Chapter 23

Smallville Town Hall...

The next day the good and great of Smallville gather for the meeting that will decide the fate of the mutant community.

Clark, Chloe and Lois walk in, dressed for business...reporter business that is.

Lois still can't believe Smallville wants to be one like her but apparently he's quite good according to Chloe and well she will take her cousin's word for that.

The 3 spot the Mayor...talking with Lex.

"Seriously?" Lois queries with disdain at the sight. "He's in league with the son of the man who nearly blew this town up in a mushroom cloud," she comments about what the Mayor is doing.

"Sadly that man's company probably accounts for at least a 1/3 of all the work in this town," Chloe makes the point of how Lex has so much leverage.

"Not to mention a generous donation during the Mayor's last re-election campaign," Clark adds.

Lois looks at him and arches an eyebrow.

"I looked. It's what a good reporter does," Clark defends himself from her gaze though why he is defending himself to Lois of all people Clark couldn't tell you.

"We need to get them apart," Chloe thinks would be best.

"Right," Lois says, agreeing to that. "I'll deal with the bald inheritor to the throne of darkness. You two tackle the Mayor," she proposes.

"How exactly are you going to deal with him?" Clark wants to know.

"Well since it's relevant lets see what he really knows about his dear old grandpa," Lois says with a little malicious glint in her eye. She strides confidently off, making sure not to show that her shoulder is still tender.

You know before that meteor strike that almost killed her and the subsequent alien appearance that, again, almost killed her Lois really only helped Chloe with journalism out of sheer love of her cousin but since that day, since the cover-up of it all, there has been a righteous flame burning within her that says the truth needs to be told. Justice needs to be done. If she has to work her way up starting at the local paper in this two sheep town to get to the place she can tackle the bigger injustices than that is just what Lois Joanne Lane will do.

And speaking of injustices there's a big source of them in the shape of a bald millionaire.

"Lex Luthor," she addresses him directly in her stern tone.

Lex rolls his eyes and suppresses a groan. If it wasn't one of the pains in his neck. Lois was almost as bad as Nightwing for causing him headaches. Then there's Chloe. Seriously is he cursed when it comes to women in his life? He turns away from the Mayor to face her. "Something I can help you with, Ms Lane?" Lex asks, making sure to put on a front of politeness. She is official press so has to put forward his best face.

"Oh I'm just doing a profile on your company from its founding by your grandfather, through your father to you and I just wanted some quotes from you. Interesting man your grandfather."

Lex looks at her suspiciously. Something is twigging his warning sense here. "My grandfather was a businessman in the finest tradition of the United States."

"Really? Well I suppose a man who commits armed robbery and suspected murder probably does now I think about it."

"Really Ms Lane. Where do you come up with these outlandish accusations?"

"I've seen the arrest record in this town's archives for assault and mugging helpless women and Lachlan Luthor isn't exactly a common name."

"Ms Lane, no member of my family set foot in this town until my father bought the cream corn factory," Lex assures her.

"Is that what your daddy told you? The mass-murdering psychopath? You sure? You and your father didn't sit around at Thanksgiving and share family tales?"

"On what? Old family crime stories? Sorry must have been ill in bed for that one," Lex continues to brush her accusations off.

"Yet you don't seem that upset or angry...or surprised at what I'm saying," Lois notices. "Most people would feel the need to defend their family's honour. Then again I'm not sure I saw you shed a tear when the news of your father's death came out."

Lex's jaw sets hard. "Ms Lane. My father was a deeply ill man by the end. His mind had been unbalanced by the dangerously unstable armour technology he created. I choose to remember him as he was at his best. Those are happy memories."

Lois snorts. "You practice that one in front of the mirror," she says derisively. "We both know you hated his guts."

Maybe Lex did but PR is everything especially after the catastrophe his father caused so Lex is putting the best spin on it he can. Yes, blaming his father but looking like the forgiving son as well. People love that stuff. "My father is dead. Let him rest in peace and let the rest of us not repeat his mistakes. As for my grandfather you're reaching a dead-end Ms Lane. If you want to know his story read his authorised biography. Now if you'll excuse me."

"Oh of course. Wouldn't want to ruin your moment of triumph where you kick homeless people with nothing and nowhere to go out of their homes," Lois derides what Lex is doing.

Lex glares at her. "Difficult decisions have to be made for the greater good of the community."

"And you care about this tiny little town why, exactly?" Lois asks, since a man in charge of a multi-national would seem to have much bigger fish to fry than Smallville.

"I am a responsible businessman, Ms Lane. We care for the communities we do business in. A happy, prosperous community is good for business. Unfortunately the mutant community is not good for the town or the community. It only attracts trouble and strife and division. Besides it's illegally occupying the land. I think we've all been more than patient with them. If they want to have a home there are plenty of legal ways for them to go about it."

"Only that will destroy their community. Guess your caring doesn't stretch that far."

"You're trying to trap me Ms Lane. It won't work. I've said what I want to to you. I'll be speaking at the meeting. Feel free to quote that in your paper. Good day Ms Lane," Lex says with finality, making sure he ends this here.

Lois watches him go with a smirk. She had done her bit. Keep Lex busy while Clark and Chloe chat to the Mayor. Though she doesn't believe a word Lex said. He mouthed off some PR rubbish about 'supporting communities'. Puh-lease. No. There's a reason Lex is doing this. One he's not saying or giving a hint at. Lois has to give him credit because she hasn't a clue what his real thinking is. But she'll get a clue. She'll get to the truth. Or her name isn't Lois Joanne Lane.

"Mr Mayor," Chloe calls out to him. "Do you remember Dexter McCallum?"

The elderly man freezes momentarily, completely caught out by hearing that name in this time and place after so long. He drops some of his papers that he was carrying. "W-what brings you to raise that name?"

Clark bends down and picks up the dropped papers for the man. "We're reinvestigating the case. As a favour to an absent friend; Lana Lang. Dexter is her great uncle. He's just about the last family Nell Potter has now," he gives a reason, a good and valid reason, to the Mayor in answer.

"You were the one who arrested him weren't you?" Chloe asks him to confirm what she already knows.

Mayor Tate clears his throat. "Yes. Dex and Louise were my best friends. Arresting him was the hardest thing I ever had to do."

"Mayor Tate, can you remember booking someone named Lachlan Luthor? He was released the same day Louise was killed," Clark presses.

"It's hard to keep track of all the arrests that I've made," Mayor Tate says in reply...almost too easily.

"We think your friend Dexter is innocent," Chloe says to him.

"Trust me, of all people I wanted to believe that more than anyone but evidence does not lie. Finally I had to admit there was no drifter as Dex claimed. He made up the story to cover his own guilt."

Clark's eyes narrow behind his glasses. He knows the man's lying. He's seen it in Jor-El's memories the more than one occasion Tate met the 'drifter'. However he won't just come out and accuse the man right here and now because he has no hard evidence. "Here. Your papers," he offers them back.

"Thank you, young man," Tate says gratefully. "I truly wish you could find something to exonerate Dex but I would advise you that you're wasting your time. Well I have to go prepare for this meeting. Farewell," he says, patting Clark on the shoulder as he leaves...and the moment he does another vision screams into Clark's mind...

It's night and Jor-El and Louise are in a parked car next to a corn field, their lips locked together kissing and a young Deputy Sheriff Billy Tate is reaching in the window, touching Jor-El's shoulder who turns around in response.

"Hey, you two lovebirds," Tate speaks to them, his tone making it clear what he thinks he has caught them doing.

Louise in a panic tries to explain, "Billy, it's not what it looks like. It was just..."

Tate cuts her off. "Sure," he says, his tone showing how he doesn't believe that. He speaks to Jor-El. "Okay, big shot, out of the car," he orders.

Jor-El steps out of the car as commanded. "I don't know what business this is of yours," he dismisses this man's interference, "but..."

Tate grabs Jor-El by the shirt in a threatening manner. "I think you've overstayed your welcome. You better move along before you cause any more trouble," he warns.

Louise comes out of the car and pushes Tate away.

"Billy, he was just taking me home," Louise defends herself and Jor-El.

"You better make sure this is what you want, Louise. 'Cause I think you're making a huge mistake," Tate says to her, clearly indicating he knows what is going on. He then gets into his police car and drives away.

Louise turns to Jor-El, rubs her head and sighs. "I never wanted to marry Dexter," she confesses to this man she has barely met but can't get out of her mind. "Don't get me wrong, he's...he's a nice man, he's just...safe. I made the mistake of telling my father my dreams. I want to go to Hollywood, become a star. The next thing I know, he's putting me together with Dex, saying what a great wife I'd make." She turns away from Jor-El as if not wanting him to see the shame of her next confession. "I finally gave in. And here I am."

"I think our fathers would get along," Jor-El remarks...unhappily as he recalls it was his father that forced him to be here in the 1st place. He leans against the car. "See, I'm not what you'd call a model son. My father sent me here as sort of a lesson. I didn't want to come here. Now I'd give anything to stay. But I can't," he confesses part of his story.

Louise walks up to him. "Then take me with you," she proposes as she pulls him away from the car by the hands and turns him around a few times fancifully. She giggles bubbly. "We'll be like James Dean and Natalie Wood in 'Rebel Without a Cause.' It'll be romantic," she declares, clearly letting her imagination go wild.

"I don't think you understand. When I said I wasn't from here, I wasn't talking about Smallville," Jor-El points out to her.

Louise looks at him blankly, not understanding.

"Where I'm from we have colours that you've never seen. Our moons are so close they fill up half the sky. We have sunsets that last for hours," he says, his tone rather grave sounding considering the beauty he is describing.

Louise looks at him very seriously for a moment, then laughs. "You almost had me there. For a second I was actually believing you," she says, thinking he is joking.

Jor-El steps closer slowly and lifts Louise into his arms. If she won't believe his words. He'll just have to demonstrate to her the truth. They hold eye contact with each other and the sky can be seen lowering behind them as the blue light of the moon illuminates their faces.

At last Louise looks down and realizes they are floating high above the earth. "Oh, my God," she gasps as the tide of truth smashes in.

They both look up at the stars as they continue to rise and as they do so Louise's fear turns into a smile of joy. She looks at Jor-El who is still looking at her with deep affection in his eyes.

Clark then slams back into the present.

Recognising what is happening Chloe manages to lead Clark to a corner of the room. "What did you see?" she asks at a whisper.

"Tate caught them. Jor-El and Louise making out in her car."

Chloe cocks her head in interest. Tate knowing about the affair changes things. "Go on," she encourages Clark to continue.

"Tate gave them both a general sort of warning that he knew what was going on and that they better stop...and well I think he was jealous. In fact I know he was."

"How?"

Clark reaches into his pocket where he had stuffed one of the Mayor's dropped papers at superspeed so no-one noticed. He hands it to Chloe. "Look how he signed it," he advises her. That is why he snatched it because he saw something familiar.

Chloe unfolds it and down at the bottom it is signed with a T in the exact same style as those love letters she and Clark found. "It was him. He wrote those letters," Chloe understands. "Well that confirms it. He was in love with her. What else did you see?"

"Just Jor-El and Louise sharing some stories. I think this must have been in between the time from when he saved her to what I've already seen. She never really wanted to marry Dex. Her father forced her into it after she told him she wanted to go to Hollywood and become a movie star. Jor-El mentioned back how he was only here because his father had forced him."

"So they bonded over that commonality," Chloe can see how the two formed a connection that led to their affair.

"Jor-El said he had to go back home. Louise mentioned she wanted to go with him. That they would be like James Dean and Natalie Wood in 'Rebel Without a Cause.'"

"Clichéd...but romantic," Chloe comments.

"That's what she thought. The romantic bit. He tried to explain where he came from without just saying it. Tried to make her understand that she didn't understand what she was suggesting. When that didn't work that is when Jor-El...he showed her."

"Showed her what?"

"That he wasn't from around here."

Chloe's eyes widen slightly as it clicks. "He showed her his abilities?" she asks in a harsh whisper of shock.

Clark nods. "Took her flying."

"And yet she still wanted to go with him from what you said. She was willing to overlook the difference in the name of love."

"Or she simply got caught up in the excitement of it all. Compared to her life, trapped in a marriage she didn't want, we can look kinda God-like. Going to Nova Roma taught me that."

Sheesh. Clark really had gotten cynical. Chloe guesses his break-up with Rogue burnt him really quite badly and he still wasn't healed from it.

Clark shakes his head. "He used the same damn lines he used on Selene," he critiques Jor-El.

Chloe shrugs. "Well when something works you use it."

Clark gives her a look. "Not helping," he tells her off. Clark doesn't know precisely how Jor-El felt. Not really. He would need to take some time to process all the memories about how this leads to the Jor-El he saw on Nova Roma but they don't have time for that. They need to figure this out. "Ok. Chlo can I use you as a sounding board?"

"Go for it," Chloe offers, seeing Clark wants to try and put the pieces together.

"Louise was forced into a marriage she didn't want. We know Tate was in love with her. Perhaps from even before she was married."

"So he got denied the thing he wanted," Chloe surmises.

"Then suddenly the 'drifter' comes along and Tate catches Louise having an affair."

"Uh huh."

"But instead of him flying into a jealous rage perhaps he sees an opportunity. If the 'drifter' is killed, caught in the throes of passion with Louise the 1st assumption one might make is that it was her husband who had flown into the jealous rage and done it. Now Tate wants Louise for himself so he can't risk being associated with the crime so he can't be the one who does the act himself. What Tate needs is someone else to commit the deed."

"Lachlan Luthor," Chloe sees where Clark is going.

Clark snaps his fingers and points at her as if saying 'exactly!'. "Yes. Someone who otherwise Tate has no link with. They do a deal. Tate releases him in exchange for Lachlan killing the 'drifter'."

Chloe hops on the train Clark is driving, now following where this is going. "Then Tate would rig the evidence to make it look like Dex did it," she adds in what they already suspect. That the evidence was tampered with.

"Dex would minimally go to jail for life, leaving Louise all alone and upset and vulnerable," Clark continues the story they are building.

"And here comes Tate, so called 'best friend' to comfort her, giving himself a way to weasel into her affections."

"Only it all went horribly wrong because he didn't realise the 'drifter' was bulletproof and Louise ends up dead instead."

"But Tate still had to carry out his plan to frame Dex and make the case look open and shut. Otherwise, if the investigation was allowed to continue for too long, the suspicion might fall on him if they ever tracked Lachlan down because you bet he'd probably sing like a canary in exchange for a plea bargain."

"That's feasible right?" Clark asks her to confirm that the story they just concocted is possible.

Chloe nods. It was a pretty damn good deduction as matter of fact. Clark was good at this. "Still I don't see how we can prove any of it," she has to raise the fly in the ointment. "Lachlan is long dead and I don't think your father's in a position to testify either. All we have as fact is that Tate released Lachlan when he probably shouldn't have. Nothing ties either in to being there in that barn apart from your memories which we can't use as evidence."

Clark frowns. Still if that is what happened there has to be a way to see proper justice done. He just needs to think about it.

The meeting starts shortly after that and Clark, Chloe and Lois take their seats. Chloe told Lois of their latest theory...only was kinda vague about what is inspiring these jumps. Memories from my alien dad is something Clark is not ready to reveal to Lois just yet.

The meeting is tense and terse. There are many glares and mutterings aimed at Lilandra and the Professor and Beast and the other mutants who have come along but despite those mutterings they refuse to be intimidated into leaving. They're entitled to be here. They are all Smallville citizens after all. They only live in the mutant community because they were kicked out or shunned by their families. Some of which were here on the other side of the aisle just to really kick them in the teeth.

Those making the proposition as to why the mutants need to leave go first.

It's not blatantly racist the attack though there are a couple of FOH members around making more noise than anything.

The Professor sits and waits patiently for his turn. He was going to be the advocate for Lilandra and her people. What he has heard so far is nothing beyond what he and Lilandra thought would be said when they were planning this out yesterday. It's nothing he hasn't heard before. Mutants attract trouble, mutants are an unstable element, the varying legal arguments over the land status...which is way more complicated than originally appears on the surface.

Yes the Kents farmed it for a couple of generations but after studying all the legal documents the question of who actually owns the land isn't as clear cut as even the Kents thought. It's all drowned in horrible vague legalise about how the family came to be there decades ago.

Therefore it may be that the bank can't just take the land as they did. Charles' lawyers were working on it. While winning this argument would be the best outcome, buying his lawyers more time to get to the bottom of the legal issues would also be considered a minimal success.

His turn to speak comes.

"Lets us take a few moments to remember those lost that day a month ago when Lionel Luthor attacked, especially the fine, brave men and women of the police service," he begins. He lets a few moments pass by. "Now today we have heard that incident used as a partial reason why the mutant community must be evicted. Why?" he asks them. "Why are we citing that? Lionel Luthor was a normal human man, just like you. As flawed as any of us. A fact I'm certain his son would attest to."

Charles glances at Lex who glowers back.

"A son, I may add, who was building weapons in this town without anyone's knowledge. Yet I have not heard a single request from the Mayor to dismantle this previously unknown underground facility."

"We-we're still investigating the exact legal status and whether the proper permissions were sought," the Mayor feels the need to point out. "It takes time, especially after our police force was devastated."

"Of course. My point is we're pinning a lot of sins here on mutants and seem to be ignoring the human ones in all this. Now I believe I heard an argument that this would never have occurred if the mutant community wasn't here."

"That's right!" one of the FOH members in the audience shouts out. "No-one wants you muties here!"

The Mayor bangs a gavel on the desk. "Order! Order!" he demands. "I will not have this meeting descend into a shouting match. We will have a due and democratic process. Continue Professor Xavier."

"Thank you," Charles says. "Let me make this point. Since Lilandra formed this community has she in fact not kept peace and order. In fact what you could call mutant related crime has actually dropped in no small part thank to her and her community assisting the police on more than one occasion. As for Lionel his attack was an attack on everyone. An attack on what America stands for. As the Mayor said we live in a nation of due and democratic process. A nation of law. What law is there that allowed Lionel to do what he did? The answer is none. Mutants are citizens of these United States, entitled to the protection of the law same as everyone elsewhere. Now law brings us to the legal status of the land the mutant community sits on and despite what was said earlier it is not cut and dry that the people are there on the land illegally. Not in the least. I..."

The Professor is cut off by the wall being smashed in and from outside in walk 3 figures. A knight in armour carrying a sword, a cowboy with a shotgun and an astronaut. All have blank expressions and look a bit...inhuman.

Two police charge at them and get quickly dispatched by powerful punches for their troubles.

Panic soon ensues amongst the crowd.

Clark frowns. There's something wrong with these 3.

It comes to him. They have no heartbeats.

He pulls his glasses down to the end of his nose and his eyes flash electric blue and he sees the truth of them.

He shoves his glasses up his nose and makes his way over to Beast. "They're robots."

Beast snaps his head over to Clark. "You're certain?"

Clark nods. "I need to make a...quick change. Cover for me?"

Beast nods and Clark makes his exit. Not hard in the chaos. His costume is back in the x-jet. You know just in case he brought it along. Shouldn't take 30 seconds there and back.

Beast leaps up and swings on a hanging down lamp. "Gentlemen!" he addresses the robots. "I must ask you to desist."

The astronaut presses a button on his chest and rocket boots activate and he flies up at Beast who has to expertly swing out the way.

Meanwhile the cowboy and the knight walk purposefully through the crowd swatting away anyone in their way. They have a single target.

The cowboy lowers his shotgun and aims it...right at Lex Luthor. He fires...a rope with a noose at the end. It wraps around Lex's neck and tightens, strangling him as it pulls him back.

Lex grasps at the rope as he gasps what may be his few final breaths...until 2 red beams precisely slice the rope.

Lex looks up to see Superman. Great. Saved by that chump. Oh, he's never going to live this down.

While Beast keeps the astronaut busy in an aerial dance, Lilandra is using her mutants to help evacuate the building.

That leaves Superman to face off against the 2 robots. "You know when you guys broke through the wall I was half expecting the Kool aid guy but then I remembered no-one said 'Oh no, oh no, oh no," he quips, using 3 varying voices to say the 'oh nos' as if 3 different people were speaking.

The response he gets is the knight charging at him sword raised. The knight strikes down. Superman raises his arm and the sword shatters on impact. Superman then smashes his fist into the chest, penetrating the armour. He reaches around inside and yanks out what he wants. The battery.

The knight topples over, dead.

"The energizer bunny you're not," Superman quips.

The cowboy raises his shotgun, cocks it...only for two red beams to separate head from shoulders before it can shoot.

It topples over leaving Superman standing there, imposing looking, his eyes glowing deep red. "Just because you're outclassed there's no need to lose your head," he jokes, unable to not make that one.

Up above Beast tries to land on the astronaut only to get a mighty blow for his troubles sending him careening for the floor. Luckily he is caught before he hits. "Thank you Superman," he says grateful for the assist.

"Hey, what kind of hero would I be if I didn't save my favourite teacher," Superman says with his goofy smile as he places Beast back down on the floor. He then whispers. "Don't tell Dom I said she wasn't my favourite," he requests with a twinkle in his eye.

"Your secret is safe with me," Beast says knowingly, tapping the end of his nose.

The astronaut flies round and heads for Lex, grabbing the bald man and exiting out through the hole he and his comrades entered through.

Superman sighs. Of course. Of all the people in the world he has to go save Lex. "Excuse me," he says, not sounding the last bit enthused as he takes off after the 2.

"Damn muties," one FOH member complains bitterly.

Unfortunately he is overheard by one certain brunette reporter. "What the hell does that mean?!" Lois demands to know, ire strong in her voice.

"They're to blame!" the man retorts.

"Oh puh-lease. That's idiotic. How on Earth did people who barely scrape out a living in ramshackle huts scrounge up the technology to create robots?" Lois makes the point. "You utter moron."

"Damn mutie lover."

Lois gets right in the guy's face. "Better than than some dumb racist hick."

"Lady I'm warning ya!"

"Ooh," Lois says with mock fear. "What you going to do? Spout some more of your bigoted bile at me. Try it!" she dares him. "Try it and I'll take that armband of yours and shove it so far up your stupid wop ass you'll be shitting F, O and H for a year!"

The two lock glares before the man is one who backs down and walks away.

Lois folds her arms across her chest. "Yeah, you better keep walking, pal."

Chloe sighs and shakes her head at her cousin.

"What?" Lois asks, innocently.

"You ripped half of that off Robocop," Chloe points out. Not that Lois did wrong. In fact Chloe loved what her cousin just did.

Lois shrugs with a smirk. So what if she did. That idiot was probably so thick to not realise it.

Outside, in the sky, Superman doesn't take very long to catch up with the flying robot astronaut. He is just about to grab it and extract Lex when it grabs an advanced looking weapon from a holster on its thigh and fires it.

Fires some sort of energy blast.

The sting...more than anything catches Superman by surprise. He hadn't expected that. He ends up tumbling backwards through the air, head over heels a couple of times before he rights himself. Where do people keep getting weapons like that?

Ok so this is not a person but whoever built it is.

He zips off in pursuit. Some aerial acrobatics to avoid the blasts and a few quips later and Superman swoops in and rips the weapon away. It's connected to the backpack which must provide the power required. He glides in under the astronaut, blocks a blow from its free hand. It's holding Lex in the other. He then smashes his own punch through the helmet, right through the face, destroying the CPU situated inside. He then grabs Lex in one hand and the robot in the other, tossing it away.

It lands on a car which explodes, taking the astronaut with it.

"That was my car!" Lex yells.

"Was it? Oops," Superman says with an only half meant sheepish grin.

Lex glares. Of all the inconsiderate, meatheads...

Doesn't take a genius to imagine that after this the meeting is postponed for another day. Superman drops Lex off, leaving the man to walk home since his car is wrecked. Clark isn't feeling as guilty as he probably should about that.

He returns to the town hall and picks up the cowboy head he severed off and examines it with his varying visions before the police have a chance to seize it.

Chloe is examining the gun he brought back. "I've seen this...or something like this before," she says.

Clark had already scanned the weapon. It vaguely resembled Sentinel technology which would explain how it is a directed energy weapon. "Where?" he asks her about where she saw it because that could mean this is related.

"A couple of weeks back. There was this guy...uh, Bloodsport we call him now," Chloe begins to explain.

"Van McNulty?" Clark queries. He had both read and chatted to Chloe about it.

Chloe nods. Van McNulty was the son of a retired marine. Shortly after Clark left Smallville for Bayville he went about trying to assassinate all the meteor mutants, even tried to kill Lex. The MRD(before they were called that) caught him and he was sent to Belle Reve. He, like all the others, was freed when Magneto wrecked the place after the reveal of mutants. Magneto didn't realise he was freeing a mutant hunter. No-one had seen or heard of him since until two weeks ago he showed up in Metropolis in this white armour get-up with a red cross on the chest, like he was some sort of crusader knight or something. He wielded this hand-held energy weapon, similar to what Chloe is now holding and his soul purpose seemed to be to try and kill Nightwing. He came pretty close in fact. Closer than Andrea would care to admit but she put him down in the end. Chloe was there and when he was unmasked she recognised him as Van McNulty.

"Only problem is he didn't talk about where he got his gear from," Chloe mentions.

"Do you have any idea?"

Chloe shakes her head in the negative. "No...but Andrea and myself do know some members of the Friends of Humanity had been giving him shelter since his escape. You think they were behind this?"

"Doesn't seem their style does it? 3 dressed up robots? If they were behind this they would try and make it look like mutants did it."

Chloe had to nod in agreement. This didn't seem like the FOH's style.

Clark returns to examining his robot head, peering down, magnifying as far as his vision can go, to the internal circuitry.

Off to the side Beast and the Professor are talking.

"Did you notice?" Beast wonders.

"They were going straight for Lex," Charles did indeed notice. The moment they walked in they made a beeline for him.

"Yeah, well, he does make a lot of enemies," Lois points out, overhearing their conversation. Trust her she knows. She must spend half her time investigating something Lex Luthor related. Want to bet he's part of the cover-up of those aliens she met.

"True," Hank concedes.

Charles sighs. He doesn't know what this means for assisting Lilandra now. It really depends who is behind this.

"Uh oh," Superman suddenly mumbles, his eyes widening.

"Professor Xavier," Chloe calls out. "Superman's got something," she informs them of what she can guess his expression means.

Charles, Hank and Lois move over.

"So whatcha got big guy?" Lois asks, her usual hint of flirtatiousness in her voice. Hey, he's a good looking guy.

"I know what they are and who is behind this," Superman relays, his voice kinda grave sounding.

"How?" Hank inquires for an explanation.

"I recognise the circuitry design in the CPU. I've seen it before."

"So who built these robots?" the Professor asks.

"That's just it, Professor. They're not robots," Superman tries to explain what he has discovered.

"Then what are they?"

Superman's face and tone go extremely grave. "They're toys. It's him. He's back."

"Who?"

"The Toyman."

Author's Note: Hooray! Toyman's back! No, wait, that's not a good thing. I've been impatiently waiting ages to get myself to this point where I brought Toyman back. It's been in my head for ages. You know you look up Bloodsport online and generally Van McNulty gets mentioned as probably being a Smallville version of him so I decided to just go ahead and literally make him that. There was a time I had a whole chapter planned around what I reduced to a paragraph here about him targeting Nightwing and Superman aiding her. In the end I felt it too distracting and unnecessary from the main plot plus Andrea needs to fight and win her own battles. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; Relic part 4 as Clark tries to deal with Toyman's return.