Clark paced back and forth across the office, unable to stand still as Ian and Maggie worked to find information on Lucas. "Anything?"

Ian glanced up. "There's plenty… he's a cousin of Lex's. We've got where he went to college, graduate school, articles on charities he's helped and even started. But all of it before that is a little sketchy."

Clark walked around the desk. "Define sketchy."

Maggie stood up and crossed her arms. "Sketchy as in his life before he turned 18 is very cookie cutter. There's no record of a driver's license until he was in college. His grades from his transcripts are average."

Clark scoffed. "Yea well, I did pretty average in high school too. We couldn't all be Ian."

Ian shook his head. "No Clark. They're exactly average. His GPA in every subject is the exact average for the graduating class of his year. Like someone just took the national numbers and stuck them in there."

Clark rubbed his hand over his face, hearing the soft scratch from the stubble growing in. "Birth certificate?"

Ian tapped a few keys and another page popped up. "Right down to the Social Security number. But that doesn't fit either."

"Why not?"

"His number falls into a grouping that should have been numerically assigned nearly 50 years before he was born."

Clark sighed and went back to pacing. "We've got a guy whose early life was completely average, and a birth that doesn't fit." Sitting down on the sofa he grunted. "What the hell is missing?"

Kara looked up from her coffee. "Did he ever hang out with his cousins? Visit Lex and Julian?"

Clark looked over to her… and a small grin crossed his lips. "You're a genius. Ian, check it out."

Several minutes ticked by slowly. "There's nothing. As far as the city of Metropolis is concerned, Lucas Luthor never existed before he showed up to attend University. He would have been here at the same time as Lucas, they would have graduated the same year."

Clark groaned as he pressed his hands against the side of his head. "Nothing but damn dead ends! And nothing but Luthors! One disappears and another one shows up out of the blue, like they…"

Clark got quiet. Ian and Maggie looked over at him, waiting for him to continue. Kara poked his arm. "Clark? What is it?"

"Son of a bitch!" He stood up and walked to the desk, slamming his fist down on top of it. "Julian never died, just his name."

Ian looked from the computer screen over to Clark. "You're not suggesting…?"

Maggie leaned against the wall, crossing her arms. "With the Luthors, you can never rule anything out."

Kara sat back on the sofa. "So, you're saying that they faked the problem child's death, and then a 'cousin' shows up out of the blue and pretty much takes his place in the family hierarchy? That sounds like something out of a movie. Or a really weird comic book. What's next, aliens and meteorites?"

Clark ignored his cousin. "You know this is something they're capable of."

Maggie nodded. "Definitely. Hell, Lionel would probably look at it as sport."

Ian held his hand up, turning the screen to face Clark. "Alright, but what about the fact that they look nothing alike? All the way down to eye color?"

"Contacts could change eye color. And it's not like the Luthors can't afford plastic surgery."

Ian thought for a moment before turning the screen back around. "Records show that Lucas traveled from Europe just before he started university here."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Maggie asked.

Ian smirked. "He was in Europe for six months, rehabbing at a 'spa' after he required reconstructive surgery necessary from a skiing accident. He supposedly wiped out on a black diamond slope and went face first into a forest."

Clark slapped the desk. "I got you, you son of a bitch." He turned to head for the door when a hand on his arm stopped him. "What Maggie?"

Captain Sawyer didn't let go of his forearm. "Kent, if his records are gone, then more than likely any DNA markers we had on him are also gone. We have nothing to compare the evidence found on the women to."

Clark took a deep breath, trying to remain calm. "Ian, call Sasha's office, tell her I'm coming over to talk to her." Looking down at the hand on his arm, he looked back to Maggie, waiting.

With a sigh she let him go. "Keep your temper in check here Kent. I want this guy as badly as you do, but we have to go by the book to catch him."

Clark sighed. "I'll… try. Is that good enough?"

"Almost. You could also give me your sidearm so I don't have to worry about you driving off to the factory to get revenge."

Clark arched his eyebrow. "That's not happening." He turned and walked out of his office.

Ian chuckled. "You know he's got a spare in the car anyway right?"

Maggie nodded. "That's where I keep one."

Shaking his head, Ian went back to typing. "Am I the only one not carrying a weapon around here?" Looking over he saw Kara shifting on the sofa. "Never mind, at least there's two of us."

"Nope, just you. Mine's locked in the jeep."

Ian stared at her as she stood and crossed the room. Looking over, Kara shrugged. "What? Clark taught me and gave it to me when I moved out here just in case. I've got the permit in the jeep too."

Ian watched as she left the office. "Thank God I didn't touch the hash browns."

/

Clark left the court house fuming. Cussing under his breath all the way back to the station, he burst into his office, making Ian jump out of the chair and almost take out the screen. "Uhhh… problems?"

"They won't even try to get a warrant for a DNA sample based on the evidence we have, which they say is no hard evidence at all." Picking up the first thing he could find he threw his rolodex, hard.

"WHOA !"

Clark turned to see Whitney on the floor, pages from the holder still floating down around him. "Sorry Whit."

Standing up slowly, Whitney kept a close eye on his friend. "No problem. I take it we haven't had a lot of luck in the case so far?"

Clark grunted. "No, we've solved the damn case, but the damn lawyers won't give me what I need so I can go arrest the damn suspect and toss his ass into a damn cell."

Whitney looked over to Ian then to Maggie sitting across the room. "Well… damn. That sucks. Anyone care to fill me in here?"

Over the next few minutes, a very abridged version of the facts was presented to Whitney explaining what all they had found. "So the Luthors 'killed' the bad kid and rebranded him as a saint?"

"That's pretty much it. But there's no way we can prove it without DNA to compare to what we found under the women's nails." Clark gritted his teeth again, flipping a letter opener around in his hand as he felt his tension rising once more. "Maggie, can you talk to the lawyers in Metropolis? Maybe they're more adventurous than our people."

Maggie exhaled slowly. "I already tried. There's no one willing to take a chance on this with what we have. And honestly, even if we had ironclad evidence, we're still talking about going up against the Luthors here Kent. That's not going to be simple for anyone."

Setting the letter opener down Clark sat silently. "Then we're fucked. There's no other way around it. And he gets to keep hurting women."

The thick tension was broken by the ringing of a cell phone. Everyone checked their hip, Whitney pulling his from the clip. "Sorry, one sec. Hello?... Yea Grant, what's…? They're on the way now?... With how many?... Dang. Thanks for the heads up." Flipping it shut, Whitney sighed. "General Lane's on the way here now. With three MPs."

Clark shook his head. "What's he trying against me now?" Standing up he pulled the blinds down, looking out the window. "Did he say how long we have?"

Whitney shook his head. "Grant just heard about it, but he thinks they left Fort Ryan maybe 20 minutes ago?"

Clark watched the humvee pull into the parking lot. "Sounds about right. Alright, everyone just relax, don't try to piss him off. That's my job."

Sitting back at his desk, Clark shut off the screen to his computer and waited.

Without even knocking, General Lane burst into the office. "Having a good day Kent?"

Clark just grinned. "Well, we were having a good morning. But you know, things change."

General Lane grinned back. "Well, I'm sorry to have to burst in here like this, but justice must be served you know." Looking back at the MPs, he nodded over to the right of Clarks desk.

Clark watched as the men walked over to Ian, pulling him up from the chair. "What the hell are you trying to pull Lane?"

General Lane just grinned as his men continued. "Ian Randall you are under arrest for assaulting a decorated General of the United States Armed Forces."

Clark rushed around the desk only to find himself held back by Whitney. "Bossman, not worth it right now."

Clark wasn't listening. He tried getting closer to the General. "You arrogant, self righteous piece of…"

"Watch your mouth Kent."

Clark almost frothed as he stared the man down. "I warned you, you press charges on Ian and I press them on you!"

General Lane walked closer to the restrained sheriff. "For what? Striking an intruder in my daughter's apartment? Good luck getting a judge to listen to your side Kent."

General Lane walked out of the office after the MPs who were guiding Ian out of the station. Clark followed him, his arms held back by Whitney and Kara now. "Why are you doing this? Why now?"

General Lane turned back to face him. "Things happen when people break my rules. Like sneaking into my daughter's hospital room. I might not be able to get my hands on you, but I can get to you." He looked over to Whitney then. "And the same goes for you. I'm sure your cousin will thank you, if he's off disciplinary duties anytime soon."

"You dusty old fart!" It was up to Clark and Kara to hold Whitney back now. "You got a problem with me, deal with me! Leave Grant out of this!"

General Lane just grinned as he walked out the door to the waiting humvee.

Clark glared after the man. "I'm sorry Whitney, I got your family into this."

"Grant was willing. Don't worry." He stepped around in front of Clark. "But what do we do now?"

Clark ran his hand through his hair, looking lost. "I have no clue. I'm… I'm out of ideas. We can't touch Luthor, and now we're being attacked by 'the good guys' too. I just…" Walking backwards, Clark held his hands up. "I don't know." Walking off toward the back of the station he disappeared around a corner.

Whitney and Kara looked at each other, both worried. "He's… he's not serious right? He always finds a way, right Whitney?"

Whitney sighed. "This time… I honestly don't know. It doesn't look good."

"But Whitney, Clark wouldn't just…" Kara was cut off by the sound of squealing tires. Both of them ran through the front door to see Clark in the Charger, peeling out of the parking lot onto Main Street and disappearing.

"Damn. Don't do it Clark." Whitney ran back into the station. "Riley, with me! Kara stay here and see…"

"To hell with that. That's my family, I'm coming with you."

Whitney turned to look at her and knew it was a lost cause. She had the same glare that Clark used on him when he wasn't messing around. "Fine, let's go." Grabbing his phone off the desk Whitney ran out into the lot to his cruiser.

Riley slipped into the passenger seat. "Where are we going?"

"The factory, to stop Clark from making a mistake."

Ten minutes later Whitney stopped the cruiser just outside the front door. All three rushed inside to see an overwhelmed secretary. "Can… can I help you?"

"How long ago did Sheriff Kent get here?"

The secretary shook her head. "Sheriff Kent hasn't been here. He called a little bit ago and asked to speak to Mr. Luthor."

"Lucas Luthor?"

She nodded. "But Mr. Luthor has already left for the day. He said he had business to attend to at home."

Whitney's eyes widened. "Where does he live?"

"Well, he lives out at Luthor mansion with family."

Whitney turned to the other two. "Shit."

/

The heavy doors burst inward, spraying the floor of the office with the remains of ornate stained glass. Heavy boot steps crunched over the shattered glass as the pissed off intruder made his way further into the room. "Luthor!"

The high-backed leather chair turned slowly, showing the grinning face of the man seated behind the desk. "Sheriff Kent. Something I can help you with?"

Clark walked up to the desk quickly, eyes flickering with rage. "Yea there is." Tossing his hand out, a loud clatter rang out on the glass top desk. "Get up."

Looking down, the smiling figure noticed the badge still spinning on top of the desk. Cutting his eyes back up to the sheriff he put his hands on the desk. "Get up?"

Clark nodded. "I'm gonna beat the hell out of you Luthor. And I won't enjoy it as much if you're already halfway to the ground."

Lucas smiled at him. "You burst into a private dwelling uninvited, and then you threaten the resident? Didn't do all that well on our academy exams did we Sheriff?"

"You're finished hurting people Julian."

Lucas' face twitched, but just slightly. "I think you have me confused with my dearly departed cousin Sheriff Kent. Julian has been dead for a very long time."

Clark shook his head. "I know how you did it. And I know when you did it. I even know that someone got all the records of your past indiscretions destroyed. As far as anyone looking through the records can tell, Julian Luthor was only guilty of a car accident. Maggie Sawyer remembers differently."

Lucas looked thoughtful at the mention of the Captain. "Ah Maggie. I heard she made captain. I haven't spoken to her since she was a detective."

Clark's brow rose slowly. "Maggie Sawyer was promoted to Sergeant over a year before you first came to live in Metropolis… Lucas."

Lucas' face twitched once more, his nostrils flaring. "Sheriff Kent I would appreciate it if you left my family's manor."

A voice from the doorway broke the tension. "I would appreciate an explanation for why my office doors have been destroyed. Is there something we can help with Sheriff Kent?"

Clark glanced back at the man. "Your brother has been attacking and sexually assaulting women, six that we know of."

Lex tilted his head. "My brother? I'm sorry sheriff, but my brother died years ago when he was young."

Clark shook his head. "You told me when you came to this town you wanted to do good for its people and try to change the stigma on the Luthor name. Don't treat me like an idiot now."

Lex looked from the man behind the desk back to the sheriff, emotions crossing his face quickly. "Well… do you have proof that my… cousin here… did the things you are accusing him of sheriff?"

Clark looked at Lucas. "Your father must have spent a lot of money to have all the past evidence from your crimes done away with. Reports, DNA markers erased from databases. That would get expensive."

Julian smirked. "Well, I know Uncle Lionel respects law enforcement and has donated plenty towards various institutions. But I don't know why you would besmirch him with these allegations."

Clark started to lean closer when a buzzing went off in his pocket. Stepping back, he reached into his pocket and flipped his cell phone open. "What is it?... You did?" Looking back at the men he smiled. "That's great. Good job. I'll be there soon." Shutting the phone he slipped it back into his pocket. Walking to the desk again he reached for his badge, clipping it back onto his belt. "Gentleman sorry to bother you."

Lex glanced at his cousin, then back to the sheriff. "Some news on the cases you were working?"

Clark smiled even bigger. "Oh yea. You see, your dad might have wiped out all of the police records, but he made one mistake." Clark emphasize by holding up a finger. "Excelsior Academy. They still have full medical records and immunization files on all former students. My deputies are getting the files on Julian Luthor and we will be able to match up the DNA. I think the District Attorney will be a little more cooperative then. See ya later… Lucas." With a grin, Clark turned and made his way toward the office doors.

Lucas' nostrils flared, lips pulling back to reveal gritted teeth. Jumping over the glass-top desk he grabbed a decorative dagger, ripping the sheath away and rushing after Clark.

Lex's eyes widened, and he ran as he tried to catch him. "Julian, no!"

Clark turned just in time to see the knife come stabbing down at his heart, his attacker grinning.

The blade pierced Clark's shirt easily… and then stopped. Lucas' hand kept moving, sliding all the way along the sharpened blade.

Clark looked at the shocked man and smiled, just for a moment, before he slammed his fist into the bleeding man's gut, hard. Lucas hit his knees, gripping his bleeding hand and gasping for air.

Lex stared wide eyed, unable to comprehend what had just happened so quickly. "What the… How did you…?"

Clark untucked his shirt and pulled it up, showing the bottom of a Kevlar vest. "Always come prepared." Reaching down he picked Lucas up by the collar. "Lucas Luthor, you are under arrest for assaulting an officer." Turning him around, he slapped the cuffs on, tightening them. Pulling an evidence bag and a rubber glove from his back pocket, Clark grinned as he reached for the bloody knife. "This is evidence. I'm sure the guys at the lab will find plenty of useful information on here. Including your blood."

Whitney, Riley and Kara ran into the office just in time to see Clark turn around, blood staining his shirt just over his heart. "Bossman, what the hell happened here?"

Clark just grinned. "We got the bad guy."

"Bullshit!" Lucas screamed. "You busted into my house, threatened me, slandered me. You baited me, you're done! This will never see a courtroom! Tell him Lex!"

Everyone's eyes traveled to the man still standing by the desk, running a hand over his smooth head. He looked from Clark back to Lucas. Lex shook his head slowly. "I invited Sheriff Kent into my home. Lucas assaulted him as he was leaving. The door was an accident. Take him." Lex turned his back as he walked around the desk to sit down.

Lucas' eyes widened. "Lex! Don't do this! Don't do this to me!"

"You did this to yourself. You said you changed your ways. You lied. Please remove him from my home."

Clark locked eyes with Lex and nodded slightly. "Thank you Mr. Luthor. Someone will take your statement soon." Pushing Lucas in front of him he muttered. "Let's go. No more 'next time'."

/

Whitney walked up to Clark in the waiting area on the second floor of the medical center. "So… you wanna explain to me just what the hell happened back there?"

"We were out of options. So, I made one."

Whitney shook his head. "You know that was a big damn chance you took there, don't you?"

Clark nodded. "Yea I know. But it worked."

"I never thought I'd see the day when I was the voice of reason here Clark."

Clark just laughed in reply, taking a swig of coffee.

Whitney slumped in his chair. "So breaking into the office? Tossing down the badge and threatening to kick his ass?"

"I wanted him to think I was desperate and out of options. Figured that would make him cocky."

Whitney nodded. "And the thing about the Excelsior records?"

"That was total bullshit. All I knew was that they both went to Excelsior. I figured he wouldn't think it through before he got desperate himself. With everything his father's covered up before a dead cop shouldn't be an issue."

Whitney nodded again. "And the vest?"

Clark chuckled. "Honestly I figured he'd try to shoot me, then I'd bust his nose when he was in shock that I wasn't dead on the floor and get blood on the gun to get the evidence. The knife was a total curveball. Worked though."

"You are crazy Clark. Lois will kick your ass when she wakes up."

Clark smiled. "Yea, maybe. But it'd be worth it." Clark got to his feet and started walking down the hall.

Whitney followed him. "You don't think you used all your pull with the General when you got him to drop charges again Ian?"

"I don't care what he has to say Whitney, he's not going to stop me from seeing Lois."

"Is that so, Sheriff Kent?"

Clark turned around to see General Lane staring at him. "Yes, it is so. My team found the man who hurt Lois and the other women, while fighting the fact we were being targeted by a megalomaniacal prick in a uniform and one of the biggest cover-ups in the history of the state. Oh yea, and one of my people was arrested because this megalomaniacal prick couldn't deal with his ego being bruised. We put up with all of that, and still caught the bad guy. So if you think I'm gonna back down now, you're a moron… sir."

Whitney stared at Clark in surprise as he went off on the general.

General Lane twitched, just barely. "So you're expecting what? An apology for my actions?"

Clark grunted. "Like you even know how to."

General Lane took a deep breath. "Well Kent, I will admit… you didn't do a horrible job of catching the man. And I suppose that… I was wrong to hit you."

Clark raised an eyebrow.

"So Kent… I suppose it's only fair if you wanted to get that one back."

Clark just shook his head. "I'm not going to hit you just so you can appease whatever twisted sense of honor you decide to uphold." Turning, he made his way down the hall further.

General Lane sighed and shook his head, walking down the hallway back towards his daughter's room. Straightening his cuffs he looked up just in time to see Clark stop walking…

And to see him twist, a fist coming straight for General Lane's face.

Clark connected with a hard punch. General Lane wavered for a moment before stumbling back against the wall, hands going to his broken nose, feeling the blood pour from it. He stared up through watery eyes. "You said…!"

Clark shrugged. "I changed my mind. And it's more satisfying when you're not expecting it." Crouching down near the man, he grinned. "You can hold this one against me for as long as you want. But no threat, no manipulation, and no harassment is going to stop me from seeing Lois. I love her. And for some crazy reason she loves me. I don't know what I did to deserve her, but I'm damn glad I did it. And no matter what you think about it General, as soon as I can, I'm going to ask her to marry me. And her answer will be the one that matters, not yours."

"Yes."

Clark's heart skipped a beat. Slowly standing he turned… and there she was. "Lois?"

Wearing the hospital gown she woke up in and a pair of scrub bottoms she stole from the nurse's station, Lois slowly walked closer to Clark. He hands pressed against his chest, gripping his t-shirt. "Yes."

Clark slowly lifted his hand, fingers tracing over her cheek, careful not to graze any of the marks on her skin. "Lois, you don't have to… this isn't how I wanted to ask you."

She shook her head. "I don't care. For some reason, for us… it just seems to fit. Yes."

Clark gently cupped her face and leaned in, kissing her softly.

Lois' arms wrapped around his neck, holding him tighter.

After several long, looooong moments, Clark broke the kiss. His forehead pressed to hers, he smiled. "I missed you."

Lois glanced over his shoulder at a grinning Whitney, and her father still holding his nose on the floor. "Apparently I missed a lot in the last two days. You punched my dad."

"He hit me first."

She raised her brow as she looked back into his eyes. "Did you get the guy?"

Clark nodded. "We got Lucas. And we can prove who he really is."

Lois smiled again. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Ms. Lane."

"Kent."

Clark pulled back. "Yes?"

Shaking her head, Lois laughed. "No, I meant it's going to be Mrs. Kent now."

Clark raised his brow. "You're going to change your name?"

Lois smiled. "Is that so shocking? I might be a little more old fashioned than you thought Kent. I mean, I'll probably use Lane-Kent for work, but I have no problem with everyone knowing who I married."

Clark just hugged her again, kissing her neck. "For the record, I did bring it up with your dad first."

She laughed. "Yea, I can see that. It went better than I would have expected."

Clark slipped his arm around Lois' waist and led her back towards her room, her head laid on his shoulder.

Whitney walked over to the General. "Too much pride to let a Marine offer you a hand General?"

Lane glared up at him before holding his hand out.

With a smile Whitney grabbed the offered hand and helped the General to his feet. "Thank you."

"No problem General. You gonna be sticking around Smallville for a while?"

Lane shook his head, looking around for something to compress his nose with. "I'll be returning to Fort Ryan soon."

Whitney nodded. "That's probably for the best. Things might get tense around here pretty soon."

Lane looked over to him. "Is that a threat Fordman?"

Whitney held his hands up. "Not from me, no sir. I was just saying, who knows what my wife and Clark's cousin might let slip to Lois about the past couple of days when they talk to her. Alllll sorts of sordid details."

General Lane stared down the hallway. "Good point."

Whitney patted the General on the shoulder. "Well sir, good to see you. Good luck back at the base." He turned to walk away, turning in mid step. "Oh by the way, Lana really is fond of my cousin Grant. Just FYI." Whitney grinned. "Tell him that we'll see him at the family reunion? That is, if he isn't still on disciplinary duty." Giving the General a salute, Whitney turned and jogged down the hallway.

As he watched the man walk off, General Lane sighed. Even as he turned walked towards the hospital's exit, the corner of his lip turned up into a tiny grin. "Give him hell, Lo."

/

A.N.: There you go folks. Hope this made up for the long delay in the last story. And I hope that in some way it seemed fitting to the long journey since we found out about the ring. Thanks for reading and reviewing.