6.
One afternoon after school, Jessica was walking toward The Beanery for her next shift. She was just back from basketball practice. In general, Jessica was insanely busy. If she didn't have basketball, she had robotics, and she had to work both around her shifts at work. She also attended all major school events for the paper. Even weekends weren't free - weekends were for chores, the farmer's market, and dates with Justin.
As she was walking down main street, she saw Lex, in a three piece suit with a backpack, running toward her. "Lex -?" she began, frowning in confusion. Lex pushed her aside, and right through a window display. She hit her head hard against a sunglasses case, and when she looked up -
Everything was in X ray. Lex's backpack was full of wads of money, and his skeleton glowed an eerie, meteor rock green. She stared after him as he ran away.
She would hear the news later: Lex Luthor, the richest man in town, had just robbed the bank at gunpoint.
Her parents were talking about the story in the kitchen over breakfast the next morning. It was all over the local paper.
"This is incredible," said Mom. "Why would Lex Luthor need to rob a bank?"
"I've seen some pretty strange things in my day," said Dad in bewilderment, "but this definitely takes the cake. Well." He looked at Jessica. "Almost."
Jessica sighed. "Thanks," she said calmly.
Dad grinned. "Just being honest."
"He made off with 100,000 dollars," Mom read from the newspaper.
"There was something wrong with Lex," Jessica remembered, frowning. The green skeleton came back to her mind. "There was something off about him..."
"Maybe because it wasn't really me." They turned around to find Lex standing there in the kitchen doorway. "Can I come in? I promise I'm not packing heat." He entered the room calmly.
"Lex... why are you here instead of... in jail?" Jessica asked warily, tense.
"Because I was holding a reception for over two hundred fertilizer distributors in Metropolis at the time of the robbery," said Lex. "Also, the bank took the robber's signature and the robber left fingerprints all over the bank counter. Neither the signature nor the fingerprints matched mine."
Jessica tried to remember how her eyes felt when she'd seen in X ray. It was like an extra set of muscles behind her eyes stretching... and then it happened. She looked at this Lex's skeleton and it was normal.
"This is really him," she confirmed. "I'm sure of it."
Lex raised an eyebrow. "And how are you so sure? Was there some physical difference between me and this person? I know your name was on the witness list, which is why I came over."
Jessica looked away, blushing. She wasn't sure what to say without mentioning her newfound ability. "It looked like you, Lex," she confirmed, "but... I don't know, something was off. The mannerisms, maybe," she added lamely. "It looked physically just like you, but underneath..."
"It wasn't a particularly good actor," Lex interpreted. "That's what the bank manager said, too. He said something felt off. It's nice to know I have such a distinctive presence," he added dryly, and Jessica figured she was in the clear. Then he looked at her and smiled. "I'm surprised you know me that well."
Jessica blushed and stared at her toes again.
"So what's going to happen now?" she asked.
"Well, hopefully the money will turn up," said Lex. "In the meantime, the Metropolis tabloids will have a field day and I'm sure certain people's opinions of me will be cemented in stone." He looked over sideways at Jessica's father.
Jonathan stood and left to go to work.
"I'm sorry you got pushed through that window," Lex added to Jessica. "I promise, I'm not a criminal mastermind."
"I know," said Jessica, looking up and smiling. "A criminal mastermind would have worn a mask." Lex relaxed in relief and smiled back.
On the way out, he turned around and added, "Game night as usual on Thursday?"
"Of course," said Jessica.
They'd taken to playing video games at Lex's place on Thursday nights. At first, Lex had tried to impress her with lots of fancy cuisine from his professional chef, but when Jessica had learned Lex had never ordered a pizza, she'd made a call to Mama Rosa's and started a trend. ("This is what ordinary friends do," she'd said. "They play video games and order pizza." Lex had smiled and said he deferred to her expertise.)
"By the way," Lex added. "I like your new look. It suits you." He smiled and left.
Jessica stared after him in surprise.
"He really cares about your opinion, you know," said Mom. "When he heard what happened, the first thing he did is come over here. His concern for Jonathan's opinion is an extension of his care for yours."
"He came because I was on the witness list," said Jessica in confusion.
"Uh huh," said Mom knowingly. "Sure." She smiled.
"What do you think of Lex, Mom?" Jessica asked.
Mom paused. "I think he's trying to be a good friend," she said at last.
Jessica's X ray vision kept popping up at odd times. She kept getting sudden flashes of head pain and darkened vision, and started seeing through weird things, including people's bodies, lockers, and backpacks. She discovered things about people she'd never wanted to know. It wreaked havoc with her concentration at school, where teachers started criticizing her for "zoning out" during class. Jessica thought it was the way she'd suddenly get a thousand-yard stare that had them a little leery.
Lana and Emily helped her out by hiding things behind their backs during lunch times. They would help her practice turning the vision on and off, so that she didn't see, saw, didn't see again. Her parents did the same thing. After having mastered her heat vision, mastering her X ray vision came a little easier - it was the same practice of stretching eye muscles back and forth, gaining mastery over them.
She was practicing out in the loft one afternoon when her mother came up the stairs. "Jessica, you have a visitor." Tina Greer was coming up the stairs behind her, pale and brown haired.
"Tina. What's up?" Jessica asked.
"Just - wanted to hang out. My Mom hasn't been feeling well; I need a break from the house," said Tina, shrugging.
Jessica frowned. "Well, I hope your mother feels better. Shouldn't someone be there with her?"
"Oh, don't worry, she's been feeling better, so." Tina looked away, standing there awkwardly. "Hey, your parents are really great," she added. "They were so friendly to me when I came by."
"My parents can be a little much at times, but they definitely care. Their heart's in the right place," said Jessica, smiling slightly.
"I don't see how you can even complain about your parents. You have, like, the perfect life," said Tina.
"Nobody has the perfect life," said Jessica.
"That's what my Mom would say," said Tina, making a face.
"You're not a big fan of your Mom?" Jessica asked, frowning slightly.
"She doesn't like her life. She didn't want to be a small business owner in some cow town, but that's how her life turned out and she's too chicken to go out and do something different. I never want that to happen to me. But she's the only person who cares enough to take me in, so." Tina ended her speech rather dispiritedly.
"Whitney says that a lot, too," said Jessica. "That he doesn't want to be another Smallville 'remember him?' Says that's what his father is. But I don't know. I don't think there's anything wrong with staying in Smallville. It's beautiful country, crime is low, the people are friendly - it's a nice, relaxed place. I'm glad my parents adopted me and brought me here -"
"And see, that's why you're lucky. If something happened to my Mom... I don't know what would happen to me," argued Tina.
"Tina, nothing's going to happen to your Mom," said Jessica firmly. "And even if something did, I'm sure you could rely on your friends in times of trouble. You're not alone," she added softly.
"You're always nice to me," said Tina, looking down. "Even though I'm unpopular."
"Tina, you're not - If you weren't so down on yourself all the time, I'm sure you'd be very popular," said Jessica firmly. Tina was famous at school for one thing, and it was trying to be just like Lana - Tina was a huge fan of pretending to be somebody else. "Besides, I'm not exactly at the height of the social spectrum myself."
"Are you kidding me? You've blossomed in high school. You've joined teams and clubs, you've gotten a boyfriend, Chandler's stopped picking on you, you have three amazing and popular best friends. And look at me. I'm just... me."
"There's nothing wrong with being you, Tina," said Jessica, frowning as she listened. It was starting to sound as if Tina's obsession with being someone else had transferred people. "And if you weren't so obsessed with how great everybody else is, you'd see that. Now sit down with me." She patted the couch beside her, and Tina slowly sat down. "What do you like to do?"
"But that's the thing," argued Tina. "I'm not particularly good at anything."
"What are you interested in?"
"I don't know... I like photography." Tina shrugged helplessly. "Travel photography."
"You could join the photography club," said Jessica. "And the international club. And you said you were ambitious, right?" Tina nodded. "Well, ambitious people have to get good grades and be really smart. So put your time into that. Take AP classes, enroll in the honors society, take business classes at the local community college... Do something! Stop being so obsessed with other people, and find things to do yourself. And if you do enough things, you'll meet people - friends, boyfriends. I only met Justin because I joined the school paper. Pretty soon, you'll build up your own support system, and then you'll be happy with that."
Tina seemed a little uncertain. "I don't know... Do you think you could help me?"
"Sure." Jessica smiled. "I can be a part of your support system. Okay?"
It quickly became evident that Tina was in the midst of a life crisis. She moved in with the Kents temporarily, saying her mother had closed up shop and moved to Metropolis to expand her business and she needed somewhere to stay. Tina took to following Jessica around like a lost puppy, dressing like her and intruding on her circle of friends.
Lana, Emily, and Chloe clearly found the whole thing hilarious, but were willing enough to help a despairing Jessica in Tina's new "makeover." Jessica took things one step at a time: she helped Tina (who seemed to have an endless supply of money) garner a new and original wardrobe. Then she helped her join clubs and honors classes. Then she convinced her to start taking classes at the local community college. At the college, sure enough, Tina met a boy and they went on a date.
Meanwhile, Jessica invited Tina to several of Emily's parties in an attempt to make her feel more accepted at Smallville High.
The makeover seemed to be going rather well.
Lana came over to Jessica's house one night. She knocked on the door and when Jessica opened it, she looked harried.
"Can I come in?" she asked. Jessica stepped aside to let her through. Tina was sitting on the stairs behind Jessica.
Tina stood, looking curious. "What's up?" she asked.
Lana sighed and sat down on the stairs. "I was cleaning out my aunt's garage and I came across an old diary of my mother's. My aunt had always told me this fantasy about my mother - that she was the perfect woman and the perfect cheerleader with the perfect life. I opened that diary to find out my aunt had lied to me. My mother hated cheerleading, but was afraid to quit. She hated Smallville and didn't want to live here. And the thing that galled me most is that... in a way, her writings reminded me a lot of my own thoughts and feelings."
"I can definitely understand hating Smallville," Tina admitted. "But - the cheerleading? I thought you made so many friends through that."
"They weren't friends, Tina," said Lana. "They were the kind of people who would talk about you behind your back. True friends - like Jessica or Emily - those are harder to find."
"So, are you more upset because your aunt lied to you, or because you tried to be your mother for so long only to find out you were already like her?" Jessica asked. "Seems like a lot of wasted effort."
Lana smiled. "How do you always know? Yeah, it was just... it was such a relief. Knowing my Mom would have understood my feelings about things. I always thought she'd hate that I'd quit cheerleading and tried my hand at being a waitress. Now I think maybe that was what she'd always wanted to do in the first place."
"Why do you think your aunt lied to you?" Jessica asked, sitting down beside Lana.
"I wonder... was she trying to manipulate me into being the way she wanted?" Lana looked angry. "It's just frustrating. Emily and Chloe both have Dads who love them to pieces, you have great parents... and I just -"
"Whoa, hey. Let's not get too crazy here," said Jessica. "Emily's Mom is dead. Chloe doesn't know where her Mom is. My biological parents are dead, and -" She looked around, then leaned closer and whispered, "And I feel like I have to hide things from my adopted parents." She leaned back. "So nobody's life is perfect." She turned to Tina. "Right?"
"Yeah," Tina admitted wonderingly. "I guess you're right..."
"When I read her diary, it was like she was talking to me," Lana admitted. "Then it was over and she was gone."
"You're lucky you've got at least that," said Jessica.
"Because you don't know anything about your parents," Lana realized. "I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have come to you with this. It must seem like I'm whining."
"Your feelings are valid, Lana," said Jessica simply. "Don't underrate them."
The next day at school, Lana came into The Torch's editorial room where Jessica, Justin, Chloe, Pete, and Emily already were.
"Guys," she said, "I found out from my aunt that my Mom did her year's graduation speech - she was class valedictorian. It was in 1977. I decided to come here because I figured -"
"The Torch prints the graduation speech every year," said Chloe, nodding and heading for the file boxes. "That's PC - pre computer. Everything after that is going to be HC - hard copy. So let's check the files..."
Chloe looked at the newspaper and smiled. "Saturday Night Fever was their prom theme. Stix won Group of the Century, and - Wow. Someone got into the administration's collective face. 'Due to the controversial nature of this year's graduation address, the editors have elected not to run the text in this issue of The Torch.'"
"What did your Mom do, Lana?" Emily asked disbelievingly.
"My aunt just said that she vented years worth of repressed anger into one speech. She let out the Inner Laura," said Lana. "She basically said that she hated Smallville, she hated high school, and she hated being a cheerleader."
"That sounds so awesome I'm sorry I won't get to read it," said Justin.
"I know. They didn't print the only speech worth reading," despaired Chloe. "I'll try tracking the speech down for you some other way, Lana. By the way, Jessica, where's Puppy Dog Tina?" This was her friends' favorite nickname for Tina, second only to Tina The Clone.
"Don't call her that," sighed Jessica. "I don't know. I haven't seen her since last night; she was gone when we got up this morning. I'm getting a little worried."
Jessica went up to her loft that night and heard a curious sort of sniffling sound. She X ray scanned the place, and found a glowing green skeleton huddled in a corner - the same glowing green as on the day of the bank robbery. She hurried over, and found Tina huddled there.
Jessica paused, frowning in concern, her eyes widening. "Tina..." she asked cautiously. "What's wrong?"
Tina looked up, tears on her face. "Jessica, I think I've done something really bad," she said, breaking down.
Jessica leaned down and looked Tina close in the face. "Tina," she said calmly, "do you know anything about the robbery at Smallville Savings & Loans?"
"I... I was born with a soft bone disease," said Tina. "I was given experimental meteor rock treatments. Shortly after them, I started getting better, but I'd gained a special ability - I'd found I could change my appearance at will. I hid it for years, but - I... I decided that my mother's and my life needed to be better, so I pretended to be Lex Luthor and I robbed the bank. I brought the money back home to my mother, and she said that I had to give it back, she said that nobody's life was perfect... We got into a struggle and I, I pushed her down a flight of stairs. It was an accident! I didn't mean to do it, you've got to believe me! But... but she..." Tears welled up in Tina's eyes again.
"Tina," Jessica asked urgently, "your mother's not really in Metropolis, is she? Where is your mother?"
"Her body's in a cabinet in her antiques shop," said Tina in a trembling voice. "When she died, I... I thought maybe this was my chance. To be someone perfect. I wanted to be like you. But - but you were so nice to me, and then I learned your life and Lana's life... well, they weren't any better than mine was. Now I don't know what to do."
Jessica stood up and held out a hand. "Come on, Tina. We have to go tell the authorities. The first step is taking responsibility for what you've done."
Tina reached out and took Jessica's hand.
"I heard about Tina's Mom," said Lana. "Crazy, right?"
"Tina's headed to a juvenile detention facility," said Jessica. "She's going to serve time for theft and involuntary manslaughter. She said she's going to excel at the school there - she's going to try to go to college after finishing her time, fulfill some of those big ambitions of hers." She smiled a little, thinking about it.
"Okay, great," said Emily, a little forcefully. "So, why are we here?" They were all huddled together in Lana's aunt's truck.
"Chloe found a tape of my Mom's graduation speech," said Lana, smiling. "I thought we could listen to it over the CD player together."
So Lana turned on her Mom's speech, and they listened.