A/N: Hey guys! We give out thanks to all of you who reviewed! We appreciate it very much! And for those of you who like this story check out my and Tasha's other stories "Time Turner" and "What Changed".

Chapter 21

Awaking

"What?" Chloe asked.

A warm smile spread across Jor-El's face as sat next to her on the metal slab. Chloe had never seen Jor-El before but what she saw amazed her. Except for his silver hair and green wyes he looked exactly like Clark, just older.

"You've finally proved to your self that no one can break you." Jor-El replied.

"You would rather face death, then give up our son's secret and that is the greatest sign or trust." Lara said as she came close to Chloe.

"This amulet," she said removing the treasure from around Chloe's neck and tracing the Kryptionian symbol that remained hidden to the eyes or mistrustful people, "reads you heart, as long as you wear it you will always be protected."

With every thing that had been happing Chloe was close to tears.

"Thank you." she replied as a single tear left her eye and trickled down her cheek. When she looked up both Jor-El and Lara had disappeared. That was when something hit her: she was in the heart of Luthor Corp, how was she going to get out? Then she opened the door and found her answer, the hall that were usually teaming with people were completely desolate.

"Wow," Chloe said to herself, "I never knew they were my guardian angles."

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When Chloe walked into the Talon she was greeted with a lot or relived faces.

"Chloe, where you?" Clark asked as he embraced her in a hug that threatened to turn her bones into tuna salad.

"Ok, can't breath here," Chloe said trying to get air.

"Sorry." Clark said as he released her.

"Ok, now that my wind pipe can breath again," Chloe said looking into the eyes of her attentive friends; trying to lighten up the mood before she drooped the bombshell on them, "Lex took me on a little field trip to Luthor Corp," Chloe said to everyone else's horror.

"Are you ok?" Lana asked.

"What did he do to you?" Pete seconded.

"First of all, I'm fine, but as for what Lex did to me, that's an entirely different story."

Everyone mentally braced themselves for what they were about to hear.

"Lex, cornered me in the apartment last night, asking me all sorts of questions, when I didn't give them the answers he wanted he decided to take the truth by force. He had some sniper shoot me with some kind of tranquilizer dart. The next thing I know I'm in some kind of hospital room in the middle of Luthor Corp, strapped to a metal slab, and Lex is all over me, asking the same questions. When I still don't give him an answer he started electrocuting me. He even threatened to put me into Belle Reeve."

Everyone in to room was ghostly white by know, even Pete's face was drained by color.

Chloe continued, "Then the most amazing thing happened," she said as she removed the amulet from around her neck and placing it in her hands, just as he was about to fry my brain, the amulet came to life releasing some sort of energy that knocked Lex into the wall and snapped to stapes that were holding me down. They protected me, your parents protected me Clark. After it was all over they appeared and told me that as long as I would wear the amulet I would be ok."

"Chloe, I'm so sorry I dragged you into all of this." Clark said, apologetically.

"Clark, you don't have to apologize. Ever since the meteor shower Lex thought that I knew something about you, so it would have happened anyway." Chloe replied.

"What about Lex?" Pete asked. "After all that wouldn't that make him more suspicious. I mean, someone blind could tell that there was something going on and Lex is one of the most observant people I know besides you."

"I don't think so," Chloe replied, " with the vibe I got from them, I don't think he'll even remember anything. There is one thing thought." Chloe said.

"What's that?" Clark asked.

"Your parents can kick some tail!"

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"Lex?" Lionel voice questioned when he found his son lying on the floor unconscious.

"Lex what happened here?" he asked his son when he began to come to.

"I don't know," Lex said while rubbing hid head. "the last thing I remember was having restrained Chloe and her telling me that I wouldn't get anything out of her." Lex said.

"Well she's not here now." Lionel said gesturing to the empty slab with the snapped restraints. "Something happened here son."

All Lex could think was that wasn't possible. Those restraints were made of the strongest textile know to man. They had cost him a fortune. There was no way that Chloe, who was not athletically inclined, couldn't have broken through those restraints on her own. She would have needed some help. Some very strong help.

"Well, we'll know what did happen here soon enough." He said as he pushed a button on the wall reveling a hidden camera.

As he went to the security room Lex was absolutely brimming with promise. Something had gone down and even though he hadn't been conscious to see it, the camera would serve as his eyes. He soon brought up the scene where he had faced Chloe for the last time before he woke up to his father's voice. Then the unexpected happened. Just after Lex had shoved his face in Chloe's and she has spat her response the tape want blank.

"No!" he yelled as he through a filer toward the monitor breaking it. This was his last chance to finding some answers.

Or was it?

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Trask was sitting in his office over looking ship and flipping through page after page of Smallville's police records. Lionel Luthor's interest in Clark Kent had aroused his curiosity. Now he knew why he was so interested. Clark's shady adoption papers; not to mention his involvement in the many strange occurrences in the town were more than enough to arouse anyone's interest.

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We see a man come out of the shadows of Trask's office. Next we hear a blunt noise and see Trask fall to the floor unmoving and a familiar glowing green liquid is injected into his neck. Next we see the face of his attacker. It's Lex.

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"You should have stayed in the game." Lex said. "Take him to Belle Reeve," Lex said to two men who came in behind him. "We're in no need of his services."

Lex checked out the files that Trask ha been looking at. When more men entered the room he gave them a second assignment.

"Get the ship."

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Back in Luthor Corp. Lex looked at his prize. The ship was now in his possession. Many eager scientists he had hired rushed around the room. Lex pulls out the police files that he had taken from Trask.

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Back in the mansion Lex enters a room placing the files on a table. Next we see what surrounds him. All the information he ever had on Clark Kent, the reports, the specimens that he had collected from years before, were back in there original places. Lex returns to the table flipping through the files on more time when a transparent sheet slips out. When Lex picks it up he notices what he had found. A satellite grid. Trask had not only traced the main area where the energy had converged, but he also had discovered the exact latitude and longitude of each separate energy steam. A crafty smile came to his face. Someone was going to have some explaining to do.

Lex got on a map of Smallville and typed in the coordinates. Within minutes he has all the answers he wanted. The beams or energy were focused on four points. All the point pointed to four best friends. Chloe, Lana, Pete and Clark. Two of the beams had entered the Talon, probably meant for Lana and Chloe. Another hit the Kent farm. And another hit the Kawachi caves where he assumed Pete had been that night. He leaned beck in his chair and smiled. He knew what he had to do next.

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"Chloe, are you sure that you're ok?" Lana asked looking at her friend with concern.

"Yes, I'm fine! I've been through worse. But at least I know that I wont blab anything to anybody about Clark." Chloe said starting to get irritated because everyone was asking her that ever since she had gotten back.

"I wasn't meaning to sound like a broken record but you just seemed to have this faraway look in your eyes. I'm concerned about you Chloe." Lana said going over to the stove where she was making some soup. "What were you thinking about anyway?"

"Nothing really. Just thinking about Lex. He won't just sit around and not do anything. He'll want answers, and he already knows that I won't crack. If you want to worry about anybody, worry about yourself and Pete. I have this feeling that Lex might know that the two of you know Clark's secret too." Chloe said looking at her friend intently.

"All I have to say is that he better not mess with Pete. I mean he left here last year because Lionel's feds were after Clark's secret. Now that he's back I would hate to see him leave again. I really missed him last year, and I don't know if he or Clark could go through that again. But hopefully he'll stay away from all of us."

"For his sake." Lana said seriously.