Tracks
"You can fly anywhere in the world in the time it takes most people to breathe, but this is still your preferred mode of travel?"
Clark looked away from the window, his eyes sparkling. "Lex, how can you be alive and not love travelling by train? You get to see all the scenery, and feel the movement of each car-"
"The scenery near railroad tracks is mostly factories, and the movement of each car is the reason they invented Dramamine."
"You are so negative- we haven't seen a factory in at least five minutes, and you never get sick. You agreed to come, so shut up. Plus, your cell phone works on the train."
Lex nodded in concession. "An excellent point. And the next time you point out a herd of cows which looks exactly like the herd you grew up with along with every other herd of cows ever, I will use this working phone to put a hit out on you. FYI."
"What about sheep?"
Lex was spared from answering as his phone actually rang. He looked meaningfully at Clark. "Perhaps a psychic hitman, who can sense my rage and wants to land the job. Watch yourself. Lex Luthor speaking."
Clark did his best not to eavesdrop, admiring a distant water tower with an absurd level of absorption. He turned back as Lex ended the call, only to find Lex wearing an oddly bemused expression. "What? Who was it?"
"It was Dr. Hamilton, and he had some interesting information for me. You remember the catscans we did?"
Clark nodded. "What about them? And why did Hamilton see them?"
Lex smiled. "Well, I had some suspicions about them, and sent them to a colleague of his to have my opinion corrected or confirmed. Made up some story, so no one knew they had anything to do with you..." He looked at the seat in front of him, an odd smile still hovering around his mouth. Clark recognized the expression as one Lex wore when his mind was furiously working through possible conclusions indicated by an experiment's results.
Clark's chest felt tight as the silence continued. "Was there something- abnormal? In me?"
Lex looked up, his eyes still distant. "No, Clark, there wasn't a thing to indicate that you might not be human. I had thought I might have missed some detail, but it would seem not. As far as anatomy goes, you are indistinguishable from anyone on earth."
Clark relaxed, but Lex's expression had not changed. "That's good, right?"
"I suppose, but it's just not possible."
"Why not?"
"Clark, your powers would seem to indicate that something should be noticeably different. Besides, your home planet is nothing like this one, from what we can tell. It is completely impossible that humans could have developed exactly the same on two different planets."
"Ah, evolution theory. As a graduate of the Kansas Educational System, I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Clark, I think you might be from Earth."
It took a moment, but Clark found his voice eventually. "I know you've had a lot of head injuries, Lex, but come on-"
"Think about it. You look human, act human, think like a human, feel like a human."
"Fly like a human- oh, wait." Clark added sarcastically.
"Clark, you've lived with the effects of the meteors from your planet for years now. How much stronger would human bodies react to an entire planet loaded with that same substance? The effects magnified and constant would be overwhelmingly powerful."
Clark snorted. "Yeah, and most likely lethal."
"Probably, for some people. But there would be others whose bodies would adjust, just like all of our mysteriously affected Smallville residents who have developed impossible powers."
"But Lex, I can't shapeshift or convince people to obey my will with a handshake. The meteor mutations we've seen aren't included in my list of abilities."
"True, but we've only seen how the body reacts with first exposure. Certain mutations would fade away and others would be amplified over time, through generations. Not intentionally, but progressively, and the result would be- you. A roster of amazing abilities which have practical applications on an alien and potentially dangerous planet. No mind control, but you can run fast or fly away, and even if you get caught, almost nothing can harm you." Lex looked almost intoxicated with the beauty of it. "Then, something happened. Maybe your sun was dying, or there was an attack. And your parents wanted you to escape, so they sent you home. Sent you back to your origin."
Some truly breathtaking scenery was passing by the train window, but Clark just stared at Lex, his hands shaking in his lap. "That's a nice story, Lex. But there's just one thing- if my planet is made out of the stuff, then why do the meteor rocks make me sick?"
Lex shrugged. "You were just a baby when you came here- you were still developing. It's almost like you were never immunized, I suppose. After growing up without them, your system has no defense against them, but their effect is more immediate on you than on those of us who grew up here because of your genealogy. The rocks do damage to everyone in their proximity, but you feel it instantaneously. The rest of us just absorb their effects unwittingly, which is honestly more dangerous. The reaction of our bodies is too unstable to be considered beneficial. Maybe that would even explain why so many of those affected become violent, while you are simultaneously the most altered and the biggest pacifist of anyone...Clark?"
Clark looked, oddly enough, completely petrified.
"Clark, all this is just theory. I could be wrong, you know-"
"Yeah, because that happens all the- oh, wait, never. Ever."
"Don't be ridiculous. I thought Smallville would be boring, once upon a time. I can indeed be wrong. Don't worry about it-"
Clark grabbed at his arm. "But you believe it. I know that look on your face- it's the same one you wore every time I tried to tell you that I didn't get hit by your car. You think you're right. Admit it."
"I admit that it makes a kind of bizarre sense, but that doesn't mean it's right by any stretch of the imagination."
"Maybe you're right. Maybe I'm human. My whole life, I thought I was."
Lex regretted saying anything, if it unnerved Clark this much. "It doesn't matter-"
"Of course it matters- it means that everything I thought and, everything I-"
"It doesn't matter where you come from, Clark. It only matters that you're here."
Clark looked up, his eyes a little less wild. "You think?"
Lex just smiled. "Hey, look out there. Cows. Lots of cows. I can almost hear your farmboy heart speeding up, and I don't even have superhearing."
"Shut up. Cows are nice- they don't sass."
A minute passed, and Clark's grip on Lex's arm eased, though he didn't take his hand away. "Clark? Are you going to be okay?"
"Sure. I mean, even if you're wrong and I am an alien, at least I won't need to go through that whole 'Take me to your leader' routine. I have your cell number."
"Cute."
"I thought so. And if you travel by train, then the call will go through!"
"Remind me to buy some stock in Amtrak."
"Hey, Lex?"
"Yes, Clark?"
"Buy some stock in Am-"
"Hitman on my speed dial, and you only wish I was joking."
The train did take longer. But Lex was enjoying the trip.