Chapter 5

Clark felt his blood turned to ice as he looked from Natasha to his spaceship and back again. Hundreds of possible excuses and scenario's for why he had a spacecraft in his barn ran through the young man's mind in the time it would take a normal human to blink. And he discarded each and every one of them just as quickly, knowing that she would never believe him. But more importantly, Clark didn't want to have to lie to Natasha, not when lying would cause him to lose someone who had become one of the most important people in his life.

"Well, this explains a lot."

Clark looked at her, shock clear on his face. Here he was with a spaceship in his barn, and Natasha seemed completely at ease.

"Don't look so surprised. I did my homework on you remember?" She asked with a smile, and Clark just shook his head.

"Even with you knowing about my powers, that still dosen't explain how you could make the jump from meteor infected to..."

"Alien?" She supplied, and Clark nodded.

"Actually, it was the only thing that made sense. You can't be killed by normal means, you're faster than anyone else on the planet, at least that I know of, and there's no telling just how strong you are without testing it."

"But I don't look...different to you?" He asked, and she shook her head before walking over to him.

"No. You're still the same Clark Kent I met that first day of class." She said before embracing him. They stood like that for a moment, both enjoying the feeling of the other person in their arms before they stepped back.

10:00 P.M.-Kent Farm

"So, you knew that guy?"

It was the first time they had spoken in nearly three hours, save for Natasha explain what Clark was doing wrong. For the last three hours, Natasha had been teaching Clark how to fight. Thanks to his near photographic memory, they had made rapid progress in just three hours. Rapid progress meaning that Clark could last more than four minutes without Natasha putting him on his rear. Some people would say Natasha was crazy attacking a man who could snap her neck like a toothpick, never mind the fact that he could do it before she could blink. But Natasha had her reasons; the first was because she was a firm believer in experience being the best teacher. The second was that if Clark could control his strength against someone with her skill set then he could control it against most anyone.

"Yeah. His name's Earl Jenkins. He worked as a farmhand for my dad for years until last summer when he got an offer to work at Luthorcorp. Better hours, better pay, and by then I could pretty much take care of the farm on my own."

"You mean he-"

"Knows about my abilities? No. You're the only person aside from my parents who knows about my powers. Even Chloe and Pete don't know. If they did...Pete would flip, and Chloe would splash my story across the front page of the Torch so fast even my head would spin." He finished, and Natasha frowned.

"Are you sure about that? They might surprise you. Chloe's kept her mouth shut about my past, and the Black Widow working with high school kids would definitely create some headlines." She replied, and this time it was Clark's turn to frown.

"I can't take that chance. Even if they accepted who I am...what I am...If anyone like Hydra or SHIELD came after them because of me I don't think I could live with that." He finished softly.

"They'll do that anyway you know. The minute they get wind of what you can do, your friends and family will become targets. In my training...we were told that attachment made us weak, that the ones who would survive were the ones who relied only on themselves."

"Sounds like a lonely life to live." Clark replied, and Natasha just nodded. It had been, but it had also been the only life she had ever known. Endless drills, screams and pain. Pain when she succeeded, pain when she failed. Pain was her one constant for over a decade. For years, she believed that pain was all she deserved. Even the one good thing that happened during her training was overshadowed by the pain of having it ripped from her. And as she sat next to the young man who was rapidly becoming her best friend, she had to wonder how long that would last. How long would Natasha Romanoff be allowed to hope that she was more than just an assassin? How long until Clark left her or was ripped away from her by some as yet unknown evil? The second would only happen when she was dead, but the first...Clark could leave her whenever he chose, and the logical part of her mind knew that he would be better off if he did just that.

But the other part of her, the part that she used to believe no longer existed, if it had ever existed at all...the part of her that wanted to be more than an assassin, the part of her that wanted someone to love and to love her in return...that part of Natasha never wanted Clark to leave.

"Are you okay?" Clark asked, and Natasha smiled even as her head came to rest on Clark's shoulder.

"For the first time in a long time, I think I am." She replied, and Clark just smiled in return, the two of them spending the next several hours in comfortable silence.

The following morning

Clark opened his eyes, and immediately thanked God that his parent's weren't home yet. If they had come home and found the sight he woke up to Natasha's secret would have been out in less time then it took for Clark to do his morning chores. Natasha's head was on his chest, and his arms were around her waist.

"You're awake."

"Yeah. Sorry if I-"

"I'm a light sleeper. Spending enough time sleeping in places where people want to kill you will do that to a person." She replied, and he just shook his head.

"What I meant, is that I'm sorry we fell asleep." He replied, and she raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not. That's the first good night's sleep I've had in a while." She told him, and Clark just smiled.

"Me too."

"Now as comfortable as I am, I need to head home. We've got that trip to the Luthorcorp plant today."

"How'd you get roped into it?" He asked, and she laughed.

"The person who was supposed to chaperone called in sick, so I volunteered. After last night, I'm glad I did."

"You think Earl's going to actually come to the plant?" Clark asked as the two stood up.

"With the way he was acting last night, I wouldn't be surprised. Whatever he was exposed to...I don't think he has long."

"Do you know what he was exposed to?" Clark asked, but Natasha shook her head.

"No. It's not like anything I've ever seen. Why, do you have an idea?" She asked, and he nodded.

"I could be wrong, but I think it's meteor rock. When I touched him, it hurt. As far as I know, that's all that can hurt me."

"That would make sense. Just be careful today." She told him seriously.

"I will be. Now, can I run you home?" He asked, and she smiled.

"Thanks, but I brought my car. I'll see you soon." She said with a smile before walking out of the house.

"Why are you so happy this morning? In case you forgot, we're going to the corporate empire of evil." Chloe said, but Clark just smiled. Pete laughed, shaking his head at his friend.

"Clark's happy for the same reason every other guy in this class is. Our new teacher volunteered to chaperone this trip." He replied, making Chloe shake her head.

"Speaking of..." Pete said, and Clark looked up just in time to see Natasha get onto the bus that was going to take them all to the Luthorcorp plant.

"Well, we'd better go get seats." Pete said as he headed toward the bus. Clark made to follow, but he was stopped by Chloe's hand on his arm.

"Clark, what's going on between you and our new teacher?"

"Nothing's going on Chloe. She's my teacher, nothing else." He replied, and Chloe snorted.

"Bull. Look Clark, tell me what you want...just remember that there's a reason she was called the Black Widow." Chloe replied before getting on the bus. Clark just sighed before doing the same, taking a seat beside Pete.

"You and Chloe okay?" Pete asked, and Clark nodded.

"Yeah Pete. We're just peachy."

Smallville Luthorcorp Plant-12 P.M.

"So ladies and gentlemen that is how we make the fertilizer, and no it's not radioactive." Gabe Sullivan said, making the class laugh at his poor attempt at humor.

"Excuse me, I hope I'm not interrupting?" Lex said as he walked into the room.

"Not at all. This is the class from Smallville High." Gabe said and Lex nodded, smiling as he saw Clark.

"Welcome to the most boring place in the world."

"Anywhere's better then being stuck in class." Pete spoke up, and Lex laughed.

"Is my class that boring Mr. Ross?" Natasha asked. Pete was saved from answering as Lex walked over to Natasha.

"I don't think I've had the pleasure. Lex Luthor."

"Natasha Romanoff." She replied, shaking his hand.

"Well, I hate to run but I have to get back to work. Enjoy the rest of the tour." He said, giving Clark a nod before walking out of the room.

"Well, let's continue on with the tour." Gabe Sullivan said before leading the class through the remainder of the plant.

They had just made it to the main control room when Earl Jenkins burst inside, gun in hand.

"WHERE IS IT? WHERE IS LEVEL THREE?" He yelled, pointing the gun at Gabe.

"I...I don't know what you're talking about. There is no level three." He replied.

"DON'T LIE TO ME! I know it's real! Every night for the last three months it happens the same way. I go past the red pipe, and take the elevator to level three!" He yelled, pistol-whipping Gabe across the face. As Gabe fell to the floor Earl turned his gun on the students.

"No one try anything stupid. I'll let you all go...Just as soon as I talk to Lionel Luthor."

An Hour Later

"Clark, we can take him. Just-"

"Don't be stupid. If you try something we could all end up dead." Natasha spoke up. In all honesty, she could have taken Earl down, but that would raise a whole lot of questions that she didn't want to answer.

"Earl's not a bad man. He just wants help." Clark said calmly.

"STOP TALKING!" Earl yelled, and the conversation instantly ceased, no one wanting to make Earl more upset than he already was. Lionel Luthor's lack of response certainly wasn't helping things. But only Clark knew that there wasn't going to be a response. He had heard Lionel talk to the police, and the billionaire was all for Earl coming out in a body bag. Then there was the fact that the pressure in the gas main was growing. If it wasn't lowered soon, the building would blow up or the police would storm the place. Either way, it was likely that someone would end up dead. Unless Clark stopped Earl himself.

"Show me Earl." Clark said as he stood up, keeping his hands raised.

"SIT DOWN CLARK!"

"You know me Earl. We've worked on my farm for years. And I know that you're not a bad guy. If you say level three exists then I believe you. If you show me where it is, I can back up what you tell Lionel Luthor. Everybody else can stay here. Just show me where level three is." He said calmly, and Earl nodded.

"Okay Clark." He said before leading the younger man out the door, locking it behind him.

"Kent's gotten him out, now we should go too." Whitney said, but Natasha shook her head.

"If we do that, and Earl gets spooked Clark could be killed. If Earl catches us, we could die. Now just sit down and be quiet." She said, her tone so serious that Whitney did just that.

Clark followed Earl down the hallway, past the red pipe and...to a blank wall. There was no elevator.

He could see Earl starting to shake, and Clark knew that this was his only chance to be sure that no one would get hurt. So he swallowed the disgust he felt at what he had to do, and he did it. Clark slammed his leg into Earl's kneecap, sending him to the floor before breaking his left arm at the elbow and kicking him in the side of the head, all the while ignoring the pain he felt from whatever Earl had been exposed to. Earl fell to the floor, unconscious but alive while Clark stumbled backwards as fast as he could, feeling his strength return the further away he got. He went to the beginning of the red pipe, and found the pressure gauge. Now Clark wasn't an engineer by any means, but he knew enough to know that the arrow pointing towards red was a bad thing. In this case, red most likely meant dead. So he placed his hand on top of the pressure gauge and twisted, watching as the needle slowly moved to point back towards green. He sighed in relief as he heard the police outside comment about the sudden drop in pressure. Crisis averted.

Well, one of them anyway. Now he just needed to figure out how to explain this to everyone.

Fifteen Minutes Later-Outside Luthorcorp

"So, I hear that you're the one I have to thank for stopping the criminal who took over my plant." Lionel said as he walked over to where Clark was standing with his parents. Clark glared at the man before looking over where the rest of his classmates were surrounded by their family. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Natasha standing by herself, looking none the worse for wear. If Lionel noticed her, he didn't comment, just waited for Clark to reply.

"Do you see all those people over there? All those kids who were held hostage? None of them were held by a criminal. We were all held by a sick man. A sick man who just wanted a cure to whatever it was you exposed him to."

"Now see here young man-"

"Dad, I think Clark's been through enough. Besides, he has a point. Earl Jenkins is a sick man. But he's also a Luthorcorp employee. Which is why we are going to ensure that he receives the best treatment available."

Given that the press was right behind Lex and had caught every word he had just said, all Lionel could do was smile and nod in response to his son's words. Lex saw the nod for what it was. An acknowledgment of a well executed plan. As well as a promise for retribution.

Kent Farm-1 hour later

"Son, there's one thing I don't understand. I talked to the medic's before they took Earl to the hospital, and they said he had a broken arm and a busted kneecap."

Clark just looked back at his father, not saying a word. Apparently he didn't need to.

"Clark, I don't know what Natasha is teaching you, but nothing could justify-"

"All Natasha is teaching me is Russian, and as for Earl's injuries...Broken bones heal. There's no coming back from a bullet to the head."

With those words he walked out of the house, leaving a dumbstruck Jonathan and Martha Kent behind.

Luthor Mansion

"Mr. Luthor, we did as you asked. But there's no trace of the security footage."

Lex just nodded, not turning his gaze from the fire. Something had happened to Earl Jenkins, something had caused the pressure in the plant to go back down. And Lex knew that Clark Kent was responsible. But he also knew that his friend would never tell him what he was hiding. Which meant he would need to find out another way. Thankfully, he had a plan.

"Find me everything you can on Natasha Romanoff."

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review, and the next chapter will be up soon!