Lois paced up and down the small room where she'd been taken to after being basically dragged from her car, dazed and confused from being run off the road. She touched the sore spot on her forehead and was relieved to discover it wasn't bleeding.

Just what the hell was going on, she wondered.

The two men who had brought her here hadn't spoken a word to her. They hadn't even responded to her questions. She'd been here well over twenty-four hours, from what she could tell. Someone would have noticed she was missing by now.

Kal must be going out of his mind, she thought.

She chewed on her lower lip, trying to think of a way out. She could barely think for the pounding migraine, but she still went over the past few hours in her mind. For an army brat, she had a pretty bad sense of direction and didn't think she had a hope of figuring out where they'd taken her, but she had to try.

"Come on, Lois, think," she said to herself.

They'd come up behind her as she was driving out to the farm. Why was she going there? Oh, yeah, fight with her dad.

What were they fighting about?

She rubbed the heel of her hand on her right temple. She was lucky that she didn't get migraines. Usually. When she had been around ten or so, she had been friends with a girl who got terrible migraines, but their teacher would never let her go to the nurse. As far as the teacher was concerned it was just a headache, even though the girl was white as a sheet and was a complete mess. One day Lois' friend had such a bad one that she had vomited all over the teacher and then passed out. The girl's parent were so angry that the teacher was fired.

Still, now Lois knew exactly what her friend went through because it was so hard to think for the jackhammer pounding at her temple. She probably had a mild concussion, she thought.

"Okay, Lois, focus."

Her father had been kind of upset most of the weekend. She supposed she could understand, in some respects. It couldn't have been easy for him to have walked in and realised she was not only sexually active, but that she'd slept with Kal under her father's roof. While he hadn't been too strict on her growing up, he did have certain rules.

As soon as she'd returned home from dropping Kal back at the farm, he'd made her sit down.

"Lo …"

"Daddy, don't start. I'm eighteen and I'm an adult."

"An adult wouldn't be sneaking around behind my back," he replied. "Be honest with me. How long have you been sexually active?"

"Kal was … is my first. Daddy, we didn't mean to act like we were sneaking around behind your back. It's just … I love him."

"You're eighteen years old. You're far too young to understand about love. Besides, how are you going to have a relationship with him when he goes home at the end of the year?"

"We'll work out something."

She didn't mention Kal's own worries about what would happen once he went home, or that he was adamant that when he went home he couldn't return. Lois wasn't usually optimistic, but she had to believe that there was something they could do to stay together.

"I don't know, Lois," her father sighed. "I'm not happy about all this."

"I'm not a child, Daddy. I know what I'm doing."

He'd dropped the matter then, but the next day it had started all over again. She'd finally had enough of his lecturing and stormed out.

She had been so upset she hadn't noticed the SUV coming up behind her and had been taken by surprise when the vehicle moved to overtake her on the right hand side, then swerved, crashing into the passenger side. She'd slammed her foot on the brakes, hitting her head, then wrenched the steering wheel but the driver of the SUV hit her again and her engine stalled. Before she could get it started again, a man with dark hair mixed with grey, cut in a military style crew cut got out of the vehicle and pointed a gun at her.

"Get out of the car," he barked at her.

Biting her lip, Lois did so. Another man got of the SUV. This one was tall and lean with dark blond hair. He reminded her a little of an actor she had seen on a tv show. The man took her arm. She tried to pull away but the first man glared at her.

"Co-operate Miss Lane, and you won't get hurt."

So he knew who she was. That didn't bode well, she thought. She wondered if they were kidnapping her because of her father, or if the reason was more sinister than that.

"What do you want with me?" she asked, but got no reply. She wasn't expecting one.

The older man gestured with his head and the younger man pulled her toward the SUV, while the other one got in her car. She guessed he was going to drive it off the road. As he started the car and drove toward the woods, she turned on the other man, hoping to use some of the tactics she had learned in martial arts classes, but he was clearly prepared for that. She felt a blow to the back of her head and passed out.

When she came to, she slowly started to realise she was lying on the backseat of the SUV, her wrists tied firmly. She opened one eye cautiously. Her vision was slightly blurred but she could see the two men in the front of the vehicle. She tried turning her head without being seen but the angle was impossible. She had no idea where they were heading.

She calculated they drove for another hour as it was just starting to get dark when the car came to a full stop. She was pulled out roughly from the vehicle and made to walk toward what appeared to be a warehouse of some description. From the fishy smell that hung in the air, she guessed they were near the docks.

She was pushed up a set of steps which appeared to be made out of galvanized steel mesh. They squeaked as she put her weight on them, not at all sturdy, making her uneasy.

Lois stumbled and almost fell. Her captor clearly didn't care if she was hurt, practically dragging her inside the building, along a very narrow corridor, and thrusting her into a small room. There was a bunk on one side. It appeared to have once been a small office, but it reminded her of a prison cell. Which was probably what it was now, she thought. The window was boarded up.

The younger man untied her wrists, still without having said a word to her, while the older man stood guard, his gun in his hand. There was no escape.

At least they didn't seem to be starving her, she thought later as the younger man brought in a tray. Lois looked at him, then slid her gaze past him to the door. He smirked at her, clearly realising what she was looking at and shook his head. He placed the tray on the bunk beside her then backed away.

They'd given her soup and a couple of bread rolls. The soup was vegetable and was at least palatable, although clearly from a can and heated in a microwave. Part of it was just tepid while the outside was a little hot. She'd had vegetable soup at the Kents and Martha had made it herself. The bread was better, fresh and soft. The only real downside was they'd given her a plastic spoon. She had hoped they would have given her a metal one so she could have tried to prise the boards off the window.

She sighed as she shook off the recollection, still trying to analyse what she had learned thus far. She had no useful information apart from a general idea of where she was, but even if she did manage to escape, she had a feeling she wouldn't get far. Not without drastic measures.

"Time to go to defcon one," she muttered.

As Lois resumed pacing her cell, she wondered again why they had kidnapped her. They still hadn't spoken to her, yet they hadn't done anything horrible to her either. Apart from keeping her in this small room.

She'd spotted the camera in the corner as she'd lain awake on the bunk. Someone was watching her.

She couldn't figure it out. Who was watching her and why? Who were the two men? The older one was definitely military. She hadn't grown up with a father who was a general without learning a few things.

The door opened and she looked up. Feeding time again, she sighed. The man gestured for her to sit on the bed, clearly wary of her trying to get past him. She shrugged and turned as if to do as she was told, then shoved him, aiming a hard punch at his jaw before running out the open door.

She ran along the narrow corridor trying to remember which way they'd come in. There was a shout from behind her but she kept running. She saw a doorway and hoped it was the outer door, trying the handle. To her dismay it was locked. Lois ran further up only to come to a sudden halt, staring in shock at the man she had punched less than a minute ago. How had he got in front of her?

The man grabbed her and began dragging her back along the corridor. The older man, clearly the boss, appeared from another room.

"I warned you, Miss Lane," he growled.

She was shoved back into the cell. A pair of handcuffs were produced. One was snapped around her wrist, the other secured to the end of the bed.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked. "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter who we are. As soon as the boss has what he wants, we'll let you go."

She blinked at him. "Your boss? Who's that?"

He smirked at her, then backed out of the room, slamming the door shut. Lois was left to contemplate her situation.

They wanted something, but what? And who was their boss?

Tears threatened, but she refused to give in to the urge to cry. She was a Lane. She was raised to be tougher than this. She sighed and tried to pull at the cuff around her wrist. The chain clinked against the metal frame of the bed. At least the cuffs weren't police issue, she thought as the chain gave enough for her to lie down on the mattress which was so thin she could feel the metal slats. She'd already tried breaking them the first couple of hours she'd been left in this room, to no avail. Macgyver she wasn't.

She stared at the tiny gap in the boarded-up window where daylight peeked through and watched as the light grew darker. Another night in her prison. Another night away from Kal.

She realised she had fallen asleep at some point as she woke with a start from a dream which had her heart pounding. The memory of the dream faded away, leaving her alone in the darkness. The only thing she could remember was that it involved Kal somehow, and he was calling for her.

"Kal," she murmured.

She wished he could hear her, but that was silly. He was miles away, in Smallville. How could he hear her from this distance?

Still, talking to him as if he was right beside her comforted her somehow.

"Kal, if you're there, find me. Please."

XXXXX

Kal sat up with a start. He had gone back to the farm, knowing there was nothing he could do except wait it out until Brainiac finished analysing the information about Lex.

For a moment, he imagined Lois was calling his name. She had sounded frightened.

Frowning, he tried to focus his hearing. It was the one power he hadn't quite been able to master. Nothing. Yet it had seemed so real.

Looking around the darkened room, Kal sighed. He probably needed to be out in the open. As quietly as possible, he left the room and sped downstairs and out the front door. Pausing in the driveway, he glanced up to the second floor of the house at the darkened window of Jonathan and Martha's bedroom. Relieved that they hadn't heard him, he bent into a crouch, gathering his energy, then shot into the air.

The tallest structure in Smallville was the windmill in Chandler's field, but it wasn't high enough for what he needed. Kal flew further up into the sky, until he could see the lights of the city in the distance. Hovering in the air, he let the sounds of the night wash over him. Closing his eyes, he took a few deep, cleansing breaths and began to filter out those sounds.

"Kal, if you're there, find me. Please."

His eyes shot open and he tried to focus on the direction of her voice, but it had been too brief. He tried again to zero in on her, but without hearing her voice again, he knew the situation was hopeless.

He flew back down, hovering a few feet in the air above the Kawatche caves, checking for the security detail, before landing at the cave entrance. He activated the crystal to allow him entry to the secret cavern.

"Brainiac?"

The artificial intelligence emerged from the cave wall.

"Kal-El."

"Have you done what I asked?"

"I have."

"Well?"

"Are you aware there are humans patrolling this area? You may have set off some primitive alert system."

"I don't care, Brainiac. Tell me what I want to know. Now!"

"Your Lex Luthor has been meeting with someone in the city. I believe she is called the White Queen."

"How is this relevant?"

"I have searched the databanks, and analysed the information, as ordered." Brainiac sent him an oily smirk. Kal huffed in annoyance. "The White Queen is a human by the name of Amanda Waller. She is an agent with an organisation called Checkmate."

"What are they?" Kal asked.

"They are an agency run by the United States government, however their existence is not common knowledge. It took some time for me to access these records. Checkmate's mandate is to ensure that all metahumans are registered and controlled."

"Metahumans?"

"Those who have undergone some metabolic change and possess some superhuman abilities. Kryptonians are not human, therefore they do not fall under this category."

"Is it possible that Lois has been taken by agents of this organisation?"

Brainiac raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't comment. Kal knew what the construct was thinking. That he was wasting his time and energy worrying about a human, but he loved Lois and he wasn't going to stop until he found her.

"I heard her tonight. I'm sure it was Lois, but I couldn't figure out where she was. She didn't talk long enough for me to zero in on her location."

"How is this relevant to Lex Luthor?" Brainiac enquired.

"I think he has something to do with who took her. The general's heard nothing. No ransom demand. Not yet."

"From what I understand, if a kidnapping victim has not been found within twenty-four hours of their abduction, the odds of finding them …"

"I don't want to hear the odds, Brainiac."

"You have been around these humans too long already, Kal-El. You are growing emotional."

"As opposed to you? You're just a machine."

"You even beginning to sound like these primitives," the construct smirked. Kal glared at his father's creation. For something that continued to criticise the way he had adopted human expressions, its own use of human facial expressions was rather hypocritical.

"I don't want to hear any more of your opinion on humans or how I sound. Let me remind you, Brainiac. My father built you and sent you to help me. Now help me find Lois, damn it!"

The construct huffed, squaring its shoulders. Kal rolled his eyes, wishing it hadn't chosen to take on human form.

"Very well. I will contact the authorities and see what I can learn. Return to the human domicile and I will report to you there. I do not think it is appropriate for us to meet here in future."

Kal nodded. "Agreed."

Brainiac sped away from the cavern. Kal waited a few seconds, then sped out as well.

The lights were on at the farm when he returned. As he stepped inside the house, he stopped short, staring at the three adults at the kitchen table.

"Kal, where have you been?" Jonathan asked.

"I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk."

"At two in the morning?" General Lane barked. Kal stared at Lois' father for a moment.

"Kal, sit down," Martha said. "General Lane has had some distressing news."

Now he understood why some writers suggested their character's heart stopped for a couple of beats, because his did the same thing.

"Lois?"

"Her captors say she's fine. For the moment." The general sipped the cup of black coffee. "They called around midnight. They told me they'll release her, on one condition. That I exchange you in her place."

Kal frowned. "What? What do they want with me?"

"I have no idea," the older man sighed. "And normally I wouldn't respond to something like this, but they have my daughter, Kal."

"When do they want this exchange to take place?" he asked.

"At dawn. In Metropolis. I've just spent the last two hours with the sheriff and Metro PD trying to come up with a solution, but … I need your help, Kal. They said they'll kill her if we're not at the specified address at dawn."

Kal shook his head. It had to be a trap. If the people who had taken her were from Checkmate, as he suspected, there was no way they would let Lois go. Not if they learned exactly who and what he was. She would be in more danger than ever.

"Kal, you cannot be thinking of giving in to them," Jonathan said quietly. "They could kill you both."

"I don't think we have a choice, Jonathan," the general cautioned. "We have to leave by four at the very latest."

Kal wasn't listening. He had heard something in the barn. He rose to his feet, ignoring the odd looks from the three around the table.

"Where are you going?" Martha asked.

"I need to think for a minute," he said, going back outside. He quickly made his way to the barn. He could see someone standing up in the loft and sped upstairs.

The figure turned and he saw it was Brainiac. The construct was wearing what appeared to be some kind of suit, similar to what Kal had seen federal agents wearing on television. The suit was ill-fitting and not very well made.

"If you're here about the kidnapper's demands, I already know. General Lane is here."

"There is more you should know, Kal-El. About a month ago, Lex Luthor travelled to New York city to meet with a scientist by the name of Virgil Swann."

Kal frowned.

"Who's Virgil Swann?"

"According to the data banks, Dr Swann is a reclusive genius who has dedicated his life to seeking out life on other planets. About six months ago there was an article in one of the Earth media organisations in which he claimed he had discovered a new planet, approximately fifty light years from Earth."

"Krypton," Kal breathed.

"Yes."

"Why was Lex visiting him?"

"For the same reason. If these humans should discover you are not of this Earth … I believe the human term is a 'witch-hunt'. You must not allow them to discover your abilities, Kal-El."

"I know that, but Lois will never be safe. I have to find her and get her away from these people."

"And then what?" Brainiac argued. "You must return to Krypton, Kal-El."

"Not until I know Lois is safe," he replied stubbornly. "Help me find her."

While he doubted Lois would be left alone if he did return, he knew there was no other way now. As much as he hated the idea of leaving her. He was sure the general could sort out something with the government. He could at least do something to stop Checkmate.

"It would seem logical to me that the men are close to the area in which they have ordered the exchange."

Kal nodded. That made sense.

"Help me get her back and make her safe, and I will leave Earth."

"Very well. I will go with you to Metropolis."

They sped away from the farm, unaware that someone had been listening to the conversation. General Lane stepped out of the shadows, staring up at the loft with a stunned expression.

The location of the exchange was the city market, located near the docks. Kal had visited it once with Jonathan and Martha as they had taken some of their organic produce to try selling it at a stall. At this time of the morning, Kal doubted anyone would be working, but within a couple of hours it would be teeming with people busy setting up stalls. It was the perfect spot for the exchange, since the men who had Lois could just disappear.

He looked at Brainiac.

"We'll start checking the local buildings for any sign of activity. You take the east side, I'll take the west side."

They began searching. Kal used his vision to inspect every building for any people inside. As he thought, most of the warehouses were empty. He thought about taking to the sky, but figured he could concentrate better on the ground.

After half an hour of searching he still hadn't found anything. Brainiac, however, seemed to have had better luck.

"There is an old warehouse about half a mile from here," it said. "The structure is unstable, but one part of it has been reinforced. The fittings are fairly new."

"Show me," he said.

XXXXX

Lois had been sleeping fitfully since the dream. The bed was uncomfortable enough as it was, but part of it was she had been afraid if she went back to sleep then something bad might happen.

There was the sound of a crash and she sat up, her heart pounding. She started to swing her legs around off the bed when one of her captors appeared in the room. He unlocked the cuffs and pulled her up, grabbing her arm. She started to say something then it felt like the wind was knocked out of her. There was the oddest feeling, as if she was being pulled apart, then they were out in the corridor.

The man began pushing her along the hallway, which was lit up. The older one of her captors was shooting at something, looking unnerved. Lois gasped as she recognised who he was shooting at.

"Kal!" she cried.

She felt a hard tug on her arm, then something cold biting into her neck.

"Don't come any closer!" her captor yelled. "I'll shoot."

He gave a sudden squawk and the pressure on her arm suddenly disappeared. Lois whirled and stared as a man only a couple of inches taller than her had grabbed the other man's gun and crushed it as if it was just tin.

"Who are you?" Kal was growling at the man. Lois turned to look. Her boyfriend had the man in a stranglehold, his feet dangling in the air. She stared. She'd known Kal was strong but had no idea he was strong enough to lift a man in the air.

"I'll ask again," he growled. "Who are you?"

"Flag," the man choked.

"Who hired you?"

Flag refused to talk. The other man had been knocked out by Kal's friend. Kal turned to look at him.

"Go back to the farm," he said. "Stay out of sight until I come for you."

"Kal-El …"

"You heard me, Brainiac."

Lois frowned at him. What kind of name was Brainiac? She watched, stunned as the other man seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye. Kal dropped Flag, who was barely conscious. He practically ran to her and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm fine. Now." She looked up at him. "Kal, we should call the police," she said.

He nodded, keeping his arm wrapped around her as they walked out of the warehouse. They quickly found a payphone and called the police, then Lois called her father to tell him she was okay. He sounded strange on the phone.

It was light by the time they were allowed to go. Flag and his partner, who Lois learned was named Emil LaSalle, were taken into custody. Flag stared at Kal as he was escorted to the police van.

Lois shivered.

"Did they tell you why they took you?" Kal asked.

She shook her head. "No. I thought it might be because of my dad, because of something he might have been working on, but I just don't know now."

"I think it might be because of me, Lois," he said.

She stared at him. "What?"

He bit his lip. "Let's get back to the farm and I'll tell you everything, okay?"

She sighed and nodded, then frowned at him. "Uh, Kal, how did you get here without a car?"

He grinned sheepishly. "Uh, that's one of the things I need to tell you," he said. He looked around with almost a furtive expression. "Hold on to me, okay?"

"Kal, what are you …"

She gasped as he suddenly rose into the air.