Title/Link: The Valley
Author: Jazzmaster
Pairing(s): Clark and Alicia
Rating: PG
Short summary: Clark meets Alicia for the first time in years, and soon discovers new feelings for her. But as ever, things between them may be too complicated for it to work out.

I think I was six the first time I saw him. I don't remember it so well now, but he was standing in a circle of stone, calling out to me… At first he was calm as he pleaded with me to help him. It didn't take long for him to lose his temper though. Even back then I knew he couldn't leave the circle, not if I didn't want him to. I have no idea why that was.

I keep telling myself that's why I called him here, but really, that's just the excuse I've been waiting for. It's been so long since I last saw him. He must have changed a lot in that time, I suppose. He'll be in college now, I bet. Time was when that looked like a certainty for me as well, but that seems like another life now. Another Alicia Baker.

My new home is better that the last at least. I'm no longer kept in a cell, not as such. I'm free to roam the grounds as I please, although there's someone watching me all the time. My own personal team of stalkers – I suppose you might consider that a fitting punishment. There aren't many people around to talk to. Most of them are older, and a lot of them aren't even coherent when they talk. There is Stacy of course, who'd just have been out of high school herself if it wasn't for… well, if it wasn't for what happened. We tend not to get along that well though. She sees me as a rival, though a rival to what I haven't the slightest idea.

I think she was affected by the meteor rocks as well. I don't know for certain; I've had to piece a lot of information together from random conversations. I'm not sure what her power is, but I think she used them to hurt someone. We have more in common than she might think, then. I can't see any sign of something restricting her powers though. Everyone can see mine clearly enough; a lead bracelet around my arm preventing me from just teleporting out of here. The stalking gang wouldn't appreciate that.

And there's him. He's what convinced me to reach out to Clark after all this time. I've thought about Clark a lot over the years, but I'd begun to accept that I'd never see him again. I suppose it's a fine line to walk; the doctors tell me I'm a lot better now, but I still think about him even now. It worries me. How can I think about it objectively? Am I really over my obsession, or is it still lying in my mind waiting to be fed? All I know for sure is that the bad feelings are gone. I'd rather cut off my arm that hurt Lana or anyone else. Although I suppose cutting of my arm would separate me from the bracelet and let me use my abilities, so it wouldn't be all bad anyway. Still, there are only good feelings left when I think of Clark. I wish I had a picture of him… I've only seen him in my mind these past few years. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to seeing him again.

"I hear you have a visitor today, Alicia. I must say, you look beautiful. They must be very special to you, for you to make such an effort."

The man speaking to me only showed up a couple of days ago. I didn't recognise him right away; it was so long ago. But since then I've become more and more certain. He's the man I saw when I was just a little girl who had no interest in boys whatsoever. The man I was so sure was trapped in the circle. So I got overconfident that night, years ago. Allowed myself to get too close. When he grabbed me, I screamed. Then I teleported away.

He's here, and I'm sure he recognises me. I don't know what he wants, and I don't know how he got out. No that's wrong – I know exactly how he got out. Some other little girl came alone, some other girl got just a little too close… and some other girl wouldn't just be able to teleport to safety. I didn't know who else to turn to. I turned to him often in my thoughts – he's given me such strength over the years. But now I need him here. I could hardly try to explain the situation to the staff after all. That's the kind of thing that can get a girl taken back to a pretty little cell and start the whole damn thing over again.

I was offering a reply to the man (or whatever he is – he hasn't aged a day since then) but I trailed off mid-sentence. Because that's when Clark came back into my life.