"You lost him, Barry?" Caitlin asked once Barry and Cisco subtly told Caitlin and Astrid the news while Martha slipped out to make some fresh tea.
Astrid shook her head. "No, you didn't lose him… He's looking over some bridge and contemplating what you told him."
"Wow, you just read his thoughts like that?" Barry asked, "You really didn't have to channel your powers or anything."
Astrid smiled. "No, I didn't. Because we're in the country. There's a lot less people which makes things a whole lot easier. The mind channel isn't so chaotic when scanning."
Cisco smiled at her. "It's a big difference from the city, huh? Less commotion, less traffic… less mental chaos. You actually look relaxed."
Astrid stared up at the smiling Cisco. "Yeah, what's your point?" she wondered.
"Oh no, point… I just think that the country would be a great place to raise a child. Especially if we were to be dealing with a telepath."
Astrid studied Cisco cautiously, thinking over what he had just said. "We're not leaving Central City, Cisco. We're not even married yet… We haven't even talked about having kids… God! Can we just get back to the matter at hand? I have to focus! I need to reason with Clark!" She stepped away from her friends leaving Cisco feeling uncomfortable by what she had just told him. He shrugged his shoulders, but he was not done by a long shot.
After a few moments, Astrid and Martha had both returned.
"Would you all like some more tea?" Mrs Kent asked.
"I would love to Martha, but I just spoke with Clark. He is ready for us to speak with him now." Astrid said.
"I'd like some tea!" Cisco said, brushing off his friends. "I could really use some downtime."
"Well, while you stay here, Cisco… Astrid, Caitlin and I will go and speak with Clark." Barry said.
Cisco nodded and sent a look in Astrid's direction.
"Would you mind telling him that he has chores to do this afternoon?" Martha asked.
Caitlin nodded. "Of course, we can. We will see you soon, Mrs Kent."
"Likewise."
While Cisco followed Martha to the kitchen, Barry took the others to meet with Clark on the bridge.
"What was with you and Cisco?" Caitlin asked once they were out of earshot.
Astrid shrugged. "I don't know where any of that even came from. How could he even think about leaving Central City? We have a…"
She was cut off by Barry raising his hand and looking over at Clark who was waiting for them by edge of the bridge.
"Clark, I apologize for scaring you earlier." Barry said, "can we talk?"
Clark nodded and took a step forward. "I should apologize for leaving earlier when I did. I've met many people who were affected by the meteor and it hasn't always turned out so well. My friend has even been recording them on this wall at school. She calls it the 'wall of weird.' But you… you seem so confident. Almost like you have your powers under control or something."
Barry nodded. "Yeah, it's because we kind of do. You see, during the time that Smallville has been quarantined… since you have all been ageing…"
"We haven't all been ageing… That's how we found out that Lionel Luthor was behind it… But we could never get enough proof to expose him."
Astrid, Barry, and Caitlin nodded. They were not surprised by tha.t
"Like I was saying," Barry continued. "We have had the time to practice with our powers. We were here once… We uncovered the truths about Smallville, about the meteor shower… and about you. We know that you were brought here to earth, and we know that the rock that came with you caused us to change."
"We also met your cousin!" Caitlin declared.
Clark looked at them with a mixture of amazement and shock. "How…how is that even possible? I thought…"
Astrid nodded and wiped away a few tears. "It's true, Clark. I read her mind myself. She allowed me to… Just as you allowed me to earlier. You trust me. You see I met your mother before when we came to Smallville. I also… I lost somebody… In fact, thanks to this meteor shower, we have all lost somebody. But we have gained so much more. Kara… she gained a family."
Barry nodded. "and she gained us as allies too… we helped her out of this situation where there were people exploiting metahumans for their own sadistic measures."
Astrid gave Barry a look, asking that he not proceed with that conversation. So he listened.
Clark pressed his body against the railing of the bridge. "this is unbelievable! I thought I was alone! Can you… Can you take me to see her?"
Caitlin smiled, "of course, we can, Clark. But we also want to reach out to you. We want to help you…"
"Well, well, well…" the abrupt voice of a man interfering in their conversation made them all stop. A bald-headed man, the same from the news report earlier had approached them. "Clark, fancy seeing you here… At the site of our accident for the fifth time this week."
Clark grew silent and Barry, Astrid and Caitlin stood beside him, facing the man known as Lex Luthor. Astrid remembered him as Lionel's son, only so much older. One year in Smallville certainly had done wonders on its people.
She didn't trust him. In fact, she trusted him even less than she had his father. She focused on his mind where she hit a wall. She tried to push past that wall which only ended in her suffering from a serious headache.
She tried to conceal her sudden migraine. Whatever this man was armed with was strong. Not only could she not read his mind, but to even try to do so, caused her an unbelievable amount of pain.
"Astrid Sutherland…" Lex said stepping toward her with an outstretched hand. "You're more beautiful than I imagined. My father spoke highly of you and MR Oliver Queen.
Astrid glanced at Barry and Caitlin, wondering what Lionel might have said about her. She needed to play ball, even though she didn't trust him. She shook his hand and said "likewise."
"Oh, I highly doubt that… you see, I was nothing more than a scourge to my father. His final words before he died was that I was the biggest disappointment in his life… I guess that's something that we have in common."
"What is?" she asked him sternly.
"Oh, that our fathers are both dead… They both died to the effects of the meteor." As Lex spoke he glanced over at Clark and then back at Astrid.
"How did your father die, exactly?" Barry asked him.
Lex turned to face Barry. "Suicide… He jumped from the top of Luthorcorp… His mission drove him to madness. You know what they say about genius and madness being opposite sides of the same coin."
The group grew silent. This man was more intimidating than any foe they had ever faced in the past. What made him all the more eerie is that they couldn't work out his agenda. Not to mention, Astrid's inability to read his mind.
Nonetheless, Lex looked back at Clark. Lex was roughly a few years older than the boy but the power, expensive suits and the ego made the age gap seem so much larger.
"I do believe that Lana invited you out with us tonight, Clark… I hope to see you there."
Clark nodded, meekly at the man. Lex gave a final smile and a nod to the rest of them and left in the black limousine that he had climbed out of.
Astrid, Clark, Barry and Caitlin let loose a sigh of relief that he was gone.
"Did anyone else get that vibe about that guy?" Barry wondered.
Astrid nodded. "Clark, you cannot trust him! Lionel was into some pretty heavy things when we came here last time."
Clark looked at them. "What are you talking about? I know Lex. He might come off as a bit of a jerk. But it's just his way."
"You don't understand…" Astrid stammered. "I couldn't read his mind… There was just something off about him."
"You tried to read his mind?" Clark asked. "You can't just do that to people… I don't know if you're aware of this… but that is an invasion of privacy!"
Without giving them the chance to explain, Clark was gone again.