Ch.53

Earl got to retire with his wife and child when she took him back. Multiple families and the entire town of Smallville sued LuthorCorp for exposing their town to his dangerous experiments through the crops he was experimenting on. Add to that the children that'd been in danger during the field trip and LuthorCorp paid out another ten million in damages and took a massive PR hit. The plant wasn't closing, but TR Industries already said if it did that they'd hire everyone effected on the spot and train them to work for higher paying jobs in the company.

Lionel wasn't ready to pull out of Smallville and noting that TR Industries had military contracts, he wasn't about to go head to head with a company that had government backing. Granted it was body armor, reinforced tanks and other things that didn't involve weapons technology, but it was all government backed nonetheless. TR Industries had grown to be a big name all over the US for now and employed more people from Smallville and Kansas as a whole than any other three companies combined including LuthorCorp, Queen Industries and Swann Industries.

It had been a silent corporation that made no big waves in the area, but on the Country level it'd done a hell of a lot. River was the power and face as a Queen of technology and innovation. Lionel simply hadn't expected TR Industries had such a foothold and origins in Smallville. I didn't particularly care and his security wasn't getting into our walls so it didn't matter.

River and he had met several times and she'd made it clear that she didn't care for him nor would she capitulate to his greedy self indulgent ways. He'd made several passes at her and she told him her security would see him out before they were forced to taser him and drop him in the slums to be beaten and robbed by locals if he ever tried anything. River was a reader and TR Industries had bullet and bomb proof glass, weapons sensors and force fields. The vehicles were even more secure and there was no chance in hell Lionel would get a chance to poison or assassinate her.

I'd pay money to any fool who could kidnap her with her skills. She was as deadly as I was in that regard with or without the suits. Kara was her head of security most days when she had such meetings and she wasn't to be fucked with either. Hell, even the Talon had a similar setup so there was no chance in hell there'd be any problems especially since I was there most days when I wasn't teaching at the community center across the street next to Nell's shop.

Lex and Clark were able to save their friendship even with Lionel being vilified. Clark did however come across a problem when Sam Phelan, a corrupt Metro PD, saw him use his power to stop a bus. Sam came to town and ended up with his stolen internal affairs files and packed bags while drunk, unconscious and holding an empty gun in Metropolis on the side of the road near the police department. He'd done the dumb thing and went with suicide by cop on that account.

I told Clark what happened and that he'd been shot when he chose not to be taken alive instead of going to prison. He said I set him up and I shrugged. "He had the choice to go quietly. He chose not to and got himself dead for it. I merely gave him his options, nothing more."

Clark didn't like it and I shrugged. "Your secret is safe and apart from abducting him and dropping him on another planet, this was the only way it would remain so. Hate me for it all you like kid, I don't care. I'm old, a warrior and I've killed more people than any war you can imagine. I was responsible for the universe I was in collapsing and killing trillions of lives to save the few million we could. I chose that option because it was on me to decide how to save what we could and I'd do it again. Your life means more to the world than a corrupt cop who was unrepentant. Hate me for it or suck it up and realize it's not your fault because you can't stop me from making those decisions to protect you and this world."

My rant ended and Clark told me to stay away from him. I shrugged and told him I'd be around to make the decisions he never could because as shitty as it was, sometimes there wasn't a way out and you had to decide between something bad or letting something worse happen. I left him there and heard Johnathan of all people telling Clark that he didn't necessarily agree with my methods, but he wouldn't judge me for protecting his family. He told Clark I was with Kara and to keep her from danger I'd protect him and he couldn't fault me for how I do what he can't.

Clark ended up handling an invisible psycho out to get Lex and destroyed the green roses that were being used to make said kid invisible, or did he? The truth was simpler because I'd taken half of said roses to River for her experiments for the military's stealth technology. Bob Rickman came to town and ended up trying to buy the Kent farm only I'd stopped him with power dampener cuffs. He was spitting mad but I knocked his ass out and told Johnathan. "He can compel people by skin contact to do anything he wants. His power won't work on Kara or Clark, but he was going to force you to sell your farm. It's how he gets away with stuff from the EPA. I have video proof of him talking the last EPA agent into committing suicide in Metropolis when the agent tried to prevent him from moving into Smallville."

I opened my phone and called the sheriff whom came before I explained Rickman's meteorite power and showed him the video evidence of him using it, green energy and all to talk a man into suicide. I told him Rickman was about to force Johnathan to sell his farm to make it a chemical dumping site before I showed up. Sheriff Ethan took the meteorite man away and thanked me for the cuffs TR Industries had donated to the police department for Tina Greer and others like her.

I nodded and gave him the video evidence before Bob Rickman was in jail for murder amongst so many other things as his company went under fast. Kara and Clark were hanging out a lot lately so when Clark lost his powers to Eric Summers, she alerted me right away and when Eric went of the deep end, I knocked his ass out with a spell and used Thor's hammer to summon lightning to transfer the powers back to Clark with a meteor rock.

Eric Summers was found by the police and sent to Belle Reve. Some assholes tried to Rob the mansion with meteorite tattoos and ended up electrocuted in a forcefield just inside the house. The cops were called once the meteorite tattoos wore off and River was able to give the cops the location of their hangout and where the one guy's missing arm was located. They were sent to prison for multiple robberies with proof of everything at their hideout.

A few weeks later Lex was kidnapped and nearly murdered because of his past at Club Zero, the reason he was sent to Smallville to start with. Proof of Lex's ties to a meteorite experiment and how it nearly killed Johnathan, Lana and an inside man of Lionel's was leaked to the public because the apple doesn't fall far from the tree after all.

TR Industries was able to provide a cure for the Nicodemus flower's poison within the nick of time thanks to the cops seizing the evidence and getting it to River. Sheriff Ethan had personally delivered the evidence needed to make the cure and it saved three lives in all. Lex was not happy, but then the town wasn't happy with him either. A month later a psychic boy was found by Martha and I dropped a tip to Ethan where he could find his robbers looking to make another score.

Lex's driver was arrested alongside the fake child services agent that showed up to take Ryan. As for the boy, he learned River was a reader like himself and we learned his power came from a tumor we were able to remove with nanites. He made a full recovery and went to live with his aunt as a normal boy even knowing our secrets. I sort of missed the Reaper incident due to not being so into the Kent's business, but the Queen Bee crap was stopped with a suppression cuff to the girl doing it after the first attack.

The bees were killed off with icy breath and Sheriff Ethan arrested the girl responsible for the attack. A telekinetic ended up killing the high school principal and getting arrested for it just afterwards. Then a corrupt cop kidnapped Chloe only to be found by myself and Kara flying over and X-Raying everywhere. We called it in and she was saved while he died suicide by cop.

A rushed special edition had the LuthorCorp plant closing. TR industries stepped in and hired all twenty-five hundred people besides Lex of course. Chloe's father was one of the big hires and all of them found their new jobs came with a big raise and no chance of losing their jobs over a spat within the Luthor family. They had to learn new things of course, but it wasn't much different because TR Industries was a corporate powerhouse as well.

Lex lost the chance for an employee buyout due to the employees being hired at TR Industries and Lionel selling the plant to River out from under Lex when he tried to stay. The only thing that remained LuthorCorp property was the mansion/castle and the grounds it was on. Lex did manage to hold onto that himself using his own funds. In the meantime Roger Nixon tried starting shit with Clark, but Kara was there and they found the bomb Roger planted, used the recording she had to of Roger planting it and I knocked the asshole out until sheriff Ethan came.

He got the bomb squad to deactivate and remove the bomb before arresting Roger Nixon for domestic terrorism. Local Sheriff arrests domestic terrorist reporter trying to blow up local farm boys was a catchy headline and Ethan was a guaranteed lock for the next race for sheriff's office. Add to that the funding he received as well as the military grade body armor and reinforced vehicles donated by TR Industries and he was damned shiny at the moment. It even beat out the LuthorCorp plant shutdown as headlines since there wasn't a loss for the town.

The Luthors had effectively lost most of their pull in town with the plant shut down and converted into TR Industries corn and wheat processing factory. The old employees had been hired on as new security measures were added and safety protocols were put into place.

All the nooks and crannies had been searched and cleaned out before the processing factory was upgraded and brought online. Fertilizer was made and processed there as well as corn and wheat being processed by the tons and shipped all across the US to stores.

The tornadoes hit and Lionel Luthor was affected while I'd been forced to save Lana since Clark was busy at the dance. I picked up the truck after telling her to stay inside and buckle up. I ran to the mansion and once inside the gates, I closed them. A forcefield glowed and protected the grounds while I called Kara and told her to tell Clark that Lana was safe at the mansion.

I hung up as Lana got out of the truck and looked at the fifteen year old girl who had a ton of questions. I headed inside and told her to come in or stay in the driveway, either way she was safe. She looked up and saw the forcefield holding back the tornados even when they fused into a super tornado. She asked how I did that and what was stopping the tornados.

I grunted as she followed me inside and Inara told her about the metahumans afflicted by meteorite poisoning. She told Lana I was insanely strong, durable and fast. River spoke up while passing me a drink. "As for what's stopping the super tornado outside, that would be advanced forcefield technology, something we'll soon be applying to all of Smallville to prevent such disasters again if possible. We're still working out the kinks, but it's enough to protect the property for now."

Lana looked at me and thanked me but I waved her off. "You weren't far away and I was out for a walk to see if the tornadoes could hurt me anyways. Think nothing of it."

She nodded and thanked me anyways before I went outside and repaired the truck while River checked Lana over for her mild concussion. When the storm ended half a barn was blocking the road in front of the mansion. I shoved it off the road and finished the repairs on the truck before helping find survivors. Lana left after promising not to reveal my secrets.

Kara and Inara joined me while River organized search parties and a town cleanup. Martha and Johnathan were safe and fine with Clark's ship in their storm cellar. Still, I offered them a place in our property during anymore natural disasters.