Chapter Seventy

Lex Luthor placed his glass of scotch down. It was a bit early in the day for him to be drinking, but he needed something for his nerves. His father had confronted him with a job offer. Lionel offered it under the guise of good intentions: father and son bonding, ruling the company together. Lex knew by now that there were always other intentions behind Lionel's offers such as these. Yet, a decision had to be made. And Lex had to determine if there was any way for him to profit from this merger.

But now, he thought he heard someone calling his name. The voice was faint, but Lex headed in the direction.

There, standing in the hallway was Clark Kent.

Lex froze for several seconds as he took in his friends' new appearance. Clark's hair was shorter. His clothes were higher quality and tailored to fit him perfectly. Instead of a cheap red plastic jacket, he wore one made of red leather. He looked like a perfect combination of Luthor and Kent.

Clark looked at Lex and it was clear his young friend had been crying. "Lex, what's going on?" He then began to babble about a frozen body, pointing toward Lex's secret room.

"Clark," Lex breathed, finally in charge of his body again. He rushed forward and tried pulling Clark into a hug, but the young man flinched away.

"What's going on?" Clark repeated. The boy backed away, looking as if he was going to cry again.

"I'm not sure," Lex said honestly. What had Alex done? Had he sent Clark back intentionally? Or had Clark stumbled across the device like Lois? "Let's go to the study and talk."

Clark just backed away into the wall, arms wrapped around himself. Lex couldn't imagine what his young friend was going through.

"Do you trust me?" Clark helplessly shrugged. "We're going to figure this out, okay? Together."

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Lex thought the conversation could have gone better. Clark had calmed down considerably and was now quietly staring down into a mug of hot cocoa. Lex had allowed Clark to speak first. He had been able to understand some things of what Clark had said. Alex had shown him Julian's frozen body and explained how he had kidnapped Clark. Before the truth had fully settled in, Alex had sent him back and Clark had found himself in a room that was different from how it had looked. To Lex's relief, Clark hadn't looked to closely, so he didn't see the room was filled with objects he believed were connected to his mysterious friend.

Lex had calmly explained that Alex had told the truth. Two Earths, at minimum, existed. One where he had been raised by the Kents; the other one by Lionel.

He was Clark Kent, and he was home.

But the boy looked far from happy. He looked broken. Worst of all, Lex wanted to comfort Clark, but he wore the face of his kidnapper.

"I can take you home now." Lex offered.

"What?"

"Or call your parents to pick you up."

"No!"

Lex didn't press to ask why. Clark got up and began to pace around the room. Lex could only stay seated in silence.

"I need to go to the bank." Clark finally said with finality.

"The bank?" Lex remembered Lois mentioning the Smallville Savings and Loans had somehow convinced him Alex was telling the truth. "Of course."

Clark led the way to the garage. Lex hoped he wouldn't have to pry the keys from Clark's hand, not thinking he should drive in this mental state. He needn't have worried as the boy was staring at some of the filled parking spaces. As if he were looking for something that wasn't there.

The car ride was done in silence. It was getting close to sunset now, but Lex made sure he chose a car with strong tinted windows so no one in town could see Clark had returned. The Kents had to be notified first, along with the sheriff.

"Can you see what you need from here?" Lex parked across the street.

Clark didn't answer, just gazed intensely at the building. Whatever he was looking for, he found it. Lex watched the realization of truth sink into his face.

Lex reached out to put a hand on his friend's shoulder. It was mean to be comforting, but Clark shook him off and huddled near the door. Lex understood, but gritted his teeth at the unfairness that he was being blamed for crime he was innocent of.

They sat in the car in silence for ten minutes. Then twenty. Then thirty. As it was coming close to an hour, Lex started the car up again and began to drive. Clark continued to sit in silence.

Lex pulled out his phone and prayed for them to pick up.

"Hello?" Mr. Kent said on the other line.

"It's Lex Luthor. I've had an unexpected guest drop by."

All that could be heard was Mr. Kent's loud breathing. "Are you saying…Martha!" He yelled out. "Is Clark with you?"

"Yes."

"Are you coming here?"

"Yes."

"How is he? Is he okay?" Martha's voice came through. Along with the wails of the new baby.

"Fine, all things considered. Not ready for surprises." The news of the newest Kent member would have to wait. Clark needed to be reunited with his parents first. Be reassured that he was home and safe.

Their silence proved they understood his message. "Of course. Thank you."

The call ended. Night was approaching fast. Lex would have allowed Clark to stay at the mansion. He would even pay for a room at the Plaza in Metropolis if Clark would ask. But Lex knew the best thing for Clark was not staying with him. Clark needed to go home. Lex didn't want to spook Clark with their destination, but the boy was starting to realize where they were heading.

"Lex, stop! I can't go there!"

"You don't have to get out of the car, if you don't want to," Lex assured him. "I just want you to take a look around."

To Lex's relief, Clark seemed to calm down as they drove down the long driveway of the Kent farm. He even seemed to smile a little.

The car was parked a small distance away from the house. With the darkness rising around them, his black car was well hidden in the shadows. If Mr. or Mrs. Kent did see his car, Lex could just get out and talk with them privately.

But Clark was opening the car door. He looked dazed, but the faint smile he had on was beginning to grow. Lex walked behind his friend, silently cheering for him to walk up and ring the doorbell.

Then, Clark stopped moving. The smile fell and his face paled.

Lex looked to the house to see what his friend had seen that had spooked him, but all he saw was the Kent house. Everyone was inside and the curtains were drawn. By the time Lex turned around, Clark was nowhere to be seen.

"Lex?" Mr. Kent came out of the house and jogged down the porch steps to meet him. "Where's Clark?"

"He was right here." Lex continued to scan the area. "He couldn't have gotten far."

"Clark?" Martha came out to join them. Her smile disappeared as she and her husband shared a look. "Clark! Clark! Come back!" Martha ran forward, shouting at the top of her lungs.

Johnathan began shouting as well. Lex ran to the barn, shouting Clark's name. He raced up to the loft, but it was as vacant as it had been since Clark's first disappearance.

Lex sank into the old sofa, covering his eyes with his hand. How had he messed this up? Why couldn't he do anything right?

Where was Clark Kent now?