Episode 1: Part 4

Clara POV

I woke groggily to searing pain all over my body. I shuddered against the cold and realized one thing. Those frigid cheer witches took my clothes. Every breath felt like I was drowning in an ocean of fire. My entire being felt like it was being doused in a fire. I looked up to see a shadowy figure. "It never changes."

I blinked. My voice sounded like I'd gargled nails and broken glass. "Help me."

"Hurts, doesn't it?" The figure stepped forward.

I frowned. "You're Jeremy." I coughed painfully.

He ignored me and scowled. "I thought if I punished them it would stop. But it never stops."

He started walking away. "No! Wait. Where are you going?"

He grinned. I shivered again and this time it wasn't from the sickness. "Homecoming dance. I never made it to mine."

"No!" I cried, desperation lacing my voice. "Get me down, please."

He shook his head. "You'll be safer here."

I wanted to scream at him to come back. I wanted to yell, "Don't go I'm not safe. I'm dying!" I barely had enough energy to cry out "Help me." After that, I didn't have any energy left. I finally let a dry sob escape me.

There was no hope. I collapsed, feeling the ropes cut into my skin. I already felt the blood running down my wrists. My vision started to go fuzzy again. Blackness creeped in the edges of my mind. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. Vaguely I heard a voice call out my name but in my mind it was too late.

Lex POV

I was driving slowly along the highway when I saw a person jump the fence of the nearby cornfield. His face turned towards me and I nearly had a heart attack. I slammed the breaks. I knew him… or rather, I remembered him. Twelve years ago. He was the one in the corn field.

I jumped out of the car, but he'd already gone. I turned to go back when I hear a noise. "Help me!"

I grabbed a flashlight. I stepped over the fence. Cautiously, I made my way through the cornfield. I broke through the corn stalks to a clearing. I swept the flashlight over the area and gasped when it hit a familiar form. "Clara?"

She looked up. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was terribly pale. Her head dropped back down as if the simple movement exhausted her. She wasn't moving. Panic coursed through me. Sweat covered her skin, which was exposed a great deal. What was I supposed to do? "Aw, Jeez."

I rushed over to her. As I untied her I realized she was half dressed... I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I had to focus. I draped my jacket around her. "Who did this to you?"

She coughed, causing her entire frame to shake. She fell forward and I jumped to catch her. Something shiny fell to the ground."Doesn't matter." I scowled. Of course it matters.

She stumbled towards her clothes. "What happened?" I turned around.

"Tradition." She spat. "I think they drugged me." I frowned, spinning to face her. "You need to see a doctor."

She shook her head as she shakily adjusted on her shirt. "I'm fine." She stood and started towards the road. I sighed. "At least let me give you a ride home." I called out.

She just continued. Where all Kents this stubborn? I let my arm fall. I saw something shiny on the ground. I bent over to pick it up. I turned it over in my hand. Clara had been wearing it, right? Hadn't it been glowing? I glanced back in the direction Clara had run, before pocketing the necklace.

Clara POV

"Clara?"I lifted my head. It felt like lead. My hair felt soaked and I was sure it was plastered to my head. I saw somebody standing there. I collapsed again. "Aw, Jeez."

I felt a something draped over my body. I started falling forward, but two arms caught me. "Who did this to you?"

I felt the necklace fall off my neck. I immediately felt better. I could feel my strength returning. I coughed painfully. "Doesn't matter."

I gripped the jacket around my body and I rushed to my clothes. "What happened?" Lex turned to face the opposite direction.

I frowned, pulling on my jeans. "Tradition…I think they drugged me." I added as explanation.

Lex spun around to face me. "You need to see a doctor."

Yes, because that would go over so well. I shook my head, adjusting my shirt to buy time. "I'm fine." Lex was still speaking. Even as I ran through the cornfield all I could think of was one thing. Jeremy is going to hurt all of those people. He's gonna hurt Chloe and Pete. I mean, sure I had one fight with Chloe, but that didn't mean that didn't care for them.

The more I felt my strength returning, the faster I went. I had to make it in time. I found Jeremy messing with an electrical box outside the gym. "Jeremy, you need to stop this."

He spun around in surprise, scowling. "I don't know how you got here, but you should have stayed away."

I stepped forward. "I won't let you hurt my friends."

He scoffed. "They're not your friends. The sprinklers will get everything wet. I'll handle the rest. Don't worry your pretty little head about it."

I bristled at that comment. "They never did anything to you!"

He frowned. "I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing this for you. For people like us."

Trying to reason with him, I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Jeremy, I know what happened to you. I feel your pain—"

He cut me off. "It's not pain. It's ecstasy. I have a purpose, a gift… so stay out of my way."

He turned to run but I supersped in front of him. "I have a gift too, Jeremy." He reached to grab me. I shoved him backwards into the car. "Give it up."

He crawled into the car and started it with his powers. He started speeding towards me. Please. If a Porsche at 60 mph didn't hurt, why would this? We ended up crashing through the wall, causing a pipe to burst. Water started dripping into the car. I leapt to save Jeremy, but he was already being electrocuted. Suddenly it stopped and I was able to get him out. "Are you okay?"

He blinked, looking completely confused. Maybe the shock jerked him out of whatever funk he was in. "Am I in heaven? Are you an angel?"

I laughed. "No. I'm Clara Kent. You're in Smallville."

"I want to go home."

I nodded, relieved. "Of course."

After dealing with Jeremy, I made it to the parking lot. I was about to leave to go home, when I spotted Whitney's brand new shiny car. I smirked. I could definitely have fun with this. I stacked her car on top of her two clone buddies' cars. When I finished I decided to walk down to the autoshop. Lazily, I pulled out my phone and dialed a number.

It picked up after a few rings. "Lex? Yeah, it's Clara. You mind if I take you up on your ride now? Yeah, I'm in town. At the autoshop. Look, I have a favor to ask…"

~Smallvile 2.0~

Lex showed up about 15 minutes later. He looked at me questioningly. "So? Where is this famed car I've been hearing about?"

I smiled. "This way." I picked my way through the garage, flipping the lights on. "Tada."

He nodded speculatively. I hated when he did that. I couldn't tell what he was thinking about. "Interesting. You did all this?"

I nodded as I headed towards my '97 firebird. "Yep. Custom dyed interior, new carpeting. I had to fix the body in a couple of places. It's nothing fancy, but it's mine."

He leaned forward, brow furrowing. "Is that-?"

I nodded. "Yep. The new LX43 stereo system from Metropolis."

He frowned. "Don't take this the wrong way, but…"

"How did a poor farm girl afford such a sweet piece of machinery?" I shrugged. "Turns out, they accidentally shipped this to our local electronics store. The idiot manager had no idea what it was and priced it for a fraction of what it's worth." I grinned. "Still pricey for me, but I couldn't resist. I wasn't about to argue with good fortune like that."

He laughed. "You have good business sense."

"Thanks…so what do you think? Is there any way you could stash it for me?" He nodded. "I'll see what I can do. Mind if I ask why you aren't taking it to your house?"

I blushed, ducking my head. "Dad doesn't know about him. He's kinda old school and he would flip if he found out I was 'wasting money' on a hunk of junk."

"How would he react if he knew you were calling me at 11 and asking me for a ride?" He raised an eyebrow.

I smiled weakly and shrugged. "He's pretty stubborn, Lex. You're not the first to fall victim to his narrow mindedness."

Lex sighed. "Do you believe man can fly?"

I raised an eyebrow at the sudden topic change. "Uh, sure. In an airplane."

Lex shook his head. "No. I'm talking about through the clouds with nothing but the air beneath you."

I frowned. Where was this going? "People can't fly, can they?"

Lex looked off into space. "I did. After the accident, when my heart stopped. It was the most exhilarating two minutes of my life. I flew over Smallville, and for the first time, I didn't see a dead end. I saw a new beginning." Lex smiled at me. "Thanks to you I have a second chance. "

I looked down, embarrassed. Lex spoke seriously. "We have a future, Clara..." I looked up questioningly. "And I don't want anything to stand in the way of our friendship."

I nodded, smiling. "Well, there you go forcing friendship on me again. You must be pretty desperate for friends. And I thought Smallville was the peak of social activity for the whole world."

Lex rolled his eyes. "Alright, Miss Sarcasm. Let's get you home before your dad sends out a search party."

~Smallville 2.0~

I barely made it up to the loft before my dad made his way up to check on me. "I heard you didn't get to go to the homecoming dance." I shrugged carelessly.

He sighed. "You okay?"

I tilted my head. Everything was so hectic now I didn't know what was what. "Can I answer that in about five years?"

He nodded, smiling. Dad stood and walked downstairs. I got up and walked to the railing. "Dad?" He turned and looked up. "I'm glad it was you and mom that found me."

He smiled. "We didn't find you, Clara. You found us." I turned my attention back to the window. From this perch I saw a load of cars dropping Luke off at his house. He gave Whitney a good bye kiss before getting out. As soon as he was out of sight Whitney plopped down in some other guy's lap and kissed him deeply. I shook my head.

Did I really want to get involved in all that drama? Was it worth it? I thought about Luke and all that happened over the past week. I guess time would tell.