Chapter Three

Clark Kent shifted the basketball back and forth between his hands as he walked from the barn, lost in thought. He absently bounced it against the blacktop a few times as he stared up at the basketball hoop that hung from the side of the barn. He took a long, slow, deep breath and closed his eyes. For a moment, he was six years old again, and his father was trying to teach him about three point shots, lay-ups, free-throws… It had taken Clark so long to remember not to travel with the ball, and that you were supposed to dribble with only one hand, not two.

The sun was high in the sky, and its warmth felt comforting. Clark bounced the ball against the blacktop again, once, twice, three times. Then he tossed it into the air and watched it sail, hang in the air for a moment, then swish through the net. Clark just stood there for a moment and watched the ball bounce a few times, then start to roll back toward him. It stopped a few feet away.

Clark walked over to the ball, and rather than pick it up, started gently kicking it back and forth between his two feet. He thought back about all the times he had played one on one basketball games with his dad. He wondered at what point exactly his dad had stopped letting him win, and when he had legitimately bested his old man. He figured it had to be around the time he started getting the super speed under control.

"You playing basketball, or soccer?" a voice behind him called out.

Clark turned to see a very unexpected face, that of a smiling Peter Parker. Peter was exiting the passenger side of Chloe Sullivan's car, as Chloe turned off the ignition. Clark realized that he must have been so lost in thought that he didn't even hear them pull up.

"Peter?" A surprised grin broke out across Clark's face as he walked toward his friend. "What are you doing here, man?"

Peter laughed as he and Clark hugged. "Well, I can't very well say I was just in the neighborhood, can I?"

"Well, Smallville is a far cry from New York City," Chloe chimed in as she got out of the car herself.

"I'd been promising Chloe that I'd come visit for a long time," Peter explained. "I figured I'd finally live up to it. I've lived in the city my whole life, I've never gotten to see much of the country, you know?"

"Oh, well, you've come to the right place then, because this is about as country as it gets," Clark said with a laugh.

"I figured that out when I saw the 'Watch for Crossing Cows' sign a few blocks down the road," Peter joked.

"Hey, why don't you guys come on inside, my mom's out of town for the day, but she made some of her famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies this morning," Clark said, nodding his head toward the house.

"I don't know, Clark," Peter said, picking up the basketball. He bounced it a few times. "It's been awhile since I played any basketball. How about a little one on one first?"

Chloe put her hand on Clark's shoulder. "Tell you what," she said. "You guys shoot some hoops, I'll go in and bring some cookies and milk outside for when you've worked up an appetite."

"Sounds great, Chloe," Clark said.

Chloe headed for the house. Peter tossed the basketball to Clark.

"Your house, Clark, you can have the ball first," Peter said.

"All right," Clark said, grinning. It had been ages since he'd had anyone to play basketball with either, since Pete Ross moved away. "You sure you know what you're getting yourself into?"

"Yeah, I think I do," Peter said.

Clark gave the ball a few casual bounces, then checked it to Peter, who checked it back. Clark dribbled the ball a few times, faked left, then spun to the right and tossed the ball high over Peter's head. It sailed through the air, arcing up and sailing straight for the hoop.

Suddenly, a webline snared the ball in mid-flight, and jerked it back sharply. Peter swung the ball up over his head, then yanked it down right into his own hands.

Clark's jaw dropped. "Um… goal tending?"

"Ohhh, okay…" Peter said. "You want to play the sissy way, I bet?"

The two grinned at each other. Basketball with super powers? This was going to be fun.

Peter quickly started dribbling the ball back down the blacktop, but in a flash of super speed Clark was right in front of him, blocking his path. Peter threw the ball high up into the air, then did a backflip over Clark, landing on his feet and catching the ball behind him. Peter tossed the ball at the hoop, but just before it made contact with the backboard Clark did a super speed jump and grabbed it. Clark darted back down the driveway, dribbling the ball so fast that it sounded like machine gun fire. He took off running all the way down to the dirt road at the end of the Kent property, then launched the ball like a rocket. It soared through the air, hit the backboard and dropped right through the hoop. In an instant, Clark was back beside Peter again.

"Showoff," Peter said, smiling. He picked the ball up, but it was so hot that he almost dropped it. He gave it a few bounces, then checked it to Clark who checked it back. Then Peter grabbed the ball, hugged it to his chest, and jumped toward the barn wall. He hit the wall with his left foot, ran up the wall and reached out his left hand, sticking it firmly to the backboard. Then, he dropped the ball right into the net from above. He dropped down from the wall and landed in a crouched position.

"Now who's showing off?" Clark said, laughing.

Inside the house, Chloe watched the super basketball game through the back window as she tried one of the cookies. It was, of course, delicious, as Martha's homemade treats always were. It made her happy to see her two good friends, Clark Kent and Peter Parker, being able to cut loose with the powers that they both had to be so careful with, and actually have a bit of fun. Both of them had been through so much in their lives, and lost so much. Yet they both used their amazing gifts to help others, which Chloe felt was the most noble thing in the whole world.

Chloe took several of the cookies and arranged them neatly on a plate to take out to the boys. She got two glasses out of the cupboard, and went to the refrigerator to get some milk. Just then, there was a knock at the front door. Chloe shut the fridge and walked cautiously to the front door, wondering who it could possibly be.

She opened the front door to find three men standing on the porch. The first was a dark haired man with a goatee, wearing an Armani suit. To his left was a tall blond man in a bomber jacket and a pair of slacks. Standing behind them, a giant of a man with rippling muscles, long blond hair and a beard, who wore blue jeans and a white t-shirt.

The dark haired man scratched his head. "Um… is Clark Kent home?"