Perry Part 3

At the Summerholt Institute…

Lex stared down at the girl's sleeping form. Sarah Conroy looked peaceful; but her presence at Summerholt Institute was anything but. Lionel had regulated Lex to doing busywork, but Lex managed to get subordinates to do the frivolous work for him. That freed up his time to research what his father was hiding.

And why Lex had lost part of his memory.

The search brought him to Dr. Garner at the Summerholt Institute. Lex remembered the doctor's involvement with Ryan James. The young boy had been a special friend of Clark's, and he reached out to his friend to admit he was being held at the institute against his will. Lex had helped them both as best he could throughout the process.

Ryan James had unfortunately died. Clark took the death rather personally.

"Lex," Dr. Garner said as he entered the room. "Come to take away another one of my patients?"

"Is there a reason I should?"

"What can I help you with?"

"You don't know?"

Dr. Garner glanced over. He wore the same tired expression that always adorned his face. "No, I don't."

"I'm taking over the project. No one told you?" Lex clucked his tongue. "Here I thought you were important. The truth must hurt."

"What project?"

"Velocity."

That got Dr. Garner's attention. But to Lex's admiration, he didn't start blabbing like most people would. "Congratulations, Lex. Yes, I'm working with your father."

"For him, you mean."

"And you're smart enough to know the project's name. But, if I had to guess, that's all you know about it. Daddy's got you on the bench again, doesn't he?"

Lex permitted himself to smile here. There was much Lex didn't know about the situation. But that didn't mean he couldn't play. "I'm just trying to have my father's back. It seems like Luthor Corp is funding a project with another minor being held against their will."

"Sarah's uncle signed the release form. Her stay is perfectly legal, I assure you."

"And I'm sure the large sum deposit in Mr. Conroy's bank account is also legal?"

Dr. Garner sighed. "Lex, you're a smart man. You understand the line has to be bent now and then in order to make progress."

"I believe there's a difference between bent and broken." Lex gazed at Sarah's sleeping body.

"You've never been so close to a discovery that you'd be willing to do almost anything to see it through? My work could change the way the world views intelligence. Thought."

"I don't think your research is worth the cost of innocent lives."

"And I don't have time for a morality lesson. Excuse me."

Lex paused an appropriate time for his words to make an impact. "I'm sure my father would love to know about our conversation."

"We didn't have one."

"Still. Just knowing that I was here, in this room, could make my father ask you a lot of uncomfortable questions."

"What do you want, Lex?"

"Your help." Lex walked toward the reluctant doctor. "A few months ago, I had an unfortunate session of shock therapy that basically erased seven weeks of my life. I want those seven weeks back."

At the Kent farm…

Clark dreaded returning home. At his insistence, Alicia teleported them a mile away from the house, giving them plenty of time to walk hand in hand before the inevitable conversation.

"Are you mad at me?" Alicia asked, breaking the silence.

"No," Clark assured her. "It's just been a weird day."

"I told you," Alicia squeezed his hand, "everything is over with Adam. I'll prove it. Just tell me what you need me to do."

"It's just that I'm just not looking forward to talking with my parents. They are going to be sooo mad."

"What's the big deal?"

Clark looked at Alicia, who was patiently awaiting his answer. She seemed genuinely confused by Clark's discomfort.

"There's no way around it now. We have to tell them that you know about my powers. Known about my powers. For months."

"And?" Alicia giggled. Then her face got serious. "Do they hurt you? Do they use meteor rocks on you!?"

"What? No! They'll ground me."

Alicia burst into laughter. "Clark, you can race around the entire world in a minute. You can bench press a tractor without making a sweat and you're scared of two mere mortals who will just spout hot air?"

"Hey," Clark nudged her. "Those are my parents you're talking about. And I'm not scared of them. Not exactly."

"Then what?"

Clark paused to think it over. Even as a toddler Clark was stronger than both of his parents combined. They hadn't known about the weakening effects of the meteor rocks, so his parents had no physical way of punishing him. But Clark had still been a child, and, even though he was well behaved according to his mother, he still did childish things.

There was one time when Clark refused to clean out the stalls so he could continue to play baseball in the field. The next day, his father took him to the stall and explained how the cows had been hurt by his actions. Johnathan spoke in a calm manner; never yelling. His parents showed respect of Clark's powers. In return, he learned that he had responsibility to not hurt others through his actions.

"I respect them. And I feel bad when I know I've let them down. No, they physically can't make me do anything. They'd never use meteor rock to punish me. But I follow their punishments out of respect. And that's why I'm dreading this. I lied to them. Like I do to everyone else in this town." Clark kicked a loose rock.

"Do you regret protecting me?"

"No." Clark wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer. "I'd do it again."

Once they got inside the house, Clark saw both of his parents in the kitchen, ready to confront the two teenagers. He had made attempts planning what he was going to say, but never got far. To Clark's relief, they looked calmer than they had that morning. Without needing to be told, Clark took a seat at the table, bringing Alicia with him.

"Is there anything the two of you want to tell us?" Mr. Kent was about to take a sip from his coffee mug, only to look into it and glance at the full pot behind them.

"Allow me."

Alicia vanished from Clark's side. Johnathan jumped slightly when she appeared at his side with the coffee pot and refilled his cup. She offered more to Martha, but she declined. Then Alicia popped over to put the pot back and in the next instant was sitting next to Clark again. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kent stared at her and then shared a glance between themselves.

"So, you can…"

"Teleport."

Clark could sense Alicia was scared. She was hanging her head a little, and she was squeezing his hand.

"That must come in handy," Martha said kindly, taking a seat. "How long have you been able to do that?"

"Since the meteor shower."

"I thought you just moved to Smallville?"

"Oh, no. I lived here before. We just moved back."

"Clark, I think you know what question I'm going to ask next." Johnathan said.

"Yes. Alicia knows about my powers." Clark made sure to emphasis the last word. He wanted to make sure his parents understood she didn't know about his heritage yet.

"For how long?"

Clark gulped. "Homecoming."

He could see his parents exchange a look of disbelief, so he hurriedly explained the situation.

"Seth was attacking me in the school. Alicia got us someplace safe and knew how to stop him. She…she saved me."

Alicia beamed at the compliment.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

Clark had wondered that too. Part of it was hiding Alicia's secret. Some things he just couldn't talk about without exposing the truth. But another part was that it had been nice to just have a girlfriend.

It had been normal, and Clark didn't want it to end.

"I asked him not too," Alicia offered. "I just wasn't ready for you to know about me. I haven't had the best luck with that."

"And have you told anyone about Clark? Your mom?" Mr. Kent asked.

"No. I would die before I betrayed Clark."

"Well, we appreciate your understanding," Martha said.

"Young lady, you must understand we have certain rules in this house," Johnathan began. "One of those rules is that our son cannot entertain friends, especially girls, in his bedroom during sleeping hours. I understand your ability allows you to go wherever you want, but we need you to respect our house rules."

"Fine." Alicia nodded.

"And now, we need to talk with our son. Alone."

Alicia kissed Clark's cheek and said, "good luck" before vanishing away.

Mr. Kent didn't speak until Alicia left the house. "Clark, I'm disappointed in you. You do not keep secrets from us. How can we protect you like that?"

"Her secret wasn't mine to tell," Clark pointed out.

"Alicia only knows about your powers?" Mrs. Kent asked. "Nothing else?"

"Right. Well…she might know about the meteor rocks."

His parents exchanged another look. "Clark, you're putting a lot of faith in someone you barely know."

"You guys don't get it!" Clark snapped. "Alicia understands what it's like to hide your entire life. She understands me in a way that…that, Lana never could."

"And we're happy you found someone special," Martha said gently, putting her hand on her son's shoulder. "We're just worried about what might happen next."

"Why? I told Pete and it's been fine."

"This is different from Pete," Mr. Kent insisted. "You're dating this girl. What happens if you break up? What happens if her mom doesn't respect your privacy?"

"This is just new territory for all of us," Martha said.

"You should have at least told us that Alicia knew about your powers. There are no excuses for that, young man. Because of that, you are grounded for a week. That means you are on this farm after school ends. No friends over. Even girlfriends. Do you want to make that two?" Mr. Kent asked when Clark began to protest.

"Can it be postponed? It's just that we're tracking down the serial killer," Clark explained. "I know who it is: Van McNulty. We just gotta figure out how to prove it."

Johnathan sighed. "Fine. But you will do extra chores until this shooter's put away. Got it?"

"Got it. Thank you." Clark left to go to the barn.

You're putting a lot of faith in someone you barely know, his mother's words echoed in his mind.

Clark thought he knew Alicia. But after what Alicia told him about Adam, Clark had to accept there were sides of Alicia he didn't know.

And still, Clark couldn't bare it if she left.