Startled, Clark dropped the box. He hadn't heard anyone on the stairs, but then again, he might not have. Scrambling backward a bit, he braced his back on the couch and levered himself up from the floor to the cushions. His eyes were wide as he stared in horror at the man standing at the top of the stairs.

It's me, but not me. It's this Clark in my body!

"You," he stammered. "You killed Lex!"

The other Clark did not reply. Casually he approached, bending to pick up the journal as he advanced. He thumbed through it with a disinterested air. Of course he'd be disinterested. He'd written its contents.

"He picked me up, asked me if I needed a ride home." He looked up, and let the journal fall from his fingers. His eyes bored into Clark's. "Did you realize Lex knew Corbin? My brother worked summers at the plant. Dad didn't want him to, but he did, and then he got sick. They were doing experiments, some sort of alien experiments there. Luthor only got what he deserved. He killed my brother."

"So you killed him? An eye for an eye, is that it?"

"He wasn't human."

Clark scowled. "And neither are you!" he protested. "Not if you're wearing my body."

The smile that crossed the other Clark's face was chilling. "That was unexpected. Whatever you did in your world apparently saved my life. Lex came around just as I was about to jump out of the car to safety. He grabbed me, kept me from getting away before the car hit the bridge railing."

Realization dawned. "You didn't hit the windshield from the outside, you went through the windshield from inside the car!"

The smile broadened. "No, you went through the windshield, and I somehow got swept away through the portal into your body." He chuckled, and moved easily around the loft, always keeping Clark within his gaze. "I've learned a lot in these past few months, while I pretended to be you, Clark. Makes me almost feel sorry for this world's alien."

"This world's alien should not have died. We shouldn't be like this. You don't know what consequences this could have on both our worlds!"

With a smirk, the other Clark gave him a patronizing look. "I know one thing, Clark. I know that as long as the portal remains open, and I have possession of this body, I am the most powerful being in both universes. I can come and go at will. I can do whatever I want, have whatever I want. I can have whoever I want too."

Clark froze. "Lana," he whispered.

The other Clark stopped his pacing. He gave Clark an appraising look and began walking toward him. "She is - tempting," he replied quietly. "Look, I've nothing against you, so don't take this personally, but I think it would be best for all of us if there were only one Clark Kent roaming around between universes, don't you?"

As quick as a flash he'd grabbed Clark by the throat. Clark's first instinct was to grasp the arm that held him, despite the fact he knew he would not be able to break the vice-like grip around his throat. His feet dangled. He couldn't breathe. Even more frightening was the face hovering so near his own. It was like looking into a mirror, but a warped and twisted mirror.

"You should have died in that accident. Your existence here is nothing but a complication."

Clark gasped. "You...you can't do this."

"I can, and I will. I've blended in quite well in your world, Clark. No one suspects anything. You and I could have gone on living our separate lives and no one would have been the wiser."

"This isn't...right! You weren't meant for my abilities. You're not..." Clark sucked in a trickle of breath and choked out his last word. "Me!"

He was jerked closer. "I'm more than you could ever be," the other Clark hissed. "I would have left you alone, but you had to open your big mouth to Chloe!"

"Chloe wasn't the only one he told, Clark!"

"Laura!" Clark choked. He felt the grip around his throat tighten. He kicked his legs, struggling to free himself. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her approaching and as she grew closer he saw his salvation.

In her hand was the meteor rock they'd found in Lex's car.

"He also told me."

Bug stalked across the loft floor with her arm outstretched. The stone glowed bright green as the other Clark cringed away from it, casting an eerie light across her face. It glinted off the lenses of her glasses. Clark could not feel its effects, but his doppleganger obviously could. His fingers loosened just enough for Clark to draw a breath.

"Let's see how you like a dose of your own medicine," Bug growled. "Put him down. Put him down now!"

Her Clark backed up, but took his captive with him. "Or what, Bug?" he smirked.

Wordlessly she pulled a slingshot out of one of her pockets. Very carefully she fitted the stone into the cup and pulled it back. "You remember shooting bottles with me and Corbin don't you? You're a much bigger target than a root beer bottle Clark. I'm pretty sure this thing can punch a pretty good sized hole in you, and you know, that just might hurt."

Clark groaned as he was pulled close. For a brief moment he thought he would be used as a shield and had a terrified vision of Bug putting a meteor rock through his heart. He was on the verge of panic when he heard his own voice growling at him. "This isn't over."

That was the last thing he heard before the floor came up to smack him in the face.

"Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely."

"Clark never was the person Corbin was, and he's not like this Clark, but I never thought he'd stoop this low. I'm sorry, Chloe."

"Well, with the exception of Whitney I always have managed to pick real winners haven't I?"

Clark blinked. The girls' voices were hushed, but he could tell they sat nearby. He was lying on the couch in the loft, covered in a blanket. His body ached all over and he could feel the bruises around his neck throbbing. He moaned. He thought he moaned. He must have moaned, for the conversation ceased and Chloe came into his line of vision.

"Hey! Are you okay?"

Swallowing heavily, he nodded, which did nothing for his aching head. His voice was full of gravel. "I think so. Help me up."

Chloe helped him sit up. After his head stopped spinning he turned his attention to Bug, who sat cross legged on the floor looking through the journal he'd found.

"Thanks," he said. "But how did you know?"

She pushed her glasses up with one finger. "I saw him," she said simply. "I was coming home from the Flower Shop and I saw him cross the road near Crater Lake Drive. I thought I'd seen a ghost..." Her voice lowered, grew wistful. "He looks like Corbin."

Chloe nodded. "We saw him too. I had to convince Whitney he was imagining things."

"Meanwhile I followed him here, and heard him talking to you. Just lucky I still had that rock in my pocket." Bug glanced down at the notebook in her lap. "Clark, he's dangerous. Corbin's death really messed him up. There's no telling what he'll do next. And if what you say about your powers is true, there won't be anyone around to stop him."

Clark looked quickly to Chloe as he saw her slowly shaking her head. "What is it."

"I think we might have a way to stop him, or at least keep him from killing you," she said. "I didn't tell Laura what else I saw tonight." She cleared her throat. "While we were parked and I was trying to convince Whitney he hadn't seen a ghost, I saw someone else come out of the woods."

Bug and Clark spoke in unison. "Who?"

"Lex Luthor," Chloe said. "And it was our Lex Luthor."

"He failed!" Clark breathed. "Lex isn't dead."

"No, he's not, and my guess is that he's been laying low while he keeps an eye on Clark. We may have an ally."

Clark nodded. "If he's following Clark he may be aware that we know what's going on. Let's hope he tries to make contact. We've all got to get our heads together on this thing, and if Lex is really this world's alien, we're going to need his powers."

"But," Bug said quietly. "What if Clark was actually right, and Lex isn't the hero of the story?"

Startled, Clark stared at her. It had never occurred to him that Lex could be anything but the good guy. After all, he was a good alien. He'd always understood the fact that people could be turned off if they found out the truth about him, or that they'd want to study him, but never that they'd see him as a threat needing to be eliminated.

Chloe was nodding. "She's got a point, Clark. What if our Clark was doing the right thing by getting Lex out of the way, and now he's just drunk on having your powers."

"Well," Clark said, with an air of defeat. "Then we're screwed."

He slept with a meteor rock in the pocket of his pajamas, and he slept deep under the influence of pain medication, for every bone, every joint, every muscle in his body ached. His dreams were all in midnight blue and gray, the faces in them twisted into warped versions of the people he knew - and they were all running away from him. They ran into the darkness and did not come back, leaving him cold and alone. He tried to claw his way back to consciousness - the drugs held him down in the dark.

It was not until dawn that he woke, and that to some six sense crying out a warning. His eyes flew open to see a dark figure hovering over him; a dark figure that was not a dream. Automatically he clutched at his chest, reassuring himself that the rock was still there and he was, relatively, safe. He scooted back toward the headboard as the figure grew closer. It came around to the side of the bed but stopped well short of where Clark lay. It could go no further. Clark swallowed heavily. Trembling, he reached over to pick up one of his crutches from where it leaned against a chair.

Faster than he could see, the figure snatched the makeshift weapon away and replaced it against the chair. Its voice was low and threatening.

"You wouldn't have gotten far with that."

"I have a meteorite," Clark said hastily. Bright green light bled through his fingers. The rock was clenched within one fist.

The voice was soft. "So I see."

In the dark all Clark could see was the shadowy outline of a man standing before the window. Watery moonlight gave him shape, but no features.

"Who are you?"

"Shouldn't I be asking that question?" When there was no reply, Clark answered. "I'm Clark Kent."

The laugh was familiar, a breathy exhalation laced with a slightly arrogant tone. "I saw Clark Kent, or what used to be him, outside this very window not five minutes ago."

Clark started, frightened. His visitor gave voice to what he was thinking.

"That meteorite saved your life tonight. Maybe twice. His footprints preceded his appearance, and are all over this farm. He's been here more than once, stalking you like a predator its prey. Why?" He repeated his first question. "Who are you, really?"

"You tell me," Clark sat up further in the bed, reaching out to flip on the table lamp beside him. The darkness receded, and he could see. "Lex."

It was Lex, clad in a t-shirt, jacket and jeans, and sporting a head of dark hair he did not have in Clark's world. His eyes glittered in the light; sharp and a brighter blue than those of the Lex Clark knew. As he walked around to the foot of the bed he moved with an economy of motion and an odd, slithering grace that one could hardly mistake for anything human. Clark felt uneasy. He wondered if he had ever come across to anyone the same way. After a moment he decided the answer was no. This Lex was more alien than Clark had ever been.

Why?

He accepts it. He's known what he is longer than I have and he's never thought of his powers as anything but gifts. There was no denial, only understanding. He's stronger because of it. Even if I had my abilities back, I don't know if I would want to take him on.

With that thought came another.

So, are you a good witch, or a bad witch?

"You've been to the caves. You've seen the other side. I'm not your Clark. But," Clark added quietly. "I'm not whole. This body belongs to him."

"And I take it, "Lex replied. "He does not want it back." He tapped his fingers against the footboard. "Kryptonite or not, he would have found a way to kill you."

"I know. Lex, in my world, I am the one who isn't human. Like you."

It was not the bombshell Clark may have expected. Lex looked at him without speaking for some time, studying him as if he could discern the truth in Clark's worlds. Maybe he could. Maybe this Lex had powers Clark had only dreamed of tapping into - dreamed in nightmares. This Lex wore his alienness with ease, not like the burden Clark carried.

The blue eyes grew thoughtful, and one brow rose as questions were answered. "He's afraid of me. He doesn't understand how to use what he's been given. That's to our advantage."

"Our advantage?" Clark said quietly.

Lex leaned Clark's crutches against the wall, and pulled the chair up as close to the bed as he could, straddling it backward in smooth, casual motion. He still had the other Lex's air of sophistication, but there was something more pedestrian about him. This Lex was not the pampered son of a rich man.

"This rift between worlds can't stay open."

"I know. So you'll help us?"

"I have no choice."

Clark frowned, wondering what he meant, but Lex kept speaking without explanation.

"The key, " he said. "Is in the key. It is holding the portal open, and I believe the portal is what's keeping you and this world's Clark from snapping back into your proper places. I've been to your world. The portal remains hidden there, and no one but a Kryptonian can pass through it, but there are men crawling all over those caverns and as long as they are there the key cannot be removed. The caves protect themselves."

"So if we remove the key, everything will go back to normal?"

"I think so, but I can't be certain."

"How did it happen in the first place?"

Lex shrugged. "The only conclusion I've been able to draw is that our two worlds were passing close to each other, or perhaps in some sort of alignment, when a tear developed in the fabric separating them."

"And the body swap?"

"Coincidence. This Clark was clutching a piece of Kryptonite when he went through the windshield of my car. What is the last thing you remember?"

Clark snapped his fingers. "Your Clark was in a car accident. I got blasted by the light in the cave. We both experienced some sort of trauma at the same time."

"And while you were both unconscious the tear opened, and your minds became lost between worlds." Lex nodded. "Interesting theory."

"It's the only one I've got," Clark sighed. "I wish I could remember more about the light that hit me. I remember it hurt, at first, and I heard a voice shouting things at me; words in a language I didn't recognize. Then I blacked out."

A hint of a smile crossed Lex's face. "That was no ordinary light, Clark. If things had gone the way they were supposed to, you would have been downloaded with the first set of knowledge you're to acquire. Call it a gift from your father, your real father."

Clark straightened his shoulders. "My father?" he breathed. "Tell me..."

"I can't tell you," Lex said, and there was a note of sincere compassion in his voice. "Because I can't promise you what happened to me at your age will happen to you. It could progress in an identical manner, or not. We may hail from the same world, but we're not the same person."

Before Clark could stop himself, he spoke his thoughts out loud. "I envy you," he said softly.

Lex gave him another one of those long, cool, stares. "Don't," he said. "My life is no less lonely, no less a secret from those I care about, than yours." He stood up. "Do you trust those two girls?"

"With my life."

"But not in your own world?"

"I can't trust anyone in my own world. Not even you." Clark murmured.

"Perhaps," Lex replied just as softly. "That's very wise."

"Because you and Clark were friends - before?"

Lex met his gaze. "Before Corbin died? Before his grief drove him mad?"

"Yes," Clark breathed. He thought of his own Lex, who had also lost a brother, who sometimes seemed so - lost - sometimes.

Don't say yes, please don't say yes.

This Lex smiled sadly, and refused to answer the question.

His silence was answer enough.