Kapitel 8: CH-6

Swoosh!

Whiz!

Boom!

As Nate zoomed out of his front yard at a speed several times faster than a racing car, his velocity still sounded softer, like a powerful gust of wind with a swoosh to it.

Soon enough, it turned into a frantic, low-pitched whizzing sound, hinting at a frighteningly intense speed that far exceeded what the air could even register before he zipped past.

It eventually became completely exuberant, with thunderous, booming, explosive roars trailing behind him.

Nate had to stop himself from soaring through the air. His flight speed was identical to his running speed. However, he ran so hurriedly that his strides appeared almost eager to take to the sky.

As he sped past the bus, breaking the sound barrier, a deafening sonic boom echoed through the atmosphere. He naturally made it to Smallville High before the bus did.

Easily so.

In fact, he had to wait patiently for about 25 to 30 minutes before the bus finally pulled up at the parking lot.

Clark did not seem to have missed the bus today, as he exited it with his two best friends.

Just in time to have enough spare to properly get ready for class.

"..."

He scowled and furrowed his brow as Nate stood there with a relaxed smile, holding his bag over one shoulder. The guy had a slightly disapproving expression on his face, almost like a glare that he couldn't help but cast.

Nate, of course, inquired with a friendly teasing tone,

"Yo, Clark, I'm not sure what I did to deserve such a glare first thing in the morning… What's up? Did you miss breakfast today? I wanted to come say hello this morning, but I have yet to even pay an official, formal visit to your farm."

"I only had the chance to meet your father yesterday. How is he doing this morning, by the way?"

Nate did not particularly like Martha, but that did not mean he disliked her. He was neutral. She was Clark's mother, so he naturally respected her.

Despite his often-recurring internal struggles and thoughts, Clark, who was still young and softer-spoken, did not share his thoughts quickly enough.

It was Chloe who seized the chance to react first, before Clark's mouth could stop hesitating in an amusing way as it opened slightly.

Seeing the guy who had decided to suddenly start courting her since yesterday, her eyes seemed to struggle with curiosity as she said,

"You missed the bus, right? How did you arrive before us?"

Nate had purposefully missed the bus today, not even going to his bus stop right next to his house, so Chloe was understandably perplexed.

Quick-minded Pete joked,

"For someone so quick to ask questions, you're not connecting the dots fast enough, Chloe. Didn't we talk about black holes yesterday? Nate mentioned that there was one similar to Clark's in front of his own house."

Clark, one of the two people involved, watched and listened intently, as if his survival depended on it, as Chloe appeared to be enlightened and said, still unsure,

"That blackhole? You couldn't have taken that seriously, Pete. We hear about a lot of strange things in this town, but this one seems like pure science fiction, doesn't it?"

Her face was filled with amusement, as if she was unwilling to take this possibility seriously. Meteor freaks and incidents surrounding them sounded more likely than a black hole, after all.

The facts were in front of her face, though, as shown by Pete's response,

"Whether I take it at face value or not is not the sticking point here, missy; what better justification do you have for what's in front of you? You don't think Nate can outrun a bus quietly, do you? With the delay he experienced, even by car, it does not seem possible for him to catch up and pass us unnoticed."

"Not to mention that Clark reinforces the hypothesis with his own blackhole, which occurs more often than not."

"..."

Nate wanted to ask Pete about the sonic boom-like sounds he'd left behind, but he obviously didn't. Apparently, either those guys weren't paying attention or the kids inside the bus didn't notice.

Chloe said,

"When you put it like this... The possibility that this is Wall-of-weird material is starting to look more likely. I suppose I'll have to glue this strange happenstance to the board as well. I thought Clark was an isolated accident, but it could also be related to the meteor shower."

Her face suddenly turned thoughtful and interested, and she pulled a notebook from her bag.

Nate couldn't help but think,

'It turns out that Chloe was never objective when it came to Clark in the early seasons... Love is the greatest source of blindness.'

'In this case, her ears seem to have been as blind to his lies as her eyes were to his actions.'

Nate was reminded once more of Clark's powerful skill at lying; despite his obvious lack of real skill, he was a bad liar to be honest. More of a gaslighter. His imperceptible status as the protagonist lent credence to his lies for a long time.

Nate remained silent as Pete and Chloe reached their own conclusions.

Clark was the first to speak, asking,

"So you also have one of those black holes in front of your house? Thank you, I don't have to sound insane in front of these two anymore."

Nate acted in a play and cooperated shrewdly,

"Yeah, but unfortunately, that thing does not seem to be able to be tracked or studied; I have tried for years, but it does not show up when we try or bring people to keep an eye on it. I even used cameras and photos to try and capture the moment, but they all disappeared at a moment's notice. Is it the same at the Kent farm?"

"If it's the same black hole or one with a connection, it should be."

Nate cooked, concocted a convenient lie and hinted to Clark that he was going to get rid of any camera or item used to document the phenomenon.

Clark was a poor liar, but he was not stupid, so he understood quickly and said,

"Really? It happens at my house as well, so it must be the same black hole."

Chloe expressed her doubt, saying,

"I don't recall you ever telling us this, farm boy... Doesn't it sound a little too convenient of a blackhole?"

Nate said, saving Clark,

"I'm not sure what Clark told you guys about it, but it wouldn't be surprising for something teetering at the edge of the laws of physics to perturb or alter brain waves… Rather than a simple blackhole, this could be a graduate student or a teacher who has an unhealthy obsession with students arriving late to school and is pulling a big but wholesome prank."

Pete and Chloe looked perplexed, as did Clark, so Nate smiled and continued,

"Aren't the things on your strange wall about people who developed powers as a result of the meteor shower? What are the chances that this anomaly was not caused by someone with exceptional time and space abilities?"

"It sounds terrifying that someone could wield such power, but what doesn't come off as out of place when we start breaking away from what's accepted as normal or not?"

"..."

Chloe and the other two appeared to experience a moment of profound shock and understanding. Nate knew Clark was acting, though.

Chloe spoke after being silent for a long time.

She said,

"This convenient person with space and time powers wouldn't be you, would it? You spoke as if you had your own interpretation of the situation."

Nate laughed and said,

"Who knows... I wouldn't tell you if it were me, would I? Come on, let us stop joking and get to class."

As the group began walking, Pete whispered in Chloe's ear,

"Did you hear that? He doesn't want us to be late for class."

"He's also an amazing student. When you consider his unblemished academic record, the chances of him being this type of freak go up even more..."

Chloe laughed and said quietly to him,

"Well, if it's him, he's doing a pretty good job of hiding it. Don't you think?"

"Or is it just a ploy to pique my interest in him until he transforms into an obsessive-compulsive freak of time and space, or something?"

"If he can control time, I wish he'd let me get a few good grades on tests before doing something irreversibly damaging to me."

Pete eyed her and said,

"With the way you're staring at his back figure, I'm inclined to think we have cause for concern if it turns out to be him... Be extra careful. I will leave flowers at your pitiful young grave."

Chloe laughed and stated,

"No risk, no big payday... Anything to get me to the Daily Planet faster, especially if it's this fine-looking…"

Nate turned and asked, pretending not to have heard,

"Did you say anything, Chloe?"

She replied,

"I did not say anything. Must have been Pete or that brain wave altering stuff you mentioned. You don't have ears on your back, do you?"

Nate said,

"I wish I did. It must have been the brainwaves then; I'll make sure not to try and keep tabs on that thing again… I wouldn't want to drift away from my reality and wake up to hear non-existent voices again."

He chuckled to himself because he could truly manipulate reality. However, this was not the type of bone he wanted to throw here. Only a fictitious one.

Pete whispered to her,

"Heard that? It sounded almost like a subtle warning or threat."

Chloe pushed him away with a chuckle, saying,

"Stop already. Nate is nothing like one of those freaks."

Nate said,

"Guess my ears aren't playing on me… I definitely heard that one."

Chloe approached him and asked,

"Did you? If so, what else did you hear?"

Nate smiled at her, saying,

"I won't tell you unless you confess yourself."

Nate had a lovely and friendly lunch break with Chloe, Clark, and Pete, after which Clark took him aside to talk.

Chloe and Pete were discussing the possibility of what he was saying about the blackhole, and Chloe planned to post it on the wall of weird. Despite this, her primary suspect was not Nate... Perhaps because he was handsome. In fact, this was the primary reason... Also, in her own words, he was too nice to her to be identified as a potentially bad guy.

It was good to be young and hormonal... But she was right, so everything was fine.

There was no wall of weird activity here (only alien activity) and neither was there a suspect, except two liars meeting in secret now.

Clark began speaking at their new secret meeting place, behind the canteen.

He said,

"I thought I was a good liar, but I have to hand it to you; you outdid yourself back there… That was an impressive performance and solo play for both of our sakes."

"You're not afraid to use unconventional methods to conceal your secrets, and you're even willing to oversell them by implying meteor freak activity?"

"Maybe I should take notes…"

"Speaking of, I don't think Chloe is taking this seriously, which is surprising given Pete's willingness to get behind it… He's usually more disinclined to buy into those things."

Nate shrugged and said, eating his squishy dessert outside,

"The thing about lying is that you shouldn't underestimate the people you're lying to. Don't treat them like idiotic children or retards."

"You don't have to include some truth in it, but you should at least acknowledge the possibility of people's claims so they don't perceive hostility from you."

His dessert was some pudding.

He continued speaking, saying,

"The best liar is the one who doesn't mind if people know he's lying. What matters is that people cannot contradict you."

He ended with a mischievous smile,

"Obviously, I'm not telling you this because I intend to lie to you in the future..."

If Clark truly drew wisdom from his words, he would understand that Nate would not care whether Clark was aware of the facts about being good at lying or not.

To Nate, lying was not about whether people believed his words; it was about preventing people from discovering the truth. The real and full truth.

Clark was amused and said, glaring gently,

"Obviously..."

Good. He was not hopeless, neither was he a fool.

Nate reassured him, saying,

"I don't need to lie to you as of now though; you'll know if I ever need to. Instincts exist for a reason."

"However, the way I lie, it makes little difference whether you are aware of it... Especially since I will never be hostile toward you. Not really, at least."

Clark looked at him with confusion and curiosity as he asked,

"How can you be sure of that? You don't have some ability to see into the future, do you?"

Nate remarked as he finished his snack,

"Just a hunch of mine, with the memories of the past on Krypton I can recall at least…"

"Sadly, I still have no idea what my name is."

He was certain that his family was friendly with Clark's; otherwise, Jor-El would not have sent Lindsay to him. That was all he needed to know.

Jor-El distrusted Kara, despite the fact that she was Clark's blood relative. Simply because her father was hostile towards him. It was easy to deduce from Jor-El's personality, particularly the AI, that Nate's family were good people who got along well with the House of El.

Nate wished he was not a member of the house of El, but there was a chance he was. He couldn't explain why he was sent to Smallville at the same time as Clark, so he considered it a possibility. Clark might even be his brother.

Speaking of the subject, Nate had already determined that he was not a Kryptonian living outside of Krypton like Mon-El. If he were, Jor-El would have caught him lying with Clark yesterday.

Clark inquired,

"Have you retrieved any new memories?"

Nate responded,

"I'd rather not discuss those from now on."

Clark asked,

"Why?"

Nate said, acting wisely,

"Just trust me on this one... Everything will be known in time."

He wouldn't admit to Clark that he was nervous about spewing potentially self-damaging fake bullshit, which is why he didn't want to go on about the memories any longer.

Clark did not insist; as the bell to return to class rang, he said,

"Let us do some training and sparring after school if you have the time; you still have a lot to teach me."

"..."

Clark wanted to learn to fly.

Nate didn't tell him that he couldn't because of a complicated plot device intended to express mental freedom and Superman symbolism.

He responded,

"I'm afraid this won't be possible until later, but we can still make plans for tonight after dark... You didn't meet Lex Luthor this morning? I got a good feeling he will come to your farm after school with a gift."

Clark asked with confusion,

"A gift? For whom?"

He was truly a selfless hero and savior.

Nate replied,

"You will know... I'll be there; I need to meet the guy anyway."

Clark inquired,

"About what?"

Nate replied,

"He and I started doing some business together. Might do some more as the years go... I am an orphan now, remember? I need to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves. Especially with a young, friendly billionaire."

Clark had nothing to say about that. He and Nate attended their own classes.

He was mature and did not ask questions, despite recalling Nate's distaste for Lex Luthor's reputation.

Business was about portfolio relationships, important career plans, and making money; it was not Clark's place to judge an orphan and their decisions. He had parents and a farm. His problems were different from Nate's.

The homecoming dance was set to take place in a few days, this weekend, on the same day that the football team would most likely choose the scarecrow.

Pete and Clark were discussing their plans to ensure that they could make the football team and avoid being chosen. Pete didn't have much to fear, but he was still taking precautions.

Nate and Clark had only made a brief stop in the Torch homeroom, while Chloe was busy compiling a list of random incidents that could be to be meteor freak-related. One of them was about a graduate student who died unexpectedly in an electric accident recently.

Nate knew who was probably doing it, but he wasn't a saint, nor were the guys who would keep dying in the coming days. He didn't tell Chloe that Jeremy Creek was most likely responsible for this. She would figure it out on her own, just in time for Clark to save the homecoming dance that day.

Nate was only going to be there to capture the guy and study his abilities later.

He didn't fear Kryptonite, so he had an easy way to confuse and incapacitate Clark long enough to achieve whatever goal he desired.

'I need to start collecting some Kryptonite tonight, speaking of which…'

Nate did not hide his spaceship because he was now living with someone connected to Jor-El, but he was going to take many other liberties. If Jor-El was keeping an eye on him, he probably already knew about the Kryptonite. Knew that Nate was different…

People who used green Kryptonite on Clark were not considered enemies by Jor-El, and they never had been. Many examples were given throughout the series, including Chloe and Martha.

Nate wasn't going to do it out of the goodness of his heart, but he had good reasons. He would not do it while Clark was fighting, either. So in lots of ways his way of using it was even gentler, more respectful than Martha and Chloe.

These two mostly used Kryptonite to "protect" him. Basically, to prevent him from killing.

The other times were because he was high on red kryptonite, had left home, and was wandering aimlessly or kissing the wrong people. They had used this protection logic to save his relationship with Lana far too often.

Lana. Lois.

Whatever the case, Nate had no vested interest in either of those women.

He and Clark had every reason to forever be good friends, without any sort of hurtful, bitter feelings between them.

They had extremely different tastes.

Nate was about to leave with Clark when his phone in his jacket pocket rang, indicating a phone call.

When he saw the caller, he picked the call right away.

"Nate? Still in school? If you have time, come to the Luthor mansion; I've sent you a driver."

Nate responded, already knowing why Lex called him probably, he expected the guy to work quickly.

He said,

"I am on my way. How did your first day at work go? I'm not sure if I should ask if you've already made the decision to leave in such a hurry. No overtime for you at the plant?"

Nate and Clark were already out of the Torch and in the hallway when Clark looked at Nate with interest.

Lex responded with an enlivened, entertained chuckle,

"Work went well. Very well, in fact. You don't need to be concerned about me. Being my own boss here allows me to leave so early, which is sort of the point."

"Don't tell my father about this if you ever run into him, however... He seems blissfully unaware that I accepted his appointment here for many such reasons."

Nate was surprised by the response; it appeared that Lex already liked him somewhat... If not, he would never bring up such a thing so casually and so naturally.

Then again, it was rare to speak with Lex without hearing him mention his "beloved" father at least once.

He had a lot of father-related issues.

Nate was skeptical that Lex would come here to be lazy. He didn't believe it at all… He also knew Lex was probably being bugged by Lionel, so he had a smirk internally.

Lex was currently blissfully unaware. He was still somewhat of a nice guy.

After promising not to tell if given the opportunity, he chatted politely with Lex some more before hanging up the phone.

Clark immediately asked,

"Who was that?"

Nate replied,

"Lex Luthor. He sent me a cool ride to his massive mansion. I will most likely split from you for a while. I'll see you at your house later."

Nate could manipulate reality to conceal his secrets, but he didn't want to abuse it, so he decided not to invite Clark on this trip to the Luthor Mansion. He had a lot of topics to discuss with Lex. Some Clark did not need to hear.

Aside from that, Nate planned to take advantage of the opportunity to debug Lex's home for hidden cameras or microphones.

With his X-ray vision.

At this point, the ruthless tycoon Lionel Luthor was a more dangerous man than Lex. By a longshot.

Later that night.

In another part of the country, at a very good college.

A young and very smart woman, probably around 19, beautiful with red hair, was returning to her dorm after her campus classes.

Her senses, which had been sharpened during that life-changing experience on the dangerous island, were alerted when people wearing black sunglasses and most likely concealing guns under their black coats approached and encircled her.

"Who are you people? Can I do anything for you? This is a rather unconventional way to approach an honest student going about her business on campus..."

She said with a confident smirk as she paused, stood there, her books wrapped securely, tightly in her arms. She was prepared to fight and escape if necessary. She had made enemies over the years, beginning with her trip to the island and continuing after it.

She was acting tougher than necessary to avoid appearing weak.

"Miss Tess Mercer? We're representatives from Luthor Corp, and we would appreciate it if you could accompany us on a short trip... Someone important is interested in you and would like to meet with you."

A man in sunglasses at the front spoke politely. Despite his politeness, it felt clear that he was not prepared, not in a position to accept no for an answer.

"..."

Tess immediately relaxed after hearing Luthor Corp, a company that she had always been highly interested in.

That was her first choice of top-notch multinational corporation to work for after graduation. She never even considered Queen Industries.

Especially not after Oliver Queen.

She inquired with great interest,

"Luthor Corp? This is always an honor… Who from the company wants to meet with me?"

"..."

The smirking Nate, hiding in a nearby corner, watched the scene unfold with a keen eye.

He thought,

'Lionel Luthor sure is a fast worker, even in the midst of an unhappy marriage…'

'So this is his child with that woman? Seeing her in person rather than in an encyclopedia changes my perspective... I suppose I'll keep her for myself rather than just laying out plans. Living with several women is not a problem.'

'Especially with Lindsay to keep them in order…'

Nate's encyclopedia stopped at S4 to S5, but there was eye-opening and additional information to fill in some gaps.

He mainly wanted to have some fun with Lionel.

Originally at least.

Nate did not linger long.

When he saw Tess get into the car, he took flight.

He could arrive in Smallville before she could even step foot into Metropolis' airport, but he watched over her take off and landing.

He had no idea that he had fate with another and one last woman tonight, one imprisoned, as the friendly gaze of Fate, Nabu, and its golden helmet, had already converged, landed on him. Because he was an outlier in more ways than one.

There was no trace, sign of him in the past or future.

He only existed in the present. In this timeline.

The owner of that helmet was getting old and crazy, and he was about to start looking for a new one.

Following Nate in the air, Kent Nelson, who was listening to the ranting and excited helmet, exclaimed aloud to himself,

"I'm finally free, Nabu!"

The old man laughed.

The tone was frantic, and the voice was relieved to finally be free.

He had no clue that the helmet he had liked for a while but dreaded so much would be spending a lot of free time in a separate and fully-controlled space. Something called an inventory. He'd never know.