"This place is dead," Pete commented to Clark from his seat at the counter in the Talon. The two friends had been hanging out at the place for the last hour and it had been slow the whole time. Pete couldn't help but wonder what everyone else was up to. Probably something fun and not exactly completely legal.

"Did you say something Pete?" Clark asked as he turned his head to look at Pete. He had been watching Lana serve the a couple of the few customers that were in the Talon.

"Never mind," Pete said with a small shake of his head. Pete couldn't figure Clark out. He had asked Chloe to the wedding with him but here he was not able to take his eyes off Lana again. "What do you say we get out of here."

"And do what?" Clark asked.

"I don't know but I had all the cappuccino I can take," Pete said looking down at his empty coffee cup.

Before Clark replied, Lana came back behind the counter. Pete noticed her preoccupied look. He glanced over his shoulder in the direction she was looking.

Pete noticed a guy in dress slacks and a polo shirt sitting by himself in a far corner. Pete remembered seeing him there when he had come in. The guy had a coffee cup and a newspaper that he wasn't really reading in front of him. Pete saw the guy keep glancing over the top of the paper toward the counter.

Clark noticed his friends look and looked over his own shoulder. After taking in the guy Clark looked back at Lana. It was then that he noticed the look on Lana's face.

"Is that guy giving you a hard time Lana?" Clark asked.

"What," Lana said taking her eyes from the stranger and looking at Clark. "No he hasn't done anything."

"Then why do you seem so creeped out by him?" Pete asked her.

"Its just that he's been here everyday near closing for the past week. He always sits at that table, and doesn't talk to anyone. I don't even think he turns the pages on that newspaper."

"Has he said anything rude to you or made any gestures?" Clark asked her thinking maybe they could get the police to get rid of the guy. He had to admit he didn't like the feeling the guy gave him but he couldn't put his finger on why.

"No he's been as polite as can be. Never gives me any problems when I tell him I'm locking up and tips really well," Lana told them. "I'm probably just being ridiculous."

"Maybe," Clark commented. "All the same, want Pete and me to hang out with you while you close up tonight."

"Could you?" Lana said jumping at Clark's suggestion. "You don't mind?"

"Not at all," Clark replied quickly.

Lana looked from him to Pete.

"Not a problem," Pete said with a sigh and a smile. "I'm always willing to help out a friend."

"Thanks guys," Lana said gratefully.

"Can I have another cappuccino?" Pete asked her holding up his coffee cup. Clark gave his friend a knowing look. Pete just shrugged his shoulders but didn't say anything.

"Coming right up," Lana said taking his cup from him and turning to the cappuccino machine behind her.

Scott Murphy noticed the three teenagers at the counter looking in his direction. He had a feeling the girl, Lana Lang was started to get suspicious of him. Not that it mattered. He had gotten enough information to finalize his plans.

As the kids turned back around to face the counter he went back to pretending to read his newspaper. He would finish his cup of coffee and then casually leave the coffee shop before the girl started to clear the place out.

Ten minutes later Scott folded up his newspaper, threw some money down on the table to cover his bill and headed for the front door. Once outside he turned to the left and walked three buildings down and then ducked into the alleyway. In the alley a car was waiting for him.

Scott got into the passenger seat and tossed the newspaper in the back seat with the rest of them from the past week.

"I'm done with the surveillance," Scott told the guy in the driver's seat as the guy started up the car.

"So when do we strike," the guy asked as he pulled the car out of the alleyway.

"We'll have to wait a little while. I think the girl and her friends are getting suspicious of me. We'll let them forget all about me and then you and Ed will do your thing. In the meantime I'll work out the details of the plan."

"I still don't get what your interest in the Lang girl is. I mean I know your not after money," Fred said. His passenger had more than enough money to live comfortably. He ran a small business in Granville, one which LuthorCorp owned a minority interest in, that did reasonably well and provide Murphy with all the money he needed plus some.

"Your right, this has nothing to do with money. It has to do with revenge. And I also don't care about the girl. It's her aunt I want to repay. Nell Potter took my little girl from me so I'm going to take her niece from her," Scott told him as he and his companion left the town and started through the countryside that surrounded the town.

Fred Trent just nodded his head as he maneuvered the car along the winding back road. He wasn't really interested in the details anyway. Scott Murphy had approached him and his brother, Ed, and offered them a whole lot of money to do a job for him. The two brothers made their living doing odd jobs for whoever approached them, not all of them legal. This was one of those that wasn't legal. Still if it brought in money the Trent brothers really didn't care. They had managed to avoid the law so far and they both planned on keeping it that way.

This would be a quick easy job. Scott had told him all he wanted to do was grab the girl and scare the aunt some. It was simple enough on its own. However, Murphy's connections with LuthorCorp had allowed him to snag some mysterious green liquid. Fred had no idea what it was but he like the effect the green liquid had on him. He had tried the liquid once and had gained incredible strength. It had a different effect of Ed though. Instead of strength the green liquid had given his brother super speed. With their enhanced abilities the abduction of Lana Lang would be a piece of cake.

Friday morning dawned just as any other morning on the Kent farm. Martha and Jonathan Kent awoke to the sound of the roosters crow. They got out of bed and started their day. Jonathan getting dressed and heading for the barn to do the morning chores and Martha taking a quick shower and heading down to the kitchen to start breakfast.

Martha was just putting breakfast on the table when Jonathan came back in from the barn. He put the basket of eggs and pail of milk on the counter and then headed upstairs to get washed up for breakfast.

Normally, as it was summer, Jonathan would let his sun sleep in. Clark had never been an early riser which is why he had the tendency to miss the bus on school mornings. This morning though he planned on waking his son up as Clark and Martha were heading to Metropolis for the weekend this morning.

As he walked up the steps though, he passed Clark on his way down.

"You're up early!" Jonathan commented surprised to see his son out of bed.

"Couldn't sleep," Clark told his father.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Jonathan asked concerned. Since finding out the truth about his origins in October, Clark tended to have bouts of insomnia. Some resulted in work mysterious getting done on the farm during the night.

"Not really," Clark said. "Just had a lot on my mind," he told his father giving him a smile that Clark hoped would convince his father that everything would be fine. Thinking about the mysterious stranger at the Talon last night and the fact that his father wasn't going to the graduation ceremony today had disturbed Clark's sleep. Both were subjects he really didn't want to talk to his father about.

"Okay then," Jonathan said knowing his son would talk to him when or if it became necessary. "I'll be down in a few minutes," Jonathan told him continuing his trek up the steps. Although it didn't happen to often, the Kents enjoyed eating breakfast together when the opportunity arose.

"Hi honey," Martha said shutting the refrigerator as Clark entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mom," Clark said as he crossed over to the cupboard to get a glass. "Do you think Dad will change his mind and join us?" he asked his mother as he took the glass out of the cupboard.

"I doubt it. Your father is as stubborn as a mule. Always has been," Martha told him as Clark poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"Guess that's where Cecily gets it from then, huh," Clark commented.

"That's not funny Clark," Martha admonished.

"Sorry just trying to lighten up the mood," Clark told her. "I have a feeling this isn't going to be the happiest household the next few weeks."

"You're probably right about that," Martha said with a sigh. Reluctantly she had to agree with her son. The next few weeks were going to be tense for this family. Maybe making light of it was going on a little humor was what was going to be needed around here.

Mother and son sat down at the kitchen table and waited for Jonathan to come back downstairs to join them.

Breakfast that morning was quiet. The upcoming trip was not mentioned as was the graduation, the wedding or the Luthors. They were all subjects that the three Kents wanted to avoid.

Running late as usual, Lex Luthor rushed out of the LexCorp Fertilize Plant No. 3 toward his Porsche. He had been planning on meeting Cecily and Abigail for lunch before the graduation. That wasn't going to happen now.

Still heading toward his car at a half-run, Lex took his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. Without looking he hit the button that would automatically dial Cecily's cell phone number.

"Hello," came Cecily's voice after the second ring. "Let me guess, you're running late and won't be able to make lunch."

Lex smiled at that. She knew him oh so well.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I got tied up at the plant and I still have one other thing I want to do before I head up there."

"You are going to make the ceremony aren't you?" Cecily asked him. Lex could hear the worry in her voice.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Lex told her and he meant it. He had even arranged to have the helicopter ready to go in a moments notice if he got to running to late. No matter what it took he was going to be at that graduation ceremony and with any luck he would have someone else with him.

"What is so important that you need to do it before the ceremony anyways?" Cecily asked him.

Lex hesitated. He hadn't wanted to tell her what he was up to as he didn't want to get her hopes up. Still, now that she had asked him straight out he didn't know how to not tell her without lying to her.

"I'm going over to your folks place and trying to convince your father to come today. I know it's a long shot and that's why I didn't mention it. I didn't want to get your hopes up," Lex told her as he opened the driver's door to his Porsche.

"I appreciate you trying anyway. I'll see you when you get here," Cecily told him. He could tell from her voice that she thought it was useless. He knew Cecily had resigned herself to her father not being at her graduation. Not being there to walk her down the aisle. Basically shutting her out of his life. And it was his fault.

She had never said it, never would say it and maybe didn't even believe it, but Lex did. He felt responsible for the distance that was growing between Cecily and her father. He wanted so much to fix that. To somehow get Jonathan Kent to if not accept the idea of his daughter marrying a Luthor at least tolerate it. At least not shut his daughter just to spite Lex.

"Okay," Lex told her. "If you and Abigail don't have plans tonight I'll take you out to dinner. Make up for the lunch I bailed on."

"I'll have to check and see what she was doing tonight. I'll let you know."

"Okay. Love you," Lex said, turning the key and letting the Porsche roar to life.

"Love you," Cecily said and then he heard the line go dead.

Lex closed the phone and tossed it over into the passenger seat as he pushed his foot down on the gas pedal and headed out of the LexCorp parking garage. Soon he was navigating the Smallville back roads on his way over to the Kent's farm.

He wasn't sure what he was going to say to Mr Kent. Wasn't even sure there was anything he could say that would convince him to come. Still he knew he had to give it a shot.

It wasn't long before Lex was turning off the road and passing under the Kent Farm sign. Despite the way Mr. Kent felt about him, Lex always like driving underneath that sign. There was something safe, something reassuring about the Kent Farm.

As Lex pulled his Porsche to a stop beside the Kent's red pick-up he looked around. He knew Martha and Clark had already left. He had talked to on the phone right before they had left, which was how he knew Mr. Kent wasn't going with them.

Lex didn't see any sign of Jonathan Kent. On a hunch, Lex headed for the barn. If he wasn't out in one of the fields, there was a good chance that he was in the barn working.

Lex stepped into the barn and stood still for a few moments, letting his eyes adjust to the dimmer lighting of the barn. He heard noises coming from inside the barn and figured he had guessed right as to Jonathan Kent's location.

"Mr. Kent," Lex called out as he ventured into the barn not wanting to surprise the older man. As soon as the words were out of his mouth he saw Jonathan Kent working on mucking out some stalls.

"Lex," Jonathan Kent said evenly as he stopped working and straightened up. "What do you want?"

"I came to ask you to reconsider your decision about today. I know Cecily really wants you there."

"What do you care whether I go to the graduation or not."

"Because I want Cecily to be happy."

"You could have fooled me. You come into her life and come between her and her family," Jonathan told him. Even as he said those words, deep down he knew they weren't true. Lex had never done anything to the Kents directly except try to help, but he was still a Luthor. Jonathan was sure it was just a matter of time until he showed his true colors.

"I'm not the one coming in between you and your daughter Mr. Kent," Lex told him, his voice raising a little in anger. Jonathan Kent's accusation hurt. No matter what he did he couldn't seem to get the man to see past the Luthor name. "Look, I know you don't approve of our marriage, but not going to her graduation has nothing to do with that. If your not there the only ones you are hurting is your family. This is Cecily's day and no one else's."

"If my daughter wants to throw her life away by marrying you then that is her decision but I'm not going to stand by and watch," Jonathan told him, his knuckles turning white as he clutched the pitchfork tighter.

"I'm sure Mrs. Kent's father felt the same way when she married you," Lex said.

"What do you know about that?" Jonathan said angrily.

"I know your wife's father is a corporate lawyer. He's helped out on a couple of cases for Luthor Corp. It must have killed him that his daughter wanted to marry a farmer. I know my dad isn't completely thrilled about me marrying a farmer's daughter but at least he's accepting it. You know they say history repeats itself."

"Get off my property now," Jonathan said through clenched teeth. Lex's words hit a nerve, even more so because Jonathan knew the truth in them.

"Fine," Lex said seeing that he wasn't going to get anywhere with his future father-in-law. He turned to leave but after a few steps he stopped and turned back around. There was one other thing he wanted to say to Jonathan Kent before he left. "Look, I know you don't think I'm good enough for your daughter but then I'm not sure any father ever does. However, I want to say this. I love Cecily with all of my heart. I would give my life for her."

"She's a lot like you, Mr. Kent. She's proud and she doesn't care about material things. She is the one girl that I've ever been with that I could say for certain that if my last name wasn't Luthor or I didn't have the money that I have that she would still love me. Cecily isn't with me because of those things. She's with me in spite of them. The first time we met she had about as much use for me as you do and she wasn't afraid to let me know that and when I think about the person I was back then I can't say I blame her. Your daughter changed my life Mr. Kent. Gave me hope that someone might actually be able to love me, something I thought would never happen after my mother died. She saved my soul just as your son saved my life that day at the bridge."

Lex turned and walked out of the barn after that. Jonathan Kent stood there and watched the younger man walk out of the barn. Part of him wanted to call out to him but his pride wouldn't let him. Just as his pride wouldn't let him give in and go to his daughter's graduation as much as he wanted to be there.

Instead, Jonathan Kent picked up the pitchfork and went back to the task of mucking out the stalls. He tried to forget all about Lex Luthor's visit.

Cecily sat at the small table in the small café right outside of the University Library, a cup of cappuccino sitting in front of her. It was the first day of her junior year. She had just gotten back to Metropolis from her home in Smallville. She had spent the summer down there, helping out on the farm. Spending time with the only family she had left.

She smiled at the thought. She had never thought of the Smallville farm as her home. She had always referred to it as her father's farm even though she had spent most of the summer months down there since she was four years old. She had always felt welcomed there but even so it was never home. Now, after her mother's death, it was the only place she had to go home to.

The only drawback to the summer had been being away from Lex. Of trying not to reveal to her family who it was that she was dating while not lying to them or shutting them out of her life. She had told them some things about them. Told them they had met when they were assigned as lab partners. When her father had asked the guy's name she had used his first name only, and then she had used Lex's full name - Alexander. She knew her father would never approve if he knew that her Alexander was Lex Luthor.

"Sorry, I'm late," a familiar voice said bringing her out of her thoughts.

As Lex sat down in the chair across from her Cecily could feel the smile come to her face. A smile that quickly faded as soon as she saw him.

He had dark circles under his eyes, which told her that he had been up all night, most likely at a club or clubs. She also noticed a dark bruise on his left cheek.

"Lex what happened."

"You really don't want to know," he told her and she knew he was right. He still ran with the same crowd that he did when they had met. She knew he and his friends still snuck into clubs which in Lex's case usually led to trouble. Still tended to drink too much sometimes. But it wasn't as bad as it use to be when they had first met. He didn't spend as much time out on the town doing things that he probably shouldn't have been doing. At least he hadn't before summer break. She was starting to think that the old Lex had returned this summer.

It was like he was two people. The wild, arrogant, rich-boy when he was with his friends. A person who didn't seem to care at all what other people thought of him. Then there was the mature, caring, confident young man that she had fallen in love with. The son who longed for his father's love and approval. The true side of him that he hid behind his bad boy persona. The persona he had taken up to hide the hurt he felt inside.

"I knew I shouldn't have stayed away all summer," Cecily said as she reached out and took his hand.

"Nonsense," Lex told her. "You needed this time with your family. Time to get your life back on track. Things were fine this summer even though I missed you."

"And the bruise."

"A misunderstanding," Lex told her. "I promise you that there was no police involvement."

"That's not funny," Cecily told him pulling his hand away.

"Your right, I'm sorry." Lex reached across the table and took her hand in his. "Come on, this isn't how I wanted this meeting to go. I haven't seen you all summer. Let's not fight about this."

She could see the pleading in his eyes. She reached out and placed her other hand on top of the hand that held hers. She couldn't deny the fact that she had missed him all summer even though they had talked from time to time, when she had managed to sneak out of the house after her parents had gone to bed and call him on her cell phone, it hadn't been the same. She enjoyed just being with him. Sometimes she couldn't believe that it had only been a year since they had met. At times it seemed like they had known each other for years.

"I love you," she told him softly as a waitress came up to their table.

"Can I get you something, sir," the waitress asked.

As Lex placed an order, Cecily looked over at her boyfriend and made a decision. She wasn't going to let whatever might have happened over the some get in between them. She loved Lex despite his flaws.