Clark had found it amusing that the calm and collected Dr. Swann that had greeted them turned into a babbling and excited six year-old when he got his body back and learnt of all that he would be doing. They had brought him back to the castle where they informed him he would have to remain in his chair whilst they made it seem he was undergoing experimental treatment. In six months or so they would be able to have him ready.

He was absolutely honoured to meet Thor and Loki, real live gods, but what clearly meant more to him was meeting Jonathan and Martha Kent, the loving couple that had rescued Kal-El.

Harry discussed the current situation with Clark and they came to an agreement that they would try to avoid letting Clark near the cave until Swann had made his trip to Krypton. Harry had always planned to go to Krypton to see if anything could be salvaged but he had no clue where it was. Virgil Swann had answered that question.

Things moved along with Thor, Sif and Loki returning to their own time and world. Harry had an unusual case of a transfer student named Cyrus Krupp. Harry had all new students report to him for check ups so that he could catch the problems early.

Cyrus made claims that he was an alien; he was frequently in mental health care because of these claims. Harry could see the lad was human but he was severely meteor infected. Harry talked with him and managed to explain to Cyrus the truth, it had required him to reveal the presence of Clark as an alien but once Clark heard the story he was fine with helping.

Virgil Swann took Cyrus on as an apprentice when Harry and Clark revealed the exceptional work in engineering that Cyrus had done. He joined Brunhilde, Laura, and Virgil in creating the ship that would take Virgil to Krypton. Virgil had opted to take Cyrus in as his adopted child and pulled him from the school as he was much more suited to classes with Ryan and Lorna.

Virgil also gave them the details of the Veritas group. The group didn't know anything of any real importance other than some legends. It just meant they had more reason to avoid Lionel.

The case against Lionel was thrown out when the guards all turned up dead. The press had a field day with theories of assassination plots by Luthor.

Luthor had been annoyed by this and decided to try and gain a hold on the Daily Planet who was the leader in proposing these theories. Especially as they seemed to have come exceptionally close to the truth.

Pauline Khan, the Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Planet had no expression on her face as Lionel Luthor stormed into her office.

"What can I do for you today Mr. Luthor? Should I begin with pressing charges for trespassing?" She asked calmly.

"I want to know where you find the gall to print those lies about me." He said angrily.

"Lies? Nothing I print is a lie or does not have at least some evidence to back it up." She had learnt how to deal with ego-driven tyrants long ago.

"What evidence? If you have evidence then I demand to see it." This was one of the tactics Lionel had planned to use, but it was not his ultimate trump card.

"Our sources are confidential Mr. Luthor. You should know this. Now if the authorities wanted to use the evidence we would encourage our sources to come forward, but we would not force or reveal them without their permission."

"And you think you can stand against a lawsuit from the entirety of LuthorCorp?" Lionel scoffed.

"We've faced worse than your little Mom and Pop operation, Mr. Luthor. We've been around for nearly two hundred and thirty years ever since George Washington himself wrote the editorial for our very first issue." She said smugly. "We are an institution of America and America loves us."

"All things come to an end Miss Khan. It just takes the right person."

"And I highly doubt that person is you."

"Very well Miss Khan, I will buy your precocious little newsletter and have you removed."

Pauline just laughed. "You will find that very difficult, Lionel. The current owners have full control and aren't likely to bow to the whims of someone like you."

"We shall see." Lionel sneered as he stormed out of the office.

Pauline calmly picked up the phone, dialled and waited.

"It's Pauline. I just thought you might like to know that Lionel was here demanding information about our sources and that we stop telling 'lies'."

"…"

"Well he was posturing but we both knew that. He threatened to buy the paper and have me fired."

"…"

"I really wish I could be there when he finds out you own it." She laughed.

"…"

"Oh I fully intend to write the story myself. I must thank you for extra security you put in my office. Having a copy of the meeting will be very useful when I arrange to go on the national news later this week."

"…"

"I'm a reporter. 'Cutthroat' is my middle name. Now if you will excuse me I want to watch Lionel get arrested for trespassing as he tries to leave the building."

"…"

"I promise to send you a copy of the security cameras!" She laughed. "I'll talk to you later Harry. I don't want to miss this."


The following day saw Lionel Luthor's image splayed over the front page of the Daily Planet as he was cuffed and manhandled into a police car. Pauline Khan sat on various news shows and even offered footage of the attempted intimidation by Lionel.

Harry had ordered extra security for Pauline as he completely ignored her protests. The woman had worked in the Gulf War and was no stranger to death and danger. Harry also put a monitoring charm on her in case the unthinkable should happen.

Inquiries came about the new owners of The Planet but they were firmly rebuffed, only Pauline actually knew whom they were and the contracts were filed in such a way that someone would lose their job and their freedom if they were released.

In the midst of all this national news a very nasty incident occurred in Smallville.

Scott was shutting down his office in the back of the Talon as he prepared to drive himself and Lana home. He heard Lana's cries for help and rushed into the shop only to find Lana being manhandled by three drunken men. The Lilly Charm protected Lana but it didn't stop them from trying.

He ploughed into the nearest men sending him crashing into a nearby chair before he turned on the other two. They looked eager for a fight. They charged him as one and Scott twisted to the left and around the one on that side using the momentum to throw him back the way he came and through the store window with a crash.

Scott turned to face the last man who was picking himself up off the floor having skidded there when Scott evaded them.

"You'll pay for that old man." He said angrily.

"Stand down. Don't make me hurt you." Scott warned.

"As if." The man scoffed as he charged.

Scott allowed the man to plough into him and fell backwards to the ground planting both legs the attackers gut and propelling the man over him and out the window.

He landed with the sound of breaking glass.

Scott kipped to his feet and looked to Lana. "Are you ok?"

She gave a scared yet frantic nod.

"Go and lock yourself in my office. Now!" He snapped when she hesitated.

Scott marched outside dragging the one man who had crashed into the chair at the beginning of the fight with him.

Outside he found himself under a bright spotlight.

"Hold it right there Mister." Came a harsh female voice.

"Identify yourself." Scott ordered.

"I'll ask the questions."

"Identify yourself or I treat you as hostile." Scott warned.

"I'm the Sheriff, and I don't take threats lightly. Now release the boy and put your hands up."

"Good, I don't have to call you then. You can arrest these three for assaulting my Assistant Manager." Scott said angrily as he tossed the man he held towards the light. "Now get that light out of my eyes!"

"I said put your hands up!"

Scott growled quietly but complied.

"I have a young girl hiding in my office. I need to let her know its safe to come out." Scott said.

"You usually keep young girls in your office sir?" The newly announced Sheriff asked as she proceeded to cuff Scott.

"She's the Assistant Manager and I told her to hide in the office whilst I dealt with the attackers. And I don't like your insinuations."

"Cry me a river." She said sarcastically.

"No, he'll just file a lawsuit."

Both turned around to see Clark, Dani and Amara standing there with Jean.

"Can I ask why you are arresting Coach Summers?" Amara asked.

"Clark, Lana's in my office, go check on her." Scott instructed.

"Hold it right there Clark, I'll give the orders around here."

"You have a problem with Clark rendering aid to a female in distress?" Amara asked.

"I have a problem with people ignoring my authority. I have a problem with a man who thinks he can smack around three boys and think he can get away with it."

"Then you really don't have a problem tonight, do you." Dani said with a cheeky smile. "Go on Clark. You too Jean."

Jean ignored the calls of the Sheriff as Jean grabbed Clark and marched him into the Talon.

"Now, what evidence do you have that Coach Summers attacked these boys?" Amara asked.

"I saw him throw one of them out the window, he landed on my cruiser! He then dragged the other one out like a sack of potatoes, you his lawyer or just his girlfriend?"

"Lawyer." Amara said calmly. "Scott, you have anything to say in your defence?"

A slow smile crept onto Scott's face as he looked over his shoulder at the Sheriff who still had a hold on his cuffed hands. "Security tapes."


The students of Smallville High crept around on eggshells the following day. News of what had happened the previous night had reached their ears and it was obvious that Principal Frost was livid.

Due to the Sheriff's bullheadedness she had been forced to suspend her husband from his job pending the conclusion of the investigation. Brunhilde had offered to fill in but Emma had other ideas. She wanted people to see just how powerful their family was.

Clark jogged onto the running track with the rest of his class for his gym lesson. They all thought Coach Kinney would be taking over for now. Many of the boys were looking forward to it.

What they found was a tall slim built man with dark hair and eyes and a wry smile.

Clark's eyes shot to his hairline.

"My name is Bruce Wayne. Many of you know of me and probably own something with my name on it. My good friend Principal Frost has asked me to handle Coach Summer's classes for the next day or so until he gets back. You will refer to me as Coach Wayne. AM I CLEAR?!" Bruce roared.

"SIR! YES SIR!" Clark shouted as he snapped to attention.

"At least one of you seems to be awake." Bruce said unhappily.

Clark grimaced as many of his classmates snickered at him. Amongst them were his five female friends.

"You think a lack of respect and attention is funny?" Bruce demanded. "Start running, now!" Bruce blew his whistle. "Clark, with me." Bruce ordered as he began leading the class on the jog.

Clark frowned as he sprinted up next to Bruce before matching his pace.

"You're really just doing this as a favour?" Clark asked.

"You ever tried to say 'no' to Emma Frost?" He asked with a smirk as they kept jogging.

"You think that's bad, wait till you have to say no to Dani or the Triplets."

The jogging went on for about five minutes before the first students began dropping. The final students to drop managed twenty minutes whilst Bruce and Clark where hardly sweating. Well, Clark wasn't sweating but that was expected.

"Is that Lex and Tess?" Clark asked Bruce as they jogged back to where the rest of the class was attempting to not die from exhaustion.

"I asked them to help." Bruce confirmed as they pulled up in front of the class. He gave the siblings a nod before addressing the class.

"You are a sorry lot." He said disappointedly. "You are young, you should have the stamina to run for twenty minutes minimum!"

There were a few groans from the nearly passed out class.

"On your feet!" Bruce snapped.

Tiredly the class climbed to their feet, using each other as climbing aids.

"Now, in light of why Coach Summers is not able to be here today he has asked me to take Coach Kinney's lessons with the girls on self-defence a step further.

"Miss Lang, front and centre!"

Nervously, Lana stepped forward. "Yes, sir?"

"You have been trained to defend yourself, yes?"

"Yes sir."

"I saw the security tapes, you froze. Why?"

Lana was highly embarrassed and couldn't believe Scott wanted Bruce Wayne to do this.

"Come on Miss Lang. Next time the Coach might not be there to rescue you. Wouldn't you prefer to be able to save yourself next time?"

Lana straightened up. She did want to be able to fend for herself. She had sensed that Laura had been a bit disappointed in her performance under fire. "I was afraid." She said firmly.

"Yes, you were." Bruce said. "All of you have been training in controlled conditions where there was no risk of pain or failure. Today, with the help of Mr. Lex Luthor, or Coach Luthor and his sister Miss Tess Mercer, also Coach Mercer, we will teach you to perform when there is danger.

"Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to present the Shocknife."

The student's eyes widened with fear as Bruce smiled and raised a rubber looking knife… that crackled with blue electricity.


"Is that maniac still here?" Chloe demanded as she stomped into the Torch office.

"Harry?" Clark asked.

"No, Bruce Wayne! That knife hurt!"

"That was the point Chloe." Phoebe laughed. "Without the threat you won't be able to respond in real life. Even with what you experienced today it will still be overwhelming when faced with real danger where the knife isn't a threat."

"Right Lana?" Mindee encouraged the girl to confirm.

"Yes, very right. I might have fought back eventually but not before they got a hit in. I don't think it was actually fear that stopped me… I think I was in shock."

"It can happen." Phoebe nodded. "The trick is making your response a reflex action instead of a conscious thought."

"How do you do that?"

"Practice. Have someone like Lex, Harry, Bruce or Scott randomly attack you until your immediate response is to have them disabled before you are actually aware you've been attacked."

"Why them?" Clark asked.

"Because for a hot girl like Lana, a man is more likely to be an attacker. If all she felt were a pair of breasts pressed in her back when the practice attacks happened she might freeze when the muscular chest of a man is behind her in a real fight. It makes a difference." Mindee assured them.

"Considering the nutcases in this school, defence from girls wouldn't hurt." Chloe argued mildly. "Tina, Chrissy, Felice."

"Felice never attacked us." Lana frowned.

"Give it time, Lana. Give it time." She said with faux seriousness.


That evening Harry took the opportunity of having Bruce in town to have Lex, Helen, Tess, Lana, Chloe and Kyla over to the castle.

"Guys, I have a bad feeling that at sometime in the very near future I will be taking a trip through time. It may not be voluntary."

"I'm sorry, did you say you would be time travelling?" Tess asked trying to figure how she had misheard.

"I did. One of the reasons you are here is to learn my secrets and the secrets that Lex knows." Harry said seriously. "We will explain these in detail in a bit, but first I need to explain why I have you here.

"I was planning on waiting for the summer but I am going to make you all magicals now."

"Including myself and Lex?" Bruce asked with a frown.

"Yes. I will put some protections on you so you can't unwittingly use them in public yet but beyond that you will be as free as Alfred."

"And now you're talking about magic." Tess commented warily.

Lex ignored his sister to ask an important question. "I'm not sure I'm ready for this. I still have to resist the urge to strangle my father every time I see him. And not in the wishful thinking manner."

"Yes, but you do resist. You will still have everyone here to lean on if I do vanish but I want you to have the protection."

"I don't understand." Chloe frowned. "I thought you could return to this time to within a few days."

"Under ideal conditions I can. But I prefer never to assume."

"Can we get back to the part about magic and time travel?" Tess demanded a little irritably.

"I could use some clarification as well." Helen nodded. "That or a possible psych consult." She muttered under her breath.

"Wait, Princess Diana should be here for this." Kyla spoke up.

"Quite right." Amara agreed as she vanished on the spot causing Helen and Tess to go wide eyed.

"Like the man said: Magic." Lex smirked.


The next evening Tess responded to a knock on the front door to find Lex standing there with a suitcase.

"Any chance I can crash in the guest room for a day or so?" He asked hopefully.

"What happened to the mansion?" She asked as she stood aside for him to enter.

"Do you remember the discussion about Lucas? Our half-brother?" Lex asked as he slumped into an armchair.

"You said he wasn't the best sort of person and we should just watch him for now and make sure he doesn't get himself killed."

"Right. Only dear old dad brought him to Smallville and gave him his inheritance. He then disinherited me and kicked me out of the mansion."

"What about all your stuff?" She asked shocked that Lionel would be able to pull this. She didn't doubt his willingness one bit.

"I'll pick it up later. For now I burnt my hard drives so they can't be hacked. The real problem is that I am technically homeless."

"Well you can stay here… what about Helen?" She asked as she remembered the brunette was due to move in with Lex that weekend.

"I told her I'd be here. Her apartment isn't big enough for us both. Don't worry though, once I find a decent place to stay I'll be out of your hair."

"I can't believe that jerk!" Tess said angrily as she began to pace. "He seems to think he can just throw his kids away and then pick them up when he has a use for them."

"Tess, calm down."

"Calm down? Why the hell should I? First me, then Lucas now you! God knows how many other kids he has out there!"

"Tess… you really need to calm down."

"Whoa there girlie!" Came Dani's voice as she teleported in.

"Dani, why are you here?" Tess asked.

"Because you are putting out enough magic that you started to warp the house." She said firmly. "Now are you going to calm down or do I need to hit you with a calming charm?"

Tess blushed and took a few deep-cleansing breaths. "Sorry about that." She said, slightly ashamed.

"Now, what did Lex do to piss you off so badly?"

"Now why would you assume this was my fault?" Lex asked defensively.

"Because she's a woman and you're man. It's a natural conclusion." She said dismissively causing Tess to laugh.

"No, it's not what Lex did, it's what Lionel did to him." Tess assured Dani. "The bastard disinherited him so he could bring in Lucas Dunleavy."

"Oh… in that case, you warping the house is understandable." Dani nodded.

Lex rolled his eyes as he realised he was not going to get an apology about being blamed unduly.


After a pow-pow at the castle they came up with a plan to deal Lionel another blow. Tess was on a warpath and Lex was hesitant to get in her way, especially with the amount of magic she put out when pissed. He was sure Harry had accidentally boosted her magic more than the others.

The following day the Daily Planet ran the story of Lex being disinherited in favour of the previously abandoned son Lucas. Lex had legally changed his name to Lex Matheson, his mother's maiden name. The surviving members of the Matheson family had welcomed the move claiming they blamed Lionel for driving his mother to depression.

The day after that they ran the article that would cause Lionel the most amount of problems. They revealed the existence of Tess as Lionel's illegitimate daughter. The key question that the paper asked was 'How many more bastards did Lionel sire?"

Tess spent the day with Lex going on the major news shows and giving interviews. She was already a known name after surviving the pirates with Oliver Queen.

By the third day Amara had Scott back at the school when she took the case to the judge and showed him the security tapes. The judge had charged the three men with assault on a minor and then gone straight to the Mayor and demanded Scott be given an award for defending Miss Lang.

The Sheriff was not happy.


"Here, start reading this." Harry instructed as he threw a book to Clark.

Clark picked up the book and looked at the title. "You want me to learn Japanese?"

"Those MBI guys were back again. Eventually we will have to deal with this and I figure it will be a good chance for you to learn about a new culture." Harry explained.

"Did they try and come to the school again?"

"No, the Smallville Medical Centre." Harry laughed. "They almost got themselves lynched when they demanded they hand me over. Somehow they have diplomatic credentials so the Sheriff couldn't touch them."

"Why haven't they come here?"

"No idea, probably next on their list."

"Harry, Clark, you need to turn on the news." Lorna said as she rushed in.

"What channel?" Clark asked.

"Every channel."

Harry picked up the remote and the news was already showing. There were scenes of a helicopter stalling in mid-air and about to crash into a group of well dressed partygoers. But then a green construct caught the helicopter surrounding it in a green F1 chassis and bleeding off the moment by running it through a green twisting ramp. There were a few hairy moments where the ramp vanished and a flying man dressed in green and black had to deal with falling debris but eventually the helicopter came to a stop.

"Looks like we need to make another trip Clark." Harry smiled. "Another super-powered human has emerged."


"Who's in charge here?"

"For the moment, I am, Mr. Dunleavy." Lana said firmly as she looked at the man on the other side of the counter.

Scott had stepped out to make get some supplies, it was early evening and the place was full so there was no chance of Lana being caught alone.

"That's Luthor girl. Now I need to speak to an adult." He said condescendingly.

"I believe your father is at home. Maybe he can help." Lana offered. She noticed June, the barista manning the counter start snickering.

"I'm closing this place down. Considered yourself fired."

"You can't close this place down, you don't own it." Lana said as she rolled her eyes.

"Everything that belonged to Lex now belongs to me. Including this little money pit." He smirked.

"I doubt that, but Lex warned me that you might try and pull a stunt like this so, we accept your instructions." Lana pulled out a dollar from her back pocket. "Here, this is the agreed upon fee."

"What are you talking about?"

"You did read the contract, right?" Lana smiled. "'In the event that the owner of the coffee shop decides to relinquish control then Lana Lang can buy the shop for the price of one dollar.'"

"I'm not playing games girl."

"Actually, you are." Scott said as he stood behind the young Luthor causing him to jump. "You just forgot to read the rule book."

"I own this coffee shop and I can do what I want with it." Lucas stated, though he was very intimidated by the tall brown haired man in front of him.

"You own the right to run the coffee shop. Mr. Potter owns the building and merely leases the space to Lex Luthor." Scott informed him.

"Fine then I'll shut down the coffee shop and put it to better use."

"No, the contract only allows Lex to run the coffee shop. Beyond that his only choice is to relinquish all ties to the place."

"Fine, then I'll keep the shop, the both of you are fired though."

"Actually, I am equal owner of the shop." Lana told him. "All firing and hiring decisions are mine as per the contract that was signed."

"I guess I'll see you in court then."

"Actually, there is a clause that if at anytime Lex has a problem with the coffee shop then he has no legal recourse unless he can prove that criminal activity or negligence is taking place." Scott smirked. "Now, you're wasting my Assistant Manager's valuable time Mr. Dunleavy-"

"Luthor!"

"Please see the baristas or waitresses if you wish to place an order." Scott said with a stern look.

"Actually, I would ask that we use our right to refuse service and ask Mr. Dunleavy-"

"LUTHOR!"

"To leave and not return."

"Congratulations Mr. Dunleavy, you have managed to piss off my very easy going Assistant Manager, please exit the building and do not return. If we require your input then we will contact you via mail courier." Scott said as he indicated the door.

"You can't kick me out! I own this place!" Lucas laughed.

"Again, no. You own the right to run a coffee shop." Lana repeated with a sigh.

"June, would you call the Sheriff please, I believe Mr. Dunleavy-"

"LUCAS!" He screamed seemingly becoming unhinged enough to forget what he was saying.

"Really, very well. I believe Mr. Lucas is becoming a problem."

"I'm already here, Mr. Summers." Came the annoying voice of the Sheriff. "I got a call from a patron that someone was causing a scene in the Talon. I'm glad to see you decided not to indulge in violence." She said condescendingly.

Scott just smiled at her. "I saw no need. He is becoming rather loud and agitated but not physical. If that happened then I would have intervened if Miss Lang appeared to need my aid. Incidentally, did you hear that those three assailants were given the additional charge of perjury and fraud? The judge didn't appreciate them trying to fake injuries."

The Sheriff scowled. The incident from that night was still a sore spot for her. Summers and his friends seemed to have the whole town in their pockets. She hated that because it usually meant they were using the town for something nefarious. What she really wanted was to get a warrant to search the castle, she was sure she would find something like drugs, prostitution or gun running. Unfortunately she had no proof and no basis for a warrant.

"Come on Mr. Lucas, you've been asked to leave."

"It's Luthor and you can't kick me out, I own the place."

"You'll have to take it up with your lawyers, sir. For now, they have the right of things as you are causing a scene and making a nuisance." She said as she grabbed his upper arm firmly and guided him out.

As the door closed behind the Sheriff and Lucas, Scott smiled at the patrons. "Special thanks to whoever called the Sheriff and free coffee for the next hour for everyone."

"Your welcome." Scott and Lana were shocked when at least a third of the patrons called out.


"This is his apartment." Harry said as he and Clark stood outside the address Laura had given them.

"I'm surprised the government isn't here already, if you can find him then why can't they?"

"They will, but our computers are substantially faster. It's why Virgil needs to learn a new system as he helps build the new ship."

"So what do we do?"

"Remember Bruce?" Harry asked with a grin.

Clark groaned. "Can't we just knock on the door?"

"Fine. I like my way better. People tend to be a bit more accepting when they see you phase through things." Harry grumped.

"One day someone is going to see you and think you're attacking. Then what?" Clark challenged as he headed into the building's lobby.

"I'm usually phased so it doesn't matter."

"This guy uses what looks like energy based constructs, you said that some types of energy can affect your phased state."

"Look, if your going to start being all logical about this then I'm not going to argue with you anymore!" Harry declared as he floated up and phased through the ceiling with an indignant sniff.

"I swear I'm the adult sometimes." Clark muttered before he super-sped his way to the right floor beating Harry by two seconds.

Not giving Harry a chance to do something that would require a clean up he knocked on the door.

"You are absolutely no fun." Harry said.

"We could go outside so I can zap you with a lightning bolt?"

The door opening stopped Harry's retort and a man resembling the being from the news report greeted them.

"Hal Jordan? We wanted to come and talk to you about your little adventure the other night." Harry smiled genially at the man.

"What adventure?" Hal asked suspiciously.

"The one where you created green constructs and flew." Clark said simply.

"That wasn't me."

"Yes, it was. You've been altered in someway. Alien technology by the looks of things." Harry mused as he examined Hal closely.

"Aliens?" Hal laughed. "What are you? Some sort of-"

Hal trailed off as he saw Clark begin to hover a foot off the ground.

"Would you mind if we came in, Mr. Jordan? A bit of privacy would be best." Clark suggested.

Harry was quite pleased that Clark was taking the lead. He still came across as insecure and naive at times but he really shined when necessary.

"Get in here." Hal frowned as he stepped aside.

Inside Clark and Harry saw two other people. One was the woman Hal had saved on the news but the other was unknown.

"Clark Kent, Harry Potter." Harry said as he held out his hand to woman.

"Carol Ferris."

"Tom Kalmaku."

"Great, we all know each other's names. Would someone mind telling me if anyone else out there knows about me? The mask was supposed to protect my identity!" Hal said fairly agitatedly.

"I can fix that." Harry said calmingly. "You trust these two with the knowledge of who you are?"

"Sure, they know the score."

"Do you have a title? A code name when you do your thing?"

"Green Lantern."

"Really?"

"I didn't pick it!"

"Fine, just make sure that if you want someone to know who you are then state that you, Hal Jordan are the Green Lantern."

"Really… just like that?"

"I'm an alien and he's the Master of Magic. Yes magic is real." Clark rattled off.

"Magic?" Carol asked sceptically.

"Why do they always accept the alien stuff but have trouble with magic?" Harry complained to Clark.

"I don't think it's the magic they have trouble with." Clark said dryly.

"Look, I'd love to stay and share but I have to leave. There is something really bad coming and if I can't get my bosses to send reinforcements then we are going to be the last thing standing between the Earth and its destruction." Hal said.

"You really need to learn to relax Hal." Harry said firmly. "I've been dealing with this type of thing for a long time, all you are going to do is turn yourself grey."

"Really? I haven't heard of any invaders from space recently." Hal said sarcastically.

"Erm… hi?" Clark said as he rose off the floor again.

"Whoa… you can fly too?" Tom said with awe and excitement.

"Among other things." Clark smiled.

"Ok, who are your bosses?" Harry asked.

"The Guardians, they created the Green Lantern Corps."

"Guardians? I wonder if those are the ones Jor-El thought of sending you to." Harry commented to Clark. "Ok, how long do we have till this invader arrives and what can you tell me about it?"

"Days at the most. It feeds on fear and that is all I know. I'm hoping the Guardians know more."

"Ok, lead the way." Harry said as he moved to the window.

"Don't you need a spaceship?"

"Do you?"

"Do I?" Clark asked.

"You can survive extremes and hold your breath indefinitely. You don't need a ship."

"What about communication?" Clark asked.

"We'll work on it later, for now we just follow Hal."


"Well I'll be..." Harry muttered as he stood with Clark, Hal and some other alien Lantern called Sinestro on a high altitude plateau. Spaced evenly around the edge where rocky spikes that rose up some thirty feet and at the top were very short little blue people that reminded Harry of goblins… goblins with large craniums, but still goblins.

"Such a shame Dani isn't here to finish that." Clark sighed.

"They're gods." Harry said louder. "You little guys are millions of years old, quite impressive as even Odin isn't that old. You're older than Earth; hell you're actually older than me! Do you know how long it's been since I met someone older than me?" Harry asked with a wide and excited smile.

"Just who are you?" Sinestro asked with a sneer. The last thing he needed was more pitiful humans meddling with his beloved Corp.

"Death."

"I thought you said he was the Master of Magic." Hal whispered to Clark.

"He is, but he is also Death. The embodiment of death. He actually outranks all the gods and is considered the highest ranked being in known existence."

"You claim to be the Aspect?" One of the Guardians enquired sceptically.

"I am Death." Harry stated simply. "It's not entirely pertinent to what we need to discuss, it just means that I am probably going to kill the bastard who is trying to kill Earth."

"If you truly are Death, then you are possibly the only one who can." Another Guardian said sadly. "Parallax was once one of us.

"Will is not the only force that can be concentrated and controlled. Fear was also an option and he wanted to take control of that force and create an even more powerful power. Unfortunately, it consumed him and made him what he is today."

"Then we will fight fire with fire!" Sinestro declared. "Re-Forge the Ring of Fear and we will use it to defeat this monster."

"Well that sounds like a bad idea." Hal spoke up.

"And one I forbid." Harry said seriously. "Fear needs to be eradicated, not cultivated. I only use fear and intimidation as a distraction technique, never as a weapon. If you have the power and means to control fear I suggest you let me destroy it or lock it away. I can guarantee that it will only lead to chaos in the universe."

"As you said, we are far older than you. We have more experience than you." One of the Guardians pointed out, but not in an aggressive manner.

"No, you are older, but I have experience spanning multiple realities and dealing with similar enemies." Harry corrected. "I also have far more experience with other gods and various Aspects. You probably realise this already though. For now I will need your aid in defending Earth whilst I deal with Parallax."

"We cannot spare our forces, we must secure a better weapon or strategy. I will not waste my men on some backwater planet full of barbarians!" Sinestro said passionately.

"That's my home young man." Harry said as he stalked up to Sinestro. "If I have to go face this alone then the other pantheons will look on it as negligence on the part of the Guardians. They will seek retribution."

"We are the Lanterns-"

"Peace Sinestro." One of the Guardians said calmly. "He is right. If he is truly Lord Death then we are bound by ancient laws to aid him as he sees fit."

"I have a question." Clark said nervously. "How is it that you don't instinctively know that Harry is Death? The gods of Earth actually came and greeted him when he arrived."

"The gods you speak of likely reside in another realm that allows them to view this realm in a unique manner. We are bound to this realm and although we have great power we are limited in how we see this realm." The Guardian explained.

"The Hulk is the same." Harry added. "He, like the Guardians were born in this realm, the realm they serve. Odin, Zeus and the others were born in another realm."

"Oh… thank you for the answer." Clark nodded to the Guardian respectfully.

"It is good to finally have a Kryptonian amongst us again." The Guardian said with a small smile.

"This all very nice and educational but there is a great big… space monster about to eat Earth." Hal piped up.


Sinestro had scoffed when the being calling himself Death had ordered him to gather his beloved Corp so he could address them and then lead them to battle. The Guardians had ordered him to follow Death's orders like their own though.

Sinestro was confused when Death told them that only he and Hal Jordan would face Parallax, the rest would use their rings to produce a barrier that would keep Parallax beyond orbit. The boy, Kal-El, another supposed god had vanished in the blink of an eye when Death had waved his hand. Sent back with orders to rally his family.

Sinestro truly became a believer when Death raised his hands and every Lantern present - the thousands that there were - found themselves in orbit over Earth.

Not even the Guardians could pull off a mass teleportation without technology. They didn't have teleportation tech full stop!

Sinestro, after he had pulled himself together, began ordering his men into position. They may not be facing Parallax but they would demonstrate that what the Corp stood for as they formed the wall of protection.


When Harry teleported Clark back to Earth he had sent him to Carol Ferris so that she could be aware of what Hal was up to. Harry also wanted her moved to the castle as Hal had told him that a childhood friend, Hector Hammond, had been infected by Parallax and might attack her to get to him.

Hal was right.

It had been a simple matter for Clark to grab Carol and knock out Hector. But Clark had to make two trips back to the castle so he could put Hector in the dungeons first.

He then grabbed Carol who was highly confused and hightailed it back to the castle where he asked Lorna to call the family in for an emergency.

"This is Carol, Harry wanted her protected, so I brought her here." Clark told the dimensional travellers without hesitating. "Right now a being that feeds on fear is approaching Earth. Harry asked for you to teleport to him in space and assist."

"Ah, time to break out the Patronus." Emma nodded.

"I've called Lex, he's going to- Never mind." Lorna stopped as the aforementioned Lex teleported in.

Clark turned to Lex. "Lex that's Carol, she knows everything and can fill you in on the Green Lantern, the rest of us have to go save the world."

"Again." Dani sighed.

"Again?" Carol asked slightly horrified.

"Long story, tell it later." Amara said quickly as she sensed Clark was eager for them to get to Harry.


Sound can't travel in the vacuum of space. But that had no affect on telepathy. With five telepaths now accompanying them Clark and Harry could easily communicate with each other and Hal, although the Lanterns seemed to be able to talk to each other anyway.

The team was assembled, dressed in their uniforms. Emma had switched to her diamond form as it was immune to the vacuum of space whilst the others had specially developed charms that acted similar to a bubble head charm except was just out side their skin.

Except Amara.

Fire cannot burn in space. No oxygen no fire. But that doesn't mean you can't have heat. The sun is merely a big heater after all.

Amara couldn't generate fire but her magma form was easily able to exist in space as she was the fuel and didn't need the oxygen.

Unfortunately for Clark it was now apparent that when Amara was in this form her clothes didn't exist… she was just covered by flame.

In other words; he had a damned good view of a naked Amara… even if she was glowing red.

"She's a sexy hot goddess, right?" Dani smirked at the blushing Clark.

"Not now Dani." Amara chastised lightly, though it was clear she was smirking. "Clark, you've seen me in a bikini, you've seen Emma naked, is this really so bad?"

"Ask me after Diana and Kyla find out." Clark grumbled as he kept his eyes averted.

"You have my permission to look, Clark." Amara assured him.

"And my encouragement!" Dani added.

"Girls, can we not break Clark right now?" Harry requested. "I'll remind you that Hal can see you as well."

Clark was surprised when Dani moved protectively between Amara and Hal and started glaring at him.

"Ok, do you have any idea on how to handle Parallax?" Harry asked Hal as he led him away a few metres to spare him from death by angry Native American.

"Me? I thought you were Death, the Master of Magic and all that." Hal said, somehow the power of his ring gave him the ability to appear to talk in space. It was something Harry, Laura and Brunhilde would investigate later.

"I am, but it would be good for Earth if you can handle this yourself. You saw how Sinestro looked down on you. I saw him start to believe my claim of being Death, anything I do will be considered as Death not a human. If you, a mere human Lantern can pull this off then you will be doing Earth a huge favour."

"This thing took out several Lanterns on it's own. What am I supposed to do?" Hal argued.

"Use what you know."

Hal looked slightly betrayed as Harry backed off and returned to float with the others. He turned to face out to where Parallax could be seen barrelling down on Earth. Parallax was huge. So his first objective… get its attention.


"Clark, keep an eye on Hal, if he seems in trouble, help him out. The rest of us will provide a barrier that will nullify the aspects of fear and weaken Parallax." Harry instructed.

"Fear is an Aspect?" Clark asked worriedly.

Harry laughed. "Just a figure of speech, Clark."

Clark moved away slightly as the others formed circle with Harry at the top and Scott at the bottom. The girls arranged themselves to fill it out with around a hundred meters between them. Then they started to glow.

Without a doubt, Clark had never felt so content in his entire life than he did bathing in that pure white glow.

The Lanterns felt the purity of the glow and their will became stronger and the green barrier they projected became nearly impenetrable.

On Earth the people felt peace, except those who were truly evil. They fell to the floor in agony, those like Lionel and Lucas Luthor and most of the Arkham Asylum inmates. Jean would be pleased to learn that Scott Kelvin, Tina Greer and Greg Arkin seemed to have beneficial reactions to the light where as Coach Arnold screamed in agony.

The person who benefited the most was Hal Jordan. With the power he felt encouraging him he knew he could take on Parallax. He had his plan and he began his attack run, his ring wasn't really a tool of destruction but every solar system had a lovely incinerator just waiting to be used.

Clark watched as Hal got Parallax's attention, he could see the look of concentration on Hal's face as he flew as fast as his ring would take him. He could see Hal's plan as Hal dodged around leading the being of fear ever closer to the sun's pull.

And then he saw it.

Hal was barely holding his position as Parallax floated by impotently. Clark sped forward hoping his own power was enough to drag Hal away. The journey took longer than he expected, even at full speed but as he reached Hal he moved up behind him and began carrying the exhausted Lantern away from the sun.

As they arrived back with Harry and the group the Lanterns lowered their wall and joined them and Harry and the others stopped glowing, leaving everyone feeling a little bit empty with the loss of the glowing power.

"Very nice work, Hal Jordan." Sinestro said sincerely. "The ring chose well."

"Agreed." Harry nodded. "He'll be a good addition to protecting the universe. For now though I have to go and finish Parallax off."

"But he's dead." Hal objected.

"No, Parallax is a god you destroyed his body but his soul lives on. Only Death can destroy a soul, thus only Death can truly destroy a god." Brunhilde said solemnly.

"How can the Lanterns aid you?" Sinestro asked respectfully of Harry.

"You can't. This is something only I can do. Kal-El is the only one who can give something in the way of assistance." He said as he turned to the young godling.

"Me?"

"I have never been to the centre of this sun. It would take me years to fly there under my own power. You, on the other hand, are fast enough to get me there in a mere fraction of the time."

"You want me to fly you into the sun? First of all, are you sure I can survive that, and secondly, can you please clear it with Zeus and Odin first, the last thing I want is for the various pantheons to come after me."

"Do not worry Kal-El." Brunhilde said soothingly. "The pantheons would judge you based on your intent and as we, his soul mates, vouch for you they will not harm you."

"We may decide to make you keep us warm in bed though." Dani warned suggestively. She received a slap on the back of the head from Laura.

"You don't need to take me all the way Clark, you just need to help me build up enough speed, the lack of friction in space and the pull of the sun will increase my speed as I get closer."

"Alright, but make sure you come and find me as soon as your done. Just to make sure I'm not sitting in a cell in Asgard or Olympus." Clark said seriously. Having seen what happened to this worlds Thor he wasn't taking any chances. This was a far cry from occasionally zapping Harry on the back of the head with lightning.

"I'll be back as soon as I can." Harry said as he held out a hand to Clark who flew towards him quickly gaining speed and flying out of sight in a blur.


Lex and Tess were trying to assure Carol that Hal was fine. It was hard for Tess to be fully onboard and genuine about Harry being Death as she had no proof. Her brother on the other hand was full of stories. Both women were surprised to meet Cassandra who Lex managed to find.

All three were relieved though when Hal and the others minus Harry and Clark returned.

Scott quickly brought them up to speed on what had happened.

"Someone needs to let Kyla know Clark won't be back tonight." Lex said. "Clark mentioned he had a date with her."

"I'll handle it." Amara said as she teleported out.

"How long will it take Harry to deal with Parallax's soul?" Lex asked.

"Seconds." Lorna shrugged. "But Parallax is tiny compared to the sun. Harry may have to search for him for a bit. Fortunately he will be able to see the soul easy enough."

"How can his body survive in the sun?" Tess asked.

"It can't. His body will be gone long before he reaches the sun's orbit." Scott answered. "It will rebuild it's self continuously. He will be in absolute agony the entire time he is there."

"In short, he's just taken a trip to Hell." Dani scowled, Amara put an arm around her comfortingly.

"Couldn't he have just destroyed Parallax before I sent him into the sun?" Hal asked.

"Probably, but he said something about needing you to prove to the other Lanterns that humans weren't worthless." Lorna sighed.

"Damn that Sinestro." Hal muttered. He didn't hate the guy but he had caused a huge problem.

"What do we do now?" Tess asked.

"Get on with our lives." Jean shrugged. "Harry and Clark will be back as soon as they can."

"How can Clark survive the sun? You said he was just an alien and fairly invulnerable but not like Harry." Tess queried.

"Clark's powers are fuelled by the sun." Laura smirked. "Chances are he'll come back super-charged, maybe with full access to everything he should have."

"It also mean he might need to stay away from school for a while." Emma noted. "He could wind up endangering the students if he doesn't have control of his powers."

"If necessary I'll take him to our home universe again." Jean said unconcernedly.

"I might have a problem." Lex spoke up hesitantly. "Lionel came around today and tried to accuse me of hijacking one of his trucks. I did some digging and discovered that he is hauling refined meteor rocks."

"How the hell is there so much of this stuff?" Tess asked. "There was one meteor shower over a decade ago."

"It was a huge shower, Tess." Lex explained solemnly. "I could see them streaking through the sky for as far as I could see. And then there were slower rocks that landed in other areas of the planet as it rotated. Smallville bore the brunt but for the next year or so there were reports of large meteor strikes all over the planet."

"But for God's sake, don't tell Clark that." Phoebe warned.

"He still tries to take the blame for it." Mindee continued.

"Next time he goes into a funk we're jumping in his bed naked!" Celeste said adamantly.

"Excuse me?" Emma asked imperiously.

"You heard me." Celeste said as she stuck her nose in the air and folded her arms.

"I'll leave you to deal with Martha and Jonathan then."

"Maybe we'll just flash him then." She relented. None of them wanted to disappoint the woman they considered their adoptive mother.