The Portal

Author: a_delacroix@hotmail.com

Chapter 31

Lex stared up at Lana's body. Her ebony hair glistened in the early morning light as it hung, thankfully, hiding much of her face. Lex wanted to remember her as he had known her in life: smiling, happy, even serious or sad. He didn't want to remember her as a lifeless body hanging limply from a post in the center of an arena where her execution had been witnessed by, and probably cheered on by, a barbaric Roman crowd. And somehow without seeing her face, it was just barely possible to maintain his fragile grip on his image of her in his mind.

It was hard for Lex to believe that the short time they had had together was over. Only a week had passed since the fateful nighttime ride in the coach from Narbo. They had been thrown together by the strange chain of events that had left them stranded here in the ancient Roman Empire. For a short while they had found happiness and Lex had found some peace from his personal demons, but now it was all lost.

Why couldn't he have discovered their connection earlier? If he had looked into his own heart, back when Clark was mooning over her, perhaps he could have had months with her instead of mere days.

The worst part was he never had a chance to say good-bye or the many other things he meant to say when the time was right. Things like how very much he loved her and how he desperately wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. But now she was gone, and he didn't know how he was going to get through the next minute or hour or day without her.

As he lay there staring up at her, he realized how empty his life suddenly was. Maybe his wound would kill him, he no longer cared.

In some ways it seemed like Lex had been laying there on the ground staring up at Lana for hours. In other ways it felt like only milliseconds when movement in his peripheral vision attracted his attention. Glancing to his right he saw Chloe was slowly raising her head and turning in his direction. Soundlessly, she mouthed the words 'Help me' as a small stream of blood gurgled out of her mouth and dripped off her chin.

Lex stared at her for a moment as he realized he should have remembered with her nanobot enhancements, even five spears through the torso wouldn't kill her instantly. However the shock of seeing the two girls hanging side- by-side from the posts had simply overwhelmed his thinking. Lex at the moment no longer cared much what happened to him, but perhaps he could help her as one last good deed, in a life singularly lacking in good deeds he realized. She might survive until Clark came out of his heat vision induced frenzy, but then she might not, as Lex had no idea if Clark would recover in minutes, hours, or frankly, ever.

If Lex was going to help, the first thing he was going to have to do was remove the spear from his shoulder. Reaching over with his good right hand, he grabbed the wooden shaft as close to his shoulder as possible. After two quick breaths, he gritted his teeth and jerked on the shaft as hard as he could. The pain was beyond anything he had felt before as the spear started to withdraw. It had moved a little over an inch when one of the barbs caught on the backside of Lex's collarbone. He was going to have to push it back in a little and then rotate it a quarter turn before he would be able to pull the head clear. Lex took one more deep breath and then deciding the 'teeth gritting thing' had not been very effective, he went for the gut-wrenching scream instead.

His scream went largely unnoticed among the thousands of other screams from the panicking audience, who were all busy trying to reach the nearest exits to escape both Clark's deadly gaze and the resulting rapidly spreading fires. The scream didn't seem to Lex to be any more beneficial than the previously gritted teeth, but regardless he managed to push the spear back in and give it the necessary turn. Finally the barbs were in the clear and he was able to slowly pull the spear free. He was about to toss the spear away in revulsion from seeing so much of his blood on its last eight inches when he realized he might need its support to get back to his feet. Swinging the butt of the shaft around until it was pressed hard against the ground adjacent to his right hip, Lex used the shaft to lever himself up into a sitting position. For a moment he sat there light-headed, more from the shock of his wound than the actual blood loss. Then pulling his knees up to his chest, he slowly worked his way erected. Fortunately, he didn't feel much worse standing than sitting and, using the spear as a crutch, he slowly turned in Chloe's direction.

Looking at her as he made the six steps necessary to reach her, he saw her head had sagged back down, but her eyes were still open, clear, and watching his approach. As he stepped up beside her, he leaned his spear against the post to free his hands for the terrible task of pulling the spears free from her body. As he reached for the first spear, he saw Chloe raise her head and again try to speak. Leaning close until his left ear was almost touching her lips, he made out the faintest of whispers, "Lex, cut me free first."

Lex nodded his understanding and picked up his spear to use the sharpened head as a knife since his left hand wasn't working well enough to untie the securing knots. He worked as quickly as he could at the rope binding her elbows behind the post. Several times the spear tip slipped and dug deeply into Chloe's arm as he was forced to mostly use just his right hand. However, if she could survive five spears rammed deeply into her chest and abdomen, a few cuts on her arm wouldn't kill her and Lex had a sudden sense of urgency. Perhaps it was fear for his completely exposed back after already having been a recipient of one spear hit. A second time he might not be so lucky, a hit in the body would leave him dead like Lana and of little use to Chloe.

After thirty seconds that felt more like an hour, the ropes holding Chloe's elbows parted, and she slumped to her knees. As Lex knelt down beside her, her hands reached for the first spear which had punched through her left breast and wedged between a couple of ribs. With a surprisingly calm, tranquil expression on her face, Lex watched her pull the spear free with a loud, wet squelching sound. It took him a moment to remember her explaining one time how she could turn off her pain receptors, when required. Still clearly remembering the unbelievable pain he had experienced on removing his own spear, he wished he could selectively turn off his pain receptors, too. And remembering Lana hanging from another post barely five feet away, he wished he could turn off the aching in his heart, also. Not permanently, but at least until he had a better opportunity to mourn her.

With the first spear removed, Chloe's hands move to the second. But before she started on that one she turned her head to Lex. Speaking in a voice that was already a little stronger and clearer, she said. "Lex, get Lana down. If we hurry I think I can still save her."

'Save her?' Thought Lex numbly, as though he didn't understand the word's meaning. 'How can we save her, she is already dead.'

As Lex just sat there, Chloe pulled her nearer hand from the spear and reached out to grab Lex's left ear. Pinching it hard, she said, "Lex, get her down now."

The unexpected pain did the trick and got Lex moving and his brain thinking again. If Chloe thought she could save Lana, maybe it wasn't too late. Who knew what additional abilities she had that she hadn't felt compelled to share? And it was suddenly difficult to doubt her abilities as he watched her calmly pull the second spear from her abdomen and already she looked stronger and more lifelike than ten seconds earlier.

Using the post to which Chloe had been tied for support; Lex pushed himself back to his feet. This time he felt more light-headed than the first time and for a moment his vision even went gray. Looking at his own wound he could see the blood pumping out at a steady pace and how his left side was coated with blood almost to his knee. Knowing he might only have minutes before he passed out from blood loss, he quickly picked up his spear from where it was leaning against the back of the post and turned towards Lana.

When he reached her, there was no reaction like with Chloe. Her head sagged down with her hair obscuring her face. Her body was limp and showed no reaction when he started to saw through the robes restraining her elbows.

This time the ropes seemed much harder to cut. Although he wasn't certain whether it was his weakening condition or his unreasonable fear of cutting her arms like he had done to Chloe. In the end it was close to 45 seconds before the ropes came free. By then Chloe was beside him and helped lower Lana's body until she was stretched out on her back.

Lex collapsed to his knees beside her and ended up cradling her head as Chloe worked to remove the spears. Unlikely Chloe or Lex, Lana gave no response as the spears came free. As Lex watched her body, he suddenly felt the ache in his heart grow. Had all Chloe done was give him some painful false hope? What could she possibly do to save Lana now?

As Chloe removed the final spear she didn't set it aside like the previous spears, but instead, holding it right behind the sharpened head, she angled the shaft down in front of Lex.

"Lex, grab the shaft and give a sharp pull."

Lex looked at her, but Chloe could see his eyes glazing over even as she watched. In a couple of seconds he was going to be out cold as she realized his wound was more severe than she had thought with her attention focused on her own and Lana's injuries.

"LEX," she almost screamed to break his haze. "You must pull on this shaft now if I am going to save Lana."

Lana's name was the hook Lex needed to force his mind back into focus for the necessary few seconds. With a tiny nod, Lex grasped the shaft and gave a modest tug. Fortunately, the sharpened head did the rest, slicing Chloe's palms open to the bone.

Quickly, before her 'bots could start healing the wounds, Chloe slapped one palm hard against the wounds in Lana's stomach and the other against the open wound in Lex's shoulder. Then overriding the safeties built into the 'bot network, she forced the 'bots to invade their bodies and begin a massive replication process. Within fractions of a second the 'bots were multiplying at a geometric rate while simultaneously spreading through out their bodies. Functioning on an almost atomic scale, each 'bot was able to replicate in just over a tenth of a second. Four seconds after Chloe had slapped her bloody palm against each of their bodies, the million 'bots which had past from bloodstream to bloodstream had undergone 32 generations of duplication to reach a body-saturating four quadrillion 'bots. Now as the 'bots had flooded every cell, the serious reconstruction could begin.

Once her 'bot network had been given the general instructions, the rest of the procedure no longer required her conscious control. However, the 'bots were all keyed to her genetic code and if she broke physical contact, all of the 'bots in Lex and Lana's bodies would go dormant. Therefore Chloe was trapped there for the four seconds it took for the 'bots to saturate the bodies and then a further six seconds for the repairs to be completed. Ten seconds for her mind to wander to other topics. While part of her attention was focused on figuring out what had happened to Clark, a large portion of her mind was reliving the events when she first accidentally discovered her healing gift.

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By the modern calendar the year was 7538 B.C., and the location was a rich farming community called Susa, not unlike an ancient version of Smallville. Susa was located in the fertile bottomlands of what had once been, and would someday again be, the mighty Mediterranean Sea. However, this fateful day was in the late years of the last ice age and while water levels were already slowly beginning to increase, the serious refilling of the Mediterranean was still almost a thousand years in the future. For now, what remained of the Mediterranean were two smaller salt-water lakes separated by a land bridge connecting modern-day Tunisia with Sicily and mainland Italy. Susa was located twenty miles inland from the great eastern lake and a mere forty miles from the mighty, lake-front capital city of Atlantis, itself located in the shadows of the Sicilian highlands.

At this instant in time Chloe was going by the name of Sliviuh, which in the local dialect meant 'Golden One'. Even then most residents of the region were of classical Mediterranean appearance and her blonde hair was extremely rare. She was living the simple life of the wife of a prosperous farmer named Kefery Lufwifter. Kefery and she had been happily married for almost sixteen years. Many of their friends frequently commented on her youthful appearance and how she and their eldest daughter, Keviuh, could almost pass as twins. Besides Keviuh, Kefery and Sliviuh had three other children, two boys and a girl.

Thinking back, Chloe remembered how this had been one of the longest, happiest times of her life; one of those periods when she was going through a 'simple' phase. No empire to run, no wars of conquest to direct, no multitude to feed and clothe. This was a time when her life was centered on her family, and their farm, even if it meant her vast, global trading empire was left without her guiding hand and was going slightly to seed.

Not that simple meant a 'Little House on the Prairie' sod hut, no, they lived in a beautiful, large stone and timber home. They had six household staff to attend to their needs and 57 farmhands to attend to the crops and livestock. By the common standards of the era, they were at the modest end of the Landed Gentry.

Chloe had been completely in love with Kefery since the day they had meet seventeen years earlier at the annual feast for the ancient, mythical goddess Pharo, whose name was slowly over the millennia evolving from Fah to Pharaoh. Twenty five hundred years earlier Chloe had been the living god, Fah. Five thousand years later she would briefly be the living god, Pharaoh Hatshepsut, completing the circle. But at the moment she was merely a farmwife, although happier than during either of her reigns as Fah or Pharaoh.

This day had dawned like many another with Chloe coming awake first with her body comfortably draped across Kefery's broad chest. Soon it would be time to wake the children for school and start the other activities of the day, but that could wait a few minutes while she enjoyed the feel of Kefery's still hard, strong body pressed against her. Looking at his quietly sleeping face, she saw the deepening lines around the eyes from years outdoors under the brutal Mediterranean sun. At 34, Kefery was well into middle-age for this era and Chloe was forced to think about the growing discrepancy in their appearances.

She was glad she had made the decision ten years earlier to let Kefery in on her secret. So many times in the past when she had divulged her secret, things had turned out bad. But this time she had found someone who could accept her for herself and mostly ignore her strange gift. However, the comments of acquaintances were becoming more frequent and it was time to start planning for a new future before her family was destroyed by allegations of witchery. She and Kefery had agreed that after Keviuh's marriage in two weeks, they would turn the farm over to them as a wedding gift and soon move on to a new life in a distant city. A city where they could start over as an older widowed man and his young second wife. A new life where they could enjoy another ten or fifteen years of peace, happiness, and above all, love.

But planning that transition could wait another day, as Chloe's secret stashes of gold and gems, scattered all over the world, made any required departure simple and clean. Therefore Chloe felt no regrets about putting things off for another day as she slowly crawled up Kefery's body until her lips were lightly touching his.

"Wake up, sleepy head," she whispered while showering tiny kisses all over his face.

Kefery awoke with a smile, "Good morning to you too, dear." As he came fully awake, his hand slid steadily down her back. "Life doesn't get any better than this."

Chloe let out a happy, little moan. This was her favorite way of starting the day, also.

Five minutes later things were just getting hot and heavy when the shouts and screams penetrated their awareness. With the reactions only experience parents have, they instantly broke apart, had pulled on some loose robes, and were halfway to the door before they were fully cognizant of the cause.

"Get the kids," shout Kefery as he raced down the stairs.

After yelling for Keviuh to go get her sister, Gefiuh, Chloe ran to the twins' room. Kefery Junior and Arvrey were still sleeping in the early morning light. At eleven years old, they were coming to the end of their carefree childhood and would soon start on their journey to young manhood. But at the moment they were just her little boys and she could feel her panic rising as the noises outside grew and the faint odor of smoke reached her sensitive nose. After over seven thousand years she knew she would survive whatever happened today, but like any mother her greatest fear was for her children. Even more than usual since from long, heartbreaking experience she knew none of them would have her gift.

Hustling them out of bed, she caught up with a Keviuh and Gefiuh in the hall. Herding her children down the stairs, she knew they would be safe, if they reached the cellar below the house, the cellar with its unusual passage to an exit in the woods one hundred feet behind the house. When Chloe had insisted on a secret exit, Kefery had laughed and complained about the unnecessary expense, but had finally buckled to her insistence. At the time of the passage's construction, he didn't understand the enormity of her life and how long, painful experience had taught her the importance of an emergency escape route. An escape route might only be necessary once in five hundred years, but when it was needed you would gladly thank the stars, if it saved even a single loved one.

Chloe and her children had just reached the main entry hall at the bottom of the stairs when the front door crashed open and Kefery fell back through with three arrows standing out from his chest. The girls began to scream as Chloe grabbed him under the arms to pull him into the room far enough to shut and bolt the door. However by the time she had him well into the room, it was too late. The first of the raiders were charging through the open doorway.

Raiders. From the pattern of their battle paint she recognized them as one of the clans from the Tunisia highlands, something she had never expected to find in Susa during this lifetime. When Chloe was looking for a place to settle down for a few years, she had only decided on Susa after careful consideration. At a distance of forty miles, it was far enough from the great city to avoid all the disadvantages of city life, but at only two days travel-time, it was near enough for visits several times a year if the urge so arose. Plus, even more importantly, Susa was close enough to be within its protective umbrella. At least until now. The raiders had been venturing nearer over the past five years, but before today, she had never heard of them within fifty miles of here.

The raiders in their green-dyed tunics and matching facial paint were not here to settle, but merely on a quick looting expedition into the rich, lightly defended hinterland of the great city of Atlantis. They were looking for gold, silver, and gems. If a little fun came to them along the way, that would be just an added benefit.

As they charge through the door, thirteen year old Gefiuh was sobbing hysterically as she clutched at her dying father's chest. The first raider through the door ran his heavy bronze sword straight through her slight body until the sword tip has a full five inches into her father's still form.

The twins bravely rushed their sister's attacker, but two unarmed boys were no match for the raider and his two comrades next through the door. Within seconds the boys joined their father and sister upon the blood soaked floor. Normally, Chloe would have been the first to react, but she had been the furthest from the door in her effort to move Kefery. Now she stood there momentarily stunned into inaction having watched most of her family killed before her very eyes. In ten seconds only she and Keviuh were still alive.

As several of the raiders grabbed them and started ripping off their clothes, she almost wished Keviuh had been killed outright, too. Not that death was better than rape, but in this instance she knew death was only being postponed for a few gruesome minutes. Several of the raiders set about collecting the material things of value while the remaining six men of this particular group worked fast to satisfy their animal lust. In fifteen minutes it was over. The raiders bolted to rejoin the remainder of the clan as they moved on to the next farm, or hamlet, or village. As their final act of destruction, they ripped open both Chloe's and Keviuh's guts before, as a final joke, they arranged the bodies in the loving pose of a mother and daughter.

As the raiders exited the home tossing around the room a few brightly burning brands from the banked fire in the hearth, Chloe was forced to watch the light of life fade from her final child's pale green eyes. The death blows for Keviuh and her had come so quickly and her own injury was so severe, she couldn't do anything but lay there as her daughter's life ebbed away. Finally, Chloe started screaming, "No, No, No!" as she hugged her daughter's lifeless body to her, forcing their badly slashed and hacked abdomens together.

Lying there screaming out in her loss and frustration at once again having everything she loved torn away from her, she became aware of their commingling blood. Her blood. Her blood with its magical 'bots that could repair any damage. If only she could force the 'bots into her daughter's body and then make them to work. Then her mind turned inward and she tried every technique she had learned in seven thousand long years to control and modify their action. The way she had learned to slow their apparent rate of healing to a normal human rate. The way she had finally found to override the built-in safeties to allow self-inflicted superficial wounds when it was to her advantage. This time the hidden override function needed to be found in seconds, if she was going to save her daughter.

Then she found it and the lifesaving 'bots poured from her own wounds into her daughter. Quickly multiplying and then repairing, in twelve seconds her daughter opened her eyes and in a quiet, soft voice whispered, "Mommy."

For a few seconds Chloe just rocked slowly, hugging her daughter, the daughter who had been so miraculously returned to her from the dead.

Then Chloe remembered Kefery and the other children strewn on the floor around them. She quickly broke free to work the same life-giving miracle on the others. But it was too late, the others had been gone for over twenty minutes and there was nothing her 'bots could do.

As the fire rapidly spread through the house, she was finally forced to give up her futile efforts. One miracle was all she was going to get this day. Taking her daughter's vibrantly alive hand; she headed out to continue on her unimaginably long odyssey, this time with a remarkable new healing gift to explore.

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Once Lex had expended the last of his effort giving the tug on the spear as Chloe had demanded, he slowly slumped back in a growing stupor. He barely noticed when Chloe slapped her bleeding palm against his open wound as the pain had already been receding along with his other external senses as his brain started to shutdown.

For a few more seconds his mental processes continued to dwindle and then Chloe's 'bots began flooding into his brain. Like with Chloe, the 'bots didn't merely infest the brain cells, but also took up position at the synapses where electrical impulses passed from cell to cell. And once they were in position and integrated into Chloe's network, the 'bots began providing Lex's brain with an almost overwhelming stream of data.

As Lex sat there with his consciousness steadily returning, his twenty two years of memories suddenly felt like a feeble candle held up mere inches from the surface of the brilliant, shining star that was Chloe's seventeen thousand years of perfectly preserved, computer stored memories. And then it was suddenly like the candle merged with the star and Lex had access to all of her memories, each one carefully organized and stored with a time- stamp for easy retrieval.

June 26, 4302 B.C. 8:23 A.M. -- In an instant Lex experienced all of the joys and agonies of child birth as he shared in the birth of Chloe's 414th child, a girl named Amida.

December 4, 1127 A.D. 2:38 A.M. -- Chloe was being chased along the battlements of a crusader castle in Acre off the coast of Palestine. To escape her pursuers, she dove over the side falling three hundred feet to her death on the rocks below, but ten seconds later she slid into the water and swam the mile to shore and safety.

February 13, 10151 B.C. 11:56 A.M. -- Chloe was astride a powerful black stallion, a bronze sword in each hand as she led her 46,000 horsemen into the final battle which would place her on the Lemurian throne for the next 327 years.

September 18, 2001 A.D. 7:24 A.M. -- Chloe sat on the bus next to Pete Ross, betting five dollars that Clark Kent would make the bus for a third day in a row.

April 11, 7478 B.C. 3:46 P.M -- Chloe slashed open her palm for the one thousand twenty seventh time that day as another of her loyal troops had the high honor of sharing blood. In the ten seconds they were joined, Chloe interrogated all of the memories of one more of her troops. After ensuring his loyalty she moved on to the next, a process she had been repeating all day for the past eight days.

August 2, 676 B.C. 1:27 P.M. -- Chloe was acting as one of the judges in the archery competition during the 26th Olympic Games. And no, Lex discovered, only the wrestling portion of the ancient Olympics were performed in the nude.

And on, and on it continued, as Lex experienced over the next several seconds, hundreds upon hundreds of moments from Chloe's life. Each memory feeling like he was actually there, experiencing the events as they happened, not a faded, poorly remembered moment as he had always known memories to be.

Finally, after what seemed like many hours, even days, of experiencing Chloe's memories, it felt to Lex like his own memories and personality were slipping away and he was slowly becoming one with Chloe. Her joys were his joys, her agonies were his agonies.

And then suddenly, the healing process was over and Chloe withdrew her hand. As soon as Chloe's contact with his body was broken, all of the 'bots in his body instantly went dormant. Abruptly, Lex was back in his own head and he felt a profound aching for the intensity of Chloe's memories that were now no longer his.

Once more aware of his surroundings Lex marveled at how incredible his body felt. Not only was his wound healed and the shoulder muscles repaired, but his whole body seemed to be almost vibrating with vitality and power. Reaching up to his face, he found even the blisters from his encounter with Clark's heat vision the night before were gone.

"Lex," said Chloe, as she rose to her feet. "Lana should wake up in a couple of seconds. I am going to see if I can help Clark. Hopefully, we should be back in a few minutes."

Lex's mind was overflowing with questions about her past. He had learned more about her in the last few seconds than in the past ten days since she had revealed her secret. But now that he could once more feel life coursing through Lana's body, all of his questions could wait for some quieter time. So he merely nodded to Chloe and returned his attention to brushing Lana's hair away from her face. Now that she wasn't dead, seeing her face suddenly felt urgent.

After no more than ten seconds, Lana's eyes slowly fluttered open. As they focused on his face, she smiled and said, "Lex."

Before he could respond her eyes flicked away and then widened in horror. Quickly, Lana rolled away from Lex and came up to her feet with one of the spears that had so recently caused her death, clutched in her hand. Then with a speed and an accuracy Lex had never expected of her, she drove the spear directly into the vulnerable spot in the throat of the brown bear that had been rapidly approaching.

Even as the bear fell to the ground in its death throes, Lex realized the entire arena was filled with wild bears. Where had they all come from? Had he really been lost to the world for that long between the pain of his wound and the anguish from the loss of Lana and then the rescue of Chloe and the miraculous saving of Lana, that he hadn't even noticed hundreds of bears entering the arena? He started to chastise himself to pay more attention to what was going on around him. It would be pretty ironic to have gone through all he had just been through only to end up mauled by a stupid bear.

After killing that nearest bear Lana turned back to Lex and smiled as she extended her arm to give him a hand up. "Lex, we need to get out of this arena now."

Lex gladly accepted the outstretched hand, happy to see Lana so very alive.

As Lana pulled him to his feet she suddenly tilted her head to one side and with a small frown asked, "Lex, why are you thinking I am Lana?"

Lex was certain he had misunderstood, but at the moment he didn't care as he pulled her into a ferociously tight hug. "Lana, my god, you are alive. I can't believe it. I was certain I had lost you forever and there was some much I wanted to tell you." Lex found himself babbling, something he never let himself do. But at the moment he didn't care. Lana was ALIVE.

But Lana returned his hug in only the most perfunctory manner. As soon as she could, she pulled free from his embrace. Then slowly, with a dawning expression on her face, she pulled a couple of strands of her long back hair up before her eyes. "Shit!"

"Lana, what is it?" Lex asked with a real sense of urgency as he watched more bears approaching.

When she didn't respond, he grabbed her shoulder. "Lana, what's the matter?"

Lana looked briefly into his eyes. "I think we have a big problem." Then she also noticed the bears approaching. Quickly she reached down for a couple more of the spears that had recently been soaked in her own blood. Handing one to Lex, she said. "But it is going to have to wait until we are out of here. Come on."

Then she turned and headed away from the nearest bears. Lex followed close behind her while trying to look in all directions at once. However not all of his attention was focused on the bears, part of it was trying to understand what the big problem was she thought they had. Lex's mind went back to her comment he thought he had misunderstood, 'Lex, why are you thinking I am Lana?' As he turned the phrase over in his mind, he got a cold shiver down his spine. The comment seemed to imply two things: first, that she could somehow read his mind, and second, that she was not really Lana. And suddenly the spear thrust she had used to take out the bear didn't seem like something Lana would do. Oh, she was probably feeling the same rush he was from feeling healthier than at any other moment in his life, but that didn't explain the perfect spear thrust to the vulnerable spot in the bear's throat. No, that spear thrust felt more like something the 'bot enhanced Chloe would do. Shit, what was going on?

As Lex trailed along two steps behind Lana, she abruptly veered off to the left and headed towards a bear apparently lying dead on the ground. Looking closer as they approached, Lex realized there was a man pinned under the body of the bear. A big man. A huge man, extremely tall and muscular.

When Lana stopped beside him, Lex could see the bear had torn up the man's right arm pretty bad before the man had killed it. Somehow before the fight had ended, the dead bear had ended up sprawled across the man's torso and with only one good arm, he couldn't work himself free.

As Lana started to address him, Lex kept his eyes roving for any more approaching bears.

"Tsk, Tsk, Venta. Look at all of the trouble you are in now," said Lana, her Latin surprisingly accent free.

When Venta stopped his struggles against the bear's carcass and looked up at her, she continued, her voice loud and hard to ensure he understood her words through the shock and pain of his injuries.

"I fucking told you I have lived forever and that you shouldn't mess with me. But did you listen? No, you had to go ahead and execute me. Well, you can see the spears didn't kill me, but they sure hurt like hell. Turnabout sounds only fair. Let's see how you like a fucking spear through the chest."

Then Lana lifted her spear above her head and slammed it down into Venta's chest with all of her strength.

Lex looked at what Lana had just done in shock. His Lana could never so viciously kill someone like that. And why the comment about having lived forever? What was going on with her?

Lana left her spear standing in Venta's lifeless chest and stooped to pick up his sword instead.

"Come on, Lex. That finishes it. Let's get out of here." And Lana strode away towards the nearest exit from the arena floor.

Lex quickly caught up and started walking beside her. Keeping one eye on the lookout for marauding bears, he glanced at her and asked, "Chloe?"

When she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, he tried again. "You're Chloe, right?"

After a couple more steps, she slowly nodded. "Yeah, I don't understand it, but somehow I woke up and found myself in her body."

Lex asked the question he had to ask, but was very afraid of the answer. "Were we too late? Is Lana's mind gone forever?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, Lex. Nothing like this has ever happened before. When I have attempted to revive lifeless bodies in the past, either the person had been dead too long and my 'bots couldn't do anything, or the person came back as good as new. Never has anyone come back with my mind in their body."

"Is your 'bot network active?"

"It feels like it," she answered with a shrug. "I mean, all of my memories seem normal. When I touched you, I could instantly bring your 'bots back on-line. Short of taking another spear in the chest, I would have to say yes."

'Bring his 'bots back on-line?' thought Lex. 'Shit, that's why she appeared to read my mind. If the 'bots she used to save my life are still there, but dormant, she can read my mind any time she touches me. What else can she do with just a touch?'

Before Lex could pursue this line of inquiry any further, they reached one of the gated exits out of the arena floor. Five Praetorians stepped through the gate, barring their way.

"Out of my way," commanded Lana, the pitch of her voice changing and sounding more like Chloe. Gesturing to her bloodstained tunic with Venta's sword, she continued. "You can see what little good your spears did when I was tied to that post. Now that I am able to defend myself, I strongly suggest you let us through."

The leader of the squad had a definite quiver in his voice as he stood his ground. "I am under orders to not let you pass."

"Orders from who?" retorted Lana. "Venta? Perhaps you should verify them with him again. You see that spear sticking up over there by the bear? Venta is busy using his chest to keep it upright."

Then putting a serious expression on her face, she continued. "The Praetorians are about to get new leadership. I believe the Emperor will listen to my input, so I suggest you consider your next action carefully."

The squad leader looked from the blood-soaked pair in front of him, both of whom he had seen take spear hits only minutes before but who now looked unhurt, to the spear standing in the body out in the arena, to the massive fires burning out of control at the other end of the stadium, to the bears which would shortly reach their position, and finally back to pair in front of him. With a nod he gestured to the open gate, "I am Centurion Tibor Decius Macrinius. Where can we escort you, my lady?"

Lana took Lex's arm. "We would appreciate an escort to the Flavian estate. Thank you."

As they passed through the gate into the dark corridor beyond, Lex thought, 'Chloe, can you read my mind?'

'Yes, Lex,' was the response he heard in his head. 'When I touch someone my 'bots have colonized, I can bring their 'bots back on-line. I can use them to read their thoughts, or have a two-way conversation like this, or more.'

'More?' asked Lex.

Abruptly, Lex went from walking down a torch lit corridor under a stadium in ancient Rome to sitting behind his desk in his study at his mansion back in Smallville. His study. He was really there. And across the desk from him sat Chloe, wearing her usual eclectic ensemble.

"Lex, I thought you might be more comfortable talking in familiar surroundings."

For a few seconds Lex's eyes wandered around the room. Everything seemed perfectly real, just like he had left it two weeks ago before he had driven to Metropolis for the fateful meeting with the Professor. Wondering if the illusion would be broken if he moved around, he got up from the desk and walked over to the pool table. Picking up a cue, he lined up a shot and sank the fourteen ball in the far corner pocket.

Straightening up, he turned back to Chloe. "This is unbelievable. We really are in my study."

Chloe looked up from the strands of her blonde hair she had been holding in front of her eyes. "When you can control the firing of every synapse in the brain and have sufficient computer processing power to back it up, anything is possible."

"So we are not really here?"

"No, we are still in Rome. We have just exited the stadium and are walking towards my estate. As long as we are touching, I can control your body while your mind is here."

Lex wandered over and poked at the fire burning in the fireplace while he tried to get his thoughts in order. He wasn't too comfortable with the control Chloe could exert over him now that, in her words, her 'bots had 'colonized' his body, but at the moment he had more important things to discuss.

"Chloe, while your nanobots were healing my body, I was accessing your memories, one after another. Hundreds of them. Hell, maybe thousands of them. The longer it lasted, the more it felt like I was losing my own personality and was becoming overwhelmed by yours. As soon as the healing was over and you removed your hand, it was all gone and I was myself, back inside my own head. But the effect was overpowering at the time, and my contact with you couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds. I can see how your memories could have swamped her, if the 'bots didn't shutdown in Lana when you broke contact like they did in me."

Chloe sat there lost in thought for a few seconds before snapping her fingers and saying, "Meteor rocks."

"Meteor rocks?" Lex repeated, not following Chloe's jump in logic.

"Sorry, I have been trying to figure out why the 'bots didn't go dormant in Lana when I broke the connection. The 'bots are keyed to my DNA, so they don't spread through out the entire world like the metal-eating 'bots that destroyed my original civilization. Since the odds of Lana having the exact same DNA as me are at least a trillion to one, particularly since we don't look at all alike, there has to be another reason. I think it must be the meteor rock pendant she wore all of those years. We know the meteor rocks have a lot of unusual properties and somehow her long term exposure is affecting the 'bots normal DNA response."

While Chloe was talking, Lex had walked over to the bar and poured himself a tumbler of his favorite single malt whiskey. Like everything else in the study, the taste was exactly like he remembered it. And after almost two weeks of poor quality, watered down wine, the drink helped him to relax and focus even more than being back in his study.

"Chloe, are Lana's memories still in your head? I mean is there any hope of getting her back?"

Chloe stared off into space for a few seconds. "I don't know. Can you think of something she would know that I don't know?"

Lex tried to think about something he had discussed with Lana that she was likely to have remembered. "Chloe, can you remember how my Mom and I spent the summer when I was nine? That would have been a few months before the meteor shower."

Chloe's face scrunched up as she concentrated hard. "Ahh, President Carter. You were building houses with Jimmy Carter in some city in the southwest!" She said with a look of triumph.

Lex started to grin with relief until he saw the frown cross her face and she started to shake her head.

"Sorry, Lex, all of a sudden I am not certain, if I pulled that memory from Lana's memory, or yours. I think we are going to have to wait until we can talk to Clark since he is the only one of us not corrupted by my 'bots and see if he can come up with some memory only he and Lana would share."

Lex nodded in disappointment. He had hoped for some more definite proof he might be able to get his Lana back.

"In the meantime, what do I call you, since there is already another Chloe?"

Chloe grimaced briefly as though she didn't relish the reminder that she wasn't the real Chloe. "Lex, I have had over a thousand names over my lifetime, I can adjust to whatever you like. So why don't you pick, just please, no stupid hybrid like Chlana."

For a moment Lex had to laugh at the silliness of 'Chlana'. Then he sobered back up and the right answer popped into his head. "Laura. Lana's middle name is Laura."

Chloe nodded. "The same as her mother's first name. I remember helping Lana look for a copy of her mother's valedictorian address. I think Laura is a good choice."

Lex sat back down behind his desk. As his gaze wandered over the surface of his desk, it stopped on the small, high-tech looking, wood and silver box. The box where he kept the octagonal disk Dr. Hamilton had found during the survey of Miller's field. The disk which Lex now knew must be from Clark's ship. Lex reached over and opened the lid of the box. Empty. Even the shape of the interior of the box wasn't quite right. It was good to know Chloe did have some limits.

"What's the matter, Lex?"

Lex looked up at unexpectedly hearing Lana's voice. For a second his heart started pounding faster as he saw Lana instead of Chloe sitting on the other side of the desk.

At the look on his face, she quickly said, with her voice changed to where the pitch and timbre were more unique, somewhere between Lana and Chloe's natural voices, "Sorry. As you said, I am not the real Chloe and I was just getting use to my new body, as it looks like it might be mine for awhile."

When Lex's heart slowed down, he tried her name to see how it would feel. "Sorry, Laura, you startled me. It is going to take a little time to adjust."

"Maybe you could try thinking of me as the twin sister you never knew Lana had."

"Maybe," said Lex playing with the idea of a twin sister.

"Anyway," said Laura. "Before we got sidetracked you were frowning about that box."

"Yeah, I kept a special disk in there. One, Dr. Hamilton, the meteor rock guy, found. After learning about Clark's secret, I think the disk is from his ship."

Laura leaned forward. "You have a piece of the ship? I would love to see it. I recreated this room from my memories of it. I have learned that nobody's memories are perfect, well, except for mine. If I build a virtual location from other people's memories, they are never quite right and therefore never quite real. But if I use mine, then the illusion works better. However for something simple like a disk, your memories should be enough. Think about the disk. Remember all of the details. Picture it slowly spinning in your mind."

Lex did as Laura asked and focused on his memories of the disk. The shape, size, weight, and color were easy. It was remembering the symbols engraved along one edge that was the challenge. After a few seconds he had created the clearest picture of the octagonal disk he could.

"Okay, Lex. Look in the box again."

Lex opened the box. This time the disk was laying there just as he remembered. He picked it up and turned it over in his hand. The look and feel seemed right. Looking up at Laura, he tossed it to her. "Laura, do you recognize these symbols?"

Laura turned the disk over in her hands a couple of times before concentrating on the symbols. After a few seconds, she shook her head. "No, I don't remember seeing anything quite like them before. So you think it is from Clark's ship?"

Lex nodded. "Dr. Hamilton had it tested. In his words, it is 'an alloy unknown to man'. The logical conclusion is that it is from Clark's ship. From what Clark has told me, the ship is covered with a lot of symbols. I was hoping when we get back to Smallville that I, ahh we, could help him decipher them. It would feel good to help Clark discover his origins."

Laura smiled. "I would like to help Clark, too. But it is going to take a ton more examples than this to come up with a viable pattern recognition algorithm."

Laura paused for a second. "Lex, we are almost back to the estate. I think it is time to return to the real world for awhile."

Lex nodded, but took a minute to take a final look around his study. He really loved this room and was going to miss it regardless of how nice Chloe's estate was.

Some of his feelings must have shown on his face. "Lex, we can return here whenever we have some time alone. Or any other place for that matter. If you ever see me zoned out for a couple of seconds, it probably means I am in my version of the Talon having a cup of coffee.

A small smile crossed Lex's face as he pictured her at the Talon. Then for an instant he wasn't sure who he was picturing at the Talon, Chloe or Lana. Chloe, who was obviously deeply in love with Clark, was suddenly inhabiting Lana's body. Were both versions of Chloe now in love with Clark?

Since they had entered the virtual version of Lex's study, Laura had mostly tried to avoid reading Lex's thoughts other than the things he spoke aloud here. But with the look of sorrow that had just crossed his face, she couldn't help herself and took a peek.

As abruptly as he had found himself in his study, so too was Lex's return to his real body and the world of ancient Rome. He immediately recognized they were walking up the long drive to Chloe's estate and were only thirty feet from the main entrance.

Almost as soon as he had his bearings back, Laura tugged on his arm and pulled him to a halt. She pulled him into tight hug and then tilted her head back and pulled him down into a quick tentative kiss. Then a second kiss which was a little deeper and lasted a little longer.

By the end of the kiss, Laura had confirmed her suspicion. It had taken less than thirty seconds for her nipples to become erect and the feeling of heat in her loins to begin to rise.

Pulling back a little, she looked into his eyes. "Lex, I don't know how things will end up between you and me or Clark and me. But I want you to know while my head is sort of messed up, this body still responds to you."

Lex wasn't sure how to answer. He still wanted his Lana back, but Laura might be as close as he would ever get. He tried a tentative smile. "It is going to take some time to adjust to things. I mean an hour ago I thought I had lost you forever. Now you are back, but you are not the same you. It is going to take some time to figure everything out."

Laura smiled. "Lex, I have all the time in the world. Literally."

------------------------------------

Chloe headed off in the direction where she could see Clark still staggering about screaming in agony. She had barely gotten 30 feet before she realized a large number of the bears she had seen earlier milling aimlessly at the far end of the arena were rapidly heading in the direction where she had left Lex and Lana, driven forward by a singeing blast of Clark's heat vision. In only a few seconds the leaders would be to their location. Chloe considered turning back to help them, but finally decided Clark needed her more. She had used her healing abilities enough times before to know the recipient always had an extra rush of strength and energy in the first minutes after the experience. It would have to be enough to see them clear.

Chloe continued forward in a widened arc towards Clark's location, both to stay clear of the bears and to approach Clark from the rear. She still wasn't certain what to make of Clark's situation. After hearing the centurion's story the night before of the destruction Clark had wrought at the Praetorian Camp, it was clear Clark was way, way stronger than she had believed. But this seemed to be something completely different. As she got closer she could see fires were breaking out whenever Clark was looking at wood and when his gaze was on stone or sand they just turned to liquid. Between Clark and the object of his momentary gaze, she could even see the air shimmer from the intense heating.

Obviously, Clark was projecting the heat from his body, probably through his eyes. Thinking about his eyes, she remembered his x-ray vision. She had assumed he was merely detecting the ambient x-rays that existed all around them, but perhaps he had been projecting the x-rays all along and bouncing them off objects the way bats did with sonar. If he had been projecting at an x-ray frequency, perhaps this was similar only down in the infra-red band.

Whatever was the mechanism involved, it seemed likely that seeing her and Lana's apparently dead bodies was the probable trigger. Hopefully, if she got through to him that she was still alive, he would be able to bring himself back under control. The trick was going to be to get close enough without passing through his field of vision. Even Chloe shuddered at the thought of the damage he could do to her body, if sand and stone melted under his gaze. He really was like something from an old Greek myth, she thought. His gaze could be just as deadly as the Gorgon, Medusa.

Slowly, quietly, stealthily, Chloe approached Clark using all of her skills gained from numerous periods spent living among great hunting tribes. Finally, after several minutes of cautious approach she was standing only five feet behind him.

"Clark, its Chloe. I am okay and so is Lana. Relax, everything is okay."

At first Clark gave no sign of hearing her, so she was forced to try again and again until finally she was shouting at him at the top of her lungs. Gradually, it seemed to be making an impression on him, at least the stone and sand was no longer instantly melting.

Slowly, Chloe approached until she could reach her arms around him. At her touch and under her constant stream of soothing words, Clark's heat vision finally dwindled to a halt. She stood there pressed tightly against his back as he slowly reached up and rubbed at his aching eyes.

After a few seconds, Clark haltingly asked, "Are you really alive and okay?"

"Yes, Clark, I am fine and so is Lana. Everything is going to be okay."

When Clark lowered his hands his vision had returned to normal, but what he saw tried to tear out his heart. Most of the wooden seating was engulfed in massive flames. In the light winds much of the smoke was lingering inside of the stadium and the thick reddish haze felt like something out of some war movie. Most of the crowd had long since fled from the stands, but out on the arena floor large shapes were moving through the thick smoke.

"Oh, my god, what have I done," whispered Clark.

Now that his heat vision seemed to be gone, Chloe carefully step around in front of him and gazed up into his eyes.

Clark pulled Chloe into a tight hug and slowly rocked back and forth. She was really alive.

"Clark, it was meant to be. The loss of this mostly wooden stadium to a fire is what caused the great stone Coliseum to be built. I was in Egypt the first time around, but even there the stories of this fire where always a little strange. This fire was always meant to be, the important thing now is, are you okay?"

Finally loosening his grip, Clark stepped back and looked down at Chloe and was almost staggered by the remnants of what she had been through. The lower portion of her face, her chin, and a large portion of her throat were covered with drying blood. The front of her tunic was shredded by large, gaping rents. Through the gaps, the skin looked whole, but it too was covered with drying blood.

Clark finally moved his gaze up into Chloe's green eyes and tried to answer her question. "Yeah, for the moment, but it is going to be dangerous to be around me until I learn to control this heat vision thing. It took several weeks to learn to control my x-ray vision, but during that time the only negative effect was painful, disorienting headaches, which only affected me. However, if this heat vision spontaneously kicks in again, I could burn down the entire city. Or more importantly, hurt you or the others."

"Clark, how often have you experienced the heat vision?"

"Twice, the first time was last night near the end of the battle at the Praetorian Camp and I burned Lex. Just to the point of blisters, but if he had been in my way today, I could have killed him."

"Clark, Lex is fine now, even the blisters are gone. It seems the heat vision is only being activated in times of extreme stress. If we can keep you calm, you should be okay until we can find an appropriate, safe place for you to learn to control this heat vision, the same way you learned to control the X-ray vision."

Clark nodded, trying to focus on staying calm. He knew he would be a lot calmer when he knew for certain Lex and Lana were safe. "You said Lana is okay. How is that possible? I saw her dead."

Chloe was watching still more bears moving around in the smoke and haze. "I left them by the posts where they attempted to execute us and they were both fine. But I am a little concerned about all of these bears. They should have had time to move clear before the bears arrived, but let's go make certain. I will explain along the way." Chloe grabbed Clark's hand and started to head back the way she had come.

Clark didn't move. When Chloe turned back to ask him why, he said, "How about you wait here a minute and let me take care of the bears. I promise to try and stay calm."

Chloe realized it would be better for everyone if the bears were out of the way. Since Clark knew she was safe, the heat vision thing probably wouldn't get out of control again. Finally, Chloe figured letting Clark do something a little constructive after all of his destruction would probably help his morale.

Releasing his hand, Chloe said with a grin, "Okay, Clark. I am sure everyone would appreciate if you rounded them up. I'll just wait here."

Clark grinned back, and then vanished into his speed mode. Chloe shook her head. He appeared to have expended megawatts of power while stuck in his heat vision nightmare, but it didn't seem to have depleted his energy at all. Clark definitely belonged in an Energizer Bunny commercial.

In seconds Clark was back and the crashing masonry Chloe had started to hear a couple seconds earlier was still going on. "That was quick."

Clark shrugged. "I just chucked them back into the holding pen where they had been before I must have vaporized its iron gate. That lower level has a stone ceiling so hopefully it won't collapse due to the fires or the loss of strength from where I torn down the entrance corridor to block them in."

"You got all of them already?"

"I counted one hundred forty five live ones and I got all of those. Two were already dead; one with a spear through its throat over by the posts where you and Lana were tied. I didn't see any sign of Lex or Lana so they must have gotten clear. The other dead bear, well, I think you are going to want to see it for yourself."

Clark grabbed Chloe's hand and started walking in the direction where he had found Venta's body.

As they started walking, Clark asked. "You still haven't explained what happened after I, ahh, after I went berserk."

Chloe gave his hand a quick, reassuring squeeze. "It was Lex that made everything possible, but it was a close thing after he got hit by the spear. If it had taken a couple of more minutes, I don't think I could have saved Lana."

"You mean Lex was hurt, too? I still don't understand. Lana was already dead when Lex and I arrived."

"Clark, I have additional abilities I never mentioned, because I hoped the need for them would never come up. I discovered long ago that I can force my 'bots into another body and as long as I am in physical contact I can control the 'bots and force them to repair the other body the same as they will repair mine. If the body hasn't been dead for more than a couple of minutes, I can usually repair the damage and bring the person back."

Here Chloe paused for a moment. Not just paused in speaking, but even paused in walking, forcing Clark to stop and look at her. "The process of repairing someone's body has a side effect. It is a side effect that is mostly beneficially to me, but I have found it difficult at times not to abuse it."

Clark shook his head. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I don't understand what you're getting at."

"Clark, it involves some of the darkest, most vile times in my past. I don't think I can force myself to explain it more than once. Let's hold off discussing it until we catch up to Lana and Lex, as it directly affects them."

Clark had a hard time imagining Chloe ever having a vile moment in her past, but nodded his agreement to wait. He started moving again and could already make out the bear's hulking form as a light breeze started to remove some of the intervening smoke.

They walked the rest of the way in silence until they were standing over Venta's body. They stared at the spear for several seconds before Chloe spoke.

"I can't figure out what happened. He was obviously trapped by the fallen bear, so why kill him like that? I mean, okay if I caught him in that situation, I would probably do it. He tried to kill me and if I was 'normal', he would have succeeded. And that really pisses me off. So I would fucking do it, but it wasn't me. Lex had never met him, so he wouldn't have any reason. That only leaves Lana. He did torture and kill her, but even then I never pictured her able to do something like this."

Clark stared at the body and couldn't picture Lana doing this either. Lex, maybe, he had a darkness, no not darkness, but a hardness that would let him doing things he thought were necessary. But as Chloe said, he hadn't meet Venta and wouldn't have any reason to do this.

As they stood there trying to understand what had happened, a Praetorian soldier walked up from where he had been waiting at the exit gate. When he got close, he stopped and saluted.

Casting a fearful gaze towards Clark, he said. "Ma'am, I was asked to tell you that Centurion Macrinius and his squad are escorting your friends back to the Flavian estate."

Clark sagged a little in relief. He was starting to get afraid that they had been captured again, although the odds of that seemed to be less with Venta lying here dead.

Chloe nodded to the soldier. Then pointing down, she asked, "Did you see what happened to him?"

The soldier looked down at the body. Venta had been a real asshole sometimes in his treatment of the common 'grunts'. Having him meet his ends at the hands of a scrawny, little girl seemed deliciously appropriate.

"The bear seemed to appear out of nowhere to attack Venta has he stood there watching Ares destroy the other end of the arena. It was on him and knocked him down before he even had a chance to draw his sword. Anyone else would have died from the bear's first blow, but Venta is almost as big as a bear and at least twice as mean. Somehow he got clear long enough to get out his sword, and if he hadn't already been wounded, I think he would have won. I mean I served briefly with him in the Rhineland Army seven years ago, and I saw him defeat a bear in the wild.

"But the bear was on top of him before he could get in the killing blow, which left him pinned as you see him now. Centurion Macrinius and his men were just about to enter the arena to help him when your friends walked up. The black haired girl started screaming about having lived forever and how Venta should have know better than to try to execute her. Then she just raised the spear she had been carrying above her head and slammed it into his chest."

Clark and Chloe just looked at each other for a second. This didn't sound like the Lana they knew, but if someone tortured you to death and then you had the opportunity to turn the tables, who wouldn't take revenge?

Chloe sighed. When they got home to Smallville, Lana was going to need some serious therapy, if this day wasn't to haunt her for the rest of her life.

"How long ago did our friends leave?"

"Ten, maybe fifteen minutes ago."

"What's your name, soldier?"

"Ahh, Tibor Pertinaxius, ma'am."

"Well, Tibor, on your next day off, stop at the Flavian estate and ask for Rogerus. Tell him who you are and I will see to it you are properly rewarded for your services today."

"Thank you, ma'am." The soldier said with a deep bow normally reserved for the emperor.

"Now, if you would be so kind as to show us the quickest way out of the stadium, I want to get home."

"Of course, if you will follow me. I would be happy to try and locate you a sedan chair, but I am afraid everything is in turmoil due to the fire."

Chloe smiled to him as she and Clark followed him. "Thanks, but it suddenly feels like a beautiful day and I would like to walk."

As soon as they were clear of the stadium they said their good-byes to the helpful soldier.

Turning to her, Clark said, "Would you like me to carry you? I can have you home in under a second."

Chloe shook her head. "I spent the night cooped up in a dungeon and this morning people were throwing spears into me. Right now I just want to enjoy being outside with my guy's arm around me. Could we please walk?"

Clark tightened his arm around her. "Sure. I don't know what I would have done, if I had lost you today."

"It is pretty obvious what you would have done, destroy the whole freaking city. I mean between the fires still burning up at the Praetorian Camp and now the fires in the stadium, we'll be lucky if Nero's great fire doesn't come early."

"I'm sorry I got out of control, but I was so worried about you."

"Clark, until you've got the heat vision thing under control, you've got to stay calm. Besides if I was easy to kill, I never would have survived 17,000 years." For a moment Chloe thought back to her encounter with the French widow, now that was a time she really thought she was going to die. However bring up some of her scariest near death experiences would not help Clark stay calm.

With that comment the conversation died out. Chloe made a couple of attempts to start a conversation about mundane things back in Smallville, but mostly they walked in silence for the fifty minute journey back to the estate.

------------------------

When Clark and Chloe reached the estate, as usual, Rogerus was waiting at the front entrance. He took in Chloe's appearance without the slightest change in his expression.

"Coelia, I have food waiting in the baths. I am afraid you will need to enter through your apartments, the windows in the Solarium have shattered and there are piles of glass all over the floor. It will be several days before it can be cleaned up and I don't know how long until they can be replaced."

"Okay, Rogerus. Have Lex and Lana arrived?"

"Yes, I am afraid they were in the same frightful state you are. I took them directly to the baths."

Chloe nodded. With obvious relief that everyone was now safely back at the estate, she turned to Clark. "I don't know about you, Clark, but I am starving. I haven't had anything to eat since the emperor's party."

"Yeah, me, too. When we got back here last night after the fun at the Praetorian Camp, I didn't have much of an appetite."

Taking Clark's arm, Chloe headed back to her apartment. "So, Clark, did you really rip out the obelisk and throw it through the front gate? That obelisk is absolutely huge!"

Clark only looked a little embarrassed at this comment. After the events of the past two days, he was finally getting use to people knowing his secrets and not always having to play dumb.

"Yeah, although when it tilted over and I had to catch it, for a moment I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew. It worked out okay in the end, and I don't think anyone who saw it will bother us again."

Chloe laughed as they entered the unctuarium. Stripping off the filthy, blood-soaked tunic, she dove into the refreshing cool water. When she surfaced, Clark was just entering the water carrying a couple of large native sponges. "Clark, after you single-handedly destroyed both the Praetorian Camp and the stadium, I don't think anyone here will ever fuck with you again." Then grabbing one of the sponges from Clark, she added, "Except maybe me."

As they scrubbed each other's faces and hair and backs and finally fronts, they also seemed to be washing away the last of the tensions the past day had brought. When their bodies were finally clean, Clark leaned in for a long desired kiss. Ever since he had discovered she was still alive he had wanted to do this, but somehow back at the stadium with Chloe still looking half dead and standing amid all of the destruction he had caused, the moment hadn't felt right. But now, with their bodies fresh and clean, it felt like a new beginning.

Chloe eagerly joined in the kiss, pressing her body tightly against his. The kiss went on for nearly a minute, but when their mouths finally separated, Chloe said, "Clark, I really want this, but there is plenty of time now. Let's go check on Lex and Lana and get something to eat."

Clark nodded. Then remembering Lex had gone through much the same experience as him and probably was enjoying a happy reunion with Lana, Clark grinned. "They may not want to be disturbed."

Pulling Clark from the pool, Chloe gave him one of her patented 'Chloe grins'. "If that's the case, I am sure we can have some food delivered to my rooms."

Grabbing a couple of towels, they headed back into main part of the family's private baths. After searching through the hot baths, the cold baths, the saunas, and the massage rooms, they finally found them sitting out on a balcony overlooking the large reflecting pool which dominated the eastern end of the estate.

As Chloe and Clark paused for a moment in the relative darkness of the interior of the baths, Chloe was surprised to see them just sitting there on a large chaise lounge. After the excitement and terror of the past twelve hours, more than anything Chloe wanted to spend the next few hours alone with Clark making love and she knew Clark felt the same way. And from conversation she had had with both Lex and Lana she thought they would feel the same. They had obviously been through the baths, but now they were just sitting there fully clothed. Lana's bare leg was casually draped across Lex's, but other than that, there wasn't the slightest feeling of intimacy. They were both staring blankly out towards the reflecting pool and Chloe could swear there was a single tear running down Lex's cheek. What was going on? They should both be happy after having survived such near death experiences however the expression on Lex's face made it look like he had just lost his best friend.

With some trepidation for not understanding what was going on, Chloe slowly stepped out onto the balcony. Immediately Lana saw her and a wane smile flickered across her face. A moment later, Lex's eyes also came into focus, quickly followed by a hand brought up to shade his eyes. A movement which would have removed the tear unnoticed, if Chloe hadn't been staring at it. Lana's half-hearted smile and Lex's tear. Something is definitely not right, thought Chloe, as she paused, only two steps onto the balcony.

To be continued.