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’.

Without a moment’s notice, Tess Harding felt herself flying backwards through the hole she had made in the wall of the Crashdown. Moving faster than anyone on the street could see, she suddenly found herself lying on the ground in an ally.

“And you would be?” the voice of her attacker asked her.

Quickly, she scrambled to her feet. At the entrance to the ally was a boy. He looked about 15, with a very strong build, jet-black hair, and piercing blue eyes.

“You…” she spat. “…have just made the biggest mistake of your life! Who are you?!”

“The name’s Clark,” he answered, walking towards her. “Those are my friends you just hurt…”

However, before he could get close enough, she raised her hand towards him. A force blast erupted from it, causing him to crash into the wall.

Tess smirked, satisfied, then began to walk out of the ally. Clark pulled himself to his feet.

He shouldn’t have underestimated this woman. Obviously, she had the same powers that the other Roswell aliens had. But who…

Then it hit him. Something Maria had said.

“You’re Tess, right?” he asked.

Tess turned around in surprise. She was certain that the impact against the wall would have knocked him out, if not outright kill him.

Immediately, she sent another force blast his way. This time, though, Clark was ready.

Using super speed, he moved out of the path of the force blast, so that it only struck a trio of garbage cans. He came to a stop behind her.

“I don’t like the thought of hitting girls,” he commented, causing her to spin around.

Before she could fire another force blast, Clark sped towards her and grabbed her wrist.

“But killers are something else altogether,” he finished. With a single shove, he threw Tess head-first into the pile of garbage cans she knocked over earlier.

“Maria told me about you,” Clark informed Tess. “About how you pretended to be on their side, then murdered their friend, Alex. I’m not going to let you kill anyone else…you’re going to jail!”

“Oh, I’m not going to kill them…” Tess answered as she pulled herself off the ground. “…you are.”

She closed her eyes and started to concentrate. Reaching deep inside of herself for her own unique power…her mind warp. The ability that allowed her to control the minds and perceptions of others.

Then she used it on Clark. Full force.

“Ahhhgggg!” he screamed in pain, clutching his temples. His head started to pound like a drum as he fell to his knees.

*****

Max was the first one to regain consciousness. Although that wasn’t exactly true…all of them could hear what had happened, but for some reason couldn’t do a damned thing about it. As if they were paralyzed.

Nonetheless, he was the first one to regain mobility. Besides Detective John Jones, that is. Strangely enough, he had risen to his feet almost the second that Clark knocked Tess onto the streets.

“Max, listen to me,” Jones told him. “Use your powers to repair the wall. Then help me revive the others.”

Max looked at him, shocked.

“But all these people…” he began to argue, but the sight before him stopped him cold.

John’s eyes were glowing bright red. There was also something strange about his voice. It was deeper, almost otherworldly.

“No one in this building can either see nor hear us,” the cold voice told him. “They don’t even realize that something has happened. Look…”

He was right. Everyone, including Mr. Parker, acted as if nothing had happened. They just continued to eat their meals, oblivious.

“You’re doing this, aren’t you?” Max asked him. “You’re an alien, too.”

“We must get to the UFO center,” Jones replied. “I will explain everything there.”

Max looked at him doubtfully.

“Everything?” he asked.

John sighed.

“Everything that you need to know,” he finished with a normal voice.

Max still didn’t know what to think. However, he began to use his powers to revive Liz and the others. Whatever the case, he was going to get some answers.

*****

Back in the alleyway, Clark thought his head would explode. He couldn’t hear anything…couldn’t even see. All he knew was the intense pain inside his head. Probing…piercing his mind.

He gritted his teeth, attempting to keep himself together.

While he stayed there, kneeling on the ground, Tess simply smiled. She still had no idea who this ‘Clark’ was, but he obviously had powers. He was fast…strong too, evidenced by how effortlessly he pushed her. The perfect weapon…something that Max couldn’t fight.

As soon as she finished mind-warping him, she would send Clark here back to the Crashdown and have him kill all of them.

However, there was one problem with her plan. One that, as soon as she realized it, caused her eyes to go wide in panic.

Simply put, the mind warp wasn’t working.

Repeat…the mind warp…wasn’t…WORKING???

“This isn’t possible…” she said in horror. “How are you doing this? ANSWER ME!!!”

Clark didn’t answer, because he couldn’t really hear her. All he could feel was the pounding in his head. It was getting stronger, as she put more force behind her power.

Then he did the only thing he could do…stop the source of the pain.

Raising his fist into the air, Clark brought it down towards the ground.

KA-BOOOM!!!!

The second his fist connected with the cement, it created a shockwave that caused the ground to erupt. It also knocked Tess off her feet, breaking her concentration for a second.

But a second was all he needed.

His motions a blur, Clark grabbed Tess and threw her against a wall. Before she could even cry out, he ran up to her again and threw her in the opposite direction, where she skidded across the floor.

Tess hit him with another force blast, but he put up his hand and stopped it. He stopped her power…with his bare hand? Even more, he was slowly walking forward, forcing it back.

She had one more idea…something Nasedo had taught her. Quickly, she placed her other hand against his heart and caused it to glow.

“Ahhhh!” he exclaimed. “What are you…”

What was she doing? Simple..she was cutting off the flow of blood to his heart. She was giving him a virtual heart attack.

However, a flash of blue light threw her back against the wall. It was her own power, backfiring for some reason. How was this possible.

Then she saw that Clark was unharmed. The only thing she had done was burn off a section of his shirt, and etch a silver handprint into his skin. And, in seconds, even that started to fade away.

“What are you?” she whispered.

She couldn’t blast him, she couldn’t mind-warp him…she couldn’t kill him. This person wasn’t human, he wasn’t even Antarian.

Then she had an idea…one last desperate plan.

She placed her hand against the building, and it started to shake.

“What are you doing?!” he demanded.

Tess just grinned.

“I’m wondering if you care about those humans out there as much as Max does?” she asked.

“No…” he whispered in horror, then ran towards the end of the ally.

The building was starting to crumble, with people running every which way to escape it.

But one little girl didn’t know enough to get away. She just stood there, watching the wall of the building start to crumble towards her.

“Mommy?!” the girl asked, not knowing the danger she was in.

Clark had no choice.

He took off as fast as he could, faster than anyone could see. He sped under the crumbling wall, scooping the child up in his arms, and delivering her out of harm’s way.

Little did he know that, at that very moment, Michael Gurin’s motorcycle had arrived right across the street. He had seen everything, and clenched his fists in anger.

Oblivious to his presence, Clark just held the now-crying girl, as her mother arrived.

“Don’t run off like that again,” she said, hugging her daughter. “Thank you. Thank you so much…”

But before she could lay eyes on the rescuer, Clark had vanished.

*****

Clark raced back to the ally, only to find that Tess was gone now.

Go back to the UFO center, Clark!

“Who said that?” he asked, searing his surroundings.

There was no one there.

*****

The UFO center was all but abandoned now. Strangely, there was a ‘closed’ sign on the entrance, even though these were normal business hours.

Michael, Maria, Valenti, Chloe, and Jonathan sat in the main display area, waiting for the final two to get there.

“I don’t get what she’s doing here?” Michael asked the others, pointing at Chloe.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Chloe responded sarcastically. “I had no idea this was an ‘aliens only’ convention. Now apologize before I nail you to that wall with your balloon-headed cousin”

Maria looks at her and grins.

“Ok, her I like” she said.

Michael just scoffed. However, everyone’s attention was suddenly diverted by Clark speeding into the museum.

“Where’s Tess?” Valenti asked him.

“She got away,” Clark sighed. “She tried to crush some people with a building, and I had to save them. By the time I got back she was gone.”

“Save them?” Maria asked. “How?”

Michael got up and approached Clark angrily.

“He used his powers in public, that’s how!” Michael spat. “You ran out like Speedy Gonzolas in front of everyone and snatched that kid before the rocks hit her, right? What’s wrong with you?!”

Clark just about had enough of this. He hadn’t thought about keeping his secret, just saving the girl.

“Well, what was I supposed to do?” he demanded. “Just let her die?”

“You could have exposed us!” Michael yelled in response. “I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not be put on a dissection table!”

Before Clark can respond, however, Chloe leapt in between them.

“Where do you get off?” he asked. “He saved that girl’s life, and all of ours, and all you can worry about is how it effects you?”

“Get out of my way, Blondie!” he argues. “This is between me and Jed Clampet over here!”

“Oh, is that it?” she asked. “You would have just stood by and let that kid get crushed, right? All you care about is you and your god-damned secrets?!”

Michael stares at her in anger, grabbing her roughly by the shoulder.

“Shut up!” he yelled at her. “Shut up before I…”

“Michael, don’t!” Maria warned him, but it was too late.

Faster than anyone could see, Clark ripped Michael’s hand away from Chloe and slammed him against the wall. His teeth were gritted in anger.

“DON’T THREATEN HER!” Clark ordered. “You so much as lay a finger on Chloe, and so help me I’ll…”

That’s when he heard it. The snapping sound that probably no one else even notice. Though Michel obviously felt it. After all, his face winced in pain the second it happened.

Horrified at himself, Clark let him go and backed away.

“I…I didn’t mean…” he stammered.

Michael fell to his knees in pain, clutching his wrist. Maria ran up to him, concerned. Soon, Max and Liz ran in from the other room, having heard the noise.

“What happened?” Liz asked.

“I broke his wrist,” Clark admitted, looking at Michael. “He threatened Chloe, I didn’t know what to…oh god, I’m sorry.”

He began to approach Michael.

“Just say away from me!” Michael warned.

Beside him, Maria couldn’t help but notice something. She’s seen Michael both worried and concerned. But she didn’t think she’d ever seen him scared…not of another person, at least.

“Just hold still,” Max asked his friend as he kneeled down next to him. He touched Michael’s injured wrist, letting his power course through it. In a matter of seconds, he had repaired the damage.

Slowly, Michael stood up.

“What are you?” he asked Clark, his voice shaky. “You broke my arm without even trying. You’re not human, and you’re not like us. You’re dangerous.”

Before anything else could be said, Detective John Jones entered the room.

“Some people would say the same thing about you, Michael,” he said.

All attention went straight towards John.

“You asked for answers, and I will give them to you,” he announced, sitting down in a chair. “You are all in grave danger. Tess Harding was sent by a man named K’Var, whom most of you know already.”

Jonathan turned towards Valenti, looking for answers.

“The guy who stole Max’s throne back on their home planet,” he explained. “He’s obsessed with Isabel, and wants to kill the rest of us.”

“Got you,” Jonathan responded.

“So who are you?” Chloe asked. “You appear and disappear like a ghost. And those people at the Crashdown seemed for forget we were ever there. Are you some sort of telepath?”

“That’s not all that I am,” he admitted, his face becoming grim. “Like Max guessed, I’m also not of this earth.”

“Another alien?” Jonathan asked, a little overwhelmed by yet another extra-terrestrial showing up in as many days.

“Yes, Jonathan,” Jones continued. “I come from Maleca’andra, the fourth planet from this earth’s sun.”

Liz’s eyes went wide.

“That’s Mars,” she mentions.

“So this Martian is an actual…Martian???” Maria questions him.

John gives a small laugh and nods.

“That’s impossible,” Chloe mentions. “NASA’s sent dozens of probes to Mars and couldn’t find anything. There’s no life there.”

At that moment, John’s face becomes saddened.

“No, not anymore,” he replies, remorsefully. “However, there was before your space program began. On my world, my occupation was similar to my job here. I was called a ‘manhunter’, a member of our race charged with maintaining order by hunting down criminals, solving crimes, and punishing the guilty. I had discovered a madman who had created a plague that attacked both the mind and the body, but I…I couldn’t stop him in time. I managed to protect myself from the plague, but it was too late for anyone else. My wife…my daughter…”

A single tear escaped from his eye. Liz put her hand on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

He smiled.

“It is a pain I’ve dealt with for a long time, Liz,” he explains. “Through a series of events I found myself on the only other inhabitable planet in this solar system. To Per’elandra, the planet you call Earth. By your calendar, it was the year 1942.”

“That’s sixty years ago,” Max mentions, receiving yet another nod from John.

“Other than telepathy, my primary ability is what you refer to as ‘shape-shifting’,” he continues to explain. “I can alter my appearance to any form that I wish.”

“Like Nasedo?” Michael asked him.

“Similar, but on a much larger scale,” he said, then the transformation began.

John Jones’ appearances started shifting. His skin melted, then reformed itself…almost like silly putty. When he solidified once more, he looked exactly like Max.

“Oh…wow!” Clark stuttered. He was almost speechless. “That’s just…how do you do that?”

The Max-clone grinned and answered him:

“Though I lack Max and the others’ ability to alter the molecular structures of objects around them, I have complete control over my own. I can even cause myself to become transparent…”

“And make yourself invisible?” Chloe suggested.

“Which is why you were able to disappear like you did, right?” Max finished.

Suddenly, he moved his hand towards the wall, which passed right through it.

“By altering my density, I can become immaterial…passing through solid objects like a ghost. Or I can go the other way, and make myself as strong and as invulnerable as Clark is.”

“Can you make yourself not-Max again?” Valenti asked. “This is kind of confusing.”

With a grin, his features shifted once again, and he returned to the appearance of a 40-something detective.

“You said you came here in the forties, right?” Clark asked him. “That would make you at least 80 years old.”

“A Martian’s lifespan is several centuries, Clark,” Detective Jones continued. “I’ve never revealed my true form to anyone on Earth, because I’ve read of its history. Humans…distrust things that they don’t understand. So I kept my existence a secret from all. That is…until 1945.”

Max’s eyes went wide.

“The crash?” he exclaimed, moving to the front of the group. “You were there for the crash?”

“Yes,” John answered. “I posed as one of the guards that day, until I met up with two creatures who had survived it.”

“Nasedo and Langley?” Liz inquired.

“Correct,” he answered.

“Who are they?” Clark asked curiously. “That’s the second time you mentioned that name.”

“When our ship crashed, two other aliens were assigned as protectors for us,” Max informed him.

“Yeah, until one of them decided to play backstabber and plan to kill them,” Maria added.

Max sighed. It looked as though he had to do some more explaining.

“Nasedo cut a deal with K’Var,” he explained. “That he have Tess hand us over to him.”

“This is starting to sound like a Gene Roddenberry production,” Chloe added with a grin, then turned back to John. “So, what happened? Why aren’t you palling around with these two now?”

“Suffice to say, I presumed too much,” John admitted. “Their opinion of humans was different than mine. They thought of them as…lower beings. Insects. They often used their special abilities to harm others.”

“And you don’t?” Maria challenged. “What was that Jedi mind trick thing you pulled back at the Crashdown.”

“That was for your protection,” he answered. “I didn’t want to cause a panic, so I hid the event from their minds. They would be better off not knowing. But my telepathy is not the same as Tess’ mind warps. I can alter a person’s memories or perceptions without harming them. It was one of the beliefs of the Martian race that all life is sacred, no matter how insignificant it would seem. We were prohibited of harming any sentient creature unless it was unavoidable. Unfortunately, my newfound friends didn’t share that belief. When Nasedo murdered a man, we came into conflict.”

“Who’d he kill?” Valenti asked.

“A detective named John Jones!”

At those words, everyone in the room froze.

“I thought you were John Jones?” Michael asked.

“I have been since that night,” John informed him. “I modeled myself after the man that my ignorance couldn’t save to better understand humanity. Perhaps by living as one of them, I could come to be accepted as one of them. And though we had our differences, Langley has kept in touch with me. He has even done a similar thing.”

“This Langley guy?” Clark asked. “The name sounds familiar.”

“Cal Langley,” Max informed him.

Clark’s eyes went wide.

“The director?!” he exclaimed. “My god…I’ve seen all his movies! The man’s a genius!”

“And he’s an alien too?” Jonathan remarked. “So…you pretty much became this detective, right? All the time?”

John shook his head.

“No,” he continued. “It is merely my favorite, because it reminds me of who I used to be…the role I played on Mars. I have other identities…my shape-shifting abilities are not as limited as the others.”

“Other identities?” Liz asked. “How many?”

“At the moment, fifteen,” he said with a grin. “They change now and then. At times one of my identities have been ‘killed’, so I was forced to abandon them. Though John Jones is the one I spend the most time as. The others have varied purposes. I am an agent of the FBI, a pastry chef in Russia, a sculptor in China, a miner in Africa…each one in a spot where I can absorb the most information.”

“But how did you know about Max?” she asked. “Did you read our minds, or…”

“I didn’t have to, Liz,” he said, as his features molded themselves once again.

He changed. His hair…his skin…every facet of his appearance began altering, until…

He became Milton Ross.

“Remember me, Evans?” he asked Max.

Max stepped forward in shock.

“How long were you posing as Milton?” he demanded.

“From the second you stepped though those doors, Max!” Milton explained. “I figured that being a ‘UFO nut’ would be the best way to find out about any other extra-terrestrials possibly being on Earth. Imagine my surprise when one of the hybrids came to work for me?”

“You knew we were aliens from the beginning?” Michael asked.

“Not at first,” he said. “But considering him and his girlfriend over there talked about it in this very building all the time, it wasn’t hard for someone who can turn invisible to figure it out. After Nasedo died, I thought you didn’t need me to watch over you anymore. I thought the danger was over…I was obviously wrong.”

He shape-shifted back into John.

“So you’re here to protect them again, huh?” Chloe asked. “From this K’Var guy? What’s Clark have to do with this…is he from the same planet. Another ‘hybrid’?”

“No, they are from different races,” John told her. “The three of you are only victims of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. You’re not involved…at least not directly?”

“Meaning?” Clark asked.

“The atmosphere of earth is poisonous to an Antarean,” he continued. “There are only three ways for one of them to survive here. Be a hybrid of Antarian and human, by using the S.K.I.N. environment suits…or by possessing a normal human. K’Var has, unfortunately done the latter. He is currently in the body of Lex Luthor.”

Jonathan’s jaw dropped.

“Oh my god!” he exclaimed. “Luthor?!”

“He’s possessing Lex?” Clark asked.

“This is my fault!” Liz told them. “He must have followed me to Smallville and picked someone from there…”

“It gets worse,” Max added. “My dad and Jessie were working for a Lionel Luthor. They took Isabel with him to his estate.”

“That’s Lex’s father,” Clark added. “Coincidence?”

Michael sighs in frustration.

“Damn it!” he yells. “So now K’Var’s got Isabel?! This can’t get any worse!”

“On the contrary, Michael…it can!” John tells him. “K’Var is not here for Isabel, or for either of you…you’re all just the icing on the cake!”

“I don’t understand?” Max asked. “If not for us, then who?”

“Not who…what,” he continued. “24 hours before Pierce captured Liz and the others, something else crashed on the planet. A weapon of unimaginable power that, in the wrong hands, could incinerate entire worlds. K’Var wants this weapon, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get it. From what I’ve been able to discover, it’s somewhere outside of Roswell.”

Valenti froze. That was the answer…it was Kyle! That weapon must have did something to him! Horrified, he began to panic.

“Your son is fine, Jim!” John reassured him. “I can sense it…Kyle has found the weapon, but it has not harmed him. He is safe for now.”

“Could you not go into my head?” Valenti asked.

*****

Back underneath the desert, Kyle continued to search for a way out. No luck, though. None of the tunnels seemed to lead upwards.

Maybe if he continued to walk, he’d come to an opening of some kind? The edge of a cliff, maybe? Then he might be able to climb upwards.

Yeah, that was it. Then he’d get the doohickey to Max and forget about the bald pink alien who evaporated before his eyes.

“Stop it, Kyle!” he said out loud. “You’re gonna drive yourself crazy!”

Of course talking to yourself wasn’t crazy. Noooo…not crazy at all.

He sighed.

Still, it was pretty amazing what was down here. To think…all these caverns were hidden underneath the desert outside of Roswell, and no one had ever found them. What put them here?

Maybe it was whoever sent the aliens’ ship to earth. They could have planned the destination ahead of time and built these caverns as sort of a ‘kingdom’ for Max to dwell in until it was time to go home.

Either that or giant mutant moles. Yep…got to be moles.

He had to get out of there.

Suddenly, a faint green glow started to come from Kyle’s jacket pocked.

“Aw, no!” he complained. “What is it now?”

He reached into the pocked and pulled out the green ring that Abin had given him.

It was strange looking. Emerald green all around. Possibly made of jade…only it didn’t feel like jade. It felt heavy like gold.

And then there was the design. The center was a round gem, green like the rest of it. It sparkled like a gem, but it wasn’t a diamond or anything. Actually, it was completely flat. Surrounding the center was another circle, with a little bar shape on each side. And weirdest part was…it was glowing. Like a nightlight or something.

Maybe it was radioactive.

“No thank you!” he said out loud. “I don’t care how dangerous you are…I’m not taking any chances!”

With one swift motion, Kyle threw the ring back into the tunnel as far as he could. However, the most bizarre thing happened.

It stopped. Right there, in mid air. Then it shot back towards him.

“Uh oh!” Kyle said. “I think I made it mad!

Kyle ran down the tunnel as fast as he could, rounding several corners.

But the ring kept following him, as if it had a mind of its own. He was chasing him, no matter how fast he ran.

Finally, it circled around Kyle, blocking his way. Almost effortlessly, it slid itself onto his forefinger.

“What in Budda’s name is going on here?” Kyle asked, starring at the ring in disbelief. The soft glow suddenly faded as if it were never there.

He sighed once again.

“What the heck is this thing?”

*****

Back at the UFO museum, Chloe was examining each room left and right. Her eyes searching every ‘artifact’ that was on display. Searching for…what? Some sign of relief over the thoughts that haunted her every moment since she was stuck in that prison.

Clark, her best friend…the guy she woke up sweating after dreaming about…he wasn’t even human. Who knew whether he even had the ability to feel the same emotions as normal people. Sure, he might think that he did because of the way he was raised, but did he really feel them.

What did emotions mean to an alien. Could he even begin to understand things like friendship…and love?

“Pretty overwhelming, huh?” Liz Parker’s voice called from behind her.

Chloe turned around to see Liz walking towards her. She smiled.

“Frustrating actually,” she answered. “Here I am with the biggest story ever, and I can’t even write it. Well…it’s all for the best. No one would believe me, anyway.”

“Oh, people would believe you,” Liz corrected her. “It’s just that it would be the wrong people.”

“Like that Pierce guy?” Chloe asked. “Good point. Look, I’m sorry about what happened to your friend earlier. Clark can be…a little overprotective sometimes.”

“Knowing Michael, he was probably asking for it,” Liz laughed. “He probably looks at Clark and gets frustrated of how ‘cool’ he is about being an alien. You wouldn’t know it now, but he used to be the poster child for alien-angst.”

Chloe smirked, then looked back at the display.

“I don’t know how anyone can be so calm about this,” she continued. “I’ve always thought that there might be life on other planets, but I never expected to be one of the first people to have actual proof. Plus, it’s someone I’ve known for the better part of my life. It’s like I’ve known him for so long, but never actually known the real him. You know?”

Liz nodded.

“I still remember the first day I found out about Max,” Liz recalled. “I was…scared. You’re sort of taking it a lot better than I did. But then he connected with me, and I saw who he really was. That guy that I thought was a normal human…he was the same. Just not. ‘Alien’ is more of a state of mind, when you think of it. Being different from everybody else. I don’t care what planet Max came from…his soul is human.”

Chloe smiled, thinking over what Liz had just told her.

“So…does he know?” Liz asked out of the blue.

Chloe shook out of her reverie.

“Uh, know what?” she asked.

“Know how you feel about him?”

Chloe’s eyes went wide in surprise. How did Liz know about that? Was it obvious…did Clark notice it too?

“Back in the White Room,” Liz began to explain. “When you and Clark saw inside my head, I saw in yours too. You were so shaken up by finding out that he’s an alien that it was right there in the center of your thoughts. Not hard to miss.”

Chloe shook her head sadly.

“No,” she whispered. “You saw in Clark’s head…does he?”

“There’s something different about him,” Liz explained. “I couldn’t ‘read’ him as easily as I did you. Things were jumbled.”

Chloe nodded in understanding, then sighed.

“I know how it feels, Chloe” Liz told her. “How it feels to be in love with an alien…it’s never easy. You have doubts, your life’s in danger every moment you’re alive.”

“Then why do you do it?” she asked. “Why take that risk?”

Liz smiled.

“Because I really can’t imagine living without him” she said.

Chloe smiled.

“So…how are they?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” Liz responded, a bit confused about the question.

“You know…?” Chloe repeated, a suggestive tone in her voice.

Liz’s eyes went wide.

“Uh, I…” Liz stuttered, her face turning bright red. “I don’t actually know. We haven’t…”

The blonde raised her eyebrows.

“You kidding?” she asked jokingly. “I thought that was how you got the powers?”

Liz squealed, and covered her mouth in surprise.

“You’re as bad as Maria,” she laughed.

They both continued to laugh, until Max and Clark entered the room. They looked at each other, their faces showing confusion.

That is, until Liz notices them standing there.

“Hey, what’s up?” Liz asked, composing herself.

“Everyone’s staying here tonight,” Max explained. “Mr. Kent’s coming up with a cover story for our parents. Is that ok? Can you talk to…”

“Yeah, sure Max,” Liz agreed, and walked up to Max. Together the left the room.

Now, only Clark and Chloe were left there. Alone.

“So…what were you talking about?” Clark asked. “Really?”

Chloe smiled.

“The schematics of human/alien relations,” she said.

Clark raised his eyebrows.

“Care to give a few pointers to an old friend?” he asked.

They both laughed.

“Are these people going to be us in a few years?” Clark asked her. “I can’t imagine ever being as jaded as Gurin is about my place in the world. I would think that experience makes you more confidant, not less so.”

“So…what is your place in the world?” she asked.

Clark honestly didn’t have an answer to that question. Once upon a time he had thought finding other aliens would have made him feel…like he belonged or something. But no…he just felt even more an outcast.

Two other different races, and he wasn’t a member of either one of them.

In the midst of the moment, something strange occurred. A sound, something like music, but without any beat or rhythm to it.

“Do you hear that?” he asked Chloe.

“Hear what?” she responded. “I don’t hear anything, Clark…”

“That sound…” he continued, and walked through the museum. He followed the path of the ‘music’ as it drew him closer.

“Clark, you’re sort of freaking me out,” his friend informed him. “What are you doing?”

“Shhh,” he whispered.

Then she saw it.

In the distance was a faint blue glow, coming from one of the displays. It was one of the artifacts. It looked metallic, but seemed almost flawless. No dents on bolts on it…completely smooth. It had writing on the side, written in some strange alien language she couldn’t understand. Hieroglyphics…pictorial symbols of some kind. And at the tip was a length of white crystal that seemed to be glowing brighter the closer Clark got to it.

“Clark?” she asked. “What is it?”

Clark didn’t know. All he did know was that it…called out to him. That it knew him.

He stared into the white light, completely mesmerized by it.

“It’s the Eradicator” he finally answered Chloe.

She stared at him disbelievingly.

“How do you know that?” she asked.

“I…” he tried to explain, not finding the words. “It says so on the side.”

Slowly, Chloe’s jaw hung open in shock.

“How…how do you understand that writing?” she questioned. “Clark, how can you…?”

“I don’t know!” he whispered.

He just did. He touched the…Eradicator…and suddenly he knew how to read the writing. And that wasn’t the weird part.

No, the weird part was that it was the exact same type of writing that was found on his ship.

“Whatever this thing is…” he told her. “It comes from the same place I come from.”

A bit frightened now, Chloe grabbed onto Clark’s arm for support.

“And where’s that?” she asked absentmindedly.

Once again, the answer came to him. Almost out of nowhere.

“Krypton!”

TO BE CONTINUED...

Meanwhile, Kyle meets an mysterious being who holds the answers to the mysterious green ring.

Stay tuned for ‘Sacrifice’.