Silent White

Title: Silent White
Author: tyffi
Beta: tallihensia
Word Count: ~ 58,000
Rating: 12+
Pairing: Lex/OFC, Clex friendship
Genre: AU, drama, angst, romance...
Summary: An experiment at LexCorp goes horribly wrong and suddenly, Clark and his friends find themselves taking care of a ten-year-old Lex. But that’s not the only issue Clark has; after almost two years he’s involved with the Noesi again, and he fears the worst.
A/N: The story plays 18 months after “Blood Moon”, though you don't need to have read it. Time-wise it equals season 4 of the TV-show. A few concepts of earlier and later seasons are included as well, yet the setting is AU.
Disclaimer: "Smallville" and its characters are copyright of DC Comics, Warner Brothers, Tollin/Robbins and Millar/Gough Ink. All characters engaged in sexual actions are of age.

Written for smallvillebbang 2010.

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Silent White

Time is the longest distance between two places

Chapter 1

“No, Lex, no. I never lied to you! Not about my feelings… I love you, Lex. You have to believe me; I love you!” She’s clutching a huge traveling bag while her eyes are filling with tears; it makes her ugly. “Please, please believe me --”

“STOP LYING! You are a murderer’s daughter; how could I ever believe anything you say?!” His blood is boiling and for a second he can picture himself with his hands around her throat. “Your father killed my grandparents, he tried to kill me, and now he sent you to finish the job.”

“That’s not true! I could never hurt you, Lex. I love you so much. I --”

“SHUT UP! I wish I had never met you. GET OUT OF MY LIFE!”

She screams, bloodcurdling, and then… silence.

Lex woke up, breathing heavily. Yet again, his past was haunting him in his dreams, and it took him a moment or two to get rid of the image of an unconscious body lying at the foot of the stairs. Lex knew it was in vain. Never would he forget that day, the fight and the accident.

Chris, his wonderful, charming angel, was Morgan Edge’s birth daughter. She had told Lex because she trusted him and yet he flipped out. Initially, Lex had thought he'd pushed her. Chris said she'd lost her balance. Regardless what had been the final trigger, Chris fell down the stairs that night, getting badly hurt. She was better now, mostly recovered from both the injuries and their fight, but still, it haunted him.

Closing his eyes, Lex breathed in deeply and slowly, the aftermath of his dream was wearing off; he was able to get up. A smile flickered across his face as he spotted a pink-striped bra lying on the floor, accompanied by a single black sock.

Lex looked around until he found his shorts and slipped into them before he headed for the kitchen. He heard someone cursing quietly.

“Oh, c’mon! Don’t be so bitchy. Fare il caffè. Pronto!”

Chris stood in the middle of the kitchen, in front of the espresso machine, wearing nothing but Lex’s shirt and a deep frown between her brows; her hazelnut-brown hair still tousled from sleep. Likely, she would accuse him of being responsible for this; she always would tell him he tousled her hair while sleeping. Possibly, she was right. Lex liked to curl her hair around his fingers...

Chris didn’t notice him but kept talking to the machine, using different languages and various threats. She jiggled it, slapped it, and sighed frustrated.

“Stupid thing. You’re built to make coffee, now do it! Gee, do you think you’re better than an ordinary coffeemaker just because of your fancy steel design and that big name?”

Amused, Lex watched her for a while. She never tired of talking to the machine. This attitude was fascinating and disturbing at the same time. Talking to inanimate objects normally was a sign of insanity, yet was totally normal for Chris.

He smirked and finally moved closer, pressing a button at the espresso machine. A second later it started to brew coffee and Chris looked at him in awe.

“How’d you do that? Why is that stupid thing listening to you?”

“It’s not exactly rocket science, Angel.”

“But how did you do that? I was pressing buttons like a maniac and nothing happened!”

“That might be the reason.” Still smirking, Lex lifted her up and made her sit on the kitchen’s counter. He moved in between her legs, but when he spotted her crutch he pressed his lips. Immediately, his thoughts drifted away and again, he saw Chris lying unconscious at the foot of the stairs. Due to her fall she had broken a lumbar vertebra, and even though the fracture wasn’t fatal and had healed by now, Chris was dependent on a crutch ever since.

Briefly, Lex closed his eyes. He hated the sight of that crutch; it was a constant reminder of what he was capable when angered.

“… good wifey. Making breakfast and stuff.”

“Lucky me, I woke up in time," he mumbled absently, and turned to check on the coffee.

“Lex… look at me!”

He breathed in as he noticed Chris’ voice changing; it became demanding.

“You dreamt of it again, didn’t you? You dreamt of the accident again…”

Lex didn’t say anything but he knew that if he turned around now, he would see Chris shaking her head and maybe even rolling her eyes.

“At the risk of sounding like Ms. Broken Record, but… it wasn’t your fault!” Chris was about to slide down the counter when Lex turned around and stopped her, taking her hands in his.

“What if it was? What if I pushed you?”

“Then you’d be dead by now. Dad would’ve had some, uh, fun with you. I’ve told you about his book: 101 ways to remove your daughter’s boyfriend’s head.” She flashed him half a smile.

“Hey, you’ve seen the surveillance video, and so have Dad and I. You really --”

“It didn’t show that much…”

“I’m pretty sure I lost my balance. Besides, Dad ruled you hadn’t pushed me,” Chris replied firmly. “End of story!” Carefully, she placed her forearms on his shoulders and brushed her fingertips against the back of his head. Lex closed his eyes, leaning into her touch. There was a time when he had denied everyone to get this intimate, but now he began to enjoy it, he even loved it.

“We talked so many times about this, Lex. But the more we talk about it, the more I feel like a woman that is defending her abusive boyfriend... Let’s just move on. Please?!”

He took a deep breath and began to nod. It had been a rough time for both of them. Of course, the revelation of her birth father’s identity came as a shock, but Lex had yelled at her, slapped her, cursed her… she had hidden from him for almost two months and then she forgave him. Lex knew the General, her dad, had been the mainspring for their reconciliation and he was grateful. The General was a Marine, and Chris his daughter. Neither of them would ever give up without a fight, and for some odd reason they had decided to welcome him, a Luthor, in their little family, and that he was worth fighting for.

“I really don’t deserve you,” he whispered, causing Chris to smirk.

“You say that now… Wait till we’re married; then I’m gonna show my real face.”

Instantly, Lex’s mood brightened up, and he moved closer in between her legs, kissing the tip of her nose. Less than three weeks ago, he had proposed to her and after some days of trembling uncertainty Chris finally answered with a ‘Yes’.
“I can’t wait.”

Grinning, Chris pulled him closer, her thighs rubbing warm against his hips. “So, the dream’s forgotten?”

“Hm-hm, almost,” Lex nodded and got himself a kiss. She wrapped her legs around him and when he felt the heat between her legs he was getting hard.

“Uh, my coffee’s cold by now, huh?”

Lex blinked and stared at her for a second before he began to huff. “Coffee? You think of coffee? Now?”

“I haven’t had any yet. That thing refuses to cooperate.”

“Fine, I’ll make you a new one.” Shaking his head, he turned around.

“Show me how?”

“As long as you don’t know how to operate this machine, I can be sure you’ll stay with me,” he replied, grinning.

“It’s not as though I could easily run away. Besides, I’m not just with you because you know how to push the right buttons…” Lex cringed a little as he heard the foot of her crutch hitting the floor, but relaxed once Chris stopped behind him, kissing his shoulder. "Though, you are really talented when it comes to pushing buttons...”

“You’re really talented when it comes to making me feel cheap,” he retorted and handed her a mug. “What are your plans for today?”

Chris blew on her coffee before she took a sip and answered. “Two clients, physio therapy, lunch – hopefully with you – a hearing and another client.”

“Almost a holiday, hm? Unfortunately, I have to take a rain check on the lunch. I’m having a meeting in Smallville later today.”

“But… why did you come here last night, then? Wouldn’t it have been easier to stay at the mansion?”

Lex raised his brows, amused. “I wanted to spend some time with my wonderful fiancée.”

Chris eyed him puzzled as though she had never thought about this concept before, but then began to beam. “Hmm, you’re adorable.” She kissed his lips and when the kiss deepened, she set the mug on the counter, wrapping her arms around his neck. “We’re running late, though… I guess we have to take a shower together. To save time and water…”

Lex didn’t wait for her to finish a pseudo explanation but lifted her up, laughing, and walked into the bathroom.

Later that day, Lex arrived at the fertilizer plant in Smallville and headed directly downstairs to one of the laboratories. He was about to meet Dr. Sinclair to discuss their latest experiment and do a final test run. Lex sincerely hoped it would be a success. They could change the world today…

There was no sign of Dr. Sinclair as he entered the lab, yet the experiment was already set up in the middle of the room. Actually, it was nothing more but a huge glass tank, with a meteor rock suspended inside. Lex studied it for a while until someone behind him cleared his throat. It was Carlin, Dr. Sinclair’s assistant.

“Mr. Luthor… I didn’t expect you to be in time,” he mumbled, causing Lex to sigh quietly. Carlin was a hectic character and Lex never felt comfortable around this kind of people. They always acted as though they were in some kind of rush.

“Where’s Dr. Sinclair?”

“He called in sick this morning,” Carlin explained while moving around the tank, checking here and there. “But I know everything about this, and can do the test run.”

“So, you’ve corrected the previous problems?”

Carlin nodded eagerly. “We’re positive that increasing the thermal variations by 94% will eliminate the impurity.”

Raising his brows, Lex eyed him. “Six months of this and all you had to do was turn up the heat?”

Carlin moved his head back and forth, reminding Lex on a weaving horse. “To put it simply: yes.” He walked over to the computer. “Yet the composition of these meteor rocks is rather unusual. Calculating the exact temperature – and I mean exact – was a challenge. I mean, 0.1 °C could make a difference!”

Lex gave him a brief smile. “If this works, we’ll leave a mark on this world no one will ever forget.”

Again, the scientist nodded eagerly and pushed some buttons at the console, while Lex looked at the tank. It had to work this time, it had to…

“Mr. Luthor, please take these,” Carlin said as he nudged his shoulder, handing him a pair of protective glasses. Once he put them on, Carlin took a deep breath, flashed Lex a nervous smile and hit a key. “Initiating sequence!”

Spellbound, Lex stared at the tank as a narrow blue laser hit the center of the meteor rock. A computerized voice commented every stage of the experiment, and it seemed to work smoothly.
Hopeful, Lex moved closer to the tank, watching the green rock swirling slightly underneath the light of the laser. A satisfied smile flickered across his face when suddenly an alert shrilled.

“What’s happening?” Lex turned around to look at Carlin, but he had left his position and was now standing right next to him. Lex couldn’t help but frown. There was something different about him, and it certainly wasn’t because of the reddish light that came along with the audio alert. There was nothing fidgety about Carlin anymore, and he watched Lex coldly.

“That’s not of your concern anymore,” he said and placed his hand on Lex’s shoulder, grabbing it tight.

Lex opened his mouth to say something, but instantly, the room around him began to spin; faster and faster, brighter and brighter, louder and louder until there was nothing left but silent white.

Chapter 2

Clark sat in the waiting area of the ER, staring at the clock on the opposite wall. The second hand seemed to move in slow motion, and every now and then Clark glanced at Treatment Room 4, shaking his head in disbelief. It was impossible… It couldn’t be possible at all! Even for Smallville standards this was beyond weird.

A couple of moments passed painfully slow when Clark’s cell phone beeped. Taking it out of the pocket of his jeans, he glanced at the display: 1 new text message - Chloe’s cell.

He opened the message. There were only two words: No doubt!

It’s impossible, Clark thought, looking at the treatment room again. He had seen his share of strange things, but this was new; this was a whole new level of Wall of Weird.

“Clark!”

He looked up and saw Chris Harris walking over to him. She was still walking on a crutch, but it didn’t seem to hamper her at all. Then again, she was used to it by now, and Clark couldn’t help but remember her being at the farm at about four weeks ago, asking him for help. She had wanted to drive a car by herself again and Clark set up a little course for her. After six hours of bumping into hay balls, she was able to parallel park again. Her next goal was to drive a stick again, but since her left leg was still a bit feeble, it would take her a bit longer than six hours. However, Clark had no doubt that by the end of the year she would be accomplished. She was as stubborn as Chloe…

“Thanks for calling. Why are you always there when Lex needs you?” Chris gave him a brief hug and eyed him quizzically. “How is he? What happened?”

“Lex wanted to show me something at the plant. When I arrived there, I heard an explosion. Only a few people were hurt, none badly --”

“That’s good... Where’s Lex?”

“Number Four, but Chris, there’s something you should know…”

She wasn’t listening to him but walked straight over to the treatment room and opened the door.

“Oh, sorry,” Clark heard her mumbling as she backed away, closing the door behind her. She looked puzzled. “Wrong room. There’s a kid sitting inside Number Four… a bald one.” Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “Don’t tell me --”

“That’s Lex.” Clark flashed her a helpless smile. “That’s what I wanted to tell you.”

“You gotta be kidding me!”

Clark sighed. That’s what he thought, too, when he had found the little boy standing in the yard of the plant, looking lost. He had a cut above his right eye and without thinking much, Clark drove him to the hospital. On the way there he asked the boy his name, and when he said ‘Lex Luthor’ Clark almost lost control over the truck. But there was no doubt. Chloe had come to the hospital shortly afterwards and took the boy’s fingerprints – in her typical snoopy-attitude. A friend of hers, working at the Metropolis PD, compared them to an older sample of Lex – without actually knowing whose fingerprints he had there; that little boy sitting in Treatment Room Four was none else than Lex Luthor.

“I don’t know whether I should be glad to know Chloe, or be scared of her,” Chris said once Clark finished his story. “There’s no doubt?”

“Fingerprints don’t change with age. It’s Lex.”

“But… how?”

“I have no idea. Not even Chloe can say what happened. Granted, a lot of weird things have happened in Smallville before, but this…? An adult turning into a kid; that’s new.”

“Do you think it was because of these meteor rocks?” Chris eyed him. “I know, Lex was using them for an experiment, but…”

Clark shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t like Lex to work with Kryptonite, yet he was sure there hadn’t been Kryptonite around when he arrived. Clark would have felt it, but when he found little Lex there was nothing.

Chris sighed and looked at the door she just had closed.

“What do you want to do now?” Clark asked.

“Well, we can’t let him sit in there forever, can we?” She breathed in deeply and opened the door again. Clark followed her. “Lex?”

The little boy looked up. He sat on a treatment table, swinging his legs. “Great… Dad sent some of his minions.” A disappointed expression flickered across his face and he averted his eyes.

“I wouldn’t say so --”

“We don’t work for your dad. We know him, though,” Clark said, glancing at Chris. That little boy wasn’t Lex trapped in a child’s body but a kid of nine or ten years of age. Clark loved Chris like a sister, but she was horrible with kids. “Thing is, he’s, uhm, in the middle of a meeting now, and asked us to check on you until he can come here.”

The boy eyed him and raised his brows – just like the older Lex would do. “My dad doesn’t ask. Your name’s Clark, right?”

Clark nodded and pointed at Chris. “That’s Chris, she’s your… a friend of the family.”

“Never seen you.”

“Likewise,” Chris replied. “At least, not in this form…”

The door opened and a nurse entered the room. She looked at Clark and waved him outside. “There are a few things we need to know about the boy. You found him, is that correct?”

“Mr. Kent.”

Clark shivered slightly. That voice was more than familiar and there were definitely nicer sounds in this world. Slowly, he turned around and faced Lionel Luthor. He was honestly surprised to see Lex’s father. Who would have called him? And, why would he be at the Smallville Medical Center? The last time Lex was here, he had been in a coma, and it took Lionel three full days to show up.

“I’ve heard there was an explosion at the plant. I’m checking on the employees,” he said, moving closer. “I’ve heard you were there when it happened…” He trailed off and Clark noticed him looking at the window to the room he had just left. Chris was now sitting next to little Lex on the couch, talking to him. “That… that can’t be…”

For the first time, Clark saw Lionel Luthor appalled. Lionel might never been a real dad to Lex, but he still recognized the nine-year-old version of his son in an instant.

“What happened? What on earth has he done?” Lionel’s voice was trembling with anger and he was about to enter the room when Chris stepped out. She glanced at Clark.

“Join him for a while,” she said, nodding towards the boy. “Lionel and I need to talk.” Clark noticed Chris clutching her crutch; her knuckles turned white, yet her face was free from any kind of emotion. She turned towards Lionel and made him move up the hallway.

Clark watched them leave and entered the room again, looking at Lex. He was rather small for a boy of nine or ten years…

“Am I in trouble now? Dad looked upset…”

Clark heard the slightest nuance of fear in the boy’s voice and he suppressed a sight. No child should ever be scared of their own parents!
“I think he’s just pis-- angry that no one has given him a proper update on you yet. Parents tend to get that way when their kid is at the hospital.”

Lex didn’t seem to be convinced and stared at the tips of his shoes. “I know I’m in trouble,” he mumbled. “I always am… Why is Chris talking to Dad now?”

Clark felt the corners of his mouth twitching a little as he noticed the longing expression on the boy’s face. “You like her, don’t you?”

Lex blushed and tried hard not to meet Clark’s eyes. “Is she your girlfriend?”

“No, she’s just a good friend… almost like a sister. But if she was my girlfriend and you’d like her, I would be honored.”

Still blushing, Lex looked at him again. “She’s nice… She speaks a lot, though.”

“She sure does. I think all lawyers do.” Laughing, he nudged Lex’s chest. “If your dad is mad at you – which I highly doubt – Chris’ll get you off the hook. She’s a really good lawyer.”

They didn’t speak for a few minutes but Lex kept staring out the window, obviously hoping Chris would return soon. Clark wasn’t exactly surprised. There had always been some kind of bond between her and the older Lex, and it would be wrong if the younger Lex wouldn’t feel anything around her.

“She’s nice,” Lex said again, more to himself than to Clark. “She’s nicer than the other adults… She doesn’t patronize me.” He paused and looked at his shoes again. “You are different. You and Chris…”

“Why do you think so?”

“You don’t stare at me like I’m a freak,” Lex replied.

“You don’t look like one.”

Lex looked up, sneering, just like the older Lex would do. If Chloe hadn’t already confirmed that this was Lex, Clark would be convinced by now.

“I’m bald!”

“And I’m towering everyone I know. Does that make me a freak?”

The boy huffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I bet no one ever called you names.”

Clark shook his head. “You’re right. No one ever called me names. They just asked how’s the air up here, and whether my shoes can be used as boats, or if I plan a future as a lighthouse, but no… no name-calling.”

The young Lex began to grin, yet he couldn’t stop squinting at the window. Clark couldn’t help but smile. “She’ll be back soon.”

He was right. It didn’t take long until Lionel entered the room, followed by Chris. She looked daggers at him while Lex jumped to his feet. He staggered a little and Clark grabbed him by the arm to stable him. “Easy there, buddy.”

“I’m sorry, Dad. I --”

“Of course you are, Lex,” Lionel said, moving closer, and hesitantly placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I’m, uhm, glad to see you being well.”

“We’re going to go home then, right?”

Clark saw Lionel glancing at Chris who still tried to kill him with her looks. He knew she disliked Lex’s father, and he couldn’t help but wonder what they had been talking about. The expression on Lionel’s face was rather unexpected. Clark thought he saw a mixture of intimidation and admiration.

Lionel turned back to Lex. “I want you to stay at the mansion for a few days. You have to, uhm, recover and the heartland is just the right place.” He paused and indicated Chris. “Christine was kind enough to offer to look after you. Of course, you’re free to come home whenever you want,” he added and made an attempt to give the little boy a hug. Clark had never seen anything more awkward in his life. “I’m glad you’re fine, son.”

He left, and Clark watched him walking down the hall until he looked from Chris to Lex. The boy didn’t seem to be surprised by his father’s soberness, and Chris shook her head, disapprovingly.

“Looks like you aren’t in trouble after all,” Clark grinned as he tried to break the silence.

Chapter 3

It was a silent ride to the mansion. The boy barely spoke but kept squinting at Chris. It wasn’t until they turned into the driveway to the mansion when he looked properly at her. “I’m sorry my dad made you stay with me,” he said and Chris briefly turned her head, watching him.

His blue-grey eyes were sad and he looked rather lost. Almost like an abandoned puppy. Chris sighed quietly and focused on the street again.

“A: you shouldn’t be sorry. B: your dad didn’t make me do anything; I offered to stay with you, and C,” she stopped her car in front of the mansion’s entrance, facing Lex, “I think we’re gonna have loads of fun.”

Lex watched her, skeptically. “Why would you stay with someone like me? Clark said you’re a lawyer… Don’t you have to work?”

“I only work half-days at the moment.” Chris pointed at her leg. “I’m still in some kind of recovery process, and… you’re a cool kid. If it turns out you’re annoying, I can still bring you back to your dad,” she added, laughing, and got her purse and briefcase from the backseat.

“Let me take that,” Lex said and took the briefcase from her, and again, Chris laughed.

“The bald and the cripple… sounds great, doesn’t it?”

They walked up the stairs to the entrance. The door opened before they reached the top of the stairs and Matthew, butler and heart and soul of the mansion, stepped out. “Mistress Chris, I have heard about the accident at the fertilizer plant. Is -- Master Lex!”

The British aloofness left him for a moment and he stared at the boy in disbelief. Chris groaned inwardly and cursed herself for not warning Matthew. He knew Lex from the day he was born.

“Matthew, I didn’t know you are here,” Lex cried out and wrapped his arms around the butler’s waist. He seemed to be relieved to see a familiar face.

“Your dad called him from the hospital, telling him to take the helicopter to Smallville,” Chris lied and flashed Matthew a quick look, trying to tell him with her eyes that he should play along. Luckily, the butler got the hint and petted Lex’s back.

“Of course, I am here, Master Lex. As always,” he said and led them into the mansion. “Would you like to have a hot cocoa in the library?”

“With marshmallows?”

“Naturally,” Matthew replied and looked at Chris. “A coffee for you, Mistress Chris?”

“Cocoa sounds great – without marshmallows, though.” She winked at him and followed Lex upstairs into the study.

The boy looked around, puzzled, and spotted the pool table. Obviously, it hadn’t been in here when he used to live in the mansion. But then again, if Chris remembered correctly, Lex once said they would have spent more time at the mansion when his mother had been pregnant with her second child. For the boy that had yet to happen.
Maybe he wasn’t even thinking about the interior but still digesting the events of today.

“Are you my dad’s… Are you his… lover?” Lex suddenly asked and Chris instantly screwed her face, disgusted.

“Ugh, the thought…” She shook her head. “I’m not his mistress. Why do you think so? Because Matthew --”

“No! I was just… you seem to know him, and you seem to know the mansion, and I thought…” He shrugged and pressed his lips. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Chris said quietly and rubbed her neck. This would be a whole lot more complicated than she had thought, but when she had seen the young Lex sitting in the hospital and Lionel showing up, she knew she couldn’t let that little boy be in Lionel’s hands again. Although Lex barely spoke about his childhood, she knew that the relationship to his father never had been good. Lionel had screwed up the first time, and Chris couldn’t let him have a second go.

“Uhm, Chris?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I call my mom?”

Fuck, Chris thought. Of course, Lex wanted to talk to his mother; he was only nine, maybe ten years old, and even though he didn’t seem to feel uncomfortable around Chris, she was nothing but a stranger to him. He had to long for his mother…

Chris sighed and quietly cursed herself – again. There were so many things she hadn’t considered when deciding little Lex would be better off far away from Lionel.

“I’m sure you can call her. You’re nine --”

“I’m ten,” Lex retorted, straightening up. “I’m turning eleven this --”

“So you definitely know how to operate a phone,” Chris sniggered. Apparently, Lex always had some kind of a temper. Still grinning, she picked up her purse and began to rummage in it, then she looked at Lex again. “I’d like you to have a look at this first.” She handed him her driver’s license, and squinted at the door, hoping Matthew would show up soon; with cocoa, or without.

The boy frowned, yet he examined the small plastic card. “Matthew once told me women lie about their age, but this is… There’s no way anyone will believe you’re three years younger than me. You look way too old for that,” he said, half-smiling, as he gave it back to her.

“Why, thank you.” Chris couldn’t help but laugh. Here she was, talking to the ten-year-old version of her fiancé. Shaking her head, she moved over to the coffee table. “As a matter of fact, I am younger than you… but only two and a half years.” She waved him over and took today’s issue of The Daily Planet from the table, handing it to the boy. “And if you have a look at the date, my DOB doesn’t look so wrong anymore, does it?”

Again, Lex frowned and studied the paper. Then, his mouth dropped open. “September 18th – two thousand and… what???”

“Clark, wait a minute,” his mother called as Clark was about to leave the house. A second later he heard her light footsteps on the stairs and when she came in sight, he saw her carrying a batch of folded clothes.

“Are those… mine?” Frowning, he picked up the topmost shirt and unfolded it. It was purple and showed the head of a comic figure: Warrior Angel. “Ugh, I never liked that.”

“Purple is not your color… The blue one, however, you wore until it walked itself to the washer,” Martha laughed and put the clothes into a laundry basket.

Clark kept staring at the tee; it was ridiculously small. He had worn it – or rather its blue twin – when he was at about eight. “Why do you still have all this stuff?”

His mother blushed and took the shirt from him, folding it again. “We always hoped we could adopt another child,” she said quietly, smoothening out some wrinkles with her flat hand. “But the process was rather complicated and took a long time. You grew older and then you developed your powers…”

Clark pressed his lips. His parents shouldered a lot to protect his secret and ensure he would live a life as normal as possible. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

“Sweetheart, that wasn’t meant to be a reproach,” she said and took his face in her hands. “Your dad and I are beyond grateful to have you!”

He flashed her a smile and hugged her. “Likewise.”

Martha returned his smile and indicated the laundry basket. “Thank God I’m such a sentimental fool and kept some of your old clothes. I don’t think they have any at the mansion, and Lex… the little one… the boy… Well, he needs something to put on.” She looked up at him, an unsure expression on her face.

Clark sighed. “I know it’s weird… I still can’t believe it myself, but I’ve seen him; it’s Lex. Well, maybe Chris already knows a little more. And then we have to figure out a way to turn him back.”

“Be careful, though. If Kryptonite is involved --”

“I’m always careful, Mom. At least, I try,” he added, giving her a crooked grin.

Martha shook her head and thrust the basket in his arms. “Remind Chris that we’re here to help. Little boys can cause more trouble than one would think… Not to mention the big ones.”

Clark laughed and kissed her on the forehead before he walked out to the truck. Fifteen minutes later Corporal Andrews led him to the mansion’s conservatory. For a second, Clark thought about asking him for his first name, but then he discarded that idea. Corporal Andrews was a member of Lex’s security staff since Chris had been abducted nearly eighteen months ago, and even though he had resigned from the armed forces, he still was a Marine through and through. Even Lex called him ‘Corporal’.

They entered the conservatory and Clark saw Chris standing at the French door, one hand clutching her crutch, the other one a glass of whiskey. She turned around to greet him and Clark saw that her eyes were reddened and tears had left their marks on her cheeks. He set the laundry basket to the ground and hurried over to her, pulling her into his arms. “Hey…”

Chris struggled him. “I’m good… I, I… I don’t know where Lex is.”

“What? Did he run away? He looked rather fine when he left the hospital with you. --”

“Not Lex… Lex! I don’t know where he is.” Chris draw a deep breath, shaking herself. “That boy is not Lex. I mean, he is Lex, but he’s not my Lex. There are so many Lexes in this sentence, but where is mine? Little Lex, big Lex, gone Lex...”

“As long as we’re talking about him we could say Alex... Could make the whole situation a little easier,” Clark suggested and gently steered her onto the couch that sat in the middle of the room. “Why don’t you tell me from the beginning? Let’s say… how did you convince Lionel Luthor to take care of Lex… Alex?”

Chris screwed up her face and sipped at her drink. She stared at the floor for a moment, obviously to gather herself. “Did you bring your laundry here?”

“Mom kept a few of my old clothes. They are still good, and she figured you won’t --”

“Your mother is an angel. With wings. And a brain, quite obviously… I didn’t think of clothes for the boy. I didn’t think of anything, but when Lionel arrived at the hospital...” Chris moaned and took another sip before breathing in a few times “Right, Lionel… He’s a business man; I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.”

“What did you do, Chris?”

“The less you know the better.” Another sip and the drink was finished. “I know what I’m doing, but… I couldn’t leave a kid in his care. Hell, Lionel shouldn’t even be around humans at all. Oh God… I participated in human trafficking. I’m turning into a Luthor before I’ve married one.”

Clark lifted his hands. “Hey, I don’t judge you. If you hadn’t have taken the kid, my parents would’ve. Besides, Alex really likes you.”

“Uh, I’m not so sure about that.” Sighing, Chris stood up to refresh her drink. She propped her crutch against the bar and reached for a decanter.

Clark had stopped wondering a long time ago why every room in the mansion seemed to feature a bar, but he frowned at Chris. Normally, she didn’t drink that much – especially not whiskey.

“Wanna drink something?” She looked at him. “Juice, Coke, soda?”

He shook his head, eyeing her. “What’d you mean: you’re not so sure?”

“I told him his mother’s dead; dead as a dodo.” She winced and slowly returned to the couch. Clark noticed she hobbled more than normally, leaning heavily against her crutch. “He wanted to call his mom… What was I supposed to do? Give him her new number: 555-Metropolis Cemetery?”

“How did he take it?”

Chris glared at him and sipped at her drink again. Clark pressed his lips. There certainly was no easy way to tell anyone their mother was dead. The little boy had to be devastated!

“Matthew’s with him now. He knows him the best. Lex always trusted him… Gee, I’m stuck with the ten-year-old version of my fiancé, and I have no idea where Lex is. Why did I take him with me? He should’ve stayed with his father. Or, even better: Martha. Not with me. Gee, pull yourself together! You can’t send him away anymore. He’s not a piece of furniture!” She mostly spoke to herself, and Clark waited a few moments until she had calmed down. She shook her head, over and over again, and he stood up to get her some water.

“Already trying to sober me up?”

“You have to take care of a kid; I reckon it’ll be nicer without having a hangover. And frankly, I don’t think alcohol is doing you any good right now,” he replied and sat down next to her again. “You don’t think Alex is Lex?”

“I don’t know what I think. I mean that boy definitely is Alexander Joseph Luthor, son of Lionel and Lillian. I don’t need fingerprints to know that, but... it doesn’t feel... He’s not my Lex... yet.” She trailed off and shook her head. “Why is he ten years old? This... this is so crazy!”

“This is Smallville...”

Chris flashed him half a smile. “At least it’s never getting boring here... Dammit, I can’t think straight anymore!” She pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead, and Clark suppressed a sigh. Actually, he had hoped Chris already knew something more. For example: what had caused the explosion? Was it really one of Lex’s experiments, or something else?

“Where is Lex? He can’t be vanished, he has to be somewhere. We have to find him, and…”

“Shh, we’ll figure something out,” he said and put his arm around her shoulder, rubbing it a little. Chris loved Lex so much, and Clark knew that was exactly what his friend needed. Maybe he was just naïve, but he had sworn himself to protect their love.

Chapter 4

Clark stayed at the mansion until Chris began to apologize for being a wreck. She was gathering herself, so Clark decided to go home and pay her another visit the next day. On his way out, he ran into Matthew.

“How’s Alex? I mean, uhm, Lex?”

The butler eyed him for a moment, then flashed him a brief smile. “He’s resting. Ms. Harris told him rather bluntly about his mother’s passing.”

Clark raised his brows at the disapproval in Matthew’s voice, and at the fact that he was calling her ‘Ms. Harris’ again. He hadn’t done that in years.
“Chris only tried to do the right thing. I don’t think she wanted to hurt Alex.”

“And once again, Master Lex heard about his mother’s death by a complete stranger.”

Clark frowned at this comment, but didn’t ask. Instead he said, “Chris hardly is a stranger.”

“To little Master Lex she is,” Matthew retorted, but then sighed. His features softened. “My apologies, Master Kent. Of course, Mistress Christine is giving her best. This is a strange situation for all of us.” He cleared his throat. “I have heard your mother sent some clothes?” Clark nodded, barely wondering why Matthew already knew about this. Certainly, he knew more about the mansion and its inhabitants than Lex.

“She is a very foreseeing person. Give her my regards and my gratitude. We did not have the time yet to order clothes in Master Lex’s size.”

“We just want to help.” Clark gave the butler a bright smile before he said good-bye and drove back home.

Back on the farm, he walked upstairs to the loft and booted up his laptop, doing a little research on de-aging, regression and even time travel. He found a lot of scientific articles, next to the obligatory theories of some geeks, myths about the fountain of youth, and of course H.G. Wells’ stories. None of this really helped him to understand what happened to Lex, or Alex, though. Time travel seemed to make the most sense – at least, theoretically.
Maybe Lionel had made some experiments back in the 90s, and little Lex somehow got right into the middle of them, but then Lex should remember that because it happened in his past, which was Alex’s future…

Clark groaned and held his head in his hands.

“Happens to me all the time when I try to think. Knotted brain… not funny,” a female voice suddenly said and Clark looked up. On the couch sat a young, red-haired women. She was of Lex’s age and dressed in a tight, bleak leather suit.

“Dina!”

“Tut-tut.”

“Argus…” Clark rolled his eyes. He hadn’t seen her for quite a while.

Back when Lex had been shot and Chris abducted Dina had become a friend – a friend with supernatural abilities. After that incident, she continued to visit; either to talk, or to help him improve his skills. Lately – since he turned eighteen a few weeks ago – she had even asked him for help two or three times.

“Fine, let’s stick to ‘Dina’ then,” she sighed and stood up. “But when we’re out on patrol it’s ‘Argus’, understood?”

Again, Clark rolled his eyes. “It’s not as though a code name is useful. You don’t even wear a mask!”

“That’s the great thing about people: they only see what they want to see. At night, they see a vigilante, at day a nerd. You might want to adopt that concept – or wear a mask.”

“Fat chance I’ll ever run around in a stupid costume.”

“So, you started wearing black on patrol because you realized blue pants and red jacket look stupid on you?”

“Why are you here anyway?”

Dina chuckled, her emerald-green eyes watching him amused. “Can’t you tell? I checked on Lex, of course. The little one…” She made a face and shook her head. “This is weird, even for me. I’ve never seen something like that before.”

“Just don’t tell me this another stupid test of your Noesi!” Clark stood and build up in front of her, glaring. “Lex has gone through so much; not to mention Chris --”

“Hey, it’s really not my fault, or that of the Noesi, that Chris decided to tell Lex about Mo-- my, uhm, our birth father,” she retorted and nudged his chest. She was strong and Clark could actually feel her index finger pointing in his skin, yet he backed away, fearing he might break her bones.
“That was Chris’ decision, hers alone. No one could have stopped her, or even know what she was up to. Seriously, the future is not like a written book. You can’t just skip to the last chapter, seeing how it ends. Especially not when it comes to Clark, Lex and Chris. Your story is… Damn, stop it, alien! I’m not gonna tell you anything.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, causing Clark to grin.

It wasn’t as though he had ever forced her to tell him about the future, but sooner or later she would begin to babble. Most of what she said didn’t make any kind of sense, though.

“Do you know what happened to Lex?”

Dina shook her head, moving over to the window. “I have an idea…”

Knowing her good enough by now, Clark realized she wouldn’t tell him more at the moment. He fell silent and looked out in the sky.

“Do you believe in time travel?” he asked, squinting at Dina. “I did a little online research, and when I think of Chris’ reaction towards Alex... What if he’s from the past? Alex would be Lex in his current state,” he added.

“That, I figured.” She gave him a sardonic look. “Well, I personally don’t think Lex has discovered the Fountain of Youth, and I never heard of anyone who is able to turn a grown man into a little boy. Time travel, though… it kinda corresponds to my hunch.”

“Could you get a bit more specific?”

“Impatient you are, young Jedi.” Giggling, she turned around and Clark grabbed her arm before she could teleport away. Sometimes, her joking attitude annoyed him to no end.

“I promised Chris we would find a way to bring Lex back.”

She looked at him, her expression becoming soft. “Then we have to make sure you don’t break that promise,” she said and loosened his grip. “Just give me a few days to do some research. It’s still possible there’s a metahuman out there who’s able to de-age people. I have no idea... Meanwhile, you get into a huddle with Chloe. Watching surveillance videos, hack into computer systems… The usual.” Then, she was gone and Clark sighed.

Dina definitely was a little nuts, yet he trusted her. It had taken him a little while, but he knew she had her heart in the right place.

Slowly, he moved back to his laptop and opened his IM program.

CeeKay: Fancy a trip to the mansion tomorrow?

ReportChick: Thought you’d never ask. :P

When Chris woke up next morning she felt absolutely whacked. She hadn’t slept a wink but kept thinking of Lex; both of them, actually. If Alex really was from the past, where was Lex? But if he wasn’t and Lex simply rejuvenated – as crazy as it sounded – was there a way to reverse that effect? Chris didn’t want to wait at least eight years until she would have an adult relationship with Lex again; in case he still wanted her then…

She winced, feeling horrible for thinking about sex when there was a little boy digesting his mother’s death who was dead half his life but had yet three years to live.

Chris shook her head. This was all too weird, too confusing. Lex couldn’t be a little boy. People didn’t age backwards.

“Focus, Harris, focus,” she told herself and quickly draw a plan of action in her mind. Taking a deep breath, she got up and headed for the bathroom to take a shower.

First, she had to know what exactly happened at the plant, and then she had to find out what Lex was experimenting on – maybe Chloe could help her with that. Knowing the young reporter, Chris was convinced Chloe would snoop around one way or another. It was the best to give her permission and keep an eye on her.

Chris hated the thought of prying into Lex’s affairs. They had an agreement not to ask the other about their work, or secretly look into it. Chris doubted Lex really stuck to this agreement, however she had given him her word not to stick her nose in his work. Until now… The given circumstances forced her to.

She finished her shower and got dressed before she walked downstairs into the kitchen. In the hall, she met Alex. “Hey, how did you sleep?”

“Not so good.”

“Mhm, me either,” Chris replied quietly, studying him. He was really young; and tiny. She had never pictured Lex as a kid, and definitely not as such a tiny kid. He was a midget. “Listen, uhm, I’m sorry I was so blunt about your mother’s --”

“Someone had to tell me, right?”

“S’pose… You aren’t mad at me, are you?”

“Why? Did you kill my mom?”

Chris raised her brows. There was already so much Lex inside this little boy, and for a second she couldn’t help but wonder whether she was right about the time travel at all. But then again, she doubted that Lionel had ever allowed Lex to act like a kid.

“Still, I should’ve been a bit more sensitive about it. I’m really sorry,” she mumbled and scratched the bridge of her nose. “Uhm, let’s have breakfast before we figure out what happened to you. You have to be hungry.”

Alex looked up, a surprised expression on his face. “We? As in… together?”

“What’d you think? I’d place you in a corner, give you a comic book and forget about you?” Chris flashed him a smile and petted his shoulder. “This is about you. Like it or not: you’re in.”

Alex’s face lit up and she had to suppress a sigh. Apparently, no one had ever shown much faith in him, and she wondered how he could grow up into such an amazing, confident man.

They walked down the stairs until Alex suddenly stopped. “Where are you going?”

“Having breakfast.”

“The dining room is here.”

“The food’s in the kitchen.”

“But Dad always says Luthors don’t eat in the kitchen,” Alex said quietly.

“And I say it’s stupid to tell the servants to set up a breakfast buffet when the gentlefolk isn’t even at court,” Chris said, mocking the British accent. “Or is it beneath your lordship to eat in the kitchen, Master Lex?”

Blushing slightly, Alex shook his head and moved a little closer. “I sometimes eat with the staff when Dad’s not home,” he whispered, causing Chris to wink at him, conspiratorially.

“Your secret’s safe with me.”

A few minutes later Alex sat at the breakfast bar, digging into a bowl of Cap’n Crunch. Luckily, some of the maids lived in the mansion and stored their own cereals in the kitchen. Lex definitely wouldn’t eat cornflakes, and Chris wasn’t so much into this brand, either. Yet, she couldn’t stop grinning. That was a sight she most likely would never see again.

“Pwif if fo goob. ’O you bow whaf haffend ‘o me?” he asked through a mouthful of food.

“You can talk and you can eat, just don’t do it at the same time,” she said, and scribbled down ‘Cap’n Crunch’ on the shopping list and wrote a quick note for the maid. Least of all she wanted the staff to think someone stole their cornflakes.

Alex hastily swallowed, apologized and asked his question again. “Do you know what happened to me? Why I’m here? In this time?”

Sighing, Chris put two pop-tarts into the toaster. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out today,” she said, looking at him. “At the moment I really don’t know what happened to you. I wish I could tell you something.”

A ‘plop’ came from the toaster and Chris turned to get a kitchen paper. “Here,” she said, handing Alex one of the pop-tarts. “Careful, it’s hot.”

“What’s that?”

“America’s downfall. Mine, at least,” she laughed and poured herself a coffee. “They are good.”

Carefully, Alex took a bite and screwed his face in a disgusted matter. “They’re sweet.”

“You don’t like?”

He shook his head and finished his bowl of cereals.

They were both silent for quite a while until Alex looked at Chris again. “You know me as a grown-up, right? And you know the mansion really good. You --”

“Yeah?”

He averted his eyes and stared into his glass of orange juice. “Are you my friend?”

“Yes, I am.”

He looked up, piercing her with his blue-grey eyes. “Are you my girlfriend?”

Chris sucked her lower lip between her teeth. That question had to come up; after all, that kid was anything but stupid. She looked at the ring Lex had given her when he proposed. It was a simple ring, made from white gold with a blue sapphire. Likely, she would have said ‘No’ if Lex had proposed with a diamond ring – that was too much of a cliché. This ring, however, was perfect, and showed how well he knew her.

“I’m the, uhm, girlfriend of your adult version,” she slowly said, trying not to think of Lex’s strong arms, his smell, his warm breath on her skin, his pleasant voice…

“That’s so cool,” Alex mumbled. “Ollie would be pissed.”

“Who’s Ollie?”

“Just some jer--... some boy from school.”

Chapter 5

Alex sat next to Chris on the sofa, while she watched surveillance videos of the plant. Someone had brought them after she had made some calls, sounding very strict and demanding. Alex was a little surprised. He had thought she would be always nice, yet a bit strange.

He looked around. The room was different from the others in the mansion; brighter, friendlier and definitely more messed up. A desk that was sitting near the windows was covered in papers and post-its and pens. The shelves were stuffed with ring binders and books about law. Black’s Law Dictionary was placed between a ring binder called Greene ‘06 and Amerson ·/· Voigt ‘03/10.

Alex couldn’t make out any kind of system; it simply looked as though the books and binders were randomly put into the shelves. He wished he was allowed to tidy his room like this, but his nanny Pamela always made sure he did it himself, and his dad would check whether the books were sorted by author and year. If they weren’t, Alex had to start over again. Chris, on the other hand, probably would only tell him to make sure the floor was clean...

Chris was different from the other adults he knew. She laughed a lot and spoke even more, but she never treated him like a kid. She seemed to think he was smart and would ask him for his opinion. Also, she smelled nice: like peaches and coffee.

“Bored already?”

Alex jumped a little in his seat and felt blood rushing into his cheeks. “No, I just, uhm --”

“Yeah, it’s a dull job.” Chris sighed and put another disk in her laptop. “You could go and ask Matthew where Lex, uh, the older You stores the comic books. I --”

“I thought we’d work together.”

“That was the plan, but I can’t let you die of boredom.”

Hastily, Alex shook his head. “I’m not bored! I was... this room just looks different, and I was wondering. It’s your office, right?”

Chris nodded. “I know it’s a bit chaotic in here, but I need this. Especially when working on a plea. Distraction does the trick. When you’re distracted yourself it’s easier to distract the jury and the opposing counsel. If that doesn’t help, you need a bunny.”

Alex frowned. “You’re not talking about a real one, are you?”

“What do you think?” There was an amused twinkle in her eyes and for a second Alex was convinced she meant a real, living animal.

“It’s a metaphor.”

“Exactly. Though I used a real one once.” She laughed and was about to play the video when Alex carefully nudged her shoulder. Chris looked at him, quizzically.

“Do we live together? When I’m a grown-up, I mean.”

“It’s complicated. I work and live in Metropolis, while Lex...” She trailed of and made a face. “Is it weird that I keep talking about your older self as though he was a complete different person?”

Alex shrugged his shoulders. He hadn’t thought about this before. “I guess it’s normal. You didn’t know me as a kid...”

“Would you mind if I called you ‘Alex’? I’m already doing it – in my mind, at least.” Again, she trailed of and turned her head.

Alex thought he saw Chris wiping her face, and for a second he considered rubbing her back a little. Pamela always did it when he was sad, and it made him feel a bit better. However, he decided against it. “I kinda like ‘Alex’...”

Chris flashed him a brief smile. “You don’t have to agree. I just keep on calling you Alex in my mind because otherwise I’ll get confused. You’ve been Lex your entire life, and --”

“I’m fine with ‘Alex’. Really!”

“OK, Alex... Ready for another round?” She pointed at her laptop and when he nodded she hit the ‘play’ button again.

It was more than boring to watch the surveillance videos. They all looked the same and nothing really happened. There was a guard, picking his nose, there was a scientist, an empty floor, the guard picking his nose again...

“Can you stop it?” Alex suddenly said and immediately, Chris pressed a key on her laptop.

“Why? What did you see?”

“I don’t know. Can you rewind it? I mean, it works like a tape, right?”

Chris only nodded, hitting another key and watched the video.

“There! Did you see that?” Alex wanted to point at the screen but didn’t dare. His mom always said pointing was impolite. He sighed and became quiet. He hadn’t thought of his mom all day, but now he really missed her.

“What should I see? Alex? Lex?”

He barely heard Chris and only looked up when she took his hand in hers. Her eyes were greenish with a hint of blue. He hadn’t noticed before. “Thought of your mom, hm?”

Alex shook his head.

“Liar,” Chris chuckled and squeezed his hand a little. “It’s OK. You miss her, that’s totally normal.” She took both his hands and made him look at her. “Whatever it is that brought you here, we’ll find a way to reverse it. You’ll see your mom again. That, I promise you.”

Alex couldn’t help but snort. Whenever someone made a promise to him they lied. His dad once had promised him to buy him a dog, his mom had said he would make many friends at Excelsior, Pamela had assured him no one would make fun of him because he was bald...

“Hey, this is a promise I mean to keep,” Chris said. “And now you’re supposed to nod and give me a brave smile.”

“You’re loopy.”

“Get used to it. You keep telling me when you’re older,” she laughed and let go his hands. Alex almost was a little disappointed. It had felt as though there were holding hands...

“What did you see on the video?” Chris suddenly asked and then glanced at her watch. “Or do you wanna make a break first? Are you hungry? Thirsty? Tired?”

“Maybe I need a new diaper.” He squinted at her and couldn’t help but grin. “I’m fine, really. But... I don’t know whether I saw anything at all. It just looked as though, well, as though...” He trailed of and shrugged. “How often do you think a grown man is picking his nose?”

“Not as often as they are scratching their balls... Uhm, you think someone faked it?” she hastily added and turned back to her laptop, re-watching that scene. She seemed to forget about Alex until she grabbed her crutch, stood and walked over to the desk. Mumbling, she lifted up some papers until she found the phone.

“I could’ve gotten it for you,” Alex said, glancing at her crutch. “You’re --”

“Becoming a cripple if I don’t move once in a while,” Chris replied, softly, and dialed a number. “First I have to convince you I’m a nice person; then I’ll put you into slav-- Chloe? This is --”

The door opened and Alex saw Matthew entering the room, followed by a blonde and a brunet. The young women held a phone to her ear and grinned.

“... Chris. Huh, phones are getting better and better. I call, and a second later you show up,” Chris laughed and put the receiver back on the table before she asked Matthew to bring some refreshments.

“My pleasure, Mistress Christine.”

“I hate him calling me that,” she muttered as the butler left.

“‘Mistress’, or ‘Christine’?” Clark grinned.

“Both, actually, but ‘Christine’ always makes me feel as though I’ve done something bad.” Chris shook herself and looked at Alex. “You remember Chloe and Clark?”

He nodded, but kept hoping Chris would sit down next to him again. It had been nice to be close to her...

“You called?” Chloe said, watching Chris rather impatiently, and the older woman indicated the laptop on the coffee table.

“We were watching the surveillance videos from yesterday and could do with your computer skills,” Chris explained as she walked back to the sofa. “Alex thinks that video here is faked.”

“No, I don’t. I just...”

Gently, Chris touched his shoulder and gave him a smile. “Just for the record: I think you might be right. Go ahead, tell Chloe what you saw. She won’t bite. Though... I’ve heard they call you Snapping Sullivan at the Planet.” She glanced at the blonde who just sat down next to Alex, having a look at the laptop.

“I’ve heard they call you Barracuda at the bar,” she replied, smirking.

“Uh, only at the DA’s office. The bar knows me as the Mad Hatter.”

“Not Cheshire Cat?”

“And I’ve heard Lex, uh, Alex wanted to tell us something.” Clark moved closer and gave the women a stern look before he winked at Alex. “Now you got their attention.”

“Maybe it’s nothing,” he said, quietly, without looking at any of them. “Maybe, I just thought there was something, because...”

“Insecure much?”

“Chloe!” Clark glared at her and turned to Alex again, giving him an encouraging nod. “Ignore her and tell us what you think you saw.”

Alex took a deep breath and told them about the nose-picking guard and that odd second he thought he saw someone else on the floor, while Chloe and Clark watched the video. Chris’ hand was still lying on his shoulder, and when he squinted up at her, she squeezed it slightly, smiling.

Chloe made an impressed noise and looked at him. “Eagle-Eye Luthor, eh? Well, I see what you mean; there’s definitely something odd; or Lex employes people that have absolutely no manners,” she added and pulled her laptop out of her bag. She glanced at Chris and back at the open laptop. “We should make a copy. Your video program --”

“Sure, go ahead.” Chris wanted to say something else when her cell phone began to ring. She fished it out of her pocket and looked at the display. “Shoot... I have to take this.”

Alex watched her leaving the room and eyed Clark and Chloe. Clark seemed to be nice and warm-hearted, but he didn’t know where to put Chloe. He doubted she was a bad person, but she definitely was outspoken, maybe even a bit rude.

“Chloe’s not that bad,” Clark said after a while. Matthew just had brought some refreshments and left the tray on a sideboard. There was coffee, some muffins and bagels, and cocoa with an extra marshmallow for Alex. “She’s just... When I met her first – we were thirteen – and I told her I live on a farm, she thought I was Amish and --”

“You live on a farm? With cattle and horses and tractors?” He looked at the tall man, almost excited, but when he saw Clark grinning, he quickly focused on the muffins, studiously picking one. “Uhm, that’s cool,” he said as casually as possible. “We have a farm, too; up in Montana. Horse breeding, you know!? My mom and I...”

Alex trailed of as he noticed that his voice began to shake. His sight blurred and he couldn’t stop thinking of his mom. They would never go back to Montana again. They would never feed the foals, or muck the stables, or pretend to be as normal as everyone else. He would never see her again, or talk to her, or hug her...

“You liked it there, didn’t you?” Clark squatted down in front of him so that they were almost eye to eye. “Taking care of the animals, spending quality time with your mom... That sounds pretty great.”

Slowly, Alex looked at him, straight into his eyes. They were blue, or green. It was difficult to tell. It was an amazing color, intense, but furthermore, Clark’s eyes were friendly and almost wise. Somehow, they looked older than Clark...

“You’ll go back to the farm; with your mom --”

“She’s dead.” Alex blinked heavily. Least of all, he wanted to cry in front of Clark; or anyone for that matter.

“Technically, she is, but if you’re really from the past, then she’s still alive in your timeline, and you’ll see her again,” Clark said and flashed him an optimistic smile. “Besides, you will tell me about the farm in a couple of years, and about a very special summer you had there when you were twelve.” Winking, he nudged his shoulder, and Alex thought he was referring to a girl.

He screwed up his face and snorted. It wasn’t as though he didn’t like girls – they didn’t like him. They’d rather be with boys that had hair, just like Clark. He probably had have a lot of girlfriends during high school. His hair was nice. It looked thick and healthy...

Chapter 6

Chris had left a copy of the security tape to Chloe who had watched it over and over again, frame by frame, until she could prove the tape was faked.

“There is at least an hour missing,” she said, heaving another moving box into her car. She was on her way to Metropolis, settling in her new dorm at MetU. “Lex was at the plant, but someone wants to make us believe black is white. The security logs of that day? All overwritten!”

“How do you know?” Clark groaned quietly as he tried to figure out how to place Chloe’s floor lamp in her car.

“I decrypted the new logs to get the old ones back. Hey, careful! I really like that lamp.”

“I figured.” Clark rolled his eyes. “We should take the truck instead of this... shoe box.” He finally squeezed the lamp in the car and glanced at the boxes that were sitting on the sidewalk. They would never fit in Chloe’s car.

“Stop insulting my baby and focus. While I’m in Metropolis you have to find out what’s happened at the plant. Maybe Lex is kept there...”

“Level Three is closed, and I don’t think there are other hidden rooms. Maybe he’s --”

“He’s definitely not in the 1990s,” Chloe said while moving around boxes, trying to find more space. “You can’t go back in time. It’s simply not possible. Alex might be from the past, but no way Lex took his place.”

“Are you saying Alex is trapped here?”

“Not necessarily,” she replied and moved her blonde hair out of her forehead. “Let’s think H. G. Wells here; minus the going back in time part. When you go to the future, at some point you have to go back to your original time. Technically, it’s time travel backwards, yet it isn’t because you don’t go back in time, you just go back where you’ve started.” She made a face and shrugged. “Uh, I’m still working on that theory.”

Clark nodded and lifted another box when his cell rang; it was his mom telling him Alex would spend the day at the farm since Chris had an emergency at the office.

“There’s something about little boys and the Kents,” Chloe grinned. Clark returned a smile.

“I should go home,” he said and pointed at the remaining boxes. “I’m bringing them tomorrow, using a real vehicle.”

Chloe beamed. “You’re my own personal superhero! I promise I work on my theory, and maybe I find something more on Lex’s latest project...”

“Drive carefully.” He hugged her goodbye and headed back to the farm. Chris was talking to Alex when he turned into the driveway to the farm.

“I’m really, really sorry,” he heard Chris say as he got out of the truck. “Obviously, they can’t do without a babysitter at the office. Okay, meeting a client is important, too... But I’ll be back tonight. Can’t say when, but it’ll be before you go to bed.” She eyed him worried, but Alex only nodded. “You can call me anytime. Or Matthew, if you want to go back to the mansion. He’ll pick you up.”

“Chris, I’ll be fine.”

“I sound like a soccer mom, huh?” She made a face and Alex began to grin.

“We’ll take good care of him,” Jonathan said, moving closer. “You’re giving us a hand, right? I’ve heard you have some farming experience.”

“Yes, sir,” Alex nodded eagerly and straightened up a little to look taller.

“Awesome! You can do my chores and I enjoy this wonderful day.” Laughing, Clark joined them and greeted Alex with a light pat on the back.

“Don’t let them tease you,” Chris said, glancing at Jonathan. Clark could tell she was begging his father to treat Alex as a normal kid and not a Luthor. He knew it was redundant; Jonathan gave all children a jester’s license. Alex wouldn’t be an exception.

The boy looked at Clark and Jonathan and shook his head. “I won’t,” he smiled. “But you should go now, or you’re gonna be late.”

“Who’s the soccer mom now?” Chris giggled and hugged him goodbye. Alex seemed to be a bit surprised, yet enjoyed the hug. He was still beaming as Chris drove away, but all of a sudden his expression changed and he pressed his lips.

“She’ll come back,” Clark said quietly as he noticed the worried look on the boy’s face.

“I know, but... She shouldn’t drive to Metropolis. Her leg...”

“She’s driving an automatic; she won’t need to use that leg at all. Though she really hates it. It’s her goal to drive a stick by the end of the year again. Knowing her, she’ll do it at around Thanksgiving.”

“Then she isn’t... I, uh, never asked her why she --”

“Clark, the stables don’t muck themselves!” Jonathan yelled as he climbed onto the tractor. Clark grinned at Alex.

“We better get going then.” He led Alex to the stables and handed him a pair of work gloves. “They might be a bit big, but that are the smallest ones we have. I mean you do want to help, right? You don’t have, though. There’s --”

“It’s okay,” the boy replied and took the gloves before he looked around. “Fit perfectly. Where do I start?”

Clark grinned and couldn’t help but think of the older Lex who had spent a couple of days at the farm, working alongside Jonathan back when Lionel had decided Lex was no longer a Luthor. Lex had done everything Jonathan had told him to do, without complaining, and little Alex seemed to be eager to prove he could work like a grown man.

Later that day Chris entered her law firm in Metropolis and headed straight for Sarah Bradford’s office. She was one of the name partners and specialized in family law – an area Chris had never been fond of.

“Have a sec?”

“Sure, come on in.” Sarah was a sturdy, tall woman in her thirties, with short blonde hair and a sharp tongue. “What’s the matter?”

Sighing, Chris sat down in one of the chairs in front of Sarah’s desk and closed her eyes. She felt sick and exhausted, but she couldn’t tell whether it was physical or rather mental. One way or another, it wasn’t her favorite feeling.

There hadn’t been an emergency at the office that had drawn her back to Metropolis. It was Lionel Luthor. He called her, summoning her to his office without telling what exactly he wanted her for – or from her. His voice alone was enough to give Chris a bad feeling; she had been right. Within the next two hours Lionel said he would release a statement, saying that Lex was missing, but furthermore, he wanted Chris to send Alex back to Metropolis. She couldn’t let that happen.

“Chris, I’m no mind reader. What’s your problem?”

“I pissed off Lionel Luthor, I guess. Big time. I threw down the gauntlet, right in front of his shiny Italian shoes,” Chris mumbled and looked up. “What are my chances to get custody for a ten-year-old?”

Sarah raised her brows and Chris told her the story she had made up the first night Alex spent at the mansion; Plan B in case Lionel would see the little boy as his second chance.

“I didn’t know Lex has a son... or that he was a teenage father.”

“We neither... Well, he got around when he was younger,” Chris replied quietly. It was horrible to think of all those women – and men – Lex had slept with, and to pretend he was too stupid to use a condom. She kept telling herself that Lex would be amused and that this was the nicest lie to ever be told about him.

In this moment Rachel, Chris’ paralegal, entered the office and handed her a brown envelope. Then, she left again. Chris peeked into it and couldn’t help but smile. For the first time in her life she was grateful to be the biological daughter of a criminal mastermind. Morgan Edge had never been her father, although he was a part of her life and she even liked him a little. After all, he had always been utterly sweet to her, but she was the General’s daughter. However, a couple of nights ago she had contacted Edge, asking him for help. To fight Lionel, she needed a back-up, and Edge certainly was the best. He hated Lionel with a passion and once Chris told him what she was up to, Edge had been on board.

Now, Chris was in possession of a birth certificate for Alexander Jack Kirby Luthor, son of Melody Kirby and Lex Luthor.

Chris breathed in and looked at Sarah. “Thing is: Lex is missing. Lionel will release a statement soon... Anyway, Lex and I just recently learned about Alex – that’s the boy. His mother,uh, has some problems --”

“Drugs?”

Chris nodded. “She’s already realized she needs help, and checked herself into rehab, but that wasn’t enough for Lex, and he... we decided to take care of the boy. But since now it’s only me --”

“Luthor wants to have a say in it,” Sarah finished and moved over to Chris, taking her hands. “I’m sorry to hear about Lex. But missing isn’t gone. They’ll find him.”

Chris forced herself into a smile. Until now she was able to ignore the thought of Lex maybe being gone forever, but it was getting difficult. What if she wouldn’t see him again for a very long time? What if she had to wait for Alex to grow up and eventually evolve into her Lex?

She pressed her lips and forced herself to remain calm. She had to focus, and she had to take care of Alex. “What are my chances, anyway?”

“Well, Luthor is the grandfather; he’s blood... Judges tend to rule in favor of family,” Sarah replied. “However, there’s always a chance. Where’s the boy now? Is he staying with you? Do you already have some kind of relationship?”

“I think so...”

Sarah walked back to her desk and scribbled down a few notes. “Considering the opposing party will be Lionel Luthor, we’ll have to fight. You have an excellent reputation among the bar, you’re financially independent, the child’s father asked you to marry him which implies he had intentions to start a family with you. Also, you’re cute as a button while Luthor... uh, is not. All in all, there is somewhat of a chance. At least for temporary custody. One or two witnesses of character wouldn’t hurt, though. Is there any chance Lex stated in his will that he wants you to take custody for all his illegitimate children?”

Chris was barely listening. Once again she felt sick, but this time it was definitely something physical. She choked and had to take a few deep breaths.

“I’m sorry, that was a bad joke,” Sarah hastily said and stood to pour her a glass of water. “We won’t need Lex’s last will for a very long time.” She handed her the glass and studied her, tilting her head. “You haven’t already started a family, have you?”

Chris’ eyes widened. “What? No! Hell, no! It’s just the aftermath of meeting the prince of darkness. I’ve been Luthor’ed. And maybe I ate something wrong. Wait... I haven’t eaten since breakfast.” She pressed her hand against her forehead and groaned. “I don’t like the life outside the courthouse. Lawyers and judges are okay, but real people scare me. Can you make the real people go away?”

“I tried, but they keep spawning,” Sarah chuckled and gently rubbed her shoulder. “Get something to eat. I’ll prepare everything necessary to get you temporary custody for Lex’s boy.”

“OK, that’s enough,” Clark said and took the bucket out of Alex’s hands.

“But I’m not done yet. The calves are hungry!”

“You can barely lift your arms anymore,” Clark laughed and gently squeezed the boy’s shoulder. “You’ve done a great job, but now it’s time for a break. I’ll finish this while you could go inside. You have to be starving...”

Alex shook his head although his stomach was speaking another language; it was rumbling rather loudly... “I don’t want Mr. Kent to think I chickened out,” he said quietly, and Clark grinned.

“He won’t think that, and you don’t have to impress him, either. Dad asked for a helping hand; he didn’t mean you to run the farm on your own – and that’s basically what you did today.”

“It was fun... working with you and stuff.”

Clark eyed the boy for a moment. Actually, they had a lot in common. Both trying to find their place in this world, getting accepted for who they were, and while Clark always thought it was easier for Lex, he now realized it was even more difficult. At least, Clark could easily blend in while Lex always stood out. It certainly wasn’t easy to grow up being bald...

“Likewise, but your work is done here, Alex. Besides, I’m not keen on facing Chris when you pass out, completely exhausted.”

“I won’t,” the boy protested, but Clark shook his head and indicated a bale of hay. “Sit down and no backtalk! I’ll finish this here.”

Alex grumbled quietly but sat down anyway, while Clark fed the calves. They fell silent and Alex didn’t speak before Clark was finished. “Will I have hair again when I’m an adult?”

Clark blinked and studied the boy, slowly walking over to him. He shook his head.

“But why is Chris my girlfriend then? Lex’s girlfriend... Why would she be with a bald freak when she can be with someone like you? I mean, she’s really beautiful and funny and smart... I bet you had a lot of girlfriends in high school. You’re tall and good-looking, and your hair is really nice...”

Clark couldn’t help but chuckle. If it wasn’t so much insight into Alex’s soul, it was almost cute.

“I can’t speak for Chris, but she never came across as someone who’s interested much in hair,” he said. “Relationships aren’t about looks. You’re a great boy; you’re caring, helpful, smart... that won’t change once you’re grown up. And you have to stop calling yourself a freak. No one here thinks you’re a freak, and you should be the last to say so.”

Sighing, Clark shook his head. He never thought of Lionel as a caring father, but there had to be someone in Alex’s life who told him once in a while he was perfect the way he was. How else could he have grown into that Lex that Clark knew today?

“I don’t know why Chris fell in love with Lex; I only know she did, and she also cares a lot about you.” He nudged Alex’s chest and flashed him a smile. “And now, enough with the hair talk. Let’s go inside and try to sponge some apple pie before dinner. Mom’s an excellent cook!”

Chapter 7

Martha stood in the kitchen, watching her boys and Alex playing cards in the family room. She smiled. Truly, it was strange to see Lex as a little boy, but he was downright adorable and well-mannered, and maybe now Jonathan would finally realize that Lex was more than just Lionel Luthor’s offspring. He seemed to get along with the child-version of Lex.

Martha turned around and sighed quietly as she looked at the pile of dirty dishes. Longingly, she glanced at the dishwasher; it was broken and several months would pass until they could afford a repair, or even a new one...

She rolled up her sleeves and let hot water run into the sink while she kept thinking about Lex – or Alex, like Clark called him now. He was a lovely boy, yet lonely and insecure, even scared. Earlier that evening Alex accidentally had dropped a glass, and Martha never saw a child that scared before; almost as though he feared he would get punished over a broken glass. She shook her head. If she had given Clark a spanking for every broken glass she would suffer from a tennis elbow now.

That fear Alex had shown had to come from somewhere, and Martha couldn’t help but wonder whether Lex had been abused by his parents. Not just by Lionel, but also by his mother.

Martha sighed again and began to scrub a pan. Violence – physically or verbally – made her angry; especially when it was directed to children.

There was a knock at the kitchen’s door, and when Martha looked up she saw Chris.

“Sorry, I’m late... Oh, you, too,” she said, glancing at the yellow rubber gloves Martha was wearing.

“The dishwasher’s broken; takes a bit longer this way.” Laughing, Martha stripped off the gloves. “Come on in. Are you hungry?” She didn’t wait for Chris’ response but prepared a dish and put it into the microwave.

“Actually, I’m just here to pick up Alex...”

“Pick up is the right choice of words.” Chuckling, Jonathan entered the kitchen. “The boy’s asleep, snuggled up against Clark. I expected him to be exhausted – he worked like a grown man – but Clark...” Still chuckling, he shook his head and brushed his lips against Martha’s cheek. “I’m making my round. – Chris, I wouldn’t mind having Alex here again tomorrow. There’s a farmer hidden in that boy.” He left the house to check on the stables and the livestock while both Martha and Chris peeked around the corner in the living room.

Clark sat on the sofa, Alex was half-lying next to him – they were snoring almost simultaneously.

“Jonathan knows that’s Lex as a ten-year-old, right?”

Martha flashed her a smile as she heard the sardonic sound in her voice. “He’s revising his attitude of Lex. The boy makes it easy for him.”

“Yeah, he’s always trying to please everyone,” Chris mumbled, causing Martha to press her lips. She knew Chris as an empathic person and of course the young lawyer knew more about Lex than anyone else, but that comment made Martha fear she might have been right about her hunch of Lex being abused by his parents.
She looked at Chris; she was rather pale. Gently, she took the younger woman’s arm and made her sit down at the kitchen’s island.

“I’m good,” Chris said. “There’s no reason to go --”

“You may not share your mom’s genes, but you’re a lot like her,” Martha replied softly. “Don’t take me for a fool. Your mom tried and failed. What’s bothering you, sweetheart? And don’t even try to tell me you had a long day at the office.”

Chris closed her eyes, and for a second Martha thought she would rest her head at her shoulder and cry, but of course, Chris didn’t. She would keep acting tough until she was too exhausted to keep up the facade. She was her mother’s daughter.

“It’s just... Haven’t you seen the news today? Lex’s been declared missing; Lionel made up some crap story, and now he wants Alex back. There was no emergency at the office. I... Lionel wanted to meet me, and after he told me that he wants Alex back I kinda flew off the handle. I’m gonna fight him for custody. No way I’ll let Alex stay with him! He screwed up the first time; he shouldn’t have a second go. Would you be my witness of character?” Chris spoke fast – even for her standards – and Martha saw desperation in her eyes.

The last time she saw Chris like this, Lex had been in coma and Chris hadn’t slept for days. Martha sighed. She barely understood what was going on, but she had a bad feeling about Lionel Luthor taking care of a child like Alex. Chris might be full of extremes, slightly nuts and clumsy outside a courtroom, but she had her heart in the right place and she cared for Lex – no matter how old he was. Yet, Martha didn’t like to imagine Chris fighting Lionel. They were both stubborn, but Lionel was far more dangerous.

Martha forced herself into a smile. “Maybe that won’t be necessary. You’ll find a way to bring Lex back and --”

“I promised Alex to send him back to his mom, but I still don’t know what happened to him. What if that’s really Lex, miraculously turned into a little boy? What if there’s no way to reverse it?” Chris screwed her face and shook her head as though she was fighting tears. “Why now? I thought from now on everything would be just... perfect.”

Martha’s gaze dropped to the ring at Chris’ left hand and another sigh escaped her lips. Chris became more and more the daughter she had never had, and Martha deeply hoped everything would turn out fine for Lex and Chris.

“Sweetheart, we’re going to find a way. This is Smallville, after all.”

“Will you be my witness of character anyway?”

Smiling, Martha pulled Chris in her arms. “I’d be honored.”

Later that night, Chris sat outside the bedroom on the balcony, dressed in one of Lex’s shirts, a drink in her hands. She smelled the amber liquid rather than drinking it, and when she closed her eyes it almost felt as though Lex was around.

Technically, he was. In form of a ten-year-old who was lying safe and sound in his bed. Chris’ lips curled into a smile. Alex was totally bushed and barely woke when Martha had woken Clark so that he could carry the boy to Chris’ car.

Chris looked at her Blackberry, reading the emails Chloe send her for the umpteenth time. The young reporter seemed to be convinced that someone was trying to cover up Lex’s presence at the plant the other day – but why would anyone do that? Lex was at the plant; Chloe was able to extract a film frame from the surveillance videos: a blurred picture of a person entering a lab, but that bald head was distinctively Lex’s. Furthermore, he had told Chris about his meeting. She wasn’t naïve enough to believe Lex was one hundred percent honest with her, but she knew he wouldn’t lie to her face. He would keep things from her, but he wouldn’t lie. They were beyond lies.

Chris sighed and stared at Lex’s laptop. Ever since he disappeared and Alex had shown up, she took it with her wherever she went, yet she didn’t dare to open it. Truly, they were engaged and promised each other to be honest – on a personal level; regarding work little white lies and discretion were a given. However, Chris was running out of ideas and she doubted that the development of a new super manure would evolve in time travel, or causing anyone to get rid of all evidence that proved Lex had been at the plant the other day. There was more to that experiment, and Chris hoped she would find the answer on Lex’s hard drive.

She sipped at her drink before opening the laptop and booted it up. Of course, it was password protected. Chris scratched the bridge of her nose and typed in a few names and words – all were rejected but one.

“My middle name? Seriously, Lex? Why even bother setting up a password?” She shook her head and squirmed slightly as she saw the desktop picture. At first, she thought it was one of those pictures the stalker sent them eighteen months ago, and she had to take a few deep breaths, trying hard not to think of the night in the hut when she had been in the hands of said stalker.

She closed her eyes for a moment, using the technique she and her psychotherapist had developed to help her controlling possible panic attacks.

When she opened her eyes again, she was able to look at the laptop again, and couldn’t help but call herself an idiot. Of course, Lex didn’t use one of those photos the stalker had taken when they had been asleep. It was merely one of those pictures they once had taken when they had been fooling around in bed.

She chuckled a little and looked at the background picture a little longer. They were both making faces at the camera, and Chris remembered how incredibly silly and light-hearted Lex had been that day.

“Chris?”

She jerked and instinctively closed the laptop as she turned around. Alex entered the balcony, wearing blue pajamas and a grey bathrobe. Matthew had bought him a few clothes she would have never bought for a boy, but obviously Alex felt more comfortable in those than in Clark’s hand-me-down clothes.

“Did I scare you?”

“Not a bit... A little, maybe.”

“I didn’t mean to. I knocked, but... Sorry, I’ll go back to bed.”

Reaching for his hand, Chris shook her head. “Hey, it’s okay. You don’t have to apologize. Why aren’t you in bed, though? I thought after today you’d sleep like a stone. Jon-- Mr. Kent was extremely impressed by you.”

“Really?” Alex eyed her surprised.

“He said you’re a born farmer. Coming from Jonathan Kent, that’s a really big compliment,” Chris replied and set the laptop on the ground before she petted the bench. “Come, have a seat and tell me why you’re not in bed.”

Alex stood stock-still, pressing his lips, and Chris couldn’t help but pulling her into his arms and tickle his ribs. Lex was ticklish there, and so was Alex. He squirmed and giggled. Chris laughed.

“I won’t stop before you tell me. I can do that for ages.”

“Stop it, please. Now!” For a second, he snuggled up against her, but then quickly moved away and took a deep breath. “I couldn’t sleep,” he said quietly. “I think someone was in my room and took my blood.”

Chris frowned and immediately thought of how she felt back when there had been pictures taken of her being asleep.
Involuntarily, she shook her head. Something like that couldn’t happen again. That was simply impossible.

“Really! Just look.” Alex lifted his right hand and showed her his index finger. “There’s a sting.”

“Vampires prefer the neck. Blood flows so much better from the carotid.”

Alex glared at her and Chris flashed him an apologetic smile. “If you were a kid from this time, you’d know about the Vampire revival... Listen, no one was in your room. Maybe Matthew checked on you before he went to bed, but no one can enter anyone’s bedroom here without causing at least three security guys checking the scene. Corporal Andrews instructed the staff well enough,” she said, almost smiling a little when thinking about the Corporal. He wasn’t a man of many words, but he would call a spade a spade. “And that sting looks pretty much like a mosquito bite. You just had a weird dream; that happens to all of us. Especially after a long day of physical work. Likely your brain just wanted to have a little fun. I mean farm work isn’t exactly an intellectual challenge.”

Alex nodded slowly and played with the belt of his bathrobe. “You’re right... I shouldn’t have bothered you.”

“Did I ever said that?” Chris sighed and watched him for a second, remembering her meeting with Lionel. She couldn’t let him stay with the prince of darkness. Not with his mom around, or any person that truly cared for him. “Hey, are you tired or wide awake now?”

“Wide awake, I guess. Why?”

“Because there’s something I need to talk to you about, and --”

“Did you find a way to send me back?”

It was impossible to say whether he was excited or disappointed. Someone should teach him how to act like a child, Chris thought and shook her head.

“We still have to work on that. And that means no more farm work for you. I need your brains here.” Smirking, she nudged his chest. “Seriously, though: are you really wide awake? There are a few things I’d like to discuss with you, but maybe we should wait until tomorrow. --”

“I’m awake. Like you said: farm work is not really a challenge for the brains.”

Chris smiled. Whenever she thought it was impossible that this little boy would become her Lex, Alex proved her wrong. He was Lex in the making...

“Chris?”

“Sorry, I was thinking of something Clark said when he carried you to my car. --”

“You should’ve woken me.”

“We’ll do next time... Anyway, Clark said he thinks you might have travelled in time, and when I think of all possibilities – failed experiment, meteor rocks which seem to be responsible for the most of weirdness happening in this town... Hell, I even thought of witchcraft, but maybe, for some reason, you really travelled through time --”

“Sounds better than witchcraft...” He paused and eyed her thoughtfully. “The last thing I remember is that Dad and I were at the plant. Mom wanted us to spend some time together... I didn’t want to go because the last time --”

“You lost your hair. Lex told me.”

Alex nodded slowly, playing with the belt of his robe. “It wasn’t so bad this time, but it was boring. Like, really boring. Dad was talking to the staff and didn’t pay any attention to me, so I wandered off and then... I don’t know, but suddenly there was this really bright light. As though it was all around me, you know?” He watched her helplessly and Chris could only nod although she didn’t understand. “It was strange. It was just there for a second, or two, and then... I saw Clark.”

“You never told me.”

“You never asked. I didn’t think it was important...”

Chris groaned and rubbed her forehead. “We should have agreed on some ground rules. I obviously don’t know anything about ten-year-old boys... From now on, just tell me whatever comes to your mind, okay? We need all the input we can get. So, what do you think? Shall we keep an open mind on Clark’s theory?”

Alex shrugged and moved his head undecidedly. “At least then we could really say there’s a way to send me back.”

“’Kay, then let’s stick with that for a while,” Chris mumbled and closed her eyes.

What am I thinking? I can’t take care of a child. I’m totally failing here. Why didn’t I call the Kents when Alex was still at the hospital? They are parents; they knew something about little boys. Alex would be better off with them...

“You alright?”

“Huh?” Chris blinked and looked at him. “Yeah, there’s just... there’s something else I need you to know. Uhm, the emergency wasn’t at the office... it was your father. That is... he demanded to see me.” She paused and eyed Alex but he remained silent.
“Well, Lex – the Lex from our time – has been declared missing today. Your dad made up some weird story about Lex, the older one, being on a sailing trip, but the media seemed to swallow it. Anyway, your dad wants you to go back to Metropolis; to him. He’s convinced you’re Lex – my Lex – and due to a failed experiment, uh, aged backwards.”

“What if he’s right?”

“Sometimes I think he is, but then I have a look at you and I know you don’t belong in this time. I can’t explain it, but I know you’re not... my Lex... yet.” She trailed off and sighed.

“Do you miss... him? The adult Lex?”

Chris nodded slowly and took a deep breath. “A lot, but I promised you to find a way to send you back to your mom, and I’m keen on keeping that promise. --”

“Even now that I have to go back to Dad?”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I should’ve talked to you before, but that was always Plan B, and I hoped we would never need Plan B,” Chris said and scratched her nose as she saw Alex’s puzzled expression. “See, I’m not exactly a friend of your dad, and he tends to make me really angry. And when I’m angry I do a lot of stupid things... like telling him I’d fight for custody over you. In fact, I already dug up the hatchet. I’m gonna fight for custody.”

“But, he’s my dad.”

“Well, officially now he’s your granddad and you’re your own son,” Chris muttered and bit her lip. “Like I said, I should’ve talked to you before, and if you want to go back to your dad I’d understand. You don’t have to stay with me. I’ll find a way to bring you back to your mom, because I’ve promised you.”

“That sounds as if I had an option... Will Dad come and pick me up, or will he --”

“Alex, what do you want? It’s not as though you were some kind of furniture we can push around. You’re ten years old, turning eleven soon. You are allowed to have your own opinion. A judge would consider it in a trial. Unless you say you want to be with your dad. Then, there wouldn’t be a trial at all. I’m nuts but not that much. I really should have talked to you in the first place, but once I’m in lawyer mode I try to do what’s best for my client, and in this case... I think I did what I thought is best for me.”

Alex fell silent and kept playing with the belt of his bathrobe, while Chris shook her head. Just because Lex didn’t like his dad when he was an adult, it didn’t necessarily mean he never liked Lionel as a kid. Maybe Lionel had acted like a dad when Lex was younger. After all, Alex was still a little boy, trapped in the future – or at least to him an unknown environment. He was surrounded by strangers, and maybe he needed a familiar face. Even if it was Lionel Luthor’s.

Chris sighed and considered calling Morgan Edge for another favor. If Alex went back to Lionel he sure needed a nanny, and only Morgan would be able to infiltrate the Luthors with a spy. Someone that would look out for Alex...

“Dad will be pissed when I stay with you.”

“You bet... Wait!” Chris raised her brows. “You want to stay with me?”

Alex glanced at her, insecure, and slowly began to nod. “Yes, but... what if Dad --”

Chris couldn’t help but pull him in her arms. He struggled a little, but that was nothing new to her. Lex would still do that, but quickly relax. So did Alex. He even snuggled up against her.

“Leave your dad to me,” she whispered. “You and I, together, will find a way to send you back to your mom. I’ll be there for you, no matter what.” She trailed off and pulled him a little tighter. “Everything will be fine.”

“You’re only doing that because you think when I’m back in my time, you’re going to see Lex again, right?”

Chris blinked and looked down at him. “If I could have you and Lex at the same time, I’d be the happiest person alive. Believe it or not: I’m doing this because I really like you, Alex.” She gave him a smile. “Oh, and ground rule number two: let’s talk before we make decisions out of impulse. Well, that’s more a rule for me than it is for you...”

Chapter 8

Two days passed without any news. Chris kept trying to gather as much information as possible about the incident at the plant, and even though Chloe had turned over every rock she could find in the search and had come up with a lot of interesting things, they still weren't any closer to finding out what had happened to Lex.

Frustrated, Chris threw the stress ball she had been kneading for the past minutes across the room.

“This can’t be real. Someone please tell me I’m on a bad LSD trip.” She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed in deeply before she looked at her notes again.

She had made some charts and a timeline, hoping that would help clearing up the mess inside her head. It always helped when working on legal issues, but obviously dealing with the ten-year-old version of one’s fiancé wasn’t a legal issue, and thus her notes didn’t help at all.

Nothing seemed to make sense these days. Least of all Lionel who was remarkably quiet. Chris would have thought he would storm the mansion to get Alex – or at least sent a SWAT team – but nothing.

Ever since she had threatened him to fight for custody over Alex the tycoon kept a low profile, and Chris wondered why.

Was he already planning her downfall? Did he know about Morgan Edge? Would he use it against her? Would he even go so far and defame her of being a pedophile, or worse? Or did he actually know what happened to Lex and that Alex’s presence was just temporary and thus he simply laid back and enjoyed the show?

“Great, now I’m thinking Lex-ish. How can he live with all these paranoid thoughts?” Chris groaned and put her head in her hands, trying to think of the situation being a lawsuit. Jurisprudence was her playground; it had always been.

“Stop thinking, kiddo. That makes nasty crinkles.”

Startled, Chris looked up – straight into the steel-blue eyes of a tall, dark-haired man.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. “The Brit sent me up here. Obviously, it’s part of his butler duties to play cops and robbers with bald kids. He’s losing by the way – and he’s the cop. Such a shame...”

“Keith!”

“Live and in color!” He laughed and walked over to her before she could stand up. He brushed his lips against her forehead, and Chris wrapped her arms around him. “I was going to ask you how you’re doing, but... I take that as shitty.” He eyed her thoroughly and she let him go, rubbing her forehead.

“Why are you here?”

“Do I need a reason to see my best friend?” He looked at her in mocked indignation, and then gave her a contrite smile. “I should’ve checked on you earlier, but you seem to be handling the situation just... you seem to be handling the situation. The kid’s still alive. --”

“Don’t come up with the cactus again!”

“You let it die of thirst!”

“A child isn’t a cactus, and trust me: that kid downstairs will politely ask for a glass of water when thirsty.”

Chuckling, Keith squeezed her shoulder in an apologetic way. “It’s okay. The cactus was old and lived a --”

“Shut it! I’m really not in the mood for your semi-funny jokes,” Chris snarled, crossed her arms in front of her chest and sank back into the cushions. “There’s a ten-year-old version of Lex downstairs whom I promised to send him back to his already dead mom while my fiancé is gone AWOL, and my father-in-law-to-be will soon give a press conference to tell the world I’m a pedophile. So, take your jokes and stick them where the sun will never shine!”

Keith fell silent and studied her for a little while, causing Chris to regret her outburst. Keith was like the big brother she never had but always wanted. He only meant well.

“It’s really baby-Lex then, and not his love child,” he mumbled, squinting at her. “When you called me the other night, I honestly thought you were stoned.”

“I haven’t been stoned since we found your parents’ stash... I know it sounds like a story straight from the loony bin, but the kid you saw with Matthew is Lex. No doubt.”

“Time travel, then. Really? I mean... time travel?”

Chris sighed. She didn’t even know whether Clark’s time travel theory was right at all, yet at the moment it seemed to be the only theory that made any kind of sense. She told Keith about it, and he listened closely.

“Maybe you should’ve looked for Doc Brown and his DeLorean rather than Dr. Sinclair.”

“Huh? How do you know?”

Keith began to shift in his seat, watching her uncomfortably. “I’m not just here as your friend,” he finally confessed and paused. “The MPD is investigating... Chris, we found Sinclair earlier this morning – murdered.”

“What? How? Why? Where? Wait a sec: am I a suspect?”

“Of course not, but... you tried to contact him over the past few days, and he was clutching your calling card when we found him, so... It’s really just routine to ask you. Come on, do you really think the Chief would have let me visit you if you were a suspect?”

“With all due respect: the commissioner is an idiot!”

“Who are you telling?”

They both smiled, yet Chris kept wondering. Where did Sinclair get her calling card from? They never met. Chris only knew about him because she had been reading each and every file she had found on Lex’s computer – apart from the draft for his marriage vow since she had no idea they were going to write their own, and she was still in shock about that.

“With Lex officially being missing – by the way: who came up with the story of Lex being on a sailing trip?”

Chris looked up, puzzled. “Who d’you think? Here’s a hint: it always smells like brimstone when he emerges from hell.”

“You should call him Luci – after all, he’ll be your father-in-law. Anyway, with Lex being missing and Sinclair murdered --”

“The MPD think both cases are connected, and that I’ve already pulled the Black Widow card.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “I already told you you’re not a suspect!”

“Not yet, but sooner or later one of those doughnut-addicted wiseacres will have a brainfart and put two and two together.”

“At least we can be sure that you won’t raise the bald kid.”

Even though Chris was at the edge of flying into a rage, she watched her friend puzzled and almost forgot to close her mouth. Keith grinned.

“Brainfart? Come on, Lex is way more sophisticated than that. He’d never use such a word; ergo you won’t raise that kid.”

“Jesus fucking Christ riding a broomstick, are you an idiot, or what? Haven’t you been listening? Alex is here, now, while Lex is God-knows-where. I can’t change Lex when I’m still in my timeline and Alex is crossing Lex’s. I could only change Alex if I travelled back Lex’s timeline to the time when Lex actually was a child, but that’s not possible because Einstein excluded backwards time traveling. Yet, I have to find a way to make it happen because I promised Alex he’d see his mom again, and --” She couldn’t finish but began to choke. Why was she getting sick again?

“You OK?” Keith’s voice sounded concerned as she focused on her breath, hoping the sickness could be breathed away. It didn’t work. “You really look like crap.”

Chris didn’t reply but pressed her hand against her mouth and grabbed for her crutch. She jumped up and headed for the bathroom, however the trash bin turned out to be nearer. She reached it not a second too late, being grateful that it was only Keith who was holding her hair now, and not Lex.

“Here,” was all he said when she looked up again, and handed her a pack of tissues. He turned to get her a glass of water and then moved over to her desk while Chris wiped her mouth and drank some water.

She shook her head. All that stress and anxiety about Lex and his whereabouts had to tear on her immune system, and she had to come down with one hell of a stomach flu.

She sipped at the water again, gargling a little to get rid of the taste of sickness as Keith picked up her Filofax, flipping through it.

“Hey, that’s private.”

“Honeybun, we skipped the privacy part when you made me buy you tampons – and again just a second ago when you let me hold your hair while you were eating backwards,” he replied dryly and studied her organizer. Then, he shook his head. “Chris, you’re twelve days overdue.”

“That means nothing. I obviously have a stomach flu, and in case you haven’t noticed: I’m a teeny, tiny, little bit stressed these days. I must have forgotten to mark the days.” Chris rose, leaning on her crutch, and tried to get her diary back.

“Sure, and in at about eight months we’ll know whether your stomach flu is a little Chris, or a little Lex.”

“Gee, I’m on the pill!”

“Yup, so was my sister, and little Owen is turning three next month.”

“Are you a frigging detective, or a godforsaken gynecologist? Just because Heather was too stupid --”

“She wasn’t, but she has the same eating habits like you. All that oily food... the pill just goes through without having a chance to actually do its job.”

“I’m NOT pregnant!” Chris almost yelled, trying to put the possibility of a pregnancy into a distant corner of her mind. She couldn’t deal with this right now.

“Chris, you look like crap, you’re sick – from what I’ve heard not for the first time – you’re grumpy, choleric... Do you feel dizzy every now and then?”

“Have you attended med school?”

Keith sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders. “We know each other for such a long time, and I know what you look like when you come down with a flu. I’m not looking at flu-Chris right now.” He cupped her cheek in his palm. “This is a new Chris --”

“But I can’t be pregnant. Lex and I never... He’s not even here! I can’t deal with that right now. I...” Chris winced. She felt as though she was losing it; her mind, her stability, her everything.

“Shh, it’s alright,” Keith whispered, pulling her into his arms. “Maybe it’s really just a stomach flu, or the stress, or me just wanting to be godfather to your firstborn.” He rubbed her back for a little while and Chris buried her face at his shoulder. “However, you should take a test. It won’t harm – and I’ll take one with you; as a control test.”

Chris looked up, almost laughing. “You’d pee on a piece of plastic for me?”

Keith grinned and kissed the tip of her nose. “Of all the crazy things I’d do for you, this would be the least craziest. You know how much I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Chris! Chris! I beat Matthew playing cops and robbers. He even let me handcuff --”

Chris turned her head and saw Alex standing in the frame of the door, utterly excited about something, but within the blink of an eye his expression changed. He glared at Keith who was still embracing her, and the boy began to breathe heavily.

“You... you said you... I though you... You’re such a LIAR!” He turned on his heels and ran away.

Chapter 9

Alex ran. He ran without knowing where to go, without seeing anything. Tears were running down his face, blinding him. Yet he kept running, trying to get away from Chris as far as possible.

She had lied. She lied to him just like any other adult had done before. She had told him she was in love with Lex, his grown-up version, that he missed him, and yet she was hugging that dark-haired, handsome stranger, even telling him that she was in love with him.

Alex wiped his face with the back of his hand, but kept running. Chris had promised him she’d find a way to make him see his mom again, but probably that was just another lie. She didn’t care for him – no one ever did. He was just that bald freak everyone hated; Chris was no exception. He should’ve died during the meteor shower. No one would’ve cared anyway.

He sobbed, and his thoughts became even darker. Never he had felt this betrayed and this lonely before. He had trusted Chris and got gravely disappointed by her. Why wasn’t there anyone that truly cared for him, that liked him? Was he so unlovable? He was so stupid in believing in Chris.

Crying and trapped in a circle of dark thoughts he kept running until he found himself at the Kents’ farm. No one seemed to be around, and Alex quietly opened the door to the stables, hiding himself between the calves. They wouldn’t judge him, lie to him, or even make fun of him – no animal ever did. They were the better humans. They seem to understand him. After all, the calves had fathers that didn’t care for them, and mothers that weren’t around.

Carefully, the boy moved between the cattle, but they didn’t mind him at all. A few looked at him as though they were happy about having a visitor, and one even came over, nudging his chest with its soft mouth.
Alex couldn’t help but smile. She was the youngest in the herd, and looked different from the others. She was as rust-colored as all of them, but both her ears were white as snow, and she seemed to be an outcast. Even now, she was the only animal that actually didn’t mind coming over to him, the bald kid.

Gently, Alex rubbed her forehead. “You’re special. A real beauty,” he whispered. “One day you’ll be the best milk cow in the county while your brothers and sisters end up as burgers.”

The calf kept nuzzling his chest, almost as though it was grateful for the nice words. Alex slowly calmed down and his sobs died away when he kept caressing the animal’s forehead.

Suddenly, the barn doors opened and the herd began to moo.

“Listen up, children. Daddy’s bringing dinner!”

Jonathan Kent entered the stables and instinctively, Alex hid in the back of the stall. The white-eared calf followed and began to lick his teary face. He couldn’t help but giggle.
“Stop doing that,” he whispered, trying to push the calf away. “He’ll hear us.”

“Who’s there?” The clatter of buckets died away, and Jonathan Kent’s voice rolled through the barn like a thunder. Several calves mooed, and Alex pressed both his hands against his mouth, holding his breath while crouching down at the stall’s wall. “Show yourself, you son of b-- Alex?”

When he looked up he saw Jonathan holding a pitchfork. He let it sink and watched the boy surprised. “What on God’s green earth are you doing here?” Propping the pitchfork against the wall, he opened the stall’s door and moved between the cattle over to Alex, pulling him to his feet. He studied him for a moment and clicked his tongue.
“Tz, tz... whatever it is, it can’t be that bad,” he said and pulled a hanky out from his pocket. He glanced at the fabrics as though he was deciding whether it was clean enough, but then wiped Alex’s face with it. “Hold still, the cattle already confused you with a lick stone.” He squeezed the boy’s shoulders and gave him a smile. “Shh, it’s OK. You’re always welcome here.” Tilting his head, he eyed Alex. “Does Chris know you’re here?”

Alex pressed his lips and looked away. He didn’t know whether he could trust Jonathan – may he ever be so fatherly.

“Right... that’s what I thought.”

“Are you going to call her now?”

“I’m not the Luthor’s secretary,” Jonathan replied and put the handkerchief back into his pocket. “You’re old enough to make that call yourself. The phone is in the kitchen.” He paused and pointed at the buckets. “Or, you help me feed the cattle. I could use a helping hand today. My wife is on Mobile Meats duty, and Clark obviously is still at CKU...”

Alex eyed him warily. “I don’t want to talk.”

Jonathan shrugged and turned to get a bucket, handing it Alex. “I’m a wordless worker myself. Now that this is settled: let’s go to work. You know the drill; make sure Beeks leaves something for the rest of the herd. You remember Beeks, right?”

Alex looked at the biggest calf and nodded while Jonathan picked up the pitchfork again.
They worked quietly, and even though Alex barely looked up he could feel the farmer’s eyes piercing him. Yet, Jonathan didn’t ask any question – whereof Alex was grateful. He really didn’t want to talk about Chris right now, or why he had run away from the mansion. He didn’t even want to think of it, and so he focused on the animals and tried to ignore Clark’s father until they eventually finished work.

The farmer thanked him, giving him a broad smile. “Maybe you can help me with another thing: that calf over there, with the white ears... She doesn’t have a proper name yet. Any ideas?”

Alex raised his brows. Obviously, Jonathan tried to gain his trust, making him feel involved. Yet, he couldn’t trust him. He was an adult, after all. Cooly, he looked at him. “Where’s the use in that? It’ll end up as burger anyway.”

“Look at you... quite the little sunshine.” Jonathan chuckled, but then gave Alex a stern look. “One way or another, as long as she lives on this farm she needs a proper name, and if you have an idea...”

“Chris, then. Call it Chris.”

“She’ll be flattered.” Laughing, Clark entered the barn. “Hey buddy. I didn’t know you were here today. I’d hurried at CKU otherwise.” He walked over to them and boxed Alex’s shoulder in a friendly way before he turned to his father. “I’m officially a student at CKU now.”

Alex couldn’t help but sense disapproval coming from Jonathan. He frowned. Didn’t he want his son go to college? Was he actually like Lionel, expecting his son to follow his footsteps and become a farmer? Alex wanted to become a lawyer, but Lionel wanted him to run LuthorCorp one day.

“Mom will be home later,” Clark said, still being all smile as though he hadn’t noticed anything. “She’s staying at Mrs. Sedgewick’s – I just got off the phone.”

“Looks like a boys night, then.” Mumbling, Jonathan wiped his hands off his jeans. “I’ll get a baptism kit, and meanwhile you two could figure out what’s for dinner.”

“Mac ‘n Cheese – what else?! Right, Alex?”

Alex nodded although he had no idea what the Kents were talking about. It sounded like a meal from a fast food franchise, but he hadn’t seen one of those restaurants in Smallville. However, he didn’t ask Clark about it. That would only reveal his ignorance about fast food, and Chris already thought he was an idiot for not knowing pop tarts.
He winced quietly at the thought of her. Likely, she was still with that handsome stranger, kissing him, and... doing adult things.

“Hey, you OK?” Clark asked, eyeing the boy.

“I’m fine. What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Your dad... He didn’t seem to be excited about you going to college.”

“Oh, that... He does want me do to go to college. He just don’t like that I turned down a scholarship for MetU --”

“Why would you do that?” Alex seemed to be shocked. As a matter of fact, the boy’s reaction pretty much corresponded to Clark’s parents’ reaction when he had told them he’d turn down the scholarship.

He laughed lightly. “MetU certainly is a great opportunity, but CKU is in Smallville, and one day I’m gonna run this farm – community college is enough for me.”

Alex fell silent, tilting his head a little.

“You think I’m an idiot, don’t you?”

“No, I...”

“Lex would,” Clark said and suppressed the urge to wince. He thought of Lex. Of course, he had spoken to him about the scholarship. It had been their last conversation before the incident at the plant, and of course, Lex had told him not to stay in Smallville to help his dad on the farm.

“I don’t want to lessen the job your dad is doing, but you are wasted on a farm. Frankly, you should do what you want, and not what you think your dad wants you to want. He doesn’t really need you on the farm. As far as I’m concerned, the farm is writing black numbers since your parents decided to go green – Chris just said the other day she was working on a contract between your dad and an organic grocery store in Metropolis. Knowing Chris, your father will end up with excellent conditions; he could easily hire a few seasonal workers. You should really consider going to MetU, Clark.”

Clark breathed in and gave Alex a smile. “Anyway, Dad made you pick a name for a calf? The white-eared one? She’s my fave, unfortunately I couldn’t come up with a name.”

“You really name all of them?”

Clark laughed again. “It’s an old tradition. My great-great-grandfather started it; all animals born on this farm get a name and a proper baptism. With holy water and prayers... Admittedly, it’s somewhat stupid, but our livestock is known to be pretty good. Because we name them.” He grinned and added, “Although none was ever named for a living human being.”

“But Chris is a cow. It’s only fair to name a cow for her.” Alex’s eyes widened as though he said something he’d rather kept for himself, and quickly looked away. Clark frowned.

“Hey, what happened? I thought you and Chris got along just great!? Does she even now you’re here?”

Alex didn’t answer at once but picked up a straw and twiddled it between his fingers. “She has a boyfriend,” he finally said, rather quietly.

“Of course, she has --”

“A secret boyfriend. I’ve seen them!”

Clark frowned again, slightly shaking his head. To him it looked as though Alex was making up stories.

“Buddy, don’t get me wrong, but are we even talking about the same Chris? Fast-talking, quirky, lawyer, currently depending on a crutch...” He trailed off and made Alex look at him. It suddenly began to dawn on him why the kid was saying these thing. “You don’t happen to have seen her with a really tall and handsome man? Maroon hair, blue eyes, a quite prominent jaw?”

“You know about him?”

“Oh God...” Clark sighed heavily, and rubbed his face, shaking his head. “I can’t believe this is...” He shook his head once more and began to chuckle. Who would have thought something like this could happen again?

Alex clenched his fist and pushed him away. “You’re such a... a... a... I hate you!”

“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t run away again,” Clark said and grabbed him by the arm. “I’m not making fun of you – and hate is a really strong word.” He squatted down so that he was eye to eye with Alex. “It’s actually quite a funny situation for me. I had a similar conversation with Lex – or I will have such a conversation with you when you’re the Lex I know --”

“I think we already settled that you speak of the Lex you know as a different person.”

Clark laughed again. “And when you’re acting like this it’s really difficult for me not to compare you to the Lex I know. Anyway, Chris doesn’t have a secret boyfriend. The man you saw with her has to be Keith Morris. He’s a detective at the Metropolis PD, and he happens to be Chris’ best friend since... I have no idea. I know Chris since I was a child, and even then she was already friends with Keith.”

“But he was hugging her, and they said they’d love each other.”

“Keith would be a lousy friend if he didn’t.”

“But --”

“They are really just friends. Almost like brother and sister.” Clark paused for a moment and sighed. “I obviously don’t know what’s going on in Chris’ head – frankly, I doubt she knows – but I’ve seen her with Lex, and she really loves him. And he loves her. They’d fight for each other – they are even worse than my parents who are still disgustingly in love.” He winked and playfully nudged Alex’s shoulder.
“There’s one great thing about Chris, though: she’s loyal. She considers everyone family she likes, and she fights for her family. She likes you, Alex. And I don’t think it’s because you’re Lex... was like when he was a kid.” Alex smiled a little, and Clark thought he knew why. Whenever they spoke about his adult alter ego everyone sounded like a character created by Dr. Seuss.

“Anyway, Chris cares for you, and she made it her top priority to reverse whatever happened at the plant. She’ll do whatever it takes to make you see your mom again --”

“She told me the other night, but --”

“Chris is quite stubborn, and never gives up. You’re part of Chris’ family now, and you have to live with the fact that she’ll turn into a lioness to protect you.” Clark smiled and patted Alex’s shoulder. “Hey, if it makes you feel better: Lex used to be jealous of Keith, too, thinking he was Chris’ boyfriend.”

“I’m NOT jealous! I’m not in love with Chris. She’s... old! I... I wasn’t jealous, I just...” Alex’s face turned into a deep shade of red.

“Whatever... I’d be jealous if I was in your place. However, I was just pointing out that you’re not the first to mistake Chris and Keith for an item. Happened to the best before. Granted, Lex never wanted to name a cow for her, nor did he run away...” Chuckling, Clark rose and gave Alex a thoughtful look before he said, “You’ll never meet a more loyal person than Chris. She’s not the person for having a secret boyfriend. She’s a true friend; just like Lex. I’m grateful to be friends with both of them, and I hope you consider me a friend, too. I wouldn’t lie to you, Alex.”

There was a moment of silence, and Clark could only guess what was going on in Alex’s mind right now. Perhaps, he was considering whether or not to trust Clark. Given that Lex had always been a rather wary person, this was more than likely to be true. Yet, Clark kept hoping the boy would decide to trust him. Lex did, even though Clark kept lying to him about his abilities.

One day I’m gonna tell him – if I should ever see him again, Clark thought and sighed a little.

“Your dad is calling her right now... Chris... he’s calling her, isn’t he?”

“Probably... Though we do have a baptism kit.”

Alex pressed his lips. “She’ll be piss-- upset, I mean.”

“She won’t.”

Alex gave him a skeptically look, and Clark couldn’t help but add, grinning, “It’d be something else if you were the adult Lex; then she’d hunt you down with her crutch.”

But Alex didn’t laugh and turned away, facing the calves. The white-eared one came over and let him rub her forehead.

Clark sighed. Why was this kid so scared he’d be punished? He could impossibly be scared of Chris. Admittedly, her lawyer-self was scary, but Chris... She was a scary as a stuffed animal. Alex’s fear had to come from somewhere else, and Clark didn’t want to finish that thought.

“OK, what about going back inside, call Chris and ask her if you can stay the night. You’re already her, and Dad will make mac ‘n cheese... It could be fun.” He gave the boy his brightest smile, but Alex only shrugged.

“Well, I’m gonna take that as a Yes,” Clark said as cheerfully as possible, and made him follow him to the house.

His dad was standing on the porch, holding the baptism kit. He raised his brows. “What now? There’s a calf waiting for a name.”

“We just give Chris a quick call to tell her Alex is staying the night,” Clark said and looked at his dad. “That’s okay, isn’t it?”

“Sure! You’re always welcome here, Alex. However, it might be a little too late for that.” Jonathan nodded toward the driveway, and when Clark followed his look, he saw a black SUV coming.

The passenger’s door opened before the car even stopped, and a second later Chris showed up. Stomping, she walked toward the house, and Alex moved closer toward Clark.

“Are you out of your frigging mind?” Chris yelled, ramming her crutch into the ground with every word. “What in God’s name were you thinking running away? Seriously, it’s not such a good idea – no matter how old you are, or in whose timeline you’re stuck. Why can’t you just hide in a closet like a normal kid? The mansion has tons of them! Hell, there’s also an attic, and a basement, a greenhouse... Million of places to hide! Why has everything with you to be so utterly dramatic? No matter how old you are. Why were you running away? And why can’t you do that properly? The Kents’ farm? Really?” She kept yelling and shouting, and spoke incredibly fast, and if Clark wouldn’t know better, he said she was enjoying herself.

“Maybe she’s a bit upset,” he mumbled and put his hand on Alex’s shoulder.

“Hey, kid, mind saying something? Justify yourself! Your adult version is pretty good in that. If there was a world championship in making excuses Lex would win every single competition. Why did you run away? I thought you weren’t that stupid.”

Alex opened his mouth once or twice but didn’t say anything. Not that he had a chance anyway; Chris was talking herself into a rage. She didn’t even notice that Keith got out of the car and stopped behind her.

He greeted Jonathan and Clark with a nod, and waved his hand at Alex, mouthing, “Don’t worry. Wait a sec.” Then, he began to mimic Chris.

Clark had a hard time not to laugh. Keith knew Chris too well, and all his gestures were quite to the point. He squinted at Alex and saw the boy’s lips curling into a smile.

“Dammit, Alex!” All of a sudden, Chris’ voice changed and it became mellow. She moved closer. “You scared the shit out of me. I pictured you lying half-dead at the road-side, or being dragged away by your father – which I shouldn’t say since it makes being half-dead sound like something funny and enjoyable. Given we’re talking about Lionel Luthor it certainly is, but I shouldn’t say that since it’s just my opinion – and that of the rest of the world – but he’s your dad and I really shouldn’t say these things about him.” She let her crutch drop and sank down to her knees, pulling Alex in her arms. “I’m so glad to see you alive. And I’m so sorry I yelled at you, I was just... really, really scared.”

Clark smiled and watched them. Alex didn’t seem to be comfortable being the receiving end of one of Chris’ infamous bear hugs, however, he didn’t try to get away from her either. Obviously, he was a bit overwhelmed.

“I didn’t mean to... I’m sorry, Chris,” Clark heard him whispering.

“I know. I’m sorry, too. Obviously, there’s more Soccer Mom in me than I thought. Yelling was so...” She didn’t finish but looked at him. “Enjoyable for Keith, so that he had another opportunity to mimic me. When did he start?”

“Some time ago,” Alex mumbled, frowning.

“He’s pretty good, isn’t he?”

“Yes?!”

Keith stepped forward and held out his hand. “We didn’t have the pleasure. Well, I did, but you will yet have to be. I’m Keith.”

Chapter 10

Chris studied Alex who was sitting in an armchair, reading in a comic book. He reminded her a lot of Lex as he was sitting there, focusing on the story, his left index finger slightly touching his upper lip. Until now, Chris hadn’t realized the scar wasn’t there yet.

Of course not. He got that scar when he was fifteen, surfing in Australia, she told herself, and for the first time she doubted that story. That little boy over there didn’t look like he would stand on a surf board in less than five years, and now that she though about it, Lex didn’t look like he had ever been near a surf board, either.

But why would he lie about this? Did he actually cut his lip on comic book paper, or --

“Will you yell at me already?” Alex suddenly looked up, causing Chris to blink.

“Huh? Was the first round not loud enough? Why d’you think I’d yell at you again?”

“Dad always looks like this when he’s...” He pressed his lips and quickly looked away.

“You compare me to your dad? Ugh, it has to be the hair... I shouldn’t let it try naturally.” Chris chuckled, although she didn’t feel light at all. Even though Alex’s father was Lionel Luthor, it was just not right that he was scared of his dad. A dad was supposed to be a tower of strength, a fountain of wisdom, the fun, adventurous parent that would always be there for you. Lionel was nothing of this, and obviously, even worse.

Chris clenched her fist. Someone better make sure I’ll never meet Lionel in a dark, abandoned alley...

“Will you give me a ride to Metropolis, or is Dad sending a driver?”

“Oh-kay... I see you moving your lips, I hear words, but I have no idea what you’re talking about, Alex.”

“You’re gonna send me back to Dad, aren’t you? I mean, I ran away from you, and --”

Chris sighed. “I thought we already settled that you can stay with me as long as you want. Nothing changed about that. And if you run away a million times, and act like... ten-year-old kids would do.” She reached for her crutch, stood up and moved over to him, leaning against the chair’s armrest. Immediately, Alex jumped up and offered her his seat.

“Either, I look like a very, very old lady to you, or you mistake me for a cripple again. Sit, and listen!” She touched his shoulder. “I’m not sending you away, and I’m not yelling at you – again. The Soccer Mom in me is used up for today.”

“I just thought... I’m sorry, Chris. I shouldn’t have run away.”

“It’s okay. I’ve never been the resentful kind of girl. However, I still don’t know why you ran away. So... enlighten me.” She waited for him to respond, but Alex fell silent and stared at his comic book.

Chris didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. Getting Lex to open up was like pulling teeth – no matter how old he was.
“Alrighty... then I’ll do what lawyers do best: talk. I’m so in love with my own voice, I could talk all day,” she said, but Alex remained as dumb as an oyster, causing her to groan. At least, she had trained Lex good enough by now so that he would have given her a crooked smile.

“Well, today you accused me of being a liar. That was one of the nicer things I’ve been called in my life, but... I can’t get rid of the feeling it was because of Keith, and that he hugged me --”

“I wasn’t jealous,” he hissed and glared at her. “Why does everyone think I’m in love with you? Because I’m NOT! I can’t be... I mean, you’re old, and those things adults do are disgusting, and...” He jumped to his feet and straightened up to his full height of four foot something. “I’m not a little boy that falls for everyone just because they’re nice!”

“Good... thanks for the talk,” Chris mumbled, slightly surprised. She was used to Lex’s outbursts, but while he always was careful not to show his true colors – even when enraged – Alex hadn’t learned yet to hide behind a mask. Whatever he said, it was more than clear he indeed had a crush on her – especially since she most likely treated him nicer than he was used to. And Chris began to wonder whether Lilian really had been the saint Lex liked to describe. Would Alex be this insecure if his mother had been a wonderful, loving and supportive person like Lex used to say?

I’m reading too much into this. Just because Lilian married Lionel that doesn’t mean she was like him. Lex always speaks so fond of her... She couldn’t be a bitch... Gee, Harris! Pull yourself together! Alex is not the modern version of Oliver Twist.

She took a deep breath and looked at Alex again. “Since we’re already clarifying things: Keith is just a friend. We grew up together. He knows me like no one else. Keith is also a friend of Lex’s – well, occasionally they have a drink, or two... I think that qualifies them to be friends.” She paused and slightly squeezed Alex’s shoulder, making him look at her.
“It really doesn’t matter why you ran away, but I want you to know that I really love Lex, and that I miss him. I also like you, Alex. And not because you’re Lex’s younger alter ego but because you’re an extraordinary boy. I was... when you were gone I... thought I’d lost you, too, and that was a bit more than I could handle.”

Alex squinted at her, his face truly remorsefully. “You shouldn’t worry about me,” he whispered.

“You will keep telling me that. And I’ll keep worrying,” Chris said, smiling a little, but he didn’t seem to listen.

“It was stupid of me to run away. If we really have to... if you have to fight for custody over me, my dad’s lawyers will take it against you, saying you’re an unfit guardian. That’s the legal term, right?”

She nodded, slightly impressed. Granted, Alex was Lex Luthor – only a couple of years younger – and of course, he had to be smart, nonetheless his understanding surprised her. Were all children this aware?

“I screwed up.”

“No, you didn’t. You’re a child – I don’t mean that as an insult; it’s a fact – and you acted out of impulse. That’s normal, that’s healthy, that’s good.”

He didn’t reply but looked away. A few moments passed until he suddenly whispered, “I don’t want to go back to Dad. He... he doesn’t like me.”

“Don’t say that.”

“But he doesn’t want me anyway. He let me stay with you although I didn’t even know you until a couple of days ago.” His voice sounded husky, and his eyes were teary.

“Hey, I made him do that,” Chris replied, causing Alex to huff. “What? Do you think I can’t make your dad do things? I can be quite convincing... Listen, your dad wants the best for you. He wouldn’t have agreed that you stayed with me if he thought I was bad influence --”

“But you’re gonna fight for custody --”

“Which obviously means he changed his mind and came to the conclusion I am a bad influence, and that he wants you to stay with him, because you’re his son and he cares for you,” she said, and added in her thoughts, And since Lex turned out to be a decent person and he still needs a heir for the Throne of Hell, he thinks you’re his second chance.

Chris took a deep breath and carefully touched his shoulder. “Your dad likes you; he’s just... horrible in showing that. Some people simply are.”

“I rather stay with you, though. You’re so nice... almost like a mom,” he mumbled, still sobbing, and blushed.

That’s what I wanted to hear... Damn, why can’t this all be over already? I need to get my period! I can’t be pregnant! I don’t want to pee on a piece of plastic!

She gulped a little, but forced herself into a smile. “Maybe we could agree on sister. Technically, I’m still younger than you.” She put her arm around his shoulder and rocked him a little until he calmed down. “Your dad is a strange man, but he cares for you... in his own twisted ways.” She paused and suddenly remembered an anecdote Lex once had shared with her. She couldn’t help but smile.
“Like ripping off a button of his incredibly expensive jacket because his son’s teddy has lost an eye, and then make his wife sew the button on so that the teddy can see again.”

“He asked Mom... How do you know about Taddles?”

“He’s sitting with Jellydew in a shelf in the master bedroom. Jellydew would be my teddy bear. They really like each other. Lex keeps telling me they’re just friends, but I think they’re gay. I swear the other day I saw them snogging.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “You are loopy.”

“And you will keep telling me.” Grinning, she pinched his nose while she kept her arm around him. Alex seemed to like that. Briefly, he rested his head on her chest and yawned furtively.
“It’s been a long day, hm? We should get some sleep. Come on up.” She rose and grabbed for her crutch, while offering Lex her hand.

“Chris?” Alex suddenly said when they were already on the stairs. He walked slowly, adapting to her pace. “We’re still trying to send me back to my time, aren’t we?”

“Of course.”

“And if it doesn’t work, I can stay with you?”

“Would you feel better if I’d give it to you in written form?” She chuckled and briefly cupped the back of his head in her palm. “If we should fail, you can stay with me. I stick to my word.”

“That’s what Clark said...”

“Huh, he did? I always thought he was Lex’s cheerleader...”

They kept walking upstairs, but before they reached the next floor, Alex stopped again and looked at her again.
“Chris... could I... do you think Lex would mind... Is Taddles really sitting on a shelf in your bedroom?”

Chris grinned and made him follow her to the master bedroom, handing him the stuffed animal. It had to look more battered than Alex was used to, nonetheless he seemed to be happy to see his furry companion again. For a second, he pressed it against his chest and looked like a light-hearted little boy.

Actually, Chris had wanted to talk to him about Dr. Sinclair’s death, but now she decided against it. She didn’t even know whether it was a good idea to tell him about it.

I should ask Martha for advice. And Dad. They know something about children... And I should talk to Matthew. He knows something about Lex...

Thoughtfully, Clark stepped up the stairs to the loft. He had spent most of the afternoon with Chloe at the mansion, but they barely did anything towards finding Lex. Actually, they had been there to distract Alex and Chris a little. It had been Keith’s idea, who had taken the day off to spend it in Smallville. Yesterday, after Alex’s unannounced trip to the farm, the detective had taken Clark aside, making some innuendos about Chris.

Clark still didn’t know what Keith meant, and even though there was barely anything else but Lex on his mind these days, he had agreed with Keith that both Alex and Chris could do with some distraction. And if he was honest with himself, it did him some good, too.

They had a great afternoon, and it almost had felt normal – only that Lex wasn’t there but his ten-year-old alter ego.

Clark sighed and stared out of the barn window. It was getting dark and first stars were appearing on the firmament. He saw Altair, the brightest star in the constellation of Aquila, and couldn’t help but think of Chris who would show him mock-constellations when they were children. For years, he had been convinced there was a constellation called ‘watering can’ until Lex had disabused him, and showed him the real constellations – like Aquila.

Clark sighed again and thought of Alex. He had a hard time believing that the little, insecure boy would become Lex. However, Alex became less insecure the better he got to know them, and he acted more and more like one would expect of a ten-year-old – especially when they played flag-football in the mansion’s garden this afternoon.

His thoughts drifted away to Chris. He’d known her almost his entire life. She and her mother would spend summers near Smallville, sometimes accompanied by the General but mostly alone since back then, Chris’ father had been stationed overseas.

Clark had loved those summers with Chris when he was nothing but a little boy without having any special abilities. Those developed later, and Chris stopped visiting because she had been accepted at Harvard. She was older and thus they had been allowed to stroll over the Kents’ property without being guarded by an adult. And even though she told him about non-existing star constellations, it had always been fun to be with her.

Clark was happy to see her falling in love with Lex, and he was thrilled when they told him about their engagement, but now there was barely anything left of the old, funny Chris. She was in constant lawyer-mode these days: serious and deliberate, distant and cold.

It was painful to see her like this, and Clark knew Lex would be beyond pissed if he knew Clark couldn’t cheer her up. When Lex had been shot by Chris’ stalker nearly eighteen months ago, Clark had to promise Lex he would look after Chris, to make sure she would be her fun self and not worry about Lex.

“Why not stop the sun from shining?” Clark mumbled and clenched his fist. He felt useless.
He missed Lex, he wanted to see him again. And he missed Chris. There had to be a way to reverse the gone-wrong experiment that had brought Alex here – given they were indeed right about the time travel.

Clark barely understood the physics of time, but he doubted it did the time/space continuum any good having a ten-year-old Lex around rather than a fully grown one.

If only Dina was there. She obviously knew more, but had refrained from visiting to fill him in.

Clark took a deep breath and moved over to his desk. “If the mountain won’t come to Mohammed...” He opened the top drawer and pulled out a street map of Metropolis. It was time to take matters in his own hands. More than likely, he would find Dina patrolling Suicide Slums, and he wanted some answers. After all, she got all kind of visions, and he doubted she still didn’t know what happened to Lex.

“Perfect, you’re already ready.”

Clark whirled around and saw Dina leaning against a pole. She was dressed as Argus: black leather combo, her red hair in a mess, and her green eyes twinkling at him.

Little by little he began to understand how her subtle disguise could work: as Dina she looked like a nerd, and admittedly no one would ever think a nerd could do anything else but nerd stuff.

“Seems like the time travel theory was right after all,” she said. “I took some of Alex’s blood – don’t worry, he was asleep and I only took a few drops. Certainly he thinks a mosquito bit him; a big, red-haired one. Or a vampire... Vampires are so popular among teens these days. I don’t get it. Why not werewolves? At least they exist. Well, not in the creepy way, but --”

“Argus!”

“Oy, you’re using that name... Right, business. Sorry, got carried away. Anyhow, checked the blood, found huge amounts of tempestivas, and --”

“Temp-what?”

“Tempestivas. Like midi-chlorians. Don’t you ever watch movies? You could learn a thing or two. It’s a microscopic life form, only appears when you travelled through time. Traces could be found in astronauts’ blood – if anyone would ever look for tempestivas.” She shrugged and laughed. “It’s not that important, though. I just had to prove the time travel theory and --”

“That took you so long?”

“No, in between I went shopping in Milan.” Dina snapped and within a second she was standing close in front of him, glaring. “What do you think? That I was twiddling my thumbs? Hell, yes, it did take this long. This whole thing is a bit more complicated than locking away some human criminals, or saving Chris from that sick psycho.”

“S-sorry, I... I’m worried. I don’t know what you know about Lex, and Chris, and what they might mean to the world, but --”

“They mean the world to you,” Dina finished and gave him half a smile. “Your parents did a great job raising you. You could really make a... Right, we were talking about ickle Lex.”

Clark tried not to think of what she knew about his future but focus on his friend. “What about Lex? Do you know what happened to him? Where is he? Is there a way to bring him back?”

“That’s why I’m here. Come on, we’re making a little trip.” She grabbed for his hand.

Clark raised his brows, watching her with puzzlement. Surprisingly enough, Dina returned his look. “Interesting, if not to say odd,” she mumbled, and absently touched her necklace. “Plan B, then...”

Like so many times before, he couldn’t get rid of the feeling she was talking to someone else, someone far away. He watched her warily as she turned towards his desk, took a pen and paper, and scribbled something down.

“Meet you there in an hour. Don’t be late.” She thrust the paper in his hand and vanished into thin air.

Frowning, Clark looked at the note. Dina had written an address in New York on it.

Chapter 11

About forty minutes later. Clark arrived at the address Dina had given him – not without leaving a short note for his parents, telling them not to worry. He doubted he would be gone long, but since this trip likely was concerning whatever had happened to Lex... Clark didn’t want his mom to be worried.

He looked around. Dina had called him to an old hangar, one the military would have used during World War II. He remembered seeing old photographs in Chris’ apartment when he had helped her relocate to Lex’s penthouse. Her grandfather was an Air Force pilot in the 1940s, and Chris had tons of pictures from that time.

Clark frowned slightly while studying the place. He wouldn’t be surprised if someone in an USAAF uniform approached him now; this place truly looked as though the 21st century had yet to happen.

“You sure are on time.”

He turned around when he heard Dina’s voice. “What is this all about?”

“Want the play-by-play, or the Readers Digest version?”

“Whichever makes the most sense.”

“Oh snap...” Dina chuckled. “Well, we need to meet the Noesi, they are in Scotland, and since my powers don’t work on you we have to fall back on Plan B.” She paused, obviously waiting for some sign of understanding, but this was all Greek to Clark.

“Plan B as in... plane...” She made a helpless gesture and sighed. “Yeah, that was a pad bun – bad pun... Anyway, I can’t beam with you, but there’s a little bit of water between the USA and Scotland we have to cross and thus we take a plane.”

Clark watched her skeptically as she moved forward, gesturing to follow him. She really wanted to fly to Europe? He knew Dina was nuts, but it would take at least seven hours by plane, and he was sure he could swim through the Atlantic in half the time.

Arguing with Dina, though, was useless and so he followed her like a loyal puppy as she led him through a door. A sign said ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ and once more Clark frowned.

They left the hangar and Dina stopped on an airfield. “That’s it: our pride and joy. It’ll bring us to Scotland in less than an hour.”

He blinked. They had stopped in front of a huge, black thing that bore a certain resemblance to the spacecraft he had been send to earth with, and which was now hidden in his parents’ storm cellar.
“What...”

“Hypersonic jet. One of two worldwide,” Dina explained, and Clark couldn’t help but notice the pride in her voice. “Story goes the design was inspired by a certain spacecraft that is rumored to have crashed down in a little town in Kansas about eighteen years ago.” She winked at him. “The technology, however, is human; meta-human.”

Clark nodded absently and moved a little closer to the plane. It was at least ten times bigger than the spacecraft in the storm-cellar, but had a landing gear, and two small windows right above its long nose. Obviously, that was the cockpit.

He walked around it, and couldn’t help but think of Lex. Probably, Lex would be intrigued.
Clark smiled a little. Lex would often say he only bought those expensive cars and jets because he didn’t know what else to do with his money, but Clark knew Lex was into vehicles – like most guys he knew.

“Clark, I know you aren’t the president of the Noesi fan club – I’m still pissed at them myself,” Dina said, being unusually serious.

He turned around and looked at her. She was shifting from one leg to another and looked anything but comfortable. Of course she thought of the last time Clark had been involved with her kind: Chris had been stalked and tortured by a psychopath, Lex had been shot – all because the Noesi thought they had to test Clark’s loyalty to mankind.

“I seriously didn’t know what they were up to. There were --”

“Dina, I know! We talked so many times about this. I never blamed you. Chris is your half-sister; I know what she means to you, and that you’d do anything for her – apart from telling her who you are --”

“Oh, looks who’s talking. Last time I checked Lex was still in the deep dark about you.”

“But he isn’t my brother, and after all you were at least born on this planet...” Clark trailed off and pressed his lips. He knew why Dina didn’t want to tell Chris about them being sisters, and her being meta-human; it was the same reason he still hadn’t told Lex. They were both scared Chris and Lex might turn away once they knew what Dina and Clark were. However, he was still convinced his reasons were more valid. After all, Dina hadn’t much to lose. She wasn’t friends with Chris, they barely knew each other while he and Lex... He didn’t want to lose Lex as a friend.

“We should stop now before this turns into some sort of contest,” Dina suddenly said, being her joking self again, and led him into the plane.

Clark gasped a little. He didn’t know what he expected to see, yet he was surprised that the inside looked like that of an ordinary private jet. There were a couple of bright leather seats, a few tables, some flat screens and even a couple of plants.

“The sister jet belongs to CERN, the particle physics research center in Europe. They were responsible for the interior design,” Dina said and shrugged. “The Noesi liked it, too.”

“Good, they like to show off. Do they also know what happened to Lex?”

“That’s why we need to go to Scotland. The elders can explain better, and... Clark, they might ask you for a favor. You can say no at any time, though.”

“OK.”

“Since you have alien ears I’m certain you heard me, but... have you understood what I said?”

Clark turned his head and faced Dina. “I miss Lex, and I want to know what happened to him, and if we can bring him back. If your people know how to do it, and if they need my help to succeed, I’m in. I want to see Lex again. I want to see him with Chris again. Even though that’ll mean I have to deliver a speech at their wedding, but I’ll do whatever it takes to bring Lex back. Besides, there are one or two things I’d like to tell your elders.”

“I like your attitude,” she mumbled as he sat down in one of the seats. Giving him an impressed look, she tapped with her flat hand against a door that probably led to the cockpit before she sat down next to him. “Keep in mind, though, that we’re just going to Scotland to talk. This is not a recruitment flight. You don’t have to join the Noesi.”

“Good, because I have no intentions of doing so. I just want to bring Lex back.”

“Me too...”

The plane began to vibrate and then to move. Obviously, the pilot – if there was one; Clark wasn’t too sure about that – had started the engines. The plane moved forward, and suddenly, Dina reached for his hand.
“Uhm, mind if I hold it for a while? I’m not, ugh, so much into flying...”

Chloe sat on her bed, her laptop on her knees. She shook her head, unable to believe they wasted a whole day playing flag-football in the mansion’s garden rather than looking for Lex.

Truly, she could see that a little distraction was fine – and much needed by Chris and Alex, yet she had hoped she could discuss her latest findings with Chris, and maybe even the boy. He was smart, and Chloe was convinced a little bit of brainstorming would help clearing some things.

For instance: how was it possible that the code, used to overwrite the security logs of the plant, had been generated only two days before the incident at the lab?

From her dad, Chloe knew that all LexCorp employees got a personalized code the day they got hired. It always contained the encrypted date of their first day at work, and never changed. This code was only nine days old, yet the corresponding personnel file – namely that one of Fennigan Carlin – said he had worked for LexCorp since last summer.

Chloe had checked it at least ten times and now shook her head. This discrepancy was anything but obvious, however she knew Lex, and she knew how LexCorp was run. There had to be something about this Carlin person, the only question was: did Lex know about it? Was he even behind it, or had he been fooled again? It wouldn’t be the first time. One and a half year ago he accidentally had hired a man who was stalking Chris in order to protect her. But could such a huge mistake happen twice?

Something is rotten in the state of LexCorp, she thought and checked the security code again. Maybe she could find out where it had been generated from. Chloe somehow doubted it was just a mistake from LexCorp’s side.

She started writing a program to help her identify the security code’s origin. If it turned out to be LexCorp she knew as much as before, but maybe it came from somewhere else...

“Oh crap! Not now. Come on! Don’t die on me now!” She groaned and juggled her laptop as it froze. “It’s really not so much work... Why am I surrounded with crap, old-fashioned technology?”

“Because you’re in the limbo between high school and college and obviously left your super-duper computer in Metropolis.” Lana had entered their room and eyed Chloe. “Why are you mad at your laptop?”

“It froze. Stupid thing...” Chloe grumbled as Lana threw herself on her bed, yawning. “Have you been at the Talon until now?”

“Monthly settlement is due. Normally, I just have to bring all the bills to Lex, but... Do you think it’s too late to enroll at MetU? Studying probably is more fun than sitting over bills.” She rolled onto her side and rested her head in her palm. “What are you doing there? I thought you’d head straight back to Metropolis tonight. How was it at the mansion, by the way?”

Chloe sighed and rebooted her laptop. “Chris is on her last leg and Clark tries to be the next poster girl for Big Brothers Big Sisters while Keith is acting as though everything is normal. Actually, it was quite nice. I think kid-Lex was having a blast today... Why weren’t you there?” She glanced at Lana and looked back at her laptop.

Lana rolled back on her back and closed her eyes. “I still can’t believe any of this... Lex being a ten-year-old...”

“That’s because you haven’t seen Alex yet.”

“Well, I can’t go to the mansion as though he was a circus attraction, can I? Besides, I think he’s already seen enough unfamiliar faces. There’s no need to add mine to that list.”

“But you two have known each other since --”

“I was ten years old. And I really don’t need to remembering seeing Lex skinny-dipping. He’s my business partner.”

“Well, there most definitely are worse sights in this world,” Chloe mumbled and started the program again. This time it seemed to run smoothly. “Anyway, sooner or later you should visit. I mean, come on: you’re at the mansion at least once a week --”

“To drop off the Talon’s bills. --”

“All in all, you’re there way more often than I am; almost a fixture while I’m still a guest.”

Slowly, Lana sat up and twisted her hair in a bun. “At least, right now you’re more help than I could ever be. You’re trying to figure out how Lex could end up as a ten-year-old, aren’t you? And that’s why you’re trying to kill your laptop.”

“I’m such a huge help here.” Chloe snarled and looked at the laptop again. The program was still working with the code. “Chris’ intuition, and Clark’s gut feeling are probably better than my computer skills. I wanted to do some brain storming today, and ended up playing flag-football with a bald kid that doesn’t belong in this time.” She screwed her face, and when she looked up again she saw Lana flashing her a smile.

“Well, shoot!” She stood up and walked over to Chloe’s bed. “Hey, just because I don’t want to visit the mansion doesn’t mean I don’t want to see Lex again. He’s more than just a business partner.” Smiling, she stroked Chloe’s hair and added, “And if the brain storming doesn’t help, maybe we could ask Dina.”

“Who?”

“Dina. She’s a friend of Keith’s – Chris’ Keith. Tall, red-haired... Remember her? She’s been with Keith at a few parties at the mansion before. We email every now and then.”

Chloe remembered the woman Lana was talking about. She had seen her, but never talked to her.

“She’s totally into arts, and well... she’s a computer scientist.”

“Dina Glawey, working for LuthorCorp, originally from Gotham City,” Chloe mumbled and remembered the time eighteen months ago when Clark asked her to find someone who was working for LuthorCorp and who was able to vanish into thin air.

That has to be a coincidence...

“You’ve been emailing?”

Lana blushed a little and played with her hair. “We have a few things in common. Not just arts, but also... television. Actually, we met online, but didn’t realize before we met in person. Anyway, that was just a joke. We don’t need any computer scientist when we have our very own Chloe Sullivan.” She gave Chloe a smile and looked at her laptop. “OK, let’s brainstorm!”

Chapter 12

The flight was uneventful and quick. Clark had actually enjoyed it. Dina, however, looked rather pale and when they left the plane, he almost expected her to kiss the ground.

“You OK?”

“Now that I got solid ground underneath my feet again...” She breathed in a few times. “I’m so gonna beam back home... Alrighty, let’s go then.” She clapped her hands.

Clark followed as she led him away from the airfield to what looked like a small town at the foot of a hill. He wasn’t sure, though. It was a rather dark night – at around three o’clock Scottish time – and there was barely any light coming from the village. As they approached the first buildings Clark understood why: they were old, medieval, and it didn’t look as though the 21st century had ever touched this place.

“Uhm, are we in the right place?”

“Yep.”

“Is it also the right time?”

Dina laughed and urged him to follow her. “It is, silly. Over there, you see nothing but another tourist trap. Just like the old USAAF base in New York. Though, that one is still under construction while this one here is currently closed. Season’s over.” She briefly stopped, shrugged her shoulders and marched on.

“Wait... are you telling me the Noesi run open-air museums?”

“Museums, amusement parks for geeks, whatever you wanna call it. The money has to come from somewhere.” Dina giggled and spread out her arms, turning on her own axis. “Isn’t it a great place? And an even better disguise? Anyway, those places aren’t run by the Noesi. They belong to the Iseon Company.” She stopped again and watched Clark. At least he thought so. The further they departed from the airfield the darker the night seemed to become. He could barely see Dina’s face anymore.

Night vision wouldn’t be too bad, he thought as Dina kept talking. She mentioned the Iseon Company again, and Clark frowned. He had heard that name before: both LuthorCorp and Iseon had tried to buy the Kawatche land a few years back, including the caves. In the end, it was LexCorp that secured a contract with the state of Kansas for the preservation of the entire area.
Clark had always wondered why there had been a third party next to Lionel and Lex...

“Having a hand-forehead-moment?”

“Iseon is Noesi backwards.”

“Obviously, he does.” He heard Dina laughing quietly. “There are more places like this; all over the world. Great thing, actually. The past will be preserved for later generations, the Noesi make a shitload full of money, and we have bases everywhere.” She reached for his hand and tugged at it. “Anyway, headquarters is here. It’s always been... Come on now. They’re already waiting.”

Just in this moment Clark noticed a light approaching them, and Dina began to wave frantically. She even bounced a little.

“Kerberus, so good to see you!”

“Likewise, Argus,” a man replied and gave Dina a brief hug.

Clark raised his brows in surprise. He had expected someone carrying a torch or flashlight, but now he realized the man – Kerberus – was the light. His head was literally glowing; almost as though he was a human lightning bug.

“Is that the savior?”

“Does he look like one?” Dina replied and Clark sensed a sudden hostility. “Right now he’s merely a visitor, so do what you do best: shine away! Eileifr is expecting us.”

Kerberus shrugged and fell silent. His head began to glow brighter, and he led them to a little path that was winding up the hill. Quietly, they followed the path until Clark saw the outlines of a castle.

Why not? This is Scotland, after all...

“Don’t worry,” Dina whispered. “We’re just here to talk. No strings attached.”

He mumbled his agreement, then they stopped in front of a huge oak door. Clark doubted it was the main entrance, yet the door was impressive. It looked almost like a gate.

He looked up. The castle had to be older than the mansion. Clark remembered that Lex once had told him the mansion was build in Scots Baronial Style, and that this style had been popular in the early 19th century. This castle, however, looked at least 300 years older, and probably Lex would’ve been able to identify the style within seconds.

“Impressive, hm?” Dina said when suddenly, the gate-like door swung open, and light was flooding out. For a second, Clark was blinded.

“Argus, jenta mi...” a pleasantly deep voice said, and when Clark’s eyes got used to the new source of light, he saw an old man hugging Dina. His short hair and beard were white as snow, and he had a Roman nose.

With a slight wave of his hand he dismissed Kerberus, the human torch, and gestured Clark and Dina to enter.

“Welcome to Afallach, Kal-El,” he said with a smile, and took Clark’s hand into his. A pair of brown, beady eyes was studying him. The old man towered Clark by at least two inches. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Although I’ve always hoped the circumstances were less... concerning. Oh, where are my manners? My name is Eileifr, at your service.” He inclined his head.

Clark stared at him. Either, the Noesi really were into code names and all that stuff, or their parents had a rather strange sense of humor. Eileifr... was that even a real name?

The old man kept on talking and gestured Dina and Clark to follow him. Clark barely listened but looked around. The castle might be half a century old, but the inside was uber-modern. The hallway almost looked a little like the floors at LuthorCorp Plaza.

Eileifr led them into a room which reminded Clark of the bridge of Starship Enterprise. There were control panels and monitors everywhere. Chloe would have been in heaven.

“Argus, you look pale. There are cookies in the kitchen. Help yourself,” Eileifr said, and Clark noticed that he spoke with a slight accent. Something Scandinavian, maybe. “Lille bamsen min... She loathes flying. – Anything for you, Kal-El?”

“I’d like to know why I’m here.”

“We are still in your bad book, aren’t we?” The man sighed and waved his hand, indicating Clark to follow. “Frankly, I can’t even blame you. My humble self voted against Blood Moon – that horrendous test involving Venilia and Ianus... Christine and Alexander, I should say. --”

“Then why did you do it anyway? Aren’t you in charge here? Weren’t you even thinking of what could’ve happened to Chris and Lex?”

“They were never in real danger.”

Clark huffed and shook his head. Never in real danger... He still remembered Lex lying in a hospital bed in a coma, because a bullet had missed his heart by only an inch. And he still remembered Chris covered in blood because a psychopath had abducted and tortured her.

“I’m a member of the high council. Unfortunately, it is a democracy; my vote was overruled,” Eileifr continued. “At least, I was right about you, Kal-El: you are a very caring young man, and that’s why I said your friends were never in real danger.” He turned around and checked on one of the monitors.

“They still could’ve DIED!”

“You were there, Kal-El, and thus your friends were out of lethal harm.”

“But --”

“Venilia and Ianus are strong, Kal-El. That is why the council picked them to test you.”

“What does that mean? And why do you keep calling me Kal-El?”

“Because Hercules is already taken.” Munching, Dina came back from the kitchen, a bowl of cookies pressed to her chest. “Want some? They’re absolutely fantastic!”

The old man sighed and rolled his eyes, mumbling something in a language Clark couldn’t understand.

“Seriously, they don’t like normal names here,” Dina said. “And originally, the council didn’t want to use our favorite power couple but your parents. Eileifr threw a tantrum – not that he wanted the test at all --”

Eileifr glared at her and said a few words in that unknown language. Dina shrugged. “Whatever. I wasn’t there, but your hellhounds are getting quite talkative after a few drinks.” She looked at Clark and smiled. “Eileifr is on your side, Cl-- Kal-El. For a member of the council he’s actually a decent guy.”

Clark raised his brows, huffing once more. These Noesi obviously didn’t have any scruples.

“You have no reason to trust me, but I know you trust Argus,” Eileifr said and moved over to him. “And I hope you will give me the benefit of the doubt, Kal-El.”

Clark pressed his lips. He did trust Dina, and she seemed to trust Eileifr. They acted like father and daughter – or grandfather and granddaughter. One way or another, his mother had always told him to trust his gut feeling, and right now it was telling him to hear the old man out.

Slowly, he nodded. “How do you know about that name?”

Eileifr gave him a warm smile. “You are not the first of your kin that came to this planet. For several hundreds of years your folk would visit. From what we know the House of El – your biological family – would send their eldest offspring once they came of age here and --”

“Long story short: your dad visited in the 1960s, liked it here and when you had... problems on your home planet he sent a note to your earthly grandfather whom --”

“I know the story,” Clark said, looking at Dina.

“Anyway, message got into the hands of some Dr. Swann who deciphered it, told the Noesi about it, and thus we know about you,” she finished and carelessly placed the bowl with cookies on a nearby table, facing Eileifr. “I’ve already given Cl-- Kal-El the reader’s digest version of what we’re doing. You can skip that part. We don’t have time for it, anyway.”

“Yeah, I already know the Noesi are a bunch of self-declared policemen that think the world is their playground.” Clark glared at the old man, feeling betrayed. He had met Dr. Swann, and the scientist had promised to keep his secret safe and not selling it to the next best secret society that liked to use Clark’s friends in order to test him.

“Now, you are confusing us with your government.” Eileifr’s eyes watched him almost a little amused. “We merely see ourselves as caretakers. Janitors, if you want. We have knowledge of what was, what is, and what might be. Our main task is to ensure the duration of this planet with all its creatures – whether those are humans, animals, or plants. Another task is to guide those that differ from the average – and protect them.”

“It doesn’t really sound like it, but he’s trying to say your secret’s safe here,” Dina said, smiling. “After all, you’re meta-human just like us. Well, replace ‘human’ with ‘alien’ and scratch ‘meta’, but all in all --”

“Thank you, Argus.” Eileifr eyed Clark. “It is our goal, our duty, to help metahumans to control their abilities and to live a normal life.”

“Whatever that means...”

“Of course, we make mistakes... Argus, for example, still can’t control her mouth,” he said and Dina made a face, causing Clark to smile a little. There was an undeniable affection between her and the old man, and Clark doubted she would have brought him here if Eileifr wasn’t reliable.

“Not all metahumans work with us, though. Only a few decide to join the Noesi.”

“Maybe they’re not into secret societies,” Clark mumbled, causing Eileifr to smile again.

“The Noesi weren’t always a secret society. --”

“Time-out!” Dina said, forming a T with her hands. “Short version: once upon a time metahumans and humans lived happily together, and the Noesi were worshipped like Druids – even more – but then witch hunting started, the Noesi fled here, and bla, bla, bla.” Dina rolled her eyes, tapping her wrist to indicate time.

Eileifr sighed. “I am truly sorry, Kal-El. Naturally, you have a lot of questions, but Argus is right: there’s no time for this. We have to focus on Ianus – your bald friend.”

Clark’s heart missed a beat. He had been so focused on the Noesi and what they might know about Krypton that he had almost forgotten about Lex.

“Do you know what happened to him? Where is Lex? Is he okay? Can he be brought back? How can I help?”

Eileifr smiled and touched Clark’s shoulder. “You are free to come back here whenever you like, and I tell you everything I know about your race. But now I’ll try to answer your more pressing questions: yes, we have an accurate idea of what happened in the laboratory. As you suspected, time travel is involved. --”

“Then Lex is in the 1990s?”

The old man chuckled quietly, and shook his head. “Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Your friend and his young alter ego didn’t simply switch places. Frankly, that’s not even possible. There cannot be two versions of the same human in the same timeline.”

“But why not? Alex obviously is here, so Lex has to be somewhere. Why not in the past?”

“Because humans can’t go back in time, Kal-El. It’s impossible. It’s against the laws of physics, and the laws of time. How much do you know about the theory of relativity and time dilation?”

“Eileifr, we really don’t have time for this right now,” Dina said and moved over to one of the bigger monitors, placing herself in front of a control panel. “Kal-El, do you remember Chloe’s theory? That was time travel for dummies. She’s right, though. It’s not possible for a human to go back in time.”

“How do you know about her theory?”

“Uhm, hello. It’s me! I hacked her laptop. Wasn’t easy, but her notes are really good.” Dina grinned. “Anyway, we’re all bound to our timelines. Our own, personal ones. Theoretically, we could go to the year 804,303, but not to our 804-what-did-I-say. Mostly because we’d be dead then, so our timeline has already ended.” She scratched her head and made a face. “In short: you could go to the day I die, but you can’t go to the day you die, because... Have you ever heard of the grandfather paradox?”

Clark nodded slowly. He had read about it when he did some research. Basically, it said that if a man travelled back in time and killed his grandfather before he met his grandmother, one of his parents would never be born, and thus the time traveller would never be born, and thus he couldn’t go back in time, although he did go back in time when both his parents had been born...
Clark groaned. That theory still made his head spin.

“But Chloe also said it was possible to go back to the time you started your time travel...”

“That indeed is possible,” Eileifr said. “Maybe you don’t have to understand the theory of time. It’s rather complex, and even the smartest humans --”

“End up with brain knots,” Dina finished.

“Is that the English term? Fascinating language...” Eileifr mumbled and slowly shook his head before he looked at Clark again. “We know of two metahumans that can control time.”

Clark’s mouth dropped open. “What? Why haven’t you said that in the first place? I’ve grown up in Smallville, town of the weird! I see meteor freaks that challenge the laws of physics on a daily basis. I know Dina and saw what she can do. Hell, I have powers myself!”

“Don’t worry, Eileifr, he tends to get that way when he’s worried about his friends,” Dina said, focusing on the control panel.

“My apologies. I thought it was crucial for you to know that Ianus can’t be in his young alter ego’s place,” Eileifr said when Clark tried to calm down.

“Then, where is he? Wait! Just tell me what you know and make it as simple as possible,” Clark replied. He had a feeling it would be easier to give the Noesi clear instructions of what to tell and what not to. He didn’t care for physics or theories. He just wanted to know the adult Lex in the mansion again, in his right time, and the next thing he wanted to do was freaking out about the speech he probably had to give when Lex and Chris would get married.

Eileifr nodded. “I will try to make it simple. We know of two metahumans that can control time. Interestingly enough, they are twins, and the only two metahumans of their generation that share the same ability. When Argus told us what happened in Smallville, we looked into the matter and learned that one of the twins – we call him Chronos – infiltrated your friend’s scientific staff, and used his powers to bring an infant version of Ianus to our time.”

“But why? And where is Lex now?”

The old man sighed and scratched his beard. “Your friend – the adult one – currently is at a place known as Ekkja. I should say, though, that this place is not an actual place. There is neither time nor space... but as long as your friend is there, he’s out of harm.”

“Like the last time? When he was shot and in coma for a week?” Clark glared at him, although he was a little relieved; Lex was still alive.

“Ekkja is a rather safe place, Kal-El. I do understand you’re still upset about the Blood Moon incident, but this time Ianus won’t suffer physical harm, nor mental harm.”

“What about Alex? The boy... If he goes back to his time, Lex will come back to ours?” Eileifr nodded. “But how do we do that? And why was Alex brought here in the first place?”

“There’s no need to worry about the boy yet. As long as he’s in Venilia’s care he should be safe.” He paused and looked at Dina.

Clark eyed them warily, and for the first time he wondered whether the Noesi had anything to do with the fact that Chris immediately had felt responsible for little Alex, and that Lionel Luthor didn’t seem to mind leaving his son with Chris.

“Once the boy is in his right time again, your friend can return, Kal-El.”

“But why was he brought here in the first place?” Clark asked again, but the old man seemed to ignore his question. Maybe metahumans weren’t as mad as most meteor freaks, but Clark doubted anyone would snatch a child from their time just for fun! That Chronos-guy had to have a reason!

“Vanities,” Dina said. “We have to bring both Lex and Alex, the Lexes... uhm, them back to their right time before the end of the month. Otherwise we could get serious problems.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well... do you know what happened to your birth planet? Basically, the same would happen to Earth. If we are lucky...”

Clark’s eyes widened. “Today is the 25th!”

“Yeah, we’re a bit pressed for time here, and unfortunately, the only person that could reverse the whole thing is Chronos...”

Clark looked from Dina to Eileifr and back, shaking his head. “You’re not going to tell me you have no idea where this guy is, are you? I mean with all your technology and meta-human powers it should be easy for you to find him. You have some kind of tracking system, don’t you?” He knew his voice was begging, but he didn’t want to believe they told him all of this only to add, ‘Sorry, but we don’t know where he is’, or ‘April’s Fool, it was just a joke’.

“As a matter of fact, we can track metahumans.” Eileifr said, and Clark sighed relieved. “Yet, we have problems finding Chronos, and that’s why we need your help, Kal-El.”

Clark didn’t understand, and he looked at Dina who simply shrugged her shoulders. Her expression was almost remorsefully.

“I assume Argus tried to teleport you here, and both of you were rather surprised when it did not work.” The old man watched them, and both Clark and Dina nodded sheepishly. Eileifr flashed them a smile. “It’s not unexpected. We have always assumed that the meta-human powers don’t work on your kin, Kal-El. We could never be sure, though. The last Kryptonian that visited this planet --”

“Was my birth father, I know. I saw his memories.”

“Of course, you did. He left them for you. As far as I know that was one of your traditions.”

Dina cleared her throat. “Why don’t you just tell him how he can help, and leave the history lesson for later?”

Clark nodded. He still was curious about his origin, but if Dina was right about the pressing time...
“How can I help? What do you want me to do?”

“You can help us finding Chronos, and bring him to Ianus’ young alter ego. You’re the only one Chronos can’t send through time.”

Clark had to take a deep breath. The survival of either Lex, or the entire planet was at stake, and he supposedly was the only one who could find that dubious Chronos. Once more he looked at Dina, seeking for assurance. “This is not a joke, is it?”

Dina shook her head, and Clark sighed. “So much for ‘No strings attached’ and ‘You can say No at any time’...”

How was he supposed to say No? It was impossible to turn around now, wishing them farewell and go back home to Kansas. They needed him; Lex needed him, and yet Clark was convinced Eileifr and Dina hadn’t told him the complete truth.

“What do you want me to do?” he asked warily, and Dina began to beam.

“Not much, actually. We just need your brainwaves. It’s like an EEG, and --”

“How could my brainwaves tell you where that guy is?”

Eileifr stepped forward and eyed him, seriously. “We assume that Chronos is using meteor rocks to hide from us. Those meteor rocks that used to be your home planet. Our tracking system is based on technology your kin was kind enough to share with us at about hundred years ago. For some reason, however those Kryptonite rocks interfere with the system. --”

“This is my home!”

“Semantics, Clark, seriously.” Dina shook her head and gestured him to look at the biggest monitor in the room.

He saw a map of the world, and when Dina pressed the touchpad table again, the map zoomed in to North America, the USA, then Kansas and stopped at Lowell County. All the time there were little red dots visible on the map. There were still some around the area where Metropolis was located, but the spot that stood for Smallville was dot-free.

“Each dot stands for a metahuman,” Eileifr explained.

“Maybe there are no metahumans in Smallville...”

“We know of one. However, we can only track her when she’s leaving town. The massive amount of meteor rocks works like an invisibility cloak on your hometown. Whenever Argus visits you, she’s not on our radar anymore.”

“Yet, I keep coming back like a boomerang.”

Clark chose to ignore her and eyed the old man. “But when the system fails, how can I help?”

Dina turned to him. “We would use your brainwaves to outsmart the system. You’d be connected to our computers, and your mind would search the world. I wrote a program that can detect metahumans even when they’re cloaked by meteor rocks. It’ll only work with you, though.”

“And once I scream in pain you know that you found him? How can you be even sure he’s not in Smallville already?” Clark stared at her, disgusted. She couldn’t possibly be serious about this. Dina knew the effect Kryptonite had on him. She knew those rocks were his only weakness, that they could even kill him.

“The only thing we know for sure is that Chronos currently is not in Smallville,” Eileifr said when Dina walked over to Clark.

“It’s totally safe. There won’t be any real meteor rocks around you. It’s even less dangerous than an allergy test.” She reached for his hands and watched him earnestly. “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t know it’s 100% safe, and if this wasn’t our last option. We really need you, Clark. Chronos is trying to kill Lex --”

“Argus!” There was a warning tone in Eileifr’s voice, but Dina ignored the old man and looked at Clark. Her green eyes were beseeching him.

“Chronos can’t harm anyone as long as they are in their right time. Seriously, he can’t even kill a fly. And that’s why he brought Alex here. He wants to kill him, and if he succeeds Lex will be lost forever. And I honestly don’t want to know what’ll happen then.”

“You said the planet would be destroyed.”

“Only if Alex is still out of his proper time by the end of the month. So, good news is: if Alex should die, planet Earth is safe...” She grinned but Clark could tell she was dead-serious about it. “However, Lex has a purpose, just like you --”

“ARGUS!”

Again, Dina ignored Eileifr and kept focusing on Clark. “Your purpose is more obvious, but Lex’s is as important. I know I said you could get out any time, but that was when I thought we’d still have an alternative... You won’t get hurt during the process. I give you my word, Clark.”

He didn’t know what to say. Dina was a nutjob, but she had her heart in the right place and Clark trusted her with his life. He wanted to help her. He wanted to help Lex, and Chris, and even the entire planet, but he was scared. The effect Kryptonite had on him was horrible, and he feared it almost as much as the thought of losing his parents – or a close friend.

Clark took a deep breath and thought of Lex. He had risked his life for him when Clark was still a freshman at high school and had visited the plant with his class. A former employee had taken them hostages, and Lex hadn’t hesitated to walk in there, negotiating.

“Let’s say I do this... EEG... You said I was the only person that could bring Chronos to Alex...” He glanced at Eileifr. “What if he’s carrying Kryptonite with him? I’ll be useless --”

“I’d come with you and keep those little green suckers far away from you,” Dina grinned.

“But he could send you through time...”

“Lucky me, I know an alien who won’t let that happen.”

Clark flashed her half a smile, and briefly closed his eyes. Of course, he would try to protect her, yet he was still scared.

Lex is a real hero... I’m just a boy from a farm in the middle of nowhere...

He sighed again and looked at Dina and Eileifr. “OK, what do I have to do?”

Chapter 13

Dina felt horrible when she brought Clark back to the plane, reproaching herself. She shouldn’t have talked him into tracking Chronos. She should have given fellow Noesi hell to come up with an alternative, she should have come up with another option herself!

It didn’t feel right to drag Clark into the Noesi business. He was so pure and innocent...

Dina glanced at him. He had found Chronos in no time – he was hiding in Belize – but Clark still looked like crap. She had never thought the procedure would exhaust him this much. He was barely able to walk on his own, and she had to support him.

“Your folks should’ve put a brick stone on your head when you were still small.” Groaning slightly, Dina looked up in the sky. “Sun will rise soon. That’s where you get your powers from, right?! We could wait a little until you’re better.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

“Only question is: when?”

“Seriously, I’m okay. Just... don’t make me do anything like that ever again.” Clark forced himself to smile as she helped him into the plane.

“But dragging six-foot-something guys around is one of my favorite hobbies...” She squinted at him. He looked a little better by now, yet still far away from healthy farm boy. She sighed. “Get some rest once you’re home. Or take a sunbath...”

Clark frowned. “I thought we’d go straight to Belize!?”

“No, we wait until tonight, or tomorrow night if necessary --”

“But what if he --”

“Runs away again?” Dina shook her head. “Ain’t gonna happen. Now that we know where he is, we can follow him – the old-fashioned way. In contrast to you and me, Chronos depends on planes and cars... Well, you know what I mean.” She watched him when he sank down into one of the seats. He moved like an old man suffering from gout. “I’m sorry, Clark. I never thought the procedure --”

“It was the only way to find him, right? And that’s why we shouldn’t wait any longer. We have to get Chronos now and make him reverse everything. Lex has to come back.”

“Yeah, we just show up there and ask him nicely to come with us.” Dina couldn’t help but smile. Sometimes Clark still was incredibly naïve.
“I need to make a few preparations. You should use that time to rest, and maybe get used to the thought of, uhm, convincing Chronos.”

“You mean with violence.” Clark pressed his lips, his eyes watched her reproachfully.

“Maybe your puppy dog eyes will be enough, but keep in mind we’re talking about the guy who’s plotting to kill your best friend.”

“You still haven’t told me why...”

“For a reason,” Dina mumbled. “We’ll meet in Belize City. I’ll let you know then. Don’t worry, I’m gonna keep an eye on him.”

“You can’t go there on your own! You said his powers work on anyone but me... I really don’t want to deal with a child-version of you.”

Dina chuckled obediently, although she was a little scared herself. Of course, she wouldn’t be alone. There was a Noesi base in Mexico, near the border to Belize, but she had no idea what would happen to her.

Chronos was a metahuman and a member of the Noesi. He knew about their methods – and the bases disguised as museums run by Iseon. Granted, they had a little advantage named Clark Kent. Only the inner circle knew about him and his abilities, his origin and his possible future as the world’s savior, yet Dina was worried. She couldn’t tell what would happen within the next few hours, or days. Everything seemed to be foggy, and she had no idea why. Normally, she would see some ‘Either... Or’ scenarios, but now she basically saw nothing.

“How is Chronos actually sending people through time?”

Dina blinked and looked at Clark. She had almost forgotten about him. “Same way I would teleport other people: a simple touch. In contrast to the rest of us Chronos isn’t bound to his own timeline. Or any of them at all. He can go forwards, backwards, sidewards, upwards, downwards... and drag everyone he wants to with him. He’s breaking all laws of physics – like most metahumans. Anyhow, there are rules – especially for time travelers. Each generation normally has one... Well, we have twins.” She shrugged and sighed, wondering what had made Chronos pull such a stunt. He knew about the risks, and he had always been rather sensible. His brother Tempus, on the other hand, was known to be the trouble maker.

“Then I better make sure he won’t lay his hands on you,” Clark said, a little smile on his lips. “You’re growing on me.”

Dina felt blood rushing up her cheeks, and she had to clear her throat. “Hey, safe the end-of-world-speech for the ending of the world!” Rolling her eyes, she reached into her pocket.

“How can you have pockets in that suit? It’s... tight.”

“And you notice that now? Anyway, here: have your watch back.”

“My... What? How?”

Dina couldn’t help but chuckle as Clark took the watch from her. He still looked like crap, but also surprised, and actually quite adorable.

“I snatched it on the flight here. – Flying really isn’t my thing. Anyhow, there were made a few adjustments to your watch. We can now communicate. I wasn’t just eating cookies in the kitchen,” she added with a wink.

Clark examined his watch, his eyebrows furrowed. “It looks like always.”

“Of course, it does. What did you expect?”

“How does it work?”

“Well, you tap the glass three times when you need to get in touch with me,” she explained. “Yeah, I know sounds so cliché... There’s a connection between your watch and my necklace and your watch, so I’ll know where you are and you’ll know where I am --”

“It’s a tracking device?!”

“No, it’s a really subtle communicator. It basically works like those musical toothbrushes. You know, those that send sound vibrations from the bristles through your teeth – only that there are no sound vibrations or teeth involved...”

Clark raised his brows and looked at his watch again. “I think I’ll just accept that it works.”

Dina smiled a little. He still didn’t look like the picture of life, but his sense of humor seemed to be coming back. That was a good sign.

“OK... got any more questions? Otherwise I’ll teleport back now.”

Clark nodded. “Make your preparations, or whatever it is you want to do. We should hurry. The sooner Lex is back the better.”

Giggling, she saluted and left the plane – not without having a last scrutinizing look at him. He would be fine.

Outside, Dina took a deep breath. It was dawning, and she couldn’t help but remember when she had brought Keith here to watch the sun rising above the Scottish highlands. That had been nice...

She shook her head and told herself to focus on the important things. Clark would be fine, and furthermore, he still trusted her. Chronos was found, and somehow they would make him clean up his mess. Yet Dina couldn’t stop wondering why he had brought Alex here in the first place. What did he see in the future that he was willing to kill a child? And furthermore: how had he been able to infiltrate LexCorp? He definitely didn’t have any help from the Noesi. No one knew what Chronos was up to.

“We’ll find out,” she mumbled and teleported back in her apartment.

The lights on her answering machine were blinking, but instead of listening to the messages, Dina picked up the phone and dialed a number while walking into her bedroom. The call was answered when she opened her closet’s door.

“Keith, hey this is... obviously your voicemail.” She rolled her eyes and waited for the obligatory beep. “Uhm, hi... Uh, I don’t know whether I’ll still be here tomorrow – or by the end of the month – but if I am I, uhm, want to become exclusive. You and me... as in real couple. No more seeing other people... That’s all. Bye.” She was about to hang up but then hastily added, “This is Dina, by the way.” She disconnected the call and threw the receiver on the bed. Then she screwed up her face.
“Oh gee... I didn’t just do that, did I? What’s wrong with me?” She shook her head and turned back to her closet, looking through some boxes until she found what she had come home for.

“Coming to bed?”

Chris looked up and shook her head. “I have to read this.”

“You have to know it by heart now...”

“But it’s important. I can’t afford to screw up tomorrow!”

Lex stepped behind her and kissed the top of her head. “You won’t screw up. Besides, you’re at best when acting ad hoc.” He closed her laptop and brushed his lips against her temple. “And when you had a good night’s sleep,” he added as his hands moved down her shoulders.

“This doesn’t really feel as though you want me to get some sleep...”

Smirking, Lex pulled her up. “I want you to be relaxed and get some good sleep...”

“Hey, are you dreaming? I just asked whether you really want me to stay the night.”

Chris blinked and looked up. Keith was sitting across her on the sofa in Lex’s study. She had been lost in thoughts and almost forgot that her best friend had declared today for ‘Distract Chris’-day.
“You already got Alex’s go ahead.”

“Yeah... talked to the adult in this house... At least I was able to distract someone today.”

Chris smiled a little. Alex really had enjoyed the afternoon, and it had turned out that he was an excellent flag-footballer.

Keith sighed and stood up, moving over to her. “Hey, stop worrying. From what I’ve heard a lot of strange things happen in Smallville, but all of them turned out fine. This won’t be an exception. Lex’ll be back soon.” He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her a little closer. “So, do you want me to stay the night? I could crash on the couch...”

“Keith, there are like 70 bedrooms in this house.” Chris turned her head and watched him. “You’re just asking nicely because you want to bring up the pregnancy thing again.”

“As it happens I have a test with me...”

Chris rolled her eyes, grabbed her crutch and rose, pacing up and down the room.

“Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.” Keith followed her. “I know you’re scared, and this is obviously the worst of timing, but... don’t you want to know?”

Chris pressed her lips. There were a lot of things she wanted to know; mainly how she was supposed to reunite the ten-year-old version of her fiancé with his dead mother, and how to bring his adult version back to her. Least on her list was a pregnancy.

“You’re just abandoning the stomach flu idea, aren’t you?”

“Hell, no! It’s still my favorite and once it’s here, I’m gonna embrace it.”

Keith gave her a pitiful look and whistled the chorus of ‘Walk like an Egyptian’.

“Fine,” Chris huffed. “I’m gonna pee on that stupid piece of plastic, but when it’s wrong you owe me big time!”

Grinning, Keith walked back to the sofa where his jacket was still hanging, and pulled out a rectangular box of the inner pocket. Suddenly, his cell rang. He groaned. “Please, don’t be work. Don’t be work, don’t be... Crap, it’s work.” He gave Chris an apologetic glance and answered the call.

He didn’t talk much but made faces and rolled his eyes. Obviously, he was talking to his partner Turpin. He wasn’t the smartest snowflake at the MPD, and Chris was still convinced the chief held a grudge against Keith and thus teamed him up with Turpin.

“Honeybun, I’m so sorry,” he said when he cancelled the connection and looked at Chris. “That was Turpin --”

“And he forgot where you store the doughnuts.” Chris flashed him half a smile. “A new lead on the Sinclair case?”

“Looks like it, but... Chris, I really don’t think his murder has anything to do with Lex... and Lex.”

“I’m grasping straws, okay?! You’d do the same.”

Keith sighed and nodded slowly. “Understandable, but don’t put all your hopes in this case. It’s a dead-end.” He checked his watch. “Hey, I could wait ten minutes and you do the test.”

“Hell, Keith. Do I look like I could pee on command? Go back to Metropolis, do your job and call me if there’s anything interesting about Sinclair, okay?”

“Sometimes I think you and Turpin work together,” he mumbled and handed her the pregnancy test.

Chris almost backed away and looked at the box as though it was a venomous animal. For a second she was almost convinced it turned into a living taipan snake. She draw a deep breath and took the box.

“I’m stopping by again tomorrow, to make sure you do the test.”

“Gosh, why are you so obsessed about this?”

“Because I love you, and I want to know what’s going on with you, and a pregnancy is the least scary thing concerning your health I can think of. And don’t come up with being stressed again.”

“I just turned into one of those girls that can’t live without a man anymore.”

“No, you didn’t.” Keith smiled and kissed her goodbye. He apologized once more and left.

Chris stared at the door for a while before she sat down again, closing her eyes. When Lex had proposed she had honestly thought it was the beginning of a normal, boring, drama-free life, but now it seemed to get even worse.
She felt like crying, yet she couldn’t. Sometimes she still thought the past seven days were nothing but a nightmare, and when she woke up Lex would be sitting next to her, bringing her coffee.

“I made you something to eat.”

Chris jerked and opened her eyes wide. Matthew, the butler, gave her a smile and placed a tray in front of her on the coffee table. Hastily, Chris hid the test between the sofa cushions. “Jesus, I didn’t hear you coming in.”

“It wasn’t my intention to spook you, Mistress Chris.”

“Of course, it wasn’t. Your job description says butler, not poltergeist,” Chris muttered and looked at the tray. On a plate was an open tuna sandwich, decorated with a smiling mayonnaise face. “Thanks, that’s really cute, but I fear I’m not really hungry.”

“Maybe later.” Matthew bowed a little and turned to leave when suddenly, he faced her again. “Mistress Chris, may I speak openly?”

“Only when you take the ‘mistress’ and sh-- lock it away,” she replied subdued and nodded. “Shoot.”

“You overburden yourself,” he slowly said. “You focus on too many things and neglect your health.”

“I won’t die because I don’t eat this sandwich right away.”

Matthew sighed and shook his head. “You are almost as complicated as Master Lex... Mistr-- Christine, you have to accept help. You can’t run a law firm, solve the mystery that took place at the plant and take care of a child all by yourself. You are still in recovery from... the incident, but I haven’t seen you taking any physio therapy lately.” He lowered his head and muttered an apology. “I’m not in the position to criticize you --”

“Criticize away. I’m doing everything wrong, and no one’s stopping me. Taking in Alex was a stupid idea. He should have stayed with his father.”

“He shouldn’t,” Matthew said and almost immediately seemed to regret this exclamation. Obviously, he couldn’t forget he was a butler. Chris gave him a smile and offered him a seat.

“Would you like to discuss the future of Alex with me? You know him... You knew Lex when he was this age. He still trusts you, and I’m an idiot for not asking you about your opinion before.”

“I’m merely a servant.”

“Baloney, we both know you’re much, much more.” She gave him a nod, and Matthew sat down on the sofa across. Chris told him everything she knew so far, about Dr. Sinclair’s murder and Matthew told her what she did right and what she did wrong concerning Alex. Of course, he tried to be as polite as possible, but Chris realized that she had to treat Alex like a child and not like Lex trapped in the body of a ten-year-old. She had thought she did good, but apparently she had no motherly genes inside her.

“And I promised Alex that he could stay with me in case we can’t bring him back to his time... I could as well send him to the woods and leave him there.”

“Christine, if little Master Lex has to stay here, I’ll be of assistance. You are not alone.”

“If I get custody for Alex – which is unlikely – Lionel will kick us out of the mansion, and probably he’ll also try to get me out of the penthouse even though Lex gave it to me. I should’ve never sold my apartment... Matthew, I won’t be able to pay you. You’re a first class top butler, and --”

“Don’t worry about me. I am not doing this for money, but because I care for Master Lex. I always did.” He took her hand and squeezed it slightly, only to become formal again. He cleared his throat and gave her a bright smile. “See, now you have even eaten a little bit.”

Indeed, Chris had eaten almost half of the sandwich, and she returned his smile. “Thanks for the talk, Matthew. I should’ve asked you earlier... I think I’ll try to get some sleep now. It’s gotten late...”

“Would you like some hot milk with honey?”

Chris smiled and rose, leaning on her crutch. “That would be great, thanks. Oh, and would you mind to make a new appointment for physio therapy?”

“My pleasure.”

She turned to leave when he called her back. “You might want to take this. The maids needn’t know about it yet,” he said and handed her the pregnancy test. “I’m cleaning the master bathroom myself tomorrow.”

Chris groaned and took the test from him. Of course, he had seen her hiding it, but at least she could be sure he wouldn’t go and gossip about it. “It’s just a joke between me and Keith. We do that every now and then.”

Matthew nodded, but obviously didn’t believe anything. “I’ll make you some hot milk.”

Chris forced herself into a smile and left the room to walk upstairs.

Maybe I should run an add in the local newspaper so that everyone knows I’m having a pregnancy scare, she thought as she entered the bedroom. Lex should be the only one knowing about this.

Chris shook her head. She didn’t want to think about a pregnancy anymore. Keith was just putting thoughts in her head. Her body was playing tricks on her because she missed Lex so much. How could she be pregnant? How could Lex be gone and replaced by a ten-year-old? Nothing made sense, and Chris just wanted to turn back time to the morning in the penthouse when Lex used his super-powers to make her coffee.

She sniveled quietly when suddenly she heard a movement. At first, she thought Matthew came with another tray, but the door was still closed.
Chris frowned and turned to switch on the lights when she heard the movement again. It was a smooth one, almost like that of a soldier, but not for nothing her dad had raised her like a Marine. She closed her eyes, focused on the barely audible sounds and grabbed her crutch a little tighter. Her heart began to beat faster, and she shifted her weight on her right, healthy leg. Then she whirled around, swinging her crutch like a weapon.

Chapter 14

“Whoa, easy there with the cripple device!”

Whoever was in the room backed away into the shadows, and even though Chris’ heart was beating up her throat she rolled her eyes.

Why didn’t I switch on the ceiling lights when I came in here? What did Dad tell you all the time? Make sure the room is all clear.

“Show yourself!” Chris demanded, hoping her voice would sound steady even though her entire body was shaking. “Who are you? How could you pass security?” Almost immediately, she regretted the last question. The security staff was far better organized now that Corporal Andrews was supervising them, yet they were still rather useless when he wasn’t around – and of course, tonight was his night off.

Talk about coincidence...

“I didn’t even bother with security,” the intruder said, sounding amused. Chris frowned. Was she talking to a woman? The voice definitely sounded female, and Chris was almost a little relieved. Given her current condition she probably stood more chance fighting a woman. She grabbed her crutch a little tighter.

“I come in peace. We got a mutual friend.”

“None of my friends hide in shadows,” Chris replied, trying to get a better look at her unwanted guest, but whoever it was kept hiding in the shadows. However, by now she was convinced she was dealing with a woman. The shadowy movements were way too elegant to be that of a man.

“My name’s Argus, and our friend Keith makes his living by hiding in shadows. Well, sometimes at least...”

Argus? Keith had mentioned that name once or twice, but Chris had always thought he was trying to fool her by telling her about a nightly vigilante that would help him solving difficult cases.

“Would you mind putting the crutch down? I come in peace.”

“Huh... people who say that always lie, while people with truly peaceful intentions would use the front door!” Chris tried to figure out where this Argus woman was hiding while slowly moving over to Lex’s side of the bed; he kept a gun hidden in a secret compartment of the bed frame.

“True... though I’m not here to attack you.”

“Lucky me.” Argus briefly left the shadows and Chris could catch a look at her. “Are you wearing a kitty mask? OK, that’s it. I’m calling security.”

“Perfect! Tell them to keep a close eye on the little boy.”

“Is that a threat?” Chris groped for the gun while following Argus with her eyes. The woman moved as smoothly as a cat.

“Hell, of course not. It’s merely advice. If you want to see Lex again, you have to make sure the boy is safe.”

Chris’ blood ran cold, and she took the gun, pointing it at Argus.

“Rats! I guess that came out wrong.”

“What do you want?” Chris unlocked the trigger, causing Argus to stop and raise her hands.

“I’m not an assassin. I’m... not here to harm you --”

“Who. Are. You?” Chris found her hand shaking. She knew how to handle a gun since she was eight, yet this was the first time she was aiming at a human being, and she didn’t quite like it.

“Would you mind using the crutch again? I’m feeling rather uncomfortable...”

“Might be that silly mask. Let me see your face. Take it off!”

“Stays on!” She folded her arms in front of her chest, and Chris frowned again. This attitude was familiar, but she couldn’t put her finger on whom Argus reminded her of. “I really like that mask.”

“Who. Are. You?” Chris asked again.

“I’m a friend who wants to help. I want you to see Lex again, have a fairy tale wedding and live the most boring life with him – just like you’re dreaming of.”

“Oh, why haven’t you said that in the first place? You’re my fairy godmother,” Chris snarled. In the back of her mind a little voice told her to step away from sarcasm. There were still scars on her chest from her last encounter with a lunatic when she couldn’t repress her sarcastic side. She took a deep breath and tried not to think of that time.

“If you want. I have to warn you though: I’m not good transforming mice and pumpkins --”

“Shut it! Why are you here? What do you know about Lex?” The little voice kept telling Chris to calm down, but she was losing her patience. This was about Lex – or Argus was just another loon trying to kill her, but this time she had at least a gun.

Argus moved a little closer, her hands still raised. She didn’t seem to worry about the gun at all. “I know where he is, but it’s a bit complicated.”

“Then make it easy.” Chris eyed her. Now that she had fully stepped into the light that was coming from the bedside lamp, Chris saw that Argus was a little taller than herself. Her body was lean and muscular, and she had covered her head with a hood. All Chris could see was a pair of emerald-green eyes that looked strangely familiar.

“I’ll try... Lex’s currently trapped between times.. Don’t worry, he’s safe. He’s at a place we call Ekkja, though actually it’s not a real place --”

“Of course it’s not. It’s the Icelandic word for widow. And who are ‘we’?”

“Huh, widow... curious... Well, I don’t make the names.” She tilted her head and slowly put her hand on the barrel, moving the gun down so that Chris was aiming at Argus’ thighs. “This way you could still hurt me, but we both know you don’t want to pull the trigger. After all, I’m not a paper target. I understand you feel more comfortable being armed... I know what happened to you, and I shouldn’t come here like this, but...” She trailed off and her green eyes watched Chris almost a little hurt. “I couldn’t stand it anymore to see you like this. I --”

“You’ve been watching me?” Chris’ eyes widened and her hands began to shake. It was starting again. Someone was stalking her, trying to kill her. Likely, Lex was already dead.

“No, not like that. Rats, I’m doing it all wrong,” Argus mumbled and moved a little closer. Chris tried to back away until the back of her knees hit the bed.

Argus reached out her hand and carefully touched Chris’ shoulder. She began to feel strangely calm, and even a little reassured. “I can’t tell you who I am. I want to, but... It’s complicated, but I don’t want anything ever happen to you,” she said quietly, her voice all soft.

Chris didn’t know why, but she lowered the gun and locked the trigger. For some reason she believed Argus, and she wasn’t even scared anymore. Slowly, she looked up and tried to read Argus’ eyes. They were friendly and sincere.

“Is Lex okay?”

She nodded. “He’s at Ekkja. There’s no time, nor space; nothing that could harm him. I know it sounds crazy, but this is how it is. Lex is safe. The only danger for him is the boy.”

“I don’t understand...”

“He didn’t come here because of a failed experiment that might have opened a gate in the time/space continuum,” Argus said, and told Chris about metahumans – people that were born with special abilities and who had never been exposed to meteor rocks. She told her about twin brothers who could influence time, even travel through it, and that one of them brought Alex to their time in order to kill him.

Chris shook her head. “He’s just a little boy... Why would anyone kill him?”

“That we haven’t figured out yet, but me and some friends are trying to stop him, and bring Lex back home. We need your help, though. You have to protect the boy – if necessary with your life.” Argus paused, and Chris felt as though her knees were giving in when she remembered the other night when Alex had come to her, being convinced someone had been in his room. What if someone really had been in there? What if Argus was right about those people who wanted to see a little boy of ten years dead?

“I think they were already here. Alex said someone had been in his room the other night.”

“Damn, he saw me? I made sure he was asleep... We needed to confirm he really is Lex from the past, and not Lex aged backwards. Also, we wanted to make sure no one can get into his room through the windows, or anything... Hey, don’t faint on me now. You’re a general’s daughter, act like one... Crap, is that a pregnancy test?” She picked up the box that was still lying on the bed, and looked at Chris. “Already... I thought there was more time... Damn it, I’m getting really involved with you. What other reason would there be for the fog?”

Chris stared at her. What the hell was she talking about? Why was she in Alex’s room? How come she sounded as though she was expecting Chris to have a baby? Chris herself didn’t know whether she wanted to have children at all. What fog did she mean?

Argus threw the box back on the bed and placed her hands on Chris’ shoulders. “Promise to focus on the boy, and forget about Lex for a little while. You’ll have him back by the end of the month, I give you my word. But don’t let anyone near the boy you don’t trust. I do realize this, coming from a woman wearing a kitty mask, sounds borderline lunatic, but you have to trust me.”

Chris opened her mouth to say something when there was a knock at the door. She turned her head and saw Matthew entering the bedroom, bringing her a cup of hot milk.

“Mistress Chris, is everything alright? Why are you holding a gun?”

Chris looked around. Argus was gone. “What... How... Where...” She dropped the gun, picked up her crutch and hurried over to Alex’s room. What if Argus had been nothing but a distraction act?

“Mistress Chris? Christine!” Matthew followed her when Chris entered the boy’s bedroom and switched on the lights. The bed was empty.

“Alex? Lex? Fuck,where are you?” She looked under the bed, moved over to the windows and checked behind the curtains. “Alex?”

“Mistress Chris, what the bloody hell is going on here?”

She ignored the butler and checked the closet. A relieved sigh escaped her lips when she saw Alex sitting inside, listening to music from her MP3-player while hugging his teddy bear. To his feet was a flashlight and an opened book. Slowly, he pulled the earbuds out and watched her, wide-eyed.

“Am I in trouble?”

Chris couldn’t help but laugh. “No, but you are out of bed.”

“I couldn’t sleep, so I tried to read a bit, but it’s after bedtime, and...” He glanced at Matthew who was standing right behind Chris.

“My apologies, Mistress Chris. I once told Master Lex that the glow of his torch was visible under the door.” He watched Chris slightly worried. “Are you feeling alright?”

She rubbed her forehead, and looked at Alex. “Go to bed. It’s more comfy to read there. Matthew, a word, please.” She left the room and waited for the butler in the hallway, taking a few deep breaths.

“I’m deeply sorry, Mistress Chris. I never thought Master Lex would sit in the closet rather than using the torch underneath --”

“I’m losing it, Matthew. I think I’ve lost my marbles. Either that, or someone really was in the bedroom, telling me about time-traveling people that don’t fall in Chloe Sullivan’s meteor freaks category, and that they are trying to kill Alex just before they vanished into thin air.”

“I’m afraid, I don’t follow you, Mistress Chris.”

Sighing, Chris rubbed her forehead again. She was obviously having a crazy moment. If only Lex was there... He knew those moments, and he could quickly pull her out of these.

She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed in a few times, before she told Matthew about her encounter with Argus.

He eyed her, his brows knitted. “I shall increase security right away.”

“You believe me?” Chris was surprised. She didn’t even know whether Argus really had been there, or whether she had fallen asleep and dreamt the most confused dream ever.

“Admittedly, it sounds absurd, but I know you as a rational person who normally does not reach for a gun without reason.” He paused for a moment. “Would you like to see the security tapes?”

“The... What? Are you telling me there are cameras in the bedroom?”

“There are cameras in all rooms, Mistress Chris. Master Lex must have told you.”

“There are cameras in the bedroom? In the master bedroom? Where I sleep? Where Lex and I... Matthew, there are...” She stared at him in disbelieve. How could’ve Lex kept that from her? After the stalker incident Lex had promised her to do everything to make her feel safe. He had promised her no one would ever document her sleep again, and now she learned from his butler that Lex had his very own collection of home videos.
Why was she even surprised? Lex never kept his promises; he always kept his word, but never his promises. When he had told her he would make sure no one would ever watch her sleep again, he obviously was lying to make her feel better. Still, she couldn’t stop thinking of those cameras. They were in the bedroom. Everyone could watch her sleep...

Suddenly, she felt Matthew’s hand on her forearm and he pulled her over to one of the decorative chairs in the hallway, making her sit down.

“Take a few deep breaths. In to the nose, out of the mouth... There you go, it’ll be all good,” he said and Chris slowly calmed down. “I thought you knew about the cameras. They are installed for security purposes, but let me assure you the recordings of the master bedroom are treated strictly confidential. I have authority to request them, but no one can watch them without authorization.”

“Who has authorization?”

Matthew gave her a little smile. “Master Lex and you. At least, I assume you received authorization when you moved in here. Your fingerprints were scanned for a reason.”

“I thought it was to use the safe...” Chris slowly shook her head, trying to wrap her mind around what happened during those past minutes. It was a relief to know the tapes were confidential, yet they still existed.

Which actually is a good thing since now you can check whether you lost your marbles, or not, a little voice inside her head said.

“Could you get me those tapes? All of them?”

“There is only one. The recordings are overwritten every 90 minutes; for privacy purposes.”

Chris almost laughed. As though anyone here would care for her privacy...

“Get me those tapes. And please tell the person in charge to take the cameras in the master bedroom off air – at least for a while.”

“I’m afraid I can’t. They are part of the security protocol --”

“Listen, I rarely play the fiancée-card, but now I do. Lex asked me to marry him, and since he’s currently not here, respectively not old enough to make any decisions in regard to security, I’m Lex’s second-in-command, and you do as I say. Is that clear?”

The butler inclined his head, causing Chris to press her lips. Maybe she was a bit too harsh. “I’m sorry...”

“You are a general’s daughter, and this is how you actually speak to servants.”

“But you are Lex’s family... you are family.”

“That’s an incredibly nice thing to say,” he replied and almost blushed a little. “I shall forward your wish to the security staff.”

Chris thanked him and rose. “I should check on Alex now,” she said and returned to the boy’s room.

He was in bed, more sitting than lying, and gave her a remorseful look. “I’m sorry.”

“Why? You aren’t the first kid that reads after bedtime, and you won’t be the last,” she said, smiling.

“But you were so upset.”

“Only because your bed was empty, and I thought you ran away again. So technically, I wasn’t upset but freaked out. I should work on my facial expressions... New ground rule: when reading after bedtime, do it in bed, under the covers. If you’re scared the light of your flashlight is shining through under the door, twist a towel and place it in front of it. Also works when you’re smoking weed and don’t want anyone to smell it.”

Alex’s lips curled into a grin. “You shouldn’t tell me that. You’re my guardian, or might be my guardian eventually...”

“See? As your guardian I have to teach you useful things,” Chris replied cheerfully, and moved closer when suddenly something stroke her. She frowned and eyed Alex. “Hey, do you remember the other night when you told me someone was in your room?”

“Yeah, why? It was just a stupid dream...”

Chris pressed her lips. How was she supposed to check whether Argus had told her the truth about her visiting Alex at night without scaring him to death?

“I never asked you what you dreamed. When we dream the brain is clearing itself, linking information and memories, removing useless information. Maybe your dream of that night can tell us something about that bright light you saw before you came to our time.”

Alex tilted his head and brushed his index finger against his upper lip, frowning a little as he tried to remember.

“I dreamt that someone was in my room... Someone tall. Not as tall as Clark, but taller than you. It was a woman, dressed in black. I wasn’t scared, not even when she took my blood. She seemed to be nice, and then she was gone, and I woke up.” He shrugged his shoulders and looked at his index finger, rubbing his thumb against its tip. “It’s a mosquito bite... It’s still itching a bit.”

“Anything else?”

“Her eyes were really green. Not greenish like Dad’s but really, really green. Like emeralds. Totally unreal. No one has eyes that green.”

Chris eyed him. Argus had told her the truth. She really had been there, and she had been in Alex’s room. That probably meant she was right about the other things as well. But why would anyone try to kill Alex? It was hard enough to imagine Lex had deadly enemies, but Alex was just an innocent child.

“See? It was just a stupid dream.”

“Yeah...” Chris mumbled and looked at the book that was lying on the bed: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. “Hey, would you like me to read a bit to you?”

“Do I look like a toddler? I can read myself!” Alex watched her almost offended, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“I didn’t mean it like that, I just thought... When Lex can’t sleep he likes me to read to him. Obviously, I have a really drowsy voice.” She forced herself to giggle. “I thought it might help you to fall asleep, too, but you aren’t the Lex I know. Well, not yet.” She made a helpless gesture and sighed. If Argus really was right, Chris didn’t want to let him out of her eyes, and reading to him was at least an excuse to stay in his room without looking like a creep.

“Oh... okay... But I don’t think your voice is drowsy,” he said quietly and brushed his index finger against his upper lip. “I would like to... if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

“But I’m already half-way through the book.”

Chris smiled and made him lie down, pulling the comforter over him. “It’s one of my favorite books. As a matter of fact, I more or less learned to read with this book. I haven’t read it in years, but I’m familiar with the plot.” She picked it up and sat down in the armchair that was standing near the bed. “Lying comfy?”

Nodding, Alex cuddled into his pillows when she opened the book and began to read.

Chapter 15

Over and over again Clark checked his watch. Almost twenty hours had passed since he returned from Scotland, and he still hadn’t heard from Dina. He had tapped the glass a couple of times – just like Dina had told him – but nothing happened. Obviously, the communicator didn’t work; if there was one at all.

“Here you are!” When he looked up he saw Chloe coming up the stairs to the loft. “I thought we’d meet at the mansion. It was crazy...” She shook her head and sank down on the sofa.

“I had chores to do... Wait. What happened?”

“Apparently, Lionel Luthor had left for New York, and when the cat’s away... Those vultures – I wouldn’t even call them reporters – took their chance and tried to get an interview from Chris. The mansion was in total lockdown.” Chloe stretched her arms a bit. “Actually, it’s a miracle they weren’t camping in front of the mansion since last week.”

“Lionel knows how to keep the media away from his family. You have to give him that... Chris is okay, right?!”

“Oh, she was great. She basically told them to shove it while being really eloquent.”

“And Alex?”

“I don’t think he even noticed the media uproar. He was playing some UNO with the butler and the cook in the kitchen. Chris did a great job distracting him, and the vultures,” Chloe said and suppressed a yawn. “I always knew lawyers could tell lies, but Chris...” She made an impressed noise. “I almost believed myself that Lex was on a sailing trip and that his boat went missing.”

Clark nodded slowly. Chris always had have some experience with journalists, but over the last year she had also learned to handle reporters from gossip rags; there was a reason why even Chloe called those vultures. However, he also felt a little bad. All day he had been focused on Dina and didn’t waste a single thought on Chris, or that he had wanted to meet with Chloe at the mansion.
He cleared his throat. “Hey, I’m really sorry I didn’t made it... The chores and... You got new information, right? What did Chris say about it?”

“I haven’t told her. There wasn’t time for it anyway – unless I told her right in front of those hyenas.”

“Are they still there?”

Chloe shook her head and reached for her bag, pulling out her laptop. “Eventually, the security got rid of them, but I still couldn’t tell Chris. She was great in front of the reporters, but... I wasn’t sure whether I should tell her what I found out last night. I wanted to check with you first. She’s really... not herself these days. And honestly: the next time I tell her anything, I want to tell her that we found Lex.”

That was a wish Clark shared. Not only was he scared of Chris’ mental health, but he also thought of what Dina and Eileifr had told him last night. He wanted to tell Chloe about it, but that would mean he had to tell her the truth about him, and that he didn’t dare. He hated to keep secrets from his friends, but he couldn’t put that burden on their shoulders. He had seen his parents struggling way too often...

“OK, what do you got?”

“Remember that I was working on the security logs? The actual ones were overwritten, the security tapes were fakes...”

Clark nodded. “You got the originals back. Weren’t they changed shortly after the explosion?”

“Yeah, and I looked a little further, trying to find out who was behind all of this. But that took some time. In short: every employee at LexCorp gets a PIN the day they start working there, however, the code used to overwrite the logs was created only two days before the incident. That alone isn’t interesting, but...” She trailed off and reached into her bag, pulling out a file she handed Clark.

He had a look at it. It was a personnel file of some Fennigan Carlin who – according to the papers – worked as a scientist. A photo showed a pale, blond man in his thirties. Clark frowned. Could that be Chronos? Or someone who worked with him? Or was he just a poor devil that had nothing to do with it at all?

“The original security logs state that both Lex and Carlin were at the lab when the explosion happened,” Chloe said. “Interestingly, though, Carlin is supposed to have worked for LexCorp since last summer.”

“And?”

“His code was generated two days before Lex disappeared.”

“Maybe he got a new code...”

“That’s not how they roll at the plant,” she replied, and looked at her laptop.

“There’s something fishy about that Carlin and I tried to find out where he got that PIN-code from. Normally, that would’ve taken ages, but luckily, I got some help from Lana.”

“She helped you track down the code’s source?”

“Yeah, right after she found a cure for AIDS, but before she disproved Einstein’s theory of relativity.” Chloe gave him a sardonic look. “She... kinda pushed me in the right direction. I was frustrated; flag-football instead of serious investigating and a slow computer make me grumpy, so Lana used her super-cheer-up powers on me, and... I’m the most horrible friend alive. She’ll hate me if she ever finds out I hacked into her e-mail account.” She shook her head and screwed her face before covering it with her hands, whining a little.

“Why would you do that?” Clark was a little appalled. Of course, Chloe was a reporter, and he was certain she would become the youngest Pulitzer Price winner of all time, but normally even she had her boundaries and would respect her friends’ privacy.

“We wanted to do some brainstorming, and if that wouldn’t work Lana said we should ask Dina for help.”

Clark pricked his ears, causing Chloe to give him a crooked grin. “That’s what I thought, too. Last year in spring when Chris and Lex were dealing with that stalker/bodyguard/psycho, Dina was there, too. She happens to work at LuthorCorp’s IT-department, and she is dating Keith Morris who happens to be Chris’ best friend, and you said she’s a meteor freak --”

“I never said that!”

“What else do you call people that can get in and out of closed rooms without using the door – or a window?” She opened the digital Wall of Weird, and showed him a rather large file on Dina.

“Wait... Did you say she’s dating Keith? How come you know?”

And how come I didn’t? he added in his thoughts. He felt a little hurt. It wasn’t as though he was best friends with Dina, but occasionally they would also talk private things, and for some reason he thought she would share something like this with him.

“I have it from a good source,” Chloe said cryptically and shrugged her shoulders. “Okay, I know that from reading the mails between Dina and Lana. I only read those, though,” she added hastily. “Anyway, I didn’t think much when Lana mentioned Dina the first time. After all, they had met at the mansion at the Fourth of July BBQ, but when Lana said they had also met online I got curious. I mean, why would anyone Dina’s age be interested in an 18-year-old teenager?”

“She’s Lex’s age. Are you also reading my e-mails because I’m friends with Lex?”

Chloe pressed her lips and Clark stood up, huffing. Sometimes Chloe simply was impossible!

“I’d never read your mails, Clark. And I normally wouldn’t read Lana’s, either, but... If I hadn’t I would have never checked Dina’s computer at LuthorCorp, and I would’ve never found out that the PIN-code was generated there.”

Clark whirled around and stared at her. That couldn’t be true! He refused to believe that Dina had anything to do with Chronos and his crazy plan to get rid of Lex.

“Clark, I think she’s spying on Chris and Lex. She asked Lana a lot of questions about them, and Lana willingly answered all of them. She also told her about me and my dad – who happens to be the plant manager. You have to admit that’s too much to be a coincidence!”

Clark couldn’t believe his ears, yet it seemed to make sense. All the time he had wondered how anyone could have infiltrated LexCorp, but of course they had to have help from the Noesi. They had made sure Lex would hire Chris’ stalker as her bodyguard, and obviously they did the same with Chronos.
Still unable to believe Dina had fooled him, Clark looked at Chloe whose face suddenly changed. Her hazel eyes turned green, and her blonde hair became red and tousled. The barn vanished and instead he saw the market place of an unknown city. The skin underneath his wristwatch was getting warm, and then he heard Dina’s voice.

“Come to Belize City. ASAP!”

Thirty minutes later, Clark arrived in Belize City. For some reason he knew exactly where to go.
He was a little short of breath, and utterly confused. He couldn’t even remember what he had told Chloe to get away from her, but once he saw Dina he hurried over to her, grabbed her by the shoulders and began to shake her.

“Why are you always lying to me? Why do the Noesi need to test me over and over again? What’s your problem with Lex and Chris? Why do you always have to hurt them?”

“Ouch! Stop it, you are hurting me!”

“Why did you help Chronos to get into LexCorp?” Clark kept shaking her. Never he had felt so much anger and disappointment before. He didn’t even care whether he was crushing Dina’s shoulders, or not. He wanted the truth – just for once.
All of a sudden, he was grasping thin air. Dina had beamed away from him.

“Dammit, Clark! What’s gotten into you?”

He whirled around. She stood behind him, rubbing her shoulders. Clark tried to grab her again while telling her what he had learned from Chloe, but Dina kept teleporting away from him.

“I still have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

“This smells like Noesi!”

“Dammit, I didn’t help anyone! Least of all, would I help Chronos. Clark, I --”

“You’re spying on Chris and Lex, using Lana. Don’t deny it!”

“I just wanna know what’s going on in their lives. I can’t see much anymore.”

Clark huffed. “As if you ever cared for them.”

“Fuck you!” Dina teleported right in front of him and began to push him. Clark had forgotten that she was stronger than the average human. “Chris is my little sister, Lex’ll be the father of her children, and I care a lot for them, yet I know I’m screwing up. I try to fix it, but every time I make it worse, and I can never tell Chris that I’m her sister since last night I scared the shit out of her.” There were tears in her eyes, and she began to beat Clark. “Screw you! Don’t tell me I don’t care for them! You don’t feel what Chris feels, but I do, and it’s getting worse every day Lex is gone. I want to take that away from her, but I can’t. She’s my little sis, and...” She sank down to her knees, sobbing.

Clark stared at her in shock. He had never thought Dina would ever lose it. Carefully, he touched her shoulder, but she instantly beamed away from him.
“Dina, I’m sorry. Please, calm down.”

“You don’t believe me. Go away, leave me alone.”

“I do believe you.”

“I never smuggled anyone into anything. Besides, computers can be hacked; just ask your friend Chloe about it!” She didn’t even seem to hear him but keep teleporting from one corner to another; it made Clark feel giddy.

“Calm down, will you? I was an idiot for jumping on conclusions. I should know you better,” he said, slowly moving over to her. Although he still wondered whether she really had been at Chris’ last night, and what she meant when she mentioned children, he didn’t ask Dina about it but pulled her into his arms, hoping she would calm down.
Deep down, he knew she wasn’t lying – even though he barely understood what she had just told him.

“I believe you. I trust you, Dina.” He rubbed her back a little while she was sobbing at his chest, and he felt completely useless. Clark had seen Dina fighting three men twice her size at the same time without batting an eye, and now she was crying like a baby because he condemned her without even hearing her out in the first place.

All of a sudden, Dina raised her head and wiped her face with the back of her hand. “We have a job to do.”

“You okay?”

Instead of answering, she turned around and walked away from him. Then, she stopped and glared at him. “Do you need an invitation? We got a time traveller to catch, and trust me: they can be rather slippery.”

Clark rolled his eyes and followed her. Back to business then. She and Chris truly were sisters; first crying at his shoulder and then pretending as though nothing had ever happened.

“Chronos is hiding in this church. Looks like he knows the Noesi declared open season on him and is now seeking sanctuary,” she mumbled and glanced at Clark, giving him half a smile. “It’s a convention. Holy places are off limits...”

“So, we wait here until Chronos leaves the church?” Clark raised his brows. That was a stupid plan.

“Pff!” Dina gave him a pitiful look and reached behind her back, pulling out something that looked like a pair of modern handcuffs.

Where is she keeping these things?

“Do I strike you as a person that gives a crap about conventions? It’s open season, and we go in there and bring his filthy little ass to Smallville!” She took a deep breath and looked at Clark, lifting the handcuffs to show him. “These will prevent any metahuman from using their powers. They have to be closed around both wrists in order to work. You’re fast, you’re strong... Chronos shouldn’t be a problem for you. Apart from his abilities he’s a downright nerd.”

Clark took the handcuffs from her and studied them. They didn’t look like handcuffs the police used, but seemed to work the same way. He closed and opened them a few times until he was sure he could use them quickly on Chronos.

“Alright... What about the Kryptonite? Is he carrying some with him?”

Dina’s eyes widened and she watched him horrified. “Crap! I almost let you walk in there without... I’m making everything worse. By the end of the month I will have killed the entire planet.”

“Hey, it’s okay. Just tell me if he has any meteor rocks in that church.”

She nodded and took a deep breath. “He’s wearing a bracelet with like six stones made from Kryptonite. All in all, maybe two ounces...”

Clark pressed his lips. Now it was getting serious, and he thought of Lex and the day they had first met. He thought of Chris, and Dina’s breakdown. He thought of his parents, and Lana and Chloe, his friends from school, Alex...
He was scared of the Kryptonite, but he didn’t want to jeopardize the future of this world, or losing Lex forever.

“Two ounces... Okay, let’s do it then.” He reached for the door handle when Dina stopped him.

“It’s okay to be scared, just... don’t let it paralyze you.”

“Here goes nothing!” Clark opened the door and entered the church.

Dina waited a few moments before she followed Clark by beaming into the church, hiding herself behind a column near the transept.

Chronos, pale and blond and nerdy as always, sat in one of the pews while Clark lingered at the holy water font, making the sign of the cross. Dina eyed him closely. So far there was no sign of sickness or anything else. He looked as healthy as always, but then again he was still several yards away from Chronos and the meteor rock bracelet.

She bit her nails when Clark slowly moved forward. Actually, he was doing a great job as he walked down the aisle; slowly and with respect like an ordinary church goer. When he passed Chronos’ row he quietly greeted him with a nod. He looked a little sick now and his movements became forced, but Clark kept walking on and quickly, he seemed to recover. He finally sat down in a pew near the altar.

Dina felt as though she had been there for hours although she knew only a couple of minutes had passed. Clark didn’t seem to be in a hurry, and when she looked at Chronos she saw an utterly relaxed man. He was even praying the rosary.

Someone’s having a bad conscience... You have to recite that thing a lot before you get absolution.

But then Dina realized Chronos wasn’t praying at all but furtively eyeing Clark. After all, he was on the run and had to suspect everyone to be a hunter. Luckily, Clark looked as innocent as a boy scout, and after another minute Chronos obviously decided that Clark was no danger. Dina could see him relax.

She suppressed the urge to laugh. Oh Clark... you sly old dog. You really got the spy business down!

But all of a sudden it struck her that maybe Clark wasn’t pulling a James Bond but had actually lost his courage. After all, he hadn’t been trained by the Noesi since he was a kid. He wasn’t CIA, or KGB, or MI6. He was just an 18-year-old boy that was born on a foreign planet and raised by farmers in a small town in the middle of nowhere who was now facing a grown metahuman with a Kryptonite bracelet. Dina should’ve known better not to let him do this. These stupid little rocks seemed to scare the hell out of him. She could only imagine how much those stones could hurt him. The effect when he had looked for Chronos had been pretty bad – and then Clark hadn’t even been exposed to the stones. What if two ounces were enough to kill him?

Dina closed her eyes and bit her lip. Please God, don’t let him die. He might be alien, but he’s a pretty good guy and just stumbled into all of this. Please, don’t let these rocks kill him!

“Di-- Argus, I could need a hand here!”

She opened her eyes wide and peeked around the column. Clark’s place near the altar was abandoned, and when she looked at Chronos’ pew she saw both men pushing each other. Actually, Chronos was pushing Clark while he tried to kick something with his right foot.
Dina looked at the ground. The bracelet was lying near Clark’s boot, its green stones glowing strangely. Clark must’ve ripped it off Chronos’ wrist.

“Argus, do you need an invitation?” His voice sounded pressed, almost sick.

“Argus? Argus is here?” Chronos stared at Clark and began to struggle. “You are Noesi? This is a holy place, for God’s sake! It’s against the --”

“Oh, don’t start on conventions.” Dina quickly moved over to them, picked up the bracelet and threw it away. She glanced at Clark who instantly began to look better. “Sorry, you took me by surprise.”

“Well, I’m fast and strong...”

“This is a church, a holy place. You got no right to attack me here!” Chronos tried to escape, but Clark’s grip was viselike.

Dina stepped forward. “And you have no right to rip a ten-year-old out of his time, sending his adult alter ego to Ekkja. I guess we’re even.”

“You don’t know what I’ve seen. I had every right to do so. It’s for the greater good, the elders will understand.”

“Sweety, I know way more than you, and I’ve seen way more than you will ever see, and trust me: the elders don’t want to understand.” Dina moved closer and glared at him. “There’s only one reason you’re still alive: fix your mess.”

“And once I do you kill me? You even brought the executioner with you? It’s not even a Noesi job anymore, is it? Now you recruit...” He looked at Clark, frowning. “What is he?”

She chuckled. “If you’ve really seen so much, you perfectly know who he is.”

Slowly, his expression changed. His mouth dropped open, and his eyes widened. Dina nodded as Chronos studied Clark and instantly, he stopped struggling.

Clark loosened his grip and pushed him into her arms. “Beam him to Smallville. I’ll meet you there.”

“What? No! I won’t go to Smallville!”

Clark turned around and gave Chronos a snotty look. His eyes seemed to get a little darker and he was almost sneering. “From what I’ve heard you wanted to go there anyway and kill a child. Argus is kind enough to save you the plane ride.”

Dina was impressed. There was no farm boy left in Clark but his bright future was shining through. She felt incredibly proud of him right now.

Suddenly, Chronos began to struggle again, trying to get away from her. She rolled her eyes. “Save your energy. You’re coming with us one way or another.”

But Chronos ignored her and focused on Clark, beseeching him. “I know I have no other choice, but you can’t leave me with Argus. Please! She’s... Argus! Everyone knows she’s not right in her mind. I’m going wherever you want, but I don’t want to me alone with Argus.”

Dina kicked him. “Gee, that’s rude!”

“Please, don’t leave me with her. She’ll kill me. I’ll never make it in one piece to Smallville. Argus is crazy. She’s worse than the Hashshashin! She’s doing the Noesi’s dirty work. Argus is not here to escort me and make me return the boy; she’s here to assassinate me.”

She felt Clark’s eyes lingering on her, and when she looked up she saw him watching her puzzled. Dina groaned. So much for trusting her...

“Hey, he’s messing with you. Trust your gut feeling. Do you really think I’d hurt him before Lex is back? Rats, that came out wrong,” she added when Clark’s eyes widened. “I’m no assassin! – Gee, I seem to say that a lot these days.”

Clark didn’t look convinced and Dina rolled her eyes, slapping the back of Chronos’ head. “Well done, idiot.”

She wanted to slap him again when suddenly she spotted the bracelet, and she knitted her brows, looking from Clark to the bangle and back. Two ounces of Kryptonite wasn’t enough to kill him. It wasn’t even enough to seriously hurt him, but maybe...

“Well, it’s worth a try,” she mumbled and pushed Chronos back in Clark’s arms. “To prove I’m no crazy assassin and that I won’t quarter anyone anytime soon, I obviously have to teleport both of you, then.”

“We already know that won’t work,” Clark said as she walked over to the bracelet to pick it up. When she turned around again, she saw him shaking his head, looking appalled. “It’s worth a try... and it would only be a second. You said you trust me... well, before our little wimp here began to mess with your head. I mean, he’s the guy who wants to kill Lex and now he’s scared to face the consequences because he got caught --”

“Don’t trust her! Once she’s killed me, she’ll move on to Lex. She’s a cold-blooded murderer,” Chronos said, reaping another slap against the back of his head. This time it was coming from Clark.

“I’ve seen her being cold-blooded...” He gave Dina half a smile. “I trust you, Argus.”

“Thanks...” She moved over to them and grabbed Chronos’ upper arm, giving Clark a reassuring smile. He seemed to be a little worried but reached for her hand in which she was holding the bracelet. Dina heard him sucking air through his teeth as the meteor rocks touched his skin, and she took a deep breath herself before she focused on the mansion.

Please, let it work!

Chapter 16

Clark felt the meteor rocks burn into his skin when suddenly, the pain was gone. He opened his eyes and saw Dina bouncing up and down in front of him.

“It worked!” She threw her arms around his neck, then she was gone. Clark blinked.

“Sorry, had to get rid of the bangle,” she said a second later, reappearing right behind him. “It’s safe and sound in an old lead mine in Europe now.” She grabbed for his hand and looked at it. The palm was still a little red and itching, but Clark was already feeling better.

“How did you know it’d work?”

“I didn’t.”

“What?”

“The rocks seem to weaken you, making you... almost human... It worked and you’re fine, and... Tsk, tsk, Chronos you don’t want to leave, do you?” She whirled around and grabbed for Chronos’ arm.

Until now Clark hadn’t even noticed they were standing in a closet, but when she opened the door, he had a clear view on Alex’s bed. Clark smiled when he saw the boy lying asleep, hugging an old teddy-bear. They really were at the mansion.

“Hey, keep an eye on Mr. Time for a sec,” Dina said and moved over to an armchair. Chris was sleeping in it, and he couldn’t help but sigh. Even now she looked worried and stressed.

“What are you doing there?” he whispered, then he saw a little vial in Dina’s hand.

“A little all-rounder, the world's smallest first aid kit.”

Clark remembered that she had used that liquid on Chris before – when they had found her in that hut 18 months ago, covered in blood.

“Making sure she won’t wake up,” Dina whispered back, carefully trickling a few drops of that colorless, gooey liquid on Chris’ lips and gently stroked her hair. “She really mustn’t see any of this. And a little sleep won’t do her any harm.” She turned around and looked at Chronos. “Alright, it’s time for your grand entrance. This little boy over there wants to go home to his mommy.”

“No.”

“Excuse you?”

Chronos made half a turn and showed his hands that were still handcuffed behind his back. “I can’t do anything with these.”

Clark saw Dina smacking her forehead. “Right... I better unshackle you then.”

Smiling, Chronos nodded. “You’d better, then.”

“Yeah... thing just is: once you can use your hands again, you’ll try to strangle the boy, and I really can’t let that happen.”

“I can’t send him back in time with my hands shackled, either.”

“I see... we have a catch-22 here.”

Clark watched them, frowning. They were chipper and chit-chatty as though they were talking about the weather and not the future of a child, or that of the entire world. Was this how metahumans acted when they were among their peers?

“Looks like you have to trust me, Argus.”

“It definitely does... Or, I simply beat your nerdy ass until you do whatever I want – a scenario I personally like the best,” Dina replied sweetly. “We both know the boy can’t stay in this time, and we already have...” She trailed off and looked at the clock on the bedside table. “It’s past midnight, that means it’s the 28th.”

Chronos gave her a smile. “There’s another possibility. Let me get rid of the boy and we’ll save the entire planet and its future, but mostly we’re gonna save your little puppy.” He glanced at Clark who was just about to tell him not to harm Alex in any way, but at the last remark he stopped dead. What did that mean?

Chronos pursed his lips. “Don’t like to be called puppy? Well, I’m sorry, but that’s what you are: a little, naïve puppy. Don’t you know you’re trying to save your murderer?”

“What? Di-- Argus, what is he talking about?” Clark looked at her, waiting for an answer, but she only sat down on the armrest of Chris’ chair, massaging her temples while groaning slightly. “Why would Lex kill me? He’s my friend.”

Chronos let out a hallow laughter. “Lex Luthor is no one’s friend. He’s the scourge of humanity, if not even worse, but he’s not your friend, Puppy. I’ve seen what he’ll do, and we better get rid of him now before it’s too late. --”

“Chronos, did you take any courage lately?” Dina asked slowly. For some reason she suddenly looked extremely tired and frustrated.

“What if I did? It’s none of your business. Lex Luthor is a heartless bastard who cares for no one but himself. Someone has to stop him. It’s too --”

Before Clark knew what he was doing, he grabbed him by the throat and pulled him up, hissing, “You know nothing about Lex. He’s the most selfless, generous man I know. He’s not perfect, but he’s my friend and anything but heartless. He would go through hell and back for his friends, and I’d do the same for him. I won’t let you harm him, or Alex for that matter. I --”

“Let him down.” Dina sighed heavily and stood up. She moved over to them and touched Clark’s arm. “Let him down. He won’t kill anyone.”

“Not as long as he’s shackled.”

“Listen, he had a dose of courage, or more, but the effect is wearing off soon.” She gave Clark a smile when he looked at her confused. “See, there’s this one guy, a metahuman, some kind of drug dealer. He’s selling liquid bravery, and that’s the most disgusting stuff ever since it’s nothing but his own sweat. Anyway, like any other drug it changes your behavior, and obviously, our Mr. Time here had quite a mouthful.” She carefully loosened Clark’s grip around Chronos’ throat. “He’s a time traveller. They aren’t exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer.”

Chronos gasped for air and coughed a few times before he looked up at them. “I’ve seen it. I’ve seen Lex murdering! I’ve --”

“You’ve seen shit! All you’ve seen is a scenario of what might happen if all circumstances are given. But they aren’t. What you’ve seen will never happen. It’s an outdated scenario, and you don’t even realize it, and that’s why the elder will never ever use you as an oracle.” She began to laugh, causing Clark to frown.

That wasn’t a manic laugh, or an amused one. Dina seemed to be happy about something, truly happy, but he had no idea what had caused her happiness. Clearly, it couldn’t be the fact that she was talking to a man who was plotting to kill a child. Or, it was.

Clark was frustrated. Whenever he thought he finally understood Dina and her kin, she came up with something new – like a sweat-selling drug dealer – or she completely forgot about him like now.

She grabbed Chronos by the shoulders and made him look at the sleeping Chris.

“Who’s that?”

“That, my dear stupid time traveller, is Lex’s fiancée.”

“Lex’ll never be engaged.”

“And that’s exactly why you are stupid! Just because you can jump through time, that doesn’t mean future is an already written book. It’s constantly changing by actions made in the present.” Dina shook her head, amused. “You idiot! You went to an outdated scenario of Lex’s future.”

“B-but...”

Dina rolled her eyes and pulled Chronos with her over to Chris. Once again, Clark saw her gently stroking her sister’s hair before she took something out of her hand. He moved closer and recognized the little heart-shaped stone Chris was always carrying with her, and a photo. Tilting his head a little, he looked at it and began to smile. The photo showed Chris and Lex, standing underneath a mistletoe. He himself had taken it last year on his parents’ Christmas party.

“Just look at it. What do you see?” Dina almost shoved the picture in Chronos’ face. “Come on, you aren’t that stupid.”

“He... She... They are in love...” Clark raised his brows. Chronos was pale before, but now his face was white as a wall. “But... I’ve seen Lex. He was cold as stone!”

“Outdated future,” Dina replied. “I’m not saying Lex will be a saint, but you saw the worst possible of all scenarios, and Lex himself made sure it’ll never come. All he had to do was stand by someone who really needed him: our sleeping beauty here.” She gestured towards Chris.

The time traveller looked as though he was going to throw up any minute, and Clark studied him curiously. There was nothing left of the mean, slightly arrogant person he had seen only a few minutes ago. Chronos was the picture of misery now, and slowly sank to his feet.

“What have I done? What have I done...”

Suspiciously, Clark kept eyeing him and moved closer to Dina. “Is he messing with us again?”

“The courage is wearing off. He must’ve taken quite a bit of it,” she whispered back, glancing at him. “See, normally Chronos is a big coward and that’s why I never understood why he, of all people, would plan a murder. When I told you he can’t harm a fly, I meant that. He’s the good twin. He just... got everything wrong. Poor soul...”

Clark raised his brows. She couldn’t possibly feel sympathy for him. He wanted to kill Lex. He wanted to kill the child-version of his best friend!

He looked down at the time traveller who was still cowering on the floor, sobbing quietly. Maybe Dina was right to feel sorry for him...

“Is Lex really your friend?” Chronos suddenly looked up, straight into Clark’s eyes. “You spoke so passionate and kindly about him... There has to be something good in Lex if you are his friend. You are...” He trailed off and looked over to the bed, breaking down in tears again. “Oh God, what have I done? I almost killed an innocent child. Please Lord, forgive me...”

“OK, that’s enough. Calm down! One could think you’re making this all up,” Dina said and rolled her eyes.

“Is he?” Clark eyed him warily and she answered his question in the negative. “He’s just really religious... Not always, apparently, but in his defense: he was drugged with courage. It’s never done any good to a coward. Well, drugs never do any good to anyone.” She put the photo and the stone back in Chris’ hands and whispered something to her while Chronos kept whimpering.

Clark sighed and helped him up. He really seemed to regret everything. “Hey, you haven’t killed anyone.”

“B-but I w-wanted to.”

“You can still make up for it.”

Chronos snuffled. “I did it for you. I thought... Lex would... I couldn’t let that happen. The future... you are so --”

“Not interested in my future,” Clark said patiently and gave him a little smile. “I’d like to be surprised by it.”

“You are wise for your age. Your future is bright.”

“Then let’s make sure there will be a future. The Noesi told me the planet is in danger as long as Alex isn’t in his right time,” Clark said and made Chronos turn around. “I’m gonna unshackle you now. Don’t disappoint me, or I’ll handcuff you again in less than a --”

“Wait!” Both men looked at Dina. “First I want to know why you used my computer at LuthorCorp to generate a code for LexCorp. Did you forget you are a time traveller?”

Chronos blushed and averted his eyes, causing Dina to huff. “And that’s why drugs are a bad thing – especially drugs that are made from sweat!”

Clark looked from one metahuman to the other, puzzled. “You created the code first, and then travelled back in time to apply for a job at LexCorp? I’ve seen your personnel file,” he added and Chronos shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

“At first I thought a security code would be enough, but then I figured it’d help if Lex got used to me, so I kept traveling back and forth until Lex was convinced I was Dr. Sinclair’s assistant.”

“But why did you also fake the security tapes? It was you, wasn’t it?”

“Well...” Chronos looked at the floor and shuffled his feet on the carpet. “Once I left Lex at Ekkja, and came back with the boy... I needed some time before the Noesi would catch me, and... I hoped they wouldn’t find me.”

Sighing, Dina shook her head and removed the handcuffs. “And you call Kal-El a naïve puppy...”

“Kal-El? Is that your name?” He watched Clark with big eyes, and Clark couldn’t help but smile. Actually, there was something likeable about Chronos – apart from the trouble he had caused all of them – but Clark couldn’t be mad at him anymore. As a matter of fact the metahuman reminded him on a Golden Retriever.

“Just like Chronos is yours, and Argus is mine.”

Suddenly, Clark heard a quiet gasp, and when he turned around he saw that Alex had woken up, staring at them horrified.
He groaned quietly. Why hadn’t Dina given him anything of that liquid?

“Hey buddy!” he gave the boy his brightest smile and walked over to him. “Don’t be scared; we’re here to bring you back to your time.”

“I know her!” Alex looked at Dina, his eyes wide. “She was here before and stole my blood.”

“It wasn’t even a drop...”

Clark glared at her to hush her, and turned back to the boy, placing his hand on Alex’s shoulder. “It’s okay. These are friends of mine --”

“What’s with Chris? Why isn’t she waking up?” Alex was totally scared and pressed his teddy-bear against his chest.

“She’s just fast asleep, that’s all. She didn’t sleep much lately...”

Suddenly, Chronos stepped forward. “I know you are scared. This isn’t your right time. I... someone made a huge mistake by bringing you here, but I can fix it. I can bring you back home.”

Tilting his head, Alex eyed him warily. “Who are you?”

“They call me Chronos.”

“Like the Greek god of time?”

“Exactly. I’m a time traveller, and that’s Argus. She’s --”

“As in Argus Panoptes?”

“Do you like Greek mythology? It’s interesting, isn’t it?” Smiling, he sat down next to Alex and began to talk to him.

There were still some doubts about Chronos left, and Clark eyed him suspiciously, ready to jump forward in case he tried to harm Alex.

“Relax, Clark. He’s just trying to gain the boy’s trust. Successfully, by the looks of it,” Dina said quietly, and indeed Alex was laughing a little over something the time traveller just said. He even let go his teddy and watched the blond man, intrigued. Chronos had just told Alex that he had visited the Acropolis during its construction process.

“All the trouble, and misery and mystery of the last week... all that happened because Chronos saw a fake future and freaked out about it?” He shook his head. Was it really this easy?

“He was there. Everything he’s experienced was real – then. However, it won’t happen anymore. That future Chronos saw is outdated.” She gave him a little smile. “Looks like the Blood Moon test was more than just a test. Lex had the chance the walk away from Chris after the... incident in the woods.”

“She was traumatized, she needed him. Lex would’ve never left her alone during that time.”

Dina shrugged and looked at Chronos and Alex again, causing Clark to wonder what she knew about Lex, and what other possible futures she had seen. Sometimes, she seemed to be really worried, and other times she was almost happy, but never she told Clark anything.

A frustrated sigh escaped his lips. None of this would have happened if the metahumans would stop watching the future. It was useless and only caused trouble. Lex wasn’t a bad man, even though he was a little misguided at times.

“That future Chronos saw... Lex didn’t want to kill me because I told him my secret, did he?” Clark suddenly asked, worried.

“What do you think?”

“He’s my friend, but...”

“Just keep that in mind, and forget what Chronos said,” she replied softly. “You have faith in Lex; don’t lose it. The future has yet to be written, and maybe even Chronos will understand that one day...” She turned her head and glanced at him. “Your parents raised you well. They gave you confidence, and told you to trust your instincts. You shall never forget that.”

When Clark looked at the bed again, he just saw the time traveller offering Alex his hand, and involuntarily Clark wanted to stop the boy from taking it.

“Shall we?”

“I have to say goodbye to Chris,” Alex said and climbed out of bed, hurrying over to the sleeping Chris. “Chris, wake up. Clark found someone who can send me home to my mom. Chris, wake up!”

“Hey, kid, that won’t work! Chris won’t wake up before tomorrow,” Dina said, causing Alex to look at her, scared.

“What have you done to her?”

“She’s just fast asleep. She deserves it. Kid, she didn’t close an eye since you’re here.”

“B-but... I can’t go without saying goodbye. She’ll worry.” Alex bit his lips and gently touched Chris’ cheek. “I can’t just go...”

“You have to,” she said, and Clark moved forward.

“I’ll tell her you said goodbye. And when Lex is back, she’ll know you’re home with your mom. Hey, we’re friends, right? I’ll tell her,” he said and slowly, Alex began to nod.

He pulled the blanket from the bed and carefully wrapped it around Chris. It looked rather clumsy, but adorable at the same time. Then, he bent down and kissed her cheek, blushing a little. “Thank you,” Clark heard him whispering.

“Oh my... they are old souls,” Chronos suddenly whispered and was instantly hushed by Dina.

What is this meaning now? Clark thought when Alex came over to him. His eyes were a little teary, and Clark squatted down in front of him, brushing his thumbs against the boy’s cheeks.

“It’s going home now, aren’t you happy?”

“I am, but... I’m gonna miss you, and Chris, and your parents, and... you take good care of Chris, will you?”

“If Lex lets me.”

“I mean the calf,” Alex laughed. “Don’t make a burger out of her.”

“Promise, no burger. She’ll live a long and happy life on our farm.” Clark smiled and hugged him goodbye. Then he turned to Chronos. “You’ll send him home?”

The time traveller nodded. “It will all be fixed.”

“I think I’ll join you. I always liked the 1990s,” Dina said and linked arms with him. “Also, I haven’t seen you in such a long time... I don’t want to lose you again.” She winked at Clark. “See you later at the barn.”

Nodding, he gave Alex a slight push so that he walked over to Chronos. He took his hand and waved goodbye to Clark.

“See you in ten years,” Clark said, then everything turned white for a second or two. At first, he could still hear Alex’s voice, and Dina telling him to let Chris sleep in the chair, but then he couldn’t hear anything at all anymore. Another second passed until his eyes and ears worked normally again.

They were gone, and Clark still hoped Chronos wasn’t playing with them but would bring back Lex.

Clark returned to the farm, and slowly entered the loft, trying to wrap his mind around what happened tonight. He smiled when he spotted a tray with a glass of milk and a chicken sandwich sitting on his desk. A note stuck to the glass. Clark recognized his mother’s hand.

Don’t let this become a habit. Dinner is still at 7 p.m. in the kitchen.

Mom

He chuckled when he saw that his mother had made a little sketch of the farm on the paper, showing the way from the barn to the house. It was great to have parents that trusted him, although they were constantly worried. But they knew Clark would always fill them in – or give them at least the reader’s digest version. He would tell them about tonight, too, but likely he would leave out the Noesi, maybe even Dina. Probably, they would be fine with her, especially if he told them that she was helping him living with his abilities, but he wasn’t sure whether or not he should tell them about the Noesi. They knew way too much about Clark, and probably his parents would only freak out.

Hungry, he sat down and ate the sandwich, still deciding what to tell his mom and dad, and what could go by the board. Maybe he should meet Eileifr again. He still had many questions, and the old man had offered to answer all of them...

He reached for the milk and emptied the glass in one large swallow before wiping his hands off his jeans and reaching for pen and paper. There were so many thoughts and question floating around in his mind that he felt the urge to write them down.

“Sorry, it took a little longer than expected!”

When Clark looked up he saw Dina leaning against the wall. He glanced at his watch; almost two hours had passed since he had left the mansion.

“Is Alex back in his time?”

“Safe and sound, though we might have created a parallel universe.” She screwed her face. “It’s not such a bad thing; there are a lot of parallel universes, they just... annoy me. More visions, and I have to figure out which vision belongs to which universe, and eventually I end up with a knotted brain.” She moved over to the sofa and threw herself on it, stretching her arms. “I’m sorry, Clark. If I’d known what this was really about... It really looked like something big and dangerous while actually it only was little Chronos having a freaky moment.”

“What? Does that mean there never was a danger?”

“Oh, there definitely was a danger. After all, Chronos ripped little Alex out of his time and placed him in ours which wasn’t quite healthy for the space/time continuum, and if we hadn’t returned him in time the planet really would’ve been sucked into a black hole. It’s just... little Chronos. I could’ve handled him myself.”

“If you had found him in time.”

“Right... we really needed you for that. It was also quite helpful that you were there, being Lex’s cheerleader. Chronos really is fanboying you.” She grinned and winked at him.

“Where is he now? Or, when?”

“Right now – and I mean right now – he’s at the headquarters, waiting for his trial.”

Clark raised his brows, causing Dina to chuckle. “You heard right: a trial. In front of a real court; with a judge, and a jury, witnesses and attorneys. You might get summoned to give evidence... I’m not sure yet.”

“But... he hasn’t done anything. He more or less stopped himself.” Clark still remembered Chronos cowering in Alex’s room, crying.

“Clark, he broke several laws. Human ones and Noesi ones. Do you really think he can get away with that? There’ll be a trial and a punishment.”

Clark pressed his lips. Granted, he did have doubts about Chronos, but actually he was a nice guy who saw something that scared him, and he thought he would do the right thing by... plotting Alex’s death. He sighed. Of course, Chronos had to pay for what he had done, yet it felt wrong. Like punishing a lamb.

“What will the trial be like?”

“Fair.” Dina laughed. “No, really. The Noesi are a little nuts, I give you that, but they are fair, and their Lady Justice truly is blind. Chronos gets a fair trial, and him being cooperative and regretful will get rewarded. Likely, he’ll end up with probation,and an erased memory.”

Clark nodded, yet he frowned. He couldn’t forget Chronos’ reaction when Dina had showed him the photo of Lex and Chris.

“What are old souls?”

“Huh?”

“Chronos said that. He said Chris and Lex were old souls... What does that mean?”

“Doens’t matter. Aftermath of the drug abuse...” she mumbled, averting her eyes. Obviously, this was another thing she didn’t want him to understand. “Anyway, it’s over. Lex should return soon, and here’s hoping for a nice and relaxed rest of the year. --”

“Should? Does that mean he’s not back yet? I thought Chronos would bring him back.”

“He couldn’t. Lex is at Ekkja, and Ekkja has to decide when it’s time to release Lex. Told you: it’s not exactly a place,” she added and shrugged. “It has a conscience, and... Ekkja, widow... That kinda makes sense.”

Clark jumped to his feet, ignoring her last thought but glaring at her. “All the time you said once Alex is back in his time, Lex will come home --”

“Which he will, so relax. It might take a little time, but I assume he’ll be back in the course of the day.”

“B-but...”

She rolled her eyes and stood up, walking over to him. “Did I give you any reason to mistrust me? Do you think I’d sit here if I knew Chris wouldn’t be able to celebrate a reunion with Lex soonish?”

Clark sighed and slowly shook his head. Of course, he trusted her, and of course he knew Dina would move heaven and earth to make sure her little sister would be happy, he just couldn’t wait to see Lex again.

He flashed her an apologetic smile, reaping a shrug from Dina.

“Whatever... I just want some vacation. Have any questions? Otherwise I’ll go now and try to pretend I’m a normal person.”

He eyed her for a moment, slightly tilting his head. “I have one last question.”

“Shoot!”

“Are you with Keith because you want to be near Chris, or are you with him because you like him?”

Dina raised her brows in surprise and all of a sudden she began to laugh. “You are full of surprises.”

“That’s not really an answer... and once again she’s gone.” Shaking his head, Clark sighed heavily.

Chapter 17

Chris was wakened by the ringing of her cell phone, and sleepily she groped for it. “Wazzup?”

“Did I wake you?”

“Whozzere?”

“Keith... Morris. Detective Keith Morris, Metropolis PD. Best friend for like twenty years... Am I talking to Chris Harris?”

Chris yawned and sat up, rubbing her eyes. “In a second. What’s going on?”

“Actually, I just wanted to give you an update on the Sinclair case.” Within the blink of an eye Chris was wide awake. “Shoot! What is it?”

She heard Keith breathing in. “We just closed the case. Sinclair apparently liked to let it snow every now and then, and got into a fight with his dealer. Sorry, but... I told you his murder and little Alex were two different things.”

“But... what about my calling card. I still don’t understand why he had one...”

“That actually lead us to the conclusion it was a drug-related crime,” Keith said. “Is the name Robert Fawly ringing a bell?”

“No, not really... Fawly, you say? F-A-W-L-Y?” She paused and waited for Keith to agree. He did. “I was on public defender duty lately, because the PD office was short on staff. Fawly... armed robbery. Got him free on probation. Oh...” She pressed her lips.

“Hey, it’s not your fault.”

“I know... it just sucks to know I got him free and he has nothing better to do than murdering the next best drug-addicted scientist that happens to work – worked – for my fiancé. That is a coincidence, right?”

Keith chuckled. “Of course it is. We closed the case and won’t make further investigations. Unless you’re about to confess something?”

“I’m laughing inwardly.”

“Anyway, I just wanted to tell you, so you stop running into this dead end street.”

“Thanks...” She mumbled and hung up, sighing heavily. Would she ever have a normal day again? Without women in kitty masks that came to her bedroom at night? Without hoards of reporters camping in front of the mansion? Without a ten-year-old boy but with her fiancé?

She sighed again and stretched a little. “Sleeping in an armchair most definitely is a stupid thing to do,” she mumbled and looked at Alex’s bed. It was empty, and only now she realized she was covered with his blanket. “Alex?”

Frowning, she stood up and checked the closet, but of course it was empty. “Likely, he woke up and went downstairs to get his cornflakes,” she told herself and shook her head. “No need to panic.”

She left the room, and headed for the kitchen. A strong coffee would help her to fully wake up. And a hot shower later would help to relax her aching muscles.

She just entered the first floor when she ran into Matthew. “Good morning, Mistress Chris. There is coffee in the kitchen.”

“And little Master Lex digging in a bowl of Cap’n Crunch. I wouldn’t want to miss that... Why are you looking at me like that? I don’t think I like that look.”

“Master Lex is not in the kitchen. I thought he was still asleep.” He looked at her, frowning.

“He’s not in bed anymore.” Chris felt her blood run cold and shook her head. Not again. He couldn’t have run away again.

“Then he’ll be in the bathroom. I will check on that,” Matthew said and turned towards the stairs. Chris followed. “With all due respect, Mistress Chris.”

“I’m not planning to spy on a little boy that might be naked.”

“Of course not, but I’ll be faster without you, and if you follow me I will feel obliged to wait for you.” He glanced at her crutch, and she rolled her eyes.

“Brits... Fine then, hurry. I’ll check the study.” She grabbed her crutch tighter and walked away, mumbling. “Stupid crutch, stupid gentlemen, stupid everything...”

The study was empty just like every other room on the first floor, and when Matthew came back he shook his head. “I checked the first floor – the second one – there is no sign of Master Lex. I told the maids to check the attic and the basement, as well as the other floors.”

“What if he’s run away again?”

“Why should he?”

“Because he did it before?” Chris felt her hands getting sweaty, and she didn’t wait for any of the maids to report but grabbed her keys and left the mansion. Ten minutes later she stopped her car in front of the Kent’s yellow house. Clark was standing on the porch, repairing something that looked like a rocking chair, and waved at her, smiling.

“Isn’t it a bit early for a visit?” he grinned and walked down the porch to greet her. “Or is there any happy news?”

“Is Alex here?”

“What?”

Chris groaned. Sometimes Clark was anything but quick. “Alex. Little version of Lex that likes to play hide-and-seek, using your farm as hide, and me as seek.”

“Chris, what happened?”

“I woke up this morning, and Alex was gone.” She walked around the yard, calling for Alex. “There’s no sign of him, so I thought he might be here, because I really don’t like any other possibility, because any other possibility would mean that Argus-woman was right and Alex is in danger, and someone took him, and then I have to think of the shack again, and I don’t want that to happen to Alex --”

“Chris!” He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently. “I’m not Lex, or Keith, or your dad. I don’t understand you speaking Mach 3.”

“Alex is gone.”

“What about Lex?”

She blinked and stared at him. Had he lost his marbles? She didn’t know anything about Lex other than he had been missing for nine days now.

“I, uh, thought you mentioned Lex,” Clark mumbled, causing Chris to frown. Was he hiding something? “So, Alex isn’t at the mansion... Well, he isn’t here, either. But I’m sure he’s fine. Have you checked the plant?”

“The plant?”

Clark shrugged. “Maybe he went there. After all, it’s where I found him, and... I don’t know; it’s worth a try.”

“Do you know something I don’t?”

“I’m just trying to think like a ten-year-old boy. Come on, I’ll drive.” He took her by the hand and steered her over to his truck, helping her to climb inside.

Chris tried to calm down as Clark steered the car off the Kent’s property. She was really scared, yet she kept hoping and Clark was right about Alex being at the plant. Maybe he wanted to investigate the scene, relive the moment he had come there. But why didn’t he wait for her to wake up? She would have gone with him.

Suddenly, her cell rang again and frowning, she looked at the display before answering the call and almost shrieked when a nurse from the Smallville Medical Center told her that Alex was at the hospital.

Clark looked at her. “What is it?”

“U-Turn, we have to go to the hospital. Alex is there.”

“Alex, or Lex?”

Once more, Chris frowned and eyed Clark. She had to admit she really couldn’t remember now what specifically the nurse had said, still it was an odd question to ask. Wasn’t it bad enough that Alex was in the hospital, not gravely injured, but injured after all? Wasn’t it bad enough that the ten-year-old alter ego of Lex was now in a public place although she had tried everything to keep him away from media and reporters and other dodgy creatures?

“Do you know something I don’t?”

He squirmed slightly, his eyes fixed on the street. “I just... I keep hoping Lex’ll return soon. Don’t you?”

“Of course, but...” Chris sighed and rubbed her temples. “Sometimes you’re just a bit weird, and I’m seriously freaked out these days. Sorry... Could you speed up a little?” She closed her eyes, trying to gather herself.

Why should Clark know more than her? He was as worried about Lex as she was. He cared for Alex as much as she did, but he probably never had any nightly visits from kitty mask-wearing women that like to dress in tight, black leather. If he and Chloe had found something, they would’ve told her, unless they weren’t sure about what they found out.

Slowly, she opened her eyes again, and looked at Clark. “You aren’t withholding any information, are you?”

“WHAT?”

“Eyes – street,” she replied and gently slapped Clark’s cheek. “You and Chloe, don’t tell me you haven’t been investigating ever since you saw Alex the first time. Clark, seriously, if you know anything, tell me now!”

He didn’t answer until he stopped the car on the visitor’s car park next to the hospital. He sighed. “Chloe might have found something, but... after the media incident she didn’t want to bother you with that, and... I honestly don’t think it’s helpful at all.”

“Let that be my decision. What did Chloe find?”

“Don’t you want to go inside?”

“Any second; right after you told me what you know.”

He shook his head and got out of the car, leaving Chris behind. “It’s not helpful. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to check on Alex...” He walked away while still talking, causing Chris to groan.

“Stubborn farmer-wannabe. And thanks for the help. There’s a reason why I drive a car and not a truck.” Grumbling, she tried to climb out of the truck without breaking her neck, and slammed the door.

Around the corner Clark was waiting for her, looking remorseful. “Did you get out of the car?”

“Clark...”

“I’m sorry, but... Okay, compromise: we check on Alex first, and then I’ll drive you back to the mansion and tell you what Chloe found out.”

“Fine, let’s go then.” They entered the hospital and Chris asked the first nurse she saw for Alex. Apparently, he was in Treatment Room 4 which was a good sign. That meant she could take him home right away.

“It’s the same room where you first met him,” Clark said, but Chris didn’t listen. A nurse had just left the room and the door was still open, but there wasn’t a boy sitting on the treatment table.

Chris stopped dead and stared at the door that slowly closed.

“You okay? Don’t you want to go in there?” Clark smiled at her, and pushed the door open.

Chris felt as though everything was happening in slow motion as she was gently pushed into the room by Clark. It wasn’t Alex buttoning up his shirt, it was...

“Lex!”

“Sorry, I broke another promise.” He gave her a crooked smile while adjusting the collar of his shirt.

Chris stared at him, her eyes wide open, and slowly moved over to him. Then, she let her crutch drop and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Oh God, Lex!”

“Angel, it’s just a bruised rib and a slight concussion.” She felt how he put his arms around her. His strong, adult arms holding her tight while his strong, adult hands rubbed her back. “We’ve gone through worse.”

“I missed you so much...”

Lex chuckled quietly. “It’s just been six hours... Chris, I know I promised to stay away from hospitals, but seriously...”

“You’ve been gone for nine days.” She let him go and looked at him. He was so adult and so much Lex that she couldn’t stop touching his face. “Look at you. You’re old. You got wrinkles. You’re a grown-up. Clark, do you see that? He’s a grown-up!” She turned to look at Clark who had been standing next to her but then darted by, giving Lex a bear-hug. “Careful! Don’t crush his rib!”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Clark replied, beaming like mad. “Dammit, Lex, it’s so good to see you all grown up. You definitely kept us on our toes lately...” He hugged him again, looked at him and shook his head, a disbelieving smile on his lips. He glanced at Chris. “He really does have wrinkles...”

She reclaimed her spot and carefully cuddled up against Lex with a sigh. She was so grateful that she barely noticed Lex watching them as though they had lost their minds.

“Angel, what is going on here?”

“It’s a very long and complicated story. Where is your doctor? Shouldn’t they take care of you here? Why are you always without a doctor when you’re in hospital?”

“I’ll go look for one,” Clark said, still all smiles. “Seriously, it’s so great to see you again, Lex. Just promise to stay out of trouble for a little while.”

He left the room, and Chris buried her face in Lex’s shoulder. She never wanted to let him go again, but he grabbed her by the arms and gently pushed her away, studying her.

“What happened? You act as though you haven’t seen me in years. Chris...”

“It’s a long story.”

“You speak fast. I’m sure you can tell me the entire story in less than two minutes.” Smiling, he pinched her nose, and all of a sudden she broke down. She didn’t even mean to, but now that Lex was there again she couldn’t stay strong anymore. Her strength was exhausted.

“Hey, it’s alright. Shh, Angel, shh... It’s really just a bruised rib. It doesn’t even hurt. Shh...”

“It’s not that, it’s... There was an explosion at the plant --”

Lex nodded. “I was there. An experiment overheated. Last thing I remember was that everything turned white.”

“I know. Alex said the same thing. Everything went bright white and then silent. And then there was only silent white left...”

“How do you know?”

Chris looked up and looked in his confused face. She sobbed a few times before taking a deep breath and wiping her face with the back of her hand. “Because you told me. The ten-year-old You did... I told you it’s a long and complicated story.”

His mouth dropped open and she cupped his cheek in her palm when Clark returned with the doctor. “I’ll tell you at home,” she whispered.

Chapter 18

When Lex woke up he felt Chris’ warm body cuddled up against his. He smiled and gently stroked her hair.

After he checked himself out of the hospital, Chris had made sure he would rest, but obviously it was her who needed a break. There were still furrows between her eyebrows – as always when she was stressed, or worried. Softly, Lex brushed his fingertips against her forehead. He could only imagine what she had gone through.

This afternoon Chris and Clark had told him the weirdest story; of him being gone for nine days while they had taken care of his ten-year-old alter ego. According to Clark, Chris had threatened Lionel to fight for custody, and according to Chris his ten-year-old alter ego had been brought to their time because some time-traveling meta-human twins wanted to kill him.

“At least that’s what the lady in the kitty mask told me.” Chris’ words were still ringing in his ears, and his head was spinning. He couldn’t possibly have been gone for nine days. To him it felt merely like a few hours...

Carefully, he rose and held Chris’ head with one hand while placing a pillow underneath with the other one. She smacked her lips, but didn’t wake up. Lex smiled a little.

“It’s all good, just sleep,” he whispered and quietly left the room, walking downstairs to the study.

He tried to process the stories Chris and Clark had told him, though he had a hard time believing any of it. Clark’s version, however, sounded more plausible; Chris probably would start a fight with Lionel, and he would happily play along. But Clark never mentioned metahumans, or kitty-mask-wearing strangers, or a conspiracy to murder. Chris’ story, on the other hand, sounded downright nuts – even for Smallville standards, and he had seen quite a few strange things happening in this town...
Nonetheless, Lex knew Chris wasn’t lying, and even Clark had confirmed there had been a ten-year-old version of Lex.

Shaking his head, he moved over to the bar and poured himself a Scotch.

“I don’t think that’s a smart idea – given the fact you suffered a concussion.”

Slowly, Lex turned around. Someone was sitting in his chair behind his desk. “You are well-informed about my state of health,” he said and sipped at his drink. “I assume you are the lady in the kitty mask.”

She chuckled. “Sounds like the sequel to ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’.” She didn’t move but sat in his chair, her legs crossed.

Lex didn’t move, either. He felt strangely calm, and almost was a little relieved to realize Chris hadn’t broken down and imagined a stranger that had paid her a nightly visit.

He had another sip, and looked at his visitor again. “So, I take it you aren’t here because I have IT problems?” He smiled when he saw her flinch, but then she began to laugh.

“I obviously don’t need this anymore,” she said and took off the mask, dropping it on the desk. “You are pretty good.”

“I’m surprised Chris didn’t recognize you the other night. You can hide your face, but your voice is still the same, Dina.”

Again, she chuckled and rose. “In her defense: she was worried about you, and I might have scared the hell out of her... She probably wouldn’t even have recognized her own dad that night.” She walked over to him and tilted her head. “She’s okay, though, isn’t she? I didn’t mean to scare her, I just... I tried to ease her mind a little by telling her what happened to you.”

“Well, you failed.”

“I know.” Dina pressed her lips and sighed. “My visit just made it worse...”

She seemed regretful, and Lex watched her, pondering. For some reason he wasn’t even surprised to see her tonight. She had been there when Chris had received the first photos taken by the stalker, and she had helped to clear a few things. Dina was involved with Keith – the four of them had even been out for a double date – and when Lex was at LuthorCorp she would occasionally join him for lunch.

Actually, Dina was a nice person. A little too outspoken for his liking, yet he had no reason to mistrust her; though he didn’t trust her, either.

He moved over to the lounge and gestured her to follow him. “Tell me: who are you, and what brought you here?”

“I’m Dina, and you know pretty much everything about me. After all, you’ve read my personnel file a couple of times.”

“Indeed, I did. But I think it’s missing a few details. Please, have a seat.”

“Yeah, it does...” She looked around, suspiciously before she sat down, mumbling, “Chris was less scary. And she had a crutch and a gun...” Taking a deep breath, she scratched the bridge of her nose, causing Lex to frown. Chris would do exact the same thing.

“Okay, I think I confused Chris when I visited her the other night, and I figure she told you this afternoon what she thought happened to you.” Lex nodded. “But you still don’t know what happened, right?”

“You are here to shed light?”

Dina laughed. “Call me a torch. But first: could you tell Chris that Alex is safe and sound back in his time?”

“Alex?”

“You – as a boy. They called him Alex, because you are Lex, and he was you as a boy, and when they were talking about you... and you...” She trailed off and shrugged. Lex couldn’t help but chuckle. He imagined Chris, speaking in Mach 3, creating theory after theory and sharing those – likely, she had been acting like a character created by Dr. Seuss.

“It must have been a bit complicated,” he smiled and sipped at his drink.

“Complicated enough to make Chris jeopardizing her career...”

“What do you mean?”

Dina made a face. “Ugh, she obviously hasn’t mentioned that... Well, why do you think your father happily agreed to let the boy stay with her? She made him an offer he couldn’t decline. Luckily, she’s a crafty lawyer and left herself a loophole.”

“How come you know these things?” Lex eyed her suspiciously, not knowing whether he should worry about Chris, or not. If she really made a deal with his father...

“I know too much for my own good... However, forget I mentioned this. It’s actually nothing to worry about. Your father seemed to be impressed by her guts. Chris will tell you in a couple of days anyway. Obviously, today she only focused on the important things... After all, you were gone for nine days and... you still don’t know what happened.” Giving him half a smile, she took another deep breath before she began to report. Lex leaned back and listened to her telling him about metahumans who weren’t to be confused with meteor freaks – she called them meteor ‘challenged’ – and her own abilities. She even demonstrated them.

She told him about the conspiracy and the time travel, about scenarios of the future and a misguided man who tried to do the right thing. Basically, she told him the same story he had heard from Chris this afternoon, but added a few more details and slowly, Lex began to understand. It still sounded downright crazy, though.

“And once more I hired someone I shouldn’t have,” Lex mumbled and rubbed his face. “How come I can’t remember any of it? I do remember hiring him, but... I can’t remember being gone for nine days, and I’m pretty sure this has nothing to do with the concussion. I didn’t black out when the experiment failed.”

“More like whiteout, eh?” Dina chuckled. “You can’t remember because, for you, the past nine days didn’t happen. When Chronos ripped your young alter ego out of his timeline, he brought you to Ekkja. – Yeah, Icelandic word for ‘widow’, I know. Chris already told me. Skip the language lesson.” Lex raised his brows, causing her to scratch her nose again. “Sorry... I don’t make the names. Anyway, there is no time at Ekkja ergo no time can pass, so the last nine days didn’t happen in your timeline. That’s why you’re still injured.” She sighed. “Okay, I’ll try to make it easier. Imagine a giant bubble of --”

“Vacuum?”

“I was going for silent white, but I guess vacuum is almost as good. So, Ekkja is a vacuum and she preserved you for the last week --”

“She?”

“Ekkja has a conscience, and since it’s the Icelandic word for widow, I think it’s okay to say ‘she’, wouldn’t you agree?” She gave him a slightly annoyed look and continued, telling him Chronos – which obviously was the time traveler’s name – dropped him there in order to follow his evil deeds.
“He couldn’t have two Lexes in the same time, because that would have caused the --”

“Time/space continuum to implode... Makes sense,” Lex mumbled and finished his drink. “Summarized, Chronos planned my death because eventually, in the future, I’ll do something that justifies a murder...”

Dina made a strange face at him and nodded slowly. “Kinda... though he saw an outdated version of the future which makes his plan look pretty dumb. Well, the plan was pretty dumb, but...” She trailed off and shrugged. “Though it’s still possible that Chronos and his actions created a parallel universe in which the future he saw actually will happen, but that would be really unfortunate. At least that would explain why he had no idea who Chris was, and... Gee, I really hate time travelers! They always mess up.”

Lex studied her in silence, not knowing what to believe. Rationally speaking, nothing made sense, but then again Smallville wasn’t exactly a rational place.

“You are the fairy godmother in this tale, then?”

“A: it’s not a tale, and B: Chris already claimed me.” There was something in her voice that made him frown. He had noticed it before, but didn’t think much of it. However, now he was sure Dina’s voice softened whenever she mentioned Chris.

He tilted his head a little and watched her, quickly piecing the puzzle together. “You don’t happen to have been at the hut the night Chris got abducted, do you?” She flinched and turned pale, shaking her head vehemently. “So, Chris didn’t have any help that night from someone that could easily, let’s say beam to all kind of places? It’s just a coincidence that her abductor suffered injuries Chris could’ve never caused but someone like... you?”

Ever since Dina had come here, she had looked confident. Her attitude had been light-hearted and a little silly, but now she became quiet and looked away while picking at her nails.

Lex stood up and shook his head. If that wasn’t answer enough...

“She mustn’t know,” Dina suddenly whispered. “She’ll hate me.”

He turned and eyed her confused. “You most definitely saved her life that night. What could possibly make you think Chris could hate you?”

“Because I wasn’t there in time! She had to go through all of this because I didn’t see it sooner, and when I finally got a vision it was almost too late, although I should’ve known without a vision Chris was in danger. I should’ve felt it just like I felt her distress during the last days, and I came here the other night to ease her pain, but I made everything worse. I’m just her freak sister that can’t save her.”

Lex’s mouth dropped open and he stared at her while she took her head between her hands, sobbing quietly. He tried to say something, but was unable to form a single word while his mind kept racing. Dina couldn’t be Chris’ sister. They were nothing alike! Probably, Dina had adopted a few of Chris’ gestures during the two or three times they had been out on double dates with Keith, and the fast-talking wasn’t exactly a unique feature, and it likely only was a coincidence that both Dina and Chris had high cheekbones and resembling shape of eyes...

He shook his head. “What kind of game are you playing here?”

“Not a game; it’s my life! I don’t know why I told you. It’s like the most stupid thing I’ve done lately, even though it would explain the fog...” She trailed off and stared at the floor. “Damn, was it really always the plan I’d tell you? But why? It doesn’t make sense...” She was mostly talking to herself, but Lex was only half-listening anyway.

“Chris never mentioned a sister...”

“Unlike you she doesn’t know about any siblings.” All of a sudden Dina stood right in front of him. “I’m just her father’s freak accident. Her father’s, not her dad’s. Chris can’t know what I am. She can’t! She’s not even happy I’m with Keith... She’d turn away just like Edge turned from Mom and me.” She glared at him and huffed. “Good to know, though, that your first reaction was assuming Chris kept something from you. Yeah, well, why not? She told you about her biological father and we can still see what good it did her.”

Lex breathed in sharply. He was used to scathing attacks coming from his dad, and he had learned to let these things bounce back, but Dina’s words actually hurt.

“Fuck...” Sighing, she rubbed her face. “I’m sorry, Lex, this was... really mean. What happened to Chris wasn’t your fault. I shouldn’t have brought it up... I just feel responsible for her... However, she really has no idea that she has a sister. She would’ve told you otherwise, and you know that.” She watched him remorsefully and then walked away to the bar, picking up the knife Lex would normally use to cut limes.

“I can’t drop such a bomb on you without delivering proof, so here...” She slit her wrist and grabbed a glass, letting some blood drop into it, before reaching for a napkin to press it on the wound. “Okay, this was a bit dramatic... Anyway, test my blood and compare my DNA to Chris’. You’ll see we’re related. Just don’t tell her who I really am.”

“Then why did you tell me?”

“If only I know... Maybe because I think it’s better to be honest with you...” And then, she was gone. If there wasn’t a glass with blood sitting on the bar, Lex would have thought he had only imagined this encounter.

Chris was wakened by a sudden sickness, and she barely made it to the bathroom in time.
After a few moments of choking, she sank down next to the toilet and took a few deep breaths before she reached for the shelf, pulling down a towel. A rectangular box fell down on the floor, and Chris stared at it while wiping her mouth.

She had almost forgotten about the pregnancy test, but now it was lying right in front of her; almost as though it was mocking her.

Using her crutch, she pulled the box closer, eyeing it suspiciously. If she didn’t know better she would say it had fallen down on purpose, but of course that was ridiculous; after all, she herself had hidden it between the towels and it was simple physics that it fell out when she reached for a towel.

Still looking at the box, she shook her head. Who thought it was a smart idea to put a picture of a happy mother with baby on the packaging? Shouldn’t those boxes have a neutral packaging? Or at least something blue/pink-ish?

For Pete’s sake, pee on it already and make a remonstrance against the packaging later, a little voice inside her head said, and it sounded annoyed.

Chris sucked at her lower lip and slowly picked up the box, reading the description. It definitely was the best to get over with it right now. Something had to cause her constant sickness, and now that Lex was back, it obviously wasn’t stress. A pregnancy was probably the least worrying possibility.

She pulled herself up to the toilet, and took the test. She even laughed a little when she realized she kept her eyes shut.

“What are you? Five?” she mumbled and moved over to the washbowl, placing the test on its edge before washing her hands, and rinsing out her mouth a few times. Then, she looked in the mirror.

You look like crap, her inner voice said and Chris made a face at her own reflection. There was still a taste of sickness in her mouth – or it was already coming back again – and she reached for her toothbrush, spending the next five minutes with excessive oral hygiene. It was as though she was fourteen again and had just learned about her mother’s death. Back then she would have brushed her teeth until her gums were bleeding.

Finally, Chris was able to put down the brush and had to stop herself from using dental floss for at least another five minutes. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and plucked up all her courage to check the test. The digital display read: pregnant.

“FUCK!” She threw the test across the room, and cursed again before suddenly she covered her mouth with her hands, listening intensely. The only noise was coming from the wind rustling through the ivy that was covering the mansion’s face.

Lex really mustn’t wake up now and find her with a positive pregnancy test. She didn’t even know whether it was a true positive, or a false positive. Her doctor had to do a proper blood test first, and then there was still enough time to freak out and figure out how to tell Lex.

Chris crossed the room and picked up the plastic, putting it back into the packaging. Then she looked around the bathroom, and decided to hide the test in the back of the drawer she stored her hair blower and flat iron in. Lex most likely wouldn’t look there, and by the looks of it the maids weren’t cleaning there too often, either.

Taking one last deep breath, she returned to the bedroom, using her crutch as quietly as possible. She didn’t want to waken Lex, and answer the questions he would probably ask her.

In the dark, she felt her way to the bed and knitted her brows when she sat down on the mattress. There was barely any resistance although Chris should be able to feel Lex’s weight. Her palms were getting sweaty and her heart missed a beat.

Biting her lip, she switched on the lights and saw the bed was empty.

“That can’t be...” she whispered, hearing her own voice sounding hoarse. Lex had to be in bed. He was back. He had a concussion; she had picked him up from hospital! It couldn’t have been a dream.

“I can’t be losing it for real. He’s back. I haven’t dreamt it, have I?” She pressed the heel of her hand against her head and tried to focus. Then she left the room to check the old nursery where Alex had spent the last nights. It looked like an ordinary guest bedroom again.

“That is because Matthew told the maids to clean the room. C’mon, Harris, that wasn’t a dream, that really happened, so everything else had to have happened, too.” She massaged the root of her nose and walked downstairs to check the study. If Lex wasn’t there, she had to wake Matthew and ask him to commit her to a nuthouse because that clearly was the place she belonged right now.

Instead though, she found Lex in the study, sitting at his desk. He seemed to be preoccupied with whatever he was reading on his laptop, and obviously didn’t notice her as she entered the room. When Chris slammed the door he jerked and looked up. She glared at him.

“You bastard child of a pimply lobster, why are you doing this to me? You can’t just sneak away and let me wake up in an empty room!” Angrily, she walked over to him and punched his shoulder. “I thought I just imagined you being back. I thought I was a case for the nuthouse. You can’t just do that. Hell, there wasn’t even a Post-It, there was --”

“Hey, hey, hey!” He pulled her down on his lap, wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Instantly, Chris began to calm down. These arms definitely were real – and adult. “Sh-shh, I’m real. I’m back, and I have no intentions of leaving again.” He rocked her for a little while, and she hid her face in the curve of his head.

“I dreamt almost every night you were back, and it always felt so real – until I woke up --”

“It’s alright, Angel. This is my fault.”

Rubbing her face, Chris looked up. “How is it your fault that I was acting all... girly?”

“Worried... the correct term would be worried.” He smiled and cupped her cheek in his palm. “I shouldn’t have snuck out of the bedroom; not without leaving a note. If I were in your place... I most likely would have called the National Guard, the Marines, a SWAT team...” He flashed her a crooked smile and brushed a strand of hair out of her forehead.

“They’ve all blocked your numbers by now,” she replied, causing Lex to chuckle.

“Already feeling better, hm?!” She nodded and wanted to say something, but Lex forestalled her. “You still need a cuddle, though?”

“Only for a sec...”

He kissed the tip of her nose and pulled her back into his arms. Chris rested her head on his shoulder, feeling almost a little ashamed. After all, for the last nine days she was acting like a brainless damsel in distress, and not like an independent woman she thought she was.

Dammit, I’m a Harvard graduate, a successful lawyer, a rational person... I really love Lex with all my heart, but I can’t make him center of my life. I want to live with him; not for him...

She nuzzled his neck, inhaling his scent, before she looked up again, rubbing her face. The cuddle had helped her to clear her mind, and she felt more rational now.
“You couldn’t sleep, and that’s why you came down here; to work? Gee, you have a concussion! Do I have to tie you to bed --”

“I wouldn’t mind.” He smirked, but when Chris gave him an annoyed look he became serious. “You looked as though you haven’t closed an eye in more than a week... Chris, you have to stop worrying about me this much.”

“Try to stop the sun from shining...” she mumbled and glanced at his laptop. To her great surprise he didn’t close the lid but let her check out the browser window. “You googled metahumans?” Then, she spotted a plastic mask on the table and jumped to her feet. Her crutch feel to the floor, thudding. Immediately, Lex placed his hands on her hips to support her, mumbling, “Careful, Angel.”

“She... she was here! The lady in the kitty mask... Argus... You saw her. She was here!”

“She was, but... I, uh, didn’t saw her face. She vanished when I, uh, ripped off her mask.”

“What did she want?”

“Confirm what you told me this afternoon,” he said, urging her to sit down again, but Chris kept focusing on the mask. “I don’t think she’s dangerous, Chris.”

“I never said she was dangerous, just... strange. Hey, do you think there’s DNA in the mask? Maybe it could tell us who she is, but then again we don’t have a contrasting sample, so DNA is pretty much useless unless her DNA is in the system; then I could ask Keith... though he certainly wouldn’t want to help since apparently, Argus is helping him at times, and I think she wanted to help us, too. She seemed to be really worried about... Alex. Oh God, I still don’t know what happened to Alex.”

She stared at the colored window, barely noticing that Lex was still tugging at her hand. When she'd seen Lex sitting in the hospital, she'd been so focused on him that she hadn’t thought about Alex.

“He’s back in his time --”

Chris blinked and looked at him. “How do you know? Did Argus tell you?”

“She did. Don’t worry, Angel. Since I’m here now, the boy has to be in his own time; otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

She rubbed her forehead. Of course, he was right. For some reason he was always able to look at a situation and analyze it within seconds, no matter how much information he actually had.
There was a time when she had been able to do the same, but lately she felt as though all she did was worry about Lex.

A few moments passed before Chris tilted her head, eyeing him. “You don’t have any new memories of me, do you? You’re just not with me because I told you you were with me when you were ten years old and now you think we have to be together, and --”

“No, I still remember walking into your office and that’s the first time I saw you,” Lex said patiently, and pulled her on his lap again. “Nothing’s changed about that, and I’m with you because I love you.” He gave her a kiss and rocked her in his arms for a while.

Sighing, Chris rested her head at his shoulder and tried to enjoy being this close to him again, but her mind was still racing, reviewing the last nine days.
She had threatened Lionel Luthor to fight for custody for Alex. She had asked Sarah to be her attorney. She had taken Morgan Edge’s help to turn Alex into Lex’s son. She had encouraged Chloe to hack into LexCorp’s security systems...
All in all, she'd been weaving a net of lies, and now she had no idea how to disentangle it.

Desperately, she looked at Lex after telling him what she’d done. “How shall I fix this? And the media still thinks you’ve gone MIA while being on a sailing trip, and...”

“Shh, don’t worry, Angel. My dad would be the last to shout it from the rooftops that you were threatening him. He likes to maintain the public image of us being a happy family,” Lex said and brushed his knuckles against her cheek. “Edge will keep his feet still, too. After all, he’s... officially dead.” Chris let out a quiet laugh, causing Lex to wink. “And I won’t press charges against Chloe. I never did, and I’m not planning to start that now.”

“But what about Sarah? And the media? And the staff? And --”

“The staff should be the least of your concern. We’ll think about the rest tomorrow, okay? Let’s go to bed now.” He gave her a soft kiss, and Chris knew he was right. Even in the most absurd situation he always remained calm; Lex was turning more and more into her personal tower of strength.

She looked at him and opened her mouth to tell him about the positive pregnancy test, but she couldn’t. For once, she had no idea how he would react, and she still didn’t know how she felt about it herself.

Lex saw her hesitate and stroked her hair. “Something else, Angel?” he asked gently.

Chris closed her mouth again and shook her head. “Nothing, it’s just... nothing. Uhm, could you give me my crutch, please?”

He raised his brows, eyeing her skeptically. “What is it, Chris?”

“Nothing, I’m just... I think I’ll need a few days to act normal again. More normal... Normal for my standards. More like me, and less like a whiny girl.”

Lex looked at her with fond exasperation, “You are not a whiny girl. I think you're amazing, for all you've been through and done during this. Definitely, I made the right choice in loving you.”

Chris blushed at the compliment. But this just wasn't the right time. Not on top of everything else. The pregnancy… didn't fit with all the other worries.

She took a deep breath and squinted at him. “The doctor said you have a mild concussion... yet you sound like you’re having a major one.”

“And, we’re back to normal.” Laughing quietly, he pulled her closer and kissed her neck.

Scratching the bridge of her nose, she groaned. “I’m just still overwhelmed, and then you’re acting cheesy while I’m still processing seeing you as a kid, and... Crutch, please?”

Lex didn’t move but kept studying her, looking worried now. “Were you hurt?”

“Yeah, because you were such a horrible, spoiled kid...” Chris sighed. Lex was too observant, and even if he weren’t he knew her good enough by know to realize she was not telling him everything.

Sighing again, she gave him a smile. “Okay, there might be something… but not right now. Besides, you're keeping something from me too,” she said and saw Lex blinking. He even looked a little guilty, but maybe that was her mind playing tricks on her again. Chris grinned. “My crutch. I’ll need it, because you can’t carry me upstairs with your bruised rib.” She placed her index finger on his lips when he was about to protest. “No backtalk. You're right: we should go to bed, and think about everything else tomorrow. I'll tell you the rest then. Hopefully, you’ll still be there when I wake up...”

Lex laughed and kissed her before handing her the crutch. “I promise. To the best of my ability, I'll be there.”

Epilogue

Lex stood at the window, looking outside, and shook his head in amusement. For the past three days, Chris had told him they would have snow for Christmas even though the weather service predicted a warm front until New Year’s. Yet Chris was convinced she could smell it, and indeed snow was falling in thick flakes, covering the ground in a white mantle. By the look of it, they would have a white Christmas, and Lex could already predict he’d be dragged into a snowball fight.

He shook his head once more, and looked down at his left hand, playing with the platinum ring he’d worn since yesterday. It still felt a little strange, but not in a bad way. Actually, it was a nice feeling, and the ring looked as though it had always belonged on his hand.

Quietly, he laughed at himself and walked back to the bed. Chris was lying diagonally in bed, wrapped in one of the sheets. Her hair was tousled and her face almost hidden between the pillows. Lex smiled when he spotted the ring on her left ring finger. Apart from a little diamond, it looked exactly like his, and Lex sighed with deep satisfaction.

“Stop staring at me when I’m sleeping,” she mumbled, her eyes still closed. “That’s creepy!”

“That’s my prerogative as your husband,” he replied and kissed her. “Good morning, Mrs. Luthor.”

Crinkling her nose, she rolled on her back and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down. “Good morning, Mr. Harris... Hmm, I like kissing married men.”

“I hope only those you are married to.”

“Did I ever tell you I’m a huge fan of polyandry?”

“Minx!” He laughed and Chris suddenly looked past him, sitting up.

“Snow! Ha, I told you we’d have snow for Christmas.” She tapped at her nose, and moved in a little closer, whispering at his lips, “It’s the first day of our marriage, and it’s the first day of snow... Do you know what that means?”

“That you still think you could smell snow, and that I’ll have to massage your feet for the rest of my life?”

She laughed out loud and kissed the tip of his nose. “That, too... It means we’ll be so disgustingly happy that people are gonna hate us. Snow is magical, my friend.” She took his face in her hands and gave him a soft kiss.

Lex couldn’t say she had ever kissed him like this before, but he liked it and deep inside he hoped that would be her special wife-kiss. Chris was inventive enough to have one...

All of a sudden, though, she let him go and clapped her hands. “Okay, let’s check the gossip rags. I wanna know what they’ve written about the wedding.”

“We should’ve left for honeymoon right after the ceremony,” he sighed heavily and rose to get the laptop. When he returned he saw Chris pouting.

“I think it’s rude when newlyweds leave before the party starts. Why even bother inviting people? Just a waste of money. Eloping would have done it.”

Smiling, Lex brushed his knuckles against her cheek, and opened the laptop. “You liked it, then? I know we actually planned a summer wedding, and --”

“If you say the wedding day is supposed to be the most important day in a woman’s life, this marriage will get annulled before you can say my name. Besides, a wedding two days before Christmas beats the pants off a summer wedding!”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. Chris definitely was the only person that started celebrating Christmas on the 22nd, and one of the few people he personally knew that would go for the whole twelve days of Christmas.

“Seriously, Lex, I’m glad it was just a small wedding. In summer we would have had to deal with sycophants and distant relatives, but yesterday there was only family and friends, and your calf.”

“It’s the boy’s calf.” He shook his head. The Kents had decided to give them the calf his ten-year-old alter ego had made friends with three months ago, and Lex still couldn’t believe that actually happened. A cow definitely topped the unusual wedding gift list.

“And you were the boy, and named it for me. We can’t make a burger out of her. Oh, c’mon! I know you like animals, and you find it adorable that the Kents decided not to kill Chris, or sell her.”

“I still can’t believe you let the kid name an animal for you... I can’t call a cow Chris.”

Chris began to laugh. “That’ll be my favorite alliteration! What about Chrissy, then? Can your inner ten-year-old live with that?” She kissed his chin and smiled. “Still, it was a great wedding; I wouldn’t have wanted it any different. We celebrated with our family and our friends --”

“And Dina,” he added, eyeing her. Chris still had no idea she had a half-sister, and even though he wanted to tell her, he didn’t. Dina had asked him to keep it for himself – at least for a while. Since she had been honest with him, telling him about her meta-human abilities and even offered her blood for a DNA test, Lex felt indebted to her. Yet, he couldn’t help but check on Chris every now and then. He wanted to know how she felt about Dina. It was nice knowing he had a sister-in-law, but it would be even better if his wife knew about her, too.

“As I said: family and friends.”

“Oh, all of a sudden she’s a friend? Last time we talked about her she wasn’t good enough for Keith.”

Chris scratched the bridge of her nose, and Lex couldn’t help but shake his head. It was short of a miracle that Chris hadn’t found out yet about Dina. They had met a few times since the time-traveling incident, and it felt like looking in a mirror. Dina and Chris both reacted exactly the same when embarrassed, or stressed, or excited.

“He’s my best friend. I can’t just let him run off with the next best girl. And as far as I remember you had to convince him you’re good enough for me.”

“So, Dina convinced you?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “She’s not that bad... She’s actually quite nice, and she was such a huge help yesterday. It was almost as though she was the big sister I never had... She helped me getting dressed, and told me not to be nervous because all I had to do was saying Yes. And she really does seem to like Keith, but hey: I had to make sure she’s sincere with him. It’s more complicated among girls.” She watched him earnestly and nodded. “You guys just grab a couple of beers, and that’s it. Girls are more complicated. Anyway, I’m glad she decided to join Keith yesterday, and actually they are quite cute together... Okay, what do the gossip rags say?”

Lex chuckled as she grabbed for the laptop, and he moved a strand of her hair behind her ear. Dina was wrong to think Chris would freak out if she should learn she had a sibling. More likely, Chris would be thrilled to know she had a sister, and Lex decided he would tell Dina about Chris’ little speech. Maybe that would help her to come forward.

“Ugh, they’re still beating that dead horse. Gee, it has to smell by now,” Chris mumbled and glanced at him. “Why did you tell the media you got cold feet and were on a week-long drinking spree?”

“Because they wouldn’t buy my dad’s story of me being on a sailing trip any longer, and obviously I strike people as someone who gets easily cold feet,” he replied, adding in his thoughts, And as someone who opts out the responsibility for his child.

As one of Chris’ partners in the law firm, Sarah Bradford had attended the wedding, and obviously hated Lex for sending his non-existing son to boarding school, and let him return to his non-existing, former drug-addicted mother. Sarah had been glaring at Chris for most parts of the wedding.

Chris giggled and kissed his lips. “Luckily, I know better. I would never marry a coward... Hey, what are you thinking of?”

“Sarah Bradford.”

“Nice... married for less than twelve hours and already thinking of other women.” Playfully, she punched his shoulder. “Sarah swallowed the story of Alex being at boarding school hook, line and sinker.”

“Obviously... she considers me a bastard.”

Chris shook her head and nuzzled his nose. “No, she thinks your decision to let Alex grow up far away from any media but near his mother – who’s doing fine while continue to receive assistance for her problem – shows a lot of consideration and responsibility. Besides, Sarah finds it adorable that we decided to cut our honeymoon short so that we can celebrate Christmas with Alex.” She watched him in mock-seriousness, and Lex couldn’t help but chuckle. When it came to making up cover stories Chris was already more of a Luthor than he, or his father could ever be.

“I must’ve misinterpreted her glares then.”

“Sarah glares at everyone who’s old enough to drive a car.” Chris laughed and looked back at the laptop. “Ugh, is this guy trying to maim the English language? We should ask Chloe to write a few lines...” She trailed off and sucked air through her teeth, touching her belly.

“You okay?” Lex watched her worried.

“I’m perfect... the cookie just woke up and decided to do some somersaults.” She laughed and cupped his face in her hand. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m still not used to actually feeling the munchkin moving.”

Lex reached for her stomach. She was five months pregnant now, but still barely showing. If he hadn’t seen the ultrasound he wouldn’t have believed it, but in at about five months he would be a father.
He caressed her belly and bent down, whispering, “Don’t hurt your mommy, okay? You have to be a little careful inside there.”

“You do know that you can’t feel anything there yet, don’t you?”

“But Baby should be able to hear by now, and it should get used to my voice. I’m trying to be a good dad,” he said with half a laugh, but when he looked up, he saw Chris screwing up her face in desperation. “Hey, I didn’t marry you just because you’re pregnant.”

“I know, I just... I still feel so stupid for freaking out over the pregnancy, and now... Look at you: you’re so excited, and I was so dumb for thinking you didn’t want to have a baby.”

Shaking his head, Lex set the laptop on the floor and pulled Chris in his arms. “You’re not dumb, Angel. This is new for both of us, and honestly, half a year ago I might have said I didn’t want to have children at all, but... when you told me I knew this is what I want. I want to spend my life with you. I want to be a husband, and a father. I hope I’ll be a dad. And I want to do it perfectly. I can do it with you. I know you’ll kick my sorry ass in the right direction.” He laughed and kissed her. “Just promise me to do it gently.”

Chris rubbed her forehead and shook her head a little, yet he could hear her chuckling quietly. “Hormones... Don’t take me seriously. However, next time I won't worry about telling you.”

“Next time?”

She blushed a little and played with the sheets. “Well, we certainly should wait and see how it’s going with this little cookie here,” she touched her belly, “but I don’t want it to grow up as an only child, so in at about three years we should try a next time...”

Lex raised his brows, unable to say anything. They had never spoken about having a family before, and when Chris had told him she was with child, she had looked so desperate and scared that he had been convinced she was opting for an abortion. But she didn’t, and when Lex had seen his child on the ultrasound for the first time, he knew he wanted to have a family. A big one, with at least three or four children.

“But then again, given the recent world population, one child might be enough,” Chris mumbled, eyeing him insecurely.

“Who cares about the world? I’d love a next time. And a next next time. Maybe even a next next next time, and now I realize I’ve spent way too much time with you, because I’m starting to sound like you.” He laughed and shook his head. “A next time would be great.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “I’d like to have a boy and a girl with you. Or a girl and a boy...” He had to clear his throat and blink a few times when Chris’ face blurred in front of his eyes. “But maybe we should wait and see how you handle this pregnancy. I don’t want anything happen to you, and there’s still adoption --”

“Shhh!” She placed her index finger on his lips and shook her head. “Adoption is a great thing, but don’t talk to a pregnant woman about scary pregnancies. Physically, I’m having a textbook pregnancy, even my vertebra are fine. Emotionally, however...” She moved her fingers underneath his wardrobe, touching his chest and teasing his nipples. She tilted her head and fluttered her lashes. “If we really want to have a big family, we should start with some test runs right now...”

Lex laughed as she opened the belt of his robe and moved it over his shoulders, nibbling at his collar bone.

“Hormones? Again?”

“Hey, you impregnated me, now deal with it!”

Still laughing, he pulled her into his arms and swore to himself to live a happy long life with Chris. Then he lost himself in her touch and let it happen.

~fin~

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