Harry was drafted in as the substitute biology teacher until a replacement could be found. It wasn't a hard job for the man who preferred medicine as his calling in life, plus it kept him out of the Doctor's Office and the grabby hands of girls like Felice.

Emma also had interviews with prospective new Assistant Principals. The plan was to find someone who could take over when things began to heat up in the world so they could all step down and have more free time to deal with worldwide issues.

There was currently no rush as the appearance of powered individuals was quite sporadic. They seemed to be situated in Smallville and Metropolis for now but there were reports of feats of inhuman ability in Japan of all places. Fortunately there were no reports from Bruce, although he was having trouble with some nut dressing like a clown.

The one incident of Superman and Batman appearing together was being played down and no one was talking about Superman's work in Africa.

That evening Clark was treated to a new training activity. Swimming.

"I know how to swim, Harry."

"Yes, but that is not the test. The test is your lung capacity. Chloe had the idea that everything might be super about you. Your lungs and senses as well. Your lungs are the easiest things to test for now. We will test your sight, hearing and smell at a later date during the holidays."

"Why then?"

"Because whilst people might not notice if you are holding your breath for long periods they will definitely notice if you are flinching at every loud bang.

"Now, get in there." Harry said as he sent a blast of magic at Clark sending him tumbling into the pool.


"The actual Goddess of Love?"

"Yes."

"From this universe?"

"Yes."

"And she said that Harry was considered an 'Avatar' of Love?'

"Yes!"

Lorna didn't think she could be any clearer in explaining it to Chloe and Lana but Chloe just had to question and verify.

"Can we get back to the part where she kissed my boyfriend?" Lana asked with narrowed eyes.

"Relax, Lana." Dani piped up. "All the Love Gods are like that. Back home Aphrodite and Venus greeted everyone they liked with a snog. It took Scott and Steve years before they got used to it."

"Who is Steve? You haven't mentioned him." Chloe asked.

Scott took up that question. "Steve Rogers. He died many years ago. In our world he was considered the first superhero. He was a good man and a close friend. Despite the fact that Harry made him the worlds top cop."

"He was always a little sore over that." Emma mused with a smirk.

"Why? It sounds like a prestigious position." Chloe pointed out.

"It was. But Steve was a man who fought on the front lines of World War II. He refused to send a team member or soldier to do something he wouldn't do himself. The position of Top Cop was more of a desk job or command posting. It took him out of the action." Scott explained.

"Harry later rotated him out though and made sure that no one was stuck in that sort of job." Lorna added.

"Can we go back to the part where Aphrodite kissed my boyfriend?"

"Lana let it go. You should feel honoured." Dani said highly amused. "Your boyfriend has been recognised by the gods themselves."

"She's right." Harry said as he sat down between Lorna and Phoebe. "The kiss she gave Clark was one of recognition. She marked him as a potential equal amongst the gods."

"Clark as a god?" Chloe scoffed jokingly. "I think I hear Armageddon coming."

"He wouldn't be the first god I've met who started as a human. Hercules was a half mortal who ascended to godhood. Bruce Banner was a pure mortal who through chance and circumstance rose to challenges.

"But Lana, there is a more important piece of information I got from Aphrodite." Harry said slowly. "She said that Clark was eternal. He won't die and he won't need me to send him on. I don't know what that will mean for his relationships, I don't know if bonding your souls would grant you his immortality just as the phoenix essence grants it to the other mortals in my family.

"My own immortality is not shareable. Many of my soul mates, before I came to Lorna's world, died and left me. So far, only bonding to a Phoenix grants it to others."

"So?" She didn't understand what Harry was getting at. She already knew Clark would outlive her, just as Harry would.

"Aphrodite was subtle, but she implied that Clark would be involved in my work as an Avatar of Love. Clark is already my apprentice of sorts. It makes sense that he will become further embroiled in my work. She did this by appearing to both myself and Clark. She could easily have waited until I was alone."

"I believe what Harry is saying, and quite badly, is that Clark may find himself with soul bonds, like Harry has." Emma said with a small scowl at Harry.

"You mean he's going to break up with me?" She asked suddenly very timid.

"Not necessarily. It all depends on two things." Jean warned. "First, can Clark cope with sharing himself amongst others in that fashion? Second, can you cope with sharing Clark?"

"Clark is going to have multiple girlfriends, Lana." Phoebe said softly.

"Chances are that outside forces will take away his choice in this matter." Celeste continued.

"The question will be, can you cope with this if he is to be your boyfriend? Can you support him?" Mindee finished.

"I-I-…" Lana wasn't sure what to say or what to think. She felt as though she had been told her relationship with Clark was already over."

"Wait, what do you mean his choice will be taken away?" Chloe asked seriously. She harboured a crush for Clark, but having become close to Lana she wanted to respect their choices. "You make it sound like he will be dosed with love potions and I know you don't approve of those."

"Everybody here apart from Scott and Jean has what could be considered an artificial soul bond." Harry explained. "I created the soul bonds myself. Jean and Scott's developed naturally. Clark's soul mate or soul mates could be out there waiting till they find each other. There isn't much of a choice involved in those instances, the souls themselves take control."

"You mean they will be forced to love each other?" Chloe asked.

"No, yes… it really is too hard to explain."

"The two parties will feel drawn to each other and it will hurt if they are not at the very least friends. But the soul bond will encourage more than friendship, unless there is a pre-established familial bond." Amara explained. "That is what it was like for me."

"I think I need to go home." Lana said suddenly as she stood up.

"Your aunt has company, remember?" Lorna said softly. "You are more than welcome here."

"I… I just…"

"Do you want to come and stay at my house?" Chloe offered. "My dad will leave us alone… although he might poison us with breakfast." She grimaced.

Lana just nodded.

Phoebe stood and Lana's overnight bag appeared in her hands. "Here, just remember you can talk to us at anytime."

Lana nodded numbly before Chloe led her off.

"Do you think she'll stay with him?" Dani asked sadly when the girls were gone.

"In the short term… I'm not sure." Jean said softly. "Lana Lang isn't mentally ready to handle our kind of relationships."

"Jean Dear, Clark is not ready to handle them." Emma rolled her eyes.

"I'm more worried about Clark handling his girlfriends being with another person." Scott said seriously. "It took me a long time before I was comfortable with Jean or Emma joining Harry or Logan."

"It took you just as long to allow us to join you." Dani smirked.

"You still don't let us join you." Phoebe pouted on behalf of the triplets and Laura.

"I don't think either of us is interested in that type of a relationship." Scott said with a knowing smile. It was unspoken but clearly evident that Scott was like a father figure to the younger members of Harry's bonded.

"What are we going to do about this supposed new girl of Harry's?" Mindee asked.

"I'll have to make a trip to Bermuda soon. I'll take Clark and possibly Lana and Chloe as well. It will be a good learning experience for them." Harry said.

"Better make it soon, Sweetheart." Lorna warned. "It isn't polite to keep the gods waiting."


Harry had a problem, or at least a worry. Brunhilde had been absent for several days. She hadn't been seen by any of the girls or Scott.

Deciding to deal with this he teleported straight to her. He was fairly surprised to find her in the lab with Clark's ship.

"Hilde, what are you doing here?"

"Harry! You startled me!" She said breathlessly.

Harry frowned. Brunhilde was a trained warrior, she was the one who trained the other girls due to her thousands of years extra experience as a Valkyrie. If she was startled by him then something was definitely distracting her.

"What are you doing? We haven't seen you in a while."

"I've been fighting with this arrogant piece of machinery. I'm tempted to have you bring The Vision back here to talk to it. Maybe show it the true meaning of artificial life." She said as she scowled at the ship.

"Why are you so focused on the ship?"

"I just felt Clark deserved some answers." Hilde sighed. "But neither I nor Laura have been able to crack the decryption. The only solution I can see is having Clark access the ship's systems."

"Then that's what we'll do. If that fails, Vision will be happy to help." Harry said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Now, come on, you need to eat and rest. You've missed a whole bunch of stuff."

"That happens every time I blink when it comes to you, Husband." She snarked.

"How often do I get a personal visit from the god's of Olympus?" Harry challenged.

"On average? Approximately twice a week." She answered.

Harry froze at that. It had been so long since he had thought of Zeus and his people as gods of that nature. To him they were friends… arrogant friends, but still… friends.

"Right, but Aphrodite of this world introduced herself and told me that Love acknowledges me as her Avatar and I have a gift waiting for me in the Bermuda Triangle."

Hilde stood and nodded. "Unusual yes, but still not within your top ten."

"Stop exaggerating!"

"Would you like me to list the top ten?" She teased.

"Yes, get on with ya wench."

"Let's see, at number ten we have…"


"Clark, I said no! It's far too expensive."

"It's my money! I saved all this time, I never buy anything that I don't need, my computer is second hand! This won't put a dent in my savings!" Clark argued with his father.

"Clark, what if you need that money later?" Martha tried to be the cool voice of between her hot-headed boys.

"Then I will make more. But can you honestly think of anything that we couldn't deal with between your magic and my powers?"

"What if we are audited or another tornado hits?" Jonathan challenged. "We would need money to rebuild, just like we did when the herd was poisoned."

Clark vanished in a gust of wind before reappearing. He calmly placed a clear crystal on the table. It was the size of a fist.

"Clark! Is that a diamond?"

"Man made, by me." Clark said, still surly. "Laura and Brunhilde have been training me to use my powers to make things like this. Originally Amara supplied the heat, but with my new heat vision I can now do it all myself."

"You really think it's ok to use your powers for monetary gain?" Jonathan challenged in disappointment.

"That depends, are you and mom going to stop using magic around the farm?" Clark smirked.

"That is-"

"He's right Jonathan. Every time we use our magic we are making a saving, whether it be on money, energy or time." Martha interrupted. "I know that Scott has been teaching Clark, Lana and Chloe about how to use magic and powers to earn a living. That's the way they started doing things in their world once Harry arrived."

"But this isn't their world!" Jonathan countered. "We don't have thousands of super beings running around."

"Harry says we will." Clark said softly. "He intends to bring Magic to this world, remember? He also says he is here because of a rise of a new breed of humans, like the mutants back where they came from."

"What if we conjured you a class ring?" Martha offered as she brought the conversation back to the beginning.

"It won't be the same. They keep a record of who bought a ring. I'm the star quarter-back, how will it look if they think I bought one under the table?"

"Urgh!" Jonathan groaned. "You're right, Clark. You're right." He said defeatedly.

"I am?" Clark hadn't expected his father to actually agree with him. Jonathan Kent was a stubborn as a dog with a bone; he had fully expected to have to go against his parents' wishes.

"Like you said, you are the star quarterback. That's not just a sporting position in high school; it's a position of social responsibility and example. And I will be the first to admit that you are doing an excellent job. Save your money son, we'll buy you the ring ourselves."


"Clark Kent, here you go." The student handling the distribution of rings said as he took the cheque and passed the ring over.

"Thanks." Clark smiled.

Clark opened the box and placed the ring on his finger. He felt a little dizzy for a moment before everything came rushing back in perfect clarity. He felt like he knew how to do anything, like the world was his oyster.

"Morning Clark." Lana smiled softly as she approached him. She was still a little wary after the previous nights revelations.

"Lana Lang, most beautiful girl in school." Clark breathed. He strode over grasping her in a tight embrace as he pressed his lips to hers.

Lana was so shocked he didn't have time to think. She and Clark had never shied away from public displays of affection but they had never been so brazen. She didn't realise that she was duelling Clark's tongue.

"Mr. Kent, Miss Lang."

Lana tried to break off the kiss at the sound of Principal Frosts stern tones. But Clark was stuck to her with suction.

There was a jolt as Frost placed a hand on Clark's shoulder sending a stinging hex through her hand.

"Ouch! What the hell?"

"Language, Mr. Kent. Now I have no problem with reasonable displays of affection but they must not interfere with your responsibilities and the school in general." She admonished. "Now, Miss Lang, this is Jessie Brooks, a transfer student. I would like you to show her around give her a feel for the school."

"Yes Miss Frost." Lana said quickly as she tried to control the blush she knew was over her face.

"Miss Brooks, you are in good hands." Emma said as she walked off.

Lana stood there for a moments as she tried to gather her thoughts.

"Are all the boys as hot as yours?" Jessie asked brazenly.

Lana's blush reappeared along with a hint of jealousy. The jealousy was quickly replaced with hurt and indignation as she saw Clark openly leering at Jessie.

"Clark!"

"What? Nothing wrong with appreciating the female form." Clark shrugged unapologetically.

"We'll see you later, Clark." She said angrily as she led Jessie off. She never noticed the inviting looks Jessie was giving Clark as they left.

Clark decided that school was not for him. He knew he was immortal so he had plenty of time to learn what he wanted. He could make money selling diamonds if he needed to. But there were some things he really wanted to do… needed to do.


The sun had set and the group of men checked their weapons once more. The horses whinnied impatiently.

Their leader was in the only motorised vehicle. An old World War II era jeep. Their target was a village 500 metres away, it had recently received an aid package from one of the west's more affluent charities, they intended to claim the package for themselves. Then they would claim the women. Then they would raze the village and torture and mutilate the men and boys. The girls would be passed around as desired.

Suddenly the jeep came to life and the headlights flared. The riders lit their torches and hollered as they rode for the village and treasures it held.

As they stormed through the flimsy wall designed to keep out wild animals, they began setting fire to the fragile buildings forcing the occupants to flee. The men were shot in the legs and backs; they would be executed in front of the women later as a warning. The women were hit with the butt of their weapons.

An extreme gust of wind suddenly put out all the fires and the already cold night began to freeze as ice formed on the ground.

Everyone stopped, the screaming, the hollering… the violence… it all came to a standstill.

That's when they saw him.

The white man.

He was like a face floating in the darkness, his eyes glowing red, clad all in black.

A sound of sobbing broke the silence.

The white man turned to the source and saw a man standing over a young girl, not more than ten years old. She was stripped naked and his trousers were around his ankles.

The white man roared in anger before vanishing in a blur, the girl's attacker fell to the floor dead, his head ripped from his body.

The girl found herself wrapped in black material as the white man reappeared. Now his upper body was uncovered and it gleamed in the moonlight.

The leader of the attackers raised his gun and started shouting orders as he fired wildly at the white man.

The white man vanished in a blur.


"Lana, what brings you to my office, with a guest no less!" Harry smiled as the aforementioned girl knocked and walked in.

Harry was idly chatting with Dani when they arrived.

"This is Jessie Brooks, a transfer student. I finished the tour of the rest of the school and thought it would be a good idea to introduce her to the school doctor and student councillor." She smiled. It was a fairly tight smile as she found the rebellious girl to be rather abrasive, that and she was angry with her and Clark still.

"Good to meet you Miss Brooks. I'm the doctor, she's the councillor and part time nurse." Harry explained, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at Dani. "We can handle all of your regular medical needs straight from here as a free service to the school. It helps cut down on a families medical bills."

"Do I look like a charity case?" Jessie scoffed.

"Yes, but you also sound like one more." Harry said bluntly.

Lana, who was standing slightly behind Jessie closed her eyes and counted to ten. If Jessie wasn't bad enough, she had just introduced her to Harry Potter.

"You callin' me poor?" Jessie demanded.

"Not necessarily financially, but you are definitely lack something with that attitude." Harry said, his voice calm.

"I don't have to take this shit from you."

"We take a dim view on swearing in this school, Miss Brooks." Dani warned. "You will find yourself in detention if you don't control yourself."

"What a bunch of goddamned hypocritical narcs."

"Can I ask why you are so confrontational, Miss Brooks?" Dani asked.

"What are you scared of?" Harry asked suddenly.

"I ain't scared of nothing. You wanna take me on?" She challenged.

"Yes, I do." Harry said firmly. "You have a detention tonight with Miss Frost. I'll see you there straight after school."

"Whatever man." She said as she stormed out. She had no intention of actually attending the loser school anyway, especially as she hadn't seen that boy Clark again, now there was a reason to stay in school.

Lana stared at the door Jessie had left through before glaring at Harry. "You had better tell Miss Frost the truth about what happened here. I am not getting blamed for it."

"Today is a really sucky day." Dani groaned. "Times like this I wish we had someone like Blindfold in the bond, they could warn us when we shouldn't get out of bed."

"And then you'd start complaining about all the extra work they give you." Harry countered.

He cast a glance at the door as someone knocked.

"Oh mercy. Time for you to save my ass, its Chandler again." Harry groaned as he pushed Dani to the door.

Dani smirked as her plan formed in her head and she opened the door. "Felice Chandler, yes?"

"Um… yes?" The Potter hungry teenager faltered at the sight of the older woman. "Is Doctor Potter here?"

"Oh yes, do come in." She said with a sultry smile. "Now, I hear you've been having chest and thigh pains, why don't you strip down and let me see if I can't find out the problem."

Felice gulped.


Brunhilde was once again standing in front of Clark's ship. It was a mystery to her. She had encountered far more advanced technology, she was sure. But she couldn't even get the ship to open up so she could access the innards. Harry had been adamant that they didn't let Clark near it until they removed its ability to interact with the world. Jonathan and Martha were in full agreement.

Much to Clark's annoyance.

Unfortunately the ship seemed to be encoded to only respond to Clark, or more specifically, Kal-El.

There was a gust of wind and Brunhilde was startled to find herself standing in the control room. She thought she might have accidentally teleported due to her fatigue. She checked the records but was shocked to see Clark in the lab glaring angrily at the ship and shouting at it.

He had hit the lockdown that kept everyone including magicals out. It took two people to override the lockdown and only Harry could brute force his way through.


Clark's rage was at epic levels. The things he had seen and done over the past year or so, in Gotham, Africa and here in Smallville, they had been affecting him and all the counselling in the world with Jean wasn't going to take it away. He had controlled his anger at what he saw and abided by Harry's advice and his own sense of morality. But something snapped today and he decided it was enough.

Now he wanted answers and this ship, this imposter claiming to be his father, had those answers.

"I am Kal-El of Krypton, you will answer my command or I will tear you apart and have you reprogrammed." Clark growled angrily.

"You must know your place, my son. You are not yet ready to begin issuing commands and making demands." The ship responded.

"I am not your son. You are not my father. You said it yourself; my birth father is dead. You are just a computer he built, and he must have been a fool to have given you so much power."

"The power I have is to help you attain your true destiny. It is inevitable that you reach it, the question is how."

"I have been taught that destiny is not written in stone. Besides, if there are different routes to this so-called 'destiny' then it is my choice as to how I get there."

"You are too young and immature to make that decision."

"He's older than I was when I had to decide."

Clark didn't flinch as he heard Harry's voice behind him.

"I trust Clark. He has proven himself time and again. He might be my apprentice, but he is an equal amongst adults. It is only the relationships of teacher and parent that set him apart."

"You have no say in this." The ship stated.

"I believe the time for patience has ended." Harry said firmly. "Clark has waited long enough and will wait no longer. We will return, and when we do, you will obey or be dismantled."

Harry placed a hand on Clark's shoulder and stunned him before teleporting out.


"Do we know what happened to him?" Emma asked.

The usual suspects were gathered around the bed in the infirmary where Clark Kent lay unconscious as Harry worked on speeding up his internal systems to try and get the red kryptonite energy out of his body. The only ones missing were Chloe and Lana, Chloe was trying to calm a still angry Lana down.

"The stone in his class ring was made from a different type of meteor rock." Jean explained. "Instead of killing him, it affected his mind."

"Do we know how?" Jonathan asked.

"His inhibitions were completely destroyed." Jean scowled.

"You mean the same as the Nicodemus plant?" Martha asked worriedly.

"Yes, but Clark… Clark is a unique individual. We have been exposing him to some pretty nasty stuff. He did some things and we aren't sure how he will cope."

"What things, what did my son do, Jean?" Martha demanded.

"He killed a band of marauders who where killing, raping and pillaging a village in Africa." Harry said sternly. "Clark Kent was never meant to kill. This is my responsibility as I failed to protect him from this."

"Oh god!" Martha gasped as she collapsed into a chair.

"Why would he kill?" Jonathan asked, still not believing.

"Just because his inhibitions were removed doesn't mean his personality was. Clark saw them killing and raping and all those victims I introduced him to over the past few weeks came flooding back and he wanted to stop it. His rage combined with no longer caring about the consequences meant that he acted with finality." Harry lectured. "This was in no way his fault, just as it was in no way your fault that you decided to feel up Amara whilst under the Nicodemus plant's thrall or Lex deciding to get married like that under Desiree's."

"We understand that perfectly." Martha said firmly.

"Good, because knowing Clark, that is going to be the easy part, the hard part will be getting him to accept it." Jean scowled.

"I'm wondering if maybe we should send him to Japan." Scott said cryptically. When the girls and Harry looked at him he added. "He's not just… what he is, he's dealt with what Clark's about to go through."

"No, we can handle this ourselves. He wants his vacation and I intend to see to it that he gets it. He'd do the same for any of us." Harry said firmly.

"We can handle this. I have experienced this sort of thing after my Phoenix rampages." Jean offered.

"So did I, after I went bad." Lorna added.

There was a collective look towards Emma by the castle residents.

She simply raised an eyebrow and stated. "I never had a problem with my actions. They were well thought out and I knew the risks and consequences."

This was followed by a collective snort and smirk by the castle residents.

"Ok, the best thing we can do is try and not overwhelm Clark when I wake him. In other words, you lot clear out." Harry ordered. "Especially you two." He pointed at Jonathan and Martha when they looked to object. "Clark will likely be running on guilt and it won't matter what the expression on your face is, he will still only see judgement and disappointment."

"You will tell-"

"Exactly how you feel. And that you understand it was out of his control." Harry assured Martha.

The group sombrely walked out of the infirmary leaving Harry and Clark alone.

Harry laid a hand on Clark's head gently woke him.

Harry was saddened to see Clark crying even before he fully regained awareness. Soon sobs were racking his powerful body as he curled into a ball.

Harry just sat there, waiting for him to work it through his system. At this moment in time he didn't need words and platitudes. He didn't need physical comfort and assurances that he was not at fault. He needed to work through the emotional pain of what had happened so that he could come through the other side ready to face logic and reason.

It was twenty minutes later that the sobs and wails quietened. Clark began to rest as he breathing evened out.

"It's time we talked, my young apprentice." Harry said softly. "Turn and face me."

With a wooden numbness Clark obeyed. He was resigned to whatever fate Death had planned for him. He deserved all of it.

"Tell me what happened."

"You already know, please don't make me repeat it." Clark begged.

"It is not a matter of what I know, Clark. It is a matter of you acknowledging what has happened. This was a dark day for you." Harry said emotionlessly. "Now, tell me what happened."

Over the course of the following half an hour Clark told the details of what he had done to Harry. Harry would stop him every now and again and have him explain in more detail about something he did. How he felt at the time, and how he felt about it now.

Eventually he finished with telling Harry about how and why he broke into the lab to confront Jor-El.

"Good, you made it through quite well." Harry said, his voice still soft yet firm and no emotion revealed.

"When I was younger than you, I was captured by a cruel and sadistic man. He wanted me dead, he wanted me to suffer. He needed me for a magical ritual that required his blood. His servant was just as cruel and sadistic as he was and the servant, whilst I was bound to a gravestone, slowly cut off my hand whilst I was still awake."

Clark's head snapped up, his face pale.

"It was an event that so traumatised me that even to this day, millions of years later, it still affects me. I was rescued soon after, but that night my dad came to me and brought a device we used to use to view memories in. He made me go through the memory with him. He made me watch as my arm was cruelly removed."

"Wh-wh-why?" Clark asked, horrified that a father could do that.

"To help me confront my terrors, to face it with an analytical mind. It helped, to a degree. I became much stronger. I still suffered; I experienced night terrors and panic attacks. But in the end it was the catalyst for one of the greatest things my world ever knew… the power to re-grow limbs.

"Now, Clark, what happened to you today was not your fault. I am telling you this as a fellow sentient being, the Master of Magic, an Avatar of Love and, perhaps most importantly… Death.

"And I will tell you with the same authority that I do not condemn your actions. I have, perhaps, become too lax in my duties. You should never have killed those people for the very simple reason that I should have killed them months ago."

Clark grimaced at that. Killing was reprehensible to him. He had devoted himself to preventing people from dying.

"You have my sincerest apologies as Death for failing to protect you from the act of killing, Clark Kent. I always intended to expose you to the necessity of death, but you were never meant to kill."

They sat in silence for a few moments before Clark looked up.

"What happens to me now?"

"You get a new topic added to your counselling sessions with Jean. You, me and the others will take a more pro-active approach to Africa and finally… we get aggressive with Robo-Dad."

"Robo-Dad?"

"The ship." Harry smirked.

Clark couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"What about a trial, my punishment?"

Harry scoffed dismissively. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, until someone with more power and authority declares themselves, I'm it. And I have judged you non compos mentis… or to simplify: Out of your bleedin' mind! You hold no guilt and therefore no punishment is applicable."

"There has to be something." Clark argued.

"Fine, you will spend the remainder of your week day evenings in Africa assisting me as I hunt down and kill every last marauding bastard in Africa."

Clark looked green and about to protest.

"Hey, you wanted a punishment. This is it. You aren't supposed to like or approve of your punishments."


Laura was not pleased, she had been in charge of detention this evening and she had had to miss being there for Clark. Of all her family, she was the one who had the most experience in dealing with having committed heinous acts and then realising what she had done. It was a side effect of what had happened when Harry had joined her soul to his.

What made it worse was that one student hadn't turned up and now she had to go and track them down or talk to their parents. Jessie Brooks was the new student and she had an attitude that rubbed everyone the wrong way. She was the type of student who believed she was entitled to everything and not obligated to follow the rules.

Having spent the better part of her life as the equivalent of a cop this did not sit well with Laura. She reached up and knocked on the door.

A middle-aged, balding man who only opened the door a little bit soon answered it.

"Mr. Brooks? Father of Jessie Brooks?"

"Yes?" The man admitted nervously.

"Hi, I'm Coach Kinney from the High School. I need to talk to you and Jessie about her truancy and behaviour."

"But it's her first day!" He said pulling the door closer.

"Yes." Laura drawled. "And for the hour or so she was there she managed to insult several teachers and students and land herself in detention. Which she then decided to not show up for. Hence my arrival here. May I come in?"

"Jessie isn't here right now." Mr. Brooks was beginning to sweat.

"Do you know where she is and when she will be back?" Laura asked pointedly.

"I-er… tomorrow?"

"You are aware that your daughter is a minor, Mr. Brooks? You have a responsibility."

The door was suddenly wrenched open and a new taller and fitter man stood there holding a gun.

"Get in here." He ordered as he pointed the gun at her.

Laura sighed. This was not turning out to be a good day.

"No." She said simply.

"I said get in here!"

"No."

"I will shoot you." He warned.

"Go ahead. Alert the whole neighbourhood. That will bring the Sheriff here and some other people that might be interested in why you shot me." She smiled.

"You think you're so smart?" The man sneered. He reached behind his back and pulled out a large knife. Now get in here or I swear I will gut you."

Laura's smile morphed in to a wicked grin. She stated quite succinctly in a perfect Australian accent: "Tha's not a knife, this is a knife!" She popped a single claw. "These are my other knives." She declared in the same accent as she popped all her other claws.


Laura tiredly walked up the stairs to the top of the astronomy tower, she was exhausted having paralysed the man holding the Brooks hostage with his own knife and then calling the Sheriff whilst altering the memories of Mr. Brooks and Jessie so they wouldn't remember her claws, then having to deal with the Sheriff's questions and the US Marshalls office when the attacker turned out to be one of them.

The only good thing to come out of it was that she had scared Jessie to death and she had absolutely no intention of skipping school if it kept Coach Kinney from coming near her with knives.

Now she just wanted to sit on the top of the tower and stare at the stars for a bit.

Only the tower was already occupied.

"Good evening Clark." She said as she conjured a couple of recliners to lie back in.

"I'm really not up to talking now, Laura." Clark said quietly.

"Good, because I didn't come to talk, I came to look at the stars." She said as she sank back in to the soft chair with a groan.

The silence would have been nice for Laura except she could practically feel Clark trying not to ask something.

She popped a claw and made a mark on the nearby stonewall. That was one.

She saw Clark flinch and she smirked. Only the Cuckoos knew what she did up here, nobody bothered to ask simply because they assumed it was private. Which it was in a way. It was a way to unwind.

Another scratch, that made two.

"What are you doing?" Clark asked slightly exasperated.

"Keeping count." She muttered. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to continue."

"Why haven't you said anything?"

Yep, she knew this would happen. Couldn't enjoy a nice night of star gazing today.

"Would it honestly help if I did?" She asked flatly.

"Not really."

"Do you honestly believe I hold you responsible?"

Clark sighed. "No, I don't think you do."

"Then take it from someone who has been in a similar yet worse situation that only time will bring an end to the misery, friends and family are all well and good but they only keep you sane, they don't take away the pain."

"Wait… what do you mean a worse situation?" Clark asked as he turned to face her.

"Were you created in a test tube from stolen DNA for the sole purpose of killing others without a conscience? Did you spend what childhood you had killing and assassinating people? And then, after all those years, after finding a new path you meet someone who gives you that conscience and it forces you to relive every murder except this time, you regret every single one?"

An answer wasn't expected and an answer wasn't given. Silence settled for a short time.

"It gets better?"

"If you are patient."

"Thank you Laura."

"You're welcome Clark."

A comfortable silence fell.

The there was a third scrape.

"For the love of- what are you doing?"

"Counting shooting stars, now shut up and let me enjoy, my record is twenty-three and I want to try and beat it."


Things only got worse for Clark. The following day Lana broke up with him and his already fragile emotional state collapsed. He stayed at home and his parents did not say a word.

Chloe and the Cuckoos were furious at Lana as they confronted her in the Torch Office.

"You know what he just went through, why would you choose this moment of all the available ones to do something like that to him?" Chloe demanded.

"I thought it would be better to get it out of the way, if I waited till he was better he would have just slipped back into whatever depression he got out of." She argued tearfully.

"Of course now he probably thinks you broke up with him because of what he did in Africa and that you think he is a murderer." Mindee sneered.

"Why would he think that?" She asked in confusion.

"Why wouldn't he?!" Mindee demanded. "What reason did you give him?"

"I just told him that I needed some time apart." Lana shrugged with a frown. It was a standard line and it worked in television and the movies so it seemed appropriate to her.

"Dear god, and I thought you were intelligent." Mindee groaned.

Lana was confused. Forget the fact that she was beginning to understand what they were getting at; she couldn't understand why only Mindee was talking. Phoebe and Celeste simply stood by the door impassively.

Mindee just scowled at her. "You wouldn't be able to handle all three of us angry at you right now, Lana. Be glad it's only me."


Clark was brooding. That's what he was calling it. Harry called it moping, sulking and being a baby. But he knew he was only teasing and it did make him feel slightly better. Harry had told him quite bluntly that he was only fifteen and he had another couple of thousand years before he completely lost his chance with Lana. In that time he had the opportunity to see if there was someone even better.

Clark had nearly laid into Harry for suggesting that there was anyone better than Lana Lang. But he couldn't find it in himself to defend her.

"Clark?"

He spun around at the voice he both loved and loathed at the moment. Standing at the top of the stairs to the barn loft was Lana Lang, looking as radiant as ever in simple jeans and a blouse.

Clark ruthlessly buried the hope that she was here to tell him she had made a mistake and was affected by some mysterious plant.

"Hey Lana. I… I thought we weren't going to see each other for a bit." He said morosely.

Lana stepped closer and sat on the couch. "That's what I'd like, just for a few days, I still want to be friends Clark." She winced, that was the most hurtful thing a person could say to someone they were breaking up with. She hated that look on Clark's face.

"I… I really like you Clark." She said hesitantly. "I thought we could have a future together. I never thought about it with Whitney but in the time we were dating I never realised I was looking at the chores your mom and dad were doing and trying to learn them for when we would run the farm."

Clark frowned and sat on the edge of the open windowsill. He didn't say anything, he figured Lana had a purpose for saying these things; he wanted to know what he did wrong.

"Do you remember what the first thing you did was after you put on the ring?"

Clark blushed. "I kissed you."

Lana smiled softly. "Yes, but…the second thing you did was openly flirt with Jessie. Right there in front of me."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not blaming you, Clark. Mindee says she was surprised you didn't seek out every attractive woman you knew and seduce them." She chuckled glibly. "It made me angry, I didn't know you weren't yourself. But even after I found out the truth, it made me realise something. I'm not the sort of person who can share the man she loves."

"I don't understand. I still think Jessie and others are attractive, but I don't have any… I guess you could say 'active interest' in them." Clark told her.

"I know. But the other day, the girls were telling me more about what it meant for you when you met and kissed Aphrodite."

"She kissed me!" Clark protested.

"I know! That wasn't my point." She said hastily. "It wasn't the fact that there was a kiss, it was what the kiss meant. About how you are likely to have soul mates."

"I am?" Clark asked completely confused. "Who said that?"

"Harry and the others."

"Just because Aphrodite kissed me?"

"It has to do with her acknowledging you as Harry's apprentice in everything including his duties as an Avatar of Love."

"I didn't know that." Clark said blankly. It was a bit of a shock. He wondered briefly why Harry hadn't told him.

"Oh." Lana said worriedly. No one had said it was a secret and they were talking quite openly about it.

"So… because I might have a soul mate that I might one day meet you are breaking up with me now?" Clark asked slowly.

"I know it sounds like I'm jumping the gun a bit, but it just felt like I was stuck in a relationship that was doomed from the beginning. Every day I wondered if today was the day I would lose you."

"And that is your first mistake." Came a sweet melodious voice.

Clark merely stood and bowed as Aphrodite appeared between Clark at the window and Lana on the couch.

Lana quickly stood and also bowed. She grimaced slightly as Aphrodite lifted Clark's chin softly kissed his lips, but was surprised when she kissed her own cheek.

"You are blessed Lana Lang. Blessed because of those who have chosen you as a friend." The goddess said softly so only she could hear. "Please, sit."

Clark sat a bit stiffly on the window ledge as Aphrodite reclined on the couch and Lana sat uncomfortably on the edge.

Aphrodite laughed musically. "Relax, we are simply talking, there is no need for formality."

"It is good to see you again." Clark said hesitantly.

"And it is good to see you, Clark Kent." Aphrodite smiled. "I came because of the pain I felt from you both." She explained. "There is much love between you and the potential for much more."

Clark looked a bit more hopeful.

"But Lana is correct. She is not ready for a relationship with you Clark. She is not ready to share her beloved."

Clark's hope was popped like a balloon.

"But that does not mean she will never be ready." She said with a mysterious smile. "Love is infinite in its capacity. My advice to you both is to enjoy your childhood. Find love where you can and comfort in each other when you need it. One day you may find yourselves committed to each other for eternity. Or you may decide that you are better off as friends. The only thing I ask you to both remember is that neither of you has any desire to hurt the other."

"Don't you know if we are meant to be together?" Lana asked without malice.

"My place is not to determine who will love whom but nurture love where it exists. There is love between you and that is why I can speak on this matter with you."

"What about the soul mates Harry has, the bonds in the Bermuda Triangle?" Clark asked.

"That is a unique bond which Love told me about and part of the gift that Love has contributed to with the gods. But not even the gods and goddesses of Love have the ability to see the soul bonds. Those are the domain of Death alone."

Lana frowned. "But aren't those bonds built on love?"

"No, we do not know how or why they came to be, we only know that love occurs because of them. Perhaps one day Lord Death will discover the reason and then we will know. I, and some of my fellow deities, firmly believe that soul bonds are a creation of Lord Death. We simply have no proof, merely the knowledge that souls are his domain."

"He's as close to a Creator of the Universe as you can get, isn't he?" Clark asked carefully.

Aphrodite frowned. "He is the only known being that has been acknowledged by other Aspects and deities. But all of us believe there is someone or something higher than us. Something that may have created the Aspects or guided their creation.

"But to put it in a way you might find more useful: Harry Potter is the highest ranking being known in existence."

"Lovely." Clark said sarcastically. "The fate of the universe rests in the hands of one man and that man is nuts."

Aphrodite giggled. "Now Clark, that's not true. He's just a little eccentric. He's seen the rise and fall of man and will see it many times to come." She instantly turned serious, something that mildly shocked the two teenagers. "But more importantly, it does not rest in his hands but in ours. His job is not to keep the world safe for us, his job is to merely to step in when we can not do it ourselves."

"We need to think and work for ourselves." Lana summed up.

"Exactly." Aphrodite smiled as she rose, Clark and Lana joining her respectfully. "I will leave you now with one piece of insight. Nobody is meant to find the one they truly love at so young an age, it simply happens. Don't try and force it between the two of you when you have thousands of years to decide the matter."

With that she vanished, leaving Clark and Lana alone in the loft.

Lana was a little worried to see Clark grinning at her.

"What?" She asked warily.

"We were just told there is hope for us. The Goddess of Love herself told us we love each other."

Lana sighed. "It doesn't change the way I feel now, Clark."

He kept grinning. "She said I just need to be patient. I waited for you for years… I can wait some more." Clark stood up and headed for the stairs. "See ya later Lana."

Lana rolled her eyes. As she stood and made to leave she couldn't help the smile that crept on to her lips.