It was a few days later that they were all attending an exhibition sponsored by Lex at the Metropolis Museum, Lex had invited the castle residents as well as the Kents and Lana... plus Whitney.

It was obvious that Lex was trying to play matchmaker. Too obvious.

"You have to be more careful, Lex." Harry chided lightly.

"Clark is one of the best things... no, the best thing to have happened to me he saved my life in more ways than he knows. I want to make sure he gets what he rightly deserves." Lex said defensively.

"Yes, but the last thing he needs is Lana being scared off because you were getting too pushy. I already had to warn him that he was bordering on stalker." Harry warned as they watched Clark step outside.

"Lex, I just wanted to thank you for inviting me." Said a handsome Caucasian male with dark hair and eyes. "It is a very exquisite piece." He indicated the jewelled breastplate.

"Bruce, glad you could make it, let me introduce you to Doctor Harry Potter, Harry this is fellow billionaire Bruce Wayne."

"A pleasure to meet you." Harry shook the man's hand politely.

"The same, Doctor."

"Just Harry, please."

"Bruce then... you're from England?"

"Born in Wales, raised in England and educated in Scotland." Harry smiled.

"That's a lot of cultural exposure." Bruce laughed.

"My schooling took place in a castle." Harry grinned.

"Is that why you built yours back in Smallville?" Lex asked.

"Partly, it was the first place I truly called home."

"I was raised in mansions, but I haven't truly called any place home since my mother died." Lex said softly.

"I was lucky, after my parents died, I had Alfred to look after me. He's been like a father to me." Bruce said softly.

Harry snorted as the other two looked to him. "Sorry gentlemen, I lived with my parents till I was one and a half, then they were murdered and I was sent to live with an aunt. I spent the next decade living in a tiny cupboard under the staircase and was only let out to do chores. The owner of my school adopted me and saved me."

Both men looked horrified.

"Relax, it was long enough ago that I got over it." Harry assured them.

"Harry, are you scaring the billionaire club?" Laura asked as she came over. She was dressed in a slinky black dress that hung off the shoulders.

"But it's fun!" Harry mock pouted.

"You were joking?" Bruce frowned.

"He wasn't." Dani scowled as she approached with the others, all done up glamorously.

"Har-"

The sound of a crash outside drew away everyone's attention and they headed for the door.

Seeing the crash Harry immediately headed to the bus, he knew instantly that Clark had stopped the bus by standing in front of it, the Clark-Shaped indent gave it away. He sent out a mental order to Laura to find Clark and check on him.

The driver had clearly collapsed at the wheel.

"We need to get him out of there."

Harry was surprised to hear Bruce Wayne's voice next to him. A quick glance showed Lex and Jonathan there as well.

"Just let me give him a once over. Jonathan, Lex, check for fuel leaks and anything that requires us to rush or clear the area." Harry ordered as he stepped onto the bus with Bruce behind him.

"Hello, can you hear me sir?" Harry asked the elderly bus driver.

"I... I can hear ya lad."

"Try not to move until I can be sure you aren't going to do any more damage to yourself."

"First glance says a heart attack." Bruce muttered.

Harry smiled with mild surprise. "You have training Bruce?"

"My father was a doctor." Bruce admitted.

"Excellent. And I agree, he's not showing signs of a stroke. Can you tell me your name?" He asked the driver as he ran his hands over the mans limbs and neck, it was all for show though, he could tell the man was uninjured beyond having suffered a mild attack.

"Matthew Archer."

"Ok Mr. Archer, from what I can tell it is safe to move you. I want you to rely on my friend Bruce here and myself, try not to do too much of the work yourself."

"Harry, the bus looks safe." Jonathan reported.

"Great, we're about to exit now, Lex can you make sure your people keep everyone back just in case we missed something?"

"Already done, Harry. The emergency services are on their way."


"Clark, what the hell happened?" Laura demanded as she found Clark back in Smallville.

"I had to stop it, it was going to kill the homeless man!"

"But why did you run off?"

Clark turned around to show her his badly damaged jacket.

"Next time find one of us!" Laura said as she fixed the jacket with a wave of her hand. She then hit him over the head.

"Hey!"

"Next time, just move the homeless man! Hang on, I'm taking us back to Metropolis, you don't need to raise suspicion."

Laura teleported them a few blocks away and they made their way into the park opposite the museum before heading back towards the museum.

"Clark! What happened? We couldn't find you." Martha exclaimed as she was joined by Lana and Lex.

"I was in the park, I didn't know this had happened." Clark lied reasonably well.

"Both of you need to be careful, Metropolis is just like any other city at night, especially the parks, they are usually filled with the worst kind of people." Lex warned, it was clear that they had worried him.


The following day was a Monday and Emma was sitting in her office waiting patiently. Kwan had been in earlier brandishing the latest copy of the Torch. As far as she was concerned he was rightly enraged by the front-page headline. She had given him her full support to fire Miss Sullivan as editor.

She was now waiting for the angry and upset visit from Chloe.

"Come in."

The door opened and Lana Lang walked in.

"I confess to being slightly surprised, Miss Lang. I had expected Miss Sullivan to come storming in here in all her righteous glory."

"I think she's still in shock." Lana admitted.

"Understandable. Very well, make your case, Miss Lang."

Everyone found Principal Frost to be an intimidating woman. She was stunningly beautiful but aloof and often emotionless. Lana had witnessed her display emotions but they were subdued, she wondered if they would be more exuberant in private.

"I know Chloe can be fairly abrupt and abrasive, but she's a good reporter. Being the editor of the Torch is all she has, like she said it is her identity."

"Tell me Miss Lang, what of the serial killers and rapists? What of the thieves and thugs? Or even simpler and closer to home, what of the bullies in this school, of whom your boyfriend used to be one.

"They would consider what they are, to be their identities, should we accept that and let them continue?"

Lana had a look of disgust on her face. "I really don't think that's the same thing-"

"Why not? You read the article?"

"I haven't had the chance-"

"Then how about the headline? 'Smallville: Mutant Capital of the World.' What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word 'mutant'?"

Lana thought for a moment. In fiction mutants are usually horribly disfigured humans or creatures and are usually aggressive towards innocent 'normals'.

"Dangerous and disfigured people." She sighed.

"Exactly, and I am aware that you are not much of a science fiction fan, but what will the rest of the world think when they see the word 'mutant'? Miss Sullivan has crossed a line; all she has done is set herself up as the progenitor of a possible new wave of hatred and discrimination. It is articles and actions like this that can lead to events like the Holocaust."

"I see your point but..." Lana couldn't think of an argument.

"It gets worse, Miss Lang."

Lana couldn't help the grimace.

"She has printed this article and presented no proof."

"Couldn't she be given a chance to change?" Lana pleaded.

"I agreed to fire her from the position of Editor, she can still work at the Torch, now she must have her work vetted by someone else." Emma paused, a smile crept onto her lips. "I believe you will be an ideal replacement."

"What?!" This was bad, she knew Chloe resented her just for being a Cheerleader, but this would cement that resentment, she had worked hard to try and build a friendship.

"You have a level head and good morals. You haven't found anything to do since you quit Cheerleading, your disastrous stint as a waitress not withstanding, this will look good on your college applications."

"Chloe will hate me!"

"It is not your decision. For the rest of this year at the very least, you are the editor. If Miss Sullivan can show a marked improvement in her writing I will reconsider her application and reinstate her for her senior year as editor."


It had not been a happy day for Clark. First he had witnessed Chloe being fired as editor. Then Lana had suffered as Chloe blew up at her when Principal Frost appointed Lana as editor. He could understand the Principal's arguments, but it still hurt.

Now something worse had happened.

"He just dropped a generator on you?" Fourteen-year-old Mindee demanded angrily. The triplets had finally reached the point where they remembered who they were.

"Let's go girls." Celeste ordered as they stood up.

"We'll teach him not to mess with our Clark!" Phoebe hissed.

Clark blushed at their possessiveness.

Having returned to the farm to do his chores, a cop named Sam Phelan had confronted him about his powers having witnessed Clark stop the bus in Metropolis. The cop was now blackmailing him.

"As humorous as it would be to witness a seasoned cop taken down by three teenage girls, perhaps you would let Jonathan and myself handle this?" Laura laughed. The Cuckoos where her best friends, they along with Cessily, all those years ago, had taught her how to enjoy and live life.

"Fine, but we are riding shotgun." Mindee pouted.

"Wouldn't it be safer if you stayed here, girls?" Martha asked worriedly. She understood that mentally they were back to being thousands of years old, but she couldn't help see them as the beautiful and happy girls she helped raise.

"Don't worry, we will be in her head, not by her side." Phoebe assured her as she snuggled in next to Martha reassuringly.


Laura couldn't believe the ego of this cop. Sam Phelan was a bully who wanted power and his badge gave him a foot in the door and he wanted to use Clark to cover up his own crimes. He sat there lecturing Jonathan about how he was all that stood between decent people like Jonathan and the criminal element.

Laura had had enough and she stepped forward from where she was at the bar listening to put an end to this farce.

"You are disgusting piece of filth."

"Hello there sweetheart." Phelan leered. "Why don't you wait by the bar whilst I finish up here and maybe we can go somewhere quieter?"

"I am really going to enjoy turning you over to the Sheriff. Now get up, you can answer for the charges of extortion and anything else we can dig up." Laura ordered.

"You're a cop? You brought a cop?" Phelan laughed.

"I'm no cop, I'm just a friend of the family who wants to keep Clark safe and away from you."

"So you have me arrested... then what? I go on television and tell the world all about little Clark's secret, he'll be in a lab by breakfast."

"What secret?" Laura smirked. "Clark's own doctor will attest to the fact that he is nothing but a growing boy. I really doubt anyone is going to listen to the word of a cop who is under heavy scrutiny by Internal Affairs."

Phelan scowled. This was not going how he had planned.

"Now, stand up and lets go." Laura growled.

Phelan pulled his gun under the table. "How about I shoot Mr. Kent here?"

*Snickt*

Phelan could feel a knife at his back.

"You pull that trigger and I will paralyse you. You will spend the rest of your life taking a shit in a bag." Laura whispered with a hiss.

Phelan smirked, he had the upper hand now that he knew the girl only had a knife. He spun around and grabbed Laura slamming her head into the table.

"Help! Help! I'm being attacked!" Laura cried. She hated playing this role.

Jonathan stepped forward but found a gun pointed at his face, he backed up with his hands raised in surrender.

Phelan's hand was suddenly slapped up and his arm went numb. The gun was pulled from his now useless hand.

Laura twisted from her position with her face held on the table and elbowed Phelan in the face and then snapped a kick at his gut sending him backwards to crash in a heap on the floor.

Next to her Harry stood with Phelan's gun in his hands.

"You fucking bastard!" Phelan raged, he reached for his ankle and pulled his backup weapon.

*BANG*

Phelan slumped with a bullet between his eyes.

"Laura, secure his weapon and check the body. Everybody, take a seat, you all just became witnesses." Harry ordered as he lowered the smoking gun. "The Sheriff will be here momentarily."

Harry then proceeded to strip the gun down to parts before pocketing the magazine. Laura returned with Phelan's backup and did the same.

They then all sat down at the table and waited.


"I didn't think you were going to kill him." Emma mused as they all gathered in the castle living room.

"I wasn't, but he pulled a weapon on us and I didn't want to expose our true natures so I put an end to the threat." Harry explained.

"How will you explain your turning up at the last minute?" Jonathan asked.

"I told the Sheriff I had arrived for a drink, saw what was happening and intervened. The witness reports will say I seemed to appear out of nowhere. Everyone will fill in the blanks and assume they all missed my entrance due to the drama."


The following day life returned to what passed for normal, except Lana was attempting figure out how the Torch systems worked and Chloe was no where to be seen.

"Harry, Chloe didn't turn up to school today." Clark rushed into the Doctor's Office.

"You couldn't have told me this between lessons, Clark?"

"Chloe has to be tied to the bed when she's ill, she never misses school."

"Alright, I'll talk to Emma and see if everything is ok." Harry sighed. For any other student they would likely take a wait and see approach, but here in Smallville that simply wasn't a good idea.


After a call to Gabe Sullivan at the plant it was clear that Chloe was missing. Emma suggested she might be sulking after being fired, but Harry decided to track her down before Clark decided to skip school himself. He had the residents of the Castle begin searching the town and all of the known landmarks.

It was Lorna who found her sitting at the top of a windmill in Chandler's Field gazing at the Metropolis skyline on the horizon.

Lorna decided to climb up and join her after she had mentally alerted everyone that she had found her. She was glad she hadn't worn a skirt today.

"Do I know you?" Chloe asked grumpily as Lorna reached the top and sat next to her.

"No, I'm Lorna Dane, a friend of Clark Kent and Harry Potter. Clark noticed you weren't in school, he went to Harry and he – knowing Clark would skip school if he didn't – instigated this search for you. I was the one who found you."

Chloe wiped her eyes as more tears fell. "Just another secret that Clark Kent keeps from me."

"What secret?" Lorna asked.

"You! He has all these friends and secrets and he hides them from me."

"Well, the first thing you need to ask yourself is: 'Is it his choice to hide things from you?'"

"It's always his choice! Who else's would it be?" Chloe said with frustration.

"How about my choice? What if I didn't want him to tell anyone about me?"

"Why would you want to keep it a secret?"

"That's irrelevant to my point. My point is you are blaming Clark when you don't know if he is simply respecting someone else's wishes. What if Clark knew a deep dark secret of yours? How would you feel if he told me or Harry that secret?"

Chloe frowned.

"You'd be pissed." Lorna continued. "He would have betrayed your trust simply because we asked him to. That is what you are asking him to do."

"So, he's keeping secrets for other people?" She asked.

"You're missing the point." Lorna smiled. "It doesn't matter that he keeps secrets. What matters is that he keeps your secrets and that you respect him for keeping other people's secrets."

"What if they are bad secrets?"

"Then you need to question just how good a friend Clark is. If that is the case then you obviously don't trust him and that makes you a bad friend."

"So I should just ignore the fact that he is keeping secrets?"

"Yes."

Chloe scowled. Secrets where not meant to be kept. They were to be exposed to the harsh light of day.

"I'll tell you what, when you feel comfortable enough to post a schedule of your menstrual cycles in the school and town newspapers, then you can go and chase after everyone else's secrets."

Chloe went bright red. "That's different!"

"Why?"

"Because that is personal and- oh."

"I'm glad you caught on, I was beginning to worry that Clark had a poor choice in friends." Lorna said seriously. "I trust now you are beginning to understand why some secrets are not for you to investigate?"

"I guess... I can see where it might hurt others, but I don't necessarily agree about people having secrets."

"As long as you respect that they do have secrets and that you have no right to try and unveil them you are entitled to your opinions, just be warned that if you do try and poke into their secrets they will likely cut you out of their lives and you will live a cold and solitary existence."

"People have feelings, I'm not completely insensitive." She snorted.

"Good, here's a little bit of motivation for you: If you continue to poke into people's secrets I will reveal to Clark and the entire school your own secret. The one where you have a crush on Clark."

Chloe was horrified.

"Yes, I believe that the threat of that getting out might be suitable enough." Lorna smirked. "Now, let's talk about the real reason you are sitting up here gazing out at the home of the Daily Planet."

"So the gossip has made the rounds already." Chloe sulked.

"You were fired yesterday!" Lorna laughed. "And it's a small town, everybody probably knew by lunchtime yesterday!"

"Just because I printed what nobody wanted to hear."

"Because you printed a story without facts and you were derogatory towards the potential subjects of your story."

"I was not!"

"You called them mutants!"

"It's a scientific word!"

"That is more widely known as a derogatory term. I can't believe that a smart girl like you couldn't think of a better way to word it. I know you did what you did to spark controversy. After all, that's what sells newspapers."

"If that's what newspapers do then why am I being punished for it?"

"You are not a seasoned reporter or editor working for a main stream international news corporation. You are a high school student working for a school newspaper. As such you are required to abide by a set of ethics and morals. If you manage to get a job with The Planet and they let you get away with that crap, then fine. But if you do it at The Torch you'll be kicked out of the paper and possibly the school and Emma will ensure that you never get a recommendation."

"Emma?"

"Principal Frost."

"Pfft, she hates me because I wrote that article about her."

"An article that again had no evidence and was derogatory."

"She wouldn't even give me an interview!"

"Which was her right to decline. You should have taken that as a hint that she didn't want to be on the front page of the papers."

"What does it matter... I've lost my chance. What paper is going to hire me after I got fired."

"Did you even listen to Lana when she told you what Emma ordered?"

"She said Frost appointed her editor."

"I'm guessing you threw a tantrum and stormed off before she could finish." Lorna sighed, she ignored Chloe's protestations. "Emma has stated that Lana will be the editor for a minimum of the rest of this year. If you can show a marked improvement in your writing she will appoint you as editor for at least the senior year."

"I've still been demoted."

"Then prove just what you are made of and work your way back to the top. Lana definitely doesn't want the job."


Chloe Sullivan returned to the Torch, she wanted to return with a bang but she couldn't figure out how to. So she just turned up and Lana handed her an assignment and she got to work. If nothing else she was still on the front page, but her only true competition was Clark and that pretty much said it all.

An incident at Lex's mansion had Clark coming to Harry for advice. He had witnessed Victoria, Lex's girlfriend, snooping on Lex's computer.

"So she was on the computer and she looked guilty?" Harry asked as he leaned against the barn wall as they talked in the loft.

"Like she had just been caught, should I tell Lex?"

"Do you know if his computer is off limits in anyway?"

"Well it is his."

"Yes, but has he ever told you not to use it?"

"No... but I'm not exactly a computer person. I tried typing my essays once and I had to wait for an hour before it caught up. I also ruined the keyboard."

"Go to Lex and tell him what you saw. If Lex has no problem with her being on his computer then there is no problem to begin with and you worried over nothing. If there is a problem then Lex needs to know."

"I just don't want to ruin things for Lex with his girlfriend." Clark sighed as he sat on the couch in the barn loft.

"If she is snooping around where she shouldn't be then she's not good enough for your friend."

"Is that really my decision to make?"

"No, it's Lex's, but he can't make the decision if he doesn't know the facts."

Clark sighed. "There was something weird that happened that night. We heard a commotion upstairs, when we went to check we found a ransacked room with the word 'leave' written all over the walls."

Harry just stared at Clark.

Eventually Clark couldn't take it anymore. "What?"

"I can't believe you've become so jaded by the weird stuff in this town that you worry more over telling Lex about his snooping girlfriend than you do about the creepy intruder in his house."


"So Lex, I hear you have creepy intruders in your house!" Harry grinned as he entered the Mansion with Clark.

"Personally I just call him 'Dad'." Lex smirked back.

"Ah... not a good day then."

"Have you met my father, Harry?" He asked as he lined up a shot on the pool table.

"Haven't had the pleasure."

"You will never have 'the pleasure'." Lex scoffed.

"Clark here has something to tell you."

Clark looked completely betrayed.

"Well, at least I know that you will always have my back Harry, so you can push me into the line of fire." Lex laughed.

"Come on, Clark, honesty is always best."

Lex frowned and put his queue on the table. "What is it Clark? You know you can talk to me."

Clark shuffled uncomfortably. "I was looking for your lost watch in the library and I saw Victoria on your computer."

Lex gave a small smile. "I'm sorry you were put in that position Clark, but I'm glad to know you were looking out for me. Rest assured that very little happens in this house that I don't know about. Trust me, all is in hand."

"See... and honesty wins the day." Harry said with a grandiose hand gesture.

"Then... should I tell Lana about Whitney's dad?" Clark asked, deciding to trust his friends some more.

"What about him?" Lex asked.

"His dad has major heart problems and as a result Whitney is cutting Lana out and she is getting hurt by it."

"No, you should not tell Lana." Harry said adamantly.

It was clear from the look on Clark's face that he was not expecting that response from Harry.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Well... it's just that you just said honesty is the way to go, I would have expected Lex to tell me not to tell Lana so that she would break up with him... sorry Lex, but you do seem to enjoy playing the devil on my shoulder when it comes to Lana."

Lex just laughed and retrieved his pool cue. "Lana is with Whitney for the wrong reasons. Their relationship is based on social status, they are both attractive and were well placed in the school hierarchy. I'm just trying to get Lana to follow her heart."

"It's true, like I told you, she has feelings for you." Harry agreed. "Actually, she's pretty much fallen in love with you but she is afraid to take action and end it with Whitney."

"Oh. Is there anyway to help her?" Clark as his heart soared at this new revelation.

"Not for us, but she will have friends who can help her."

"So, Harry, why shouldn't Clark tell Lana about Whitney's dad?" Lex asked as he redirected the conversation.

"Because it is private information that you yourself, Clark, shouldn't know. Lex and I won't tell anyone because you are here confiding in us."

"So there is nothing we can do for them?"

Lex laughed softly as he lined up a shot. "Such a boy scout, Clark. That's what I like about you."

Harry smiled at Clark's perturbed look but continued. "All you can do is support Whitney and encourage him to talk to Lana. Also encourage Lana to confront Whitney about what is bothering him."

"I guess this makes Harry the angel on your shoulder." Lex smirked.

"Did you hear that?" Clark asked suddenly as he looked at the ceiling.

"No, what?" Lex asked.

"I thought I heard something from upstairs."

"Let's check it out, if Clark can hear it from down here it must be loud or heavy upstairs." Harry suggested.

"Victoria." Lex said with a hint of worry.

Clark took that to mean she might be in trouble and ran off at regular speed.

Lex and Harry soon followed.

They arrived to find Clark lifting Victoria naked and seemingly unconscious from the old fashioned bath. Harry moved forward and made a show of checking her pulse.

"Light compressions to the chest Clark, Lex, call an ambulance." Harry ordered as Clark finished covering her with a nearby gown.

Soon Victoria began to cough and breathe as Harry and Clark worked to put air back in her lungs.

"Ok, she's good." Harry sighed. "I'll go and meet the ambulance."

As Harry was leaving he snaked his hand out and zapped the nearby soul he could see. Back in the Castle dungeons a new cell was activated and a perturbed Jean spent a full minute trying to figure out what was going on until she mentally scanned the cell.


With Victoria headed to Metropolis to recover, Harry left the invisible Jeff Palmer, Victoria's attacker, in the hands of Jean and Lorna. They would discover how and why the teenager had attacked Victoria.

The next day was still a school day and Harry was acting as a supervisor for Lana's current project.

"Lana, how goes your blood drive?" Harry asked as he approached the booth she had set up.

"Pretty good. Just have a few people to convince. Speak of the devil!" She smiled as Clark approached.

"Not my usual nickname... but I'll give it a shot." Clark laughed.

"Blood drive, Clark. You haven't signed up." Lana said pointedly.

"Ah... um... you see... " Clark looked to Harry for help.

"Hell no! I'm enjoying seeing you squirm." Harry grinned wickedly.

"Come on Clark! Surely you aren't afraid of a little needle?" Lana teased.

"No! Needles hold no fear for me." He said with mock bravado. He got a sudden light in his eyes. "In fact, needles fear me!"

Harry just laughed. "Excellent Clark, you recovered well." He turned to Lana. "As his doctor I can't allow him to give blood. He has medical reasons, but none of them make him dangerous or contagious, just that his blood is useless for donations."

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that Clark." Lana said with a hint of sadness.

"His blood maybe worthless but his time is as valuable as gold. As such, he can make it up by helping you organise things." Harry declared as he gave Clark a slap on the back and strolled away.


After talking with Lex at the Beanery after school and seeing Lex's missing watch on Amy's wrist with his X-Ray vision, Clark headed over to the Luthor Mansion to inform Lex of what he had discovered. Being a snitch was not something he enjoyed. But a crime had been committed and that watch was dear to Lex as it was a gift from his late mother.

"Are you sure about this, Clark?" Lex asked as they stood outside the Palmer's residence on the Luthor grounds.

"I can promise you she had the watch on, I just can't promise where it is now." Clark assured him.

"Ok, well... if it's gotten this far it needs to be dealt with." He really hoped Clark was wrong, it had taken a lot of convincing to get the Palmers to move with him.

Lex knocked on the door and they were greeted by Mrs. Palmer. "Mr. Luthor, is there a problem?" She asked worriedly.

"I wish there wasn't, but I'm afraid there might be, Mrs. Palmer. I would like your permission to search Amy's belongings, we believe she may have taken my watch."

Mrs. Palmer was flabbergasted.

"We promise to try and be respectful." Clark added.

"Wha- no, of course please come in." She said quickly. She was having trouble believing this but she knew how her children felt.

Lex and Clark swiftly and carefully moved through the house.

Mrs. Palmer was called away by another knock on the door.

"Dr. Potter, are you looking for Mr. Luthor?"

"Not specifically, I was actually doing some investigating into the attack last night. I found some blood drops and tracked them... well, to here." He said indicating the nearby blood he had planted that morning.

After discovering that Jeff Palmer, Amy's brother, was not a meteorite infected, they delved deeper and discovered the secret to his invisibility. He had been using a plant that was affected by meteorites, the oil it produced was able to make him invisible when applied to the skin. Early in the morning Scott, Laura and Lorna infiltrated the Luthor greenhouses and carefully removed all references to and traces of the oil that Jeff used to become invisible.

Emma erased the memories from Jeff of the oil but left the attacks in place. He would still need to answer for his crimes but the castle residents felt he was not within their remit as he was not a super-powered individual. Harry's purpose at the Palmer's residence was to ensure that Jeff was taken in and received whatever punishment or help he needed. Jeff had been returned to his bed none the wiser of his sojourn in the castle dungeons.

"Oh good lord." Mrs. Palmer began to cry.

"Easy now, I could be wrong. Why don't we go and make sure before we start imagining the worst?" Harry said soothingly as he led her inside.

"Harry, what are you doing here?" Clark asked.

"Tracking the blood drops I found from the attack."

"This is not good." Lex sighed. "I'll go and put some tea on."

"Please let me-"

"I can handle a cup of tea." Lex assured her.

Clark explained that they found the watch that had gone missing, they had found a shrine of Lex in Amy's room which had other stolen items from the Mansion. Harry was fairly unsurprised as he already thought the crush from Amy was obvious.

They eventually sent Mrs. Palmer upstairs for a nap whilst the three men waited for Amy and Jeff to return home.

The guilt was clear to see, the panic set in and they had to subdue Jeff while Amy slumped to the floor and cried. It was not a good day.


"That was a lot of blood." Clark sighed as he and Harry sat in the barn loft.

"Unfortunately I have seen a lot more." Harry remarked. "But at least this blood was spilt for truly noble purposes." They had just finished the blood drive and were relaxing for the day.

"You've been in a lot of wars?"

"Usually only to end them." Harry explained. "Once the world knew about me I would step in and force a cessation of hostilities in the most bloodless way possible."

"You killed a lot of people, though to do it?" Clark asked sadly.

"I could usually end a war by capturing or killing less than twenty people." Harry said with a hint of pride.

"You didn't torture them did you?"

"Nah, but once you take out the leaders and assume control, the rest tend to fall in line. You do have to smack down the loudest protestors to set an example, but as long as you don't over do it you can sort things out easily enough."

They sat in silence for a bit.

"I see you told Lana and Whitney to talk to each other." Harry said as he indicated the house in the distance.

"Oh?"

"I can see them on the porch talking. Well... mostly talking."

"Yeah, I just hope I haven't forced Lana into committing to him out of obligation."

"Mr. Fordman will be home by end of the week." Harry stated. "I went down to Metropolis and healed a few people."

"Only a few?"

Harry laughed. "When I was fifteen my godfather was appointed the leader of the British Magical World by Her Majesty the Queen. I went to the local magical hospital one night and healed everyone. The next day he calls me to his office and lays into me."

"Why?"

"Because my good intentions had nearly sparked mass panic as people thought the apocalypse was coming or the second coming of Christ."

"Oh." Clark said slightly surprised. Clark then had a thought. "Is there a God?"

Harry sighed. "Clark, I am the most powerful being I have ever met. But I do believe there is someone or something out there that is above me. I just don't know what and haven't had the pleasure of meeting it."

"But you've met gods?"

"Yes. Norse and Greek gods. Like Odin and Zeus, but they weren't anywhere near my level. Some had more power than me, but I still had command over their souls and that put me above them in the hierarchy. Brunhilde is a step below a god as are two of our children."

"I wonder if we have gods in this universe." Clark mused quietly.

Harry just smirked as he put another notch in his mental checklist for Clark being a god.