Chapter 16

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"So, how are you going to convince your parents?" Jodi asked Abigail as they both sat at the small café.

"I'm not going to do anything." Chloe came to their table with their orders. "Thanks."

"What's the plan?" Chloe asked her this time.

"The plan is to let my grandmother do all the convincing." Abby smirked. "There's one person in this world, my father cannot really say no to. And that's grandmother; Felicia Jackson."


Felicia Jackson, just like her granddaughter Abigail, was a redhead. Her once fiery red hair, was now adorned with streaks of white hair. No longer at the head of Jackson Pharmaceuticals, Felicia was enjoying her years of retirement away from the city. Now, living in the small town of Midvale, Felicia enjoyed baking and gardening. But most of her time was spent sitting with her friends, around a table, enjoying their tea or alcohol, gossiping about the people in town.

Felicia loved both of her granddaughters. But it would be a lie to say that she did not favor Abby more than she favored Patricia. So, of course, when her granddaughter Abby called for her help, she answered.


"Leroy, your daughter needs stability." Felicia sat across her son in the kitchen. Both Abby and Patricia were in her bedroom playing videogames. "Changing schools every year certainly doesn't help with that."

"Felicia, please, we're only trying to protect her." Margaret placed a cup in front of Felicia. "Smallville isn't as safe as we thought. She may expose herself without meaning to."

"Neither is Metropolis." Felicia pointed out.

"Mom, Smallville is riddled with people who possessed special abilities," Leroy said to Felicia. "Abigail had been involved with some of them, at the risk of exposing herself to others. We can't risk for her to be discovered."

"Leroy, sweetie, I know that." Felicia laid a hand on her son's hands. "But are you planning to move her every time she's at risk of being discovered?" Leroy glanced up at his wife. "Listen, I understand you only wish to protect her, I do too. But she deserved a normal teenage life. And so does her sister."

"They can have that in Metropolis." Leroy retorted.

"Abigail already has it in Smallville." Felicia replied. "And Patricia could benefit from a stable life with her sister."

"So, now we should move both of our daughters in Smallville?" Leroy stood up.

"You could all move to Smallville." Felicia smiled at her son. "Since you are so worried about her exposing herself, you might as well be with her to make sure she doesn't."

A smirk appeared on Margaret's lips as she turned to her husband. "Your mother is making a good argument."

"Of course, she does." Leroy exhaled. "Abby put you up to this, didn't she?"

"Your daughter takes after me." Felicia said proudly.

"Why is she so adamant on staying in Smallville?"

"Why are you so adamant on moving her back to Metropolis?" Leroy glared at his mother. "Don't look at me in that tone, young man." Felicia stood up and joined her son by the sink. "Abigail is exceptional. But Leroy, you can't keep her away from the rest of the world because of it."

"I should just let her get into trouble because of it?" Leroy asked his mother.

"No, teach her." She retorted. "Teach her how to use her powers for good. The more she knows about them, the better prepared she will be. Your daughters, Abigail and Patricia are destined to do great things. So, teach them both."

Leroy looked down at his mother. "I'm trying to do the right thing."

"I know." Felicia nodded. "And she knows it too. But maybe the right thing for you is not the right thing for her."

The right thing for Abby. What was the right thing for Abby? His mother was right, his daughter was born gifted. She was extraordinary. Was asking her to conceal and hide her powers was the right thing for her? Probably not. The right thing was probably to teach her how to be better with her powers. Better in hiding them. And as for Patricia, it was not her burden to carry. But Abby would need someone in her corner. Someone who knew.


"Alright, young girl, we need to talk." Her father said stepping into her room.

"About what?" Abigail sat on her bed.

"First, tell me—" He pulled a chair and sat in front of her. "Why do you want to stay in Smallville?"

"I—I don't know." She shrugged. "I have friends there. Real ones. Pete, Chloe—"

"Clark." Her father finished for her. "Do you—like him?"

Abby frowned up. "What?"

"You know—like you liked Luke?"

"Dad!" Abby exclaimed, blushing. "It's not like that. Not with Clark. We're just really good friends." Her father nodded quietly. "Look, I get that you want to protect me. I do. But you are going to drop me here in Metropolis and then you, mom and Particia will be gone for the rest of the year. I am going to be alone with no friends. So, if this is going to be the case, I want to be surrounded by friends. At least, it will make the whole living alone thing bearable."

Leroy took his daughter's hand in hers. "Abby, we are not going anywhere. It's gonna be all four of us together."

"We were already together before you sent me to Smallville." Abby reminded him. "And then you promised to visit me and you rarely did. You've abandoned me in Smallville because I'm different. And I can't change that." Her eyes were welling up with tears.

Leroy pulled Abby in his arms. She clung to her father. "I'm sorry we made you feel that way, sweetie. It was never meant to be like that. I'm so sorry." He pulled away slightly and looked down at her. "I'll admit we went at this the wrong way. But don't believe for one second that we've abandoned you and especially because you are different. You are our daughter, Abigail. And we will never abandon you. Never." He brushed her hair away from her temple. "We'll do better this time around. I promise."

"Okay." Abby nodded.

"So—now that's been clarified." Her father smiled at her. "Your mother and I came to an agreement. It was brought to our attention that in spite of you being extraordinary, you deserve a normal teenage life. You know with all the angst, the rebellion and the—boys." He sneered at the last part. Abby smiled. "We will give it to you, the normal teenage experience. All of it. So, you're going back to Smallville and we're coming with you."

"Really?!" Abby grinned widely. "All of us?"

"Yes, all of us." Leroy nodded. "But there will be rules for you and Patricia. And as for getting involved in the bizarre events of Smallville, we'll try to keep it to a minimum, okay, young lady?"

"I'll do my best." Abby chuckled after her dad flicked her nose.

Abigail Jackson was coming back to Smallville as she had wished. This time around, she was accompanied not only by Myrtle but by her parents and her sister; Patricia. Her father was still at the head of Jackson Pharmaceuticals and would have to go back to Metropolis from time to time. However, Abby wondered what sort of rules her father would come up with.


"I have to go!" Abby said as the bell rang.

"You're gonna be late," Patricia called after her.

"Yeah? And whose fault is that?" She called over her shoulder.

Patricia was starting her freshman year in Smallville High while Abby was now a sophomore. Both sisters were now going to the same school again. Abby had expected her sister to be unhappy about the move to Smallville. Surprisingly, she wasn't. Patricia was in fact quite happy with the move. Before Abby had moved to Smallville, both sisters were not particularly close, but not entirely hated each other. Since then, they had grown closer. More than ever. Although, Abby suspected that her sister was only glad she was moving closer to Clark.

Abigail was right on time. She followed the last student in and sat besides him at the back of the class.

"Good morning, I'm Ms. Atkins." The biology teacher walked in. She was a tall, slender woman. Long dark haired and sharp cheekbones. Her floral dress was almost see-through and quite short. Which made her raise her eyebrows. "I'm really sorry about the air conditioning in here. But it looks like we're gonna have to suffer through this together." She pulled down the blinds. "Let's get ready for a movie. Everybody, try to stay awake."

Stay awake, the teacher said. Easier said than done. Abigail had never suffered through a heatwave before but there was a first time for everything. Adding to the heavy heat, the documentary they had to watch. It was all about reproduction in the animal kingdom. A boring documentary that did not make it easy to keep her eyes open. It was quite a normal first day. Quite a normal first day until the screen went up in flames.

Every student in the class sprang up from their seats, running towards the door in a panic.

"Okay, everybody, walk, do not run." Ms. Atkins instructed them. "Leave your books. Let's go!"

The whole school was evacuated, and the firemen were called. The students were to stay in the parking lot until it was safe for them to go back in. Abby did not see how the fire started and she did not stay behind to help. Her father was quite reluctant for her to come back to Smallville and she was not about to give him another reason to be.


"What do you think started the fire?" Abby asked Chloe and Lana as she walked up to them.

"Abby, you're back," Chloe exclaimed as she hugged her friend.

"So, are you." Abby chuckled.

"My father decided to give another chance to LuthorCorp. So, here I am." Chloe explained quickly.

"Hey, Abby." Lana smiled at her.

"Hey, Lang." Abby smiled back before pulling her into a hug. "I did miss you." She confessed. Lana laughed in response. "So, is it possible the extreme heat started that fire in biology?" Abby asked after she pulled away from Lana.

"Unlikely but not impossible." Chloe retorted. "At least, Clark was there to put it out as usual."

"He has a tendency to do that." Lana agreed as both girls were looking at Clark. The latter was standing with Pete. Abby rolled her eyes at both girls.

"Yeah, he does." She exhaled. "I'm gonna say hello to the boys."

Abby smiled at Chloe and Lana before walking towards Clark and Pete. She had missed all of her friends, even Lana Lang with whom she did not have that much of a relationship. She didn't like Lana still but she was warming up to the girl. It was hard not to.

Abby quickly placed her hand over Pete's eyes. "Guess who?"

"Abby!" Pete turned around grinning and hugged the girl.

"Happy to see you too, my guy!" Abby pulled away from him.

"Hey, Abs." Clark grinned widely and pulled her into him.

"Hey, Clarkie." She smiled. "I hear we have you to thank for putting out the fire." Clark pulled away. "Always the hero, I see."

"Well, you know me." He smirked.

"So, you were able to convince your parents to let you stay in Smallville?" Pete asked her.

"Well, I had some help from my grandmother and it worked better than expected." Abby nodded. "See, my father moved our entire family to Smallville. So, Clark—"

"Good morning, Clark!" Patricia joined them, lacing her arm with Clark's immediately.

"Unbelievable." Abby shook her head in disbelief.

"Hey, Patricia!" Clark smiled at the younger Jackson.

"You remember Pete?" Abigail drew her attention to her friend.

"Oh, yes, how could I forget," Patricia replied with a smirk before winking at Pete.

"You need to be kept on a leash." Abby glared at her sister. "Don't go getting any ideas, Ross."

"Come on, Abby! I didn't do anything." Pete groaned and Clark snorted.

The rumbling of a sports car drew their attention. As the group turned to see who it was, they discovered that it was Lex Luthor.

"Lex." Clark smiled walking up to him as Lex climbed out of his car.

"I came as soon as I heard," Lex said rushing past them to greet their teacher. "Hi!"

"Hi!" She smiled before their lips met as they kissed each other.

"What the hell?" Abby exclaimed turning to her sister. Patricia looked as confused as she was.

"—Thanks to this young man right here." Miss Atkins pointed to Clark. "Clark, come here for a second." Clark walked up to the couple. "He was the only one that kept a cool head during the entire thing. He actually put the fire out."

"Why am I not surprised?" Lex smiled at Clark. "Clark, once again, I'm grateful."

"And I'm confused," Clark replied.

"And he's not the only one." Abby joined them.

"You're right, and I'm sorry," Lex smirked down at Abby before turning to Miss Atkins. "I'd like you to meet Desiree Atkins. My fiancée."

"Uh?!" Abby's jaw dropped.

"All clear. It's safe to go back into the building." One of the firefighters announced on the speakers.

"See you in class, Clark. Abby." And Miss Atkins left them to follow the high schoolers back into the building.

"Fiancée, huh?" Clark continued as Lex watched Desiree walk back inside. "I didn't even know you were seeing anyone. Are you sure about this?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," Lex assured him. "Oh, I was gonna have this messengered but since you're both here." He handed them both an envelope.

"It's a wedding invitation for tonight," Clark said surprised.

"That's quite fast," Abby commented after she read her invitation. "A little too fast."

Lex laughed her comment off. "I know it's short notice, but I was hoping you'd be my best man." Lex turned to Clark.

"Lex, I—I don't know what to say."

"I hope you'll say yes."

"Well, I'm surprised," Clark said. "And honored."

"Good."

"Okay." Abby nodded. "Your father must be thrilled."

"You know the man." Lex scoffed.

"Yes, unfortunately, I do."

"Will I see you there?" Lex asked Abby.

"Yes, I'll be there." She punched his shoulder lightly.

"Better get back to class." Lex walked to his car. "You never know when the next fire may erupt."

"I'm not the only one to think this is weird, right?"

"Maybe, he really is in love," Clark said back to Abby.

"Maybe." Abby sighed. "Still, it's a little weird and a little too fast."

Her first day back at school had gone pretty well. Except maybe for the fire in her biology class. It felt good to hang out with Pete again in the hallways or even to sit in the Torch office with Chloe. It felt good to be back in Smallville.


"Hello, my sweethearts!" Margaret greeted both her girls when they walked through the kitchen door. "How was school?"

"Good," Abby said before resting a kiss on her mother's cheek. "Hey, Myrtle!"

"Miss Abigail." Myrtle greeted back smiling.

"Yeah, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Patricia sat across from her mother. "Although, the fire in your biology class kinda set the tone for the rest of the day."

"A fire?" Margaret turned to her oldest daughter.

"Nobody got hurt, Mom," Abby reassured her mother. "Clark stopped it before it spread."

"What did Clark stop?" Her father walked into the kitchen.

"A fire in her biology class," Patricia said as her sister glared at her.

"A fire? What?"

"Dad, everything is fine. No one got hurt." Abby said again. "It was probably the heat that started it. So, nothing to worry about."

Her father dropped his arm around her shoulders and dropped a kiss on top of her head. "I'm not worried."

"Good." Abby looked up at him. "In other news, Lex Luthor is getting married tonight and I was invited to his wedding."

"Now, I'm worried." Leroy looked over at his wife.

"I didn't know Lex was seeing anyone." Margaret frowned up. "Or that he was even engaged."

"Well, he is quite sure about his choice." Abby retorted. "And you don't need to worry about me, I'll behave."

"It's not exactly what I'm worried about." Her father moved to sink.

"I know." She said, "So, it's okay if I go?"

Leroy sighed deciding on trusting his daughter. "You may go and Patricia is going with you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Abby hugged her dad tightly. "I love you."

"I love you too." He dropped another kiss on top of her head.


Dressed in a simple lavender dress, Abby stood by her sister; Patricia. Abigail had never attended a wedding before, this was her first time. She had imagined that the wedding reception for a billionaire such as Lex Luthor would be more extravagant and yet, was surprised to see that it was rather simple.

"What's up between Clark and Chloe?" Patricia suddenly asked her. Abby turned to see her sister observing Clark and Chloe speaking.

"That's the root of the problem. Nothing is going on between them." Abby sighed.

"But she is so in love with him," Patricia commented.

"I know and Clark loves Lana," Abigail said her eyes finding the young girl. The latter was wearing a blue dress. "And I think Lana loves him back."

"So messy." Patricia took a sip of her drink. "And yet, so fun."

"Of course, you would think it's fun." Abby snorted. "Now, what do we really think of this hasty wedding?"

"I think the term you are looking for is Shotgun wedding?" Patricia nodded seriously.

"You know what shotgun wedding means, right?"

"Well, this is the only explanation I have for this," Patricia explained. "Lex would never go into a wedding that fast."

"Maybe, she had the perfect sets of pheromones," Abigail suggested.

"What?"

"Chemistry. Some have it, others don't."

"Whatever." Patricia snorted.


"Pete, my dude!" Abby said as she laced her arm with his. "Do you know why Clark is not in school today?"

"Didn't you hear?" Pete retorted as they walked side by side in the hallways. "There was a fire in the Talon last night."

"Really?!" Abby exclaimed and stopped. "Is everyone okay?"

"It was just him and Lana but yeah, they're okay," Pete reassured her.

"Oh, good!" Abby was relieved to hear it. "Don't you think it's a little strange?" Abby resumed walking. "Two fires in closed spaces in two days."

"You know with the heatwaves, it's not entirely impossible." Pete shrugged.

"Still a little odd though."

"Careful, Abby, you start to sound like Chloe."

"Oh, come on, don't spoil my fun." Abby bumped her shoulder with his.


After school, Abby had every intention to go check in on Clark. Maybe, Pete was right. Maybe it was nothing. But this was Smallville, the town of the weird and meteor-infected people. And Clark was not unfamiliar with the strange happenings of the town. More times than not, Clark was involved in those strange happenings. Her plan was to visit him and ask him about what had happened at the Talon. However, once she arrived at her home, she saw her father and Myrtle were doing some heavy work in the barn.

"What's going on?" Abby stepped into the barn with her bag.

"Well, sweetheart, your grandmother brought to my attention that the only way to keep you safe is to teach you." Her father grunted as he lifted up a sandbag to the ceiling.

"Teach me?"

"Yes." Her father came to her, a little out of breath. "See, you possess exceptional gifts. An enhanced strength, enhanced reflexes, and enhanced healing." He dropped his arm around Abby's shoulders. "Now, the enhanced healing is something that happened unconsciously. Your body does it naturally. Every time you are wounded or sick it will just restore itself."

"I know how it works but thanks for clarifying it for me." Abby looked up at her father.

Leroy playfully glared at her. "There are different stages of enhanced healing or as I love to call it, a regenerative healing factor. Which, believe it or not, exists in nature. For instance, starfish possess this regenerative healing factor and are capable of regrowing their arms."

"You are not going to teach me how to regrow an arm?" Abby pulled away from him quickly.

"Oh, no!—no, we are not going to do this," Leroy reassured her quickly. "My point was this ability is keeping you in a very good physical shape, you are constantly reverting to a healthy state. Which means nigh-inexhaustible stamina and vitality."

"Okay."

"Meaning, there's not much I can teach you about it. It's a natural biological response." Her father continued; Abby glanced at Myrtle who smirked back at her amused by their interactions. "Now, the enhanced strength and reflexes, I can teach you something about those."

"Such as?"

"Well, first we would have to determine how strong you really are. Then, teach you how to restrain this strength. I also will teach you how to master those enhanced reflexes of yours."

"I thought I was supposed to stay hidden."

"Oh, you will." Her father confirmed. "But you have a tendency to get involved in the crazy and odd events of Smallville. So, I might as well, teach you how to use those powers so, first you can help as many people as you wish. And second, you won't get caught."

Abby grinned slowly. "Are you teaching me to be some sort of a superhero?"

"It depends—is that what you want to be?"

"I never really thought about it." Abby shrugged. "I just think—if I have those powers, I should use them to do some good."

"Then I'll teach you to do just that."


After some snacks, her father dragged her and her sister back into the barn. There, her father and Patricia observed and studied the results of the several tests she went through. Various tests of her strength, her enhanced reflexes, her level of endorphins, and other things of the sort. Abby did not mind. Her father was finally doing what he had claimed to do all those years, learning more about her powers. And she could see that Patricia loved being included in this. Her sister listened to her father carefully and asked questions when she was confused. It was not just about her; it was also about Patricia. Her father was teaching them both about her powers.

Patricia was happy that her father included her in Abby's training. It felt as though her father was finally trusting her with Abby's secret. Patricia had always wanted them to trust her. And Leroy was doing just that. Trusting his youngest to protect the secret of his oldest. This was a lot of responsibility to shoulder for his young daughter and more so for Abby. But it was a necessity.


"Hey, Clarkie! Hey, Chloe!" Abby greeted her two friends as she stepped into the Torch.

"Hey!" Chloe greeted back with a smile.

"What are you doing?" Abby pulled a chair to sit on the other side of Clark.

"Nothing really," Clark replied.

"It doesn't look like nothing," Abby said looking back at the screen. "So, we don't trust Ms. Atkins?"

"I find it strange that Lex got married so fast," Clark explained.

"I hear you." Abby nodded.

"Oh, so the new Mrs. Luthor has an alias. That's interesting." Chloe said.

"You know, what would you say if I told you Ms. Atkins aka Alison Sanders showed up at my loft last night and…tried to seduce me?"

"I'd say you were living the voyeuristic fantasy of every male student in this school." Chloe smiled teasingly at him. "Clark, she just married Lex. Why would she possibly be interested in you?"

"Thanks," Clark replied.

"I think you are missing the point, Chloe," Abby said. "This is inappropriate. She is a teacher and Clark's a student. She has no business being in his loft last night."

"Look, she was dissing Lex saying he was the only thing standing between her being with me." Clark continued turning his gaze on Abby.

"Okay, you know this is quickly going from merely nauseating to genuinely disturbing," Chloe said.

"Chloe, I'm not making this up." Clark defended. "She's got some strange hold on Lex."

"Gee, I wonder what that could be."

"I'm serious. It's more than the fact that she's hot." Clark stood up.

"Clark, this is Lex Luthor we're talking about. Don't you think he considered all the unfortunate possibilities before saying I do?" Chloe suggested.

Abby stood up to follow Clark. "Well, there is only one way to find out, right?"

"Will you keep digging?" Clark asked Chloe.

"Yeah, sure." Chloe took Clark's spot in front of the computer. "Where there's smoke, there's fire. Excuse the aphorism."

"Speaking of fire—" Abby walked alongside Clark in the school hallways. "What happened at the Talon?" Clark looked down at her but remained quiet. "Clark, you can tell me. Come on, it's me."

"I know, it's you," Clark smirked back at her as they neared his truck.

She rolled her eyes as she climbed into his truck. "Do we need to worry about those instantaneous fires?"

"Not anymore." Clark grinned back at her.


"Clark, I've been expecting you." Lex greeted them as soon as they stepped into his parlor.

"Really?" Abby looked up at Clark.

"You can save the awkward silences." Lex continued as he turned around to face them. "Abby." He nodded towards the redhead.

"Lex." She nodded back.

"Desiree told me everything."

"Lex, I really don't know what to say." Clark started.

"All my life, I've had to second-guess the intentions of others. I've reached the point where I started to think that friends were a luxury I couldn't afford." Clark had moved closer to Lex while Abby remained behind him. "Till I met you, Clark. From the day you pulled me out of the river you've been the one person I could trust completely."

"I'm glad you feel that way, Lex."

"Maybe that's why I find your infatuation with my wife so troubling." Lex retorted.

"My infatuation?" Clark repeated confused. "Lex, I don't know what she told you but she came on to me." Abby moved closer to the pair.

"Huh, you expect me to believe that?" Lex scoffed at the idea. "Come on, I saw the way you looked at her the other day. She told me you'd been eyeing her in class."

"What happened to trusting him completely?" Abby frowned up. "Lex, you have to see this." Abby pulled out the information they had found on Ms. Atkins. "Desiree Atkins isn't her real name. Her real name is Alison Sanders."

"She grew up in Smallville." Clark continued. "I bet she didn't tell you that, did she?"

"No." Lex looked defeated.

"Well, if she didn't tell you the truth about that how can you believe anything she—"

"Because she's my wife, and I love her." Lex cut Clark off. "To be honest I was hoping for an apology, not more insinuations. I thought our friendship meant more for you Clark."

"It does."

"You can let yourself out," Lex said. Clark turned to leave. And Abby was about to follow him. "Is this how you're giving this friendship a second chance?"

"I am only looking out for you, Lex," Abby told him honestly. "And so, is Clark." Lex remained quiet. "She's lying to you, Lex. Just—be careful." And she turned to follow Clark out. Barely looking at Ms. Atkins as she walked by her.

"Well, that went well." Abby sighed as climbed back into Clark's truck.

"I don't understand, he knows she lied about her name and yet, he doesn't believe us." Clark shook his head, looking disappointed.

"It seems that Desiree might have a few tricks up her sleeve." Abby retorted. "We just need to find out what exactly. Before it's too late."


"Hey! What did your locker do to you?" Abby joked as she approached Lana. The latter had just slammed her locker shut as though it had offended her.

"Not in the mood, Abby," Lana replied.

"Come on, Lang! Tell us what's wrong?" Clark stood next to her.

"I've just been evicted from the Talon," Lana said angrily.

"What?" Clark exclaimed.

"Lex is using the fire to justify taking back the building."

"No, he can't do that. It wasn't your fault." Clark argued as they followed her through the hallways.

"He knows that. He was just looking for an excuse." Lana continued. "People warned me about doing business with him. When I saw how hard he fought to keep the plant open I actually thought he's changed."

"Look, Lana, you brought the Talon back from nothing." Clark reminded her. "It means everything to you."

"And this proves it was never really mine." Lana countered before leaving.

"She's right, you know." Abby exhaled deeply as she watched Lana walk away. Desiree was there pinning things on the board. "Clark, don't." Clark ignored and walked up to their teacher. "This isn't going to end well."

"Hello, Clark." Desiree greeted Clark smirking. Abby stood next to him. "Abigail." She barely glanced at the girl. "Lana looked upset. Did she tell you what happened?"

"Yeah, she mentioned that Lex is closing the Talon and somehow I think it wasn't completely his decision," Clark said.

"Well, you're right," Desiree replied. "We made the decision as a couple. I wanted to prove a point."

"To who? Lana?" Clark asked her.

"No, Clark, to you." She answered. "I want you to understand something. I can control the people in your life. I had Lex close down the Talon in a heartbeat. Imagine what would happen if I turned him against this town, your friends, your parents, or Abby." Abby glared at her.

"I won't let you do that," Clark warned her. "I'm not gonna back off. And I'll find a way to get through to Lex." Clark walked away and pulled Abby behind him.

"She just threatened us, right?" Abby asked.

"Yeah, she did," Clark replied.

"I'm curious, how does she do it?" Abby continued. "How does she control people?"


Desiree had stayed true to her words since Clark had promised to not back off. She made sure he could no longer interfere. She had accused him of burning down her car. And Clark had been arrested.

Abby had told everything to her father about Desiree Atkins and the mysterious hold she had on Lex. Needless, he was not happy to hear that as soon as they came back to Smallville. His daughter had a way to find trouble. He was all the more displeased to learn that Clark was also involved in this. His daughter had assured him that she did not come back because of Clark. She swore that Clark was only a friend but he had serious doubts. And Leroy did not like that Clark and his daughter were so close.

Against her father's wishes, Abigail left her house early to meet up with Chloe and Lana. The three girls had decided to visit Clark in custody and let him know what Chloe had found out about Desiree Atkins.


"Sorry we didn't have time to bake a file into a cake." Chloe said as soon as they were let in.

"How are you holding up?" Lana asked him.

"Huh, aside of being accused of being a serial arsonist and trying to sleep with my best friend's wife. I'm great." Clark replied.

"We've got good news." Lana smiled up at him. "Chloe followed up on your Alison Sanders clue."

"Apparently our vixen known as Alison was popular with the Smallville boys even as a teenager." Chloe continued.

"Get this," Abby pulled out an article from the Ledger. "She was with her boyfriend when the meteors hit."

"The Ledger article doesn't cover it but I let your mind wander as to what they were doing in the truck by the lake." Chloe added.

"Couple of weeks later, he lost it." Lana kept on. "And murdered her parents. Desiree inherited everything."

"Fast forward five years. Desiree is now a teacher. She marries a wealthy shipping executive only to see him offed by one of her moonstruck high school students."

"Same confession, same denial six hours later."

"The classic black widow scenario." Abigail took over. "Except, after murder number two, our black widow made the unfortunate decision to invest in dot coms. She lost all of her money. Now, completely broke, she set her eyes on one Lex Luthor."

"So, she tried to seduce me to kill him." Clark concluded, his eyes on Abby. "Well, why'd she think I'd do it?"

"Pheromones." Abby replied.

"Abs."

"Clark, it only makes sense. Think about it, she was in the throes of major passion when the meteors hit." Abby told him. "We know what effect the meteor rocks can have on people. In her case, it seems it had enhanced her levels of pheromone. Which explains why Lex married her so quickly or why he listened to her rather than believe you."

"Lucky for us, Clark Kent seems to be immune to some members of the opposite sex." Chloe said. Abby could only roll her eyes as she felt the tension rose.

"Time's up, girls." The Sheriff came to collect them.

"Okay," Lana whispered as the three started for the door.

"Hey, my dad went to go see Desiree," Clark said quickly. "I gotta get out of here."

Abby reached out to grab his hand. "I'll see what I can do." She whispered to him. "Just hang in there, okay?" She grabbed Lana's arm on her way out. "You two go to school, I'll join you there."

"Where are you going?" Chloe asked her.

"I'm gonna check on Mr. Kent. Make sure everything's alright."

Before any of the girls could protest, Abigail rushed to her car. She drove straight to the Luthor's manor as fast as she could. If Mr. Kent had come in contact with Desiree, that was where he would be. Her goal was to get rid of Lex to inherit his fortune. And at the same time, she would put a good man behind bars. Abigail had to get there before it was too late. So, she floored it.

Abigail burst through the door that led into the parlor. Clark was already there, his father on the ground unconscious. Lex was walking up to Desiree; the latter smashed a bottle on his back. Lex fell to the ground. Abby sprung into action before Desiree could do any more damage. She grabbed the arm of the Black Widow and twisted it behind her back before pushing down her face into the table.

"How's married life treating you, Lex?" Abby asked as Desiree struggled against her grip. Lex only glared at her from the ground. "Your dad's okay?" Clark nodded and let out a long breath.


"Alright, why a punch machine? And where did you get one?" Abby asked her father as she sat next to her sister on a bench in their barn.

"It doesn't matter how I got one." Leroy groaned. "And we need to see how strong you truly are." He pulled her off of the bench.

"I thought we already tested that."

"This is more to train you than anything else." Leroy said as he tapped a few keys on his device. "So, try not to break it."

"I'll do my best."

"Hit it as hard as you can."

Abigail did as she was told and hit it as hard as she could. With all the strength she could muster. The machine announced that it was a knockout. It didn't go higher than 999 points but the balloon had deflated.

"So much for not breaking it," Patricia commented.

"He did say as hard as I could."

"And it's very impressive." Leroy was checking out his screen.

"What's that?" Abby asked checking the screen herself.

"This is a dynamometer. It can measure your strength by combining a lot of other values. Because power is not measured directly. We must calculate from torque, angular velocity, force, and linear velocity—"

"It sounds complicated," Abby said slowly.

"It is." Leroy took pity on her. "All you need to know is that we can train you to reign in your strength."

"But that would ask a lot of self-control."

"And that's exactly the point," Leroy said to his daughter. "You have abilities that you need to control. The more control you have over them, the more you'll blend in."