"aaaAAARRRRRRgggghhhhh"

*THUD*

"More flight training?" Martha asked as she rocked Celeste who was sleeping peacefully. Jean and Emma each had one of the others in their arms.

"It's supposed to be, but I think that now Clark knows the fall won't hurt him, he is just working on his landing." Jean laughed.

"Are we sure he can fly?" Lorna asked.

"It seems that way, he did have proof in his broken bed." Martha shrugged.

"In his bed?" Lorna asked with a salacious grin, causing Martha to blush.

"It doesn't really matter if flying is one of his abilities, this will still help him get over his fear of heights." Jean pointed out.

"aaaaaaRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHhhhhh"

*Thump*

"Actually, I have been counting the length of his screams." Emma smirked. "They are getting longer."

"What does that mean?" Martha asked.

"That he is slowing his descent."


"I really don't want to do this."

"You said the same thing about flying."

"I meant it then and I mean it now!"

"But now you know you have no rational reason to fear heights."

"No, just you."

"I will admit I take a bit of pleasure in pushing you off the edge of the tower."

"I knew it!"

"Perhaps we could begin?" Brunhilde interrupted Harry and Clark's bickering.

"Look, I am very strong, the chances of you getting hurt are very high." Clark said as he began backing away.

Brunhilde just sighed. "Husband, a demonstration if you please?" She asked as she piled her long blonde hair on top of her head.

Clark watched in horror as Harry conjured a lightsabre of all things and chopped Brunnhilde's head off.

"Oh my god oh my god Oh My God OH MY GOD!" Clark cried in horror.

"What? What happened?" Dani demanded as she teleported in. She then saw Brunnhilde's headless body. "Don't just stand there Harry! You're going to give him nightmares."

Harry just smiled and reached out a hand causing Brunnhilde's soul to appear, she waved cheerfully at Clark.

Clark was frozen in shock.

Harry waved his other hand and backed away as Brunnhilde's body stood up and her head floated on to her neck. Her soul walked over to her body and sank inside.

"By the All-Father! I hate beheading, always leaves me feeling as though I was gagging and choking." She groaned as she rubbed her healed throat.

"You-you-you-you-" Clark stuttered.

"Have just proven that Harry can heal anything you do to me, including death." Brunhilde finished.

Dani moved over to Harry.

Brunhilde held her arms open invitingly. "Shall we begin?"

"Fighting lessons?" Dani whispered to Harry.

"Nah, dance lessons."


"Clark, you look exhausted!" Lex commented as Clark slumped into the chair opposite as he sat in the coffee shop surrounded by paperwork.

"I am exhausted."

"You're dad increase your chores?" He asked curiously.

"No, they signed me up for after school classes with a friend of theirs."

"What were the classes in? Wrestling?"

"No, they said that would come later, for now it's dancing."

"Did I hear right? Clark Kent is learning to dance?" Came the amused voice of Lana Lang who was in the middle of her very first shift as a waitress.

"Oh, hey Lana. How's it going?"

"Terribly. But don't try to change the subject!" She laughed.

"It's not a big deal, Coach Summers thinks I need to learn better control, I'm fairly strong and he wants to make sure I... channel it properly, hence the dancing." Clark recited the cover story they had given him.

"You are dancing with a woman, right?" Lex teased.

"Yes." Clark scowled lightly. "But she's a real taskmaster."

"I thought dancing was supposed to be fun?" Lana asked.

"Not when you keep stepping on your partners toes and she decides to retaliate in kind." Clark sighed.

"Ouch!" Lex winced.

"Exactly."

"'We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once.'" Lex quoted.

"See, you're not the only one to have read Nietzsche." Lana smirked. "Well... get good soon, Clark, you still owe me that dance." Lana ordered before she left to return to work.

Lex gave Clark a knowing smile and a waggle of his eyes.

Clark just groaned and sank further into the chair.


"Come on Ross! Get your centre lower, remember, he's leaning forward, you want to plough into his off-balanced legs!" Scott yelled as Pete ran drills with the other players.

"How're your boys doing, Scott?" Harry asked as he came to stand by Scott at the edge of the field.

"They've got potential, but they are definitely playing at second string level at the moment."

"Think they'll win tomorrow?"

"If they do it will be a fluke."

"How's Clark doing?"

"He's got the control down, but I'm wary of putting him in for the whole game. Ross has got some nice moves but he's too green, doesn't have the stamina to last a whole game."

"My advice, put them in at the beginning, hopefully they can score some points so the replacements have a good starting point and a great deal of hope."


The game had been well fought, but the Smallville Crows were just too inexperienced to handle the more seasoned opposition. Pete Ross had put on a fine showing and startled many a cocky player as he took them down. Trevor, the player who had stepped up and reported the cheating, had been fairly nervous in his position as newly elevated captain, but he rose to the occasion.

Clark... Clark had an excellent arm and Scott was moving him to Quarterback. Especially as he tended to over compensate for his powers and wound up getting pummelled.

Lana Lang had a truly spectacular day. A spectacular disaster! It had resulted in her being fired after being informed she was not 'waitress material'. She found herself at Luther Mansion looking for Lex to make use of his greater experience.

"Lana? I'm surprised to see you here." Lex smiled charmingly.

"I need some advice and you seem like the sort of person who might be able to help." She smiled back.

"I'm intrigued." Lex said as he ushered her to the seats by the fireplace.

"Did you know that Clark was strung up as this years scarecrow?" She asked with distaste.

A look of realisation appeared on his face. "That was Clark? I heard voices in the fields outside the plant but when I reached the stake there was no one there."

"I am not pleased with Whitney at the moment."

"Which is what makes you a good person. But I hope relationship advice is not what you came to me for... as you pointed out in the stables, I'm not the best person to come to for that." He smirked.

Lana blushed slightly as she recalled reminding Lex of their first meeting and how she had caught him in a compromising position with a young lady.

"No, Clark was rescued by Doctor Harry Potter, he's new in town like you. But he saw that my necklace, which is made with meteor rocks, was affecting him. He sorted Clark out, but he says the rocks give off a dangerous energy and couldn't return the necklace."

Lana pulled out the replacement Harry had given her. "He gave me this instead, but he said I should get it appraised and insured, I was wondering if you might have experience in this sort of thing and could tell me about it." She said as she handed it over.

"Strangely enough I have been trained in gemmology." Lex said as he moved to his desk. "It's a useful talent for billionaires." He smiled as he retrieved his eyepiece and began an inspection.

After a few seconds he let out a deep breath. "Lana... this is a flawless emerald. Very, very expensive."

"Really?" She asked doubtfully.

"Yes, you really do need to get this insured, I'm just not sure you could afford too."

"Why would he give me something so expensive?" Lana wondered.

"I have heard of Potter, he appears to be independently wealthy and has a large extended family. He could just be eccentric and generous, or... he could have designs on you." He warned.

"I don't think so, my Aunt was there and so was Clark when he was explaining things and gave it to me. He seemed to be giving it to me as an apology for not being able to return the real one."


"Lana... hi?"

Lana laughed at Mrs. Kent's reaction to turning up on her doorstep. "I seem to be getting that response a lot today. Is Clark around?"

"In the barn." Martha smiled.

Lana quickly made her way over to find Clark who greeted her with a similar response.

"Lana! Hi!"

"Hey Clark, do you know where I can find Doctor Potter?" She smiled.

"Who?"

"Doctor Potter, the man who came with you to explain about my necklace."

"Oh... Harry." Clark rolled his eyes a bit at the thought of the man who liked to push him off high buildings.

"I was due to head over there later today, we can go now if you want." He offered.

"It won't be too much of an imposition?"

"Do you like babies?"

"Who doesn't?"

"Then as long as you don't mind learning to change diapers it should be fine."


"They live here?" Lana asked in awe as she stared up at the large turreted castle.

"Yeah... Harry is eccentric, he had it built from existing materials."

"Was he trying to compete with the Luthors?"

"No, he says he felt homesick and wanted to feel better." Clark explained as he marched up to the large wooden doors and pulled a nearby chord for the bell.

A few minutes later Emma, who much to Clark's relief was dressed in a summer dress and not her costume, greeted them.

"Mr. Kent, you're early."

"Lana was hoping to speak to Harry." Clark shrugged.

"Of course Miss Lang. Mr. Kent, you may go and find Hilde, I will escort Miss Lang to Harry."

Lana waved to Clark as she followed her Principal up some stairs. The place was huge with staircases at multiple levels that spanned the inside. She could count seven floors in the main section and she knew the towers where higher.

They walked all the way to the fifth floor and she was feeling a little winded.

Emma opened the door to a room and she found Doctor Potter with several other women including Coach Kinney and Coach Summers.

"Lana, what brings you here?" Laura asked.

Lana suddenly felt very self-conscious. All these men and women were very attractive and three of them were her teachers.

"Relax Miss Lang, we don't bite, we are simply a group of adults you have come across." Emma stated simply. "Harry, Miss Lang came looking for you."

"Cool, lucky me!" Harry grinned as he stood up. "Follow me and we can talk over here." He indicated a couple of chairs by the window.

"So, what can I do for you?"

"The necklace you gave me, I took it to Lex Luthor to see if he could tell me about it... you did say to get it appraised."

Harry laughed. "I meant in the city, but I assume he told you it was an emerald."

Lana nodded. "A flawless emerald that I probably couldn't afford to get insured."

Harry's face fell and his jaw hung loosely.

"Doctor Potter? Are you ok?"

"Stupid!" Harry exclaimed.

Lana jumped slightly.

"Sorry Lana, not you, me. And call me Harry, even my patients do." He said calmingly. "Are you free for the rest of the day?"

"Erm... I guess... why?"

"Excellent." Harry said as he jumped to his feet. "Girls, I need a volunteer to take Lana to Metropolis to get her necklace insured. I gave her an emerald but forgot it was expensive."

Lana was surprised at the rolling of the eyes and lack of objections to this news.

"I'll take her." Jean offered. "I'm Jean Grey, we'll take Clark as well, he can learn something new too."

"I really don't want to cause you an inconvenience."

"The only inconvenience is Harry, he doesn't always think things through!" Said a woman who really shocked Lana with her bright green hair. "Hi, I'm Lorna and I think we have far too many similar names around here." She laughed. "I'm going to come too."

"If all of you are going I won't bother, but I'm also not going to try and pry Clark out of Hilde's clutches." Harry smirked.


The trip to Metropolis took a few hours in the mini-van they owned, Jean idly mentioned she would look into getting a helicopter to cut down on travel times. They spent the journey discussing Clark, much to his horror.

"Is it true one of your friends is teaching him to dance?" Lana asked with a teasing smile.

"Oh god." Clark groaned.

"Definitely, he's doing good on the football field but he is very strong, it comes from all the farm work." Jean explained. "But he's not very coordinated, strength without coordination is a bad combination, Scott asked Brunhilde to teach him, they are starting with dancing before moving onto fighting."

"Brunhilde? Isn't that a Viking name?"

"She had a very traditional upbringing." Lorna smirked over her shoulder from the front seat.

"What sort of fighting will she be teaching him?"

"Sword fighting and basic hand-to-hand. Once he has got a grip on those Laura will start him on more advanced forms of martial arts." Jean continued.

"Wow, that sounds very intense."

"You'll be getting similar training, Lana." Laura added from the driver's seat. "Every girl should know how to defend herself, Emma is going to be instituting mandatory self-defence classes."

"Emma?"

"Principal Frost." Clark supplied.


"This is a flawless emerald, I have never seen anything so pure!" The older gentlemen remarked. "I assume you have the appropriate paperwork."

"Actually, we need to establish this as a new find." Jean answered. The other girls were looking at the jewellery whilst Clark and Lana were observing Jean. "We also wish to have it insured."

"I see." The man frowned. The man's eyes seemed to glaze slightly. "That should be no problem." He said brightly before moving off.

"Lana, over here!" Lorna called out.

Jean just nodded and sent her over.

"Try these on." She instructed as she handed over a pair of emerald earrings. "Where's the necklace?"

"I'll get it." Laura announced.

"What are they doing?" Clark asked Jean.

"Playing dress up. Every girl wants to be a princess at some point, they are just indulging in that fantasy." She smiled. "What did you want to be growing up?"

"Normal." Clark answered without missing a beat; it was a sad and sighed answer as he looked longingly at Lana.

"Look but don't stare, Clark." Jean warned.


Lana stumbled into her home burdened with all manner of baggage.

"Lana? Where have you been?" Nell asked worriedly.

"Erm... shopping... I guess." She said weakly... and slightly dazed.

"Lana, these are expensive things!" Nell could see all sorts of expensive brand name bags. "Where did you get the money?"

"I didn't... Doctor Potter's friends bought them... they said I had to have them." She said as she slumped into a nearby chair.

"Do they think you are a charity case?" She asked curiously.

"No, they... they just wanted to dress me up and make me look nice, we were only supposed to be there to get the necklace insured. I took it to Lex, he said it would be too expensive for me to insure, so I went to return it to Harry... Doctor Potter and the next thing I know, his friends have me and Clark in Metropolis and I'm trying on matching earrings. Things just... escalated."

Nell frowned. "I'm not sure I like the idea of Doctor Potter lavishing you with gifts-"

"It wasn't him, it was his friends, they are all women, they bought themselves clothes as well." Lana laughed suddenly. "Poor Clark was forced to be their Ken Doll."

Nell smiled at that thought. "Even so, I think I should speak to them, just to confirm their intentions."

"You could always talk to Principal Frost, she lives with them all as well."

"They all live together?"

"You know that huge castle that went up a month or so ago? They all live there."

The castle was an even bigger topic of conversation around town than when the meteors hit, it was almost as if the castle had appeared over night. She could believe that Doctor Potter was simply an eccentric philanthropist if he lived there.


Monday morning had Harry at the Kents' as Clark explained what had happened the previous day when he had run into a bank robbing Lex Luthor look-alike.

"I know it wasn't Lex, Harry. He barely recognised me."

"I'm glad to hear someone believes I'm innocent." Came the voice of the aforementioned Luthor.

"Lex, what are you doing here? Have you seen the police? Aren't they looking for you?" Clark asked.

"Clark, I was at a benefit dinner last night in Metropolis with eighty-two witnesses."

Clark gave his father a pointed look.

"Hi, Lex Luthor." Lex offered his had to Harry.

"Harry Potter." Harry took the proffered hand with a smile.

"You're Harry Potter?" Lex asked surprised.

"That's what my parents named me!" Harry grinned cheekily.

"I've been hearing all sorts of things about you from Clark and Lana."

"Weird things from Lana and complaints from Clark." Harry said with a shrewd smile.

"That sounds about right." Lex laughed. "But I have to ask, why did you give Lana a flawless emerald?"

Harry rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I didn't actually know it was flawless, I had it lying around and had it put in a setting on a necklace, I knew it was an emerald, but that's it."

"Typical rich." Jonathan huffed as he grabbed his coffee and headed outside. Martha just laughed. She knew Jonathan had nothing against Harry; he just enjoyed being grouchy at times.

"So you have a clone running around Smallville?" Harry changed the subject.

"So it seems."

"It can't be a coincidence that this individual decided to rob a bank in Smallville, they could quite have easily gone to Metropolis."

"I never thought of that." Clark mused.

"The Luthors have used the local bank for twelve years, it was part of our way of investing in the town." Lex explained.

"Yes, but I imagine you have much more money in your accounts in Metropolis."

"It's true, it could just be that they knew I was in Smallville these days and decided to take advantage of the fact."

"The whole thing stinks of amateur night." Harry shook his head in disagreement. "I think this person lives locally and couldn't get to Metropolis, so they are probably Clark's age."

"It would take a lot of resources to create a mask that accurate." Lex argued as he held up the paper with the image of his doppelganger in a CCTV image.


Clark hit the floor of the gym with a thud that made the other students wince. He ignored the calls of Coach Summers as his vision continued to fluctuate. That's when he saw the most beautiful sight of all. The inside of the girl's locker room. It was as if God himself had handed him the keys to Heaven.

He was suddenly pulled from this heavenly vision as Coach Summers grabbed him and hauled him to his feet.

"Everyone hit the locker rooms." Scott ordered as he dragged Clark to a corner. "Ok Clark, what happened?"

Clark looked at him in askance.

Scott just smiled. "I've been teaching kids with super powers for thousands of years, I know what it looks like when one of them uses it for something they shouldn't be.

Clark just blushed. "I... I think I have x-ray vision."

"Oh... is that all." Scott relaxed.

"Is that all?!" Clark asked incredulously.

"X-Ray vision is a benign power, fairly passive. And as long as you don't spend your time gazing into the girls locker room, we won't have a problem." Scott's smile was practically predatory.

"It wasn't intentional!" Clark said defensively.

"I didn't see you looking away." Scott smirked.

"It's been intermittent, I was just trying to see if I could control it."

"I'll let Harry know so we can add it to the list of things to teach you."

"Does this mean you won't be throwing me off the tower tonight?"

"Can you fly yet?"

"No."

"There's your answer."


"I think its Tina, I think she can make herself look like other people." Clark announced to the residents of the castle when he arrived that afternoon.

"Does this have something to do with the X-Ray vision Martha mentioned?" Jean asked as she indicated her fellow red head that was playing with Celeste and Mindee whilst Jean had Phoebe.

"Oh... hi Mom." Clark waved.

"Hi Clark... X-Ray vision?" She prompted.

"Erm... yeah, something is off with her. She has the same green meteorite in her body as the person impersonating Lex."

"Interesting. Well, you can take Harry and investigate tomorrow." Lorna decided. "For now, Hilde is waiting for you."

Clark's face dropped. He had hoped this would be his ticket out of today's torture. He headed out with drooped shoulders.

"You enjoyed that far too much." Jean chuckled.

"It's worse than you think, she's teaching him to tango today!" Lorna shared in a voice hushed with excitement.

"Clark? Tango?" Martha laughed. "Grab a baby Lorna, this I have to see!"


"Looks like the place is locked up." Pete remarked as he, Clark and Harry stood outside the antiques store below Tina's home.

"It shouldn't be." Harry said tapping the open hours sign.

"We have to get in there." Clark suddenly spoke up.

"It's locked up tight Clark, no one's home." Pete reminded him.

Harry could hear the urgency in Clark's voice and knew he had seen something. "Let me through boys." He said as he grabbed the handle and opened it with magic. "A closed shop with an unlocked door is always a bad sign." He said gravely.

Clark rolled his eyes knowing that Harry probably unlocked it.

"Yeah... can you smell that?" Harry said as he sniffed the air. He cast a mild charm that produced the smell he wanted.

"God man! What is that?" Pete gagged.

"Death, there is a decomposing human body somewhere in here."

"A dead body?" Pete said worriedly. "Tell me it's natural causes and we aren't in here with a murderer!"

"Bodies don't start to smell immediately, Pete. This one has a few days of stench." Harry assured him. He followed Clark who had made a beeline for a cabinet.

"Let me handle this one, Clark, I actually have the authority to handle dead bodies after all."

Harry carefully opened the cabinet revealing the chalk white corpse of Rose Greer. "Ok boys, this is now a crime scene. You need to wait outside."


By the time the Sheriff was finished questioning Harry and investigating the scene it was dark outside.

"Sheriff Miller, do you know where Clark and Pete went?"

"We just got an emergency call from Clark. Lana Lang was attacked by Tina Greer, we're en route."

Harry sighed. "Break out the sirens and get me there Sheriff, need to make sure they are ok."


Clark watched forlornly as Whitney escorted Lana into her home, he cursed his new x-ray vision as he saw them embrace.

"Mom, if you could see anything, what would you do?"

"Learn to close my eyes."

There was a soft snort. "Ignorance is not a good thing." Harry stated as he stepped forward. "You may be able to see things that upset you, but what about the people who suffer because you chose to ignore it and bury your head in the sand? If you do that then one day, you might miss the chance to save someone you love."

Martha sighed. "Harry's right, but it is a personal choice, Clark. We can't make these decisions for you. You need to consider all the possibilities."

"Go home and look up Edmund Burke, he states quite succinctly what happens when good men do nothing." Harry suggested.