It had been nine hours since Lex had left for Scotland, and Lucinda had accomplished absolutely nothing of value in that time.
She sat at the kitchen table, chin propped in her palm, eyes fixed on a point in space that did not exist. The stove was off. The sink was full. A slice of bread sat on a plate in front of her, untouched, slowly drying into what could only be described as future archaeology.
Beside her, Jess mirrored the exact same posture—elbow on the table, cheek in hand, gaze unfocused. If someone had walked in at that moment, they might have assumed the two were participating in some sort of minimalist performance art.
Neither of them blinked.
Across the table, Molly stood with her arms crossed, weight shifted onto one hip, staring at them like she'd just discovered two particularly disappointing houseplants. Her eyes moved from Lucinda to Jess and back again, her disbelief deepening with every silent second.
Finally, she shook her head.
"I don't understand young people nowadays," Molly muttered, her tone hovering somewhere between judgment and genuine confusion. "So much energy. So much youth." She gestured vaguely at the ceiling, as if energy itself lived up there. "And this is what you choose to do with it. Staring into the void."
Lucinda didn't respond.
Jess didn't respond either.
"Are either of you planning to move?" Molly asked pointedly. "Breathe? Blink? Contribute to society?"
Lucinda blinked once. Slowly. "I'm thinking."
Jess nodded solemnly. "Same."
Molly squinted. "About?"
Lucinda's gaze remained fixed on nothing. "Life."
Jess added, "Existence."
Molly rolled her eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn't get stuck. "You're twenty-somethings. If you're going to sit there doing nothing, at least pretend it's on purpose."
Lucinda sighed, chin sinking deeper into her palm. In all honesty, she was waiting. Waiting for a vibration. A beep. A tragically understated hello from Scotland.
Lex, however, remained tragically silent.
Of course he didn't text first. Why would he? Billionaires didn't double-text. Billionaires barely texted at all. They summoned. Lucinda glanced at the phone on the counter for the seventy-third time in five minutes. Still nothing. It stared back at her like a smug little rectangle of rejection.
Earlier, in a moment of what she would later categorize as desperation disguised as science, she had tried lifting something heavy—specifically, a chair. A very normal, very uncooperative steel chair.
The chair had won. She had also briefly considered attempting the refrigerator, but decided there were limits to dignity. Also, Molly had been watching.
No super strength meant no excuse to text Lex first. And texting him just because would be—Pathetic. Unacceptable!
A betrayal for her Dalagang Pilipina self.
Suddenly, Lucinda shot upright so fast her chair screeched across the floor. Jess nearly inhaled her own soul. Molly clutched her chest for her dear life.
"WHAT'S WRONG, LUCY?" Molly gasped, clutching her chest as if bracing for tragedy. "Did audacity finally try leaving your body?"
Lucinda didn't answer. Not because she didn't hear Molly—but because her brain had abruptly derailed itself at full speed and was now skidding into a very specific, very alarming realization.
She had forgotten something.
Her gaze unfocused, drifting past the kitchen walls, past the table, past Molly's theatrical concern and Jess's confused blinking. The timeline had slipped under her radar, and that was not acceptable!
If Clark had already saved Lana from Tina Greer, then that meant Episode Four was done. Finished. Which could only mean one thing. Episode Five had already begun.
Her fingers curled against the tabletop as the memory settled into place. Last time, the jump from Episode Three to Four hadn't been subtle at all—it kicked in immediately. No pause, no buildup.
So it should be the same with Episode Four and Five. That thought lingered as she tapped her nails lightly against the surface.
But something didn't add up.
Lex being in Scotland during Episode Five never happened. He was in Smallville the entire time.
Episode Five—"Cool"—had opened at the high school with the students having a party near a lake. Clark, Pete, Chloe, the usual crowd. Lana was there too, still with Whitney and their schoolmates. Then that guy showed up—the one whose name stubbornly refused to surface no matter how hard Lucinda tried to grab it.
He'd fallen into Crater Lake. Meteor rock. Ice powers. Cryokinesis, technically. He had to absorb body heat to stay alive, which meant freezing people—his girlfriend, almost Chloe, nearly the Kents.
Meanwhile, Clark was juggling Lex's not-so-subtle attempts to set him up with Lana and the ongoing mess with the farm's finances. By the end of it, the guy was trapped in ice, Clark missed his "date" with Lana, and life carried on in that familiar, quietly disappointing way.
And through all of it—Lex never left Smallville.
So maybe Episode Five hadn't started when she thought it did. Or maybe it had… just not on schedule. Lucinda exhaled softly. Perhaps the episodes didn't follow a neat pattern after all.
Jess and Molly had been watching Lucinda zone out the entire time.
"Perhaps… are you missing Mr. Lex?" Molly feigned a cough, and that finally snapped Lucinda out of her thoughts.
"Don't push your luck, Molly," Lucinda waved a hand dismissively.
"Oh sure," Molly scoffed. "It's not like we haven't noticed that very expensive phone." She gestured toward Lucinda's phone lying on the table beside her hand. "Mr. Lex gave you that so you could personally contact him, and you're telling us… nothing's going on between the two of you?"
Jess gave a knowing nod in agreement.
"I told you, it's business," Lucinda groaned.
"Business, my left foot," Molly rolled her eyes. "It's not like we didn't see you constantly glancing at the phone, waiting for his text. I wasn't born yesterday, Lucy."
Molly and Jess giggled. Lucinda opened her mouth to argue, but the kitchen door swung open, and Clark stepped in. Their laughter evaporated instantly.
"Clark?" Lucinda stood up, startled. "What are you doing here? Lex isn't around."
Clark blinked, first at Molly and Jess, then back at Lucinda. "I… I didn't come for him," he mumbled. "I wanted to talk to you."
Lucinda's brows lifted. She glanced at Molly and Jess, then grabbed her phone before looking back at them.
"Go on," Molly gestured toward the door, indicating they should leave the kitchen. But of course, that earned them another suspicious grin from the girls.
Once Lucinda and Clark stepped outside, she jabbed an elbow into his stomach. Clark, despite his reputation for near-invincibility, actually groaned.
"Bro, you're supposed to have a body of steel," Lucinda said, genuinely baffled.
Clark grimaced, forcing himself upright. "That's… actually something I wanted to talk to you about."
Lucinda's eyes narrowed, circling him like she was already piecing things together.
"D-Don't tell me… you're losing your strength?" she asked immediately.
"No, it's not that," Clark sighed. "It's just... unstable. I keep losing it from time to time. I was hoping maybe you knew something about it."
Lucinda studied him for a long beat before asking, "When did it start happening?"
"Yesterday," Clark sighed.
"Yesterday…" Lucinda echoed under her breath. Yesterday—the same day she'd hauled that kryptonite‑infected man away like it weighed nothing, as if strength had answered her without permission. Her lips parted. No… it can't be.
She wanted to tell Clark right away, but something held her back. Maybe it was better to keep it to herself for now, at least until she could confirm what was really happening.
Looking up at him, she mumbled, "I honestly don't know… at least for now. But I'll figure it out—"
"No," Clark interrupted, shaking his head. "I think it'd be better if you didn't. You might get in trouble with Lex."
"I wouldn't, don't worry," Lucinda shrugged. "Besides… have you thought about what I said last time?"
Clark's lips thinned. "I'm not sure yet, Lucy."
Lucinda exhaled. "I understand. Anyway, if I somehow… let's say, see something in the future, I'll tell you." She handed him her phone. "Give me your number, so I can contact you whenever."
Clark stared at the phone for a moment, then took it and saved his number.
He was about to leave when Lucinda called after him.
"Clark."
"Yes?"
"Do you really consider Lex your friend?" Her tone had grown serious.
Clark looked down at her, then smiled. "Lex is like a brother I never had, Lucy." With that, he turned and walked away.
Lucinda let out a long sigh. "Looks like the plot has been completely ruined by yours truly," she groaned.
Because that line… that was Lex's line.
"I hope you're very much ready for this, Lucinda."