X-Men Caught In The Storm

_**Caught In The Storm**_

**A Strange New Place**

Ororo Monroe awoke to the sounds of a train racing fiercly across it's tracks somewhere close by.

"_Where am I?_" she wondered blinking rapidly trying to recognize her surroundings.

Slowly she came to the realization that she was lying in an unmade bed chained down with her old xmen uniform tattered and torn hugged snugly to her body. She suppresed a strangled sob in her throat as she realized the seriousness of her situation. She obviously was being held captive, but by whom and why? How did she get here and what exactly was this place? From what she gathered she was in what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. Outside the building she could the faintest sounds of thunder rumbling across the sky. She reasoned with her self to remain calm. Suddenly a man walked into the room dressed in an impeccably sharp looking buisness suit. As he drew closer she saw that he was carrying a bottle of wine and two crystal stem glasses.

"So the goddess awakes. You're a sight for sore eyes I must say," he grinned sitting in the chair beside the bed and setting the contents he was holding on the small night stand beside him.

"Who are you? I demand you let me go," she said defiantly struggling to keep the fear she was feeling out of her voice.

The man laughed highly amused.

"You have it all wrong, my dear. You are not being kept here against your will. You are free to leave whenever you please," he said simply pouring wine into both glasses.

Ororo was confused and startled when he she moved her arms to find that the restraints easilly fell away. If she wasn't here as a prisoner then why was she here? Nothing was making sense to her.

"You know, your eyes and hair are highly unusual for a woman of your color if you don't mind me saying," he observed sipping his wine before offering her a glass.

She was dreadfully thirsty but she didn't dare drink anything from the man she knew nothing about.

"Why am I here?" she hissed glaring indignantly at him.

"Because I saved your life. My men found you half dead washed up on a beach. Do you remember anything?" he asked intently.

Ororo struggled to remember, but her last memory had been flying the fighter jet to some island and everything else was hazy.

"No, I cannot recall. Who are you?" she asked softly.

"Lionel. Lionel Luthor. And you are my dear?" he asked pleasantly.

"Storm. My friends call me Storm. I am very gratefull for your help Mr. Luthor and if there is any way I can repay you...," she trailed off.

"I insist you caome to my home where I can see that you get some food, a bath, and some rest before you depart home. I'm sure you have friends who are very worried about you," he announced before rising to his feet.

"I can not rember," she said quietly.

"Don't worry my dear. If they are out there I'm sure they'll find you. Shall we?" he smiled offering his hand down to help her up from the bed.

"Mr. Luthor," she started.

"Please. Mr. Luthor is much too formal for me. Call me Lionel," he siad charmingly, coaxing a smile out of her.

"Thank you," she said graciously before placing her slender hand in his his and letting him lead her out of the building.

**The Search For Ororo**

Lorona jumpled startled as Remy slammed his fist on the Professor's desk glaring menicingly at Scott who was sitting behind it staring back at the cajun calmly.

"Listen, Lebeau, I know you're upset," he started.

"Homme' you ain't seen the extent of Remy being upset. I want a team to go back out to the damned island and look for Stormy. I refuse to write her off dead like the rest of ya," Remy growled.

Scott rose from his chair trying to assert his authority back into the meeting that was being held debating Ororo's status. It's been a week since she had disappeared and while it pained him to admit it to himself he really believed Ororo to be dead. Now was the time to make it official. The weather witch's abscence was causing tension throughout the team. While sensible people like himself wanted to lay Ororo's memory to rest, those who were especially close to her like Remy, Jubilee, and Warren however wanted to believe her to still be alive.

"Remy, I know it's hard for you, but maybe you should face the facts. You were there as we all were. You saw the explosion," Bobby said gently.

Remy whirled around and sent a chilling glare in the ice man's direction.

"You forget, mon ami. Remy was indispose when all that happened. Trust me, if I was even half concious I wouldn't have left Stormy behind," he snapped.

Anna stood up and walked over to Remy placing a gloved hand on his shoulder. She hated seeing her ex boyfriend angry like this and she knew her voice of reason would be the only thing to calm him. She loved Ororo like a sister and she grieved for her deeply, but it was time to move on.

"Ah am so sorry, bout Ororo, Remy. Ah know she was like a sister to ya but there's nothin more we can do. Ororo's gone," she said softly.

Remy shrugged her hand away roughly.

"Ya don't get it do you? When you love somebody you don't give up hope untill you know for sure that they are dead. I don't know for sure so therefore I'm not abandoning her. I know all too well what that feels like," he said coldly glowering at her causing her too look away with tears in her eyes.

"What are you planning to do, luv? If she was alive would not she had surfaced by now?" Lorona asked in her thick British accent.

"Maybe she's in trouble. I will find her. With or without your help," Remy said with a steely look of determination in his red on black eyes.

Without another word he stormed out of the office, and nearly collided with Warren who had been casually eaves dropping at the office door.

"Dat's not very angelic like homme," Remy smirked brushing past him.

"I want to help you look for Ororo," he blurted going after the Cajun.

"Remy travels alone padnat," he replied flatly.

"You're not the only one who cares about the goddess," Warren said curtly ignoring the death glare the demon eyed man shot him as he followed him uninvited into his bedroom.

"Stormy, asked you not to refer to her as dat, boy," Remy said sternly, as he began to grab the necessities for his journey.

"She asks you not to call her Stormy and you do so anyways," he retorted.

"You're not going and dat's final," Remy said in a tone meant to end the discussion.

"Not going where?"

Both men looked up to see Jubilee standing in the doorway cautiously.

"Lebeau is going to look for Ororo and he won't let me join him," Warren spat.

Jubilee crossed the threshold and stepped into the room with a hopeful expression on her face.

"Ya got to let us go," she pleaded.

"Petite," Remy groaned trying to avoid the asian girl's beseeching gaze.

"Forget it, Jubilee. He's not going to change his mind. Come, we'll conduct a search of our own," the winged man stated turning to walk out the room with Jubilee on his heels.

"Non! You two are too inexperianced to go out into the field alone. Mon Dieu! Ya can come, but Remy's leaving in twenty minutes asnd he better see the both of ya ready to go in the foyer or you'll be left behind," he said relenting.

He watched amused as the young adults scrambled out of his room to go gather thier things. It flattered him that both of them was so concerned about his Stormy. He suspected that Jubilee's reason was because she truly loved the Ororo and had a bond with the wind rider that she didn't have with anyone else in the mansion. Warren reason was because the arch angel was hopelessy in love with Ororo. Remy smirked at the latter. Warren could keep dreaming because Stormy was his and his alone. After Logan had broke her heart he swore the only man allowed in the weather witch's heart was him. As he reached for the extra deck of playing cards he kept on his dresser, his eyes were riveted to a picture of him and Ororo on his night stand. Remy smiled to himself as he remembered the night the photo had been taken. They had went to a carnival last year for her birthday and had a blast. He had won her a huge black and white panda that sat on her lap as Kitty took the picture. Her head was relaxed on his shoulder, her aquatic blue eyes sparkled with merriment, and a huge rare grin was plastered on her serene face. He felt his heart ache with a dull pain and hot tears stung the corners of his eyes as he quickly turned away from the photograph.

"Remy's gonna find ya, Stormy. He promise," he vowed quietly before heading down to the car garage.

**A Boy Named Clark**

"Lionel, you have a lovely home," Ororo marveled as she traveled down the halls of the enchanted mansion.

"Thank you, Storm. It appears you have an appreciation for the ancient war civilization which is quite rare. Not many people share in your delight," he said impressed.

He showed her to a spacious bedroom and requested after she had took care of everything she nedded to meet him in his study. Ororo was startled when a maid came into the room and drew her bath. After thanking her she polietly dismissed the timid woman feeling the urge to be alone so she could collect her thoughts. Stripping out of her uniform, she gently lowered herself into the ivory tub, sighing softly as she marinated in the much needed bath water. As she soaked, she considered calling the mansion, but her memory was a bit hazy so she couldn't remember the number much less the location. Her aquatic blue eyes welled up with tears of frusteration. She was confused and hurt that she had been left washed on a beach like mere seaweed left for dead. Why would the people who supposed to had cared about her leave her like that and why wasn't anyone searching for her now? An hour later she stepped out of the tub, fully wrapped in a fluffy black towel. She smiled as she spotted a beautiful white sundress had been placed on the king sized bed. She towel dryed her hair before letting it fall limp around her shoulders and sliding into the dress. Moments later she stepped out of the room and preceded down the hall to find Lionel's office. She came to a study with the door opened and two younger men engaged in a heated conversation.

"Pardon me, but could eithier of you point me in the direction of Lionel's office?" she asked polietly.

Lex looked up at the woman standing in the threshold of his office and recoiled stunned. He was absolutely at a loss for words. The woman was breath takingly beautiful. For a moment he almost forgot Clark was in the room untill he heard the farm boy speak.

"Mr. Luthor stepped out. There was an emergency he had to see to. Hi, I'm Clark," the dark haired boy introduced himself flashing her a dazzling smile.

"I'm Lex," Lex interjected warmly.

"Hello, Lex, Clark. My name is Storm," she said pleasantly.

"That's a pretty name, Storm. I must ask, how did my father managed to land a woman like you to his dungeon? You seem like you are a very intelligent lady, and some how I don't see you mixed up in doing buisness with the likes of him," Lex asked curiously pouring himself a glass of Brandy and offering Ororo a glass as well.

"No thank you, I-," she started.

Lex phone chirped cutting the wind rider off. He glanced at the caller I.D. and smiled apologetically at her.

"Please forgive me. It's a very important call that I must take," he murmered stepping out the office and walking briskly down the hall.

"I'm sorry if Lex made you uncomfortable with his questions," Clark started.

"No, it is fine. Lionel found me nearly dead on a beach and saved my life. That is how he came by me," she explained.

Ororo saw the curiousity in the man's eyes, but it was over shadowed by his respect not to press the subject. She admired that and measuring Clark she realized that he was very attractive.

"It is okay to ask. I was on a mission and I do not remember much except that I was in a fighter jet and there was an explosion. Everything after that is a bit blurry," she said quietly.

"That's terrible, Storm. I'm sorry," he said stricken.

"Do not be. I shall rejoin my friends and faimly soon. Problem is, I suffered a bit of a memory lost and finding them will prove a great challenge for me," she sighed softly.

"Were your friends with you when the accident happened?" he inquired gently.

"Yes, but I was alone in the jet when the explosion happened. I faintly recall that our mission was to locate a young mutant girl that had been kidnapped and located in the area where I crashed," she mused.

"Mutant?" Clark asked startled.

"Yes, a mutant girl like myself," she explained.

Suddenly Clark began to get a bad feeling about the whole situation. With Ororo being a mutant he could already figure out what Lionel's plans for her was. He heard all about the infamous room 311.1 where the Luthor's experimented on people mutated by the meteor rocks, but every time he came close to finding it's location, it would relocate to another remote location. This time he would make the first move. He wouldn't allow Ororo to become thier next victim.

"Storm, listen to me. I know what I'm about to say will sound strange, but you cannot stay here with Lionel. You will be putting yourself in danger," he said grimly.

"I do not understand. Lionel saved my life. Why would he want to hurt me?" she asked perplexed.

Clark moved closer to her so that thier voices wouldn't be heard outside of the office.

"The Luthor's are very dangerous men. You cannot trust them. Whatever special abilities you have, they may be looking for a way to exploit them. I know because they had tried to hurt my frinds in the past," he said softly.

"Are you a mutant too, Clark?" she asked curiously.

Clark hesitated before answering her truthfully.

"I'm not a mutant, but I'm not excatly normal eithier," he smiled.

Ororo stared at the man before her studying his face intently. There was no signs that he was lying to her and his blue eyes were filled with clear sincerity.

"I trust you, Clark. If you say it is not safe for me to dwell here then I will leave. I just do not know where to go," she said feeling herself at a lost at the proverbial cross roads.

Clark was about to respond when Lex walked into the office.

"Hey you two. What's the big secret?" he joked smiling at Ororo but glaring a hole through Clark.

"Storm was just telling me how she really didn't feel comfortable here in the mansion, so she agreed to stay with me on my farm," Clark said returning Lex's stony stare.

"Any particular reason for this sudden discomfort, Storm? Or did Clark pour a little poison in your ear about me?" he asked evenly.

"Let it go, Lex. She decided for herself," Clark said his voice hard.

"Yeah, I seriously doubt that, Clark, but go ahead and play your little game. When my father ask the where abouts of his guest it won't be a mystery as to where he can find her," Lex said coldly.

Something in the demeanor of Lex made Ororo uneasy and she was suddenly grateful that Clark convinced her to leave the mansion. There was something off about Lex, but she wasn't exactly sure what it was.

"Tell your father what you want. But know that she's safe with me, and if you two try anything you'll regret it," Clark said in a dangerously low tone that Lex could only hear before leading Ororo out of the mansion.

**Signs That Points To Kansas**  
"Are we there yet?" Warren grumbled becoming restless in the passenger seat of Scott's hot wired Corvette that Remy "borrowed," and was whipping around corners like a speed demon. Jubilee sighed annoyed. It was the third time that hour Warren had asked the same repetative question and she was ready to strangle the angel. They had been on the road for less than a day and already everyone was cranky. They had just finished searching the island where the explosion had taken place, but they had came up empty handed. Pulling up to a motel, they decided to turn in for the night before continuing thier search in the morning at first light.

"Why do I have to sleep on the floor?" Warren complained as they walked into the two bed room.

"We'll rotate," Remy growled taking off his jacket, tossing it on the bed. He was becoming irritated with Warren's constant complaing and bitching.

"Where ya goin, Gumbo?" Jubilee inquired turning on the T.V. before flopping down on her bed.

"Remy's gotta take care of a few things. Here's fifty bucks. Order some food for you and the brat," he smirked handing the cash and a phone book to the giggling asian girl before walking out of the room.

Climbing into the Corvette, he sped off loooking for the nearest bar. Fortunately he found one a half a mile from the motel. Walking into the establishment, he smiled pleasantly at the familiar seediness of it. Scantily cald womenlurked around looking for some poor sucker they could con into bed for money, burly men itching for a fight drinking themselves into a cursing rage, and depressed work holics drowning thier sorrows in any and every alcholic beverage of thier choice. Yep, this was home away from home for him. Seating himself down at the bar, he ordered a couple of shots of Southern Comfort before settling down into his barstool eyes glued to a T.V screen playing an football game while lazily listening to the conversations around him. An hour later a couple of men dressed in buisness suits came in and sat a few seats down from him. They ordered beers gripping how hard the week had been working for some dude they called Luthor.

"The kid never had to work for a damn thing in his life, yet that snotty nose bastard can snap his fingers and get whatever the hell he wants," one guy grumbled bitterly.

"His father is worse. Mu cousin had to spaend a whole week int the lab running tests on some broad Lionel found washed up on the beach," another snorted.

Remy ears perked up.

"Yeah, I heard about that. Pretty little nigger girl with white hair and blue eyes. Imagine that. He probably ran test on the little cunt to make sure she didn't have the clap so he could get a piece of ass before giving her to Lex," the third man said crudely.

Remmy gripped his shot glass in his fist so tight that the glass shattered into a million tiny pieces. He was seething. Who did these assholes think they were talking about his Stormy that way? The bartender came over and gave him an odd look.

"Another shot?" he asked wearilly.

"Non, homme," he replied gruffly.

Slowly he got up and made his way over to the men.

"Pardon me, where can I find this Lionel Luthor?" he asked evenly.

"Piss off," one guy snarled downing the rest of his beer.

"Wrong answer, mon ami," he smirked placing his gloved hand on the barstool the man was sitting on charging the wood causing the guy to fall to the wood unconscious from the explosion.

"What the hell-," the other two men leaped up from thier seats ready to attack Remy.

"This isn't really a fair fight," he sighed cracking his knuckles.

With one swift to the nearest guy's jugular, the man was out cold. The remaining guy suddenly became uneasy with the whole situation and tried to make a run for the door. Remy easily caught him by the collar and slammed him through a table causing beer bottles to shatter and the women in the bar to scream.

"Homme, Remy ain't got time to play games so he suggest you start telling him what he wants to hear before he gets really mad," he threatned lowering his face dangerous;y's close to the other man's fac that he could smell the alchol reeling off his adversary's foul breath.

"Ok, Ok! The man you're looking for is in Smallville, Kansas! Please don't hurt me," the man pleaded trembling.

Remy grinned and let the man go before walking out the bar and heading to his car. He was shaking slightly at the revelation that his dearest friend was still alive. He hoped she was ok, and that whoever had her captive didn't hurt her or he'd lose it. Gripping the steering wheel tightly, he drove back to the motel and informed Warren and Jubille of the next day's plans.

**A Kryptonite and A Weather Goddess**

"Mrs, and Mr. Kent, I must let you know how grateful I am for allowing me to stay in your beautiful home," Ororo gushed as she was having dinner with Clark and his mother.

"It's no problem, sweetie. Any friend of Clark's is always welcomed here," she smiled warmly.

Martha couldn't help but be in awe and wonder over her latest house guest. The young woman was so stunningly beautiful that it really should have been a crime. Ironically after Storm had opened her mouth to speak, her physical beauty was almost forgotten. She spoke with an air of intelligence and charm that had her and Johnathan captivated at hello. Thier was something diffrent about her besides her mystical white hair and alluring blue eyes. She seemed almost... regal.

"It's a good thing Clark was there when he was or you might have learned the hard way about those two Luthors," Johnathan Kent said wryly.

Clark shot his father a dirty look before continuing to eat his dinner.

"So, Storm. Where is your parents? I bet they are worried sick about you," Martha asked concerned.

"Well my birth parents died when I was young in a plane crash," she said quietly.

The three Kent's exchanged a stricken look.

"Storm, that's terrible. We're sorry for your loss," Johnathan said softly.

"Thank you. It is in the past. Truthfully, I do not know where my adopted faimly is at the moment. As Clark may have told you Lionel found me washed up on the beach. I do not understand why I was left for dead," she broke off struggling to fight back the tears welling in her eyes.

"Excuse me. I am dreadfully sorry," she whispered her voice thick with emotion as she quickly fled the kitchen.

"Poor thing. This must be hard for her," Martha said sympathetically.

"I'm going to go check on her," Clark said softly before disappearing from the kitchen.

Just then the couple heard thunder rumble loudly outside of the kitschen window.

"Sounds like a storm is comming," Martha noted.

"Funny. The weather man said it would be clear skies all weekend," Johnathan mused to himself puzzled before he went back to eating.

Clark found the Nubian beauty up in his loft where he had shown her earlier that day staring out in the night at the starless sies. Rain was falling heavilly on the roof top of the barn.

"I am sorry, Clark. I usually do not let my emotions get the best of me," she sniffled drying her eyes before turning to face him.

"Everybody cries, Storm. It's what make you human," he smiled sitting down on the couch beside her.

"I am not allow the luxary of showing such emotions as crying. With my abilities I can cause terrible storm if I was not in complete control of my feelings," she said sadly.

"You control the weather," he said suddenly as the impact of her words dawned on him.

"More or less. I like to let Mother Nature run her course. That way I can not hurt people if I lose control of my powers," she admitted.

"I know what it's like to be afraid of your abilities. Trust me," he smiled covering her small hand with his.

She looked at him curiously.

"I still do not understand. If you are not a mutant like me, then how do you posess supernatural abilities?" she inquired.

Clark raked his hand through his dark hair nervously, and Ororo was surprised to find the guesture endearing and incredibly cute.

"I'm not exactly from this planet," he admitted before spilling his entire story about his orgins from Krypton.

Ororo listened intently finding his tale completly enthralling. When he finished he stared at her shyly uncertain what was going through her mind.

"Your secret is safe with me. Also there is something I must share with you. My birth name is Ororo. Storm was just my code name," she said smiling genuinely for the first time all day. She had been uncertain earlier but now she knew she trusted Clark completly.

"I'm so glad to finally find someone who I can tell my secret to who is not only sane and can relate, but dosen't cast me off as some freak. I feel so," he trailed off trying to find the right word to express how he was feeling.

"Free?" Ororo offered and was rewarded by a huge grin that had stretched across Clark's handsome face.

"Exactly," he said impulsively squeezing her hand affectionately.

His beautiful blue gaze met hers and for the first time since Alicia's death he felt deeply connected with another woman. Ororo blushed and looked down at her feet. Clark was so adorably naive and innocent, but in the depth of his eyes she saw that he was matured spiritually beyond his years. There was something so powerful about him that attracted her. Something she didn't understand. Something she didn't want to understand.

"Tomorrow, I'll call my friend Chloe over and she'll be able to help find your friends," he said softly withdrawing his hand.

"Have I already overstayed my welcome?" she teased.

"No! Of course not. I just figured your anxious to find the people who you care about. You could never overstay your welcome here. Trust me, saying goodbye to you is something I'm not looking foward to," he said with unabashed honesty in his voice.

Ororo's heart softned at the wistfulness she heard in his voice. He had been harboring his secret for so long and she understood his reluctance of him not wanting someone who saw him for all that he was to disappear out of his life so quickly. Resting her head on his shoulder they sat there in a comfortable silence for a good part of the night.

**An Old Type Of Hatred**

The next morning Ororo rose to the smells of breakfeast being prepared on the farm. Her smile mirrored the bright sun rays spilling into Clark's bedroom which she was residing in temporarilly. Kicking off the covers, she slippred in an oversized flannel t shirt that Clark gave her the previous night and padded barefooted into the guest bathroom. After a quick shower she slipped into her sundress wrinkling her nose disqusted that she was stuck wearing the same thing two days in a row. Deciding to let her hair air dry she walked downstairs into the kitchen greeting the Kent's before helping to set the table. After breakfeast her and Clark was preparing to head into town when a car pulled up on the dirt road. She noticed Clark's smile fade as a raven haired beauty stepped out of her vehicle and made her way over to them shyly.

"Hi, Clark. Who's your new friend?" the girl asked smiling pleasantly at Ororo.

"Lana, this is Storm. Storm, Lana," Clark introduced neutrally.

"Pleasure to meet you Lana," the weather witch smiled throwing Lana off with her properly clipped tone.

"Same here. Were you two headed into town?" she asked casually.

"Yeah, we needed to pick a few things up for Storm. What brings you by here? I figured you would be out with Lex," he said softly.

Ororo sensed the mounting tension between the two and she grew uncomfortable.

"I will meet you in the truck," she smiled squeezing his bicep lightly before walking away.

"I came here to ask you about Lex. I think something is up with him. He's been blowing me off and keeping things from me," she said sounding hurt.

Clark gritted his teeth in frusteration. He wasn't in the mood or had the time for Lana insecurities.

"Lex has his secrets, Lana. You knew that before you got with him," he sasid flatly.

"Why does everyone feel that they have to hide things from me? Why can't anyone trust me for once?" she exploded tears of frusteration in her light hazel eyes.

"That's something you have to ask Lex," he said gently.

"I'm asking you, Clark. Because as far as I'm concern you were just as guilty as he is now," she said narrowing her eyes and folding her arms across her chest.

Clark flushed lightly.

"Lana, I never meant to hurt you, but the secrets I kept were because I was protecting you," he protested.

"So you think Lex is protecting me?" she asked quietly.

_No because I doubt he even loves you like I did, _he wanted to say but decide against it.

"Listen, I have to go," he said quickly.

"Ok. Stop by the Talon later and see me, ok?" she suggested hopefully.

"Sure," he murmered turning away from her and heading to his truck.

In the back of his mind he could see Lois sneering at him. You just can't say no to princess Lana can you, Clarkie? Why _was_ it that every time Lana came calling he came running every single time? After she sought comfort in his ex best friends arms, he knew he could never bring himself to be with her ever again, but he would admit to himself that he still cared about her. Yet caring for Lana only bought him misery and heartache and he was ready to get over all of that.

"Clark, are you alright? You have been really quiet ever since we left the farm," Ororo's concerned voice pierced through his thoughts.

He flashed his newfound friend an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about some things," he sighed heavilly.

"Is she your girlfriend?" she inquired.

"Was. She's with Lex now," he said gripping the steering wheel tighter.

"Is that why you and Lex are not friends any more?" she asked gently.

"Sort of. I broke up with Lana so she could be happy, but she's not and I think she expects me to come back to her, and I can't and she dosen't understand why. My best friend Pete was right when he said that women were from mars," he grinned not missing the dirty look Ororo was shooting him.

"Well my friend you are from Krypton so what does it say for men like you?" she teased.

Thier uncontrollable laughter drew stares as they pulled into a clothing outlet. After thirty minutes of buying Ororo several outfits to last her the week, Clark decided to stop by the Talon and buy him and Ororo a cup of coffee before heading back t the farm for lunch. As the walked into the quaint coffee shop, Ororo immediatly drew stares in her direction because of her unconventional look. Some of the stares were curious, but others were unkind. Ignoring the attention she was attracted, Ororo followed Clark to a table where they sat awaiting thier orders.

"I'm going to restroom. I'll be back," he said getting up from the table and walking to the back of the shop.

Ororo busied herself with tracing the patterns on the table with her fingernail. A guy came over and sat in Clark's seat across from her.

"You must be new in town. The name's Greg," he said huskilly.

"Storm," she said shortly not bothering to look up.

"Let me buy you a cup of coffee," he offered.

She galnced across the table to see a middle aged guy in flannel familiar to Clark's attire with a beer gut and a face that was severly sun burnt and unattractive.

"No thank you," she said firmly.

"Look, darlin' I'm just looking for some conversation," he tried.

"I do not mean to be rude, but I am really not intrested," she said trying not to sound irritated.

Fortunately Martha intervened bringing over the Frappachino's the pair had ordered.

"Hello, Storm. Where's Clark?" she asked brightly.

"In the restroom. He will be back shortly," she replied gripping the handle of her mug tightly.

"Hey, Martha. Where do you know this pretty little peach from?" Greg asked continuing to stare lustfully at Ororo.

"Greg, why don't you leave? It's obvious that you're making her uncomfortable," Martha said frowning.

Lana came over holding a pot of coffee.

"Is everything alright Mrs. Kent?" Lana asked concerned.

"You better watch out, Lana. This one will definetly give you a run for your money with Clark," he grinned wolfishly.

"Excuse me? Mr. Jones if you insist on starting trouble, I will have to ask you to leave," Lana said coldly.

"Relax, Lana. Maybe once Jonathan gets himself a good look, you won't have a thing to worry about," he started.

Suddenly Ororo shoved her coffee across the table spilling the frozen treat into his lap causing him to yelp in surprise.

"You should go home and take a cold shower. It might help," she smirked.

Without warning he spranged out of the both and grabbed her roughly around her neck slamming her hard against a wall. People in the coffee shop cried out in dismay.

"Greg, let her go," Martha demanded trying to pull him off her. Irate he shoved her away roughly.

"You thought that stunt was funny, nigger? I ought to put a noose around this pretty little neck of yours and show you where your place really is, bitch" he hissed flinging her aside causing her to land on the floor.

Ororo's eys began to white over and as she trembled she tried desperatly to contain the rage flowing through her. Outside lightning streaked across the sky angrilly trying to aid its mistress. Clark who had witness Greg flinging Ororo to the ground grabbed the man and slammed him against the wall where he had Ororo pinned seconds ago.

"Apologize," he ordered in a dangerously low tone, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"I ain't apologizing to no nigg-," Greg started.

Angrilly Clark drew his fist back to strike him.

"Clark don't!" Ororo cried out in unison with his mother.

Inhaling deeply Clark glared coldly at Greg before letting him go. Feeling humiliated Greg stormed out of the coffee shop. Without saying a word Clark lifted Ororo off the floor and leading her away from the prying eyes of the dinners. He was surprised when he felt her slender arms wrap around his muscular waist. Inwardly he was trembling as he wrapped his arms around her protectively and for comfort. He couldn't believe people could say things so cruel. Lana was refilling her coffee pot when she spotted Clark and Ororo out of the corner of her eye locked in a tight embrace and the look on Clark's face sent a pang of jealousy through her. Miffed she turned away and went back to work.

"Ororo," Clark started softly.

"I need to be alone right now," she said quietly, her eyes returning to thier normal color before she walked out of the coffee shop. As she flew through the air alone, a tear of anguish escaped her eye.

**The Hunt Is On**

Lex Luthor walked into the empty ware house where his father had kept Storm with a leather briefcase in his hand and two body guards Keith and Jake at his side. They briskly walked towards the middle of the room where Luthor Corp's most prestiged doctor stood waiting nervously with a folder in his hand.

"Tell me, Alex. You were in charge of overseeeing that Ororo was bought back to me in good condition after her explosion. Can you tell me how my father managed to get to her first?" Lex asked fuming.

"Some of your men are working as double agents, Mr. Luthor. I cannot control that," Alex said stiffly.

"I seriously doubt that Alex, but amuse me. What did you manage to dig up on Storm? Or did you manage to screw that up as well," Lex smirked pulling out his pistol and idly admiring it making the doctor sweat.

"Her blood work is unlike any I have ever seen before. She has an abnormal of white blood cells but nothing that can tell me what she is exactly, except unlike your earlier guess she is in fact human," he started.

"I didn't pay you to tell me whether she was human or not. I could have figured that on my own," Lex growled cocking the weapon.

The doctor stumbled back a few paces.

"I did futher research and found out she served as royalty in Africa," he stammered.

"Humor me. Was she a Kenya princess, or wait, even better, Queen of Egypt?" he asked sarcastically. Keith and Jake tittered softly.

"No, she was a goddess," Alex said flatly.

This got Lex's attention.

"Go on," he said intrigued.

"Several tribes claims she is a weather witch of some sort saying she has the ability to manipulate the weather. I also found this," he muremered handing Lex the folder. Inside was a picture of Storm with a mohawk floating in the air, eyes completly white, with her arms elevated in the air as she summoned the rain falling down around her, completed with an article about the dangers of mutants living among Homo Sapiens.

"This is definetly my Storm," Lex said pleased with the results.

"Yes, but natives refer to her as the beautiful wind rider, Ororo,"the doctor noted.

"Very fitting for such a magnificant creature of divinity," Lex agreed.

Turning to his head body guard he smirked.

"Pay the doctor for his hard work, and then get Nigel on the line. I must confer with him on how I want Storm captured and bought back to me," he said spinning on his heels and walking out of the warehouse.

He was climbing into his limo when he heard two gunshots rang through the air. Now that all the loose ends had been tied up, he could start back planning on all the ways he planned to make Clark's new blue eyed white hair friend useful to him.

**Meeting Chloe**

Ororo sat on the farm's fent post staring lazily out at the sunset int the sky splashed with a mixture of orange and pink colors. She was wearing fitted blue jeans and a green tank top, enjoying the feeling of the warm breeze against her arms and face. Ever since she managed to calm down after the incident that had happened earlier, the evening was turning out to be absolutely beautiful and later she planned on taking to the skies.

"It's a gorgeous evening, Storm. Do we have you to thank for that?" Johnathan Kent teased dragging a stack of hay over preparing to feed his cattle roaming before her.

"It's Mother Nature doing what she does best," she smiled before calling upon a gale of wind tha lifted the hey he had been carrying over the fence and settling in a pile near the water hole.

"Absolutely amazing," he grinned hosting himself up on the fence and settling down next to her.

"Is Clark, okay? I have not seen him all day?" Ororo asked concerned.

Johnathan sighed heavilly as he stared out into the sunset.

"Clark is ashamed. He's never really exposed to racism," he explained.

"Why is he ashamed? He did not degrade me. That filth of a man did," she said indignantly.

He chuckled lightly at the fierce look on her beautiful face.

"Clark likes to see the good in people. This afternoon just made him pay the price for being naive. He'll come around. He's just trying to figure out how to deal with it. It's a pity that had to happen, Storm. Smallville is a real nice town in spite of a few ignorant people like that," he assured before heading back into the house.

Ororo gracefully took to the air and headed up to Clark's loft. She flew through the window asnd found Clark sitting on the floor with his back against the couch staring at the ceiling with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Careful or you might burn a hole through the ceiling," she warned good naturally glididng over to him.

Clark smiled and made room for Ororo to sit beside him. As she settled he caught the scent of sandalwood mingled with fresh strawberry shampoo, and rain. He found the scent radiating from her to be pleasant and soothing.

"Ororo about earlier," he started.

"Clark, it was a cruel thing that happened, but it is over. You should not feel bad," she said firmly.

"I guess I was shocked to hear those words come out of Greg's mouth. I saw the pain on your face and I remember wanting to punish him for putting you through that," he said still angry.

"I know you did and I am glad you did not," she smiled warmly.

"Me too," he said huskilly, stroking her bare arm affectionately.

Ororo's breath caught as an electric shock jolted through her body from his touch. He must have felt what she had for he stopped stroking her and blushed. Suddenly they became aware how close they were sitting. Thier eyes met and before eithier of them could make sense of the feelings coursing through them, Clark's mouth was pressed against hers softly. Using his tongue he prodded her lips apart exploring the sweetness of her mouth. Relenting she kissed him back fervently feeling desire heating up within her. Thinking about Remy, the man she loved, she wanted to pull away but couldn't. His hand reached up caressing the side of her face causing her to feel as if her skin was on fire. A moan escaped her lips and she fell deeper into the kiss. Clark felt dizzy as Ororo began to suck gently at his bottom lip. Holding her tighter he tangled his fingers in her hair desperatly trying to get as close as possible to her. Moments later Clark pulled away breathing heavilly. When Ororo opened her eyes, they were glazed over making her expression sultry.

"Um, Clark?"

The sound of his name being called broke the spell between them and he looked up to see Chloe standing at the top of the stairs with a startled look plastered on her face.

"Hey, Chloe. What are you doing here?" Clark stammered red faced climbing to his feet.

"You called me, remember? Was I interrupting? I can always come back," she said arching a blonde eybrow while smiling slyly at Clark.

"You are fine. My name is Storm," Ororo said friendly rising from the floor as well.

"I'm Chloe," the blonde girl smiled warmly.

As Chloe surveyed the white haired woman, she smirked inwardly. Just when she thought that they didn't come any prettier than Lana Lang, she meets Storm. She wondered how Lana would take it if she knew Clark wasn't doing his usual pining over her and instead was in his loft making out with a Nubian beauty. Chloe would happilly fork over her life savings to pay to see the look on Lana's perfect little face.

"I found something that you two might find very intresting," Chloe informed seating herself on the couch and pulling out her labtop and powering it.

"Storm I'm going to warn you ahead of time. My findings are pretty dark," she said gently.

"Chloe?" Clark inquired worried.

Grimly Chloe pulled up her notes.

"My source confirmed that Lionel finding Storm wasn't by chance. The explosion was a complete set up. There was never a little girl at the island. The information was planted to lure you out to where they wanted you," she said gently.

"I do not understand. If Lionel purposely caused my accident, why did he free me?" Ororo asked confused.

"Because Lionel wasn't behind any of this. Lex was. Lionel knew what his son was planning for you and he inverted it. He tried to save you and when Lex found out he created some distraction that took his father out of the country," Chloe explained.

"That means he's going to try everything in his power to get her back and we can't let that happen," Clark said firmly.

"He got me easily the first time. What is to stop him from doing it again?" Ororo asked fearfully.

Clark reached over and placed his hand over hers, with a steely look of determination in his blue eyes that Chloe recognized all too well.

"Me."

Remy walked outside of the motel room lighting a cigarette as he watched the stars shine through the dark blanket of night spread across the sky. His long auburn hair fell in his eyes, but he didn't move to brush it away. They were a day in a half drive away from Smallville and he had a feeling in his guts that his Stormy was in danger. As he exhaled deeply, he felt a tightness constricting his throat and before he could stop it, a lone tear had escaped his eye and was cascading down his cheek.

"Remy?"

He looked over to see Jubilee had silently made her way outside and was looking at him her face filled with concern.

"You ok?" she asked gently.

"Oui, chere. Remy couldn't sleep," he said gruffly staring down at the ground.

"You worried about, Ororo? Remy, she's going to be okay. We'll find her and bring her home," Jubilee assured.

"What if she dosen't want to come home?" he asked quietly giving his darkest fear a voice.

"Why wouldn't she want to come home? We're her faimly," Jubilee asked confused.

"Petite, what faimly do you know tha leaves you for dead? Stormy won't hate ya because you weren't on the mission when she was left behind, but Warren and I were. Stormy must tink we betrayed her," he said frusterated.

Jubilee placed a comforting hand on the cajun's shoulder.

"Remy, you were unconcious and Warren was back on the jet and had no idea of what happened. There are a very few people Ororo trusts and we are among them. She knows we would never abandon her," she said softly.

"Remy can't forget how he felt when he was abandoned in Anartica. I was so angry that I didn't blame who was really at fault. I blamed Stormy. What if she does the same?" he asked dread laced in his voice.

"She won't," Jubilee assured.

"How can you be sure?" he asked doubtfully.

"Ororo knows the man who she loves is out there searching for her. That's how I'm sure," she smiled warmly before walking back into the motel room.

**Midnight Conversations**

Ororo layed awake staring up at the ceiling that night unable to sleep. Outside, the wind blew softly against her window pane giving testimony to her restlesness. Something was about to happen, but she had no idea what it was. Was her friends in danger? Was it Clark? She blushed pleasantly as she thought about the kiss they had shared earlier. At first she had felt guilty afterwards, but she realized she had no reason to. Remy's heart belonged to Anna, and he would never love her the way she loved him. Maybe it was time she moved on. If she didn't she could possibly miss out on the chance of having someone who could care for her. Someone like Clark. His lips had been so soft and enticing igniting emotions she had thought to be dead after Forge had broken her heart. Sighing softly she climbed out of bed and in her black boxer shorts and tank top, she walked across the room and quietly opened the window. Summoning a strong breeze, she soared into the night, her eyes fluttering shut as she enjoyed the cool damp air on her skin. She flew over corn fields and farm houses, deserted midnight roads, and empty highways. She glided cautiously as she spotted a dark figure sitting alone on top of a very high windmill. As she drew closer she was both alarmed and startled to find that the figure was Clark. She landed gracefully beside him, her dark face flushed.

"You couldn't sleep eithier?" he asked smiling.

"No. I had alot on my mind," she admitted sitting next to him, as she brushed a strand of her long hair out of her face.

A comfortable silence settled between them.

"Ororo, about that kiss," he started.

"If you regret it, please do not say so. I do not wish to be humiliated by being the only one who does not," she said softly looking up at the sky.

"I didn't regret it. I just wish it didn't end as soon as it had," he said huskilly.

Ororo blushed deeply.

"Ororo, only two people that I allowed myself to care about outside my faimly knew my secret and they both died," he said quietly telling her about Alicia and Erica.

"You believe by letting someone know your secret, that you are condeming them to death? Is that why you never told Lana?" she asked gently.

Clark sighed heavilly.

"There are lots of reasons why I never told Lana, but's the major reason. I can't fall in love with someone knowing my secret, It hurts too much when I lose them, and I can't go throught that anymore," he said quietly.

"If you keep believing that then you'll be alone for the rest of your life. One thing I learned is that being alone means you'll never be truly happy," she said sagely.

"I don't want to be alone, but with my power I really don't have a choice. A lot of people aren't as acceptive of me as you are," he said sadly.

"When Forge walked out on me two years ago when we were to be married, it was partly because of my inability to show true emotions because of my powers.," she said with a wistful smile on her face.

"You sound like you care for him alot," Clark said softly.

"I did, but he has someone.I can't remember very well, but I know there is a man that I care for greatly but there is someone else in his life I am moving on. I realize I do not want to be emotionally attached to somone who will not return my feelings, when there is someone out there who will," she mused.

Clark looked into Ororo's big blue eyes and felt himself being pulled back into the enchanted moment that they had shared earlier. There was something so intense about the way her eyes bored into his. It was like she was looking straight through him and into his soul. In two days he managed to be totally enthralled with the beautiful wind rider and deep down it worried him. He saw it worried her as well, because she broke thier gaze with an almost guilty expression on her face.

"I should head back and try to get some sleep. Goodnight," she said softly rising to her feet.

As she flew away Clark fought the urge to go after her. His feelings for Ororo were growing stronger with each moment he spent with her, and he knew he had to do something or he might lose her forever. A small smile stretched across his lips as he realized what he would do, but he would have to talk to Lana in the morning to put the feelings he had for her to rest before he moved on.

**Something's Wrong**

"Goodmorning, mom. Dad," Clark said cheerfully walking into the kitchen early the next morning for breakfeast.

"Morning, Clark. How's Storm?" Martha asked curiously with a sly smile on her face as she poured herself a mug of coffee. She had been up late the previous night when she had noticed her son and thier house guest had been absent.

"She's fine. Why do you ask?" Clark asked cautiously as he wondered where his mother had gotten the incredible knack to read minds.

"It's alright for me to check up on our house guest, isn't it?" she asked innocently.

"Martha," Johnathan drawled.

"She's fine, mom. I have to run. I need to talk to Lana," he said swallowing his breakfeast quickly before rising from the table.

"Aren't you going to wait for Storm?" his dad asked puzzled.

"I'll be right back. This shouldn't take long," he assures before super speeding out of the house.

Upstairs Ororo had finished dressing and was heading downstairs when she found a note on the floor by the window. She smiled inwardly secretly hoping it was from Clark. When she opened the note however she found her hope had been entirely placed and her smile faltered slightly. It read:

My dearest Storm,

You left so abruptly that I didn't have the chance to tell you that I found the whereabouts from which you came. Meet me at the old abandoned ware house in which we first met. I ask you to meet me here alone there are dangerous people after you and I can protect you better this way.

Lionel Luthor

Ororo was slightly hesitant about the situation fearing she might be walking into a trap. But her fears abated when she realized that Chloe had said Lionel had saved her so therefore she trusted him. Dashing down stairs, she looked frantically around for Clark and was disappointed when she realized that he was gone.

"Goodmorning, Mr. and Mrs. Kent. Have you seen Clark?" she asked anxiously.

"Yes, he went to," Jonathan started.

"He went into town to run an errand. He should be back soon," Martha finished quickly.

"When he returns, may you tell him I went to take care of something and I shall return shortly?" she asked hastilly.

"Of course sweetheart. Do you need a ride?" Martha offered.

"No thank you. It's a beautiful day. I believe I shall ride the winds," she smiled warmly before leaving the house.

"Ah, the poetic beautiful windrider. I can get use to having her around here," Marth sighed smiling at her husband.

"Our son seems to have taken a liking to her and she is a very pleasant woman. What's that on the floor? I think Storm dropped it on her way out. Both her and Clark seemed to be in a bit of a hurry this morning," Johnathan chuckled taking a gulp of his lukewarm coffee.

Martha walked across the kitchen and picked up the paper. She paled as she read its contents.

"Oh no," she gasped.

"What is it, Martha? What's wrong?" Jonathan asked concerned comming to her side.

"Storm was in a hurry to see Lionel," he said concerned scanning over the note.

"That's not possible. Clark told me Lionel was out of country," Martha said worried.

"Lex is behind this. Call Clark at the Talon and tell him to meet me over at the Luthor mansion," he said gruffly before bolting out of the house

Lana Lang looked up at the sound of the glass doors of the Talon being pushed opened and she smiled as her ex boyfriend made his way towards her.

"Hey, Clark. What brings you by here so early?" she greeted placing fresh baked muffins on the counter.

"I think we should talk. Do you have a minute?" he asked softly.

"Sure," she murmered before leading him over to an empty table in a quiet corner of the resteraunt where they sat in an awkward silence. Lana cleared her throat loudly.

"So, Clark. What is it that you want to talk about?" she asked curiously.

Clark stared at his former girlfriend's hopeful expression and looked away feeling guilty. He knew once he broke his ties with Lana for good, there would be no going back. A part of him wanted to still save her from Lex's clutches and be with her like he always dreamed of, but the other part of him knew he had been living in that fantasy for far too long and that it was finally time for him to move on.

"I wanted to talk about us," he said carefully choosing his words.

Lana surprised Clark by reaching across the table and resting her hands over his. There was a huge smile that spreaded across her face and her eyes were lit up with happiness.

"Clark, I've been thinking and you don't even have to say anything. I already know how you feel and I completly feel the same way," she said flushing.

"You do?" Clark asked startled.

"Yes. After our talk the other day, I realized that everyone has thier secrets. I'm willing to be with you despite the fact that there are things that you hide from me. Unlike Lex, I know that you have a good heart and at the end of the day isn't that all that matters?" she asked tenderly.

"Lana, I-," Clark started but was interrupted by the vibration of his cell phone going off in his pocket.

"Hello?" he inquired sending Lana an apologetic look.

"Clark, there was a note left for Storm this morning signed by Lionel claiming that he wanted to meet her at some old warehouse where he suppose to have information about where she came from," Martha Kent said anxiously.

"That's not possible! Lex said his father was out of the country," Clark said rising from his seat angrilly.

"I know honey. Your father is on his way over to the mansion to talk to Lex. Hurry Clark, she may be in danger," she said worried.

"I'm on my way. Don't worry mom. Everything's going to be okay," he promised before hanging up the phone.

"I have to go," Clark said rising from the table.

"Is everything okay?" she asked concerned.

"Yeah, I just have to go take care of something," he said softly.

"I'll be here you want to finish talking Clark," she said looking into his eyes hopefully before he smiled wanly and took off at out of the coffee shop.

Ororo walked into the musty warehouse feeling slightly flustered. On her way there she had been getting a bad feeling about the whole setup and suddenly she wished she had waited for Clark. Turning to leave she almost colided into Lex who had mysteriously appeared behind her. Beside him stood two men with cold expressions on thier faces.

"Ah, Ororo. Your beauty will never cease to amaze me," Lex said grinning.

"Where's Lionel?" she demanded backing up a few feet so she could put distance in between them.

"My father unfortunately couldn't make it, so he sent me," he said with a malacious glint in his eye.

"You are a liar. I know all about how you were the one behind the plot causing my explosion. What is it that you want from me?" she asked hotly.

"I see Clark managed to get you to percieve me as some evil villian who's capable of such a thing, and while there is some truth to what you have just stated, I do not mean you any ill will. You are a fascinating woman, Ororo. I only wish to get to know you better," he said simply.

"Why should I believe you? If you meant me no harm you would not have kidnapped me, or decieved me by pretending to be your father so you could lure me here," Ororo spat.

"You posess a wonderful gift. I bet you are wondering how I knew that. Let's just say that your past in Africa serving as a goddess to the natives caught my eye," he smirked.

"You know nothing about me," she hissed.

"Is that so? Your birth parents were both killed in a tragic plane crash, you were orphaned on the streets of Cario before you rose to your status as an goddess and a man by the name of Charles Xavier took you in under his wing so to speak and the rest is history," he said smugly taking a step towards her.

"You will see my wonderful gift up close and personal if you dare to take another step closer," she warned stepping into her fighting stance.

Outside thunder rumbled loudly in the sky followed by the sound of lightning striking somewhere close nearby.

"Your powers are phenomenal, Ororo. They could end world hunger, and make other third world countries besides Africa flourish," Lex coaxed.

"Helping other people are not your intentions, Lex. You are a ruthless cold blooded man and I will never let you use my powers to satisfy your thirst for power and wealth," she snarled her eyes whiting over causing Lex to take a step back.

Suddenly a needle plunged into the side of her neck causing her to gasp in pain and shock. Turning to around, she saw a fouth man she had not realized had been in the warehouse smiling down at her evily before he snatched the needle out and tossed it away. Angrilly she summoned a strong gust of wind and flung him back into a wall causing his neck to snap from the force. She whirled around to attack Lex when her vision began to blur and she fell into a blinding darkness. Smiling victoriously Lex walked over and stood looming over where the fallen weather godddess laid heavilly drugged.

"Quite a temper you have, but not to worry. We shall soon remedy that," he chuckled before two of his men stooped down and carried her away not noticing that one of her sandals had fallen off, and was left behind.

**Guilt**

That night Clark sat in his loft staring out at the cornfields, his face tense with worry. He and his father had went over to the Luthor's mansion to confront Lex, only to be told that he was away for a buisness meeting. Ororo had yet to return to the farm and he instantly piece Lex's and her mysterious disappearance together. His heart tightned with fear as he realized why he had been feeling a shadowing sense of deja vu' all day. Alicia had gone missing like Ororo and before he could tell her how he felt he had found her dead. Hanging his head he swore softly angry at how helpless he felt.

"Clark?"

He didn't have to look up to recognize his father's voice. Johnathan's heavy footsteps echoed across the room and stopped when he was standing sholder to shoulder with his son. For a moment neithier said anything.

"Dad, I don't want to lose her. I can't! There are things I haven't told her. Things she needs to know," he said wistfully.

"You care for her alot, don't you?" Johnathan asked gently.

"Yes, and I was so afraid to tell her how I felt and now I might never get the chance. I feel I can risk my life for anyone and do just about anything with my abilities day in and day out, but when it comes to expressing my feelings I can't," he said frusterated.

Johnathan Kent chuckled softly and placed a hand on his son's shoulder comfortly.

"Clark, the strongest men in the world have been known to reduced to terrified scared boys when it came to dealing with matters of the heart, myself included. The way of dealing with that fear is to stop resisting love and fall into it. Believe me, the latter is easier. Much easier," he advised.

"That makes sense. The wisdom must of come with age, huh dad?" Clark said with a small smile.

"Hey! It has nothing to do with age. Your mother gave me that advise when I was young and stubborn, acting exactly the way you are now. She got tired of waiting and forced me to deal with my feelings and it took her almost walking out of my life to speak up, and look at us going strong twenty years later," he said fondly.

A comfortable silence fell between father and son.

"Clark, you'll find her. I believe in you," Johnathan said seriously.

"I have to call Chloe. She'll know better than me where to start looking. Thanks dad," Clark grinned before grabbing his phone and heading into the house.

"Anytime, son. Anytime," Johnathan murmered.

**An Urgent Call**

Chloe was awaken from her sleep, by the sound of her cell phone buzzing urgently next to her head. She was growled at rudely by her roomate sleeping across the room that had moved in when Lana had left a week earlier. Without bothering to look at her caller I.d. she snapped her phone opened.

"Hello?" she yawned into the mouth piece as she stretched wearilly in her bed.

"Chloe, it's Clark. I need your help," came the desperate voice from the other side of the phone.

"Clark, it's two in the morning. What could you possibly need my help for in the middle of the night? I have classes tomorrow," she said sleepilly.

"So do I!" her roomate snarled but was pointedly ignored.

"Storm is missing, and I know Lex is the reason. I need your help finding her," he said anxiously.

"Slow down, Clark. Why would he kidnap Storm?" she mumbled half awake.

"I can't explain it right now, but Storm has abilities that Lex is planning to experiment with," he said quickly.

Wide awake now, Chloe began to get dressed.

"I'm on my way. Do you want me to meet you in your barn?" she asked grabbing her notebook and its charger and throwing it into her bag.

"I'm going to come pick you up. I don't think you should drive when your not fully awake," he started.

"Clark, I'll be fine. I'll stop at a gastaion and grab a cup of coffee. I'll see you in thirty minutes," she smiled before hanging up and grabbing her keys to her P.T. Cruiser before bolting out of the dorm room.

**Kidnapped!**

Ororo woke up feeling groggy with a terrible headache for the second time in a week not knowing where she was. Looking around she found she was in a small white room alone. She was lying strap down on a cold steel medical table with wires taped all over her body hooked up to multiple machines. Weakly she tried to charge electricity throughout the room so that she could fry the machines, but was chagrined to find she couldn't summon her powers. A door behind her opened and closed softly. When Lex came into her line of vision she tensed with anger.

"Hello, Ororo. Sleep well? he asked cheerfully as he stood side by side with a doctor who loaded a syringe with green laced liquid from a small cylinder bottle.

"Let me go, Lex. You will never get away with this. The Kent's know you have me," she growled.

"Well, if they knew what's good for them, they won't intefere," he warned dangerously.

"Why are you doing this? Clark was your friend," she cried.

"He was! Clark is nothing more than a self righteous nuisance. I use to be so jealous that he had every thing that I wanted. A good faimly, a beautiful girlfriend, loyal friends. Not anymore. Lana is mine as will be everything else he has in due time," he said darkly.

"He saved your life. How could you hate him so much?" she asked horrified.

"That is not your concern. See what you should be concerned about is that you are about to become apart of a project I have been working on for quite some time. This information is confidential, but seeing how you'll be under my control in a minute I'll tell you anyways. Smallville was rocked by a meteor shower nineteen years ago. This phenomenon caused people to mutate after comming in contact with the meteor rocks. I've been searching for a strong mutated subject to experiment with, but the project had unforseen complications and well, a lot of our test subjects had to be terminated. Don't look so aghast, Ororo. We have calculated your endurance and ran other tests and found that you in fact are compatiable to take this drug and survive," he smiled pleasantly.

"You are mad," she whispered horrified.

"I perfer the term brilliant. This drug will make millions and make me the most powerful weapon holder once I prove how it can turn even the most will full person into an a cold blooded asassin," he said evilly.

"You cannot control me. It has been tried and people has failed," she tried.

"I doubt your previous captors has my sufficient knowledge," he said smugly.

"If you do this, then innocent people are going to die," she said tearfully.

"Well then, there blood is going to be on your hand, now won't it? You should have learned by now, I lack what many people calls a conscious," he laughed coldly before taking the syringe from the doctor and injecting her with the mind altering drug.

Ororo screamed as her mind and her slowly began to slip away from her. Never in her life had she felt such an intense pain.

"The more you fight it, the more painful the transformation will be," he warned with a growl.

Tears streaked down her face as her mentality was taken over by a piercing darkness. Her mind fell numb and she no longer possesed the will to struggle.

"Clark," was the last words of free will that escaped her lips before she slipped into a deep coma.

**Stranded**

"Damn," Remy muttered as the Corvette sputtered pitifull up the road a few feet before dying. They were thirty miles outside of Smallville and they were stranded in the middle of cornfields with no gas, no money, and no way to get into town. In the backseat Jubilee and Warren were sound asleep. Frusterated beyond all belief the cajun climbed out of the car and lit a cigarette. Twenty minuets later he was inhaling his fourth one when the sound of a car heading his direction caught his attention. As it drew closer he stepped in the middle of the road and flagged it down. The car swerved onto the side of the road to prevent hiting him.

"Are you crazy? I could have hit you?" the driver exclaimed angrily climbing out of her car and storming over to him.

Remy eyed the fiesty short blonde haired girl amused. Using his charm on the girl would definetly not be a problem for him.

"Pardon me, chere. Our car has died on us, and Remy would be very grateful if ya could give us a lift," he said huskilly.

"Who's us?" she asked suspciously.

"There are two kids in the backseat. They haven't eaten since yesterday and I need to get them in town where they can get some food," he said solemnly.

A look of compassion flashed across the pretty girls face.

"I'm heading to Smallvill e. There's a diner in town. Hop in," she smiled.

"You're an angel, darlin," he murmered before poking his head into the car to wake his companions.

As they rode down the highway in silence, Remy snuck glances at his young rescuer. She was humming along to some song on the radio tapping the beat with her fingers on the steering wheel.

"So where are you and friends from?" she asked curiously.

"Up north. New York area," he said.

"What brings you down to Kansas?" she asked.

"We're looking for our friend," he said vaguely.

Suddenly her phone went off.

"Exuse me. Hello?" she inquired.

"Yes I'm fifeteen minutes from your house. I just have to make a quick stop," she said into the reciever.

She paused alook of confusion crossing over her face.

"I don't know why Lex would kidnap her. I mean she's not even from here, so how could she be a meteor freak?" she asked puzzled.

Suddenly the phone was ripped from her hand and Remy was glaring at her.

"You know where Lex Luthor is keeping my friend," he said evenly.

"No, I don't. What are you talking about?" she demanded startled.

"Our friend went missing a couple days ago and we were told a homme' by the name of Lex Luthor was holding her in Smallville," Jubilee said angrilly.

"What's her name?" the girl asked cautiously.

"She goes by Storm, or Ororo. Tall woman with dark skin with white hair and blue eyes. Have you seen her?" Warren asked hopefully.

A huge grin spread across the blonde's face.

"Oh my God. Clark is not going to believe this," she said astonished.

"You have seen her," Remy said softly.

"Yes, and so has my friend. I'm Chloe, by the way," she said with a smile before speeding the rest of the way to Clarks' house.

**Two Worlds Colide**

Clark was sitting on his pourch lazily playing with Shelby when Chloe's Pt Cruiser pulled up. She climbed out of the car and hurried over to him with an excited look on her face. He was puzzled when he saw two tall men and a short girl exit her car as well.

"You are never going to believe this," Chloe gushed.

"Who are they?" he asked confused.

"The tall cutie with the auburn hair is Remy. The blondie is Warren and the girl is Jubilee. I found them with thier car broken down near Maser's field. Remy asked me if I could give him and his friends into town," she started.

"You picked up hitch hickers? Chloe they could have been dangerous," he reprimended sternly.

"Yeah, but there not. I figured they were a bunch of rich kids who just ran out off daddy's money judging from the totally sweet Corvette they had been driving, but I was completly off the mark," she informed.

"What did you find out?" he asked intrigued.

"They are searching for thier friend who went missing three days ago. They overheard word in New Jersey that Lionel had rescued a woman that matched thier freinds dsecription to the tee, and learned she was here in Smallville, and get this. He refers to her as Stormy," she said excitedly.

"He could have twisted that from the information you gave him," Clark protested.

"Yeah, but I'm positive I never said her name. Besides, Clark the way the way our French friend was talking about her, it was almost as if they were very close. I could tell by thier voices, they are her friends," she said firmly.

Clark frowned and oberved the threesome standing not too far away from them. It was feasible that they were friends of Ororo, but they could very well be enemies and he didn't want to risk puttting her in any more danger then she already was. Suspciously, Clark followed Chloe over to her car where she introduced him.

"The petite said Stormy was staying here. Where is she?" Remy asked with a slight tremor in his voice.

"No offense, but how do I know you are who you say you are?" Clark asked cautiously.

"We were there when her jet exploded. Everyone thought there was no way she had survived it. When we learned that she hadn't been searched for, we came looking for her," Warren said softly.

"Homme, we wouldn't have come all this way looking for her if we weren't her friends. There should be more then just the three of us standing here, but there isn't because we are the ones who truly care about her. If we were her enemies we would not be conversating about the matter. Chere told us you might be able to help us find Stormy, but if you won't we'll be in on our way," Remy said evenly.

Clark thought this over and begrudgingly admitted to himself that Remy was right.

"Clark will help you find your friend. In order for me to do my part I need to know what's so special about her that would make her a target to Lex," Chloe interrupted.

"She controls the elements of the earth. Lex may be trying to use her to cause terrible disasters over throwing the economy and inserting himself into power," Clark admitted.

"Ororo would die before she help some tyrant like that asshole," Jubilee said indignantly.

"Lex is known for using shady methods to get what he wants. I'll go inside and start working on leads. Clark, I think I might need a refill on my coffee," Chloe said wryly before leading the others into the barn loft.

**The Dark Side Of A Goddess**

"Mr. Luthor, she's comming to," Lex's head scientist on the project Marvin Hilks informed the billionaire.

Lex snapped his cell phone he had been talking on shut, and walked into the room where Ororo was lying prone on the medical table staring blankly up at the ceiling.

"Ororo, can you hear me?" he asked intently staring into her face searching for signs of rebellion. He was estatic to see that there was none.

"Yes," she said in a mono tone.

"I am your superior. You are to obey me. Is that understood?" he asked softly stroking a white strand of hair out of her face.

"Yes," she repeated.

Grinning Lex walked out of the room to confer with Marvin.

"I take it that the procedure was a complete sucess and there wasn't any flaws?" he asked sternly.

"Yes sir. The girl will comply with any and whatever order you'll give her," he assured.

"Great! The hardest part is over. It is time to complete phase two. Before I take on the world, I shall give our newly refound goddess a test run," he said casually, before walking back into the room and releasing her restraints.

Ororo sat up and stared at her surroundings comprehending only one thing. To kill.

"You shall rule by my side more powerful than any woman this world has seen," he smiled pulling out a retangular white box. He opened it to reveal a purple robe he hae made for her earlier that day.

"Purple is the color of royalty. And as much I enjoy the view of your beautiful lithe nude body, you shall wear this to signify your place," he murmered pulling her into a sitting position on the table. Gently he trailed his finger tips along her jawline down her to the rest of her body. Breathing heavilly he turned to the doctors in the room.

"Leave us," he ordered.

Once the room was cleared, Lex reached down and slowly unbuckled his pants. Nuzzling his face into her neck, he didn't notice that Ororo eyes had whited over. She had been made to kill and that's what she intending on doing just that. Lex pressed his lips against hers for a sensual kiss. Exploring her mouth with his tongue he shivered from the electricity he was feeling not aware that she was ionizing the air in the room. Suddenly his eyes snapped open and before his mind could process what she was doing she had electricuted him. As he slumped to the ground she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Now she was about to fufill what Lex had wanted. She would destroy the world. It wouldn't be at his command, it would be at hers. And she would start by obliverating Smallville.

"Hey, guys. I think I found something. I just found this in my email box, but the strange thing is that their is no address. Anyways it's a file on the latest experiments Lex has been working on and look what's on top of the list," she mused showing Clark and Remy the information on her computer screen.

"Project Nirvana. Mind altering drug that once injected into someone takes away thier free will and controls them turning them into assasins on command. Wait a minute, Lex swore he had that project disbanded months ago," Clark said confused.

"Looks like ethics and honesty aren't Lex's best chracter traits. I'm willing to bet that's what they are using to make Ororo do what they want. Lex the sociopath strikes again," Chloe smirks.

"Chloe, see if you can find the location where they conducted tests last time," Clark requested.

A few strokes on the keyboard and the blonde smiled broadly.

"In a condemned building South of Smallville near the old factory plant where my dad use to work at," she informed.

"I'm going to go check it out," he started.

"No offense, mon ami, but you should probably let me handle this. If Stormy is not herself, battling her won't be a walk in the park," Remy advised.

"How are you able to fight her with her abilities?" Chloe asked curiously.

" You ever heard of birds of a feather flock together?" Jubilee grinned setting off firecrackers a few feet away from her in the palm of her hand.

"You only used the analogy because of me, huh?" Warren smirked pulling off his shirt and sprouting his wings.

Remy put his hand on a notebook on Clark's desk charging it causing it to explode. Chloe looked on in awe while Clark smiled secretly impressed. Remy shuffled his playing cards and pulled out the ace of hearts and handed it to Chloe with a sly smile on his face.

"You're not scared of me now, are you femme?" he asked huskilly.

"Gumbo, if ya'll want to see scary, look out the window," Jubilee croaked fearfully.

Everyone turned and was gripped by fear at the sight they saw. The sky had turned an eerie dark grayish color and bolts of lightning were menicingly flashing ascross the sky. The wind was blowing furiously causing debri to whirl through the air helplessly. Trees were starting to bend under the weight of the storm and several animals were seen being lifted up into the air.

"We have to find her," Remy said when he finally found his voice.

"Clark have you seen the weather?" Martha Kent cried as the came upstairs with Johnathan. They stopped abruptly when they saw Warren with his wings fully expanded.

"Clark, do you care to explain why there is an angel in our barn?" Johnathan asked looking at the man with awe.

"They are friends of Ororo," Clark said quickly.

"Who's Ororo?" Martha asked confused.

"Storm. The weather is like this because she's in trouble. Remy and I are going to try to find her. I want you to take Chloe, Warren, and Jubille and lay low in the cellar untill this thing blows over," Clark said firmly. Grabbing Remy he superspeeded out of the barn.

Ororo hovered in the air above the small town of Smallville smiling coldly as torrent winds tore through her air hair seeking to destroy everything around her. She would kill anything and everything and whoever sought to stand in her way would feel the full extent of her wrath. Closing her eyes she extended her arms towards the heavens seperating the clouds allowing a thunderous rainstorm to rage down all around her. Lightning bolts tore through the atmosphere striking sown anything in his paths. In the distance a very faint but distintive sound ranged in the weather witch's ears and her evil smile broadned. She knew the sound very well. It was the sound of several tornadoes gathering together preparing to descend on the small town that didn't stand a chance against her power.

"Ororo!"

She opened her eyes to see Clark Kent floating several feet away from her.

"Well is it not the all powerful orphan from Kryton? Have you come in hopes to join me in my quest?" she asked with a smirk.

"I'm here to help you. I understand you aren't yourself," he started.

"You do not know me, Clark. If you will not join me then you shall die with the others," she said darkly.

"Ororo, your friends came for you. In fact Remy is down there waiting for me to bring you back. Isn't that what you wanted?" he shouted over the raging storm.

"Well it is rude to keep him waiting. Shall we?" she laughed twirling in the tempest before floating down to earth with Clark beside her.

"Is not this a surprise? Hello dear friend or shall I say backstabber? Where are the others?" she asked evenly, glaring at the cajun who stood less than a yard in front of her.

"Stormy, let me explain," Remy tried.

Ororo's eyes flashed angrilly.

"Bite your tongue! My ears will no longer tolerate your lies once I obliverate you," she hissed calling upon a strong wind to fling him back against an abandoned car with such force that it shatterd all the windows on the vehicle into tiny pieces.

"Ororo, don't do this," Clark started.

"Homme' stay out of this. Remy can handle her," Remy warned dazed as he regain his composture and stood facing Ororo once again.

The weather witch laughed harshly.

"You dare challenge a goddess when you are just a mere mortal? I will tear you to shreds with a simple thought," she boasted her eyes whiting over.

"You are, Ororo! Not a goddess, but my Stormy! Rember that, mon ami. Find who you are, find your humanity. This isn't you! Jean let the Phoenix defeat her. Do not let this darkness do to you what it had done to her," Remy pleaded.

Ororo hesitated. Jean's name sparks images of a laughing red haired woman she had once known as her best friend. These scattershots also spark an awareness of the destruction that she was causing and she screams in rage and grief for her friend who no longer alive and for herself.

"You shall die," she thundered angrilly.

"You are not capable of murder, Ororo! It is not who you are," Clark growled taking slow steps towards her.

"You do not know me," she hissed irate, the storm around them growing worse.

"Yes, petite, we do.We know your heart is only capable of love and healing. Look around you. You're destroying what you love the most. If you don't stop the storm then you'll kill everything and you'll be alone. That's not what you want," he said softly reaching for her.

"Quiet," she ordered trembling as she raised her hand and struck him down with a highly charged lightning bolt. Remy fell to his knees and as his body shook with terrible pain he struggled to get back to his feet.

"Ororo, we are your friends. We don't want to hurt you," Clark tried to reason as he stood protectively in front of Remy.

"I have no friends," she said hotly as she took of towards the sky.

Clark flew after her desperatly trying to fight the winds circling him fiercly. The higher she flew the more concern he became for her saftey. She was getting dangerously close to an altitude where if she reached it she would immediatley die.

"Ororo, you have to stop," he yelled after her.

"I- I cannot. I shall kill you if I do not escape," she cried hysterically. With a steely look of determination in his eye, Clark sped up and acting quickly grabbed her tightly and began to slowly descend.

Her power surges through her and at last Ororo understood how Jean must had felt when the Phoenix had tooken over her. Suddenly memories began to flood through her of her life before her accident. She saw Kitty Pryde's perky smile, Logan's scowl, and at last she saw Remy. The man she had loved knowing he would never love her. Seeing the uncertainty on her face Clark held her closer.

"Fight it, Ororo," he coaxed tenderly in her ear.

Facing her inner demons, Ororo realizes that killing had been the one thing she had hated most about the world and using her hatred she triumphs over the storm but more importantly she defeats the dark side of her soul.

"Clark," she whimpered tearfully.

"Shh, it's okay. It's all over now. You're safe," he assured with a smile as he gazed down into her tear streaked face.

"Thank you," she whispered staring up at him, her aquatic blue eyes filled with graditude.

"What are friends for?" he grinned as he reached down to tuck a strand of her snowy long hair behind her ear.

They stared at each other for a long moment and before eithier of them could speak, they were pressed together tenderly kissing passionatly and holding each tightly as if they were afraid to let go. Slowly the storm clouds around them parted and the sun emerged once again. Clark deepened the kiss feeling his heart race in his chest as she melted into his arms. Pulling apart Ororo's face was flushed with happiness.

"You saved me," she said blinking back tears.

"No. I think you saved me," he murmered taking her slender hand and placing it over his heart.

Smiling they shared another sweet intimate kiss before slowly heading back down to the earth.

_**Prologue**_

The doors to Xavier School for the gifted opened and in walked Remy, Warren, and Jubilee followed by Ororo. Students gasped in shock to see the woman they had thought to be dead was very much alive. After exchanging hugs with several of the students, Ororo made her way to the main office where she was to meet with the other members of her team. She had been worried about facing her friends after the whole ordeal, but she realized she couldn't hate them despite everything that happened.

"Ready, chere?" Remy asked with a grin.

Ororo smiled at him, before slipping her hand in his. Remy stared at her startled.

"Yes," she said boldly before pushing open the office door. Inside Scott, Lorona, Alex, Kurt, Logan, Piotr, Kitty, Anna, Bobby, and Emma stood up staring at her as if they had just seen a ghost.

"Ororo," Kitty choked tearfully throwing her arms around the wind rider's neck.

"Hello, kitten," Ororo smiled tenderly returning the girl's embrace.

"How did you survive the explosion? We all thought you were dead," Emma said stunned.

"It is a long story. I am very grateful to be alive. I had temporary lost my memory and if it was not for the three you see by my side then I might have never made my way home," she said trying not to sound bitter.

"Ororo, you have to understand. We thought you were dead," Scott tried.

"After Jean's death, I thought you off all people would know not to assume anything unless you have thier remains in front of you. I spent days in a tiny town where I was humiliated and disrespected, and did not know a familiar face. I was tortured and almost killed several people that I care about. It was very hurtful that only Warren, Jubilation, and Remy chose to search for me," she said disappointed.

"After Remy left, Scott forbade anyone else to go after you," Bobby protested.

"Drake, I had my reasons. We couldn't stand to lose anymore valuable members of the team to a search that I thought was futile," Scott retorted.

"But here she is, Scooter. Standing before you very much alive. Do you still think the search would have been futile?" Logan growled.

"Let us not argue about the past. Push on with the future. I also have an announcement to make. I shall be leaving the school permenatly," Ororo said calmly even though inwardly she was trembling. She had thought this decision through and she knew once she gave the ultimatium her home would eithier remain there in Wenchester or in Smalllville... with Clark.

"Ro, look we're sorry about everything that has happened, but you're home is here," Logan said somberly.

"No, my friend. Home is where your heart and love is. While I was away I met a man. A man who wants to love me. My life is missing that and how can I refuse ?" she asked softly not daring to look anyone in the eye.

Everyone stared at thier resident blue eye goddess startled. It had never occured to most of them that Ororo wanted what most of them in the room already had. A companion.

"Tell her, Remy. She needs to know," Jubilee hissed glaring at the cajun with her arms folded across her chest.

Remy took Ororo's hand in his and turned her so that she was facing him.

"You're not missing that chere, because you have that right here standing right in front of you," he whispered his voice thick with emotions.

"Remy?" Anna stammered rising from her seat with confusion written all over her face.

"I love you, my dear friend. I always have. I know your heart belongs to Anna," Ororo said sadly as she withdrew her hand.

"My heart belongs to you, chere. You know I would never lie to you. If I didn't love you and I thought you would be happier else where then I'd let you go. I already lost you once. I'm not going to let it happen again," he said firmly.

"He's telling the truth, love," Emma said softly looking Ororo in the eye.

Tears of happiness welled in the wind rider's eyes as she stared at Remy and realized he was telling the truth.

"Ah don't believe this," Anna cried storming past them and out of the office.

Later that night, Ororo was lying in the dark in her bed when the window to her balcony opened quietly. Startled she looked up to see a tall shadowy figure walking silently across the room towards her. She wanted to cry out in alarm when the familiar scent of clove and aspen cologne mixed with the smell of cigarettes quickly calmed her. She smiled as she oberved him standing in the center of her room illuminated by the moonlight pouring through the cracks of her window. He stood there shirtless, his hair disarray and a five o slock shadow on his chisled stubbled chin.

"Will you have me, Stormy?" he asked huskilly causing her heart to race.

"I shall," she whispered lovingly holding her arms opened to him.

Seconds later they were tangled in each other kissing passionatley declaring thier undying love for one another. Remy nuzzled his face in the smoothness of her neck as he inhaled her scent of sandalwood, jasmin and rain, before slowly undressing her. His eyes drunk in the sight of her and to him he felt more intoxicated in that one moment then he had ever felt in his life. Quickly disrobing himself, he propped himself up on his elbows and stared down at her pensively.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Remy? I do not want you to feel you have to be with me to keep me here," she said quietly mistaking his silence as regret.

"Stormy, I love you. I'm here because I'm with you and there's no other place on earth that I rather be," he murmered before kissing her tenderly.

Gently he entered her shivering as he heard her moan with pleasure. With each stroke, his love for her grew. She held on to him tightly fearing if she let go then the dream would end. He kissed her softly on the forehead smiling as each breath she took grew more shallow. The way her aquatic blue eyes shined as she whispered his name was enough to make him explode then and there, but he painfully held himself back. He had to show Ororo that he truly did love her and that's what he intended on doing. Moments later he felt her shudder beneath him, and simply from the look of ecstacy and contentment on her face he climaxed growling her name as he collasped. Later as he held her in his arms and watched her sleep he couldn't help but be amazed at what took place moments ago. He had been gifted in the art of having sex, but what he had experianced with Ororo was far from that art. For the first time in his life he had made love to a woman, and he realized the latter had been so much better. He also realized that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with his Stormy and before he fell asleep he vowed to himself to make that happen sooner than later.

"Goodnite, Stormy. Welcome home," he whispered against her lips before joining her in the first peaceful night's sleep he's experianced in a very long time.

_**The End**_


End file.
