Chapter 31 - Search

Clark was mostly quiet on the drive back to the mansion from the hospital. He was happy for Lex, and for Pamela, but it felt like a tall order. They needed to find a cure for Pamela's condition before her illness took her life. They'd probably have to call more scientists onto their team. He was becoming more comfortable with that idea, because there was no real chance the research team would connect the meteor rocks to Clark; they didn't have any reason to suspect him. But even at that, it felt daunting.

The research team would do most of the work in coming up with the cure, but Clark knew he and Lex would still need to take initiative and come up with some ideas themselves.

Clark knew that if he were in a situation like Lex was in, with someone he cared about dying, he would ask his parents for advice. He felt a flicker of sympathy for Lex, realizing his friend didn't have that option.

Lex didn't speak, either, on the drive back to the mansion. Clark might have expected him to be happy, or relieved—he had driven to the hospital with the expectation that he would be watching his old mentor die, and she was still alive. But Lex just looked exhausted.

"You okay?" Clark asked.

Lex gave a slight smile. "Better than I've been in awhile."

Clark frowned. He didn't seem better. "Lex . . . you don't want to hear this, but . . . she could still die."

"You think I don't know that?" Lex sighed. "I'm not giving up on her yet."

"Of course not. Just . . ." Clark leaned back against the head rest. "I don't know where to look next."

"We keep digging. We see if we can get tissue samples from a few more people, we collect more meteor rocks, run more tests."

"And if it's not enough?"

Lex's jaw pulsed. "I'm open to suggestions, Clark."

Clark lowered his head, wracking his brain for something else he could try. "You know Miller's field?"

"What about it?"

"It's where my ship crash landed. If you search the crash site, you might find something useful."

Lex nodded slowly. "That's a big job for one person."

"I'd offer to help, but there'll probably be quite a few meteor rocks in the area."

"I'd have to bring a team of scientists."

"You could tell them you're just inspecting the land, like you're thinking of buying it."

"It might put them in danger of mutation."

"No more than they're already in, living in Smallville," Clark said. "But if you're that worried about it, they could wear Hazmat suits."

Lex shrugged. "It's worth a look."

The next morning, Clark came down from his room to find his father sitting at the kitchen table, staring down at a check.

Clark sat down across from him. "Everything okay, Dad?"

His dad lowered the check, slipping it into his pocket. "It's fine."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just . . ." His dad looked away. "Lex Luthor sent us a check. For the livestock."

"But that wasn't his fault!"

His dad's eyes narrowed.

Right. That was the wrong argument to make. "Um, that's good that he's paying you back."

"I don't know if I'm going to deposit it, Clark."

"But . . ." That was so much worse. Lex didn't deserve to have to pay for the damages to the farm land, but he'd take Clark's dad refusing the money as a much deeper insult. "Dad, you don't want to upset him. I mean, he knows my secret, right? We have to kind of . . . stay on his good side."

"His good side."

Clark sighed. "We don't want to make him angry."

His father sighed and nodded. "Okay. You're right. I'll stop by the Savings and Loan after we deliver the feed."

Clark grinned. His internship check wasn't enough to make a huge difference on the farm after the loss of the cattle; this would help the farm, and it would make Lex happy.

Clark didn't think about the fact that making the feed delivery would mean passing by Miller's field. Lex was already there, with a team of scientists in Hazmat suits.

The truck screeched to a stop. Clark winced and glanced up at his dad, whose face was turning red as he climbed out of the truck.

"Dad, what are you doing?"

"This is where your ship crashed." His dad trudged toward the field.

Clark trotted to keep up. "Lex couldn't possibly know that."

But Clark's dad was ignoring him. He'd already reached the edge of the field and caught Lex's eye; Lex came over to greet them. "Morning, Mr. Kent. Morning, Clark."

"What do you think you're doing, Lex?"

Lex took another step toward them, his brow furrowed. "I'm considering buying this land for a pilot agricultural project, but I wanted to test the soil first. Standard operating procedure."

"Since when does standard operating procedure include metal detectors and Hazmat suits?"

"To be honest, we learned there may have been a major meteor strike on the site."

Clark was surprised Lex had shared so much. Then he remembered that, as far as his dad knew, the only secret Lex knew was about Clark's invulnerability. Everything else, Clark had shared without his father's knowledge.

"Of course," Lex went on, "there's no proof the meteors are actually harmful, but—"

"It never hurts to dot your i's and cross your t's, right?" Venom dripped from his dad's voice.

Lex appeared unfazed by his tone. "As you're well aware, LuthorCorp's environmental record's taken some serious hits in recent weeks. Better safe than sorry. Is there a problem?"

"Dad?"

"The problem is, Lex, that what's good for LuthorCorp isn't always what's good for this town."

Clark had no idea what his dad was doing. He wasn't even making any sense.

A man in a Hazmat suit approached Lex. "Mr. Luthor?"

Clark's dad glared. "Looks like you've got business to attend to. Uh, Lex . . ." Clark's dad took out the check. "I've decided I can't accept your money."

"Mr. Kent, I don't understand."

"I wouldn't expect you would." He grabbed Lex's hand, pressed the check into his palm, and started back toward the truck.

Clark wanted to stay and talk to Lex, to apologize for his father's rudeness, but he couldn't let his dad see that. Instead, he hurried to catch up to his dad.

"Dad! Lex didn't deserve that. People test the land all the time."

His dad turned back toward him. "I know that, Clark. But this field is where your ship crashed down. If Lex's scientists find anything out here, they could trace it right back to you."

"How?"

His dad raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"How are they supposed to trace it back to me? What do you think they're going to find?"

"I don't know, Clark, but it's not worth the risk."

"But what does that have to do with Lex's check?"

"He's putting you in danger. Taking his money sends the message that I'm okay with that."

"No, it doesn't."

"Son." His dad gripped his arm. "You don't know about the Luthors."

"What do you know about Lex?"

"More than you do."

Clark didn't dare react to the irony. "You know about Lex's dad. But Lana says Lex has been great about the Talon. Maybe you should give him a chance."

"Clark." His grip on Clark's arm tightened. Clark winced in pain—they weren't close enough to the field for the meteor rocks to hurt him on their own, but he was close enough that he was a bit weaker than usual. "Lex hasn't been bothering you at the Talon, has he?"

"No. I've been avoiding him. Like you said."

"Good. If he bothers you—"

"I know, I know, if I don't avoid him, I'm grounded until I'm eighteen." Clark's grounding from the Club Zero incident had only recently ended.

"Well, yes. But if he bothers you, I'll press charges for the day he almost ran you over with his car. And I expect you to let me know if he does. Are we clear?"

Clark swallowed. "Crystal."

His dad nodded and let go of his arm. "Let's go home," he said.