He could still recall the texture of Cassandra's skin, as her frail hand rested in his to relay his future to him.  Lex had only half entertained the idea of a person's future being gazed upon when he visited the elderly blind woman for the second time in one week.  If Clark could sound so determined on something that was completely asinine, then there had to be some truth behind it because the boy couldn't lie to save his life.

"Okay, that's enough," intruded Dr. Vargas, unclasping the heart monitor device from his ear and turning down the speed on the treadmill.

The monotonous action of jogging in a steady pace had Lex's thoughts drifting toward subjects of better interest, and the man's call to end the test disrupted them.  He responded in a cocky tone, "Done already?"  Lex slowed his gait to accommodate the deceleration of the treadmill being turned off.

"Yeah.  It looks like your heart could go on like that forever."  The suited doctor started to work on the emergency stop bracelet Velcro-ed to Lex's wrist.

"Good.  Then I won't have to go through this physical nonsense for five years."  In the last decade, Lex had had his fill of doctors and their tests, and barely tolerated this physicals that were an obligated burden while working for his father.  Lex wiped his face with a yellow towel that was draped over the handle of the treadmill, dismounting from the exercise machine and heading towards his desk that had several blue bottles of water waiting for him.

"Well, let's hope not."  Vargas trails behind him, continuing with his diagnosis, "As for the sudden flaring of headaches that you mentioned when setting up the appointment, have you noticed any consistencies?  Too much stress?  Loud or multiple noises, like several conversations at once?  Or anything else?"

Unscrewing the cap and taking a drink, Lex thought back on all the instances when searing pain would lash out at his temples in the recent days and could catalogue the physical contact of people he had been talking with when they occurred.  As soon as he shook someone's hand or accidentally brush fingers when handing off things did the headache present itself, along with what Lex could only surmise as a daydream centered on the person in contact.  "Not that I can think of, though running my own business has its stressful moments."  There was no way that he was going to suggest that mere human contact can be an onset for headaches; his father would have a field with that in criticism.  "Has my blood work hinted to anything?"

Taking out a pen and picking up a clipboard with a medical history on it, Dr. Vargas said, "That was one thing I needed to talk to you about.  It did come in and showed that you have an usually elevated white cell count."

Having been in the medical world for ten years as a patient, Lex had picked up on some of the jargon for special diseases and unique white blood cells meant one thing.  "What?  Like Leukemia?  That's not likely.  I don't get sick." Lex's tone was first joking disbelief then became hard fact, as it was easy for him to recall that last time he got even remotely sick.

Continuing on with the physical, the doctor asked, "Are you on any medication?"

The question was immediately followed by a `nope' that sounded like it had been repeated to the same question countless times, as Lex sat down behind his desk and propped his feet on the glass table, crossing them at the ankle.

Unperturbed by the briskness of the response, Vargas continued, "Do you have any allergies?"

"No."

"Childhood illness?" Vargas could play the clipped conversation too.

There was a pause when Lex took another mouthful of water but there was a slight hesitation in his expression, as if one too many memories had rushed to the forefront.  "Asthma."

"When did that stop?"  Vargas looked up from his clipboard to Lex.

"The day I lost my hair."  A forced smirk covered up past pain before Lex asked, "Is this going somewhere?"

"If this were anywhere else, I'd order a battery of tests, but I do see a lot of this in Smallville."

Setting the bottle down on the desk, Lex inquired, "Why should Smallville be any different?"

The doctor started packing up, having given up on the questionnaire, and slipped his into his coat pocket and sliding the clipboard into his briefcase.  "Well…Some say it's because the LuthorCorp plant has contaminated the environment."

Smirking at the stated implication and how the man had sideswiped the responsibility of making the claim by turning it into a rumor, Lex simply said, "I very much doubt that."

Lex saw the slight hesitancy in the doctor's eyes, thinking that he might have overstepped his bounds.  He stood up, grabbed an apple from the table behind him and walked behind the other man.  In his trek across the room to the exit, he threw over his shoulder, "Let's order those tests."

It was a couple of days later that Lex found himself looking at a wall decorated in old news clippings and notes related to the articles next to them, located in the high school's newsroom.  Glancing over a picture of an extra limbed farm animal and other various oddities, Lex's attention was caught by a headline that read `Cassandra – Smallville Prophet or Hoax?'.  He skimmed through it and was startled to learn that her vision was lost during the meteor shower, a common thread in all the stories that Lex glossed over on the wall.

"Most of my friends are trying to get out of high school."

Turning to face the familiar newcomer, Lex gave a small smirk to Clark before explaining his presence, at least one of the reasons.  "I was meeting with your principal. Apparently, you guys are in dire need of a new computer lab. I figured I could help."

Setting down his backpack and fitting his coat over the computer chair, Clark joked, "They might even name a lunch special after you. How'd you end up here?"

Letting go a light laugh because of the idea of a lunch special named after him, Lex gave the real reason why he was there.  "My plant manager, Gabe. He's always going on about his daughter, the reporter in the Torch. Thought I'd drop by and say hello. She wasn't around, but I was struck by this."  He turned back to the wall, sweeping his arm in the general direction of the mural.  Earlier that day, he had searched the online archives of the Smallville Ledger and The Torch for the cases that Dr. Vargas had mentioned.  Interestingly he learned of a theory concerning the meteor rocks supported by The Torch's editor continuously publishing articles that deals with them.  He wanted to know more on what she thought of this theory and its implications.

"That's Chloe's hobby," Clark clarified.  "She thinks she can trace all the freak things in Smallville to the meteor shower."  He walked around the collection of computer tables to join Lex.

"Interesting theory."  Lex's gaze was drawn to a picture of a glow- in-the-dark geodes unearthed when a river was dredged.

Clark gave him a skeptical look, "Most people think its crazy."

"Maybe."

After that, the two of them talked about Lex's experiences during the meteor shower and the life-changing outcome.  It made Lex wonder if exposure to the meteors made his hair fallout and strengthened his immune system, what else could they do?  Could they even exchange a person's sight for the ability to foresee things in the distant future?

The methodical tread of high-heeled shoes proceeded, "Mr. Luthor," as Chloe walked in.  She quickly set down her belongings next to Clark's when she saw who her visitor was.

"Its Lex," he introduced amiably, walking around to shake her hand.  "Clark was-"

That was the only thing understandable by the two reporters before the moans, as they watched, stunned, Lex collapsing on himself to the floor.  The hand still holding Chloe's in a death grip pulled her down in an ungraceful fashion and Lex's other hand was rubbing the heel of his palm into his temple, trying to massage away the lancing pain.

Clark almost super-sped his way to Lex's side in his haste to see what was wrong.  Gently trying to get him to uncurl his tensed body, Clark heard muttered words of `plant', `hostages', `Level 3', and `field trip' coming through Lex's clenched teeth.  "What's wrong, Lex?"  Without thinking about Lex's need for personal space, he laid a comforting hand on the back of the billionaire's neck, rubbing circles in what hopefully was a soothing manner.

The teenager was unprepared for the familiar sensation of seeing things that weren't real or hadn't happened yet.  He saw that his new surrounding was a mechanics shop, with several cars in the building and shelving units filled with parts and necessary elements.  On his left, stood him and on his right, stood Lex with a machine gun.  Clark watched in horror as the older man cocked the gun and unleashed a wave of bullets, aimed at a disbelieving teenager.

With perceptive eyes, Clark watched his alternate-self dodge the first dozen bullets but the second wave hit their mark.  Lex made the observation that Clark wasn't human before the teen knocked him back into the metal shelves, rendering him unconscious.

What happened after that would remain a mystery to Clark, as his hand broke contact with Lex by a worried Chloe and his vision returned to the real world.  There was a greenish glow fading from Lex's eyes when he raised his head to look at the others and in a controlled yet shaken voice, he asked, "What did she do to me?"  The once again normal blue eyes soon rolled back and slumped to the ground, blacking out.

Clark had a feeling that only he could take care of Lex but couldn't do it with Chloe around, since she hadn't truly believed Cassandra's talent.  Looking up at her, he said, "I think you need to get the nurse."

Ready to protest the chance of missing an important story, Chloe saw the determination underlined with a plea that she do as he asked.  She shook her blonde hair, getting her thoughts back in order and left the room.

With the coast clear, Clark quickly scooped up the slack billionaire and sped to the Kent Farmhouse.  He rushed through the kitchen door and into the living room, setting his burden down on the couch.  Turning around, he wasn't surprised to find his parents entering the room, each with a look of confusion when they saw their unexpected guest.

"Son, what's he doing here?"  Jonathon nodded in Lex's direction, with a tone of distrust.

"Somehow Lex acquired Cassandra's ability and we shared a vision where he shoots me.  I don't even think he truly knows what's going on because he willing shook Chloe's hand, even though receiving the visions looked painful."  Pausing, Clark looked back at his friend in worry before adding, "It was painful enough to have caused him to black out."

There was a moment of silence, as all three thought of the best solution, but it was Martha who spoke first, "He'll have to stay here until he regains consciousness so that we can learn if he believes in the visions or if we can dismiss them as hallucinations.  After that, we'll decide if its safe for him to be around you."

Lex was still out on the couch when he had gotten home from school, finished his chores and the Kents had dinner.  Starting to become unsettled, Clark snuck out of his bedroom when he was sure that both of his parents were fast asleep and slipped downstairs to check on Lex.

There were sharp twitches in Lex's sleep and Clark could see from the moonlight that his eyes were swerving back and forth in dream.  Again there was muttering and feverish clips of words.  Super hearing could pick out Lex's bafflement that he `shot' `Clark' and that he `should be dead', leading to a `what are'… `you'.

As Clark remembered that this was where the vision ended abruptly, Lex's eyes snapped open with a sightless gaze and drawn with unerringly accuracy, his hand snatched Clark's bare wrist.  With no one there to stop it, the barrages of images pounded down on Clark's mind.  It was the growth and inevitable destruction of his friendship with Lex:

-The lies of Club Zero and Dr. Hamilton.

-The investigation by Nixon.

-The fascination with the Kawatche caves.

-The turbulent summer in Metropolis and on the island.

-The missing seven weeks after the electroshock therapy.

-The room that houses Lex's obsession with the mystery of Clark Kent.

-The global search for the three stones of Knowledge.

-The experiments with meteor rock and cover-up of the Kryptonian ship.

-The breaking of their friendship on Clark's part.

-The constant conflicts between each other and presence of Superman.

-The day when Lex Luthor is elected president and with a call of war, destroys the world.

-The death of Lex Luthor at the hands of Superman.

With nothing left to show, the vision ended and released its hold on the two viewers.  Clark could only stare down at Lex with horrifying disbelief that their lives would change that badly.  He watched as Lex's glowing green eyes faded once more but this time, left a white covering over his pupils and he heard Lex speak in a small voice unbecoming of Luthors.

"Clark, I can't see."

End