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’.

“Ok!” Kyle said to the creature in front of him. “So what are you?”

He reminded Kyle of one of those Oompa Loompas on ‘Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory’. Only blue. Like a Smurf.

“I have already told you, Kyle Valenti!” he reminded him. “I am a Guardian!”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard you!” Kyle sighed. “I thought that was your name. So, Mr. Guardian…”

Before Kyle can continue, however, the Guardian turns around and walks in the opposite direction.

“Follow me!” he ordered.

Reluctantly, Kyle followed.

“Listen, Poppa Smurf,” Kyle said to him. “There’s something you have to know about me. You’re not the first alien I’ve met!”

“I know!” the Guardian said calmly.

“No you don’t!” Kyle argued.

“There is very little I do not know, Kyle Valenti!” he explained. “Your friendship with king Zan, also known as Max Evans.”

“Friendship?” Kyle asked. “Hardly. Don’t get me wrong, the guy’s alright!”

“That is irrelevant!” the little guy informed him. “Right now, they are in grave danger.”

“So what else is new?” Kyle sighed. “And here I am, stuck underground in some tunnel that will more than likely collapse at any moment, talking to a Smurf dressed in primary colours!”

The guardian stopped, turned around, and looked at Kyle strangely. He raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“I do not know what a ‘Smurf’ is…” he admitted. “But I believe you are insulting me, Kyle Valenti!”

“First of all, no!” Kyle explained. “I’m not insulting you…I’m using levity. See, here on Earth, it’s something we do so we don’t freak out when faced with something we don’t understand.”

“Ah, I see!” the Guardian remarked.

“And secondly…” Kyle continued. “Can you stop with the ‘Kyle Valenti’ nonsense? It’s just ‘Kyle’, ok?”

“Do you realize I am a higher being?” he asked. “Names are irrelevant to one such as I?”

Kyle didn’t respond. He just crossed his arms in protest.

“Why must you Earthlings put such value in names?” he sighed. “My brothers call me Ganthet. You may do so as well.”

Kyle’s eyes went wide.

“Your brothers?” he asked in surprise. “You mean there’s more of you?”

“Several!” Ganthet replied. “We are the Guardians of the Universe. It is our task to maintain order in the cosmos. Up until now, K’Var’s war with your…associate…was kept private. Only now his actions might threaten this still-young planet. This world is nowhere near ready enough to accept the existence of other races.”

“Yeah, tell me about it!” Kyle agreed, shaking his head. “So what are we waiting for? Get up there and kick Kiv’s butt back to Antar.”

Ganthet shook his head. Kyle looked at him, slightly angry.

“And why the hell not?” he asked. “You just told me you were a ‘higher being’. Don’t tell me that you don’t have the power to…”

“If I were to confront him directly, my power could obliterate this entire planet!” he told Kyle with a stern voice. “For that reason, I cannot act. I can, however, send one of my agents to fight for me.”

“Your agents?” Kyle muttered. “Abin, you mean? Hate to break this to you, buddy, but he’s…”

“Dead!” Ganthet sighed sadly. “I know. Abin Sur is dead. He was one of our best. Fortunately, he has a successor.”

Kyle raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah?” he asked. “Who?”

Ganthet simply looked at him. Immediately, Kyle knew the answer.

“Me?” he asked in surprise. “No…you got the wrong guy!”

“He gave you his ring, did he not?” the diminutive alien asked.

Kyle looked at the ring on his finger, then at the Guardian. On his clothes was a symbol.

The exact same symbol that was on the ring.

*****

Night, at the Valenti house.

Clark Kent stood in the back yard, staring upwards at the stars. A million thoughts went through his head. The part that scared him the most, though, was that many of those thoughts weren’t his own. They seemed so strange…so alien…

Lost in thought, he didn’t hear Jonathan walk up behind him. Not until his father spoke to him.

“So?” Jonathan asked. “You going to tell me just what happened in there?”

Clark turned to face him.

“I found out the truth!” he sighed. “Everything! And you know what? I wish I hadn’t!”

“Maybe talking about it would help?” Jonathan suggested. “Clark…?”

Clark laughed. Not a pleasant one…but a laugh that revealed the pain he was going through.

“Ok, here goes…” he began. “My name is Kal-El. I come…from a planet called Krypton. A planet that exploded the second my ship launched. I was the only survivor, dad! There’s no one else. I’m an endangered species…the last!”

Jonathan could only stand there, horrified by what he had learned.

“Oh my god…!”

In anger, Clark punched his fist into his open palm. The resulting noise sounded like thunder.

“I’m the last…” he whispered. “Billions of people are dead, yet I’m alive. Why? Why, of all the people on Krypton did I have to be the one to survive?”

“I really don’t know, son,” Jonathan said finally. “I can’t help but feel a little selfish, you know? Billions of people died so that I could have a son. Can I at least know the name of the man who I owe so much to?”

Clark managed to force a smile.

“Jor-El!” he informed him. “He was the scientist. He tried to…to warn everyone, but nobody believed him. They might have been able to save themselves. But they wouldn’t even try.”

Jonathan put his hand on his son’s shoulder.

“Listen Clark…” he said. “I’m not a scientist like this ‘Jor-El’, I’m not as astronomer. I’m not a philosopher and I’m not a solider or anything like that. I’m a farmer. I don’t know anything about aliens or other planets, or fighting wars or any of this. Sometimes I even have a hard time believing what you are, even though I’ve known longer than you have. But there is one thing I do know…”

Clark looked at him.

“…and that is, no matter who you are or where you come from, you are here for a reason!” he told him. “You said it yourself…a billion people died so that you could live. If you ever had to believe in a higher power…this is it.”

Clark hugs him.

“Thanks dad!” he said.

Jonathan smiled.

“I think we should get inside now…” he suggested. “Everybody’s waiting!”

*****

Inside the Valenti house, the entire group is gathered around the kitchen table. Liz stood up in front, addressing everyone.

“Ok, I’ve been studying this meteor rock, and I think I’ve got an understanding of what exactly it is!” she explained. “This rock is actually some sort of new element I’ve never seen before. It’s not even on the periodic table. The glow is caused by traces of low-level radiation.”

“Hey, hold up!” Maria interrupted. “It’s radioactive? Are you sure you shouldn’t have some sort of suit when you’re studying it?”

“It’s low-level, Maria!” Liz informed her. “The radiation output is so small that you can handle it without being the least bit infected. Only prolonged exposure would have any real effect. Like, say, a year.”

“Then why’d it almost kill Clark?” Michael asked.

“Probably because of how his body works,” Liz explained. “From what we’ve learned from the Eradicator, Clark’s people were able to gain nutrition from sunlight. That’s why Clark has his powers…Earth’s sun is a lot more powerful than Krypton’s, so here his body’s like a living solar battery. The radiation from the meteor rocks is so similar to sunlight that he soaks it up like a sponge. The only difference is that it’s poisonous!”

“No kidding!” Martha commented.

“Jor-El, Clark’s biological father…” Liz continued. “He mentioned something called ‘the green death’ had infected their planet. I’m guessing this element had something to do with it.”

Clark’s eyes went wide.

“You mean in came from Krypton?” he asked.

“More than likely it IS Krypton!” she informed him. “A piece of it, anyways. When the planet exploded, it created debris of its crust.”

“Ok, so this ‘Krypton’ stuff…” Michael started to say.

“Kryptonite!” Liz replied, cutting him off. “Krypton is already an element on the periodic table, so…”

“Yeah, whatever science girl!” Michael complained.

“It makes sense, really!” Chloe added. “The mutations it’s been causing in Smallville are probably because of people getting infected by the radiation.”

“Probably!” Liz agreed. “Most likely a combination with other outside forces.”

“Exactly!” she replied. “Radiation hits bug, makes Bugboy. Radiation hits ice, makes Iceboy!”

Clark looks over at her and smiles.

“Well, at least we have a name for the stuff now,” he said. “Kryptonite! Is there any way to get rid of it?”

Liz nodded.

“If you expose it to extreme temperatures, it reverts to something resembling jade!” she explained.

Liz opened the lead box and pulled out the rock. It had lost its glow.

She tossed it towards Clark, who caught it.

“Nothing!” he remarked.

He then clenched his fist, shattering the once-lethal element into a dozen shards.

“You know, we could probably do the same to every piece in Smallville given enough time!” he suggested.

“Good luck!” Chloe commented. “There’s so much of it, and you can’t even get close without kneeling over.”

Max suddenly stood up, and walked to where Liz was.

“We’ve got an even bigger problem now!” he informed them. “When we were connecting to the Eradicator, we found out that Jor-El knew us in our past lives. He was there when we died…when we were betrayed by Tess!”

Valenti went wide-eyed.

“Tess?!” he asked. “I thought it was Isabel!”

“So did the rest of us!” Max reminded him. “We shouldn’t have taken everything we were told at face value.”

“So…what now Maxwell?” Michael asked him.

“Now?” Detective John Jones announced. “Now K’Var is getting ever closer to his goal. To Kyle…and the most powerful weapon in the universe.”

“We don’t even know if Kyle’s still alive!” Max reminded him.

“He is!” John said. “I have been tracking him. He is alive…for the moment. But we must get to him soon.”

“Even if we do get there, K’Var’s not gonna just let us take this ‘ultimate weapon’!” Michael suggested. “We get it, we run!”

“What do you think he’ll do if we run, Michael?” Liz asked. “He’ll do just what the skins did last time…attack Roswell. Our parents are here! They could get killed!”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” he asked angrily.

“We can fight!”

All eyes in the room went over to Clark, who had said it.

“Excuse me?” Michael asked.

“You heard me!” Clark said, getting to his feet. “We fight this guy. I’ve seen you all…you have the power.”

“He has the special unit, skins, and god knows what else!” Michael reminded him. “An open battle…that’s suicide!”

Clark looked to the side, straight at Chloe.

“Maybe…” he said. “Then again, maybe not! If K’Var wins…well, you heard what John said. He would destroy this entire planet. Our planet. I’m not about to let that happen.”

“Just who do you think you are?” Michael asked.

“I’m the last survivor of a dead world, that’s what!” Clark snapped. “Billions of people died, but I survived…there has to be a reason!”

Michael was taken aback. For once, he was speechless.

“Maybe…” Clark continued. “Just maybe…what I’m here for is this. Stopping K’Var. With or without you…I’m going to try!”

He turned to the others.

“Who’s with me?”

He’s greeted with silence for a moment. Until…

“I am!” Liz said, stepping forward.

Max grabbed her hand.

“So am I!” he said.

John Jones smiled, getting up from his chair.

“As am I!” he added.

The four of them turned towards Michael.

“Whatever!” he sighed. “We all gotta go sometime, right?”

Clark smiled.

“All right then…” Clark announced. “We’ve got a world to save!”

Chloe stood up, walking towards them.

“Great, let’s…”

Clark shook his head.

“You’re staying here, Chloe!” he told here.

Chloe stood there, open-mouthed.

“But…”

“You don’t have any powers!” he reminded her. “You have a much better chance of being killed than I do. If anything happened to you…”

She moved up closer to him.

“What you almost said before, remember?” she asked. “Well, if you…if you don’t come back, I just want you to know something: I do, too!”

Clark looked at her, slowly realizing what she was saying.

“Goodbye!” she whispered, and turned away.

Without warning, Clark grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.

Then he kissed her.

After a moment, they broke apart. Chloe looked at him, not knowing what to say.

However, he did.

“I will come back!” he told her. “I promise!”

With that, the five of them turn and leave.

*****

“ME?!” Kyle asked, disbelievingly. “Believe me, you’ve got the wrong guy here! I’m…I’m a mechanic!”

“That matters not now, Kyle!” Ganthet told him. “The second that you placed that ring on your finger, it bonded itself to your DNA. It will only work for you!”

“Work?” he asked. “Hate to say this, but I think it broke in the crash. The only thing it can do is that boomerang trick!”

“It is out of power!” Ganthet informed him. “I simply need to recharge it for you.”

“Are you deaf, you blue midget…I said no!” Kyle spat. “I don’t want this stupid ring! I don’t want to be your ‘agent’…I just want to get out of here and help my friends!”

Ganthet doesn’t say anything. He just stood there and crossed his arms.

“Why me?” Kyle sighed. “Out of all the people on the planet, why me?”

“Why not you, Kyle?” he asked. “You have experience with extra-terrestrial life. You are honest…fearless…all the qualities that you require to be a…”

“Hold on a second?” he interrupted him. “Fearless? You think I’m not afraid?”

“Of course not!” Ganthet answered him. “All sentient beings are afraid of something. It is how the universe keeps order. However, there are a select few who transcend it. Who face their fear and triumph over it. Kyle…you have spent countless times battling for the fate of your very planet, without the benefit of the powers that your friends possess. The ring does not lie…you are perhaps the bravest person on the entire planet.”

Kyle looked at him, slightly amazed.

“You think so?” he asked.

Ganthet nodded.

“I am incapable of flattery, Kyle!” he replied with a smile. “Abin Sur’s ship was meant to bring him to the one person on Earth who most qualifies.”

“I…I’m sorry…” Kyle responded. “I can’t do this…there has to be somebody else who could…”

“The ring chose you, Kyle!” Ganthet reminded him.

“But…”

“The ring chose you!”

*****

Back at the Valenti house, Maria and Chloe sat at the table alone. Valenti had brought the Kents to his old stationhouse, hoping that Hanson would want their statements about what happened at the UFO centre.

“You get used to it, you know?” Maria told her companion. “Getting left behind while the others go save the world. I liked it better when Liz was here personally. Now…now she’s one of them.”

Chloe hardly heard a word she said. She was busy thinking.

Was it even possible to free Lex from K’Var’s control? What if he had to…kill him? Clark wouldn’t do that, would he?

God, he was a good kisser.

Chloe mentally scolded herself. There were more important things to worry about right now than Mr. Kent prowess with kissing. Think about Lex…how do you save Lex?

“K’Var’s probably got tons of resources…who knows what he’s done!” she said out loud.

“Yeah, lucky alien!” Maria complained. “Probably plans to ruling the world from one of Lex’s expensive beach houses…”

Upon hearing Maria’s words, Chloe felt like a light bulb went off in her head.

“Oh…my…god!” she exclaimed, grinning ear-to-ear. “Maria…please tell me you have a car!”

“My mom’s Jetta!” she explained. “Why?”

Chloe grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards the door.

“I’ll explain on the way…!” she said, as they exited.

*****

At that very same moment, the group walked towards the desert. Max, Liz, Michael, John, and Clark walked in V-formation, with Clark in front of the group.

As they came to an opening, they saw several people gathering in front of them. They were dressed in black, and carrying guns.

It was the special unit.

“Aw crap!” Michael groaned. “There goes that plan…”

But before he could say anything else, Clark was off like a flash. A blur of red and blue was all they could see, as all five special unit operatives suddenly found their weapons taken away from them.

Clark stopped again in front of the other four, a pile of guns in his hands.

“We don’t have time for this!” he said, dropping them to the ground.

Then he slowly walked towards the now-unarmed government agents. They looked almost scared.

“Where’s Pierce?” Max asked from behind.

“They don’t know!” John answered, his eyes glowing red again. “They’ve been looking for him!”

Clark looked the leader of the group right in the eyes.

“I’ll tell you where he is!” he said. “He’s somewhere in this desert about to hand the most powerful weapon in the entire universe over to the most dangerous alien you could imagine!”

They just stare at him, not moving a muscle.

“That’s what your job is, isn’t it?” Clark asked them. “Protect people from dangerous aliens…that’s your whole mission statement isn’t it? Well, I’ve got news for you…we’re not dangerous. Yes, we have powers…but we’ve never used them to hurt an innocent person in our lives. This guy your boss is working for…he’d kill all of you without a second thought. Your families…your children…he doesn’t care. You’re all beneath him!”

“What is he doing?” Michael whispered. “Let’s just get out of here before more arrive!”

“Let him talk!” Max ordered.

“You can’t hurt me!” Clark explained to the agents. “Bullets bounce off my skin…I virtually can’t be killed. Know this…I could kill as easy as I disarmed you. But I won’t…because I’m on the same side you are. I want to protect people…just like my friends here do. We’re going to march over to that desert, and we’re going to fight. For you…for everybody! We could die! So go ahead…get more weapons and try to kill us. Just think about it…what are you fighting for anyway?”

With that, Clark circled around them and continued walking into the desert. Max, Liz, Michael, and John quickly followed him.

Once they were out of sight, one of the agents turned to the leader.

“So…what now?”

“Simple,” he replied. “Call for backup. We’ll need all we can get! Let’s finish this!”

*****

“Ok, where are we going?” Maria asked as they raced down to highway. “You’re not seriously going to try and pick a fight with K’Var, are you? You saw what he did to your boyfriend!”

“He’s not my boyfriend, for one thing!” Chloe sighed. “For another, the Luthors have a cabin out here in Roswell. It’s for when Lionel needs to dodge hungry reporters.”

“So?” Maria asked.

“Where else would K’Var go here to hide out?” she asked. “If you’re gonna possess a Luthor, you take advantage of it.”

“Yeah, ok…makes sense…” Maria agreed. “What happens if he’s here?”

“He won’t be, trust me!” she explained. “There might be a few guards, but…”

“Armed guards?!” Maria asked, cutting her off.

Chloe sighed.

“I can handle it!” she reassured her.

*****

Cautiously, Chloe and Maria entered the cabin. K’Var was nowhere in sight. Neither was Pierce or anybody else.

“What’d I tell you?” Chloe whispered, proud of herself. “You stay here and keep watch. If anyone shows up, holler!”

Maria nodded, as Chloe walked up the stairs.

Once she was gone, Maria looked around at her surroundings. It certainly didn’t look like some evil alien warlord’s secret headquarters. It looked…classy almost. Sure, it could use a few curtains here and there…

There was a sudden rumbling from outside. Almost like, well…like an engine.

Suddenly, Maria panicked. How could she have been so stupid? They had parked the Jetta in plain sight. Another car pulled up right next to it, letting a man step out. He looked at the Jetta suspiciously, then stormed towards the front door.

“Oh god!” she whispered. “Oh god…CHLOE!”

Quickly, Maria locked the front door and ran into the kitchen. She hoped in vain that the guy was human.

The sudden crash of wood shattering told her that her hopes were in vain. In a few moments, the man entered the kitchen...his cold eyes focusing on her.

Acting solely on instinct, Maria grabbed the plates off of a nearby shelf and flung them at her attacker. They shattered against him, having absolutely no effect. It was those terminator movies…where the killer just kept coming and coming.

Finally, he reached her. Clasping one hand around her neck, preparing to squeeze…

When, suddenly, a hum of energy filled the air. Maria’s assailant let her go, and evaporated into dust.

She gasped for air, then noticed her saviour stood where he once was…Isabel Evans!

“Maria?” Isabel asked. “Are you ok?”

Maria ran up and hugged her excitedly.

“Never thought I’d be so glad to see you!” she said with a laugh.

“Hey, look who I found!” Chloe mentioned as she appeared from behind Isabel. “Tied to a chair…a bit melodramatic, don’t you think?”

Isabel looked at Chloe, then back at Maria.

“Who is she?” she asked. “How does she know about us?”

“She’s Chloe…she’s a friend of Clark’s!” Maria explained.

“Clark?” Isabel asked, raising an eyebrow in the air.

Maria sighed.

“Long story!” she muttered. “We gotta get over to the pod chamber. That’s where your idiot brother, my idiot ex, and my slightly insane best friend are headed right now. They’re going to fight K’Var!”

Isabel’s eyes went wide.

“That’s not good!” she replied. “He has Skins with him!”

“Yeah, we know!” Chloe told her. “We saw them. Five or six, right?”

Isabel turned towards her and shook her head.

“Or a little more?” Chloe asked.

“Try a LOT more!” she informed her, her voice trembling.

*****

Back in the desert, near the crater that was once the pod chamber, the four aliens and one enhanced human circled around the giant hole.

“How deep does it go?” Max asked.

“Not sure!” Liz replied. “It’s slanting downwards, like a slide. If Kyle went down there, he should be all right. As long as nobody else found him.”

“He is alive!” John told them. “I can sense it. He also has the weapon.”

“Wonderful!” a voice called from behind them. “I was beginning to think this would be difficult!”

The five of them spun around. Approaching them were K’Var, Tess, Pierce, and Nikolas. With others.

Several hundred others!

“This is not good, Maxwell!” Michael told his friend. “They’re probably all skins, too!”

“Oh, they are, Rath!” K’Var informed him. “But don’t worry, I have no intention of killing you. It’d be redundant!”

“Don’t you have any new material?” Michael spat.

“Ah yes, reminding me of that unfortunate encounter isn’t helping your case, you know that?” he laughed. “Even so, just let me pass and I’ll spare your lives. I won’t even kill that human friend that has my ring!”

“It was NEVER yours!” John told him. “Do you honestly expect them to let you keep it?”

K’Var smirked, then looked at Pierce.

“Who is that?” he asked.

“Some cop named John Jones!” Pierce informed him. “He can control other people’s minds somehow.”

“Well, he’ll find that our minds are not so easy to control!” he concluded, and turned back towards the five adversaries.

“All this is for some ring?” Liz asked. “This is your ‘ultimate weapon’?”

“Yeah… ‘Liz’, right?” he asked. “Why not. Your popular culture seems to support the idea that one ring can contain ultimate power, does it not?”

“Well, you’re going to have to get through us first!” Clark exclaimed, moving towards the front. “The people of Earth won’t become your slaves…not while I’m here!”

“And who are you to say that, human?” he replied with a smirk.

“My name is Kal-El!” he announced. “My father was Jor-El, of the planet Krypton!”

Upon hearing that, both K’Var and Tess looked at him wide-eyed.

“Impossible!” K’Var whispered. “You all died!”

“Not all of them, apparently!” Max said.

“A Kryptonian on Earth?” he said in astonishment. “Well, that would certainly explain your strength. Still, Max…you don’t truly think this one living weapon will protect you from a hundred of my strongest warriors? Especially considering your fixation on these Earth creatures.”

“What’re you getting at?” Michael asked.

K’Var smiled evilly.

“Right this moment, a dozen more skins are in Roswell!” he told them. “They’ve set up another bomb. This time, though…it’s much different. I trust you humans have discovered atomic energy!”

Their faces all turned as white as ghosts. Even Pierce, though he didn’t say anything.

“You set a NUKE!!!” Michael yelled. “Are you insane?”

“We’re only a few miles away, you’ll die too!” Liz informed him.

“Not exactly, Ms. Parker!” he corrected her. “You see, we’ve refined that energy source a lot better than you have. I set the explosion personally so it would effect any area beyond that town, so we are quite safe. Your ‘families’, however, would be at ground zero!”

Michael thought of Maria. He was going to kill Maria.

“Max, we can’t let him…”

“I know, Michael!” Max agreed. “How do we know you won’t kill everyone once you get that weapon anyways?”

“You don’t!” he answered. “As the man says, some chance is better than no chance!”

Max and his friends stood there, not knowing what to do.

“You’re running out of time, Max!” he informed them all. “Choose! Now!”

*****

“They are here!” Ganthet told his companion as they entered a clearing.

Kyle looked around, a little confused.

“They are?” he asked. “Where?”

Ganthet pointed upwards.

“How do you know that?” Kyle asked.

“Kyle, there is nothing…”

“Yeah, yeah…I know…” he sighed. “There is nothing in the universe that you do not know!”

“Do you wish to see them?” the alien asked.

Kyle raised his eyebrows.

“You can do that?” he asked. “Yeah, sure…lets see them.”

Within a fraction of a second, the Guardian evaporated in a cloud of smoke. He reappeared standing on a stump of rock, and pointed to the cave wall. A green shimmer formed there, and a moving image began to appear. Like some invisible television.

Kyle saw and heard everything. He watched as K’Var appeared, backed up by his virtual army.

“Tess is here?” he asked. “K’Var’s possessed Lex Luthor? Gotta hand it, that’s one alien that has class.”

Then he heard the rest.

“He’s gonna NUKE Roswell?!” he asked, completely freaking out. “No…no, you gotta help them. My dad’s still there!”

“I can not!” he said. “It is against…”

Kyle didn’t let him finish. He flung himself at Ganthet, grabbing him by the collar, and pushed him up against the wall.

“Don’t give me that, you diminutive little jerk!” Kyle spat in anger. “You can make a TV appear out of nowhere, but you can’t make a nuclear bomb not explode?”

“My people made a pact long ago NOT to interfere, Kyle!” he said.

Kyle let him go. He didn’t know why. Just that there was a look of what seemed like regret in the blue alien’s eyes.

Once again, Ganthet vanished. He reappeared back on his former perch.

“I know what you’re asking me to do…” Kyle sighed. “But…I can’t do it. I’m no her. I’m just a kid that hangs around heroes. I’m Max Evans’ sidekick! A loser.”

“Only to your limited perspective Kyle!” he explained. “I have seen your life. You’ve always wished to be more. So much more. This is your opportunity!”

“If I agree, do I get powers or something?” he asked. “Powers like Max does?”

“More!” Ganthet stated.

Kyle pondered the situation. He’s always been scared of Max somehow. Because of the things he could do…the miracles he could perform. Now, here was this alien, offering him the chance to be more powerful than Max. But at what price.

“But I’ll have to do what you tell me, huh?” he asked. “Your ‘agent’!”

“An agent is not a slave, Kyle!” Ganthet explained. “Understand this…the power I offer comes with the greatest responsibility imaginable. You will posses that…”

“…until the day I die!” he muttered. “I just don’t know!”

“I suggest you decide quickly then!” he told him. “You might be your friends only hope!”

Kyle turned and continued to watch the screen.

*****

Back above…

K’Var stood there, confidant, until he heard a noise coming from the side.

“What is…?” he began to say.

He was quickly cut off by a speeding Jetta hitting him!

The others backed away as their leader rolled over top the roof and fell down on the sandy ground.

The Jetta stopped, letting Chloe, Maria, and Isabel climb up.

“Whoops!” Chloe said sarcastically. “Whatever did I hit?”

The three girls ran up to the others. Maria to Michael, Chloe to Clark, and Isabel to Max.

“Are you all right?” Max asked his older sister. “Did he hurt you?”

“I’m find, Max!” she reassured him. “What’s going on.”

“Kyle found this weapon!” her brother explained. “He’s somewhere underground. K’Var wants it, and is going to make a nuclear bomb explode inside of Roswell if he doesn’t get it!”

“Not much chance of that now, huh?” Michael asked, looking at the body on the ground.

Clark just looked at Chloe disbelievingly. He couldn’t believe what she just did.

“Chloe…” he whispered. “You just…you just killed Lex!”

She shook her head.

“Not likely!” she disagreed.

They all turned to see K’Var slowly rise to his feet.

“You see that, Clark?” she asked. “If K’Var gave Lex’s body those powers to protect him, he obviously did something else to stop physical assault too.”

“That…hurt!” K’Var said, gritting his teeth in anger. “That ACTUALLY HURT!!!”

He pulled a gun out of his jacket and fired at Chloe. His shot didn’t reach her, because Clark caught the bullet in mid-air.

Isabel could only stare in amazement.

“Max, did he just…?” she whispered.

Max nodded.

“I’ll explain latter!” he replied.

“Nicholas?” he said, calming down and turning to his aide. “Tear her mind apart!”

Suddenly, they heard a ringing sound. K’Var sighed, and pulled a phone out of his other pocket.

Michael had to force himself not to laugh. The fact that he’d bring a cell phone was just too priceless.

“What is it?” he yelled into the phone.

“Sir?” someone said from the other line.

It was another skin, having arrived at the cabin.

“What is it?” he asked. “If it’s to tell me that Ms. Evans got away…too late.”

“Actually, sir, I wanted to ask if Nikolas was with you right now?” the skin inquired.

K’Var looked down at his aide.

“Of course!” he replied. “Why?”

“Then who’s the one I just found?” the skin asked him. “Tied up in the trunk of your car?”

Upon hearing this, K’Var’s eyes stared blankly ahead. He hung up the phone, and turned to Nikolas, who said too simple words…

“Got ya!”

K’Var approached him angrily.

“Who are you?” he demanded. “How long have you been posing as Nikolas?”

“Since you kidnapped Isabel!” the child-man revealed. “You have to understand, I couldn’t risk you harming one of the royal four. It’s against my nature.”

“You miserable…!”

K’Var lunged forward, towards him. However, he was quickly blinded by a brilliant light that escaped from his hand.

When it faded, Nikolas was gone…and Cal Langley stood in his place.

“Langley?” Max asked in amazement.

“No way!” Clark whispered, grinning ear to ear. “Cal Langley’s an alien? I’ve seen all his movies!”

Langley rushed over to their side, facing K’Var, who looked at him angrily.

“Don’t be getting any ideas, Max!” Langley said. “I still hate you. I just owed an old friend a favour. Speaking of which, John…you ready to join the party?”

John smiles.

“Indeed!”

John Jones’ eyes went completely blank, his pupils vanishing from sight, and became blood red. His coat grew almost magically, becoming blue like Clark’s shirt.

His skin once again shifted and moulded like putty. Every trace of hair, including his eyebrows, vanished from his body. His brow furrowed, moving forward like a Neanderthal’s. His clothing shifted into a blue/red combination resembling something from Flash Gordon. A red x-shaped harness appeared over his chest, fashioning what was once his jacket to his back like a cape.

He grew taller, his body filling out more. Muscles and bone expanded, giving him an image even more imposing than Clark’s. Finally, his skin became olive green.

Maria’s jaw dropped as she witnessed the amazing transformation.

“Ok…” she managed to say. “Now HE is what an alien is supposed to look like!”

Langley gave a smirk.

“You’re such a drama queen, you know that John?”

The creature didn’t answer. He just focused his blood-red eyes straight towards K’Var.

“John Jones, huh?” K’Var asked.

“My name, dictator…” he informed him, his voice becoming deep and eerie. “…is J’Onn J’Onz! This world is my home, and by bringing your forces here you have violated every inter-planetary law in existence!”

He pointed his index finger at K’Var, levitating into the air by an unseen force.

“Leave here at once, or be removed!” he ordered.

As if answering, Pierce pulled out his weapon and fired at J’Onn. His body became ghost-like, letting bullet simply pass through it! He looked down at Pierce, his eyes starting to glow.

Twin beams of red energy shot out of them, hitting the gun and knocking it out of his hands.

Behind him, near the crater, the seven others felt a single word appear in their heads.

‘NOW’

Max, Michael, Clark, Isabel, and Langley charged forward. Max put up his force field to keep the skins back. Langley, Michael and Isabel used force-blasts to throw K’Var and Tess off their feet. Clark, meanwhile, picked Pierce off the ground and threw him into Max’s shield, knocking him out.

“Don’t do that again, please!” Max gasped at him, beads of sweat dripping off his forehead. “This thing isn’t easy to maintain!”

“Then don’t!” J’Onn told him, as he landed on the other side of the shield.

He looked at the first three skins, who suddenly grasped their heads in pain. Then he struck the ground, causing a shockwave that knocked them off their feet.

Meanwhile, Liz led Maria and Chloe back towards the Jetta. She forced them inside and locked the door.

“Stay in here!” she ordered. “You’ll be safer!”

With that, she melted the door locks, welding them shut.

“Oh, my mom’s gonna freak when she sees this!” Maria groaned.

“Maria, shut up!” Chloe told her. “If the guys don’t win this, there won’t be a ‘mom’ to complain in the first place!”

Max still attempted to hold the field in place, but was suddenly thrown backwards by a force blast from K’Var, who had now climbed to his feet. With his concentration broken, Max’s shield disappeared.

“ENOUGH!” K’Var hollered.

Upon hearing them, the skins froze. The creature that was once John Jones faced him.

“You blew your cover…Martian!” K’Var stated. “I’ll admit, it took me awhile to discover what you are. But now that I do…”

He grinned, moving his hand towards the ground. In seconds, the area near J’Onn caught fire.

“NOOOOOO!!!!!” the green-skinned alien yelled out in horror.

“Fire hurts you, doesn’t it?” he asked, smiling. “You’re afraid of it. Pathologically afraid!”

“John, get out of there!” Clark pleaded.

But it was too late. His eyes were being drawn into the dancing flames as they crept towards him. He screamed in horror and in pain…a loud, inhuman scream. His body started to flow once more. However, this time, it wasn’t like putty.

It was like liquid.

Slowly, he melted, screaming the entire time. Until there was nothing left but a green puddle on the ground.

“Oh my god...” Isabel whispered, covering her mouth in shock.

The others had the same expression in their eyes that she did. Each one wondering if they would be next.

*****

Down below, Kyle was watching the entire display on the screen. He saw how hopeless it all seemed, unless someone did something.

It looked like, despite his reservations, that someone had to be him.

“Ok!” he said, turning to Ganthet. “What do I have to do?”

“The ring’s power is finite…and currently exhausted,” he claimed. “It must be recharged.”

“Then where do I plug it in?” Kyle demanded, beginning to get impatient. “Come on, Yoda…I’m running out of time here.”

First you must give me your word!” Ganthet explained. “Your word that you will put yourself at the disposal of me and my brothers. That you will serve us…until your dying day. Do you swear to serve the Guardians Of The Universe until your dying day? To fight what is considered unjust, and corrupt, and evil? Do you promise to never use your power for personal gain? And to protect all life, no matter how small?””

Kyle froze. Could he really dot that…was it really worth that sacrifice?

His friends were about to die…damn right it was worth it!

“I promise,” he replied.

“Then, it is done,” Ganthet said, as he evaporated in a cloud of smoke.

This time, however, he didn’t reappear. Instead, something else took his place.

It was an object, made out of the same emerald metal that his ring was. It was shaped like the symbol on the ring, and on Ganthet’s clothes.

A lantern.

*****

Up above, K’Var’s forces faced off against Clark and the others. Liz grabbed Max’s hand, preparing for the worst.

“Tess?” K’Var said. “Tell the men in Roswell to active the bomb!”

The blonde girl nodded.

“What about them?” she asked, giving Liz an evil look.

K’Var grinned ear-to-ear.

“Kill them!”

*****

And down below…

“What do I do?” Kyle asked out loud. “Come on…”

Then it hit him

Ganthet had said that the ring needed to be recharged. This thing must be some sort of…battery?

So…he just needed to find out where to plug it in.

“The least that helpless little Smurf could have done is give me some instructions…” he complained, reaching towards it.

As he did, he felt his finger being pulled towards the centre of the lantern. Sort of like a magnet. Startled, he yanked his hand away.

“Woah!” he explained, testing it again. The result was the exact same.

“Ok…” Kyle muttered, standing to his feet. He grabbed the lantern by the handle with his other and, and lifted it up off the stump.

Slowly, he moved the ring towards the opening.

“Why do I get the feeling…?” he asked himself. “That my life has just gotten…a lot more…complicated?!”

Suddenly, the ring was drawn to it, frozen against the centre. Green energy poured out of both sides, illuminating the room with a glow as bright as a star.

“Ahhh!” Kyle exclaimed, trying to pull away unsuccessfully. The force was too strong.

However, something began to happen. He felt this surge of energy enter him…energy that he had never felt before. He somehow knew that this energy was coming from the lantern…from the ring…

Then he heard Ganthet’s voice inside his head.

‘Repeat after me, Kyle!’

“Eh…agh…” he stuttered, still slightly freaked out over what was happening.

‘In brightest day…’

“I-in brightest day…!” he repeated.

‘In blackest night!’

“In blackest night!”

Suddenly, Ganthet’s voice disappeared. Kyle felt new information enter his mind. He realize just what it was that he was being exposed to. Finally, he understood the importance of what he had to do.

More importantly, he knew the words himself. As if he had said them hundreds of times! He gripped the handle with renewed vigour, a newfound confidence in his eyes, and a smile on his face.

“No evil shall escape my sight!”

The cave started to shake as the green energy filled it. Without Ganthet around, the view screen began to fade away, the last thing it showed being K’Var advancing towards Clark.

“Let those who worship evil’s might!”

Finally, the lantern released him. It faded away into nothingness.

The glow from it, however, remained. Only now it came from Kyle’s ring…shining brighter than a star.

“Beware my power…!!!”

*****

Without warning, the ground began to shake. Inside the car, Maria turned towards Chloe in panic.

“What’s happening?” she asked.

Chloe didn’t answer. Instead, both girls watched helplessly as the ground between the two forces opened up. A geyser of emerald energy exploded into the air, causing everyone there to pause and gaze at it in both awe and confusion.

“Kyle?” Liz asked aloud.

Langley shook his head.

“No!” he said. “Not anymore!”

TO BE CONTINUED...

NEXT: Green Lantern!

‘nuff said