Time: after "Rosetta" Spoilers: "Stray", "Ryan", "Rosetta" Rating: PG-13 for violence and some mild language Disclaimer: all characters property of DC Comics, the WB, etc. Please don't sue the starving grad student.

"Earth to Clark? Hello?"

Clark blinked and focused on the hand waving wildly in front of his eyes. He smiled sheepishly at his editor, Chloe Sullivan, who was standing in front of him with a frown.

"Sorry, Chloe, what?"

"You're been staring out the window for the last five minutes, Clark," his friend Pete Ross supplied.

Chloe peered out the open window in the direction Clark had been looking. Seeing only the athletic field, deserted now that classes were over for the day, she turned her sharp blue eyes back on her friend.

"You've been really out of it the last few weeks, Clark. What is up with you?"

Clark cleared his throat hastily.

"Uh, not much, Chloe."

Pete quickly rushed to his friend's defense.

"Lay off, Chloe, so he's been daydreaming a little. Isn't it bad enough you've stuck him with covering the repaving of the faculty parking lot?"

Chloe tapped her foot loudly. "Yeah, well, if he'd spoken up when I'd asked for story suggestions, maybe he'd get the better assignments."

Clark didn't miss the quick grins that flashed like lightening across his best friends' faces.

"So what's Pete covering?"

"Oh, not much." Pete propped his feet on the scratched coffee table in front of him. "Just cheerleader tryouts."

Clark groaned.

"Hey, man, you snooze, you loose," Pete laughed.

Chloe sat back down in front of her computer. "I have got to get some girls on staff here," she sighed, hastily punching up her email program.

While Chloe sorted, Clark flopped down on the couch next to his best friend. This corner of the Torch's office was almost as good as a living room, with a squishy couch, mini-fridge, and coffee machine.

"You can come to tryouts with me if you want," Pete said in a softer voice so Chloe wouldn't overhear. "Twelve girls are going after the one spot open this semester, so I'm counting on a pretty good girl fight."

"Nah, thanks anyway, Pete. I'm not really in the mood."

Pete frowned. "Look, I know what Swann told you was.heavy, to say the least. But you've still got a life here, man. You've got your folks, you've got me. And Chloe," he nodded in the direction of their editor. "Even when she ignores us," he said more loudly.

"Check this out, guys," Chloe said excitedly. "There's been a last minute addition to Metropolis University's 'Future Tech' lecture series."

"Chloe, you've tried to get into that before. They don't give out tickets to the general public." Pete grabbed a soda out of the fridge. "And you know they only let bigwigs and mad scientists present at that thing anyway."

"But I got them to add me to the email list, didn't I? This says the next one will be 'Transmission, Reception, and Breakthrough: New Directions in Human Brain Research.'"

Clark stood reluctantly and stretched-he hadn't been sleeping very well lately.

"Sounds riveting, Chloe," he joked feebly.

But Chloe scowled at him.

"No, this is important, Clark. What was the name of that doctor who tried to get custody of Ryan James away from your parents?"

Clark froze mid-stretch. "Garner, why?"

"He's the one who's been added to the schedule. Look, right here: 'Dr. Henry Garner, Summerholt Institute.'"

Clark circled the desk and stood behind Chloe, reading aloud over her shoulder.

"'Dr. Garner, head of the prestigious Summerholt Neurological Institute of Metropolis."

"Yeah, prestigious for attempted kidnapping," Pete interrupted, joining their huddle around the computer."

".will be presenting his latest research into the electromagnetic fields generated by the human brain and the implications of this research for non- verbal communication.'"

"Sounds to me like a complicated way of saying 'psychic abilities.'" Chloe craned her neck to look up at Clark. "Do you think he's written up whatever he learned from Ryan and now he wants to present it?"

Clark began pacing across the small room. He wanted desperately to put his fist through something, but knew that kind of demonstration was not going to get him anywhere. His good friend, Ryan James, one of the few people Clark had trusted completely with his secret, had been resting quietly in a small plot over in Smallville Cemetery for several months now, but he was never far from Clark's thoughts.

The young man ran an agitated hand through his dark hair.

"It could be. Ryan said Garner kept testing him over and over again. He thought it was to collect data, but he wasn't sure for what."

"Now we know," Chloe said grimly. She had only met Ryan a few times, but she had been genuinely fond of him.

"But why would Garner take that kind of risk?" Pete verbalized what Clark was thinking. "Look at what happens to Chloe's stories about the weird things that happen around here. Nobody but the tabloids pay attention." Pete glanced apologetically at his friend. "Sorry, but you know it's true."

Chloe looked over at the Wall of Weird, her ever-growing collection of news stories, photographs, and documents recording the strange events that had plagued Smallville since the meteor shower thirteen years earlier. She sighed.

"Well, if I were in his shoes I wouldn't be trying something like this unless I felt I had pretty convincing evidence. Otherwise I'd risk looking like an idiot in front of Metropolis' whole scientific community."

"And that evidence came from Ryan. Maybe even contributed to his death," Clark said angrily.

"You can't prove that, Clark," Chloe said softly.

"You guys didn't know him like I did." Clark's expression hardened. "He was terrified of Garner, afraid he's come after him again, all the way until."

Clark trailed off. Although Pete and Chloe were both looking at him sympathetically, Clark knew there was no way to make them understand. Even though he knew for certain now he was not human, that he was totally alone on this planet, Clark had felt a special bond with Ryan. Because, in his own way, Ryan had been alone, too. Different. Afraid of that difference. In danger because of it.

"I'm not going to let Garner profit from Ryan's death," Clark finally said. "I owe him that much."

Pete shook his head. "I don't think there's much you can do, Clark. It's not like you can just march into Summerholt and Dr. Garner will hand over his research notes." As he spoke, Pete shot him a more significant look, one that told Clark to put whatever scheme he might be envisioning out of his head.

While Clark would have liked nothing better than to get his hands on Garner, he knew his friend was right. Garner had already proved how aggressive he could get when he cornered. If it hadn't been for Lex Luthor's timely intervention he would have been able to drag Ryan back to Metropolis and have Clark tossed in jail.

An idea crossed Clark's mind. "Hey, Chloe, who gets tickets to the lecture series? I mean, what do you have to do to get them?"

"Uh, besides have a Nobel Prize or a grant from the National Science Foundation?" Chloe shook her head. "Forget it, Clark, you'd have to have some kind of major leverage to get in, especially at this late date. The lecture's next week."

"How about donating a business building to Metropolis University? Would that be enough leverage?"

Chloe frowned for a moment, and then her face lit up with a wide smile.

"Clark, of course. I can't believe I didn't think of that. You're a genius."

Clark shrugged self-effacingly. "I try." ****************************

"Mom? How about another glass of ginger ale?" Clark asked over his shoulder as he wrapped up the leftover fried chicken and put it in the fridge.

"That would be nice, sweetheart, thank you."

Clark filled a tumbler and carried it over to the couch; his mother smiled up at him from where she lay.

"I don't know why I got so queasy. I had no trouble while your dad was cooking, but when it was right there in front of me." Martha Kent turned slightly green again, and Clark hastily changed the subject.

"Here, let me help you sit up so you'll be more comfortable." He grabbed another pillow off one of the chairs and stuffed it behind his mother's back. "Besides, the less you eat the more there is for me."

"Ha ha, very funny." His mother took a deep gulp from the glass. "Ah, that's better. My stomach's settling down a bit now. I guess the baby doesn't like your dad's fried chicken very much."

"Who doesn't like my fried chicken?" Jonathan Kent repeated as he came through the back door from the barn.

"The new baby," Clark told him. "Maybe he or she wants to be a vegetarian," he teased his mother, who smiled widely.

Jonathan hung up his jacket. "Speaking of chickens, ours are fed and settled for the night, honey, so you turn in early if you want," he told his wife. Then he frowned. "Or I could fix you some soup; I don't think you should go without eating."

"Go without eating? I ate most of a pie at lunchtime," Martha said exasperatedly. "Honestly, one minute I'm ravenous and the next I can't even look at food." As she glanced at the worried expressions on both her son's and her husband's faces, she shook her head.

"Please don't hover, you two-I'm not sick."

"Just pregnant." Jonathan took his wife's hand, squeezing it tightly.

His parents exchanged a tender smile, and Clark rolled his eyes. They had always done that a lot, but it was even more frequent now his mother was expecting a baby.

"Look, if you guys are going to get all mushy I'm going upstairs to my room."

"Oh, no you're not-you're going to help me do the dishes," his father corrected.

"I'll help." Martha moved to get up, but her husband and son waved her back.

"We can do the dishes, Martha," Jonathan insisted.

"It's probably my turn anyway," Clark agreed.

Martha leaned back against the pillow with a satisfied smiled.

"Maybe there are some perks to this after all," she laughed.

As Jonathan filled the sink with hot water and soap Clark cleared what was left of the dinner dishes. His father scrubbed; Clark rinsed and dried. He knew he could do the job a whole lot faster by himself, but it was nice to have the company. The first thing he could remember was this warm kitchen: the yellow walls, the blue and white dishes, even the green flyswatter hanging on the wall seemed to have always been there. And his mom and dad, close by, always smiling.

Would his biological parents have smiled at him like that? Had they even been capable of smiling? Of feeling love?

"What is it, son?" Jonathan looked thoughtfully at him, and Clark realized he'd sighed out loud.

"Nothing," he lied. "But, um, Dad? I did want to talk to you and Mom about something."

"Sure, go ahead."

Clark related the discoveries of the afternoon to his parents: that Dr. Garner was still in Metropolis; that whatever Garner was going to speak about might have been gleaned from his cruel mistreatment of Ryan; and that Clark was determined to hear what the man had to say.

When he finished his mother shook her head.

"Clark, you know we cared about Ryan as much as you did, but I don't see what good confronting Dr. Garner is going to do."

"It might actually make things worse," his dad nodded.

Clark tossed down his dishtowel in disgust.

"I can't just stand here and do nothing. Look, I promise I won't hurt the guy-I won't even make a scene. I just want to hear what he has to say, that's all."

"Clark, we understand how you feel but the last thing you want to do is attract Garner's attention again." Jonathan put the pots and pans in the sink to soak as he talked. "Besides, if Chloe Sullivan can't get in to this.lecture series or whatever it is, I don't see how you're going to."

Idly twisting the hem of his yellow shirt, Clark shrugged.

"Well, I kinda asked Lex to see if he could get Chloe and me in."

Jonathan's eyebrows arched ominously. "You asked Lex without consulting your mother and me first?"

"I just called him, is all. He said he'd see what he could do. He sounded pretty confident he could pull some strings, though."

"Of course he can-the Luthors have paid for half the buildings on that campus," Martha said wryly. She shot her husband a quick look.

"Jonathan, I don't think there's any real harm in letting Clark go, not so long as he promises not to confront Garner. There'll probably be hundreds of people there: no one will even notice Clark."

"I'll sit way in the back and everything," Clark added hopefully. "And I won't even miss school-it's on a Saturday night. Dad, please, this is really important to me. I feel like I'd be letting Ryan down if I didn't go."

Jonathan's expression softened and he laid a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Clark, you did everything you could to help Ryan-he knew that."

The farmer glanced over at his wife, and then back to his son, before sighing tiredly.

"All right. If Lex can pull enough strings to get you in you can go. But I want you to go and then come right back. No adventures, and definitely no drawing attention to yourself. Understood?"

Clark nodded at his father's serious expression.

"Understood. There won't be any trouble, I promise." ***********************************************

"Mr. Luthor, Mr. Kent is here to see you."

Lex pressed a button on the intercom system that connected him to the security guard at the front gate.

"Let him in. Tell him I'm in the library."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Luthor," the disembodied voice responded cheerfully.

Lex smiled wryly to himself as he put away his pool cue and sprawled in one of the room's leather club chairs. He'd had a difficult time maintaining any sort of consistent security presence around the mansion. The estate was too big to bother wiring all the entrances with alarms, and a lot of people chose to simply circumvent the guardhouse at the front gate. But Clark always tried to play by the rules.

A few minutes later the younger man appeared at the library door.

"Hey, Lex. The guy at the gate is new, huh?"

"Third one in two months," Lex nodded. "C'mon in."

Clark grinned. "Yeah, well, they say good help is hard to find."

"You have no idea."

Clark eyed a pile of clothes on the leather sofa suspiciously.

"Uh, Lex? Are you having a garage sale or am I interrupting something?"

Lex smiled and leaned forward a bit.

"Neither. I had the housekeeper rearrange my closets so there'll be room for Helen's things. These are from last season, so I figured I might as well get rid of anything I don't care for any more."

Clark shoved the clothing to one side so he could sit down.

"For Dr. Bryce? You mean she finally gave you an answer about moving in?"

"Not exactly, but I believe in being prepared."

Clark shook his head.

"I'm sure she'll come around, Lex, if you give her some time." He glanced again at the discarded garments, some of which had obviously cost more than his parents' last truck.

"So, you've got to decide if you want to keep the black, the black, or the black. Tough call."

Lex laughed again and stood, crossing the room to his desk.
"I like black, Clark. I think it suits me. Like you and red and blue. But you didn't drop by for fashion tips, I imagine." He picked up an envelope and held it out to his friend.

Clark stood, too. "Wow, you did it. Thanks!" He took the envelope and opened it to find three pale green tickets. "Three of them?"

"I thought the lecture sounded interesting," Lex shrugged. "Besides, I knew Ryan, too," he said a little more softly.

Clark nodded. Ryan and Lex had gotten off to a rocky start-Ryan had warned Clark that there was more to Lex than met the eye-but Lex had done his best to help the kid and make his last days comfortable. Ryan had been grateful for that.

"And of course I figured Ms. Sullivan would kill me if I didn't let you bring her along." Lex circled around his desk and sat down. "I'm going to be in Metropolis all weekend on business, otherwise I'd offer you two a ride in the limo."

"No, Lex, you've done enough already. I really, really appreciate it."

Lex put his feet up on the glass top of his desk. "It was hardly a challenge. Once the university provost heard my last name he was only too happy to oblige. After all, the Luthor Business Building is now on the front of all of Metropolis University's brochures. A lot of people consider that building a monstrosity, but even I have to admit it's as impressive as it is domineering. Kind of like Dad himself."

Lex laughed. "My father normally attends these lectures, but he won't be back from Switzerland in time for this one. Maybe a little fresh perspective on the human mind will give me a leg up on the old man."

"Maybe," Clark shrugged. He left one of the tickets on the desk and stuffed the other two in his jacket pocket. "Well, I'd better get home- Mom's been a little under the weather so I'm doubling up on chores."

"Nothing serious, I hope?"

Clark grinned sheepishly.

"Probably just a stomach bug or something. Thanks again, Lex. Chloe and I will see you Saturday."

"Of course. See you then." Lex waved slightly as Clark left the room, and then shook his head.

Lex was a little surprised Clark was still keeping the news of Martha Kent's pregnancy to himself. Lex himself only knew about it because it had been in Martha Kent's medical file, the file he had purchased from a hospital employee after Helen had refused to share any information with him. Of course, Mrs. Kent would start showing soon enough, and then everyone would know.

He felt a little sorry for Clark, actually. Sixteen years was a big gap between siblings. Lex was almost six years older than his half-brother Lucas, and had been eleven years older than his deceased brother Julian. He'd never felt very attached to either one. But the Kents were a very affectionate family, and Lex figured it would all work out for the best in the end.

He picked up the letter opener from his desk and weighed it thoughtfully in one hand. Neither Clark nor Ryan himself had been totally honest about what Ryan's abilities had been. Lex suspected Ryan had been an unusual boy, but how or why his abilities had manifested Lex had never been able to discover. Not that he supported the mistreatment Ryan James had evidently received at the Summerholt Institute. No child deserved that, not even an exceptional one.

But Lex remained very interested in Dr. Garner's work for another reason.

Since moving to Smallville almost two years before, Lex had become increasingly fascinated with the unusual abilities people in the area sometimes manifested, interested enough that he continued to fund Cadmus Labs to study the meteor rocks found scattered though the county. But Cadmus was not licensed to work with human patients. Nor was the Summerholt Institute, at least not living ones. As far as Lex knew the only pure research facility that had legal permission to do so was Metropolis' own highly secretive S.T.A.R. Labs. But S.T.A.R. Labs did not share their research with anyone, no matter what the inducement. Garner apparently did not suffer from the same scruples.

True, he and Dr. Garner had not exactly seen eye-to-eye before. But that could be easily changed.

Lex did not believe he had lied to Clark, not really. He really was interested in Garner because of his connection to Ryan James. James had been a nice kid who hadn't deserved to die the way he had.

But Lex was also a pragmatist. And if Garner's work connected in any way with the research currently going on at Cadmus, Lex would consider sitting through the lecture well worth his valuable time. ***********************************************************

For the second time that evening Clark felt Chloe's fingernails jab into his ribs. It didn't hurt, but he made sure to wince slightly for effect.

"Clark, at least try and stay awake," she hissed in his ear.

From Chloe's other side Lex leaned forward slightly and smiled at them.

Clark nodded and then tried to focus again on the stage. His mother had been right: the large auditorium was full, and some people were actually standing along the back wall. No one had paid any attention to Clark or Chloe, although many had greeted Lex by name.

What had Pete said about only mad scientists and bigwigs at the "Future Teach" lectures? Well, this crowd certainly fit that description. It was overwhelmingly white, male, over fifty, and, judging from the number of pocket-protectors in evidence, academic.

Clark hadn't been able to help grinding his teeth slightly when Dr. Garner had been introduced: he had been given such a glowing introduction, focusing on his academic credentials, that Clark had wanted to stand up and scream aloud about Ryan. But he was determined to keep his word to his parents, so he bit his tongue.

Garner still looked exactly as Clark remembered him: surprisingly young for someone with all his education, dark-haired, and reasonably good looking. Something about the smug set of Garner's lips made Clark suspect Garner took great pride in his physical appearance as well as his scholarly credentials.

As he listened to the doctor's opening comments, Clark did his best not to hate Garner. His parents had taught him that hating was wrong, that it only led to more hate. But in the back of his mind Clark kept picturing this man giving Ryan injections, keeping him strapped to a hospital gurney, and Clark hated him with all his heart.

Fortunately for Garner, although of course he didn't know it, the lecture itself gave nothing away. While Chloe scribbled frantic notes to herself, and Lex listened with an inscrutable expression, Clark did his best to follow along with what the doctor was saying. As far as he could tell it was a lot about "electro conductivity" and "neurotransmitters" and a few other things Clark hadn't run across in his high school Biology textbook. Most of the audience seemed interested, but no one was reacting as if what Garner was saying was all that radical. Clark felt increasingly let down about the whole evening as Garner blathered on and on.

As he flipped through his last few slides, the doctor smiled indulgently at the audience. Obviously he was pleased with how his lecture was going.

"In conclusion, esteemed colleagues, I would just like to remark that we are only now embarking on a brave new voyage of discovery. Let us not forget that the human brain is the last great 'undiscovered country' of biological research. Science has yet to fully grasp the possibilities of this magnificent organ for transcending what we currently believe to be the limits of human communication and ability. Once we discover how to unlock that potential there will be no limits to what man will be able to accomplish. Thank you."

While the audience applauded, Chloe leaned closer to Clark.

"Nice bit of self-publicity there at the end, huh?"

"The Shakespeare quote was a nice touch," Lex offered.

"Lex, isn't there going to be a question and answer session or something?" Chloe frowned as she saw people around them gathering up their coats and pushing past them toward the aisles. "I want to corner Garner on why the Metropolis P.D. dropped their investigation of Summerholt after Ryan died."

Lex smiled indulgently at the cub reporter. "Questions are usually asked informally at the reception afterward. But I should warn you security is pretty tight at these things-you might get ejected if you offend the guest speaker."

Chloe stood and grabbed her shoulder bag.

"He doesn't scare me," she explained as she fished out her camera. "I've been thrown out of better places than this."

Clark grinned at Lex.

"The sad thing is she really has been."

Clark and Chloe followed their friend into the large reception hall adjacent to Metropolis University's main auditorium. The room was already crowded with people filling up on hors d'oevres and drinks, and Chloe stood on her tiptoes to look for Garner.

"Hey, Clark, you're the tall one: put that height to good use and see if you can spot Garner for me, ok? Wait, there he is, over in the far corner."

Lex followed her eyes and smiled. "Chloe, just so you know, that's the president of the university he's standing with. I'd be careful what you say if I were you."

Chloe's face fell. Clark knew how much she wanted to attend Metropolis U, but she also wanted her story.

Lex obviously decided to take pity on her.

"Let's all go: strength in numbers and all that."

Chloe, never one to miss an opportunity, hastily snapped a few pictures of the doctor as they crossed the room.

But as they approached it seemed someone else was determined to confront Garner before they could. A tall, auburn haired woman approached him and said something in a low voice. Clark couldn't pick it up over the loud buzz of voices in the room, but Dr. Garner blanched.

As he had learned to do, Clark carefully focused his attention until the noises around him died down to a whisper. He watched carefully as the woman spoke again, and this time he could make out what she was saying quite clearly.

"I know what you did. And you're not going to get away with it."

No one else was paying any attention to the conversation: the university's president had his back turned and was chatting loudly with a woman in a mink wrap. But Garner still took the young woman by the elbow and pulled her to one side of the room, where they were half-hidden by a colonnade.

As the flash on Chloe's camera went off again the young woman half- turned her head to stare directly at them. Her face was expressionless, and the gaze lasted only a second or two, but Clark felt an old sensation across his back of his neck, almost as if a breeze had brushed past it in the overcrowded, stuffy room.

Without realizing it Clark had stopped in his tracks.

Did this woman, whoever she was, know about what had happened to Ryan? How? Ryan had had an aunt, but she was clear out on the coast, and this woman was too young to be her. A sister, maybe? A half-sister? Was there someone else out there Ryan had never mentioned? Clark's mind reeled for a moment.

Both Lex and Chloe had stopped when he did, and were looking at him oddly.

"Clark, are you all right?" Lex frowned. "I thought you wanted to speak to Garner almost as much as Chloe here does."

Clark glanced at his friends. "Uh, I did-I do." He looked back over at the colonnade, but the woman was gone.

"Hey, where'd she go?"

"Where'd who go, Clark?" Chloe pulled the roll of film out of her camera and deftly inserted a new one. "Stupid low-tech-should have brought my digital," she grumbled to herself as she went back to snapping pictures.

"The woman that was right there, talking to Garner."

"I didn't see anyone," Chloe offered.

Clark was exasperated. "Sure you did, she was right there by that column. It looked like they were having some kind of fight. You must have taken her picture."

"I think I'd remember taking her picture, Clark," Chloe shrugged.

Clark looked hopefully at Lex. "But you saw her, right?"

Lex shook his head. "I saw Garner: look, he's still with President Madchen. But I didn't seen any woman with them, unless you mean Mrs. Vanderkirk. She's the one with the dead animal around her shoulders."

"Look, guys, she was right there, and I think she said something to him about Ryan. Why would I make something like that up?"

"Then let's go ask him," Lex said simply. But before the reached the doctor a burly security guard stepped in their path. "I'm sorry, but Dr. Garner is leaving now-no more questions."

"Hey, I'm the press-he has to talk to me!" Chloe protested loudly.

The guard, however, looked unmoved.

Lex tried a different tack. "We just want a quick word with the doctor: we know him."

If the guard knew who Lex was he gave no sign. "Sorry, President Madchen's orders."

Dr. Garner was already being led away and through a back door, out of the reception area.

Clark couldn't process what had happened. Had he been imagining things? Had he seen a ghost, or had the young woman really been there? And what did she know about Ryan?

He didn't mean to, but for a second Clark totally forgot about his promise to his parents, his vow to keep a low profile. And that second was enough for him to raise his voice and speak loudly enough to be heard by everyone around them.

"Dr. Garner, I want to talk to you about Ryan James."

The doctor did pause for a moment and look over his shoulder-he looked faintly surprised to see Clark there, but if he recognized him he gave no sign of it. In a second the smirk was back on his face and he was gone.

University security, however, had heard enough. It took some of Lex's fastest talking to keep Clark, not Chloe, from being thrown out of the reception hall.

"Wow, Clark, that was a nice try," Chloe told him sympathetically as they beat a hasty retreat from the scene.

"Not that it did any good; I still don't know any more than I did this morning," Clark complained. He again looked from one friend to the other.

"Look, you guys, you aren't pulling my leg or anything, are you? You really didn't see that woman?"

Lex looked at Chloe with raised eyebrows, and she grinned.

"I guess now we know Clark hallucinates when he's under stress. No, Clark, we didn't see anyone yelling at Dr. Garner."

Clark didn't see any point in trying to explain the woman hadn't been yelling.

Maybe he was hallucinating. Maybe the stress of the last few weeks had gotten to him. He really didn't know. All he knew was that now he felt even worse.