1

Clark climbed into the passenger's side of the truck, his father's jacket awkwardly draped over the bright red shock blanket. He didn't need any of it—hadn't really felt cold in years, even though he was soaked and it was a cool day—but if it made his dad happy, he'd wear it. Clark didn't really overheat, either.

It was quiet for the first few minutes of the drive, then his father said, "You stay away from that guy."

"Why? What's wrong with him?"

"I know his father. Those Luthors are a bad bunch."

Clark shrugged. His dad wasn't often like this, but occasionally, he took a dislike for someone when he first met them. It usually went away after his dad took some time to think it over, but even if it didn't, Clark wasn't worried. He wasn't really expecting to see Lex again, anyway.

2

"I still want you to stay away from him."

"He saved their lives!"

"You saved their lives."

"I saved Lex and Earl. Lex saved everyone else."

Weeks after the incident at the bridge, Clark's father hadn't slowed in his anti-Luthor rants. It was getting on Clark's last nerve. Lex had been a good friend to him.

"You should have seen it, Dad. He went in there, he took off his bulletproof vest, and he—"

"Knew exactly what he was doing. Whatever level 3 is, I'm sure he and his father were in on it from the beginning."

"I think you're wrong. And when I go visit him tomorrow, I'm going to prove you wrong."

His father crossed his arms. "You're not going to visit him tomorrow. You're grounded for two weeks."

Clark's voice caught in his throat. "You can't ground me for who my friends are!"

"You're grounded because of the party you threw while your mother and I were away."

"You're being completely unreasonable."

"Go to your room."

Clark stomped up the stairs and slammed the door when he reached his bedroom.

3

The day after the tornado, Clark's dad started ranting about Lex again.

"I knew this would happen eventually," he said. "Haven't I been saying it all along? He's bad news. He investigated you, then he shot someone in cold blood."

Clark frowned. It was such a twisted description of what had happened. This was the second or third time Clark's dad had claimed he was giving Lex a fresh start, then gone home and started raking him over the coals again. Maybe this time, Clark could reason with him. "Dad, we talked about this. He saved your life."

"My life wouldn't have needed saving if he hadn't sent Nixon to investigate you."

"Lex told me he tried to get Nixon to stop."

"But Nixon wouldn't have been investigating in the first place if Lex hadn't set him on the trail."

Clark winced. He felt like his father had been so close to making amends with Lex, and then he'd immediately changed his mind. "Lex made a mistake. I get that. But he admitted it, he apologized, and . . . he couldn't have known that all this was going to happen. It wasn't his fault. But he saved your life."

His dad only grunted, but Clark figured it was a win. Thought it was only a matter of time before his dad came around.

4

Clark pulled his knees into his chest, sitting in his room alone.

He'd run away from Lex before he could watch him being dragged away to Belle Reve. It had been a month since that day, but it still haunted him. If he had only stayed . . .

Clark was careful about mentioning Lex at home. His father's advice hadn't exactly been encouraging: "I'm not saying that you should put your secret above Lex's well-being. I just think that you should stay out of this one."

But putting his secret over Lex's life was exactly what his dad was telling him to do. Just like Lex's father was putting his own secrets above Lex's life. It was so unfair. Lex had been a good friend. Beyond good. He'd bought the farm for them when Clark's mistakes had caused them to lose it. Clark thought that would end his dad's hatred of the Luthors, but the warmth lasted less than a week.

Lex was clearly in danger, and terrified, and hurting, and livid with Clark for abandoning him when Clark could have saved him with no effort at all. Clark was absolutely certain Lex would have done the same for him, but he also didn't know what to do with Lex if he did save him.

Clark had hoped for better advice from his mom, but she abruptly changed the subject when he turned to her. Clark's friends weren't much help, either. Pete was happy that Lex was locked up. Chloe was too afraid of Lionel to take much of an active role in helping save Lex. Lana, of course, didn't want to speak to Clark at all.

And all the while, his best friend was imprisoned, alone, slowly slipping into insanity.

Still, maybe his dad was right. Maybe there was nothing Clark could do, and he should stay out of this one.

His eyes stung.

5

Clark's dad had never been interested in politics. Oh, he'd give the occasional rant at the dinner table before an election or after a change in tax laws, but a career in politics—that had never been a subject of discussion until word came out that Lex Luthor was running for state senate.

"I know why you're doing this," Clark said the day after his dad had first started considering it.

His father raised his eyebrows. "I suppose you're going to tell me I shouldn't be running just to stop Lex."

"No. I'm not." Clark sighed heavily. He expected to feel angry, or sad, but he just felt tired. In some sense, he'd been worn down. "You were right, Dad. Evil is in his blood."

"It's not so much about blood." His father's forehead wrinkled. "It's in the way he was raised. There's no escaping that."

"It's like destiny." This was always going to happen. He was Naman. Lex was Sageeth. It was no one's fault; it was simply the way things were.

His father smiled and squeezed his shoulder. "I'm proud of you, you know."

Clark couldn't quite smile back.