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Two Days Later, Kent Farm, Morning, Xander's POV
I think I'm actually getting better for a change. Xander thought as he worked at cooking breakfast for his Aunt and Uncle.
It was something he'd become determined to do for them every chance he got to pay them back for taking him in. He'd been a bit intimidated by the sight of the farm when they'd first pulled up to it and had been even more shocked to know that it used to be even bigger before they'd come on hard financial times. They'd avoided the topic but he could tell that it was taking every penny they had just to keep what they had at the moment. He hated the fact that he'd wind up being even more of a financial drain on them and, while he couldn't do any farm work thanks to his anemia, he could at least do some of the chores inside the house. He couldn't push himself too far and was still feeling out which chores he'd have to leave alone, but he was confident that by the end of the week he'd have a solid list made up.
One of the benefits of having neglectful parents I guess. He thought as he took some pride in the fine breakfast he was managing to put together. The bacon looks just about ready.
Scooping the last piece of the breakfast he'd made for his Aunt and Uncle before putting an equal amount on each plate, he wasn't surprised at all to hear someone coming down the stairs. He knew the few times he'd stayed at Willow's house that the smell of a delicious breakfast was usually enough to rouse him out of bed before noon on weekends. Looking towards the stairs, he was surprised to see that it was Jonathan rather than his Aunt Martha like he'd thought it'd be. The man was still half asleep from the looks of his face but the smell of good feed was waking him up bit by bit. Showing the older man a welcoming grin, he picked up the pot of coffee and poured the man a cup before passing it to the man of the house.
"Thanks." Jonathan said taking a good sip before resuming, "You know you don't have to do all of this every morning."
"Yes, I do. I know you haven't stated it right out but I can see the signs of pennies being pinched and dollars being stretched," he said, taking on a more serious tone of voice. "Mom and Tony did it often enough. I might not be able to help you deal with the cows or pick corn but I can at least do this when I can."
"Okay, but don't push yourself too hard," the Kent man said as he sat down at the kitchen table. "I might not be a doctor but I know that working too hard can't be good for someone with anemia."
"Believe me I know. Still, as long as I keep taking my prescription, I'll be fine." he said, reflexively patting his pocket to make sure the pill bottle was close by.
"Speaking of which, we'll probably need to visit the hospital to set it up so you can keep getting it." Jonathan said before taking another sip of coffee.
"Don't worry about that. I got three big bottles of the stuff before we left Sunnydale." he said, trying to make sure that his Uncle knew that they didn't have to resupply anytime soon.
It was one of the things he hoped he'd have some time to work on. He knew enough from Tony that the medicine didn't come cheaply and, considering the Kents seemed to be in dire financial straits just holding onto their farm, he didn't even want to think about how nasty things would get when the supply he'd brought with him ran out. Either they'd have to find a cheaper substitute or he'd have to find a job and work as many hours as he has to in order to contribute as much as he could to the cost. He doubted that he'd be able to manage anything other than part time if he wanted to keep his grades where they needed to be in order for him to graduate at the end of the year. Still, he owed it to them for taking him in instead of sending him down the line of relatives to eventually wind up in the foster care system. He'd do whatever he could to help them out without draining his pill supply any faster than he had to.
They continued talking for a while about a variety of subjects and eventually Aunt Martha came downstairs as well, asking about the delicious aroma. By the time that 8am rolled around they all had smiles on their faces and bellies full of delicious food.
He should have known something would happen to sour things for him.
It started out simply enough with the phone on the wall ringing and Uncle Jonathan getting up to answer it. He didn't think anything of it since he hadn't become accustomed enough to how things worked on a farm to know whether it was out of the ordinary or not. However, when he heard the name 'Principal Kwan', he knew that something was up and that it involved him. He only paid half attention to what was being said but he heard enough to know it was about his school records. As far as he knew, everything was on the up and up as far as his marks were concerned so he figured it probably had to do with the detentions he'd been slapped with by Snyder. Knowing the troll, there were probably some pretty nasty stuff written about him in the records but he was sure if he let the Kents know what sort of person he was and what sort of person Snyder was they'd let the bad stuff slide right off of them.
"Alright. We'll be there in an hour, Jim." Jonathan said with a half-serious look on his face.
The Principal is calling us in? he thought with a frown as he scarfed down the last piece of toast. Somehow I don't think this can be of the good.
"Xander, I want you to take a shower and get dressed." his Uncle Jonathan said as he stood there looking at his ward. "It seems your new Principal has some questions he'd like to ask you about your grades."
Definitely not of the good.
Outside of Principal Kwan's Office, Smallville High School, An Hour Later, Willow's P.O.V
To say that Willow's mind was going a mile a minute wouldn't be entirely accurate.
It was actually going one light year per minute and was just getting warmed up.
Ever since her Aunt Nell got the phone call from the school principal, she had been tip toeing all the way to the meeting while trying to figure out what the problem could be. She mentally reviewed every test and assignment she'd been given since first grade to see if there's anything she'd missed but nothing sent up any red flags. Ever since she'd first attended school, she taken the whole education thing seriously and done her best to get top marks in all her classes. True, this was partly, okay majorly, due to her parents putting such high expectations on her shoulders but she'd been able to find a silver lining soon enough that she didn't mind it too much. In any case, she was clueless about what the problem could be and that had her getting increasingly worked up. Right now she and her Aunt were just waiting for the other members of the meeting to arrive but, knowing Xander, they'd be at least fifteen minutes late. Her best friend was only punctual when she made sure to go over to his place and wake him up early enough that both of them would have no trouble being where they needed to be on time.
That was why she was a bit surprised to see him stroll in five minutes later with his Aunt and Uncle.
"Xander… you're on time!" she exclaimed before she could get over her shock enough to say something a little more intelligent.
"Yep! Though I think this is going to be one of the few times I'm going to regret being on time." Xander said, glancing in the direction of the door that led to Principal Kwan's office.
She couldn't disagree with him on that.
With all concerned parties present, the secretary notified Principal Kwan, who was attending to business elsewhere in the school. She thought it was pretty inconsiderate of the man to call them in for what looked to be an important meeting only to not be there when they arrived. It took the Asian man a few minutes but he eventually showed up and escorted the five of them into his office, closing the door. It was only after everyone took a seat that the man looked ready to explain what the purpose of this morning meeting was.
"I'm sorry for calling you all in like this but something has been brought to my attention by the principal of Sunnydale High School that has forced me to reconsider some things." Kwan said as he took two file folders off of a stack of them, "According to him and their computer tech there are signs that the school's mainframe was hacked about four years ago and a back door installed. They haven't been able to determine for certain who put it there but so far the only files that have been tampered with so far belong to Mr. Harris and Ms. Rosenberg. It is Principal Snyder's opinion that the purpose of this back door was to alter grades and since you two are the only ones with files altered that you two are involved somehow."
"WHAT!?" was the reaction from both her and Xander while their guardians had the whole silent shock thing going on.
"I don't want to believe it but the evidence, combined with Principal Snyder's comments in both of your files, is not something I can just sweep under the carpet," James stated with a sympathetic tone of voice. "Therefore I have a proposition for you. Normally the penalty for this would be expulsion but instead you will both simply be made to start over from your freshmen year. You'll go through all four years before graduating. During this time you'll both be under close scrutiny by your teachers for any signs of cheating or tampering with your grades."
This couldn't be happening!
She worked hard the last three years, especially with splitting her time between school and Scooby work, and to have it all wiped away as though it didn't exist hurt. While she couldn't dispute the fact that she did do some hacking on occasion but it was always in the service of helping the gang fight the latest big bad. She'd never once hacked into the school computers for the purpose of changing her grades or Xander's. How could this have happened?
Looking over at Xander, she could see that he was shocked as well but there was something in his eyes that made her hope that this meeting ended soon. She could count on one hand the number of times he'd been like this and every time he blew up within twenty minutes angrily ranting at whatever or whoever had pissed him off. If he did it outside someplace then it'd be okay but if he did it in front of the Principal of Smallville High School, then he'd only make things worse for them.
"That is not to say that you won't be able to expedite matters," Principal Kwan stated, as if sensing the emotional content of the situation. "At the end of this year you'll have the opportunity to undergo a series of tests and hand in three assignments. They will be on material to be covered in the following year. If you can pass all of the tests and the assignments, you can skip a year and be one step closer to graduating. You'd be able to graduate in two years rather than going through all four. Are you agreeable to this?"
'Are you agreeable to this' he says. Thought Willow, whose mood was a little brighter now that there was a chance to speed her way to graduation. It's not like we have a choice really.
"Yeah," she replied, not saying anything more on the subject because there was nothing else to say.
Xander sharply nodded his head, showing that he'd agree to it as well.
"Then starting Monday you'll be joining the rest of the freshmen. I hope that you enjoy your time here at Smallville High School." Kwan said, nonverbally dismissing them and letting them know that they could leave.
Politely they said goodbye and walked back to the parking lot where the Kent's pickup truck and Nell's car were waiting.
That was when Xander finally popped.
"That sonuvaBITCH! It's not enough that he made our lives hell back home, he's gotta ruin it for us here too!" Xander exclaimed, making angry gestures every once and a while. "BASTARD!"
"Now Xander, I don't believe you or Willow did anything but if they have evidence then they have to act on it." Mr. Kent said, trying to calm the younger man down.
"We didn't do ANYTHING but that's never been the point with Snyder." Xander snarled angrily, not calming in the least. "For him all he needs to slam us over the head with his authority is to be in a bad mood!"
With that he kicked an empty pop bottle that'd been lying nearby clear to the other side of the parking lot.
Seeing the looks that the adults were giving her best friend she decided to throw in her two cents on the matter but in a more rational way. "I know you guys probably think this is just another teen badmouthing his principal but you don't know Snyder like we do," she said, doing her best to be peacemaker. "He's more like a prison warden or drill sergeant with the way he behaves. Mr. Giles, our librarian, once said that Snyder told him that as far as he's concerned, every student is just a slacker or criminal in the making. So it's not entirely out of the question that he might do this out of sheer meanness."
"But why would he do something like this?" Mrs. Kent asked, sounding like she was willing to look at things with an open mind. "I can sort of understand someone being mean to the point of giving you detention whenever he could but why would he do something like this."
"Simple. The only students he talks about with something approaching approval are the ones that make him look good," Xander said, sounding a little more rational now. "That means the star athletes and big brains. The asshole probably did this because it was my folks in the car that started all this. This is his way of getting one last parting shot at me for taking away one of his top students and is just getting Willow involved to make me feel even worse!"
While she'd like to say that Snyder wasn't the sort to go that far just to get some hits in on them, upon thinking about it she knew it was all too much like the little mini-Hitler. It really made her wonder how a man with such a bad personality could be made principal of a high school. Weren't schools supposed to be a place where young people were encouraged to learn and grow into the adults they would eventually become? Somehow she thought that being a jerk all the time and making peoples' lives difficult would actually make students less enthusiastic about attending classes or even stepping foot on Sunnydale High School property.
Definitely counter-productive to the mission statement of academia everywhere.
The adults weren't sure what to make of that and just stood there not saying anything in favor or against what had been said.
Monday, Mid-Morning, The Front Steps of Smallville High School, Xander's P.O.V
"Well, that was an uncomfortable first class." Xander said as they proceeded down to where their last class before lunch. "You get the feeling that everyone knows why we're in the same class?"
"You're just being paranoid. There's no way that Kwan would let the truth come out and he only would have told teachers." Willow replied, brushing off the idea as impossible.
"So one of the teachers has loose lips. All I'm saying is that we stood out enough just being a good two years older than our classmates," he said, looking around and seeing more of the same stares. "We don't need to get into a mess where everyone thinks we're hackers who change our grades to get by."
He wasn't having too much trouble so far since most high schools across the country followed the same path when it came to what they taught from grade to grade. So he pretty much knew what the teachers would be teaching this year and could remember most of the major points without any difficulty, so it'd just be the smaller details he'd need to re-read. He figured it'd mean he'd have a lot more free time than most students and he could put that towards the part time job he'd be using to contribute to the cost of his medicine. He was still pissed off at Snyder for knocking them back a couple of years but at least this was a side-benefit that would work in his favor.
"That won't happen. We're just something to look at right now." Willow stated before looking around to make sure they were headed in the right direction. "Give it a week and they won't give us a second thought."
"True," he agreed as they turned the corner to the staircase that'd take them to their next class.
"Ahhhh!" a female voice cried before something slammed into him from an elevated position in front of him.
The impact on the floor wasn't so bad but what had him stunned for a moment was the fact that the person who'd fallen on top of him was both female and had the most alluring hazel eyes he'd seen in his life. He would have thought more on it but then he realized that he was on the floor, in a school, during the day with a female on top of him in what could be considered an intimate position.
"S-sorry! Are you alright?" he asked her as he gently rolled her off his body before helping her to her feet.
"Yeah… I just tripped," the blonde girl said sounding a little awkward at what had happened moments before. "Guess I was lucky that you were there to give me a soft landing. My name's Chloe Sullivan. And you are?"
"Xander Harris, transfer student and substitute mattress, at your service!" he replied with a mock salute that succeeded in bringing a smile to her face.
"I've heard about you. You're pretty big news right now." Chloe said, letting some of the smile fade.
"Really? We've only been here for less than a week." He said a bit surprised that a pair of transfer students was causing such a big stir.
"Well, Smallville really lives up to its name sometimes. It's such a small town that everyone knows everyone else and that means that anyone new moving in catches everyone's attention." Chloe replied, her smile going back up a bit. "Then there's the fact that you're both older than anyone else in your class and that sort of thing catches everyone's attention."
"Yeah, it probably would," he nodded acknowledging that fact since it'd been sort of the same back when Buffy had first come to Sunnydale High School.
"I've also heard a rumor that says you guys got knocked back to freshmen because of some illegal hacking. Any comment?" Chloe asked, taking on a more investigative look.
"No comment 'til I clear it with my lawyer." He replied in a joking manner but with a hidden message of 'do not push further' resting between the lines.
"Well then have your people talk to my people. See ya!" Chloe said before walking away down the hallway.
What is it with me and bumping into blondes? He thought as he remembered how he first met Buffy. At least I didn't say something stupid this time.
"Oh no! Xander!" Willow exclaimed, causing him to turn to her instantly.
"What? What is it?" he asked, unaware that he'd tensed up for a moment just in case it was trouble.
"We're going to be late for class!" she replied before grabbing onto his arm, "C'mon!"
With that she pulled him up the stairs almost too fast for him to find a safe place to put each foot as he jogged to keep up with his redheaded friend.
He had a feeling that this town wasn't going to be the sleepy one he thought it'd be when he'd first heard the name Smallville. He just hoped that it wouldn't be like Sunnydale or else he might wind up hopping on the bus for someplace safer. He'd had his fill of weird and potentially deadly things for the time being.
Luthor Corp Tower, Office of Lionel Luthor, That Very Same Evening, Lionel's P.O.V
"I don't think you understand the situation, General Langston," Lionel said as he poured a small glass of scotch for himself. "More and more of these… mutants are showing up every day with powers bordering on demigod. Do you really think that Trask's machines will be match for them?"
"Dr. Trask's demonstration was quite impressive, Mr. Luthor," replied General Harold Langston, refusing to let the millionaire affect him. "He showed me a prototype for one of his 'Sentinel' robots and even test fired one of its primary weapons. Punched a hole clean through a blast door we use for government bunkers like it was tissue paper. Based on that and what I've read, it looks like he'll have working field models ready for deployment within five years, if not sooner."
He could have them deployed in three if he wasn't so insistent on perfection, he thought as he took a sip of his drink. One of the reasons I fired the man. The public doesn't want 'eventually' when 'right now' will suffice for the time being.
While he wasn't above making some 'slightly flawed' merchandise, he didn't make it blatantly so since that could lead to uncomfortable court proceedings. Still, allowing one or two imperfections through was actually good for business since it meant you could re-release the same product a year or two later with the flaws removed and make quite a nice sum of money.
As for Trask, he'd seen the man's initial design for his 'Sentinel' robot but found the machine to be too limited in what it could do. The A.I program that ran the thing was terribly slow and not terribly adaptive to sudden changes in the battle variables. Perhaps one day it'd evolve enough to be a match for human beings but he wasn't prepared to let such a project drain his company's resources for that long. Apparently the military was prepared to divert resources to such a project, even if he had a far more immediate solution at the ready. True, they had yet to reach the level of human testing, but the preliminary results on various apes and monkeys had proved to be quite intriguing, if a bit… unstable. Still there were ways to expedite the process if need be and it was a far more immediate solution to the rising issue of mutants in society.
"While that does sound impressive, General, do you really think the American public will think so when hundreds of people have been killed, hurt or rendered homeless by various mutant troublemakers? People who will find out you ignored a more immediate solution for a sci-fi fanatic's childhood dream?" he said, doing his best to point out the potential drawbacks of siding with Trask. "My company has a way to level the playing field against these mutants that could be ready in a matter of months, a year at the most, and all I require is a favor from you and your associates."
"I'm quite aware of your little pet project. Something called 'Level Three', I believe." General Langston said sternly at the belittling of his choice, "I also know that the results so far are grossly inadequate to what my superiors are looking for in an anti-mutant task force. Something about a few 'unexpected retirements', I believe."
Impressive. Impressive and troublesome, even though he refused to let these opinions show on the surface.
Apparently he had a informant in his employ who was feeding information to the General. However, based on the name that the General had used and the fact that the names of those scientists who'd 'retired' early hadn't been mentioned, the leak couldn't be too important. Probably not even a part of the project itself but rather someone close enough to observe the comings and goings of the project. He'd have to put out a little bait to catch the spy and remove them. Still, it didn't matter that the General knew this much. Level Three was not the name of the project but rather its location. Still, it might be prudent to move it someplace else for the time being just in case the General decided to get more aggressive with his inquiries.
"Just a few employees I had the misfortune of overestimating. Still, Luthor Corp prides itself on providing its employees with a generous severance package," he opined, making it sound that the 'retired' people were merely let go. "As for the results of the project, the mishaps only occurred during the initial stages of the research. The latest report from the head of research says that they've gone as far as they can without moving onto the human trials. That's where you and your associates come in."
"So basically you want me to pull some strings to get the watch dogs to look the other way for a couple of months?" General Langston asked in what probably was supposed to be a sly and underneath the table way.
"Six, to be precise. Do this and your support will be duly noted when negotiations between Luthor Corp and the American government begin." he said, not saying specifically how this would benefit the General.
It was always wise to leave such things to the imagination of the other party since it provided him a way to keep the benefits to himself while throwing only crumbs to everyone else. Ah, the benefits of a verbal agreement over a written one! Add to that the fact that he'd activated special odds and ends throughout his office to prevent the meeting from being secretly recorded by anyone but him and the deck was definitely stacked in his favor.
"I'd be lying if I said you didn't make a tempting offer, Mr. Luthor. However to do what you're asking will take quite a bit of pull to pull those people away from the stink you're 'special tests' will likely give off." General Langston said with a twinkle of ambition in his eyes. "Might need some greenback incentive to get them to see things our way."
A decent attempt, General, but you're about a century too young to play this sort of game with me. He thought as he recognized an attempt a sly negotiation when he saw one.
"Show me that you can hold up your end of the bargain and I might be willing to forward you the necessary funds to 'persuade' the people that need such persuasion," he said, making it clear he was bringing the meeting to an end. "Now if you'll excuse me, General, I'm a busy man. Good day."
This seemed to catch the man off guard but that was a good thing since it would keep the aged soldier from formulating a counter move. With a light shove and the closing of the office door, he was alone with his thoughts to plan a way to ensure that the future went the way he wanted it to go. It was obvious that the General was still weighing the pros and cons of both his project and Trask's Sentinel program. What was needed was a way to force the general to make a choice sooner rather than later, thus making his project the more favorable option, if only for the immediacy of its availability. He could sabotage Trask's program, make it so that it'd be a decade before it recovered, but that could lead to one too many liabilities in the form of agents that could lead back to him. He needed something high profile but with as little to tie matters to him as possible. It was as he was absently looking through the list of appointments he had today that he came upon one that both annoyed him and yet provided him with the inspiration he needed.
Perhaps what I need is a high profile event to drive home to the dear General that he doesn't have five years to wait for Trask to produce something. He thought before reaching over to activate the intercom.
"Dominic? Bring me our black file please."
Yes. A short phone call and a promise to wire his fee to the appropriate account upon successful completion of the task. He thought with the idea continuing to form favorably in his mind. Of course with only a phone call and a promise to use to trace back to him it will be near impossible to incriminate me.
The only question that remained was to come up with a target that would strike the biggest cord with the public and through them the General.
A smile appeared on his face when once again the thoughts he had of his son Lex led him to the answer he needed.
Entering Smallville County, Five Days Later, Morning
If the money wasn't this good, I'd have said no. thought Silas King as he drove his car closer to the sleepy town of Smallville, Kansas. Guess I'm going to have to make the most of this side job.
He'd been in the middle of his own little heroin job in Nevada when he'd received a call from a man he only knew as Mr. L, asking him to do a job for him. He didn't know who the man was or where he could be found but he did know that they man had resources and no small measure of power. He knew this because his current employer had helped him set up his own operation by taking out his old bosses then handing over to him their business. All he'd been told at the time was that he'd be called on to do certain jobs from time to time and he could not refuse them, no matter what. He hadn't liked those terms at first but after what happened the first and last time he'd tried to say no, he knew better than to defy Mr. L.
His bones still ached whenever he thought of that day.
So when Mr. L had called him and told him to get to an obscure town out in the middle of nowhere Kansas to hit the local bank and snag an item from a safety deposit box, he'd inquired about what could be so important that someone would store it in a normal bank that probably had the bare minimum security installed in it. Mr. L had stated that it was those qualities that made it the perfect hiding spot for what he wanted. No one would expect something so important to be hidden in a place so ill equipped to protect it. It sort of made sense but, then again, even if it didn't, he wasn't going to say no or dig deeper for answers. In the criminal world, knowing stuff meant power but it also could mean a swift end, depending on how badly someone wanted certain facts to remain a secret.
I wonder if I'll have some time to enjoy myself before leaving. He thought as he placed a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. Maybe deflower some Mary Sue girl after the local barn yard party or something.
He shook his head as he realized that he'd probably have to leave the town the second he made off with the prize. If he was one of those subtle types, he might be able to get it, get what he was after and then get out again without anyone being the wiser. However he wasn't that smooth an operator. He liked the spotlight, the look in the eyes of the people as he inspired fear in their hearts, and so he'd handle this job with his usual flair then get back to Nevada.
After he dumped the body of the bitch he'd acquired his wheels from before she started stinking up the place too much.
There was only so much a guy could do to cover up the smell with air fresheners and those scent spray can things.
Smallville Municipal Bank, Afternoon, Xander's P.O.V
"You really didn't need to come with me for this, Aunt Martha," he said as the two of them waited in line with everyone else to see one of the bank clerks. "I'm just signing some paperwork and then taking out twenty dollars of pocket change."
"I know but I needed to speak with the bank regarding a loan for the farm," Martha replied with her usual smile. "We've come up a little short of our goal and will need some money from the bank to keep it going for another year or two."
He didn't know what to say about that so he said nothing. He didn't like hearing about how much financial trouble his current guardians were in and he knew they didn't like talking about it any more than necessary. He wished that he could help them more but his own savings were woefully inadequate and whatever he stood to inherit from his parents was legally locked away until he officially became an adult. That meant at least a year before he could make any sort of contribution to his Aunt and Uncle to help them with their farm troubles.
Looking around the bank for something that would distract him until a clerk was available for him he eventually found his eyes setting on a brown sugar skinned brunette girl about two or three years younger than him. She was sitting with a pair of adults that he presumed were her parents talking to a bank employee about something. He was captivated by her beauty and easily ranked her as being as pretty as Cordy back home. That likely meant she was the daughter of some important and/or wealthy member of Smallville and, thus, completely out of his league in terms of asking for a date. Sure, most guys would take one look at the fact that that the girl was a good two years younger than him and consider her too young but after all he'd been through in Sunnydale, he'd settle for any girl within three years of him that was completely human. Still, he was the newbie at Smallville High and a girl that pretty must be beating off guys with a stick or have a steady boyfriend already. That being the case, he'd have to have something pretty big going for him to get her to even look in his direction, much less agree to a date.
Sadly since neither boatloads of money or power he was pretty much out of luck.
"Something catch your eye, Xander?" Aunt Martha asked with an amused tone in her voice.
Turning back to her, he could see an amused and, dare he say, mischievous look on her face. That was not good and he had a pretty good idea about what was going on inside her head, so the best thing to do was dispel any assumptions she might have. "Yeah; something way out of my price range and best left as eye candy."
"Oh, I wouldn't go that far. Jonathan and I are good friends with her parents." Aunt Martha said, not losing her playful attitude. "From what we've heard, Lana's still single even though some football player's been trying to ask her out."
"That puts an end to it then," he said, recalling how his experiences with jocks went back in Sunnydale. "If there's one thing I've learned it's never get between a jock and the arm candy he has his eyes set on. It leads to bruises and blood every time."
"Oh, she's brushed him off every time. I don't think she's interested in him." Aunt Martha said again, undaunted by his pessimism.
"It won't matter if she's not interested in him. All that'll matter is that this football player is making a play for her and probably won't look kindly on anyone butting in." he said, knowing how the caveman mind of an athlete tended to work. "If this guy catches even a rumor that I'm thinking about asking her out, he'll make sure to stomp that notion out of me and then toss me to his buddies to teach me my place in the high school hierarchy or something like that. No thanks."
This seemed to be enough to get his Aunt to quit trying to play matchmaker, or at least convince her to try a different approach than prodding him into asking. He figured it was the latter because, while he and his Aunt had gotten along great since he'd arrived, he didn't think she was the type to try and mess with his personal life.
He was about to turn to see what the state of the line up was when something tripped his spidey senses, causing him to look about the immediate area. He did this covertly since he didn't want to alarm or tip off his Aunt, but he still did his best to look the room over just the same. He didn't find anything on the first pass but on the second one he saw a guy with pumpkin orange hair standing just inside the building wearing a trench coat and scarlet boots. While a bit odd looking it wasn't that which set off his warning senses, but rather the manner in which the man was standing there. The guy wasn't standing there like a fellow bank customer or someone with an appointment to keep, but rather someone who planned to start something dangerous.
Before he could even think up a to feed his Aunt to get the two of them out of the bank, the dangerous man made his move. Unleashing some sort of energy blasts from his hands, he took down the uniformed guards first then the cameras before flash frying the door so that it was sloppily welded shut. At first he thought that it was some sort of mage but he hadn't heard any sort of chant or magic phrase mixed with the firing of the energy blasts, so that left one other option: they were dealing with a mutant.
"Ladies and gentlemen, remain calm and please lay face down on the floor with your hands behind your head," the man ordered with energy covering his hands. "Do as you're told and this'll be quick and relatively painless. Complicate things and I can't promise anything."
Needless to say that the examples the mutant had provided with the guards and the security cameras proved to be more than enough to get quick obedience from everyone. He was no exception because, even though he considered himself good enough to get the drop on your average vamp, he wasn't about to test his luck in this situation. Following his Aunt to the ground, he immediately fell into the position laid out by the mutant and hoped that this really would be a quick and clean op like the criminal had said it'd be. If things got messy, things would get messy and he'd had enough of messy after Sunnydale.
As the mutant headed towards the back of the bank and out of his field of vision, he had to wonder how long it'd be before the local P.D showed up. There were people out on the street, after all, and they'd had to have heard the shouting and seen the light from the energy blasts, so it was a safe bet that the local law enforcement would be on its way soon. The mutant was likely aware of this as well, since he sealed the front entrance. With it fused shut like that, the police would likely have to knock it down in order to get inside and that would create more than enough noise to spoil the element of surprise. It sort of made him wonder what the man's plans were for once he had what he wanted. Did he expect to be gone by the time the boys in blue showed up? Or did he have some trump card ready to make the police presence useless?
He had no answers even as he heard the sounds of metal being torn open and the light heat coming from behind him.
Looking about as best he could without drawing attention to himself he could see just about everyone else was keeping their heads down whimpering in fear.
All save one, that was.
The young girl that his Aunt Martha had identified as Lana Lang seemed to be fiddling with something in her hands. It looked electronic and, based on the finger movements, it looked like she was typing something. A cell phone or instant message device? If so then she was probably trying to get news of what was going in the bank out to the police so they could plan a raid or something. He just hoped that the mutant didn't catch her doing it or else he'd likely be a bit miffed. He couldn't turn around to see how things were going in the back where the vault and other offices were but he could still hear the guy working on things back there. Hopefully Lana would have the sense to make her messages quick and to the point so that they'd be done by the time the crook was finished.
"THAT LYING SONUVABITCH!"
That does not sound good! He thought as he realized that an angry crook could become a violent crook, depending on how solid a grip the guy had on his temper.
The fact that an energy blast shot out from behind him and demolished the front doors of the bank did not indicate that this guy was the epitome of restraint. Apparently whatever plan the crook had been going by had just blown up in his face big time. Or he was double crossed somehow. Either way it didn't look like this was going to be the minor event he'd been hoping it could be.
The roaring of police sirens followed by the screeching of tires certainly didn't help the situation any.
Figures! Even away from the Hellmouth, my usual luck finds a way to mess with me! He thought as he began to think of just the right way to turn things to his advantage.
"That lying sack of SHIT! He calls me all the way from fuckin' Nevada for a milk run only to find a stinkin' empty metal box!" roared the mutant as he stormed back into the main area of the bank, randomly blasting things with his energy powers to vent his fury.
As much as he didn't like the thought, he personally hoped that the mutant decided to focus on the cops outside and completely forgot about civilians. He really didn't want to wind up in a hostage situation, given that with his luck he'd be the one with the glowy fist pointed at his head.
"Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing, bitch!?" yelled the mutant as he stormed over to Lana and ruthlessly grabbed her by her hair, lifting her off the ground.
"AAAHHHH!" Lana exclaimed in pain as she got to her feet.
"Been reaching out and touching someone, have you?" asked the mutant before he grabbed the cell phone out of her hand and turned into a puddle of melted plastic. "Consider your connection terminated. Permanently!"
At first he thought that the crook just meant the cell phone but, when he turned his energy coated hand towards Lana, it didn't take him half a second to figure out what he had in mind. Looking around frantically, he immediately got to his feet and grabbed the nearest heavy object he could: an electronic pencil sharpener. He knew even before he threw it that it was definitely solid enough to hurt the guy and smiled as it flew through the air right on target for the mutant's head.
A smile that was shattered when the guy, with uncanny easy, blasted it out of the air before it got to within three feet of his head.
"Nice try, hero!" said the mutant with a smile that quickly shifted to a look of anger, "Time to make you a dead one!"
SHIT! He thought before turning to make a run for the nearest bank clerk counter.
Diving over it, he thought for just a moment that he'd successfully managed to get out of the guy's line of fire.
Then something hit him in the back and pain came.
It might have been focused on his back but he could feel a great deal of it cascading up and down his body like a chain reaction. It was like his body had been dead for a long time and, all at once, his synapses were firing like there was no tomorrow. It was a good thing that he didn't have to feel the pain for very long.
Losing consciousness was good for things like that.
The Next Day, Smallville General Hospital, Afternoon, Willow's P.O.V
I'm gonna give that mentally deficient doodie head such a tongue lashing, he's gonna wish they'd poured salt on his burns instead of disinfectant! Willow growled as she strode down the sterile hospital hallway towards the room where her friend was recovering.
It'd only been this morning that she'd found out that her friend had been caught up in that mutant robbery at the local bank and, while she'd tried to race over to the hospital to see how he was doing, Nell had convinced her to wait. According to what her Aunt had told her, the burns Xander had weren't too serious but that he'd likely be doped up on painkillers at the moment. While she wasn't much of a doctor of the body since her… her parents had been more focused on the mind, she could see the logic of waiting until Xander was a little more coherent to visit him.
Her mind had been completely scattered during the school day, almost made her give the wrong answer a couple of times, but now classes were over with and she was sure that her best bud would be ready to receive a proper lecture from her. How could he have been so stupid!? He knew his anemia made it so he'd come damn close to passing out if he pushed himself too hard! It was stupid to think of trying to take on some energy blast throwing mutant with that sort of condition! He should've just kept his head down and let the police handle the freak and not gotten involved. Then, however, she remembered what happened after her friend got blasted.
The police sniper across the street had finally managed to get a clear shot and put a round through his head. A tad harsh but she supposed there was no other way since a shoulder or flesh wound wouldn't keep a mutant from using their powers. Also because of Xander's interference some girl named Lana Lang was saved from being flash fried by the mutant.
Xander's White Knight complex strikes again! She thought with a roll of her eyes as she finally laid eyes on the door to Xander's room. I guess I'll have to go easy on him. He can't help but be a heroic idiot sometimes.
She was near her friend's room when something she hadn't expected happened; a teenage girl walked out of Xander's room all alone. She was pretty, if you liked cheerleader looks, long silky brown hair and light brown skin. It wasn't until the young woman turned around that she recognized her as Lana Lang, the woman Xander had saved, and figured she was here to say thanks.
Must have been nice to finally be thanked for once. She thought as she waited for Lana to leave before approaching the door to Xander's room.
Yeah, it was one of the most bothersome yet expected things about being a member of the Scooby gang back home. They'd saved so many lives, whether it was with the end of the year apocalypse or just a regular night's patrol through the graveyards. Yet only one out of every fifty or so times did they ever receive anything even approaching a thank you. Most times the people they saved just ran off screaming the second they had an opportunity to run. A lot of the time they just had to go with the whole 'duty being its own reward' bit but she was fairly sure that Xander was feeling better knowing that his act was appreciated.
Walking into the room, she found her friend sitting up in bed looking alright except for the bandages peeking out from his back. Of course she was a bit more focused on the fact that her friend was shirtless and seemed a little more… muscled than she'd thought. Mmmmm…
"Hey, Wills! What's the what?" Xander asked, looking like he didn't have a care in the world.
Best to let him know where I stand before we get all chummy. she thought before she fixed her friend with a 'you are in big trouble, mister' look that whipped the grin right off his face.
"Uh… Willow, why are you giving me that look?" Xander asked, sounding a little less sure of the situation than before.
"Maybe I'm giving it to you because you took a stupid risk! Maybe I'm giving it to you because you're in a hospital bed with your back bandaged up!" she exclaimed, getting right up next to him as she lectured him. "What were you thinking, Xander?! That guy could have killed you!"
"So could a dozen other things back in Sunnydale, but that didn't keep me from fighting the good fight." Xander said getting his usual determined look. "Besides, with the way that guy was losing it, I doubt I'd have been all that safe if I'd just kept my head down."
"You don't know that! Look, everything turned out alright this time but we don't have Buffy around anymore to save our bacon when the going gets tough," she said, pointing out the flaw in his position. "I know you want to help people, Xander, but you gotta be pickier about the fights you pick."
For a moment it looked like Xander might start an argument, given that she now remembered how angry her friend sometimes got when someone made it sound as though normal humans couldn't make a difference in the fight against the darkness. However, in a somewhat odd turn of events, the look of defiance melted away to one of reluctant acceptance.
"I know. I just couldn't stand by and watch Lana die." Xander said, sounding unhappy that he lost the argument before it really began.
"'Lana', is it?" she asked, deciding to try and steer things to something a little more lighthearted, "So you're on a first name basis with your damsel in distress?"
"Yeah, well… she came to visit right before you did and…she didn't want me calling her 'Ms. Lang' cause it made her sound like her mother." Xander replied, obviously feeling a little nervous about the direction the conversation was going in. "That's all. Really!"
"Not because she's a pretty girl and you're officially single at the moment?" she asked playfully, liking the look that had sprung up on her best friend's face.
"What? Are you and Aunt Martha gossiping over the phone or something?" Xander asked with a confused look on his face. "She suggested the same thing at the bank before the mutant tore it up."
"More women's intuition than gossip," she said with a smile of amusement. "You always get this look in your eyes whenever you spot a girl you like. You got it when we first met Buffy and you got it when you started to get serious with Cordy. It's like two plus two makes four."
"Somehow I think things are a little more complicated than that, Willow." Xander said with a smirk as the amusement at the situation began to spread. "I'll admit she's pretty but she also has a thing going on with the star jock of the football team. Another Larry breathing down my neck I don't need."
"True. One Larry Blaisdell is quite enough," she agreed remembering her own less than great encounters with the football player. "So, if I turn this jock Lana is dating into a newt, will you ask her out?"
"I think we'd be the first implicated if you did something like that." Xander said as the smirk expanded into his usual lopsided grin. "It's always the ones with the most to benefit from a disappearance that the cops interrogate first and somehow I doubt Smallville P.D is as gullible as the Sunnydale P.D."
Another good point made.
Without a Hellmouth beneath it, the whole denial syndrome wouldn't be around to make people suppress any weird encounters they might have. Plus, with the whole mutant thing going on, she might be mistaken for a mutant if she tried to do any magic. Living in Sunnydale, up until recently, hadn't given her in the same exposure to the whole mutant hoopla as people living in some of the bigger cities but even she knew that most people put them in the same category as demons. Already there was talk of a Mutant Registration Act being proposed by a Senator Kelley in the Senate but, at the moment, all that was going on was debate. Both sides had their points but she was leaning more towards the people in favor of denying the proposal, if for no other reason than because she and Buffy would likely be asked to register. After all, in a world that didn't believe in the existence of magic or demons, then the term 'mutant' was the next best fit for their abilities. She seriously wasn't looking forward to being lynched or being forced into a gas chamber or something.
"I guess. Guess I'll have to think of something else," she said before a smile of greater amusement blossomed across her face. "Maybe I can mix some laxative into his food while he's on a date with her. Nothing makes a guy look more unattractive then bladder problems."
They both had a good laugh at that before letting the discussion devolve into more typical teenage stuff, like how school was and her handing over the notes for the classes they shared.
Xander was obviously not crazy about having to deal with schoolwork any sooner than he had to.
The Next Day, Morning, Smallville General Hospital, Xander's Room, Xander's P.O.V
"I'm alright, Aunt Martha! A little sore but nothing I can't handle." Xander said as he tried to swipe away the Kent matron's fussing hands.
"And if you accidently get those burns infected because you pulled those bandages loose?" Martha said sternly as she tried with more determination to help him get his clothes on. "That's not happening while I'm around, mister!"
With a sigh he accepted the fact that he'd never get her to stop mothering him until he was back to one hundred percent and, even then, he'd probably still get fussed over from time to time. However the truth of the matter was that he felt great at the moment and, aside from some tightness around the burn mark on his back, there was nothing else wrong with him. It was odd since there was always a certain amount of fatigue thanks to his anemia but it only really reared its ugly head when he pushed himself. Now, though… now that ever-present level of fatigue that had been dancing in the background of his mind since he'd first collapsed was fading away like an old memory. He didn't know whether it was something he could blame on the medication or something better but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
As he finished getting his clothes on, he heard the door to his room open to reveal Dr. Alfred Tazu with a smile on his face. He'd been the doctor taking care of him since he'd been admitted and something seemed a little off about the guy. Still, if he was the one calling the shots with the medication he couldn't fault the results.
"So what's the final prognosis, Doc?" he asked with a friendly smile on his face.
"Better than I thought, Xander," Doc Tazu said flipping through some papers he had in his hands. "In fact, I have a rather pleasant surprise for you: your unique strain of anemia appears to be in remission."
"What? What do you mean?" Aunt Martha asked, voicing the surprise all of them were feeling.
"Well, according to your medical records, this anemia was something that was self-perpetuating and that was why conventional methods of treating or even curing it were useless," Doc Tazu explained as he finished leafing through the chart. "Yet somehow the unique energy that the mutant bank robber hit you with has somehow destroyed the part of it that allowed it to defy being completely cured. You're not completely out of the woods yet and I think you should continue taking your medicine until you've exhausted your current supply but, barring another odd jolt to your system, I'd say you're on your way to a better life."
Wow.
That was the only word that best described what he was feeling at the moment and so potent was it that it took his Aunt Martha smacking him upside the head to snap him out of it. Looking down at her, he could see the smile of joy on her face and felt an identical one appear almost instantly as laughter began to spill from his lips. On instinct alone he wrapped his arms around his Aunt and hugged her with all the joy he was feeling at the moment. For over a decade he'd been forced to lead half a life while watching other guys his age enjoy life to the fullest. No sports or anything that could possibly get the blood pumping or the adrenaline flowing. Even the help he provided Buffy with had to be limited because of how weak he got when he pushed things just a little bit too far. To suddenly be told that the chains binding him would be finally be released made it all seem like a miracle!
"Xander…you're…you're hugging me a little hard." Martha managed to get out with some effort.
"Ooops! Sorry, Aunt Martha," he said, quickly releasing her with a bit of embarrassment. "It's just…so GREAT!"
"I agree," Martha said as she rubbed her arms a bit. "Not many people get a second chance like this so be sure not to waste it."
"Not a chance," he promised as he mentally swore to grab onto this new future with both hands never to let go.
"Glad to hear it, Xander. Now there's some paperwork that needs to be filled out before you can be formally discharged from the hospital. Shouldn't take more than ten minutes." Doc Tazu said with a genuine smile. "Just be sure to change the bandages on your back once a day for the next three weeks and the burns you received should be gone without leaving so much as a scar."
"Then let's get to that paperwork!" he exclaimed with joy as he all but bounced towards the door to his room. "I might not have Buffy's phobia about hospitals but I'm eager to get some fresh air!"
Without a further thought he followed Doc Tazu out into the hallways of the hospital on his way out into the world no longer hinder by a flaw in his blood.
Smallville, Unknown Location, That Evening, Doc Tazu's P.O.V
I knew it was more than just a rumor! Tazu thought as he continued to go through the results of his latest battery of tests.
It was almost too much to believe that after a decade of close observation and numerous efforts, his labors were finally beginning to bear fruit. It had been a gamble but, considering that the reward would be enough to get him off of this archaic mudball and back onto a civilized planet, it had been a risk worth taking. He could just imagine his sister, Sazu, when he sent her the information he was just now getting. Her and her position as the handmaiden to the future Queen of their empire! He'd been considered for the position of chief subordinate to the princess but some rather ruthless tactics on the part of his sister had humiliated him in front of everyone. He'd been shipped off to this primitive world with the mission to 'evaluate its potential value as a future addition to the empire', which, of course, was just a fancy way of saying he was exiled to it until the day he died. He'd almost given up hope until the day that the disgrace to humanity, Anthony Harris, walked into his life.
It's been a regular week with him needing some dumb muscle to carry a shipment dropped from scout ship to his humble warehouse and, as usual, he'd employed whoever possessed the least brains and the most brawn. Considering how the aberrations that lived in Sunnydale tended to be attracted by the alien emanations of his supplies, it'd been necessary if he wanted anything to reach him at all. When the foul Harris man had approached him to forge some documents and insert them into America's database, he'd initially just seen it as a way to save some currency for more important matters.
It had been when he'd seen the first test results from the infant's blood that his entire world had tilted on its side. A Kryptonian! The Kryptonian race was known throughout the galaxy for their advanced crystal-based technology and how brave the men of the race were. He'd been notified of the race's extinction as part of his usual briefing on the status quo of the empire but the information he'd received indicated that there were no survivors. He'd been tempted right then and there to notify his immediate superiors since he knew that a search was already going on to find a suitable mate for the princess once she came of age. However he'd stayed his hand and, in doing so, saved himself from a second humiliation.
Among the Royal House, only the strong were chosen to wed its children.
Species of males from across the galaxy were considered as possible mates with their various attributes, both physical as well as mental, being the determining factors. Considering that some species of men were capable of laying waste to cities in the space of a single night or had planned the downfall of lesser empires with ease, just finding a Kryptonian male would not be enough. While it was true the boy had been quite the rare find he would be helpless against some of the more hardy rivals that were no doubt being considered. It was then that he had recalled something one of his less reliable apprentices had once told him about a criminal who'd once sought a place to hide on Earth decades ago. He'd only been partially listening at the time but he remembered a tale of how this criminal had spotted a Kryptonian on the planet, in this very town no less, exhibiting powers unheard of amongst his people. Superior physical prowess, durability that could well stand up to even a heavy cruiser's weapons and a few others that he could not recall at all to this very day. Nevertheless, it'd been that tale that had stayed his hand and kept him from contacting his superiors.
In the years that followed he'd conducted research on the boy, covertly, of course, to determine the source of the power that Kryptonians only seemed to have on this planet. He'd tried various medicinal and chemical concoctions in order to bring about the same sort of abilities in the boy but instead it only seemed to harm the boy. In the end he'd been forced to focus his work on finding a way to purify the boy's body since he'd come to the conclusion that some outside variable was interfering with the emergence of the Kryptonian's powers. He'd had some success with the medication he'd managed to maneuver into the hands of Tony Harris but it would have still take far too long to do its job to his satisfaction.
Then came the accident that took the lives of Tony and Jessica Harris.
He'd been alarmed at first when he'd heard the news, afraid that he'd lose his one way to the boy, but then considered the situation from another point of view. Could some environmental factor be the reason for the lack of superhuman abilities in the sole survivor of Krypton?
It was possible. He had been aware of an undercurrent of dimensional energy coating this small town but, since it hadn't been interfering with his work, he hadn't paid it any mind. Considering that he was making virtually no progress in refining his medicinal attempts to purify the boy's body, he'd chosen to give a change of scenery a try. Packing his things and tying up what loose ends he could, he'd then relocated to the small town of Smallville, Kansas, where his sources said one Alexander LaVelle Harris would be sent to live with his Aunt Martha Kent. It hadn't taken much doing to get him installed as one of the doctors at Smallville General Hospital and just a little more to make sure he was the only one who'd ever gain access to the Harris boy. He'd expected to see results within months of the change location but he had never in his wildest dreams imagined how things would transpire two days ago in the small town's bank. However it had all worked to his advantage, as though guided by the hands of the gods of his people.
He had not been lying when he'd told the young man and the Kents that his 'anemia' was in complete remission. Whatever the outside influence had been that had prevented the Kryptonian from achieving his full potential seemed to have been completely wiped from the boy's system. All that remained was minute residue that he was confident would be gone by the end of the week, if not sooner. He would have to dispatch observational drones immediately in order to monitor the changes as they occurred and, if all went as he prayed it would, he would have a worthy fiancé for his princess… one that would propel him back into the Royal Court and show his sister who the true prodigy of their family was.
The Kent Farm, Three Days Later, Early Morning, Xander's P.O.V
I don't know if I've ever had a more perfect morning. Xander thought as he stood in the loft of the Kent Barn looking at the sunrise on the horizon.
It had been three days since he'd left the hospital and, with every passing hour, he'd felt more alive than ever before. He really had nothing to compare it to since he'd felt the effects of his anemia for almost as long as he could remember. The feeling he was getting, though, standing in the growing sunlight, was definitely something he could get used to quite easily. Taking a deep breath of the morning air, an idea occurred to him that he felt just strong enough about to give it a good try. Up until then he'd only been preparing breakfast for the Kents but now he'd go one step further and try to do some of their less difficult chores for them. He'd seen them do it often enough that he felt he could pull off the less complicated ones without too much trouble. The only thing he'd have to worry about would be getting it all done before Aunt Martha and Aunt Jonathan woke up. Being the farmers that they were, it wouldn't be too long from now so speed would be essential.
But not at the expense of skill, of course. He thought as he jogged down the steps to the ground floor of the barn. Don't want to accidentally get any egg on my face.
As the time passed, though, he found that he was quickly running out of breathing room and if he didn't pick up the pace, he'd barely get anything noteworthy done before the lifelong farmers got up. Thus he kicked things up a notch, going from jogging from place to place to outright running and only coming to a stop just long enough to do what he had to do in a given spot. It was then that he began to notice something a bit odd, even when compared to some of the things he'd experienced in Sunnydale. He'd only caught a glimpse of it the first few times since he was too focused on not screwing up but, as he gained confidence in his abilities, he was able to relax a bit. It was then that he noticed a few strands of straw floating to the ground ever so slowly. At first he'd thought the wind was simply slowing down the vegetation's descent but that didn't fit with what he was seeing. So he came to a complete stop to give the phenomena his complete attention and that's when he got confirmation that something wasn't right.
The strands of straw went from slowly floating down to the ground to dropping to the ground like they were pencils.
"What the hell?" he whispered as his mind tried to come up with a rational explanation for what he'd just seen.
Some spell gone awry that distorted time? Possible, and it certainly looked like some of the special effects and arcane effects he'd seen both in fiction as well as in reality. However the way the super slow mo effect began and ended with him running around cast doubt on that possibility. In fact it pegged him as the source of the anomaly, or at least a controlling factor in when it chose to happen. His mind continued to sort through the possibilities but nothing, whether it be deliberate or accidental, seemed to match the info he had so far.
Then he recalled a possibility he hadn't thought of and all the variables seemed to slide into place.
He was a mutant and this was his mutant power manifesting itself for the first time.
It certainly fit what he'd observed so far but, just to be certain, he'd try to activate it voluntarily and with his full attention on it rather than spotting it out of the corner of his eye. Since running seemed to be the trigger, he'd try to run to the farthest edge Kent Farm but away from the main road. He didn't want to take the chance that someone might spot him. He knew well that the number of people who'd give a mutant a fair shake were severely outnumbered by those that'd lynch someone just for being a suspected mutant. Exiting the barn, he lowered himself into a runner's stance, took a deep breath and then surged forward intent on running as fast as he could.
Moderation definitely should have been kept in mind.
In the blink of an eye the world around him seemed to slow down to a crawl as he ran for the western edge of the farm. It was an odd thing since, from his point of view, it felt like he was just running normally but everything else was moving distinctly abnormally, like everything was underwater. Just when he figured he was about to reach the edge of the property, he braced himself before bringing his body to a complete stop. Like someone flicking a switch, the world's speed suddenly fell into temporal sync with him by moving like it normally did.
Well I've proven I can turn this power of mine on and off whenever I want but that doesn't tell me what it is. he thought as he tried to figure out what the power was. Is it some kind of time distortion ability or just your generic super speed?
Looking back the way he came, though, he had the gut feeling it was the latter as he watched the dust cloud from his passing settling to the ground. This also meshed with what happened with the straw earlier since, if he was moving fast enough, the vacuum caused by his passing would have stirred it up quite a bit. Of course the next thing he'd have to find out somehow was just how fast he could go but that would have to wait since, according to his watch, Aunt Martha and Aunt Jonathan would be up any minute. Running back towards the house at super speed, it wasn't until he came to a stop at the edge of the field he'd run through that the shock that had kept his emotions suppressed until now dispersed.
He was a mutant.
A whole gauntlet of emotions ran through him as that statement repeated itself in his mind dozens of times over. He was officially a member of a race that most of humanity hated and wanted lined up for execution or imprisonment. All it would take would be one person spotting him using his power and he'd be exposed to all of Smallville for what he was. Then would come the lynch mobs! However, as he thought of the people he'd likely see in that mob, a more personal fear arose concerning how people he was friends with or related to would react. Willow would be reasonable enough since she was already used to the supernatural and Buffy being the Slayer. The Kents seemed like reasonable people but he'd only been with them a short while, so he had no idea how they'd react once they learned their nephew was a mutant. There were only two classmates at the high school he felt were more than strangers to him but neither Lana nor Chloe were close enough to him that he could bank on their bond with him to keep the usual anti-mutant hysteria from compelling them to turn on him. He'd have to take a crash course in controlling his power while trying do a better job than Buffy at keeping his secret a secret.
Walking up casually, but slowly, towards the house, he could see lights, telling him that Aunt Martha and Uncle Jonathan were indeed awake. As he got closer to the back door he'd chosen to enter from, though, he noticed that there wasn't the usual movement he'd seen since he started going to the barn loft early in the morning. Had he missed their getting breakfast? Maybe. He hadn't really looked at the house after he'd started trying to do some of the chores so it's possible he'd missed it. Shrugging it off, he opened the back door and entered as laid back as he always was in the morning ready to tell them that he'd managed to finish some of the easier chores.
He stopped cold when he saw the looks of shock and surprise directed from them to him.
Immediately he knew that they'd seen him use his super speed.
So he did the first thing he could think of to deal with this situation.
"So what's for breakfast?"