Smallville Virtual (TC) Season – Episode 8 – Fathom

"Full fathom five thy father lies;

Of his bones are coral made;

Those pearls that were his eyes:

Nothing of him doth fade,

But doth suffer a sea-change

Into something rich and strange.

Sea-nymphs ring his knell:

Ding dong.

Hark! I hear them – Ding-dong bell!"

William Shakespeare – The Tempest

"Mr. Luthor, there's a visitor here." Lex's secretary poked her head in the door. "A young woman."

"If it's Ms. Lang, send her in." Lex said, not looking up from his computer. It was a fairly busy day, and even the half-hour or so he'd blocked off for the necessary reassuring lunch with Lana was a chore. Lex groaned slightly, rubbing his eyes, trying to shake off the effects of the computer monitor.

"It's not Ms. Lang." Callista purred from the doorway. Lex looked up, compelled by the mere sound of her speech. Clad in black leather, Callista was a oasis, and Lex was suddenly very, very thirsty. "Hi, Lex."

Lex rose, smoothing his jacket as he did so. "Callista. This is an unexpected surprise."

"I was no where near the neighborhood." Callista replied, sauntering around the office. "It all is so new, it SMELLS new…"

"There was an incident." Lex offered, making his way to Callista. "Something with the sprinklers."

"I see." She smiled, her teeth perfect, white and even. Her dark eyes were opaque. Lex could not read them at all, and he found that greatly appealing. "I haven't heard from you. I mean I know "I'll call you" is a euphemism, but we didn't even sleep together." Callista smirked tauntingly at Lex. "Oliver told us about your takeover bid. No one invited you to do that."

"And here I thought I was being a knight in shining armor." Lex said, smiling back at her, fighting the urge to throw her across his desk, strip the leather garments from her and use her harshly, roughly. Callista licked her lips, her eyes inviting.

"That's only in fairy tales, Lex. I don't deal in fairy tales. I deal in realities." Callista said, moving just out of his reach, her fingers dusting the various bric a brac on the long console table. "Who's Ms. Lang?"

"My girlfriend." Lex answered, finding the simple answer falling from his lips. "She's on her way here now, for lunch."

"Good, truth." Callista nodded. "I like truth, Lex." She pulled off her jacket, confirming the presence of clothing underneath, a silky camisole that was the identical shade of her skin. "I met your friend, Otis. He's delicious." Callista walked to a chair, aware that Lex had not taken his eyes from her since she walked in the room. "I enjoy him."

"Really?" Lex asked, jerked from his own carnal thoughts at the idea of Otis and this creature he desperately desired. "Otis…"

"I could make you believe that, couldn't I? That he'd had me." Callista laughed, brilliant, sparking and deep. "And you would find him and kill him if I asked it of you. But I'm not going to do that."

"You're not?" Lex found himself compelled to do as she asked. Even the suggestion to kill Otis brought the vision of the bleeding corpse of the portly security guard to mind. "What do you want? I'll give you anything."

:fight her, you weak minded idiot: The new voice in Lex's head snapped, but there was a dull roar in Lex's ears, the ocean pounding the shore after a storm, and he ignored it willingly.

"Anything?" Callista rose, and came up close to Lex, the silk of her camisole concealing nothing. Pressing herself against him, Callista raised her lips to his. "I don't want anything now. But when I do, Lex, you will be helpless to resist me."

:controlling you, primate:It roared, with all the viciousness of Zod at his most venomous. She smelled of sea air, cool and bracing, and Lex could think of nothing more than to tame her, conquer her as surely as men had taken to the sea in ships.

"I want you..." Lex croaked, seizing her fiercely by the arms and bruising her mouth with a punishing kiss. Callista was slender, but surprisingly strong. She broke away, knocking Lex on to the leather sofa behind him, panting heavily.

"You will not put your hands on me unless I will it." Callista snapped, the whites disappearing from her eyes until all that remained was opaque blackness. A small gasp from the doorway made her turn. Lana Lang stood in the doorway, her face pale, her eyes filled with tears.

"Goodbye, Lex." Callista said casually, patting him on the shoulder. "See you soon." Sliding into her jacket, she stopped beside Lana and smiled. "Don't be too hard on him, Princess. He's only a man, after all."

Lana searched Callista's face. "He, you…"

"Listen, angelfish, I'm just one of his potential conquests. I want something, and I'll get it before he gets what he wants. You'd do better to get rid of him or keep him on a very short leash." Callista shook her head. "Go on. Nothing happened. He's just as unsullied and pure as he was when I got here." She passed Lana, reading the other girl's mind effortlessly and without remorse. Lana Lang was in a state of emotional turmoil that Callista remembered well from painful experience. It would make the human girl stronger eventually, but right now, it was hell. Patting Lana's shoulder sympathetically, Callista strode from the office, a small smile playing on her lips.

If bliss could be consumed, Lori was sure that ice cream was the frozen form of the emotion. She moved the cold mouthful from side to side, her eyes, closed blocking out all other stimuli. The creamy chocolate slid across her tongue and then disappeared down her throat. It was then that the thoughts of the others began to surface in her mind, like fish rising to the smooth surface of a calm sea to take in air. Oliver was alwayspleasant to read, his thoughts colorful and tinged with good humor. His thoughts were only for Chloe. Chloe was harder, and Lori forced herself to bypass reading too deeply into the other girl's mind. The only time Lori had seen into Chloe's mind, she had seen pain, grief and heartbreak. It had consumed Lori, and she broke away, desperate to never feel that again. How Chloe lived with such a heavy weight on her soul, Lori did not know, but Chloe's smile was bright and big. Clark's thoughts did not reach her, and Lori opened her eyes. There he was, sitting across from her, eating his own ice cream and discussing environmental issues with Ollie. He had not noticed the intrusion into his thoughts. No one ever did.

"Hey, you okay? This ice cream is good, but…" Chloe looked over at Lori, concerned. "You look worried. One dish of ice cream won't keep your leather pants from fitting."

Chloe laughed and Lori cast her eyes down at her dish, the ice cream melting into a delicious puddle.

"I swim, so…" She caught an odd expression on the other girls' face, and protested. "Well, it is!"

Chloe blinked. "Is what?" The question was asked in a guarded way, and Lori covered her mouth. Too reckless. I've gotten too comfortable with her, Lori realized, I have to be more careful. She looked up at Chloe, who had put her spoon down, waiting.

"Good exercise." Lori replied, dipping her spoon into the manna again. "Swimming is good exercise."

"OH." Chloe nodded, raising an eyebrow. "Got it."

"What?" Lori asked, and Chloe shook her head, taking a large spoonful of her sundae. Clark and Oliver did not hear the conversation, in fact, Lori had suddenly put it into both of their heads that the girls had not spoken at all. She hated herself for it, for breaking her promise to Oliver for using her mental powers on him, but he would understand when she explained. Even without magic.

"Just going to put swimming on my workout schedule." Chloe laughed, and Lori sighed inwardly. I've forgotten that she is not one of us, Lori told herself. If I am not careful, soon I will have to make her hate me to protect my secret. Suddenly the ice cream was not so delicious any more. It had turned to sand in her mouth.

"Have you ever heard the legends of Atantis?" Lori asked Clark later, when they were alone. Oliver and Chloe had not come out to the lake, and Lori was glad. She had not let herself be completely alone with Clark, afraid to bewitch him. However, being away from him was awful, her music suffered and so did she. It was night, and the moonlight surrounded them, casting spells and shadows of it's own on the lakeshore.

"Atlantis? Sure." Clark replied, tossing a pebble into the lake, shattering the smooth surface. "It's not real, though."

"Not real." Lori nodded, repeating his answer. "People believe it was, that it's somewhere deep in the Atlantic Ocean."

"I suppose." Clark laughed. "Why, do you?"

"Believe in Atlantis? Oh yes." She smiled, seeing her home in her mind. "Peaceful, ancient and proud. I do. And I believe the Bermuda Triangle is a portal to the Kingdom of Atlantis. That's why airplanes and ships have such a hard time navigating near it."

Clark smiled back, admiring her beauty. Unlike any other girl he'd ever seen, Clark thought, going over the last few days in his mind. It was magical, and moving fast, yes, but he didn't care. After the intensity and misery of the last year, being with Lori was a relief. Lori was looking at the lake, studying it hard. She seemed very sad all of a sudden. "What's wrong?"

"Did you ever have a secret so big that it pressed down on your soul? That you were so out of place that even telling your secret might alienate you further?" Lori asked, looking at Clark intently. "Have you ever been afraid that the people around you would treat you differently if they knew?"

"Um, well, I think everyone feels that way sometimes." Clark replied neutrally. "It's part of being alive." He knew Chloe would never tell his secret, and Clark was also sure Oliver hadn't, but all the same, to tell Lori would mean a very large leap of faith, one Clark wasn't sure he was ready to take. All the same, he was tempted, and that instinct meant a great deal to Clark.

Lori nodded, drawing her knees up under her chin, wrapping her arms around her folded legs. "I suppose."

"You have a secret?" Clark asked, his voice worried and Lori sighed. "Lori, all you have to do is tell me…"

"I…" Lori looked at Clark, and she SAW, completely unbidden. She saw into his mind, his heart and his soul. Clark was not human, or simple, or without a secret of his own. Gasping, Lori rose. There was only one way to lose her power over him and also show Clark she was worthy of his trust. "I'm going for a swim." She twirled a finger. "Turn around."

Clark rose, and turned, arms folded, rolling his eyes. Lori stepped out of her pants and panties, and shed her jacket and blouse, leaving only her green bra. Silently, she darted toward the water and disappeared under the surface with a minimal splash. Lori swam to the center of the lake before Clark could turn around, reveling in the soft, salt free water. She breached the surface, pushing her hair back from her face. Clark was standing on the little dock, looking for her. Lori laughed a little and dove again, coming up near the dock.

"Come in, Clark. The water is perfect." She waggled a crooked finger at him, and he grinned, shucking off his boots and jeans in a twinkling, his shirt in less time than that. He dove, and Lori smiled indulgently. All land creatures dove the same way, thinking themselves graceful. She swam away, staying far from his sight, but still, when Clark reached the surface, he was not that far away.

"You're right." Clark made to come closer. "The water is perfect."

"Stay right there." Lori held up a hand, keeping her fingers closed. "I have to tell you something."

"And you couldn't tell me on the beach?" Clark asked, laughing, splashing at her.

"NO." Lori shook her head, praying he'd listen and believe her. "Clark, Atlantis is real. I know. I've seen it."

"Seen it. Yeah, okay." Clark laughed. "Chloe has this weird idea about you and your friends…."

"Chloe does?" Lori asked, panicked. "What does she think?"

"That you are all mermaids." Clark replied, smiling. "That's ridicu…" His smile faded along with his words as Lori brought her tail up out of the water, a shining, gilded tail that resembled a dolphins. It flashed in the moonlight, and Clark could not control his surprised expression. "Whoa."

"I had to tell you, Clark. If I didn't, eventually I could control you, make you do what I want. Now none of the others have any power over you." Lori said sadly, swimming closer. Clark could see her eyes now, luminescent and blue, with no whites at all. "It's why Ollie can be my friend, and the girls all flock to our shows. But I'm falling in love with you, and I can't let you think I'm anything other than what I am. I also don't want to think that your interest in me is because of my powers. It would be terrible. It would break my heart."

"How?" Clark said, taking her hands in his, looking at the delicate webs between each finger, translucent panels of skin. "Were you all always…."

"Was I spawned this way?" Lori asked, drawing her hand away. "Yes. I was."

"Your parents?" Clark asked, "Are they like you?"

"Yes." Her response was simple, tinged slightly with pain. "You feel differently about me now."

"No." Clark began, but she dove, a sob remaining behind as Lori disappeared. Clark went after her and found her sitting at the bottom of the lake, glowing slightly, sitting on the wreck of old man Richards' rowboat. A small school of trout had come to surround her, bobbing in the water soothingly, her glow sending dazzles from their scales. Her face was in her hands, her shoulders shaking. Clark, glad that he could hold his breath as long as he needed to, took her in his arms and pushed her hands from her face. Lori looked up at him, her skin moon pale in the water, but he could see the pain in her eyes.

:You see? I'm not human. I'm a freak..: Lori's voice was soft in Clark's mind. :I...it was tell you or go home…now I can stay, and not worry about making you feel anything for me. Ollie knew after I saved him from drowning; it's why he and I can be friends. My power over you is gone now too.:

:You don't need to have power over me, Lori.:Clark thought, her act of faith in him a more potent love charm than any she could have dreamed up. Lori's face brightened slightly, her glow becoming more pronounced. :I have something to tell you, too: He pointed up, and Lori nodded, both of them swimming to the surface.

"This is kinda neat." Oliver said, sitting on the fence in the Kent's yard. "I feel like a kid."

"Why?" Chloe asked, looking up at him. They had stayed back at the farm, Oliver wanting to see the little bull that he'd helped deliver. The creature snored loudly beside his mother, but Oliver didn't want to leave. He was quite content, his arm around Chloe, looking up at the moon.

"I haven't had this much fun doing nothing for a long, long time." He replied, smiling. "Can't last forever. Eventually, I'll have to go back to Seattle. As it is, I have to fly back there at the end of the week."

"Oh." Chloe looked down. "For how long?"

"A week, maybe two." Oliver said sadly. Chloe could feel him struggling a little. "I'll be back, though. My friend Hal called today. He's been up to his…well, I just have to get back."

"Hal. You mentioned him." Chloe nodded. "He's in trouble?"

"Not trouble, but he's been looking out for things while I'm here." Oliver pulled her close. "Come with me."

"With you?" Chloe blinked. "When? For this trip?"

"For this trip, forever. Whatever." Oliver sighed. "Not a marriage proposal, not after three weeks, Goldilocks, but I don't like the idea of never seeing you again."

"I just, well, I have my whole life here, in Metropolis, in Smallville." Chloe gasped, shaking her head. "My internship, school, my dad, Lois, everything."

"The Seattle Times is willing to honor whatever internship you have with The Planet." Oliver said matter of factly. "The University of Washington – Seattle is a great school, too. Your dad is an executive. There are hundreds of tech companies out there, he could get a job with one of those, or my company. And Lois," Oliver rolled his eyes. "Well, she does have some career aspirations, right?"

"You sound like the Seattle Board of Tourism." Chloe grinned, leaning against Oliver's broad shoulder. "I can't. That doesn't mean we won't see each other again. Lois is happy in her job, and so is Dad in his. You can't move everything, Oliver."

"Long distance relationship, huh?" Oliver nodded. "That's the best you can come up with?" He kissed her head, and sighed. "Whatever you want, Chloe. I'll do whatever you want. Just think of the frequent flyer miles we'll rack up." He grinned, good humor restored. "I'll be able to take that Hawaii vacation I've always dreamed of."

"You own a house in Hawaii, don't you?" Chloe asked, and Oliver laughed.

"I do. Hmmm. What will we do with all those miles?" Oliver jumped down from the fence and drew Chloe down into his arms. "It doesn't matter, Goldilocks. Long distance it is. I prefer close up, but for you, I'll settle for what I can get."

"You're talking like someone in love." Chloe whispered, and Oliver nodded slowly, his face solemn. Chloe had never seen him this way. Even running through Metropolis for their lives, he'd been intense, but this was different. His green eyes were soft, and Chloe felt like she could lose herself in them, forget everything to be with this man forever. Just the thought struck a chord deep within her that she didn't even realize existed. And she held her breath, because neither of them had ever mentioned 'love' before.

"I know that. I'm not proud of it, either." Oliver admitted. "I'm pretty level headed about this kind of stuff usually." He grinned, and Chloe let herself breathe again. "I'm not saying more than that, Chloe. I don't want to be without you. That's got to count for something."

"It counts for a lot." Chloe smiled, hugging him. "It counts for everything."

"Good." Oliver said into her hair. "No sense rushing these things." But Chloe looked up at him and she knew. Knew in the very certain way she knew she was meant to be a reporter. He loved her. Now she needed to be sure she loved him. Oliver deserved that and Chloe was pretty sure she did too.

Lori listened as Clark told her the story of his life, and she felt the goosebumps rise up on her arms as he told her about his home planet, and what he could do. Not human. Lori's mind struggled to process this information, her heart racing. A flicker of hope raced through her soul. She could feel his warmth beside her and Lori desperately wished he'd kiss her. And although she had lost her ability to mentally control him, Clark leaned over and kissed her anyway.

"That's it? Nothing else you want to tell me?" Lori said with a relieved smile, when the kiss broke. Shehugged Clark's large button down shirt around her. "Just an alien."

"An alien from an extinct planet." Clark said, correcting her gently, playing with a lock of her red-gold hair. "I'm the last of my kind." He looked up at the stars.

"How sad." Lori sighed, collecting him in her arms. "I have so many brothers and sisters…"

"How many?" Clark asked, and Lori grinned.

"Four from my spawning, but at least twenty others." She looked up at him. "Gisela is my sister."

"Ah." Clark felt her arms tighten around him,and was amazed at how naturally she seemed to fit in his embrace. From the minute she'd confessed her secret, he'd been able to think much more clearly where she was concerned, and was glad to realize that the feelings he'd been having for Lori were legitimate and completely a surprise. Lori had a way of making him feel strong and confident, but still kept him slightly off balance - in a good way. Different than Lana, different even from Chloe, Lori occupied her own space in his heart already. "Couldn't tell. Green hair. Is that natural?"

"No." Lori laughed. "Mother was not pleased. OH! Neptune's triton! Mother!" Lori stood pulling on her jeans, her tranquil mood disturbed. "I have to get back to Metropolis."

"I'll take you back." Clark stood, and picked her up in his arms. "Hold on."

"What are you going to do?" Lori laughed, "Run there?"

"I could take the truck." Clark grinned. "But, tonight, maybe we will run."

Gisela had poured the water into the silver basin, stirring it idly with a long finger. Lori would have a world of explaining to do, but that was her business. Gisela never questioned her older sister's judgment, and she wasn't going to start today. All the same, it wasn't like Lori to miss conversations with their mother, and Gisela suspected this new guy had something to do with it. Sitting and dreaming, Gisela did not hear the door open and the low pitched sound of men's voices. What woke her from her reverie was the blood curdling screech from Rowan and Morgaine's room. Running, Gisela picked up a small dagger from her nightstand and hurtled through the door. Four men stood in the hallway, tying the hands of the twins and stuffing their mouths with gags. Another shot them both with a tranquilizer gun, and the twins dropped limply to the ground.

"Unhand them, vandals." Gisela intoned, forgetting herself and speaking in Atlantean. "Your actions bring dishonor upon you all."

"Hey look, a foreign one." One of the kidnappers said, approaching. "Give me the knife, girlie and we won't hurt you or your pretty friends."

"You do not know what you are dealing with." Gisela said, in English, still intimidating. She brandished the knife, and heard Callista behind her fighting off two others with her double bladed staff. "We are daughters of the royal house…"

"Run! Gisela! Run!" Callista called in Atlantean. "Find Lori and tell her to stay away!" Gisela nodded, and threw her dagger, where it landed in the arm of one of the attackers. She turned and fled, her bare feet pounding on the floor. Rough hands grabbed her by the hair and jerked her down to the floor.

"Oh, pretty." The man who had received the dagger in the shoulder grinned at her dangerously. "Good with those blades, I'll tell you. But I'm better." He had the knife she had thrown at him in his hand.

"Not as good as I am with this." Callista snarled, her eyes opaque and black, her mouth stained with blood. She stepped out of the doorway, swinging her bladed staff. "Let her go." There was a quick hiss, and Callista fell to the floor, a tranquilizer dart in her left shoulder. Gisela tried to sing, but the man who held her pulled her by her long hair, making the tears flow, the song transformed into a yelp of pain. There was no song Gisela could sing to free herself and the others.

Another man came from the doorway, carrying a large book that Gisela recognized as one of Lori's. "This manuscript is 1,000 years old." He said, marveling. "It's in pristine condition. Looking Gisela over, the man nodded. "And how old are you?"

"By your calendar, seventeen." Gisela replied innocently. "Please, don't hurt us…"

"I'm not going to hurt you, dear. Two of my men are going to have a time explaining shark bites to the emergency room doctor, but I think we can all get along just fine." The man closed the book. "I'm Dr. Starke. I run Cadmus Labs. You're going to be staying with us awhile."

Gisela struggled, and spoke again in Atlantean, to the salt water fish in the tanks around the room. They in turn began to speak to each other, and to the others around the hotel. The warning and distress call had been sent.

Later, Dr. Starke met his guest at the door of the lab, wringing his hands. The girls had been submerged, and they had, as predicted reverted to their natural form, but they were not rallying from the tranquilizer as he'd hoped. One, the green haired one, wept at the bottom of her tank and another, dark haired and vicious had awakened violently angry. She'd been housed in a tank that had been designed for a great white shark when they were studying the effects of the green meteor rock on shark intelligence, but she had dismantled the ladder in an attempt to break through the pressure door.

"Mr. Luthor." Dr. Starke wiped his forehead with a fresh white handkerchief. "Your, eh, guests aren't quite responding to their new arrangements as well as we'd hoped. The twins are barely registering blood pressures in the lower end of normal for marine mammals, and their heart rates are virtually non-existent. The youngest one is unresponsive and only speaks to herself. But the one that worries me is the dark haired one. See for yourself." Starke flipped a switch and a monitor buzzed to life. Callista swam in angry circles, her beautiful face set in lines of rage Lex did not think possible. Her hands trailed blood behind her in the water, and Lex watched as the dorsal fin on the lower end of her tail breached the surface of the water. "She's been circling like that since she came out of the tranquilizer. It passed through her bloodstream unusually fast, and she nearly destroyed theiron ladders, trying to escape."

"Take me down." Lex said, his voice flat. Dr. Starke began to protest, and Lex turned to stare at the scientist coldly. "Dr. Starke, I don't expect to have to ask twice."

"No, no, Mr. Luthor, it's not that. I'll take you down, but I have to tell you, any increased agitation can't be good for them." Dr. Starke informed him. "If you are going to visit, I suggest you keep it short."

Lex nodded and followed the doctor down the stairs to where Callista's tank stood. The mermaid was definitely more terrifyingly beautifulin appearance thanLex could have imagined, her skin corpse pale and her eyes a relentless shining black. She stared at him balefully through the glass as she swam.

"Hello, Callista. I have to say, this is a very good look for you." Lex quipped, as Callista swam up to the glass and snarled at him. " I'm glad that glass is as thick as it is." He tapped on it and then pulled his hand back apologetically as she lunged toward him. "Oh that's right, your kind doesn't like that. Forgive me."

:Let the others go, Lex. If this is between you and I, let's keep it that way:

Callista's voice wound itself through his mind, slinky and seductive. :They're innocent:

"Innocent? The twins seduced a trusted employee to force him to ignore my explicit instructions. The younger one and her sister, your singer, are innocent, I'll grant you that, but they have a value all their own. And you," He reached up to touch the glass where her face was. "You, Callista, are simply too dangerous to release. Once I let you out, well there's just no telling what you'll do. Like try to give my girlfriend ideas of leaving me, for starters."

:You have no idea what you are playing with, Lex: Callista warned. :You really don't:

"That's what I want to find out, Callista. What exactly are you? Because I don't believe in fairy tales. Like you, I deal in realities." Lex smiled and Callista found her blood running very cold. In all of her years of fighting to defend her people and her world, never had she met such a one as Lex Luthor. Disgust plain on her pretty face, Callista swam away to the far corner of the tank, her mind a tangle of black and inky thoughts. His mind was a snarl worse than old fishing line, sharp and fatal.

Lex watched her swim away and then turned to look at the empty tank across from hers. This would be Lori's tank, one where he would study her ability to send subliminal messages through her songs. It had been discovered accidentally something Lex began to look into after Otis first brought the video of Callista to his attention. Remembering his mother's bedtime stories, Lex had Syren's cd analyzed. The reports were amazing, and Lex knew this ability had an application. Damn Oliver Queen for being so involved with this band that he didn't sell the crappy little label they recorded under. Lex was sure Queen knew and was too much of a boy scout to use the power these girls had to his advantage. I won't make that same mistake, Lex thought, walking up the metal stairs.

"Something is wrong." Lori said to Clark as they entered the lobby of the Metropolis Grand, moments after they had left Crater Lake. She walked to the large salt water tank in the lobby and pressed her face against the glass.

"Please, Miss Lemaris, the tank people have been called. You'd best stay away from the glass." One of the bell boys said, putting his hand on Lori's shoulder. "No sense agitating them more."

"Oh, right, of course." Lori looked at the tank and whispered to the fish. Immediately they seemed to calm down and Clark leaned over to talk into her ear.

"What's wrong?" He asked, and Lori shook her head,leaning back against him slightly.

:They've been kidnapped, Clark. My sister and the others. We have to find them. The existence of Atlantis depends on it.:

"Come on," Clark said,putting his arm around her as he looked around the lobby. "Let's get back to Smallville. Oliver may have some ideas."

Lori nodded mutely, and grasped Clark's hand, allowing her to lead him from the hotel. Neither of them noticed the chubby security guard who had watched their every move, and heard Clark's words as clearly as if Clark had been standing beside him. Otis smiled and took out his cell phone, dialing a number he knew extremely well.

"Mr. Luthor, I spotted the one you're looking for. She's with the guy you described. They're on their way back to Smallville." Otis nodded. "Yes, I heard it clear as a bell. And, Mr. Luthor, the fish in the tank she touched? All of them are calm now, acting normally again. It's like a miracle."

From his car, Lex nodded hearing this news. "Otis, you have no idea how glad I am to hear that. Look for a bonus tomorrow. Come to my office in the morning." Lex hung up the phone and turned his car toward Smallville.