Hey we are back! The power rangers are around again though they don't get a great heroic part in this one it's important, I promise! Clark gets to spread his wings a little more and be back in his element YAY! Keep an eye out for the start of our final piece in this series END GAME coming soon. :D For now however the heroes get to go a little deeper into the plot that has been building and meet some new friends! Please R&R we love to know what you are thinking.

Disclaimer: We do not own Smallville or The Power Rangers! I own the microwave, and my roommate well her cats own her so...

Crash Landing

Ring. Ring.

"Lex Luthor."

"The site is yours. We're securing it now."

"Good," Lex answered. "I want to be notified the moment you finish uncovering the object."

He hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair, smiling.

"What do you mean, 'kicked out'?" Oliver yelled into the phone. "How do my workers get kicked out of my own dig site?"

"Someone else bought out the research, Mr. Queen. They've brought in their own workers and completely blocked off the site."

"How?" he asked, frustrated. "No one else was supposed to be allowed anywhere near that dig!"

"We're not sure…"

"Then you had better find out!"

The door opened and closed, but Oliver didn't notice.

"I don't care how, just find out who took the project!" he shouted. "It's too important to just let someone walk in and take it."

"Should I come back later?" a voice said behind him.

Oliver whipped around to snap, but stopped himself when he saw it was Chloe standing there and watching him. He took a deep breath.

"Get me that information. Now," Oliver snarled, and then he slammed down the phone.

Taking another deep breath, Oliver dropped down into his chair and put his head in his hands.

"What's going on?" Chloe asked in concern. "What was all the yelling about?"

"That dig out in California," Oliver said, looking up. "It started out as just some old ruins, but we started finding pieces of alien technology. Most notably, one device that is mostly intact. Some kind of chair with a piece that covers the head. We hadn't move it yet and, unfortunately, I am now being denied access to the site. Someone bought out the research rights. And right under my nose!"

"Well, you have been a little distracted lately," Chloe said. "What with dealing with the after effects of Scarecrow's visit and fixing things with Bruce."

"Yeah," Oliver said. "I just don't know how he got around me…"

"Who was it?" Chloe asked, leaning on the desk.

"I don't have any proof yet, but I think it was Lex," he said with a scowl. "He was bugging me about it last month just before Scarecrow showed up. I thought I had done enough to keep him away, but apparently I was wrong."

"What's so important about it?" Chloe asked.

"It's alien technology, Chloe," Oliver answered, standing up and grabbing his coat. "And anything alien is important, especially when Lex gets interested. But I don't have access to anything at all anymore, so I don't even have a picture to use for further research. I don't think it's Kryptonian, but letting Lex have it just seems like a bad idea all around."

"Yes, it does," Chloe said, looping her arm through his as he came around the desk. "So let's see what we can do to get it away from him. Starting with Clark getting a picture for us. You said the device should still be on site, right?"

"How many of these journals do I have to go through?" Oliver complained.

"As many as it takes, Oliver," Chloe said, distracted by the computer.

Oliver was sitting in a chair near Chloe's computer, reading through Dr. Swan's journals. Clark had dropped them off. Chloe was working at her computer. The other members of the JLA were on video conference with her on the surrounding screens. As Oliver set down yet another journal, Clark sped back into the room. Chloe turned to look at him.

"Sorry, Chloe," Clark said, shaking his head. "No luck. I just finished talking to Jor-el at the ice fortress and he didn't recognize it. The machine isn't Kryptonian."

Chloe sighed and turned back to the videos.

"What about you Carter," she said. "Have you come up with anything?"

"No," he answered. "I can't remember ever seeing anything like it.

"He's just old, Chloe," Courtney said from another screen. "How can you expect him to remember anything?

Carter glared across screens. Grinning, Courtney waved.

"I guess that options is out then," Chloe said. "I was hoping you'd seen something like it in one of your past lives."

"Sorry, Chloe," Carter said, shaking his head again. "I've been trying to connect it to something, but it just doesn't ring any bells."

"Besides," Courtney said. "Even if he could remember every detail, that thing looks too new to be from one of his past lives."

"She's right," Victor interjected. "The sand and heat would have destroyed the technology by now if it was from more than a few years ago."

"Not necessarily," Carter said. "You'd be surprised by what the desert can preserve. Sure, it could have some problems running, but the machine itself would have been preserved. Kind of like sand-blasting it over a long period of time. Any gears are probably clogged, but it wouldn't take much to clean them out."

"So then we really don't even have an age," Chloe said, rubbing her forhead.

"And I'm still not finding anything online," Victor said. "No pictures, no references. Nothing. It's like the thing doesn't exist."

"It definitely exists," Oliver said, putting down the journals and joining Chloe. "I've seen it and so has Clark."

"Any luck in the journals?" Chloe asked, looking up at Oliver.

"Nothing," he answered. "And there's no point in looking anymore. If Jor-el doesn't know what it is, then it isn't going to be in Dr. Swan's journals."

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Clark said, pacing.

"We still have some options, Clark," Chloe said. "Not everyone is back yet from searching."

"I hope you gave Bart strict instructions to search and return," Dinah said. "You know how easily he gets distracted."

"As long as he doesn't go two weeks without checking in again," Chloe said. "I'll give him another half hour before I start calling."

She glanced over at the empty screen where Bart should have been. Shaking her head, Chloe turned to AC. He had just returned and was standing on screen, water dripping from his hair.

"Any luck?" Chloe asked.

"No—"

"I just finished searching that list of places you gave me," Bart said, appearing on his screen and interrupting AC. "I didn't find anything. Well, except some new food places. There's one in Ecuador—"

"No luck," AC interrupted, glaring at Bart. "I couldn't find any signs of it searching the oceans."

"That really doesn't surprise me," Chloe said. "I stick by the idea of it being alien technology. Which means it probably fell to earth and landed there. I doubt we'll find any other physical evidence on this planet."

"Face it, Chloe," Clark said. "We're striking out. What other options do we have?"

"What about you, John?" Chloe asked, ignoring Clark. "You've been to other planets. Have you ever seen anything like it?"

"I'm sorry, Chloe," John answered. "But no. I've never seen anything like it. I think you're probably right in assuming it's alien in origin, but I couldn't begin to guess the civilization."

"So we're still right where we started when you showed us the picture," Dinah said. "With all of our resources, how are we coming up with nothing?"

"That's what's so frustrating," Chloe said. "Well, I have one more idea. If that doesn't work, then we'll be operating blind."

"Let us know what you find out," John said.

"I'll be in South America if you need me," Bart said. "Talk to you later."

"Don't worry," Chloe said. "I'll update everyone as soon as I know something one way or the other."

When everyone was gone, Clark and Oliver turned and looked at Chloe.

"So what's the plan?" Oliver asked. "What else do you have up your sleeve? And please don't say we're invading Lex's lab right now."

"Nope," Chloe said. "Who else do we know who has as much, if not more, experience with aliens?"

"Umm… I thought that was John," Clark said. "He is a Martian after all."

"Tommy and Hayley," Chloe said. "With all of their ranger connections, they've been dealing with aliens for years."

"But why would they know what it is?" Oliver asked. "Tommy was never a ranger in space. Have they even dealt with aliens directly?"

"Trust me, Oliver," Chloe said. "If anyone is going to know anything at this point, it'll be them."