CH-3

"That's a pitiful sight if I must say… Do you even have any idea where this guy's mouth and tongue have probably wandered last night?"

"This rich young man you're giving CPR to is Lex Luthor… He enjoys partying with women he doesn't know at night. You could even call it the addiction of a kid who isn't loved by his father and has an Oedipus Complex for his deceased mother."

Nate knew it wasn't Clark's first kiss. His first kiss was with Chloe.

It was a surprising element of the story.

Nate couldn't remember how or when the two best friends' amusing incident occurred. He needed to reread some of his show-related encyclopedias. He was able to get such stuff every now and then when he picked up his daily prizes.

He listened to a wet Clark speak while concealing a small jealousy in his heart, not for the lucky Clark, but for Lex Luthor's wealth.

Clark said, 

"I don't care who he is or what he does; all I want is to save a life. If you aren't going to help me, could you please stop being a distraction? Make yourself useful by calling the police or an ambulance. You own a phone, don't you?"

Clark had just pulled Lex out of the river, breaking the windshield in the process. They were now on the riverbank, the shore. Clark was not afraid to use the last and most disgusting option for a man: mouth-to-mouth, or, in less appealing terms, CPR on another man.

Nate replied, as curious people began to gather around the scene, both on the bridge and on the shore,

"This town is a boondock nowhere in Lowell, Kansas, but it has busybodies. Actually, there are many more than you can imagine. You don't have to be concerned about help turning up."

It wasn't that Nate didn't want to help, but he was curious to see what would happen if Lex died here. While being the case, he also didn't want to see Lex die. It was someone he could capitalize on for a variety of purposes, as well as someone he could manipulate and blackmail.

Nate was not Clark Kent, he was ruthless and efficient at doing a variety of tasks.

His current state of mind was complex.

It couldn't be called emotions.

He decided to let things play out and let Lex live when Clark exclaimed with joy, after giving one last mouth-to-mouth, 

"He's waking up, thank God!"

Lex was spitting water from his mouth as his body began to move again.

Nate remarked, amused, as he stood and approached, 

"I don't think God would want to save this guy. You need to thank someone else for this."

Previously, Nate sat and watched everything with a relaxed and casual expression. Acting like a full-on bystander.

He was aware that Lex had an unusually healthy body that was often capable of survival. It was because of kryptonite. It was all about why he was bald.

Lex spit out a lot of water before opening his eyes. Nate spoke after seeing him open his eyes and look at Clark with curiosity and confusion.

He asked, looking down,

"Have you finally woken up, sunshine? You nearly died out there. I didn't want to give you CPR; you can thank my friend for saving your life."

He walked away from Lex as soon as he finished speaking. He entered the water to place the car in his inventory.

He was fine with interacting with Lex Luthor and following and causing some of the plot to unfold, but that didn't mean he wouldn't do his own thing on certain issues.

By the time he returned, the car had vanished from the river, and he used reality manipulation to ensure that no one present at the accident scene would be interested in discovering why the vehicle had gone missing.

He did not manipulate Clark's or anyone else's memories, particularly Lex's. If Lex was perplexed, he would be delighted.

When the ambulances and police arrived, one of them inquired in great confusion,

"We heard that there was an accident with your car barreling off the bridge here; where is the vehicle?"

The rescue and search party searched inside the river but found nothing.

Nate had manipulated reality only to make sure that the witnesses would not be an issue; he did not manipulate anyone who arrived at the scene later.

He was having fun with this, of course. No witnesses meant more confusion, helplessness, and headaches for all the annoying people.

Lex, who was giving his deposition here, was equally perplexed as the man who asked him the question. More so because he knew he wasn't crazy and had been inside the car.

With a warm blanket around his shoulders, he asked, 

"Are you saying you haven't found my car yet? How can this be? Look more closely. It went off down there with me and the young man who rescued me."

"It's this young man here..."

He pointed to a specific and precise location beneath the bridge, and when he finished speaking, he turned to stare at Clark, as if he was requesting confirmation from an eyewitness.

Clark was about to utter something when Jonathan Kent arrived.

He patted Clark's shoulder and said quickly, setting his alert gaze to the sheriff and his deputies,

"I apologize for the tardiness; this is my underage son; may I inquire as to what is going on?"

He appeared to be used to these types of situations. Nate couldn't tell if he had already asked the bystanders about the situation before coming down the cliff.

One of the deputies spoke, as he said to Jonathan Kent, 

"Oh, is that your son, Clark? I could barely recognize him because he's grown so tall. Time sure does fly... There was an accident involving young Luthor here."

The deputy who spoke resembled that corrupt Sheriff who would be replaced later in the story by that woman. He had a mustache. He wasn't the sheriff yet, it seemed.

Nate didn't know his name.

Jonathan couldn't help but frown as he looked at Lex and asked, 

"Luthor?"

Lex extended his hand and smiled politely,

"Lex Luthor... You know my father, probably? I want to thank you for raising such a wonderful and dependable son; he saved my life down there."

Jonathan didn't accept the handshake, ignoring him and saying, 

"Sorry, Ethan, I'm not sure what's going on here, but my son has farm chores and school tomorrow; can this wait? I need to take him home."

He never looked at Lex after he said his name and mentioned his father.

Jonathan had placed both of his hands on Clark's shoulders, who was wrapped in a blanket. Ethan, the deputy, responded after whispering a few words in secret to his superiors.

He told Jonathan Kent, 

"No worries, we'll finish taking your son's deposition tomorrow; based on what happened here, he is the victim of driving misconduct while also saving the reckless driver. Go ahead; I will handle the paperwork for you here."

Seeing the scene and hearing that, Nate thought to himself in secret,

'No wonder Jonathan Kent became a Senator here, even if it was only for one night…'

Even if he died on the same day, he would become a Kansas senator. He wielded some clout, and some interesting people liked him. A lot, actually.

Nate didn't stay.

He also left the bewildered and dismayed Lex, who was most likely hiding his displeasure at being ignored so rudely in public by Jonathan.

The young Luthor was intently looking at Jonathan and Clark's backs as they climbed back to the top of the cliff and towards the road. He was still giving his deposition when he pleaded with the investigators to continue looking for his missing car. He was gently complaining and courteously pestering, but it was clear from his tone that he was attempting to issue orders and chastise and reprove the search party's incompetence.

"Who are you? Do you need anything?"

When Jonathan noticed Nate had followed them to the car, he asked him.

Seeing Nate, Clark, who had been raised to hide his secrets, stopped acting dumb and silent.

He addressed his father, 

"Dad, this is Nate. A schoolfriend. We were hanging out here before the car hit me…"

Of course, Jonathan's eyes widened as he heard and said, 

"What nonsense are you talking about, Clark? How could a car collide with you and leave you unscathed? Did you hit your head in the water?"

He appeared angry while also putting on a liar's face.

Clark smiled and said, after checking around to make sure no one else was in the vicinity,

"Calm down, dad. There's no reason to hide things or tell lies in front of Nate. He is like me, and by like me, I mean exactly like me… He isn't from here. He comes from the place I come from."

"He seems to know a lot more about what's going on with me than you, mom, and I have ever been able to figure out."

Nate nodded at the scowling Jonathan and said,

"It's exactly as Clark says, Mr Kent. Your son and I have a lot of similarities. Everything, in fact... Except that we are probably not related by blood."

Nate hoped it was the case, but he had no idea.

He proceeded seriously,

"I came down here during the meteor shower 12 years ago, and my spaceship is in my basement at home. How about we make a stop there first?"

"..."

Jonathan paused for a long moment before sighing and saying, 

"Hop into the backseat. I'll believe you only after I see your spaceship. Those things can't seem to be decommissioned by any human or extraterrestrial force, so with Clark here, I'll know if you're deceiving us."

He opened the driver's door and got behind the wheel. Nate and Clark also hopped in after looking at each other.

Of course, Clark sat in the copilot seat next to his father.

In the backseat, Nate really hoped he wasn't related to Clark.

It had nothing to do with anything perverse or anything like that. Not being related to Kara was probably a good thing, but he had no obsession with her; she was beautiful, but there were other girls in this world he was more attracted to. He would never reject her if given the chance, but that was all there was to it.

He was aware of her current location, for example, but he did not feel compelled to free her from that dam just yet.

Kara wasn't like Lana and Lois Lane. He didn't like either of the two.

Lois' personality, her flat ass, and her way of speaking were all very unappealing to him. She was beautiful, but not enough to make up for everything he disliked about her.

As for Lana… 

Let's not even mention her…

No. The real reason Nate didn't want to be related to Clark because he didn't see any benefit from it. He did not see the point. He also preferred the idea of being free of any attachments, including blood ties.

Nate was lost in thought while giving general directions until they arrived in front of his crib, where he spoke to Jonathan and politely reminded him.

He said,

"My place is here; please park in front of the house."

They all got out of the pickup as he pulled his keys from his pockets to open the door.

Jonathan appeared to know neither his father nor this house.

He asked as soon as they stepped onto the porch, 

"Do you live alone? Who are your adoptive parents? Perhaps I know them."

Despite his reluctance to embrace it until he saw evidence, he appeared willing to consider accepting the truth.

Nate replied as they entered, 

"My adoptive father was an elderly man named Milton Moreno. He gave me the name Nathaniel. You can call me that, Nathan, or Nate, whichever suits you better."

Jonathan said, 

"Milton? Doesn't ring a bell to me."

Nate commented, 

"With all due respect, Mr Kent, as popular as you are, as a man of the people, you still can't possibly know everyone in town, can you?"

Jonathan chuckled and said, 

"True. Who told you I was popular, though? I am a self-made, modest farmer with a wife and a son."

Nate replied, 

"I wouldn't use the word self-made when your son can take on the workload of ten men on his own. I'll admit to everything else."

Straight away, Jonathan appeared to be a bit unhappy and disgruntled, as Clark intervened in the conversation to smooth things over.

Clark said, 

"Nate, this is my dad you're talking to. Could you please be polite? I know you have a sharp tongue, but you don't have to show it everywhere, do you? You and I cannot be friends if you do not respect my father."

Nate sighed and said, 

"My apologies, Mr Kent. I'm recently orphaned and a teenager going through hormones, so I don't always think before speaking. You've raised a wonderful son, and I believe it reflects well on you and your wife. Naturally, if you are willing, my intention is not to have a negative relationship with you."

Jonathan coughed and said, 

"I don't hold grudges over such trivial matters and childish remarks. You don't seem like a bad kid, either. I'm sorry for your loss. Did your father die recently? I had no idea. I would have gone to the funeral if I had known him."

Clark was finally happy and smiling as Nate said, 

"This brings me back to my earlier point, with all politeness. My adoptive father died recently, but I prefer not to dwell on it. The world is a beautiful place full of wonderful people like Clark. I try to think positively about the future. If it is okay with you, I would like to be friends with your son."

Jonathan chuckled and said, 

"As long as you don't turn out to be a liar, I don't see any problem with that... When will we get to see the spaceship? Not that I don't like the idea of you getting us refreshments and entertaining us a little, but I have a busy farm and a hectic schedule. As you pointed out, I need to bring this guy back home so he can make the difference."

He tapped Clark's shoulder as he spoke. Apparently, he had not taken Nate's whimsical observation to heart. He was even playing with that. It was the truth, after all. He was a lucky farmer.

Raising good children was also a way to feel self-made. Raising morally upright children was not easy. Especially since they could basically do whatever they wanted except obey their parents.

Nate didn't want to ruin the friendship on the first day, so he kept certain other observations and words to himself... Because Jonathan and Martha Kent, despite their qualities, had a lot of dumbness and flaws. Radical ones.

Leading the way, he said, 

"I'll still offer you drinks before you leave, but first, let's go down there. As I previously stated, the spaceship is located in the basement."

Jonathan and Clark followed him.

Nate's spacecraft was small, like Clark's, but it had a different color.

XX

Jonathan and Clark didn't stay for long. They left after Jonathan completed his so-called authenticity-linked tests, which concluded that Nate was not a liar.

Jonathan still had doubts, but he got over those after Nate showed off some of his abilities. Mainly super speed and strength. It appeared to be the only things Clark had been able to show, to his family, so far.

Nate chose not to accompany them because his goal for the day had been met. He had accomplished many things at once, including ensuring the survival of Lex Luthor, a future pawn.

Nate wouldn't mind too much if he died. But he wouldn't mind much if he was alive, either.

Nate didn't need to be so preoccupied with fearing anyone because he didn't have a weakness for Kryptonite.

As far as he knew, at least.

Thanks to the Smallville encyclopedias and boobs, his knowledge of the story and this world was limited to half of the show's seasons. He hoped to get more of those so he could read and update his knowledge.

'Getting Jonathan and Martha Kent to believe me is one thing. But I need to make sure they think I have a weakness. I can't let them forget that I have no weakness against Kryptonite when the time comes.'

'It doesn't really matter, but I can't let them develop intelligence.'

Nate decided to activate his Essence for Jonathan and Martha. He could activate such a setting ahead of time, eliminating this concern.

They would simply spam meteor-rocks in front of him, completely unaware that he possessed no such weakness and perplexed as to why it did not work. Rinse and repeat.

Nate didn't want to find himself at odds with them. But he held different beliefs than that family of fools, so such a situation was unavoidable. It was going to happen one day.

They were going to try and stop him. From killing.