The Ties That Bind

By Joshua "Dante" Epstein

Introduction

This is the second in a trilogy which will center around my "mary-jane"-ing of myself and my two best friends. The idea is an interesting one, though, in that it presents an odd confrontation. Clark's abilities and those of all of the enemies he has faced on Smallville (at least so far) have been of a scientifically explainable nature. The abilities granted to Alex and his friends in the events described in Newcomer are not. The conflict between the scientifically reasonable and the magical is one that has gone on for centuries, and I thought that it was time this conflict was brought to the world of Smallville. It should be a welcome break for those among you who are staunch enemies of the krypto-freak of the week concept that seems to lessen our little show, and will (if I do what I hope with this story) be an interesting study in character.

Just a few words before we launch in: this story is set in the Smallville universe, but not quite the one you know. For example, as soon as I introduced Alex, I altered a lot of the things that will effect other events to come. For instance, the immediacy of the whole Chloe/Clark/Lana triangle would be a bit lessened by the growing relationship between Chloe and Alex. Likewise, events in Nicodemus and other episodes will factor into this story, in a slightly altered fashion, and you may be fascinated by how I manage to work this storyline in as being partly responsible for some of these events.

So, with all that said, let us begin and I hope you enjoy the second installment in the Forever Friends Trilogy, The Ties That Bind.

Joshua "Dante" Epstein May 21, 2003