I breathed hard, steadying myself, as I ran. The tears that had been forming in my eyes dried up.

Suddenly, an iron hand clasped down on my wrist. I whipped around and saw Clark standing there, anger and sadness mixed in equal parts on his face. He released me, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Dianne, I just don't know what you're doing. Have you gone insane?" he half-shouted, his internalized fury showing through in his voice. I started backward, shocked. What was this? Where was the self-conscious, timid, mild-mannered Clark Kent I'd been dealing with for all these weeks? I had only seen him like this on a handful of occasions, back in my world, watching him go through life on my TV screen. The only person he had ever directed the sharp edge of his temper at was Chloe, and I was completely thrown that he was now giving me a piece of what was really going on in his mind.

"I-- I--" I stammered, not really sure how to respond. Clark took advantage of my knotted tongue and pressed on.

"I understand that since you came here, your life has been really complicated. Knowing me, knowing my secret... it's difficult. But that does not give you the right to threaten my mother!" His voice rose to a shout on the last words. He took a breath preparing, I think, to continue yelling at me. But by this point, I had found my voice.

"Clark, I didn't!" I shouted. "Why can't you see that this has nothing- nothing- to do with your god damn secret? Why can't you see that being Kryptonian isn't a curse, it's a gift; that your powers aren't bad karma, they're a way for you to really make a difference? There are thousands of people out there who want nothing more in life than to help make the world a better place, but can't because there's nothing they can do about it, and here you are, with all your great powers, convinced that everything that goes wrong in your life is because of them. Do you think life would be easier if you weren't Kal-El? Think again.

"And I didn't threaten your mother. She threatened me- and she was talking in my voice. I don't know what's going on, but your mom isn't your mom. You of all people should know that the supernatural is real, and that there's a chance somebody's impersonating her," I said, my voice rising in a crescendo of desperation and barely controlled hysteria.

There was a brief silence, and then Clark said, in a quiet voice, "I think I would know my own mother, don't you?"

"Yeah, and Lana thought she knew you- but Bizarro still fooled her, didn't he?" I snapped. It was a low blow, but at the time I thought it was a good idea. Shows you how much I know.

Clark's eyes narrowed, his jaw set. "That. Is. Enough. Dianne." he said, deadly calm, enunciating every word as if they were all that kept him clinging to his self-control. "I've put up with your sarcasm, your arrogance for all this time because I... I thought I could learn something from you. I have learned from you, but it seems that the only person I can tolerate sarcasm from is Lois. I'm asking you one last time. Just apologize to my mother and drop this... this stupid crusade to make me accept my 'destiny'."

I felt the iron in my soul bend slightly as he said it. Was he right? Had I been arrogant? Perhaps. But my pride wouldn't let me take this from him. "I would, Clark, if I had actually done anything to apologize for. And I'll never stop trying to give the world the hero it deserves."

With that, I turned and, with a huge leap soared across the cornfields. Three bounds later, I was on the roof of the Metrpolis Star building, staring out across Kansas, wondering what the hell I was going to do.

--

Lex smiled as Ms. Mannilow gave her report on her progress. "Excellent work. I think Dianne would make a nice little addition to 33.1, don't you?" He nodded. "Yes. The Black Creek facility, I think. But first--" Lex allowed a small smile to curl across his face. "First, I want her broken. I want her mind completely shattered, so that we'll be able to bring her under control. From what I saw of her personality during our brief meeting, she's too strong-willed to be managed otherwise. So... can you do it?"

Mannilow nodded. "I know what to do," she said, sighing. She hated herself for this. If it was up to her, she'd be doing things openly. But no, she had to fight Luthor from the shadows, pretending to fawn over him and do his evil bidding. And what was worse... if Dianne Morton really was broken, all would be lost. Barry had told her that in no uncertain terms, and he would know.

Putting the dark thoughts away so that she could smile brightly at her employer, Ms. Mannilow pulled a DVD from her purse. "This has everything I need on it."

Stepping outside Lex's office, she paused, tuning in her mind to all the thoughts and voices around the world. She cringed slightly at the onslaught of thought, but quickly managed to eliminate all but the one voice she was searching for- Dianne Morton. Once she had located her, she smiled slightly. She took a single step into the security system's blind spot.

In less than a moment her face and body shifted, transforming from the image of Ms. Mannilow into a heavyset man dressed in a security officer's uniform, and set out for the Metropolis Star office...

As she left the Luthor mansion, a man made his way down the staircase from the mezzanine which housed the majority of Lex's books. "Lex," the man said silkily.

Lex Luthor's eyes widened. "You--!" he gasped. "You're--" He was lost for words. He had not seen this man in almost two years.

"Yes. Me," said the man. Milton Fine, better known as Brainiac, emerged from the shadows.

--

I was chilly- I'd been out here on the roof for over five hours, and it was still only April- things could still get cold with little warning. Shivering, I tried the door off the roof again- and to my surprise, this time it was unlocked. Shrugging, I walked inside.

The building was mostly deserted- it was after working hours by now, and most of the staff had gone home. As I descended into the bullpen however, I heard a pair of voices- male and female- speaking urgently.

"--don't know what to think, Chloe!" I heard Clark say. Immediately, I froze, listening intently.

"Clark, I don't know what to tell you. She seems sincere... but I've been fooled by meteor freaks before. Normally I wouldn't be quick to make judgments, but something feels weird here. I mean, it is telling that Dianne knew about Krypton, but at the same time, her story about being from some other dimension seems kinda far-fetched," Chloe replied. What was this? What was I hearing? The conversation didn't even make sense with the events of the day.

"I guess we'll just play along for awhile. Try and find out what she's up to," Clark said softly.

Furious, I burst into the room, intending to give them a piece of my mind. The bullpen was empty. All that I found was a TV, playing slightly blurry security footage from the Metropolis Star's cameras. I approached slowly, looking at the time counter and date in the bottom of the screen. The footage was from three days after I arrived in this universe.

I sank into a chair, fighting back tears for the second time today. The world faded away as I fought to keep myself from breaking down. They'd just been playing me from the start. They'd never really trusted me. I trusted them- I thought that maybe, just maybe I'd found a place where I could belong. That maybe I'd have real friends. But they'd never really trusted me, never really liked me at all. How could I have been so stupid?

--

Sorry once again for the slow updates. But I hope you like what you read!