AU: What if Clark hadn't run away when Lex accused him of not being human? Takes up at the end of Shattered. Disclaimer: Smallville and all pertaining characters are property of WB

"You're not even human."

The words repeated over and over in Clark's head. His stomach lurched as he imagined all the awful possible reactions Lex might have to this revelation. How many times had he said that he didn't forgive a person for lying to him? But then the gravel on the road began to shift under the weight of an approaching car.

"Lex, we've got to get out of here." Clark insisted, kneeling down next to his unstable friend.

"I'm not crazy." Lex said calculatingly. "You're my proof."

"No, Lex, you can't!" Clark said fearfully. Clark's heart pounded and his hands grew slick as the car grew closer. "Lex, please, if they catch us now they'll lock us both up! I know I owe you one hell of an explanation, and I promise you'll get it! But right now, you have to trust me!"

"I don't know what to believe anymore, Clark." Lex said desperately, once again questioning his own sanity. Clark squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

"Believe that I'm your friend." Clark said, quoting Lex. Still, Lex did not appear convinced. "Yesterday you said, 'You're either with me or against me, Clark. Choose right now!' And I did. I left with you. My mom, my dad, Chloe, none of them wanted me to go, but I did. That's why I'm here. I've got your back. Always! If you never believe another word I say, believe that now!"

Lex still hesitated. He looked Clark in the eye searchingly, calculatingly, and desperately. Finally, the sound of the approaching car snapped Lex into action.

"Let's go!" Lex agreed, clambering to his feet.

Clark helped Lex stumble toward the woods. As they passed the demolished car where Morgan Edge was still unconscious and bleeding, Clark paused. He smashed the already cracked window on the driver's side. He reached into the car and ripped off Morgan Edge's jacket.

"What are you doing?" Lex asked, paranoia returning to his voice.

"Evidence." Clark said simply. He glanced over his shoulder. The car's front bumper was visible through the trees. "Come on!"

As Lionel's psychiatrists pulled up in the black SUV, they caught a glimpse of Lex disappearing into the woods. The orderlies leapt from the car and crashed through the woods in hot pursuit.

"They're gaining on us!" Lex cried out.

"Not for long." Clark said. "Close your eyes."

Having nothing left to lose, Clark put his arm around Lex's waist and lifted him off his feet. They sped off through the woods leaving the human orderlies to wonder how Lex had disappeared so quickly. He didn't stop until they reached Hobson's Pond.

"Are you okay?" Clark asked when he put Lex down. Lex just stared at him with a slack jaw. "I know. I'll explain later! Right now we need to come up with a plan."

"Why are we here?" Lex asked.

"This is where my dad and Nixon were trapped during the storm, remember?" Clark said. "Your father was in the hospital while all that was happening so he won't know to look here. We can hide in the crypt until we figure out what we're going to do."

Clark climbed down the steps into the old basement. Lex reluctantly followed. Clark quickly got as far away from the remaining meteor rocks from the cave-in as he could. Lex followed him tiredly and sat down on one of the fallen columns.

"So when are you going to tell me what just happened back there, Clark?" Lex demanded.

"Uh, yeah." Clark said, shifting his weight back and forth and fidgeting with his hands. "Okay. Well, let's start with how I know Morgan Edge."

"You do know him!" Lex accused, paranoia taking hold again.

"Yes, I do." Clark admitted. "But not because of all this. I swear to you, Lex. I'm not part of their conspiracy."

"Then how do you two go way back?" Lex demanded. "And why did he call you Kal?"

"Because that's the name I used when I was in Metropolis last summer." Clark said. "Remember, I told you that after my mom lost her baby I ran away to Metropolis?" Lex nodded. "Well, while I was there I called myself Kal and I did a lot of things I'm not proud of. At one point, I caught Morgan Edge's attention. He asked me to do a job for him. Before I finished it my dad found me and brought me home."

"What possessed you to get involved with Morgan Edge?" Lex asked in astonishment.

"Possessed, that's a good word for it." Clark sighed, queasy with shame at the things he'd said, done, and enjoyed. "We'll get to that part."

"What do you mean we'll get to it?" Lex said angrily. "Tell me now!"

"No." Clark said. "Not yet. You're not coherent enough. Look, I know what they did to you, Lex. I cornered Darius and I made him tell me. You were right. They were drugging you. They spiked your scotch."

"Of course!" Lex gasped, as if it were all coming together in his addled mind. "I have a drink almost every day."

"And you drink more when you're upset." Clark agreed. "Remember when we were at the mansion looking for proof of what happened to you? You took a drink of your scotch. You were getting to be pretty lucid again up until then. But after that you started slipping again. Next thing you know you're lashing out at Lana in the stables."

"Oh my God!" Lex gasped. "Lana! Did I hurt her?"

"She's in pretty bad shape." Clark admitted, wishing he was by her side instead of in this dank cellar. "I got her to the hospital, but I don't know if she's going to be okay."

"Oh, damn it!" Lex cursed. But, just as quickly as the lucidity came the paranoia returned. "Wait a minute. Are you trying to distract me?"

"Of course not." Clark insisted. "I'm just trying to explain things as clearly as I can."

"Then explain how you stopped that car!" Lex shouted. "Explain how you got us out of there so fast! Explain why you've been lying to me since the first time I laid eyes on you!" Clark cringed. "What the hell are you? Tell me!"

"I will." Clark vowed. "I promise I will. Just not now."

"Why not?" Lex demanded.

"Because you're not thinking clearly." Clark repeated. "You're still too doped up. Listen, Lex, this is going to be a very long and complicated explanation. I'm not going to tell you until I'm sure you're clean enough to understand and remember everything. As soon as you're system is clear of whatever they were giving you, I'll tell you."

"Why should I believe that?" Lex sneered. "Everything you've ever told me has been a lie."

"Not everything." Clark insisted. "Lex, please. I know I've kept a lot from you. I'm sorry. I'll tell you the truth. I'll tell you everything! I'm sorry I lied to you for so long. I promise I will never lie to you again."

Lex looked Clark over appraisingly. Tears clouded Clark's unusual aqua irises. He chewed his lower lip, a tic Lex recognized as signifying nervousness. Every fiber of his being begged Lex to please forgive him, to believe in him again just this once.

"By the time this is all over," Lex said commandingly. "You tell me everything."

"Yes." Clark agreed.

"All right." Lex nodded. "I'll let it go and try to trust you. For now." Clark smiled gratefully. "So, do you have a plan?"

"We're going to need help." Clark stated. "Your father's got a lot of resources."

"Well, if we're going on the run we can't use anything of mine!" Lex said. "He'd find us in a second. So, unless you have any other rich friends I don't know about I think we're screwed."

Suddenly, Clark's eyes brightened up with an idea.

"I think I know someone who can help us!" Clark exclaimed. "You up for a road trip?"

"To where?" Lex asked.

"New York." Clark said.

"Who do you know in New York?" Lex demanded.

"Dr. Victor Swann." Clark told him.

"How do you know him?" Lex asked in amazement.

"Uh, that's part of that long explanation I owe you." Clark dodged. "Let's just say, we've met and I think he might be willing to help. If we can just get to him."

"Good." Lex breathed. "That's very good."

"We'll need a car." Clark plotted. "And some cash."

"Clark, wait!" Lex exclaimed. "We can't leave yet! We need proof! To show I was never crazy."

"That's why I grabbed the jacket." Clark said. "It's got Morgan Edge's blood on it so we'll be able to prove he really was involved."

"We need more than that." Lex said. "This isn't just about clearing my name, Clark. If either of us is ever going to be safe we need to make sure my father can never do this again."

"So we'll go to the US Attorney, like you planned." Clark said.

"We'll need more than our words and a bloody jacket." Lex said.

"We'll have your blood tested when we reach New York to prove you were drugged." Clark said.

"What if I'm clean by the time we get there?" Lex asked.

"I'll go back to the mansion." Clark offered. "Get a sample of the scotch they were drugging you with."

"They may have gotten rid of it by now." Lex said. "No, Clark. We need the evidence I'd gathered against my father. We need the files he stole out of my safe."

"What makes you think he hasn't destroyed all that?" Clark asked.

"Because it implicates Morgan Edge as much as it does him." Lex said. "You can bet my father would want to keep that kind of collateral."

"All right." Clark said. "Where would it be? The vault in his office in LuthorCorp?"

"Probably." Lex realized miserably. "Damn! I should have made him open the safe while I was there. I'll never make it into the building now."

"I can get it." Clark said.

"You?" Lex said. "How?"

"I've done it before." Clark confessed. "That's what Morgan Edge hired me to do. I broke into your father's vault and stole something from him."

"I thought you said you didn't finish that job." Lex said.

"I didn't." Clark replied. "I was supposed to give what I found to Morgan Edge. I didn't. He wound up having to hunt me down in Smallville to get it back."

"Why didn't you just give it to him?" Lex asked.

"Because it was mine." Clark said. "But, we'll get to that later. Just trust me. I can do it."

"All right." Lex said. "I'll wait here while you get what we need. You can get money out of the register at the Talon. I'll reimburse Lana later."

"Yeah, I guess that'll be okay." Clark agreed reluctantly. "What'll we do about a car though? We can't take any of yours."

"The truck I tried to give you is still in my garage." Lex said. "No one will think to look for that."

"Great." Clark said, getting his heart beating faster as the plan took form. They were really going to do this. "I'll take care of everything and be back as soon as I can." Clark started to go, but Lex reached out and grabbed his arm. "What's wrong?"

"What if you don't come back?" Lex whimpered, child-like fear creeping into his voice.

"I'll come back." Clark said. "I promised not to lie to you again, remember?"

Lex slowly released Clark's arm. Clark gave him a reassuring nod and jogged up the steps. Once he was out of the cellar he sped off toward town. When he arrived, he entered the Talon through the alley. It was closed due to Lana's accident and Lex's break with reality.

Clark crept to the register and opened it. He'd hoped that someone would have already emptied the register and deposited the money but, sure enough, there were the profits from yesterday still lying in the drawer. Clark grabbed a pen and one of the waitress pads and started writing a note to explain to Lana why he'd taken the money. He couldn't get past 'Dear Lana, I'm sorry but. . .' Finally, Clark crumpled up the note and closed the register. He'd almost gotten Lana killed last night. He couldn't steal from her too. Clark quickly checked his own wallet to discover thirty-seven dollars. That would have to do.

After failing in his first mission, Clark made his way to the mansion. He did a quick x-ray scan of the rooms and found the place swarming with people looking for Lex. This was going to be interesting. Clark crept to the garage. Fortunately, no one was in there. After x-raying the room for cameras and finding only the normal security feed, Clark quickly fried the camera and started looking for the truck. When he found it, hidden in the back, Clark almost had to laugh at how out of place it looked with all Lex's other cars. Clark quickly retrieved the right set of keys from the cabinet where Lex stored them all, but he didn't put them in the ignition. The sound of an engine starting would bring the people in the house swooping down on him. Instead, Clark put the keys in his pocket, opened the garage doors, and carefully carried the truck out. Once he was in the driveway he put the car in neutral and pushed it down onto the road. Phase one was complete. Now came the hard part.

Clark still needed to get a sample of Lex's scotch so it could be tested. That meant sneaking into the library which appeared to be enemy headquarters at the moment. Even though no one could see him at top speed, it would be impossible to maneuver around so many people and still get what he needed and not alert someone that something was going on. Before anything else could be attempted, that house had to be cleared. Fast as he could, Clark ran to the payphone downtown and called the mansion. Darius answered.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Luthor is presently unavailable." Darius said shortly.

"Uh, yes I know." Clark said in a scratchy voice and thick southern drawl. "I think I just saw him out on Loeb's Bridge."

"How long ago was this?" Darius demanded urgently.

"I just passed him a few minutes ago." Clark said. "He was just kind of standing by the side of the road, staring at nothing. Seemed pretty out of it."

"Sir, Mr. Luthor is not himself right now." Darius said. Clark bit his tongue so hard it nearly bled. "You must not approach him. Someone will be out there immediately. Thank you for the tip."

"My pleasure." Clark forced. "Always happy to help."

The moment he hung up Clark sped off back to the mansion. Just as he arrived, two black SUV's sped off toward Loeb's Bridge. Clark quickly x- rayed the mansion again and saw only a few remaining security guards walking the halls and what appeared to be Darius still in the library. Clark smiled.

He entered the house through the garage and stealthily made his way down the halls. Clark continued to focus his eyes into x-ray mode the entire time so there'd be no surprises. Finally, he made it to the library. Darius was on the phone. Clark listened from the doorway, waiting for the opportunity to make his move.

"Yes sir." Darius said. "Your son was sighted on Loeb's Bridge. They're going to collect him now." He was talking to Lionel Luthor. "But sir, the Kent boy was here earlier. . . He clearly still believes Lex's ranting. He threatened me and demanded I tell him how Lex was being drugged. . .No sir, of course I didn't tell him." Clark stifled a laugh at Darius's cowardly lie. "No sir, you weren't mentioned. . .Yes, of course. . . Absolutely sir, we're replacing the tainted scotch immediately."

Clark's heart gave a leap. They hadn't ditched the doped supply yet! That was definitely his cue. He waited until Darius was facing the other way then at top speed he grabbed ran in, grabbed the scotch bottle, and ran out of the mansion. He was in and out in less than a minute. He climbed into the waiting truck and drove as fast as he could back toward Hobson's Pond. He hid the truck in the woods and then it was time for phase three. Clark was going back to LuthorCorp.