This follows the first volume. Please read the first one before attempting to read this one! I won't be directly covering all the episodes in season 1. Some will happen in between updates, meaning they might be mentioned. Other times like in this one, it seemed easy to bring Buffy and Dawn into the story. This first chapters start a few weeks into the New Year. The events of episode nine "Rogue" have happened to Clark, but it's not over completely. I would like to continue this volume throughout the rest of season 1 events. It will probably be longer than the previous stories.

Remember, this is a Buffy/Lex pairing. I have no intention on pairing Buffy with Clark. There's lots of stories like that out there, but this is about Buffy mentoring Clark. It's about redemption for Lex.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in BTVS or Smallville. Only this story is my own.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: A Secret Revealed

*****Smallville High School*****

Lana Lang walked into the cafeteria looking for Whitney. He and his friends were sitting around Dawn, the new girl. An uncomfortable Clark was sitting next to her with Chloe on her other side. Lana wasn't sure what to think of the new girl. It wasn't that Lana begrudged anyone else popularity, but it was hard to get used to. Lana was dating the most popular boy in school even though he was two years older than she was. Because of her parents dying when she was young, everyone knew Lana. Some felt sorry for her, but everyone was always nice. Since Whitney had asked her out, however, it seemed like everyone was always focused on her. Lana thought that it was suffocating, but now that everyone was focused on the beautiful and brilliant Dawn Summers, she realized how much she counted on everyone else's opinion and attention. She didn't like what she was discovering about herself.

"Are you okay, Lana?" a voice asked. She turned and saw Ms. Summers, Dawn's sister. Ms. Summers was on campus every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday since the semester started. She was the new peer counselor. Chloe, Clark, and Pete already knew her because they'd met her back in the fall. To Lana's surprise, she was dating Lex Luthor. Lana wouldn't have thought Buffy, a psychology major from a modest background, would be his type.

Unlike her sister Dawn, Ms. Summers was tiny, but equally beautiful with long blonde hair and green eyes. She held herself, though, in a way Lana had never seen any woman hold themselves—like she had this coiled power waiting to break loose. It was both fascinating and disconcerting.

"I'm fine, Ms. Summers," Lana assured her.

Buffy looked at Lana. The girl always seemed so separate from all the people she surrounded herself with. For some reason, Buffy felt a strange kinship with this girl. There was a brokenness hidden below her smiling exterior that pulled at Buffy—she could relate. So far, her attempts to connect with Lana had been rewarded with friendly aloofness, but Buffy wasn't about to give up.

Lana joined her friends.

"Hey, babe," Whitney said, smiling at her. He kissed her cheek and made room for her, putting her directly across from Clark.

"Hi, Lana," Clark said.

"Hi," she replied. Chloe and Dawn greeted her.

"Dawn was just telling us that she and her sister are going to Lex's gala in Metropolis this Friday," Whitney said.

"Oh?" Lana said, opening her drink. "I think it'll be fun."

"I've never been to one," Dawn said. "Buffy says we get to dress up, so that'll be fun."

"I don't like dressing up," Chloe said.

"We're not going, remember?" Pete reminded her. Pete's parents wouldn't let him go even if he wanted to, which he didn't.

"Oh, yeah," Chloe said. "I have a hot story to put to bed."

Dawn turned to Clark. "Lex is going to send a limo to pick us up. Do you want to ride with us?" she asked. So far, Dawn had figured out that Chloe had a crush on Clark, who had a crush on Lana, who seemed to be really attached to her cute boyfriend Whitney. Chloe was oblivious to Pete, who snuck looks at her whenever he could. It was a real high school love fest. Dawn didn't want to upset Chloe by crushing on Clark herself, but it was hard not to like the extremely good-looking guy. He was sweet, considerate, and hard working. She'd go with the good friend route for now.

"Okay," Clark said. "That sounds nice." He smiled at her. Dawn was pretty amazing. When he'd went over to her house after all their friends had left town after the New Year's Eve party, he'd seen her collection of books. She was possibly the most interesting person that he'd ever met. She was studying ancient languages for fun. Who did that?

*****Metropolis*****

Lex watched his ravishing girlfriend as she charmed yet another out of their money for the fundraiser.

"You're drooling, Lex," Clark teased, watching him watch Buffy.

"Look at her, Clark," Lex said, his admiration plain for anyone to see. "She's perfect. I've known a lot of women, but I've never known anyone like her. She's brave, selfless, generous, interesting. After knowing her for four months, she's still mysterious."

"Not to mention, beautiful," Clark said in amusement. Buffy was wearing a red dress to Dawn's green. Both women were stunning.

"Yes, but I've known beautiful women. That's not what makes her special," Lex said. "Dad hates her."

"Does that bother you?" Clark asked.

Lex grinned and shook his head. "If I can be with a woman the he hates for no good reason, it makes it sweeter," Lex admitted. "She's not afraid of him, Clark. Can you believe that? Lionel Luther doesn't intimidate her at all."

Clark chuckled, glad to see his friend so happy.

Lex gave Clark a pointed look. "What about you? Why aren't you talking to Dawn? She is quite beautiful herself—and brilliant," Lex said.

"Yes," Clark admitted. "She is that." He glanced at Lana who was smiling at Whitney.

"If Lana Lang can't see you, Clark, then maybe you should focus on a girl who does," Lex said pointedly. Dawn was walking toward them, holding two drinks.

Clark walked to her while Lex joined his girlfriend. "Is that for me?" he asked.

"No, it's for the other guy I came with," Dawn said, smiling. She handed him a drink. "This place has some cool stuff. Wanna explore more?"

Clark nodded and followed after her.

Buffy was watching her sister as Lex put his arm around her. "Do you mind if I steal my girlfriend for a moment?" he asked the man Buffy was talking to. The man smiled and waved her away without protest.

Buffy flashed him a grin. Since New Year's Eve, she and Lex had been mostly inseparable. She wasn't with him every day, but they talked a few times a day when apart. They'd slept together the night of his party, and it had been perfect. It was passionate like with Spike and tender like with Angel. Like Riley, Lex enjoyed holding her. She felt safe with him. Although a part of her was waiting for something to go wrong, she was trying hard not to sabotage things. So far, her luck was holding.

Dawn was having a good time. Yes, Clark kept sneaking looks at Lana, but he was still hanging out with her. Things were good. She didn't think that she was completely friend-zoned yet with him. Sometimes, he blushed when he was with her. Dawn took that as a good sign. However, her new friendship with Chloe wasn't going to let her push things too hard too fast.

They were exploring the building and talking, moving further away from the party. Clark was enjoying getting to know his new friend, trying to not think about Lana with Whitney.

"I need to find a little girl's room," Dawn told him.

"I think they're down that hall," he said, pointing.

As Dawn stepped away, Clark called out, "I'm going to step outside and get some fresh air."

Dawn nodded, so he turned and went out the door. Clark looked up at the night's sky like always, but the buildings of Metropolis obscured his view of the stars. Although he liked visiting Metropolis, he didn't know if he could ever get used to living in the city. He knew, though, if he went away to college, it would probably be in a big city. Working on a farm all his life would be honest work, but it wasn't really something he was passionate about like his dad. He could do it and be content, but it didn't make him excited to think about. The life of a farmer was an isolated one. Clark didn't think he was given his powers to live away from people. There were too many people he could help. His father's fear of discovery meant little to him when the thought of the people who might need him. He glanced out at the streets and saw a homeless man with his dog. The image pierced his heart. The poor guy probably had no one to love or love him, but he had that dog. Clark wondered if the man fed the dog before he fed himself. It made him incredibly sad to think about. No one should ever go hungry.

When he saw the bus coming down the street, he frowned. It was not driving right—something was definitely wrong. Before he realized what was happening, the bus was heading right toward the homeless man on the bench. Without considering the consequences, Clark moved forward to move the guy. When he realized that he didn't have time to save both the man and the dog, he stood in front of them both, letting the bus hit him. Although the force of the bus stung a bit, there was no pain—he was invulnerable. This was further proof, and it both excited and upset him. Why was he able to stop a bus with his body? Humans weren't built that way.

More and more the voice inside him grew louder: He wasn't human.

Clark looked around for witnesses on the street and saw no one. He turned to head back to the gala and his eyes locked with Dawn's. She saw the whole thing.

Dawn had stepped outside to find Clark when she spotted him getting hit by the bus. The horror of the scene locked the scream in her throat. However, when it was clear that Clark was okay, she began to move toward him. Neither noticed the other man nearby who had seen the entire thing.

"Oh my God, Clark! Are you okay? How did you do that?" Dawn asked excitedly.

This was exactly what his dad warned him about, Clark thought, feeling sick. He wanted to run away, but Dawn went to his school. What was he supposed to say?

"I don't know," he mumbled.

"Well, you saved that guy's life, Clark! You're a hero!" she gushed. She looked him over. "Are you hurting anywhere?"

"I don't think so," he said.

"You're adopted, right?" Dawn asked, her clever brain working hard. Clark nodded. "I bet you're, like, part demon or something."

"I'm not a demon!" Clark exclaimed, horrified.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with being part demon. I've known a few great ones. They're like people—just different," Dawn assured him.

Clark could see that she was sincere, but he was so rattled that his mind seemed to shut down. He ran off.

Dawn's mouth fell open as she saw the blur that was her new friend. "Well, that's different," she said.

Dawn went inside to find her sister. "Buffy, can I speak to you in private a minute?" she asked, not sure how Lex would respond to the news of supernatural. Buffy should be the one to tell him.

"What's up?" Buffy asked as they stepped several feet away from Lex.

"So Clark isn't human," Dawn whispered.

"Huh?" Buffy asked in confusion.

"I saw him stand in front of a moving bus to protect a guy and his dog. The bus hit Clark, and he wasn't hurt at all," Dawn said.

Buffy's eyes widened. Not even she could withstand a bus. "Wow!" she said.

"When I asked him what demon he was, he got freaked. Then I figured that since he was adopted he might not even realize what he was," Dawn said. "Then he ran off so fast that he was just a blur. Like Glory fast."

A hint of fear hit Buffy as she thought of the implications. "Do you think he's sharing his body with a hell god like Ben was?" she asked.

"Well, I am now!" Dawn said, terrified of about the possibilities.

"He probably went home," Buffy said. "We'll go speak to him tomorrow."

Dawn nodded. "I hope he'll be okay. He was really upset," Dawn said in concern.

"We'll help him," Buffy said. It was what they did, after all.

*****The Next Day*****

Clark's parents were more than upset when he told them about Dawn finding out he wasn't exactly human. Then they told him about the ship, and then showed it to him. He wasn't a demon—he was an alien. Was that better?

"Clark?" a voice asked. He turned and saw Buffy and Dawn standing there. Of course, Dawn would tell her sister.

"Why are you here?" he asked sullenly.

"We're here to help you," Buffy said, moving closer.

"I don't need any help, thanks," he said, turning his back away from them, fiddling with the tractor.

Buffy looked at her sister, who nodded and moved closer to Clark. She walked in front of him. "Clark, let us help you," Dawn said.

"I don't need your help," he said again. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine, Clark. You run faster than human and incredibly strong. We've seen this before," Dawn said.

Now they had Clark's attention. "You have?" he asked in surprise.

"We lived in a town that was on a hellmouth. We've seen all kinds of things," Dawn told him. "You're not the only one who has powers that aren't meteorite caused." She'd spent enough time with Chloe to have a firm grasp on the Wall of Weird.

Clark's attention was now focused entirely on her. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"She means that I'm not normal either," Buffy admitted. She reached for a large crescent wrench. Clark watched as she bent the wrench in half and handed it to him.

Clark was caught so off guard by Buffy's unexpected action. Was she an alien, too? He straightened up the wrench, easily molding it back in shape.

"Buffy's the Slayer," Dawn said, which told Clark nothing.

"Huh? She's the slayer of what?" Clark inquired.

"Monsters and vampires," Buffy answered.

Clark smiled, thinking they were joking. When they didn't smile, he realized that they were completely serious. "You're serious?" he asked.

"The world is much older than many believe. Before humans were here, there were Old Ones, pure demons who walked the earth. Eventually, they mixed with humans creating vampires and other monsters like werewolves and various demon species," Buffy explained.

"Buffy was empowered to fight those kinds of things. It's why she's so strong," Dawn explained.

Clark looked disappointed. "Oh," he said.

"Why does my explanation bum you out?" Buffy asked.

"We're not the same. I thought maybe you were like me," Clark said.

"We'll figure out what you are, Clark. I have friends and resources that can figure out most things," Buffy assured him. "It's possible that you are hosting a hell god or even an Old One."

Clark smiled, looking much more relaxed. "No, I'm not," he said.

"So you know what you are?" Dawn asked.

Clark nodded. "My parents finally told me the truth," he said.

"What you are?"

"Yes," Clark said. "I'm not a demon of any kind nor am I hosting one. I'm an alien." He'd been upset at that until the Summer sisters offered a more horrific possibility.

Now it was Buffy and Dawn's turn to be surprised. "Excuse me?" Buffy asked, stunned.

*****Chapter End*****

I couldn't recall the exact episode Clark's parents told him about his alien origins, so please forgive the change here. I don't think Clark knew by episode 8 that he was an alien, but either way, I'm changing things a bit. The Lex life saving event didn't play out like the show did, so I figure the parents didn't tell him until forced to like now.