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Clark waited until he heard the latch on the door firmly close and then opened his eyes. He looked down at the silver tape that had been placed over his body to hold him in place, and then glanced back to see if Lex had any view of what was happening. The teen couldn't be sure, but it looked like his rich friend couldn't see too much of what he was doing.

Flexing one arm outwards, Clark tore the duck tape from the table and his jacket, and clambered up, "It's okay, Lex. I'm okay." He tried to sound reassuring and a little wobbly at the same time.

Just a moment ago he was supposed to have taken a knock to the head and he didn't want Lex getting any suspicions- after all, he had still had no idea of what was going on or who was ultimately behind it.

Lex craned his head at the sound of Clark's voice and began to wriggle again, wondering how his friend had so easily escaped his bonds. "How did you get the tape off?" He asked looking up as Clark kneeled at his side, "I haven't been able to budge it, and I didn't get tossed across the desk like you did."

Clark shrugged and began to tug at the tape secured to the table top, trying to make it look like he was having difficulty, while also attempting to hurry. "I guess your dad thought I was out cold and didn't press the tape down hard enough," The usual sheepish smile appeared and he crossed the subject off, looking down at Lex's thigh in concern, "We have to get you out of here."

Lex sat up cautiously as the duck tape gave way to Clark's handy work and he was freed. He winced as the movement jarred his already throbbing leg, and then nodded his thanks to his friend. "Clark Kent to the rescue yet again. Why am I not surprised?" He raised a brow.

Clark ignored the comment and jogged over to a small desk tidy to grab a tissue. He ripped off two sections and pressed them over Lex's still bleeding leg until he winced. "Sorry…" Clark apologized, "But we need to patch you up and make a run for it." He held one hand over the clean slice-wound and unfastened his belt with the other, carefully wrapping it around the tissue and then tightening it in place.

Lex grimaced but managed not to yelp. "When I left you looked like you were dying. How did you recover and follow me so fast?"

Again Clark shrugged. "I felt better not long after you left. Chloe told me your theory, but I don't think it was radiation that made me sick. Maybe it was something I ate while I was back at the farm." He stood, offering Lex a hand up. Why do I always have to make excuses when I know very well what made me sick. I hate having to tell white lies.

Lex took the offer and was tugged upright. He bounced on the ball of his foot, balancing precariously on his one good leg, while clinging to Clark's shoulder with his right hand. "You think the food isn't safe here?"

Clark steadied his friend and looked around the room for an escape route. He also tuned his ears briefly to the outside corridor, but so far there was no sign of the return of Lionel or any of his henchmen. "It's more than the food, Lex. Something is way off base." He scowled, unsure how to make his next statement without sounding crazy, "There are marines guarding Luthorcorp and…well one of them is Whitney." Clark stared Lex right in the eye, "Tell me you didn't continue that experiment making people relive their fears? Tell me we're not having some group hallucination."

Lex paused. It was all fitting into place now, but not the way he thought it would. Oh no, this was much worse. He wiped perspiration from his forehead with the back of his free hand and wondered how to prove his new theory. "Trust me, Clark, if I'm right we're not hallucinating, but the question is how do I substantiate my assumption?" Lex glanced at the computer keyboard and then the monitor. From the light on the front of the screen the system was on stand by and a simple press of a key would reactivate it.

Clark followed Lex's gaze and looked at his friend expectantly. "You think we can find out what your dad is up to on there before he gets back?"

Lex hobbled forward and Clark kept pace with him, keeping most of the millionaire's weight off his still oozing leg. "Let's find out. Hit a key, Clark, and see who fortune favors…"

Clark helped Lex perch on the edge of the office phone's handset and then pushed hard down on the space bar on the keyboard. The flat panel monitor instantly sparked into life, revealing a bizarre image of a grotesque creature, its three dimensional form rotating around the screen as if taunting the viewer. The teen shook his head in confusion as he tried to discern just what the thing was. It appeared to have the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a serpent.

"Chimera…" Lex's pallid features turned a shade whiter as he mouthed the name.

Clark turned at the whispered term. "What is it?" He already suspected he wouldn't like the answer.

Lex leaned forward and rubbed his temple as pain from his thigh began to get the better of him. "It's a triple edged sword, Clark. A project that was begun for the military, and then spiralled out of control until my father had to order it shut down before I even came to the Smallville plant."

Clark shook his head and looked back at the fire breathing beast on the screen. "I don't understand? How can it have been shut down, and what about our size, and Whitney?"

Lex pinched the brow of his nose and began a swift lesson in mythology, praying his father didn't come back and interrupt before they solved the puzzle. "The project's purpose was to create a kind of field generator that would be able to dissolve enemy weapons, aircraft, missiles and any other ordinance at a molecular level. It sounded pretty outrageous until I read some of the files on it. The problem was, once they test fired the generator the project head realized they'd uncovered some pretty strange results. From that day they gave it the new name of 'Project Chimera.'"

"So what was so earth- shattering, and why did it get shut down?" Clark asked impatiently.

"Chimera is a Greek legend. A mythical creature that actually combined more than one animal- a very dangerous beast as you can see from its likeness," Lex pointed to the still rotating picture, "The project also combined some pretty dangerous elements hence its new given name."

"It made things small instead of destroying them?" Clark wanted to say mythology had never been his strong point, but he remained quiet after his question.

Lex inhaled and looked to the door as a sentry walked by it. When they were in the clear he continued, "No, Clark, the items the generator was focused on completely vanished- but they hadn't been destroyed. Serge Dvorkin, the project leader, discovered they'd been transmitted elsewhere…and I don't mean on this plane of existence. It somehow opens a hole and pushes its target through it."

Clark's mouth opened and his eyes widened as he realized just what 'Chimera' had done, "You're saying it moves objects to other dimensions?" That would explain Whitney, my parents' attitude and Lionel's hair…

"From what I read of Dvorkin's work he was convinced of it. Scientists realized some time ago that superstring theory, hyperspace and dark matter lead to more than just the three dimensions mankind originally believed in. There are actually eleven dimensions, Clark. By the time scientists had finished they'd come to the conclusion that our Universe is just one bubble among an infinite number of membranous bubbles which ripple as they travel through the eleventh dimension. If this is the case they could be an infinite number of parallel universes and we could be in one."

"So why did the government let such an important experiment get closed down?" Clark was following how Luthorcorp's people had discovered other parallel worlds, but he didn't see the problem.

"Imagine what might happen if two of these universes touched." Lex was trying to keep a very difficult subject in easy terms, "If that happened there would be one hell of an explosion. Some physicists even believe that is where the 'big bang' theory evolved from. 'Chimera' was opening a hole and almost physically connecting parallel worlds. It was far too dangerous to continue…"

"And yet your father has!" Clark looked down to the desktop wondering what came next.

"No, Clark," Lex licked his lips, "My father is back in Smallville continuing his crusade to help the needy. The man we met today is his doppelganger. We all have them here. That's why you saw Whitney. I can only assume the Lionel of this world is even more reckless in pursuit of his goals than my own dad is."

Clark walked away from the screen and stood before Lex. "So, you're saying that there's a copy of me walking around here too?" Lex nodded, "And why did we get so small?" The teen might be from another world, but he was having a hard time accepting that he was now in one.

"I can't be sure of this, but I don't think we are," Lex tried to stand and Clark once again took his weight. Together they made it back across to the keyboard. "I think everything in this parallel universe is larger," Lex panted from the exertion.

Clark winced, "Please tell me you know of a way to get us back? You've read the project notes after all."

Lex pointed back to the huge plastic computer keys, "From what we know I'm going to guess my father had the generator fired in this universe. It must have opened a hole directly to our version of Smallville, and Richard flew unsuspectingly straight through it. The only way I can see we could get back is to fly right back through the epicenter of where the generator is aimed."

Clark nodded. "And for that we need for it to be fired up again," The teen clambered directly onto the keyboard's slippery silver surface and then jumped onto the enter key. It seemed weird and yet funny somehow to be playing word hopscotch on a keyboard like this and he smiled. "Do you know the password?"

Lex nodded. "Try Belepharon, and if it works scroll straight down to project test schedule."

Clark followed his instructions with a few more leaps across the keys. The monitor flashed several times as it changes screens, and then settled right where Lex had expected it would. A list of times and dates appeared next to links to Dvorkin's notes. "The next test firing is scheduled in two days. Same co ordinates. That means we have to get the plane ready to fly again by then or we're stuck here!" Clark's eyes widened.

"If we can repair the plane and make some kind of flat enough runway by then." Even the die hard Lex appeared crestfallen, "Clark, I'll be of little help even if we escape here because of my leg. We just can't do it in that amount of time."

But you don't know about my gifts…Clark looked up at the monitor as another thought came to mind- a thought about the whole of humanity in both parallel worlds, and of how they were all in mortal danger. "Lex, from what you said, every time they fire the generator they could effectively end the Universe, right?"

Lex nodded, rubbing his temple again. "It's a complex theory, but yes."

"Then we have to stop Lionel continuing the project here!" The teen looked pleadingly at his friend, "Is there a way to make them realize what they're doing is wrong, or stop the generator?"

"We could set the generator to overload the next time it fires…" Lex thought back to all the files and data he had read on the subject, little realizing he might need to utilize it one day. "But if we do that and we can't get the Learjet operational in time…"

Clark didn't care. It wasn't just the weight of one world on his shoulders now- it was the weight of many. "Lex!" There was obvious disappointment in the timbre of his voice, "If we get stuck here but save millions it's a small price to pay!" He glanced back at the main 'Chimera' menu on screen, "Can you do it?"

"If it overloads there will be a domino effect and the generator will shut down. If it shuts down Dvorkin might start double checking his results…" Lex pointed to a sub menu on the far right of the screen, "Get me into that list of options. I'll alter the parameters and cause the overload, then leave Dvorkin a message in his test results files. Hopefully our warning will be enough to get him to shut down the project."

Clark bounced on yet more keys and accessed the secure generator firing controls. There was another password prompt, followed by two security questions. A minute later they were finally in the right sector. The teen looked expectantly at his rich friend, waiting for the instructions on how to make the project fail. It was easily apparent Lex was somewhat reluctant to cut off his only way home should they not make it when Luthorcorp made the last test fire.

Eventually, Lex's conscience and Clark's constant glancing at the door in urgency made him give way. He read out a list of settings to alter and hoped his memory had served him well- after Belle Reve he sometimes had to convince himself twice.

Clark tapped away, entering the numbers followed by their urgent message to Dr. Dvorkin. "All done." He announced, scurrying back to the phone where Lex still rested. "Now we have to find a way down off the table. We can't have long before Lionel comes back now." Clark squinted and kicked into x-ray mode to assure himself, and was alarmed to see Lionel and two marines hastening towards the nearby corridor from the main lab. Time had just run out. I can't tell Lex what I've seen! How on earth do we get out of this one?

Chloe screamed as the pilot began to bring the bright red axe down with his full weight. He still held tightly to her throat to pin her head to the ground, but Chloe had however got the use of her legs. Acting without even really thinking, the small blonde brought her knee up straight in the pilot's groin.

Richard faltered and then howled as the pain of her attack seeped in. He dropped his weapon and rolled off of Chloe as his dead eyes watered to the extreme. The only action he seemed capable of making was to curl into a ball in agony.

Chloe didn't waste a moment. She clambered to her feet and quickly grasped the golf club that had fallen from her hand earlier. She hovered over the stricken man, unsure what to do. I can't just hit him over the head!

Richard growled like a wild thing and reached a shaking hand back out for the axe. The pain Chloe had caused was now dissipating into a dull throb, and served only to make him angrier at his foe.

"No!" Chloe yelled as his sweat covered palm closed over the weapon's handle, and she ran forward lunging at his forearm with her club.

The iron struck the pilot hard, but he refused to drop the axe. He rolled sideways, dodging a second blow from the reporter, and retaliating with a swipe of his own. The axe narrowly missed Chloe's left ear and sank deeply into the metal of the Learjet.

Great, this is just like when Lana and I had that axe fight in school…

Richard tugged with both hands at his weapon's handle, but it was jammed solid in the fuselage. He cursed and spun around, listening intently to hear Chloe's position from her rapid breathing. "Come on, girlie, you know it's for the best!"

"Yeah, well my idea of what's best is obviously not yours!" Chloe swung her golf club hard, this time fully intending to whack the pilot as hard as she could.

The tip of the iron bounced off of Richard's skull with a dull thud and without thinking she lashed out again. A splatter of blood splashed across Chloe's face and she instantly recoiled, almost dropping her weapon at what her own act had caused.

Richard's white eyes rolled back and he fell forward, hitting the earth at Chloe's feet like a ton weight. He didn't move, and Chloe couldn't see if he was breathing or not. Way to go, Sullivan. You killed someone! Now I know how Lana felt when she pitch-forked that dude in the Kent barn.

Chloe swallowed slowly but didn't drop her guard entirely. Her stomach was swirling and she felt a little sick, but not enough not to realize Richard could be faking it to get her close.

She edged forward, stooping slightly to try and check for a pulse without compromising her own safety. In the end though, she began to shake and decided to prod the pilot's prone form with the end of her club instead. He didn't moan or move. I really killed him…

TBC...