Chapter 74

Oliver got into his Mercedes and was about to turn the ignition key when there was a sudden knock on the passenger side window. He unlocked the door even as he clutched at his chest dramatically, and Impulse climbed in quickly.

"Between you and Clark, I'm going to have a cardiac arrest someday," Oliver said dryly. "Did you make the switch?"

"Sí sí, amigo." Bart grinned. "Don't I always?"

"Did Clark see you?"

"Did you?"

Oliver frowned at him.

"No way, man! I made the switch when he was watching Lois. Haven't you noticed when she's around how he focuses only on her?" Bart reached inside his backpack and pulled out a small, lead box and tossed it to Oliver.

"Understandable." Oliver nodded as he caught the box and opened it to look inside at the green stone signet ring. His smile was fleeting though as he noticed the undamaged edges of the box. "Bart…are you sure you …"

"Ollie, of course I'm sure. What am I? A rookie?" Bart pulled at his collar proudly. "Besides, stretch is slower than molasses when I do my thing."

"But the box Lois had—"

There was a quick whoosh of sound and the two of them both jumped as a soft voice came from the back seat. "That's the trouble with those lead boxes," Clark said calmly. "They all look alike. Probably because I made them all,"

Naturally reacting faster than Oliver, Bart quickly snapped the lid of the box shut, hoping to shield their friend from the deadly rays of green Kryptonite.

Oliver just gave Clark a lop-sided grin. "This isn't the real ring, is it?"

"No. And I thank you both for the thought. At least I hope that was your intention – to keep Lex from getting his hands on the real ring again?"

"Yeah." Oliver could not conceal his disappointment or his irritation. "That and having a ring we could track that he couldn't. Clark, we're right back where we started. Now he's got the ring and an additional green K rock that are now quite hard to come by, thanks to all our hard work. What were you thinking?"

"Man," Bart complained, "there is no way you saw me!"

"Just be assured I do have a reason, not to mention that, technically, that ring does belong to Lex," Clark said to Oliver, who promptly groaned and threw up his hands in frustration.

Turning to Bart, Clark asked, "Ever heard of peripheral vision? You were the one not paying attention when I switched the boxes back." Clark grinned. "Your eyes were on Chloe. Still got a crush on her, don't you?"

"Big news there," Oliver said sarcastically as he leaned forward to push a button. A GPS screen raised silently from the dashboard, and they all three watched as a moving red dot on the map screen showed them exactly where the real ring was located. A larger, stationary, red dot indicated the position of the ring Oliver held in his hand.

"Hey!" Bart yelled. "That's not where Lois' apartment—"

At the same time, Oliver exclaimed, "He's already got it!"

"Relax, you two. Lois and Chloe left just before Lex showed up. They're safe. I was watching." Under his breath, he mumbled, "Somehow I knew she wouldn't do what I told her to do."

In unison, both Oliver and Clark sighed heavily and muttered, "She never does."

There were a few moments of very uncomfortable silence before Bart looked back and forth at both of them, laughed, and suggested "Maybe we need to geo-tag Lois?," and broke the tension.

"Not entirely a bad idea, but she would kill us," Oliver said, and Clark nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so…keep an eye on him. Lois and Chloe are headed for the farm, so if he goes anywhere near the road to Smallville, call me. Right now, I want to go to Star Labs and check on the robbery there."

"Clark, this is the first time in forever we've been totally sure where Lex is. Why don't we just get the police to arrest him right now, before he has a chance to—"

"And hold him on what charge? Do you have anything that is solid enough to hold him overnight even?"

"He tried to kill you!"

"Right. With no witnesses. There's only my word."

"Yeah, but Superman's word is—"

"He didn't try to kill Superman. He tried to kill me, and I'd have a hard time explaining how I got to the Arctic without a plane, not to mention that place is a little out of the Metropolis Police Department's jurisdiction." Oliver started to raise another point, but Clark only shook his head firmly and said, "No, he has to try to kill Superman. Now he's got a way, and I'd really appreciate it if maybe a couple of friends of mine would keep him from succeeding toni—"

"No! Look, there's all the Level 3 stuff that is—"

"You mean the parts of Level 3 you haven't destroyed? Yes, that could be useful in court if you could get his team of lawyers to release it to you, which you haven't been able to do so far. No, I think he should try to kill Superman. And my guess is he'll do it tonight."

"Look, why don't we let him come after me?" Oliver suggested. "I took over his company. He has to know I was the one—"

"No," Clark said simply but firmly.

"This is insane!" Oliver shouted. "Look, I'm a little more expendable than you are! Besides, if he comes after you with Kryptonite, and even if all goes well and he doesn't kill you but we get him on an attempted murder rap, your one weakness will be public knowledge. Are you ready for that?"

"I can't help that. You said yourself you've made the stuff harder to come by now."

"Stretch, I have to place my vote with Ollie. It's too big a deal to—"

"Too bad, because my vote on this one is the only one that counts."

Oliver sighed. He wasn't winning this one tonight, and he knew it. So he turned in the seat and looked Clark full in the face as he handed him the fake Kryptonite signet ring. "Here. At least this will give us a way of tracking you tonight."

"All right," Clark said as he turned the ring over in his hand thoughtfully. "And if the two red dots—"

"If the two red dots get anywhere near each other, you're going to have the whole Justice League within shouting distance!"

Clark smiled, and there was another gust of wind inside the car. Neither of them even heard the car door open or close.

"Smooth!" said Bart appreciatively.

"You know," Oliver said thoughtfully as he looked at the empty back seat, "I have a feeling your ego about your speed is going to take a big drop if he ever agrees to a race. He's gotten a lot faster lately…"

"Yeah, right, but I—"

Oliver's voice dropped a little lower, "…and a lot more…confident...and a lot stronger." He continued in a whisper almost as if he was talking to himself, "No wonder he's scared of … I think there comes a point when anyone with that kind of power would be afraid of being mistaken for a god."

"Not me! I'd love it." Bart laughed loudly, "Think of the señoritas!"

Jarred out of his own thoughts, Oliver chuckled

"Can we stop for some food on the way? I'm hungry!"

Oliver started the car and pulled out onto the street. "Aren't you always?"

********

"And that's all that was taken?" Clark looked around the unfamiliar room at Star Labs doubtfully.

"Yes. We're sure." Dr. Hamilton came around his desk to look at the copy of the one file that had been stolen during the break-in in Clark's hands. "It will be fine, Clark, really. We set this whole room up for the sole reason of this very thing happening. It's your file, but there isn't one thing in there that Lex Luthor did not already know, and we made him work really hard to get at it, so he would think there would be more to it and worth the effort."

"But there is some stuff about the different forms of Kryptonite in here—"

"Yes, and you said he knows all about it, so I don't see why—"

"Because…" Clark threw down the papers on the desk and sighed, "Lex and I were friends for a long time. He also knows I've always had a fear of being put in a lab just like this, and—"

"Clark," Dr. Hamilton put a hand on his arm, "has anything we've done here reawakened that fear?"

"No…I mean…not really. You've let me call the shots, and I appreciate that, though at times…you both do make me feel like a student in some special school. But no, I've never felt like a caged lab rat with you guys."

"Good," he said quietly as he folded his arms and leaned against the desk, "then do you mind telling me what is bothering you about Lex getting his hands on that."

"It's not that so much," he picked up the file again and peered down at it, "it's why he'd even bother. Lex knows more about me, well, this me," Clark raised up the sheaf of papers, "as anyone. He also knows how to hurt me more than just physically. He's done it before…"

"Ah." Dr. Hamilton nodded his head solemnly and said quietly, "What he did to Lana."

"How do you know about that?" Clark asked quickly.

"Well, Chloe said some things…and we do have access to some of the old research documents from Lexcorp. It didn't take too much analyzing to figure out what happened."

Clark narrowed his eyes, nodded, and looked at the doctor curiously. "You connected the dots. See, that's what I'm not so great at yet."

"Oh yes, you are. You figured out pretty quickly that Oliver stole the car and you also—"

"Maybe, but Lex…"

"Clark, I think I know what you're really worried about, and we have to assume Lex Luthor does know of your …well… involvement, for want of a better word until you define it more clearly to us, with Lois Lane. You've made headlines as a couple. 'Lane and Kent, the sensational writing team for the Daily Planet' has become a popular buzz phrase around Metropolis in the past few weeks. He will surely think—"

"No, I don't think he will. When he was around Lois, she was still treating me practically like a…" Clark laughed, "a brother." He grimaced to himself at his use of the word that Lois had voiced only a few hours ago. "A very irritating brother, and I pretty much treated her like—"

"You hated her? And you think a man like Luthor," Dr. Hamilton grinned and continued with more than a hint of sarcasm, "would never guess that two people who reacted that hotly together at first would ever develop into something more? Clark, he will guess, if he doesn't already know. But he will not have learned anything from this lab."

Clark looked at him and nodded. "I'd better go find her." He looked around the room once more, "She and Chloe—"

Clark stopped and stared at the familiar open box of rocks that had been on Dr. Kline's desk for weeks now. The carefully arranged set of mineral specimens from Krypton that had been taken from Dax-Ur's garage looked untouched, but Clark's keen eyesight and mind registered a small difference from across the room.

"One's missing," he said calmly.

"What? What's missing?" Dr. Hamilton spun around and looked where Clark's gaze had landed.

"The bluish rock…the one that has no effect on me? The one that looks like…It's gone."

"No…that's imposs—" Dr. Hamilton crossed the room quickly and began looking around for the missing rock. "No, it has to be here somewhere."

"No, I think he took it." Clark walked slowly over as he leafed through the papers once more. "He thinks it's blue Kryptonite."

They turned and looked at each other and grinned.

********

Glykera – I don't think they ever actually voiced it on the series as to why some meteor powers worked on Clark and some didn't. I always tried to work it out if there was a logical answer to that, but didn't come up with one. I'm just assuming Oliver and Clark would have had to have discussed it at some point once they were both fully into the Justice League together. I wish the writers would come up with a reason, but I think it's one of those things that if the story needs it to affect Clark, it does. Ily18 – I think Chloe will have to be in the next bit, since she went with Lois. Hopefully, I'll find something for her to do! Chewbie – I'm assuming Lex would have done that when he created the ring. He did like to plant cameras just about everywhere. I'm sure he wouldn't have wanted to lose that ring. Andaliia – for you a longer chapter, since I was so late this time in posting. Cloisharley – I've wondered why, in the series, someone, (anyone!) who is a friend of Clark's didn't try to clear out Smallville of most of the Kryptonite to protect him. It seems such a sensible thing to do. Besides, meteorites are valuable things. I can't believe the meteorite enthusiasts haven't combed the area themselves and sold them on ebay! Just price normal ones on there, much less nice, crystalline, green ones! Can anyone say Moldavite? Yes, I started posting the story on DI after someone suggested it, but not too many comment there. I still think it's the title…have to figure out a way to make the title relevant to this story besides the first chapter! Must work on that…Anacaro. I must say the version on DI is probably the most accurate. I keep finding mistakes here and there as I post a chapter or three at a time. It's embarrassing. I loved the idea on that site of the library, but it doesn't look like it's being updated very frequently. Sad. PrincessBella15 – YES. Isn't this season incredible! Lots of Lois. A couple of disappointments, but all in all, I love it. Idol was just about perfect. And Pandora! Sigh…Ratdogtwo – Thank you as always! Mary2Anne – see, another nudge…another update. This would have been posted two weeks ago, except for one little detail I could not make "make sense"…I hope I finally did. The dialogue was written…Just couldn't figure out if it really fit. And actually that lock…was a mistake. I corrected it in two places, but it takes a bit more to correct on this site. I had said "deadbolt" before and then I needed it to be not a deadbolt. One stupid word and it wouldn't have been so easy to "jimmy." KLynne07 – How could anyone not feel inadequate standing next to Clark!

Vanishing Point – Whew! I am humbled. What a review! You made my day, my week, and probably my year with that one. I'm not sure I'm deserving of all you said. But THANK YOU. And I hope my plans for the fortress…if I ever get to that chapter…it's really already written…will please you.