Naruto grunted as he worked out to keep his body occupied from his urges, he grunted as his arms shook as he forced the tractor into the air and with a heave he tossed it up and quickly rolled from beneath it as it fell to the ground
Reaching over the the lead case Naruto closed it giving him a break from the kryptonite exposure. Standing up, Naruto walked out with a towel to clean his face and saw Chloe, Pete, and Lana arrive,
"Hey what's up?' Pete asked seeing the sweaty Naruto, "You know you should take it easy on your chores."
"I'm sick not dead." Naruto said as that was the lie that was being used, "How was rock hunting?"
"Terrible. Mr. Summers blew up at Eric today." Chloe said
"Sounds like the usual thing with those two." Naruto replied
"Oh no this was different, he actually called him a disappointment in front of the entire class. Eric was so torn up about it he ran off and jumped off the bridge." Pete said
"Damn. How's Mr. Summers taking it?'
"He was completely unbothered." Lana said
"Wait, the guy blows up at his son and immediately after said son kills himself and he is unfazed?" Naruto asked
"I know." Pete said
"Okay, getting off this depressing subject." Chloe said suddenly looking at Naruto, "I have an interview with Lex coming up in 2,days, do you think you can help me out?"
"Sure." Naruto said smiling
2 Days Later, Luthor Mansion
Naruto was standing behind the camera as Chloe sat in front of Lex, "So, Mr. Luthor. Are there anymore secret construction projects going on at LuthorCorp like Level 3?"
"Please, call me Lex." Led said
"Okay, Lex. Are you going to answer my question?" Chloe asked raising an eyebrow as Naruto smiled before a guard entered
"Excuse me, Mr. Luthor. Your father's on the phone."
"I need to get this. I'll take it in the conservatory. I look forward to resuming our verbal judo." Led said getting a nod from Chloe before he got up and left
Outside
A red muscle car was parked off the road with 3,men all wearing ski masks, were pumping themselves up, "All right boys, this is the big one. Let's go!"
"Yeah, let's do it!" the driver yelled before they all got our the car and ran toward Luthor Mansion
Inside
Naruto was sitting on the desk as he had his hands on Chloe's hips, as they kissed, before she pulled away, "I wonder if he's really taking a call or if he's just trying to avoid me."
"Well I hope he stays gone, so we can continue." Naruto said smiling as Chloe laughed and kissed his lips before she noticed an old cup, "Wow. That's really cool. Do you think it's real?" she asked walking over to it as Naruto groaned and walked over to the cup
"With all the money Lex has, it wouldn't be surprising if it is." Naruto said only to get no response and he quickly turned around, "Of course your around snooping."
Walking out Naruto went searching for Chloe, "Chloe? Chloe."
The three robbers were suddenly in the room watching Naruto leave, "Okay, the vault's in the wall behind the bookcase."
"How do you know?" Man2 asked following man1
"I got my sources." Man1 said
"He was doing one of the housekeepers." Man3 said
"Oh, yeah." Man2 cheered as they walked to the bookcase
"We got 5 minutes. Let's move." Man1 said before Naruto reentered
"Where the hell are my..." Naruto paused as he noticed the 3 thieves.
"Get him." Man1 demanded and Naruto was about to sped forward but saw the surveillance camera in the corner
Man2 rushed Naruto and threw a punch that Naruto ducked under and watched him before Man2 tried another punch but before he could Naruto stepped forward and ducked while bringing up his elbow that slammed into the nose of Man2, before Naruto stepped forward as Man2 stumbled back and delivered 3 kicks to the thief's ribs and jumped before kicking the man in the head sending him flying over the table unconscious
Man1 rushed Naruto who jumped at him with a knee that slammed into his chest sending Man1 to the ground,
Ducking quickly as Man3 swung a crowbar at his head, Naruto noticed he only had one hand, as he continued to dodge the swings of Man3 as Man1 snuck behind him,
Pushing Man3 back Naruto ran and jumped before using Man3's shoulder to flip and kick Man1 in the head as Man3 stumbled back before Naruto ran over and punched him repeatedly till he went unconscious
"Nate." Lex said beside Chloe in the doorway looking at Naruto who was ready to continue punching
Naruto backed up as Lex looked around at the men and back to Naruto who was unharmed
Later,
Naruto, and Chloe watched as Lex gave his statement to the cops, "How did they get in?'
"I don't know, but I'm glad I came there's no telling what would've happened had you walked in there alone." Naruto frowned as Chloe placed a hand on his shoulder as they watched the police as Lex looked over to Naruto
Week Later, Smallville High
Naruto, Pete, and Chloe walked out of class into the hall, "There is nothing like 50 minutes of Mr. Austin's English class that works up an appetite." Naruto said
"There's nothing like having a 6-page student biography due Monday to help me lose mine." Pete replied
"What, the biography part, or the fact that our fellow student subjects were randomly assigned?" Chloe asked
"Pete's convinced that the drawing was fixed." Naruto said
"There are a dozen ladies in our class, each worthy of lengthy interrogation. I get stuck with Stan Gibson." Pete complained
"The manager of the student store? Well, I hear he's very..." Naruto trailed off
"Efficient?" Chloe asked as the two smiled while Pete frowned
"Very funny. I'm about to learn more about the art of selling "Go Crow" pendants than any human should have to endure. You haven't stopped smiling since we left. Who's your victim?" Pete asked Chloe
"The illustrious Mr. Kent himself." Chloe said patting Naruto's chest
"Oh!" Pete smiled looking to Naruto who rose an eyebrow "I take it back. Chloe's the one with the challenge."
"What you mean?" Naruto asked
"No offense, Nate, but digging up six pages of interesting on you is going to require some serious excavation." Pete said
"I have you know I live a very entertaining life." Naruto replied
"Yes, and I'm sure that once I deploy my journalistic skills on you, I'll be able to unearth a skeleton or two." Chloe smiled
"Cough up. Who'd you get?" Pete asked Naruto who opened his mouth to speak
"Oh, don't tell me. Lana Lang. Oh, my God. Just look at his face. You don't even have to see it." Chloe said as Naruto held the card
"Like I said, definitely rigged. I can assume you'll be starting your paper ASAP?" Pete asked
"I've been helping Lana over at the Talon, getting ready for the grand opening. It works out." Naruto shrugged
"Oh, that's nice." Pete said sarcastically
"On that note...Hit me later Chloe." Naruto waved walking off
"See ya." Chloe waved
Talon
Lana glared at the contractor who was half assing his job, "You promised me everything would be ready on time."
"That was before the plumbing started leaking. It hasn't been replaced in years." the contractor said dismissively
"How long will that take?" Lana asked frowning
" I can't really give you a straight answer, not until I crawl up there. You resurrect the past, you get the problems that come with it." the contractor shrugged
"Lex Luthor is going to be by later. He's going to need numbers and a timetable and a better explanation than that." Lana said before a man walked in, "Sorry, we're not open yet."
The man smiled, "It's about the assistant manager position. I know I'm late but if I could get an application." he said
"Yeah. Yeah, just give me a second." Lana said withholding a sigh as the contractor really had annoyed her before she walked over to the desk with the man falling in step behind her
"Great. I really appreciate this, Miss, uh..." The man trailed off
"Lang." Lana said handing the man a application
"Lang." the man nodded
"And just to warn you, my aunt's not taking anymore interviews until next week." Lana said
"Well, that's all right. I happen to have all the time in the world. I'm Jude Royce." Jude smiled
"Hi." Lana nodded moving a box as the man looked at his application
"So I understand that Lex Luthor has a stake in this project." Jude said looking around
"Yeah, he's one of the owners. Why, do you know him?" Lana asked
"A lifetime ago in Metropolis."
"Must have been interesting." Lana said
"Well, let's just say there's a reason he's in Smallville. You know my advice? Stay away from him. When Lex gets involved, things usually turn out badly." Jude said before Naruto entered
"Hey." Naruto greeted walking up to Lana who smiled at him and looked to Jude
"Excuse me." Lana said walking over to Naruto and the two sharing an embrace and began to talk while Jude slithered off as Lex entered as Lana looked to Jude and saw him gone but the application still there
"Everything okay?" Lex asked
"Just a little weirded out." Lana said honestly
"Relax, it's just a leak." Lex smiled
"No, a friend of yours came by, applied for the assistant manager position. He told me to, um, to stay away from you." Lana said causing Lex to frown
"What was his name?" Lex asked
"Jude Royce." Lana said showing Lex the application as Naruto noticed Lex grow pale
"What is it, Lex?" Naruto asked
"When did he leave?" Lex asked
"He was just here." Lana said watching as Lex rushed out the Talon and began to look around while Naruto and Lana shared a look and Naruto followed him
"Lex. Who's Jude Royce?" Naruto asked causing Lex to sigh
"Trust me, Nate. I have no idea who Lana met today, but it couldn't have been him. Don't worry about it, Nate. I'm not." Lex smiled before he got into his car and turned it on before loud music began to play
"What's going on?" Naruto asked over the music
"I don't know!" Lex yelled freaking out as he tried to cut the music off or down but couldn't so Naruto used his x-ray vision to see where the music was coming from and saw a cd player underneath the dashboard
"Feel under the dash!" Naruto said causing Lex to glance at him and do so, before he ripped the cd player from his dash
"Looks like someone decided to get creative while I was inside." Lex said with a frown
"What were the screams?" Naruto asked
"I assume it was someone's twisted idea of a joke. And a successful one. We've managed to draw a crowd." Lex said as Naruto glanced behind him to see a crowd of civilians all looking at Lex in disapproval
"Lex..."
"Nate, this really doesn't concern you." Lex interrupted
"Okay, I'll stay out of it." Naruto said stepping back as Lex nodded before he sped off while Lana walked up to Naruto
"Are you going to stay out of it?"
"Yeah, I'm have no business poking around in Lex's past. When he's ready to tell me what going on he will." Naruto said with a shrug before he looked to Lana, "Ready to do this project?"
Lana smiled before the two headed into the coffee shop
Later
Naruto was standing outside on his phone with his cousin, "Barry, you seriously need to take your head out the science books, and go on a date."
"I date." Barry said
"Going out with Iris as friends is not a date. Look man just tell her how you feel, before she finds someone else and settle down with him. The worst thing she can say is no."
"If she said no it would be awkward to be around her."
"It'll pass, the both of you have grown up together, you will always be apart of each others lives. All you need to do is take that leap bare, and who knows she could be willing to give dating you a shot." Naruto said
"I'll think about it, tell Aunt Martha that I miss her." Barry said
"Alright, love you cousin." Naruto said
"Love you too." Barry replied before they both hung up
Lex walked up looking a bit rattled
"Everything okay?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow
"A dismembered hand was found in the Talon.'
Naruto frowned, but nodded, "Lana must be upset."
"She's frustrated, and she has a right to be." Lex said before he looked to Nsruto who was watching the moon, "Your not going to ask?"
"Whatever secrets you have from your past are your own. I'm your friend not some nosey sonovabitch that think it's my right to have every scrap of informationon my peers." Naruto shrugged as Lex frowned, "When your ready to tell me, you will. As your friend all I have to do is be paitent with you."
Lex looked guilty and made to speak when a red light began to blink, causing Naruto to frown, "Someone is here."
Getting up Lex followed Naruto to the barn, "What is that?" he asked
"Motion sensors are around the property to prevent anyone or thing from getting in or out." Naruto said before he grabbed his dads shotgun and as he looked at the computer that told him where the sensor was tripped her narrowed his eyes
"Im coming with you." Lex said
"Free country." Naruto smirked before he ran out, "Just hope you can keep up in your suit."
Lex followed Naruto over a ridge and they saw two men at the edge of the farm unloading barrels from a car, "Hey!" Naruto yelled causing the men to jumped and drop the barrels before they tried to get into the car but Naruto quickly shot the front and back tires out as he and Lex walked forward while he reloaded before they dropped down when the men opened fire
"Call 911." Naruto said to Lex as he army crawled forward into the tree line, and blurred forward careful not to use to much of the Speed Force to gain a lightning trail, and he stopped on the side of the men who paused and reloaded their weapons before standing up and shooting over the car without looking and silently he stalked forward
Lex who just called the cops watched Naruto from his refuge, and was about to get up to try and stop his friend who shot the shotgun and took out one of the gunmen striking his kneecap, before Naruto used the weapon as a bat and knocked the other man down with a swing to the face
Rotating the shotgun, Naruto aimed at the man as his partner whimpered and Lex ran over, "I know you. Your that guy who was looking for a job at the Talon." Naruto said before he looked over to the barrels to see that it was LuthorCorp waste, "Lex."
Lex looked over and frowned seeing the barrels, "You've been trying to ruin my reputation, why?"
"Mannie never talked about her family?" the man asked
"She said she had a brother in Central City, she said he was in prison and she was the only person that kept in touch with him."
"She was my lifeline when I was inside, you see I never had a rich daddy to keep me out of jail."
"Why?"
"Vengeance." the man shrugged
"What do you mean? Where's Amanda?"
"She's dead, Lex. She committed suicide over a year ago."
"And in her memory you thought to kill an innocent man and end back up in prison." Naruto said
"Innocent? It's his fault that she-"
"Killed herself." Naruto interupted looking down at the man, "Some could say that it's yours, as her brother it was your job to watch out for her, you were in jail when she needed you, and you used her as an excuse to end right back there."
The man glared at Naruto, while rising, "You motherfu-"
Naruto kicked the man in the face knocking him out, before sirens were heard, "You okay?" he asked Lex
"I didn't know."
"No one can prevent human nature, Lex. He's a grown ass man, shifting blame for his own shortcomings. It's not your fault." Naruto said getting a nod from Lex
Day Later, Talon
Everyone was in the Talon when Naruto walked in with a long sleeve Henly, some black jeans and Chuck Taylors, and a gift, when Lana walked over, "So? What do you think?
"I'm definitely surprised." Naruto smiled looking around
"Me too. Where's Chloe?" Lana asked looking around
"She said she wanted to be fashionably late. I got this for you." Naruto said handing her a present as she looked at it hesitantly, "It's not a hand."
Lana smiled before she opened it and gasped seeing a picture of the Talon when it first opened
"So I took a trip and took a photo of Talon when it first opened. Thought maybe you can hang it up over the counter."
Lana looked at the picture smiling before she looked at the smiling Naruto in confusion, "You took this?" she asked getting a smirk, "You took a trip...through time?"
"Yes. Cool huh?" Naruto asked getting an awed nod from Lana before they joined the party
Meanwhile
Chloe had been intensely working on her project for Naruto, she did interviews with people around town and Martha and all of them had good things to say about Naruto, but she also did some digging into his adoption and the company that handled it went out of business soon as it was finished and she wanted to know why, she saved all the information she found and promised to tell Naruto when she knew everything
Finished
I took so long with this one because as I am sure some of y'all heard the actress who played Chloe was involved in some fuckshit, I know people who have survived human trafficking and rape so I was tempted to just abandon this story all together, but I decided to change out the actress
Any suggestion on a new actress is welcome, I would kill her off, but Chloe is a huge part of Smallville and it wouldn't make sense as to why Naruto wouldn't be able to save her in time.