Title: Changed Lives
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Smallville. The creators own all characters and the original Smallville series.
Summary: Clark is taken, and everyone around him must band together to try and find him. But there is another plot that will be revealed in time.
Author's Note #1: Story takes place after season 4 and features: Clark, Lois, Mr. and Mrs. Kent, Lex, Pete, Chloe, Lana, Jason and Dr. Swann as main characters.
Author's Note #2: I posted this story several years ago, but never finished it. I am planning on going through and updating all the chapters and hopefully finishing it this time. I haven't watched the show in a couple of years, but have recently started to watch re-runs. I am still trying to figure out how to finish it, but I'll be working on it. :) This is the only thing I've ever really written. Let me know how you like it!
Chapter One: Normal Lives
Clark had spent weeks trying to convince himself that he didn't have any feelings for Lois. He ended up just asking her out anyway. He didn't think he felt anything for Lana anymore, and she was with Jason now anyways. Clark had even helped Jason get a job as Lex's personal assistant, since he couldn't work at the school and date Lana at the same time.
After Chloe had returned, Lois had decided to finish out the school year with them; especially since her dad had been transferred again, and this time it was out of the country. Mr. Sullivan had offered her their spare room, since Mrs. Kent was letting Lana was living in the apartment above the Talon.
Pete was staying at the Kent's home for a long weekend visiting from Metropolis. He and Clark had been talking about having Pete stay over for the summer. Pete was hoping it would work out, he had missed his friends. And since things seemed to be going well with Clark and Lois, Pete hoped he would have a shot with Chloe.
Clark and Lois pulled up to the Kent farm after school. They had left Pete with Chloe at the school. Chloe had wanted to finish up some stories for the school paper that she ran. Pete had volunteered to help.
"Hey Lois, would you like to stay for dinner?" Mrs. Kent asked.
"No thanks, Mrs. Kent. I should probably eat at home at least once this week." Lois said smiling at Clark. They had gotten very close in the past few weeks. Even though she could tell that Clark was always holding a part of himself back, she didn't care. She knew she would either figure it out on her own soon enough, or they would get close enough for Clark to tell her himself.
"We'll be up in the loft." Clark said as he started for the back door with Lois following behind.
"Dinner will be in about an hour." Martha said. She knew that this new relationship was hard for Clark; especially after all he went through with Lana. But she also knew that she would have to leave it up to Clark.
"So what did you want to do this weekend?" Lois asked, looking over at Clark.
Clark looked at her evasively, "I don't know, I was thinking maybe we could just hang out, you know, because Pete's visiting...you could invite Chloe if you want."
"Sure, that'd be great. Chloe keeps giving me crap about never seeing anyone but you."
***The next day***
Clark, Pete, Lois and Chloe spent most of the day at the Kent farm in Clark's loft, talking and laughing.
"Hey boys, can we take a break, Chloe and I are just a little tired from all the sports talk. Can we at least head over to the Talon for some caffeine?"
"Alright, we were done anyway. We could probably still catch a movie or something." Pete said, smiling and getting up.
Mr. Kent walked into the loft.
"Hey Dad, we were just going to head into town." Clark said as they all started gathering their stuff.
"Sounds good. Do you mind saving me a trip and picking your mom up on your way back?" Jonathan asked.
"Sure, Dad. No problem." Turning to Lois and Chloe, "We can give you guys a ride home after too."
They all headed out to Pete's car, and made the drive into town. After the movie, they made their way to The Talon. It was still a few minutes before closing, so they figured they would find a booth and wait inside. When they pulled up, Clark saw that Jason was just getting out of his car.
"Hey Clark, who's your friend?" Jason asked, walking up to Pete.
"Oh, this is Pete. Pete, this is Jason. He's working with Lex now. He and Lana..." Clark stopped, feeling the awkwardness of the situation. Jason and Pete felt it too, "Uh...I came back with Lana from Paris. I used to work at the school, as the assistant coach, but then Clark got me this job working with Lex Luthor."
"Can we go inside already? Jason, Clark is waiting to pick up Mrs. Kent, you should join us." Chloe asked, effectively breaking the tension.
They went into the coffeehouse and sat down at one of the larger booths.
"What do we have to do to get some service around here?" Jason jokingly asked, seeing Lana and Martha coming out of the back room. "You'll never get service with an attitude like that, mister!" Lana bantered back to him. She brought over six coffees and went back over to Mrs. Kent. "Oh, you go ahead and sit with them Lana, I've just got a few things of paperwork to finish up, I'll be done in a few minutes." Lana walked back to the group and sat down and started visiting. She had been afraid that things would be weird between her and Clark, but Lana was glad to see all of her friends sitting together, even Jason seemed to be having a good time.
Mrs. Kent watched her only son and his friends talking. Knowing that Clark would never be as carefree as them. Wondering if his relationship with Lois would tear him up the same way as his previous relationship had. Wishing that he would be happy. Martha almost wished that they could let Clark's friends in, knowing that Jonathan would never allow it. It would be the only way for Clark to ever have true friendship with anyone.
Clark had thought that it would be weird, spending time with Lana and Jason, but he found that it was okay. With everyone there, he felt almost normal.
The eight of them were sitting around the largest booth The Talon had, finishing their coffee and talking. Clark was sitting next to Lois, holding hands under the table. They were sitting across from Lana and Jason; Chloe was talking about the Torch.
"So, now if we can just talk Pete into sticking around, maybe the Torch would actually be able to get some decent stories, since my only other reporters seem to have better things to do lately." Chloe said, jokingly. She also had thought that it would be awkward seeing her cousin with Clark, but somehow, having Pete back helped ease the feelings that she was the only one without someone. She hadn't realized how much she had missed him.
"Hey, I resent that. I don't know about Lois, but I know that I..." Clark stopped; he looked past Lana out towards the door. He could see armed men jumping out of trucks.
"Clark, what's the matter?" Pete knew his friend too well, something was wrong.
"Honey, is everything alright?" Martha said, returning from the back of the café. She could tell immediately from the look on her son's face that he was scared.
This of course cued everyone else at the table to stand up to see what Clark was looking at. They could see movement, but not clearly, like Clark. As with his nature, Clark instinctively moved to the front of the group.
"We need to get out of here, everyone out the back way!" Clark said.
"Why, what are you talking about..." Jason started.
Suddenly, all of the men that had been outside, had apparently gotten their order, stormed in. The men all had impressive looking guns, all pointed at their little group. Everyone but Clark instinctively ducked and backed away.
"Clark, don't worry about us. You've got to get out of here, run to Metropolis or somewhere." Martha said, trying to pull him back with her.
"No, who knows what they'll do to you. I can't leave everyone I care about here..."
"What do you want?!" Jason asked, trying to figure out what was happening and how to get out of it alive. The man all acted as if they didn't hear him or any of the other's questions or pleadings.
"Clark, come on, do what they say!" Lois pleaded. She couldn't believe he was still just standing there.
Martha looked pleadingly at her son, knowing that Clark would never leave them.
None of the men said anything else, but just advanced on them. Clark and company had no choice but to back up into a wall.
Clark stared at the men pointing guns at his friends and his mother. "Leave them alone, it's me you want. Leave them out of this."As soon as he said this, he could hear the others protesting this behind him. The only response Clark got, was the men started moving forward. As the men got closer, Clark suddenly dropped to the ground, unable to move.
"Clark!" Martha screamed, as he fell, realizing why.
"What's wrong with him?" Lois asked, panicked. Martha looked at Pete, ignoring the others with them.
"They must have kryptonite with them, how would they know to use that?" Pete asked.
"I don't know, just move him and get everyone else to the very back of the Talon, and hide. Now that the men were up close, Martha could see that they each had a small piece of green meteor rocks on their jackets.
"Everyone on the ground, now!" One of the men shouted. The man's command was quickly obeyed by almost all of them. Jason held his ground. "Leave us alone!" Jason started to wrestle the gun from the leading masked man. Pete jumped up, seeing two men coming up behind Jason. One of the men turned to intercept Pete and knocked him to the ground, the other went to help his comrade in his struggle against Jason. Jason ended up on the floor unconscious. Lois helped Lana pull Jason out of the way, while Chloe was helping Pete stem the flow of blood from his broken nose.
"What do you want?" Martha screamed at them, cradling a barely conscious Clark in her arms.
No one moved or spoke, but just then The Talon door opened again. A man in a wheelchair rolled past the men with guns and addressed the small group of hostages on the floor in front of him.
"I think that you already know the answer to that question, don't you Martha?" Dr. Swann asked. "I only want Kal-el. I don't want to harm him, or any of you."
Clark was barely aware of what was going on around him. The proximity of the Kryptonite was overbearing. He looked over at all of his friends, one by one making quick eye contact. "It's going to be okay, I'll be okay," he said, right before he lost consciousness.
"NOOOO!" Martha screamed.
Several of the men stepped forward and pulled everyone away from Martha and Clark, then the rest of them walked up to Martha and Clark, and held her down as they grabbed Clark. Martha, Pete, Lois, Chloe and Lana all watched as the men tied Clark's hands behind his back and gag him, then carried him outside and put him into one of the trucks. Dr. Swann just smiled at them all, then turned around and was also loaded into the same truck as Clark. The vehicle quickly disappeared, then the men holding them down, quickly released them and ran out to the other vehicles and drove off leaving them in a stunned daze.