Lionel sighed, and his angry expression vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "Lex, as fathers, we do what we must to protect our children. Sometimes that means protecting them from their own foolishness."

Lex thought about accusing him of merely trying to protect their family's reputation, but he was interrupted by the sound of Ms. Plumber screaming out in the hallway.

"Mister Luthor!" she cried, as she ran back into the library through the main entrance while waving a feather duster around in her hand. "The door to Victoria's room! It-it flew open by itself! A blue blur came out, and-and a gust of wind blasted through the hallway!"

Lionel looked surprised, so Lex smirked at his father. "My fantasy about ghosts doesn't sound so crazy now, does it Dad?"

Lionel ignored the question and went out into the hall, to look for evidence of the housekeeper's claims, and Ms. Plumber hurried after him. Once Lex was alone, he went over to the bookshelves and started to straighten things up a little more.