Chloe knew where she was going. Once Lana and Mrs. Kent were in the car with their seatbelts on, Chloe hit the gas. The abandoned missle silo was not that far from Lex's, and Chloe remembered it well. It has been stripped of all the technology and there wasn't anything more dangerous than a field mouse dropping or thirty left in it. But it would be a good home for all of this kryptonite, while they could begin to identify it. The radiation shields would protect Clark if he was in the area as well, until a better, safer place could be found. The mark on her left hand itched, and Chloe lifted her hand off the steering wheel to look at it again. The shimmery frost had not gone away, and it pulsed with colors, more colors than the crystal itself had done, colors that Chloe loved, deep green, turquoise, twilight blue, all the colors of her imagination. Chloe wondered what abilities of hers the crystal had enhanced, and she sighed, thinking about Clark and what his reaction to this latest little twist would be. In her mind's eye, she could see him, flying toward Smallville at a blinding speed, and suddenly could hear his thoughts as clearly as if he was speaking out loud beside her.

"Please be alright, please be alright…." Clark's fervent unspoken wish made Chloe both happy and afraid. "Chloe, please…"

"Clark!" Chloe stopped the car, and concentrated. "Clark! We're bringing the Kryptonite to a safe place…we're fine…" Fine. Chloe stopped, and smiled. If Clark could read her thoughts, then that thing, whatever Fine was might too. Time to plant some sabotage, and Chloe began to mentally recite the song that had driven Gabe and General Lane to near distraction the summer Chloe was six and Lois seven. Once through would be enough to implant the stupid thing in her subconscious until she put the radio on, and long enough to make sure that Fine could not find her yet.

Fine paused. He stood on a cliff, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Facing westward, he paused, listening. The alarm from the key had stopped, and was replaced with a gentle hum, irritatingly monotonous, that would not allow Fine to track it's whereabouts. The song, a simple Earth childrens tune, would not cease and Fine found himself humming the blasted thing. And, just like that, the location of the key was hidden once again.

"There was an old lady who swallowed a fly, I don't know why she swallowed the fly…perhaps she'll die…There was an old lady who swallowed a spider, it wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her. She swallowed the spider to catch the fly, I don't know why she swallowed the fly…perhaps she'll die…"

Fine knew where he must begin the search again. Back in Smallville.

Clark landed in his front yard, running into the house. All the lights were on, but only Shelby was there to greet him.

"Hey, boy." Clark reached down to stroke Shelby's head, "where is everyone, huh?" Clark moved through the house, remembering the brief flash of awareness he had experienced – Chloe's voice in his head – kryptonite to a safe place. Where?

In the back of his mind, a song he remembered from kindergarten bubbled to the surface. "…that swallowed a cat. How about that? She swallowed a cat…"

It seemed strange, because it was Chloe he heard, singing it.

There was the clatter of booted footsteps on the porch, and the front door swung open. Clark turned and found himself face to face with Lois. She looked worried.

"Oh, good, Smallville!" She gasped, short of breath. "I need to get to the gym…"

"Lois, what's wrong?" Clark reached Lois in two steps. "Where's Chloe?"

"She called and said she needed me to meet her at this abandoned missle silo out by the Luthor mansion." Lois explained "And for someone who craves details like my little cousin, she left out why. I came by to pick up the wheelbarrow and your dad's old truck. Your mom said the keys are in your dad's coffee mug.

"When was this?" Clark asked and Lois pushed past him, impatiently.

"How long could it have taken me to drive from the Talon to here? What, ten minutes? Outta my way, Smallville. Chloe needs me." Lois strode into the kitchen to retrieve the keys, and Clark stopped her.

"I'll go." He took the keys. "You could do me a huge favor, though."

"What?" Lois folded her arms, annoyed.

"Go to the Smallville airport. A friend of mine should be arriving in the next hour or two, and bring him out to the silo with you. His name is Bruce Wayne." Clark put his hands on Lois' shoulders. "I promise, nothing will happen to Chloe. Just do what I'm asking you to do, Lois."

"Okay." The annoyance on Lois' face dropped away. "This is serious, isn't it, Clark?"

"Yeah, it is." Clark nodded, releasing his grip on Lois. "I'm going out to the silo."

"Mais non, Monsieur." The president of MOURGUE D'ALGUE & CIE wrung his hands nervously, standing before Lex Luthor. Your father has not been into the bank for some time. I have not seen him, and there have been deposits, of ehm, À caractère incertain

to his vault I have wanted to discuss with him. "

"I want to go down to the vault." Lex said simply. It was not a request.

"Ce n'est pa possible." The bank president shook his head. "There are laws, non? I must protect the confidentialité of my clients."

"My father is missing, Monsieur. He was last spotted coming to this bank. I don't care if this bank has been standing since 1849, Monsieur. I'll tear it down, brick by brick, until I get into that vault and see for myself." Lex stated calmly, his voice betraying no emotion. The steely glint in his eyes was enough for the Swiss man. With a dramatic sigh, the bank president punched a number into his desk phone and gave the instructions in rapid French.

"Portez M. Luthor vers le bas à la chambre forte le numéro 2435. Et ne le laissez pas seul là pendant un moment." He hung up and looked up at Lex. "Est-ce que c'est assez ?"

"Yes, that is more than enough." Lex replied politely. "Thank you." The door to the bank presidents office opened, and two armed security guards appeared. Lex turned and met them at the door. "If my guess is correct, Monsieur, these men won't need to be leaving me alone at all. Et si ma conjecture est correcte, et mon père est en bas de là et dans l'ennui, vous regretterez le jour où vous m'avez jamais rencontré, monsieur. Vous ne serez pas président de n'importe quoi, encore moins cette banque avant que je sois fait avec vous." Lex strode from the office, followed by the two uniformed guards, and the bank president sat down with a thump in his leather desk chair. Shaking, he wiped his forehead with a fresh, white handkerchief, and then folded his hands in prayer.

"Dear God,

Please let the American find his father safe, and please, let him remember that I am an old man, and this is a very old bank."

Bruce opened the hatch of the stealth jet and hopped out dropping his small bag of belongings on the tarmac. He pushed the hatch shut and looked around. No Clark, no Chloe. Not good. Bruce pulled out his phone and began to dial Clark's number when a red car pulled up beside him and stopped. A tall girl with light brown hair got out, and she looked around, her eyes finally falling on Bruce. She sighed, throwing her arms in the air. Bruce took her in, long legs, great figure and one of those women that are in a hurry for everything.

"Hey, you, fly boy." She said, and Bruce hid a grin. "Do you know if someone named Bruce Wayne landed here? I'm supposed to meet him, but I don't know who he is." She sighed. "Damn Smallville."

"Don't like the town?" Bruce asked, neutrally.

"Oh, no." She smiled, rolling her eyes. "It's a guy, I mean, I call the guy Smallville, because he's from here. The town is fine, if you like cow poop and no excitement." Her eyes, a rather attractive golden hazel, took on an amused twinkle. "I guess I'm your first impression of Smallville. I'm Lois Lane." Lois saluted him briskly and looked around again. "Wish I knew who I was looking for."

"Did you say you were looking for Bruce Wayne?" Bruce asked, pretending to look around. "I'm pretty sure I saw him." He bent down and picked up his duffel bag.

"Look, I'd love to play twenty questions with you, Fly Boy, but my cousin may be in over her head in trouble, my boss is with her, and I am really not in the mood. So, if you saw Bruce Wayne, why don't you be a good little unit and point me in the right direction?" Lois tipped her head and pulled in her lower lip in a way that made Bruce both annoyed and intrigued.

"Wow, country manners really mean nothing to you, do they, Lois?" Bruce said, finally giving in to the urge to laugh. "Smallville grows some gorgeous women, but are any of you even normal?" He goaded, walking around the car. When he got right in front of her, Bruce held out a hand. "Now, let's start again. I'm Bruce Wayne. It's terribly nice for you to come out all this way to meet me, Lois." Lois took his hand and shook it, no nonsense and not one ounce of embarrassment at all for her rudeness. She was spectacular. A smile crossed her lips, and the glint in her eye turned teasing.

"Come on, Fly Boy.' She popped the latch on her trunk and without so much as a wince, picked up Bruce's duffel bag and dumped it in the car. She walked around to the driver's side and opened the door, and Bruce came behind her. He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around, taking the keys from her hand.

"Hey!" Her cry of protest echoed over the empty airfield. "As long as I'm making the payments on my car, I'm the only one driving it." She stretched, reaching for her keys, and Bruce took a step back, holding the keys above his head. "My insurance payments are high enough!"

"A few ground rules, Lois, and you and I will get along great, I think." Bruce said, holding her off with his other hand. "One, no matter what the vehicle, jet, car, bicycle for built for two, I'm driving."

Lois stopped trying to reach for the key, "Now, you listen to me…"

"Two." Bruce chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "As much as I'm enjoying this wonderful welcome to Smallville, I prefer to have at least ten inches of personal space." He took a step away from Lois.

"If you think I'm going to let you take my car keys and drive my car, when I don't know you from anyone, you've got another thing coming." Lois said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Three." Bruce raised his voice. "I'm not usually a team player, and apparently all of you in Smallville are, so, let's use our inside voices and be grown-ups."

"Of all the arrogant, stuck up, miserable pain in the, well, you know…"Lois stomped her foot. "Give me my keys, Wayne. You can find Clark on foot."

"Four." Bruce shook the keys. "I'm driving, and if I damage your car, Lois, I'll buy you four just like it. You can even get the upgrades." Lois opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it. "Are you done now?"

"Yes." Lois said, frowning. She turned, arms folded, and walked to the passenger side of the car. "You want to open the door?"

Bruce smiled. "Sure, Lois." He pressed the button on the remote and popped the door for her. This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship, Bruce thought, chuckling to himself as he got into her car.

Clark reached the missle silo and saw his mother dragging a basket of raw Kryptonite toward the door. She looked up, and waved.

"Don't get any closer, honey!" Martha called out. "It's too dangerous!"

"Where's Chloe and Lana, Mom? Are they okay?" Clark asked, and Martha nodded.

"We're all okay, Clark!" Martha yelled back, and then, Chloe appeared from the doorway of the silo. She smiled, and ran toward him, taking the short distance quickly, and coming to a stop in his arms.

"Clark." She said, glad to feel his heart beating under her cheek. Chloe looked up into his face and smiled. "We've been busy. And you flew. Where's Lex, and Lionel? Did Lois bring the wheelbarrow? Where's Bruce?"

He cut her questions off with a kiss. "Lex is in Geneva, with Lionel. Bruce is on his way, and I saw Lois at the house. I brought the wheelbarrow, and Lois went to the airport to meet Bruce." He took her left hand in his right, and turned it over to see the shimmering scar on her palm. "Chloe." His green eyes grew wide.

"It doesn't hurt." Chloe said, looking at the crystal scar. "I mean, it REALLY doesn't hurt. So far, I am telepathic, with Kryptonians only. I don't get tired, and I know everything there is to know about Krypton. I planted a distraction in Fine, so hopefully it will take him a little while to get here." She grinned, mischieviously. "Did you get any of it?"

"The old lady and the fly? Oh yeah." Clark laughed. "I thought I was going crazy. I couldn't get that song out of my head." He squeezed her hand. "Did Jor-El do this?"

"Yes, they said it would be safer if the crystal became part of me, for now." Chloe told him. "Clark, I SAW your parents. You look a lot like your mom, by the way." She hugged him again. "It feels so good to be close to you again. I could sense you," Chloe said, "You know, with my mind, but this is a million times better."

Clark smiled into her hair. "Chloe, we have to go to the Fortress. I want to lead Fine away from here." He looked over to where his mother and Lana were carrying the last load of Kryptonite into the silo. "I can't put anyone else at risk."

"Okay." Chloe gave Clark a sidelong look. "Why do I think you already have a plan in mind?"

"I'm pretty sure I do." Clark nodded. "When Bruce gets here, we'll talk about it."

Lex turned the tumbler on the vault again. The combination had to be something that was significant to his father. Finally, it came to him, and Lex dialed the combination quickly. The vault swung open, and even Lex was shocked by what he saw. Lionel lay in a pool of blood, the symbols from the caves written on almost every surface in his blood.

"Mon Dieu." One of the guards gasped. "Qu'est-ce que c'est?"

"Dad!" Lex went to his father and knelt beside him, ignoring the other contents of the vault. Lionel was barely breathing, and his eyes, partially open, showed no sign of their usual color. He was speaking in a language Lex could not understand. He looked up and over at the guards. The one who had exclaimed at the sight of Lionel was already calling for help. The other guard had disappeared, and Lex assumed he had gone to tell the bank president what was going on. "Hang on, Dad. We're going to get you out of here."

"Where's Lex?" Lana asked, wiping her face with the back of her hand, "Is Lionel okay?"

Bruce and Lois had just arrived as Martha and Lana had come out from the silo. Lois went to Chloe and immediately hugged her, keeping her arm around her cousin's shoulders, glad to be away from Bruce Wayne, even if it was only four feet away.

"We left Lex in Geneva," Bruce said, putting his hands on Lana's shoulders. "I had to do some flying to get back. He'll call when he finds Lionel." Bruce looked down into Lana's face. "As soon as we hear, I'll have my private jet fly you to them, okay?"

"I'd like that, Bruce." Lana smiled. "If Lionel is in trouble, Lex may need me." She reached up and took Bruce's hand. "Thank you."

"No problem." Bruce nodded, and turned to Mrs. Kent. "You must be Martha Kent." He offered his hand, and she shook it. "Not exactly state legislature out here."

Martha looked around, and laughed. "It's not, but the things we do for family."

Bruce hesitated, and Martha, her mother's instinct humming, added quickly, "And friends."

Bruce grinned. "You ARE a politician after all." The whole group laughed, and Lois cleared her throat.

"Speaking of politics, Mrs. K, you have about ten phone calls to answer, and a proposal to consider…can we leave the haunted silo and get down to business?" Lois hugged herself. "This place gives me the creeps."

"That's a good idea." Martha smiled. "Let's all go back to the house and wait for Lex to call." She looked over at Clark, who nodded.

"Bruce can ride with me in the truck. Chloe," Clark looked down at her. "bring Lana and Mom home, okay?" She nodded, and with a quick kiss, moved off with Lana and Martha. "We have to talk." Clark said, and Bruce nodded, both of them walking toward the Kent family pickup truck.

"Ehem." Lois cleared her throat loudly, and Bruce turned, smirking. He reached into his pocket and tossed Lois her keys. She caught them, sneered at Bruce and turned to walk away without another word.

" Hey, Lois. Nice ride. Next time, though, maybe I could pick the music. I'm not much for Whitesnake." Bruce laughed, and Lois stuck her tongue out at him.

"Next time, the closest YOU are getting to my baby, FlyBoy, is your reflection in the rear view mirror as I drive away." Lois waved at Clark. "See you back at the farm, Smallville." She got into her car and drove off, leaving a cloud of dust.

Clark and Bruce looked at each other for a minute, and then they both started to laugh.

"I gotta say, Clark. It's no wonder you are stuck on this town." Bruce shook his head. "There are enough distractions in Smallville to keep any one busy for a long, long time."

"It's not so bad. Lois actually lived with us for awhile." Clark grimaced. "Let's just say that that Whitesnake CD is more irritating the more you hear it."

"I could think of worse things." Bruce mused, and Clark tried to hide his amusement by getting into the truck.

By the time the men had returned to the house, Martha had begun feeding the girls. As they walked into the house, Bruce's cell phone rang. He waved at Clark and stayed out on the porch to take the call.

"Bruce Wayne." He answered, turning away from the sound of the women greeting them.

"Bruce. It's Lex." Lex stood outside the trauma room window, watching the team of Swiss doctors stabilize his father. "I found Dad. He was left for dead in his vault. I have the inventory list, and there isn't anything missing."

"And his status now?" Bruce looked up, frustrated. This Fine was not matching any m.o. of any other piece of crap criminal Bruce knew. This guy was DEFINITELY not human, if he had taken nothing from the Luthor family secret vault.

"Desperately in need of transfusion. He's in shock from the blood loss and incoherent. They've hung blood and giving him drugs to help boost his volume." Lex turned away from the window. "There was no sign of the elusive Professor Fine, Interpol is involved now. They are checking the vault for fingerprints."

"Interpol?" Bruce nodded. He could slice their system later if he needed to. If he got back to Gotham tonight. "Well, let them do what they have to. I'm going to have my pilot fly Lana to you in Geneva, Lex."

Lex exhaled roughly. "That would mean a lot, Bruce. Thanks."

"She's what's good about you, Lex. You know that, right?" Bruce said, seeing Lana as she sat with Mrs. Kent. "She sees you as the man you want to be. That's a big deal, Lex. Don't blow it."

Lex nodded, "Big brother vibe noted, Bruce. I'll keep you posted." Lex hung up his phone and looked back in the trauma room. Fight, old man. Lex thought, watching the doctors work. It's not your time, you still owe me so much. Succeeding won't be half as victorious if you are not alive to see it.

Gotham City. Fine tipped his head, standing in Gotham Square Park as the citizens moved around him, all in a hurry to get one place or another. The crush of humanity was brutal, Fine thought; they move like rats in a maze. Able to block out all of the city noises around him, Fine could hear past the buses, cars and feet, past the rumbling of the elevated trains, and the rush of the waste water in the sewers, even past the tiny breathing of the rodents that populated the undercity, twice as many as the humans that milled around him now. He could hear beyond Gotham, beyond Metropolis. And all he could hear was a hum, another song, this one more annoying and monotonous than the previous one – the old woman and her blasted winged insect. This song was worse, and harder to shake off. He grimaced, and strained to sense past that, but the song would not let him.

"Here's a little song I wrote, you might want to sing it note for note, don't worry, be happy…." Smallville, he would get to Smallville, find the key and whatever was transmitting this interference and crush it. The variance in his programming, torturing the human did not concern Fine very much. Something about the green kryptonite had temporarily affected his cognitive processing. It would not happen again.

Bruce came into the house, closing his phone. Lana met him at the door, and she just held out her hand to him. He took it, gave it a gentle squeeze and looked Lana in the eye. She knew, knew he'd just gotten off the phone with Lex, and Bruce realized there was no protecting her from Lex at all.

"Was that Lex?" She asked, and Bruce nodded. "Did they find Lionel?"

"They did, Lana. Listen, I want you to go home, collect some clothes and your passport. Lex wants you in Geneva with him. I'll call Alfred and see if I can smooth things over with your professors at Met U, family emergency or something. My private jet will take you to Geneva."

"Okay." Lana nodded. "Is Lionel that bad?"

"Sounds serious, Lana. Lex didn't go into tremendous detail, but I think his kidnappers didn't get what they wanted." Bruce sighed. "I want you to be super careful, Lana. Don't leave Lex for a minute. Understand?"

"I don't plan to leave him again, Bruce. I'll go pack." Lana stood on tiptoe and kissed Bruce on the cheek. "Thanks Bruce." She turned and came back with Lois who scowled at him as she passed. Bruce watched then go, his eyes lingering on Lois.

"Okay, so," Bruce slid into a chair, casting his eyes around the room. Martha had taken a seat across from him, Clark, Chloe on either side of the table. "We're doing what, now?" He dropped the octagonal key in the middle of the table, one dark eyebrow raised over a cynical gaze at Clark.

"Chloe and I are going up to the Arctic." Clark said, around a mouthful of cornbread. "I'm hoping that Fine will come here first…" He swallowed the bread, chased it with a big swig of milk and wiped his mouth. "Looking for this." Clark picked up the key. "Chloe has another crystal in a safe place, and we'll take that with us."

"So, I'm waiting here for a super-strong Kryptonian artificial intelligence that can morph into anything?" Bruce folded his arms, and nodded. "Piece of cake."

Clark and Chloe looked in askance at him, and they all laughed.

"Does that green Kryptonite affect it at all?" Bruce asked, after a minute, when they had all stopped laughing again. "Does it have a weakness?"

Clark sighed. "I don't know…the last time, we thought we killed Fine up at the Fortress, and here he is again." He looked over at Chloe. "I don't like bringing you into a dangerous situation, Chloe. Can we get the crystal, er, from where it's hidden, and you can stay with Mom?"

"NO." Chloe shook her head. "I'm not letting you face that thing again without me…not now." She turned to Bruce. "In the silo are about ten different kinds of Kryptonite. I don't know which ones will affect Fine, since whatever he is, he's not a living being. But it might slow him down, or weaken him. The golden kind, it looks like fools gold," Chloe paused, and when Bruce nodded, she continued. "I think if Clark was exposed, it would take away his powers, but if Fine is exposed…"

"He'd be weakened." Clark and Martha said together incredulously, and Bruce frowned.

"He's already unpredictable." Bruce said. "This golden Kryptonite might just completely fry his system and make him totally out of control."

Chloe closed her eyes. Fine was getting closer, and there were two of him on the move.

"One will follow us to the Fortress. The other will stay and get the key. That's why he's moving so slow, Clark. He's running." She grinned. "You can fly faster than he can run." Chloe looked at Clark. "Aren't you glad you learned to fly now?"

Clark rolled his eyes. "We'd better get going. Running or not, Fine will be here sooner than I'd like to think."

"Senator, I'd like it very much if you'd go with Lana, or to my house in Gotham City. For your safety." Bruce looked across the table at Martha. She nodded, and then looked at Clark.

"I could go to Metropolis, and stay with Granddad." Martha looked at Clark and he thought about it for a moment.

"That's a good idea, Mom. Better get moving and take Shelby with you." He said, smiling.

Martha rose, leaning on the table for support. "I'll get packed. I'll take Lana to meet your jet, Bruce, and then I'll head off." She kissed Clark on the forehead. "Be safe, sweetie." She blew a kiss to Chloe. "Be careful, Chloe, I know your dad would be so proud of strong you've been through all of this." Martha turned and looked at Bruce, who had risen when Martha did. "I'm trusting you, Mr. Wayne. My husband used to say that he preferred to believe in people, and I get the feeling he'd have liked you." She extended her hand to him. Bruce took it, and then put his other hand over hers.

"Senator." Bruce was solemn. "I'll do everything I can for Clark. I promise."

"And keep yourself in one piece too." Martha kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Bruce."