Hey, guys!
So, I said in the last chapter that there was only going to be 12 chapters in part one. Yeah, it might be thirteen. I haven't decided yet, lol. It really depends on the pacing of the last chapter and whether or not the last scene or two fits.
I hope you enjoy chapter 11!
Chapter Eleven.
Lex paced around the room of the motel, his heart thudding wildly with every step.
He had no idea what he was doing, no idea what he was going to do. If he wasn't careful, the child would end up back in the lab and he and the Kent's would be dead.
He had to protect the child, but he didn't know how. He couldn't just take the child and move to a different country, starting a new life just wasn't an option for him. People would always recognize him.
There was a knock on the door, and Lex almost had a heart attack. He knew it was Martha and Jonathan, but there was still that little bit inside of him that warned him that it might not be.
Lex opened the door.
"Daddy!" The child exclaimed, then wrapped his arms around Lex's legs. For the first time since they had met, the show of affection didn't make Lex smile, it just made the painful pit in the bottom of his stomach grow deeper.
Lex picked him up, then looked at Martha and Jonathan. "C'mon in," he said. "Quickly."
"Lex, what's going on?" Martha asked. "Are you alright?"
Lex let out a sigh. He couldn't keep it a secret any longer. They needed to know.
"Sit down," he said. "I have something to confess, well… A lot of things actually…"
The two sat down on the edge of the bed, and stayed quiet as they waited for Lex to speak again.
Lex took a deep breath. He trusted them. Martha and Jonathan wouldn't hurt the child if they knew the truth. They would be confused, but not aggressive.
"This adorable kid right here isn't my son," Lex admitted. "I don't even know his real name."
Jonathan frowned. "Are you saying you kidnapped him?" He asked.
Lex blinked. That wasn't the reaction he had expected, but at the same time, he hadn't told them the child's true identity. "No," he said. "I rescued him from one of my father's labs."
When Martha and Jonathan stayed quiet, Lex continued. "He landed on Earth on the day of the meteor shower. My father found him and had a lab he owned conduct experiments on him," he said.
"So…" Martha started, her gaze moving off of Lex and to the child instead. "He's a alien?"
Lex nodded. "I have an entire folder about the experiments they did on him before I found him, I just didn't bring it…" He said. "Also, you two seem to be taking this really well."
Jonathan hesitated. "Well, we knew that weird things were happening in Smallville, but we didn't know why," he said. "At first, we thought it might have been the Luthorcorp plant, but…"
"But then we got to know you and we saw the measures you take to make sure that the plant doesn't cause any contamination to the town," Martha finished. "But aliens… We never would have guessed."
Lex chuckled softly. It was still a pretty crazy idea to him too. "Me neither, but here I am raising one…"
Martha slid off of the bed, then sat beside the child. "So, he really doesn't have a name?" She asked. Her voice was sad, as though the reality of the child's true life was almost too much for her to bear.
Lex nodded. "In the files, he was listed as 33.1, but that's it," he said. "I'm sure his birth parents gave him a name, but nobody knows what it is."
After a moment, Lex added. "I've just been calling him Buddy or Kiddo."
Martha nodded. "What all did they do to him?"
Lex shook his head. There was no way he was talking about this in front of the child. If just saying Lionel's name was enough to give him nightmares, then he was sure that talking openly about the tortures the child had been through would distress him more than necessary.
"We shouldn't talk about it in front of him," Lex said. He hoped they would take that as an acceptable answer.
"So, you said something bad was happening," Jonathan began. He too had gotten into the floor to play with the child. "That we were all in danger. What's going on?"
Lex sighed as he remembered what had gone down in his office earlier. It had been enough to throw the men off, but it wouldn't last long. They had a day or two at the most. A couple of hours at the least.
"Some of the men who worked at the lab broke into my house earlier and demanded that I give them the child," he said. "I was able to spin a couple of lies to get them off of the trail for a bit, but it won't last long."
Jonathan frowned. "How can we help?" He asked. "What do you want us to do?"
Lex looked at the child, then back at Martha and Jonathan. He wondered if he should have gotten them involved at all. He didn't mean to put them in any danger, but now it was too late… Everyone who had been involved with the child was now in danger.
"I guess…" Lex began, then stopped. "Just be ready for anything. They don't know that you know about the child or anything like that, they don't even know that I'm friends with you guys. I'm pretty sure you two are safe, but just keep alert."
"We'll do anything in our power to keep Clark safe," Martha said.
Jonathan frowned. "Clark?"
Martha nodded. "I think it fits. What do you think, Lex?"
Lex looked at the child. The name fit the little dark-haired alien. It was a name that was so average that it made the child's true origins seem almost laughable. It was a name that would make him blend into the small town like he had been born and raised there. No one would ever know that the child known as 33.1 was Clark unless they were told the truth. It was perfect.
"It's perfect," Lex said. "What do you think, Clark?"
The child looked up at him. "Me?"
Lex nodded. "Do you like the name?" He asked. "Do you want it to be yours?"
The child tilted his head for a minute, then nodded. "Clark."
Lex smiled, then looked down at his watch. A plan was slowly forming in his brain, but he felt like it was coming to him too slowly.
There were really only two options.
In the first one, he would go on the run with Clark until he properly dealt with everyone involved in Project 33.1. They would live in motels, swap license plates when needed. Clark would stay in the motel while Lex hunted them down while also keeping his day job. When everything was over and done, they would either come back to Smallville or live in Metropolis.
In the second one, they would just stay put in Smallville and deal with everyone that showed up as they came. It was a riskier plan though, one Lex wasn't sure he wanted Clark to be a part of. Keeping him in the mansion would be an idiotic move. Even just bringing him back right now was a stupid idea.
There was one thing that was clear though. There was a safe house for Clark. No one knew about Martha and Jonathan. No one even knew that the four of them had any sort of relationship. Anyone looking for Clark would look at places where the elite sent their children, not a small family farm in the middle of Smallville Kansas.
"I have one favor to ask of you," Lex said.
"Of course," Martha said. "What is it?"
Lex hesitated. If he spoke the words, he was scared that they would come true. They couldn't come true. He couldn't lose his son…
He cleared his throat, though it did little to help. "If something happens, I want you two to take in Clark," he said. "I know it's a big request, but he'll be safe with you. Please. He can't go back to the lab. He can't become a part of Project 33.1 ever again."
Jonathan nodded. "Yes," he said without any hesitation. "We'll keep him safe. I promise, Lex."
"Thank you," he said, then looked over at Clark. His son. His precious boy. He wouldn't let anything happen to him.
As soon as he saw him though, he knew what he had to do. They would be leaving in the morning, and they wouldn't be back until Clark was completely safe.
There you have it! Clark has his name, the Kents know the truth, and things are picking up quickly! I hope you enjoyed! Please follow, fave, and review! I would love to know what you thought!
Thanks for reading! Love y'all!