DISCLAIMER: Liz, Max, Michael, Maria, Isabel, and Kyle belong to Jason Katmis and UPN. Clark Kent, however, belongs to the WB and DC Comics. Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster. I don’t own them.

CATEGORY: Max/Liz, and Clark/Chloe.

RATING: PG-13

SPOILERS: Takes place immediately after ‘Ch-ch-changes’.

Lex Luthor drove down the road, towards the Luthor ancestral home. He savored the feel of wind against his face as he smelt the crisp country air. It was heaven compared to the air back in Metropolis.

Lex smiled at himself. It was sort of ironic when you thought about it. His father, Lionel, the president of LuthorCorp, had banished him to Smallville because of his ‘past misdeeds’. That was the nice way of saying ‘you screwed up and made me look stupid, so I’m sticking you here where you won’t bother me’.

However, things seemed to have worked out in Lex’s favor. Being in control of the fertilizer plant let him show people he wasn’t the corrupt person his father was. Plus, he’s made some friends. Not like those punks at Club Zero…real friends. People who trusted him and believed in him. It was a good feeling.

Although, lately something strange had been happening. All these people have been disappearing or gone crazy somehow. However, in the middle of it was always Clark. Then there was that footage of the museum heist back in Metropolis. Someone had stopped it…someone who could move faster than a camera could follow.

Could the two be connected? Lex didn’t know, but he was sure going to find out.

“Help!” he heard a voice call, out of nowhere.

Immediately, Lex stopped the car. He opened the door and stepped out, searching for where the voice came from.

“Hello?” he called out. “Where are you?”

“Over here!” the voice replied.

Lex looked down the side of the road, to where a pile of rocks were lying. Underneath was a boy, around 12 years old, pinned to the ground from the waist down.

“Oh my god,” Lex muttered, horrified. “Hold on!”

Lex ran to the boy, and started lifting the rocks off of him.

“Don’t worry, kid,” he said. “I’ll get you to a hospital or something.”

Then, the boy smiled. Not a happy smile, but a sinister one.

“Don’t bother,” Nicholas told Lex. “I can help myself.”

Without warning, Nicholas took a square device out of his pocket. It was covered with circuits and wires, a crystal diamond in the center, which seemed to shimmer in the moonlight. He then quickly attached it to Lex’s chest.

At the very second it touched him, something resembling red lightning began to course over Lex’s body, covering him from head to toe. His eyes started to glow the same crimson color.

“AHHHHHHHH!” he screamed in pain as the energy crackled around him. His mind started to become clouded, he couldn’t think straight.

Then, he collapsed to the ground.

Nicholas put his hands over the rocks, causing them to evaporate into dust. Standing up, he brushed himself off and walked towards Lex.

He offered his hand.

“Have a nice trip?” he asked, as he helped him to his feet.

“Does it look like that was pleasant?” Lex snapped. “Couldn’t you find a less painful way, Nicholas?”

Nicholas shook his head.

“Not unless you want the same limitations as before,” he replied. “We’ve never attempted it before. Either way, welcome to earth.”

Lex dusted himself off, then walked to the car. Nicholas climbed in the passenger’s side and they drove away.

A few moments later, Nicholas finally spoke up.

“Look at it this way, at least you have a fully grown body,” he said, grinning.

“I would have killed you if I didn’t,” he replied. “Where are we, by the way?”

“Smallville,” Nicholas answered him. “It’s a agriculture-centered town in Kansas.”

“I studied those maps you sent back,” Lex recalled. “That’s quite a way from New Mexico.”

“I followed Liz Parker here,” he informed him.

Lex turned to him and sighed in frustration.

“And I care about Zan’s little concubine why?” he asked, annoyed.

“You wouldn’t believe how much of a bargaining chip hostages are here,” Nicholas explained. “Zan’s protective of her. Threaten her…”

“And he might hand me exactly what I want?” he asked. “Ok, where is she?”

Nicholas didn’t answer. He just started to stare ahead, towards the Kent farm…which was surrounded by police and firemen.

“There,” he said. “At least, she was”

*****

Luckily, the firemen got there in time to stop the fire from spreading. Unfortunately, the place was completely empty by the time they got there.

The town sheriff sighed in frustration as he turned to the deputy.

“Any bodies?” he asked.

“None sir,” the deputy replied, shaking his head. “So either they got away, or this wasn’t an accident.”

“Probably the later,” a voice replied, behind them. “If they had gotten away, they would have tried to contact someone to let them know they were safe. This has ‘abduction’ written all over it.”

They turned around to see someone walking towards them. It was a man, Caucasian, in his late thirties. His hair was styled in crew-cut fashion, and he wore a brown trench coat. He flashed a detective badge to the sheriff.

“John Jones, Denver PD,” he read. “You’re a long way from Colorado, detective Jones.”

“Following a lead,” he replied. “Should have called ahead to warn you about this. You might have been able to stop him.”

“Him?” the sheriff asked. “You know who did this?”

“Sorry, that’s confidential,” John informed him. “How many are missing?”

“Five,” he answered. “Two adults and three teenagers. Jonathan Kent, his wife and son, a local girl, and their new farmhand. Elizabeth Parker, or something.”

John’s eyes showed shock, but he attempted to hide it.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Lana Lang, her boyfriend Whitney, and Pete Ross ran up to the sheriff. Before they could ask detective Jones, anything, he had slipped away.

However, he noticed two people watching the scene. Lex Luthor and Nicholas. He could sense something was wrong with them. But he didn’t pursue it. Better to deal with them later.

Right now he had a phone call to make.

*****

In LA, the mansion of film mogul Cal Langley…

Langley was adjusting his tux when the phone rang. Great. Just when he’s on his way to the big premiere, someone calls. Probably that talent scout again. Oh well, fresh talent was cheap talent.

“Hey, this is Langley,” he said into the phone.

“Cal?” the voice said on the other line. He knew that voice.

“Jones?” he sighed. “What do you want? I’m sort of late for a premiere.”

“A case I’m working on, there’s been a kidnapping,” John replied. “Liz Parker is one of the victims.”

“I’m a director, not a cop,” Cal informed him. “Detective work is your forte, remember?”

“She’s romantically involved with Maxwell Evans,” he said in a monotone voice.

“Wonderful,” Cal said sarcastically. “Last time I tried to help Max, I was almost killed. Why on earth would I want to help him now?”

“I think it’s Pierce,” John told him. “I saw Nicholas at the scene. Someone was with him.”

“All the more reason to stay as far away as you can, John,” Cal warned. “Don’t get involved. You’ll just get yourself hurt to.”

“Not if I had your help, pal,” he asked.

“I have my own life,” Cal argued. “You’re a fool if you consider butting in.”

“Better a fool than a coward,” John replied, before hanging up the phone.

All right, then. He would have to do it alone.

He just hoped he wouldn’t be too late this time.

*****

Clark sat in a chair in the center of a room. It had no windows, and only one door. The air smelled stale, almost artificial. Two armed guards guarded the door, as the man who had threatened his father earlier circled around him. At this point, he had switched his ‘commando’ uniform for a three-piece suit.

"Where are my parents?” Clark asked him, finally having had enough of the silence. “If you’ve done anything to them…”

Pierce turned to face him, giving him a cold stare.

“I’ll ask the questions here, alien,” he spat. “What is your connection with Max Evans?”

Clark tried to look completely unemotional. That’s how they did it in movies, right? When you interrogate someone, you look for any indications that may help.

“I asked you a question,” Pierce said. “What do you know about Max Evans?”

“We spoke on the phone,” Clark joked, giving a little smirk. It wasn’t exactly a lie, either.

“Don’t play cute with me,” he replied. “Do you honestly expect me to believe you don’t know anything.”

“Believe what you want, it’s the truth,” Clark reassured him. “The only thing I know about Max is that he has a deep voice and he’s Liz’s boyfriend. Beyond that, I don’t know what he has you’d be so interested in.”

An ironic smile appeared on Pierce’s face. He didn’t really know anything.

“You really don’t know do you?” he asked. “Well, your parents are safe. For the moment, anyway. I’ve seen what you can do, boy, so I won’t take chances. Try to escape, or help anyone else escape, or attack me or my men, and they will die. Understand that?”

Clark nodded, becoming angrier by the minute.

“You are possibly in one of the most bizarre coincidences in the world,” Pierce continued. “You are an alien, correct?”

Clark didn’t answer. It was obvious what was happening here. His parents had been right all along. This was some sort of ‘alien hunter’, and he had caught him.

“Answer the question!” Pierce demanded.

“Yes, I’m from another planet,” Clark snapped. “No use trying to hide what you already know.”

Pierce smiled smugly.

“I’m in the business to catching people like you, Clark,” he said. “But we had absolutely no idea you were there or anything about you. Liz Parker was our target, you were just an added bonus.”

Clark looked up, surprised. That ‘force field’ she made on the farm when the explosion went of. She was like him?

“Liz is an alien too?” Clark asked.

“No, no,” Pierce laughed. “Her boyfriend is, though. We’ve been after him for three years now, and I think we’ve found the perfect bait.”

“Who’s ‘we’?” he asked.

“The Federal Bureau Of Investigations,” Pierce responded casually.

“The FBI!?!” he yelled, almost jumping up from his chair. “You’re supposed to be protecting us, not kidnapping us and threatening our lives!”

“We protect the public,” he said. “National security. Not freaks from outer space.”

“Chloe and my parents are human, so is Liz,” he pointed out.

“Necessary casualties, I’m afraid,” Pierce said coldly. “Oh, and I never said Liz was human. I just said she wasn’t an alien.”

*****

Jesse and Isabel Ramirez looked at the expensive dining hall in awe. They were in Sana Fe, with Isabel’s father on a case. Isabel had decided to tag along, simply because she was curious about what the big deal was.

Suffice to say, she was impressed.

“What do you think, sweetheart?” he father, Phillip Evans asked her.

“We’ll take it,” she joked.

“I wish,” Jesse said, half-laughing. “The entire firm could hardly afford to rent this place.”

“What is this?” a voice called out to them. “I’m not paying good money for you to give tours of my building, Mr. Evans.”

Lionel Luthor walked up to the three of them. Dressed in a black business suit, and his neatly, trimmed beard, he seemed to be completely humorous.

“Of course not, Mr. Luthor,” he said. “This here is Jesse Ramirez, the best lawyer on my entire staff.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Luthor,” Jesse said, putting his hand out.

They shook hands.

“Well, I hope Philip’s description of your abilities are not hyperbole, Mr. Ramirez,” he mentions.

“I’ll do my best, Mr. Luthor,” Jesse responded.

“And who is the young lady?” Lionel asked, turning to Isabel.

“That would be Jesse’s beautiful wife, and my daughter, Isabel,” Mr. Evans informed him.

“Congratulations,” Luthor said, with a smile. “Being the president of a family business, I can relate. I simply wish my son was as enthusiastic.”

“Oh, I’m enthusiastic enough,” a voice said from behind them. “My father simply doesn’t like the way I do business.”

They turn around, seeing the twenty-something young man facing them.

“I’m Lex Luthor”

“Lex, please could you attempt to bury our disagreements in front of business associates,” Lionel muttered.

“Of course, dad” he answered.

He looked at Isabel. A bit longer than she felt comfortable with. There was something…familiar…about him.

Oh well, it was probably just nerves.

*****

Chloe and Liz were in a small room, a glass shield separating them from the hallway outside. They sat at the lower half of a bunk bed, looking down.

Then, they heard the glass door slide open, catching their attention. Someone was coming inside.

Pierce walked inside, pushing Clark in front of him.

“Hello, ladies,” Pierce said, then turned to Clark. “Just what are you?”

Clark stole a look at Chloe, taking a deep breath before turning back to Pierce.

“You know what I am,” he muttered.

In a swift motion, Pierce took out a knife, and struck at Clark with it.

“CLARK!!!” Chloe screamed in horror, jumping forward. Liz grabbed her, holding her back.

Both girls watched in surprise, as the knife shattered into a thousand Pieces. It was over. There was no denying anything now. Everyone in the room knew his secret.

“And the point of that was…?” he asked Pierce, defiantly.

“We know you’re an alien, kid,” Pierce mentioned. “What we don’t know is what kind. You can’t be hurt by anything we have. Your senses are a hundred times what ours are. You’re stronger than anything we’ve ever seen. Even your DNA is unreadable. We can’t even analyze it.”

“Isn’t that a shame?” Clark responded, sarcastically. “Let Chloe go, you don’t need her.”

“She knows about us and about you, alien,” he said.

“My name is Clark!” he spat.

“Because a pair of farmers named you that?” Pierce asked. “You’re not human, why keep up this charade?”

“I’m more human than you’ll ever be,” he whispered.

In rage, Pierce struck him. Wincing in pain, he clutched his now-sore hand. Then he called for the guards.

“Take Ms. Parker to the White Room,” he ordered, and then marched out.

The guards entered the cell, and grabbed Liz by the arms, pulling her away.

“NO!” she yelled, and tried to struggle out of their grips. But it was no use. She couldn’t control her powers, so she couldn’t save herself.

They pulled her out, slamming the door behind them. Clark and Chloe were there now…alone.

An uneasy silence came over the two of them. Both refused to look the other in the eyes.

Finally, Clark spoke up.

“Chloe, I…”

“You’re an alien?” she asked, looking into his crystal-blue eyes. “We’re not talking from another country, are we? We’re talking from another planet, right?”

Clark nodded.

“The meteor shower,” he explained. “My…ship…crashed at the exact same time.”

“And…and I guess you just forgot to tell your best friend about it, huh?” she asked, angry. “Oh, I guess us poor inferior humans aren’t good enough to know the truth.”

“Chloe, no…” he said, his eyes softening. “I didn’t even know myself until my mom and dad told me a few months ago. I didn’t tell you because…I was scared.”

“Scared?” she asked, still mad. “Of what? You…you’re invulnerable.”

“That you’d think I was some sort of monster,” he finally blurted out.

Those words almost shattered Chloe’s heart.

“Chloe, you’re my best friend in the entire world,” he reminded her. “And the though that I might…lose you…because of what I was, it was more than I could bare.”

Chloe didn’t know how to respond to that. So she did the only thing she could do.

She wrapped her arms around him and held him close. After a moment, she finally said something.

“Wait a minute,” she wondered. “Those meteor mutants…did you have something to do with stopping them?”

Clark nodded.

“I fought each and every one of them,” he informed her.

“My god, Smallville’s own personal ‘vampire slayer’,” she said, with a grin.

“No vampires yet, but…” he joked.

Both of them laughed for a moment. It felt good.

“So, you got an escape plan?” she asked.

“I was going to ask you the same thing,” he responded. “They’re holding my parents. If I do anything, they’ll kill them.”

*****

Liz sat in a chair, her arms fastened to it with metal bands. She was in the middle of a room with no windows, and only one door. There was a mirror on one side…probably a two-way one.

She knew where she was. She had seen it in Max’s mind.

The White Room.

Liz was trembling inside, terrified. Max had never completely told her what they did to him in here. Not even when they were connected, because his subconscious wouldn’t even let him completely remember. However, she did know that, whatever it was, was so horrible that it traumatized him. Max was one of the strongest people she had ever known, yet even the mention of this place made him as scared as a lost child.

Suddenly, the door opened, and in walked Pierce.

Don’t let on that you’re scared, she though to yourself. If he can see that, he’ll know how to get to you.

Oh god, what was he going to do to her?

“Comfy?” he asked.

Liz mentally recited the periodic table, like she always did when she was scared. It relaxed her.

"Who are you?" she asked. "I know you're not Pierce...he's dead. You just...look like an older him."

"Ah, I see you've met my brother, then?" he asked, bile rising up in his voice.

Brother?

"Yes, he's quite dead," Pierce recalled, hatred in his voice. "It was a tragedy, too. Killed...by an alien. By Max Evans."

"Max never killed anyone," Liz whispered, fear in her eyes. "He would never..."

"Then it was his sister, then," he cut her off. "Or Gurin..."

Without warning, Pierce grabbed Liz's hair and pulled her head backwards.

"Ah..." she yelped.

"What do you want?" she asked, pleading for an answer.

"Simple," he explained. "My brother died because of Max, so I want him...dead!"

Pierce paced around the room, his eyes watching Liz. He was almost like a walking shark.

"There's something else, too," he explained to her after a moment. "Doctor?"

Just then, a doctor walked through the door. It was Liz's...the one she went to when her powers first showed up. Liz's mouth hung open, a look of betrayal apparent in her face.

"Liz...I'm sorry," he said, and handed Pierce a chart.

"Don't judge the doctor too harshly, Ms. Parker," Pierce said. "He was just doing his job. According to these charts, you're human. You're not an alien at all, but you have their powers."

He leaned in close to her, until she could feel his breath on her face.

"Max gave you those powers, didn't he?" he asked. "I want to know how."

Liz kept her mouth clamped shut. It was obvious what he was after now...and she had no intention of letting him have it.

"Do they transfer with a kiss?" he asked. "Blood transfusion? Constant presence? Does it go to his chosen mate?"

Liz still didn't answer.

"The doctor here said you got pretty defensive when he asked if you were sexually active," he mentioned with a grin, touching the side of her face. "Is that how he did it to you?"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she yelled, not thinking.

Pierce backed away from her, still smiling.

"Fine then," he muttered. "I want that power. If you won't tell me how to get it, we'll just have to do this the hard way..."

Almost immediately, five scientists entered the room. One of then checked Liz's pulse, while another rolled up her sleeve.

Panic filled Liz’s mind. She took a deep breath, realizing what they were about to do. A single tear fell down her cheek.

Max…help!

Max. That single thought...that single name...would probably be the only thing that would help her stay sane for whatever happened next. She watched, terrified, as one of the scientists filled a syringe with a light-blue liquid.

"You're a scientist, right Liz?" Pierce asked with sinister delight. "Consider yourself an experiment."

Max. Think of Max… That thought kept going through her mind, as the three-inch needle pierced the skin of her arm.

That was when Liz Parker started to scream.

*****

"LIIIIIIIIIIIIZZZZZZ! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Max Evans screamed at the top of his lungs, sitting up in bed. His face was covered in sweat, having just woken up from a nightmare.

"Geez, Maxwell!" Michael said as he ran into the room. "I think the whole neighborhood heard you."

"It was Liz," Max informed him, breathing heavily. "She...she was in pain. It...I know it was my fault. She kept asking me...begging me to save her. But I..."

"Hey," his friend said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, take it easy, Max. It was just a dream, right?"

Max took a deep breath. Yeah, it was a dream. But it had seemed so real. He and Liz…they were in the White Room. Together this time. Pierce was there too…alive. Then he started to…to torture Liz just like he did to him.

“Yeah, you’re right…” Max said, trying to convince himself. “Just a dream.”

If only he knew.

*****

Clark and Chloe still stood together in the cell.

Chloe could hardly believe everything he had told her. Beginning with the meteor rocks, and what they did to him, to when his dad told him where he came from.

It was a lot to take in. To find out that someone you’ve known your entire life wasn’t what they appeared to be.

“Pierce is some sort of alien hunter, then?” Chloe asked. “That’s why he came after you, isn’t it?”

“No,” Clark corrected her. “He was after Liz.”

Chloe stepped back, surprised.

“Liz is an alien, too?” she asked.

“No, but her boyfriend is apparently,” he informed her. “I spoke with him on the phone before Pierce showed up. He sounded…normal.”

“So do you,” Chloe reminded him.

Before either of them could continue, the cell door opened. Then, two guards dragged Liz inside. Her shoulder was bleeding, and she seemed to be weak. As if the guards were the only reason she didn’t crumple to the floor.

Chloe ran over and caught her, just as the guards let her go. They left, letting Chloe bring Liz to the bed.

“What did they do to you?” she asked, worried.

Clark walked up to the two girls, concerned.

“Can you heal it?” Liz asked, her voice ragged.

“Huh?” he asked.

“My shoulder…” she asked again. “Could you use your powers to…?”

Clark sighed, then kneeled down next to her.

“My powers…” he told her. “They don’t work that way. I can’t heal wounds or make pain go away or anything like that.”

Liz sighed. She should have realized that herself. His other powers weren’t like Max’s, so why should he have Max’s healing ability? The truth was that the shoulder didn’t bother her so much. It was the fact that Max wasn’t there. Thinking of him was the only thing that had kept her sane when she was in there.

“Maybe…” Clark said, then ripped the sleeve off his shirt. He wrapped the torn fabric tightly around Liz’s wounded shoulder, and tied it in a knot.

“Here,” he said. “Keep it tight, it’ll stop the bleeding.”

“My god, you ARE a boy scout!” Chloe joked, smirking at him.

“No, I’m a farmer,” Clark corrected his friend. “Dad made sure I knew everything about first aid, just in case anything bad ever happened with the equipment. Not that I’d ever need it myself. But I’m not complaining.”

“Thank you,” Liz whispered.

A moment of silence came upon the three of them. But only a moment…

“Soooo….” Chloe said. “You’re dating an alien, huh?”

“Chloe?!” Clark protested, but it was no use. He knew her well enough to know that she wouldn’t stop until she got some answers.

Liz actually managed to laugh.

“Yeah, you could say that I am.”

“Max has powers, then?” Clark asked her. “Like me?”

“Not like you,” Liz corrected him. “They’re different.”

“In what way?” he continued.

Liz sighed, sitting up.

“I’m going to try something,” she said. “Do you two trust me?”

Clark and Chloe gave each other looks, then turned towards Liz.

“Yeah,” Clark said. “We do.”

Liz put out her hands.

“Give me your hands,” she asked. The two teenagers complied.

“Now I want you to try and blank out your minds,” Liz continued. “Close your eyes…take deep breaths…and concentrate...”

Then it happened...

Clark suddenly found himself in a diner, and saw Liz wearing a waitress uniform. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw two men struggling over a gun…

...a gun that went off, shooting Liz.

The restaurant went into a panic, as things focused on two boys sitting at a nearby table.

"What are you doing? Let go of me."

"Max, what are you gonna do?"

Max...ran over to the wounded Liz... "Liz, LIZ! You have to look at me. You have to look at me."

The scene quickly changed to a classroom, where Liz and Max are talking.

"Well, I’m not from around here"

"Where are you from?"

Max points up.

Liz just stairs at him than says, "Up north?"

Max then points higher.

"You're not an, a...alien, I mean. Are you?"

Clark felt as if he was living another person’s life in fast-foreword. He saw Max make a connection with her, the same way she was with him and Chloe right now. Then he saw Sheriff Valenti threaten Max... ...her grandmother dying... ...the two of them kissing on her balcony...

Liz walking away from him, tears in her eyes.

"I didn’t do that."

“Please, don’t shut me out...”

LIZ: Max, who else knows this?

LIZ: What about your parents?

MAX: We don't tell anyone. We sorta think our lives depend on it.

MAX: Yea.

MAX: It was you.

*****

Clark and Chloe stumbled back once the connection was broken. Each one had a shocked look in their face.

“What did you see?” Liz asked.

“Uh,” Chloe said. “Wow! That was…intense…”

“Yeah,” Clark said. “How…how did you do that? Telepathy or something?”

“No, it’s…hard to explain,” Liz said.

Clark paced around the room for a second, taking it all in.

“I think I got it,” Chloe said. “Basically, your boyfriend is like this…half-human, half-alien combination. And Pierce, who should be dead, is after him.”

“It’s Pierce’s brother,” Liz corrected her. “He told me. He thinks Max killed his brother.”

“Did he?” Clark asked.

“No,” she answered. “No, that was somebody else.”

“Your powers…” he said suddenly. “Max somehow transferred his to you, right?”

“Yeah, but I can’t control them,” she informed him. “Pierce wants to know how I got them, to repeat it on himself.”

“Not a good idea,” Chloe said, worried. “We do not want that loony to have super powers. That’s out of the question. We have to get out of here.”

“If I make a move, they kill my parents,” Clark reminded the two of them.

*****

Pierce walked through the hallway, a smug smile on his face. The thought of that alien bugged him. How dare he think he was ‘human’, anyway? Who would dare talk that way to the FBI.

Of course, he wasn’t FBI. Not anymore, at least. That ended when he threw this job in his bosses’ face, after those idiots in Washington had shut down the special unit. That…shape shifter…who had been posing as his brother helped with that. But he knew…he knew the truth, and he wasn’t going to stand for it.

Luckily for him, his brother had kept notes, and videos, of his mission. Where the White Room was located, their powers, even who the human species traitors were. Just a few dozen other former agents, and he was set.

All he had to do now was get the secret from the girl. Then, when he had the power, he would kill Evans with his bare hands.

The thought quickly left Pierce as he walked past the cell and saw Liz sprawled on the floor.

“SOMEBODY GET A DOCTOR IN HERE!!!” Clark Kent started to yell.

Damn! He pushed those tests too far. He didn’t expect her to…

Pierce quickly opened the cell and ran up to her.

“Just calm down, kid,” he ordered, and kneeled down. Only to see Liz’s eyes wide open. She was conscious?

That’s when he heard footsteps running away from him. The other one…

“CHLOE RUN!” Liz yelled. Pierce hit her, then used his communicator.

“We’ve got an escapee, on sub-level three,” he called. “Human, female. Blonde. Between fifteen and sixteen.”

*****

Don’t think, just run!

That thought kept going through Chloe’s head. She had to get out of there. Otherwise, they’d keep Clark and his parents and Liz as long as they wanted. Then, eventually, kill them.

How long until they found out about the meteor rocks?

She ducked down a side hallway, just as three agents passed by. Taking a deep breath she continued on, until she saw a large grating below her feet.

Either it was the air conditioning, or the sewer.

“Only one way to find out,” she muttered to herself, then opened it up and jumped in.

It was the sewer.

*****

Pierce flung his fist against the plexi-glass door in rage.

“DAMN IT!” he yelled. “I warned you, kid!”

Then he took out his phone.

“The Kents…kill them!” he ordered.

“NO!” Clark yelled.

Using super-speed, Clark ran right up to him, snatching the phone away. Pierce quickly took out his gun.

“I’m betting you aren’t bullet-proof, kid!” he said.

He was wrong, of course. But Clark wasn’t just ready to give him that information yet.

“I could of escaped at any time, but I didn’t,” Clark said, handing him back his phone. “Do you honestly think the police are going to believe a 15-year-old talking about aliens? I’ll tell you this much: if my parents are dead, there is nothing that will stop me from tearing you apart piece by peace”

Pierce smiled, impressed.

“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that,” he said, then turned back on the phone. “Belay that ‘kill’ order, boys. I’ve got something better.”

He turned the gun on Liz.

“Liz, come with me,” he ordered, with a grin.

Liz, not having a choice, followed him out the door.

For a long time, Clark sat there…alone in the cell.

For all his power, he had never felt so helpless. If he wanted to, he could have torn the entire instillation apart with his bare hands, but he couldn’t do anything as long as his parents were in danger. There was only one hope.

Chloe.

“Chloe, please hurry,” he whispered.

Then he heard the screams coming from the hallway…

“RHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!”

His fear suddenly became anger.

“You’re not getting away with this, Pierce,” he vowed. “I promise it!”

*****

Chloe had climbed out a drainage pipe just outside of Roswell, New Mexico. Once there, she just kept on running.

She had to get there…fast! There was no telling whether they were still following her or not.

She came to a small city…must be Roswell. Then she ran through the city streets as fast as she could. Panting, scared, desperate…she had to find them.

Then, suddenly, she saw it. The Crashdown Café. Exactly where Liz said it was.

Chloe just hoped she wasn’t too late.

She ran up to the front door…locked! She pounded on it…

“Open up, please…” she yelled. “Somebody help!”

That’s when the door suddenly opened, and a figure looked at her.

“Yeah?” Michael asked her.

Short of breath, Chloe simply stared at the stranger.

“I need to talk to Max Evans,”

*****

Deep underground, Kyle wandered blindly. The tunnel was deep, and had gone on for hours. How deep was it, exactly?

Maybe he should have gone back for the other after all.

Suddenly, he realized something. There shouldn’t have been any light this far underground. Yet, a soft, green glow came from the cave walls. As if illuminated by it’s own unseen energy.

That was crazy, he thought. Walls don’t glow. Rock and dirt don’t have lights.

That’s when he saw it. Just beyond his line of sight, was a large, silver machine. With windows, and a door.

A spaceship.

“Holy!” he whispered. “I really should have went to dad first.”

Kyle

Kyle did a double take. Was someone…calling him?

Kyle Valenti

There it was again. Something he didn’t hear…but felt.

Kyle, please help me.

Reluctantly, Kyle approached the ship.

*****

A few moments later, inside the Crashdown Café.

Chloe sat in a chair, as Jim Valenti brought her a glass of water. The Crashdown was closed for the night, so there was no one else there.

Only Chloe, Jim, Max, and Michael.

She didn’t know what to say. These were perfect strangers…people she had never met in her entire life. Yet, here and now, they were her only hope to save Clark.

And they were Liz’s best friends. She had to remember that.

“Now, what seems to be the trouble?” the former sheriff  asked her as she drank.

“I--I need to talk to Max Evans,” she responded, swallowing quickly.

Curious, Max walks up to her, taking the empty glass from her.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Liz told me to ask for you.” she told him. “Said you were the only one who could...”

“Liz?” he asked, shocked. “She's here? In Roswell? Where?”

Max could hardly contain his excitement. Liz was back in Roswell? Why wasn’t she there?

“Slow down, Maxwell,” Michael warned him, stepping between Max and Chloe. “The girl looks like she's about to faint.”

Chloe quickly stood up, pushing Michael to the side.

“Could someone tell 'mullet-boy' over there I can talk for myself?” she commented, walking up to Max. “They took her to get to you. They were holding all three of us, god I was so scared. I thought they were going take me in that 'White Room' too.”

When Max heard her words, the glass dropped from his hand and shattered into a thousand fragments. His face turned dead white, a look of absolute horror in his eyes.

The words kept going through his mind like a mantra:

White Room!

WHITE ROOM!

Memories flooded his mind. Pain, questions, torture, searing anguish...

“Max?” Michael asked, going up to him. “MAX?”

Michael shook Max by the shoulder, trying to snap him out of it. Max grabbed his arm, showing that he was all right.

“We have to get her out of there,” he whispered.

“Yeah, I know,” his friend answered him. “I'll call Isabel, we'll get there as soon as we…”

“WE HAVE TO GO NOW!!!” Max ordered, cutting him off. “You...you don't know what it was like in there. What...what they did to...to...”

Then, it hit him. With the force of a title wave. Images. Not his own thoughts, but the thoughts of someone else. Reaching out for him. Holding onto him for dear life.

Then came the bloodcurdling scream.

“RRRRHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” the girl’s scream cut through him like a knife. Almost simultaneously, Max screamed himself. Grasping his own head in pain, he collapsed to the floor.

The others all ran up to Max, as Michael helped him up.

“Is he all right?” Chloe asked, concerned.

Max faces Michael, his nose bleeding. Then, though gritted teeth, he said…

“Where...is she...?”

Max, Michael, Chloe, and Valenti break into the government facility to rescue Liz and Clark, not knowing that Pierce is expecting them. Luckily, Clark has a plan of his own. Where does detective John Jones fit into all of this?

Plus, Kyle’s encounter with the alien spacecraft. Don’t miss it!