The sign on the wall read Rooms 200-220 as Chloe and Clark reached the second floor. They came to a stop outside a large, grey door. Through a small glass window at the top they could make out several numbered doors stretching down a long corridor.

"This is it." Chloe said, pointing at a keypad mounted on the wall beside the door. "But it's a locked unit—we need a code to get through."

Before Chloe had time to devise a plan, Clark squinted, shooting a concentrated beam of heat at the keypad. The unit began to shake and smoke and an acrid smell filled the air. The little light at the top turned from red to green and there was a sound of the door unlocking, seconds before the cover popped off exposing scorched and sparking wires.

Chloe grabbed the handle and turned easily. "Thanks."

They made their way down the quiet hallway until they found the door marked 210. Clark reached for the handle; it was locked as he had expected, and he twisted it until he heard a loud snap and it fell off into his palm. They pushed open the door into a small, square room. It was dim, but through the moonlight coming in from the tiny window they could make out a figure in the corner, perched on a bed. It was a young man—thin, almost sickly looking, with wild hair and haunting eyes.

"If you came for Peter—you're too late. They already took him."

"No." Clark shook his head. He looked to the other side of the room where he saw an empty bed. "I don't know who Peter is, but we're here to help you. Are you Austin Davis?"

"Help me?" He laughed cynically. "Who are you and what do you want?"

Chloe stepped forward. "I believe you wanted to tell me your story."

His eyes darted to her and his demeanor softened dramatically. "Chloe Sullivan?"

Chloe nodded, walking even closer. "Are you the same Austin Davis that's been calling me?"

"Yes—yes I am. How did you find me?"

"I have my ways." Chloe smiled and took a look around the room; there were a few broken pieces of plastic scattered about the floor and the empty bed across from his seemed to have been ransacked. "Is everything alright? When you last called you sounded like you were in trouble?"

"The guards—or should I say Lex's stooges—came to take my roommate away." He pointed at the empty bed. "He had special abilities. I knew it was only a matter of time before they found out and took him." He paused for a moment, his expression grim. "Just like they did with so many others."

Chloe tentatively took a seat on the edge of the bed next to him. She was curious to find out more about his roommate, but there were bigger issues to resolve. "You say you worked at 33.1?"

Austin nodded. "Yes. After college I was recruited—told it was a top level medical research job for the government—and that it would be highly classified. I soon found out why it was classified," His voice broke with emotion. "Because if anyone knew the atrocious things that happened there."

Clark stepped forward slowly. "What did you do?"

Chloe felt the mattress springs bounce under her as he jumped up from the bed. "I did experiments on people with so called special abilities—specifically the meteor infected." Austin answered. "My job was to gather the DNA of the patients," He rolled his eyes and began to pace up and down the space like a caged animal. "And compare it to those of normal humans. Things like sequences, looking for mutations and such. There was a whole lab of us with one goal—to map the genetic blueprint of those with abilities." He ran a trembling hand through his hair, shaking his head. "I personally never had much contact with them, except for taking samples, but the things I saw—"

"Like what?" Clark and Chloe chorused.

He stopped moving long enough for them to see his face lose the little color it had left. "Experiments—more like torture. Stuff right out of the Middle Ages. And always Lex Luthor right there to orchestrate it all." He began pacing again. "By the time I'd realized what was really going on it was too late—I was trapped."

Chloe inched forward, studying him closely. "You were being held against your will?"

"In a way. The first time I tried to leave they threatened my family, and knowing what they were capable of, I couldn't risk it. So I stayed."

"Then how did you end up in Belle Reeve?" Clark asked.

"A few weeks ago I decided I couldn't take it any more. I made sure my family was safe and then tried to escape. When they caught me they sent me here." He began waving his hands erratically, speaking in rapid fire. "A fate worse than death—locked away with the insane. If I ever got out, my credibility would be shot. My story reduced to the delusional ramblings of a madman. But they didn't know I had this." He stopped and went over to his bed, squatting down to reach underneath it. His hand searched around for a moment before there was the sound of tape ripping and he pulled out a small device, placing it in Chloe's hand.

"It's a Flash drive."

"Yes, and the information on there should be more than enough to lock Lex up for many, many years."

Chloe stared at the tiny device in her hand and Clark came over to get a closer look. She looked up into Austins face—he seemed genuine—but she couldn't help wonder if his story was too good to be true. So many times before Chloe had thought she was on the trail to cracking her story only to be hit with a dead end. If it turned out that the Flash drive in her hand did contain incriminating evidence against Lex, it could be just the break she needed. "How did you get this?" She asked suspiciously.

"Another employee. One who was too afraid to run."

"What happened to you the first night," Clark piped up. "When you never showed up?"

Austin turned to him. "Well, I'd been planning an escape for a while now," He explained. "Word here is that certain guards will leave a door accidentally unlocked for a price. The first night I called I was planning on making my escape, but plans fell through. I was waiting till it was safe to call back and explain when," He gestured to the broken plastic chards on the floor. "The cell phone I'd snatched off a guard got trampled in the commotion. I thought I'd lost my chance—so imagine my surprise when you showed up tonight." He turned back to face Chloe, his eyes full of anticipation.

"There's one more thing I am curious about," Chloe asked, still looking at the Flash drive in her hand. "Why did you choose to contact me?"

Austin smiled. "I didn't think you two would remember me. I went to Smallville High."

Chloe and Clark exchanged surprised looks.

"I graduated two years ahead of you and was an avid reader of The Torch. Through the alumni newsletters I read you were working for The Daily Planet. So I took a chance. If anyone would be willing to help me and believe in my story—it would be you."

Chloe smiled; she had so many more questions to ask, but before she could get the opportunity the silence was broken by the sound of footsteps pounding up the hallway, and voices shouting to each other.

"I saw them go this way on the security cam!"

"There—down that hallway! A door is open!"

Clark and Chloe looked at each other—they had been caught. Chloe searched the room anxiously for a place to hide, but there was none. "We need to get out of here." She tucked the precious device into her pocket and jumped up. "Come on," She grabbed Austin by the arm, pulling him towards the door. "You're coming with us."

The three of them dashed out of the door, charging down the hallway towards an emergency exit. The voices of the guards behind them grew louder with each step.

"Hey—you three! Stop right there!"

Clark made it to the door first, slamming it open as Chloe and Austin followed. When it shut Clark took a step back, shooting a beam of heat onto the door handle until it began to glow bright red.

"What the?!" Austin exclaimed, stunned.

"Come on," Chloe grabbed his arm, pulling him along as she descended down the stairs. "Not every person with special abilities is locked up."

Clark peered out the small window on the door, watching as the guards ran up towards it. One of them reached out to grab the handle; his hand jerked back and he immediately yelped. "Shit! The damn thing is on fire!" He shook his hand and stomped the ground furiously.

The second guard spoke into his walkie talkie. "Yeah—we found the girl who attacked Ted. She and a second accomplice—male—are escaping down the second floor emergency stairwell with a patient in tow. Repeat a patient in tow."

" Clark," Chloe whined, looking up at him from a few steps below. "Let's go." Clark didn't hesitate and the three of them ran down the flight of stairs till they reached the first floor landing.

"That—that was amazing what you did back there." Austin stammered, looking back at Clark with admiration.

Chloe brushed past them and looked out the first floor doors window; guards were making their way up the hall towards them. " Clark, I think we need to find another way out."

Clark smiled. "Well, if ya thought what I did back there was great," He smiled at Austin. "You'll love this." He squinted once more, aiming his heat vision towards the ceiling until it started to smoke. After a moment a high pitched alarm went off and the sprinklers from the ceiling started spraying everything with water.

The guards outside stopped in their tracks. "We have a Code Red! Repeat Code Red!" They chanted into their walkie talkies and took off back down the hallway in the opposite direction.

Clark threw open the door. "Wow—" Austin cried as they sprinted down the hallway. "Is that all you can do?"

"You'd be surprised." Clark yelled over his shoulder.

They ran past the empty nurse's station, water pelting everything in sight, and out into the lobby where the receptionist was yelling frantically into her phone. "No, I called the police! No everything is under control—" Her eyes lifted to see Chloe as she ran past, trying to keep upright as her wet shoes slid across the sleek marble. "Hey! You! What are you doing?!?"

The three ignored the women's cries and ran out into the night. "Come on," Chloe yelled breathlessly. "My car's right over here." She whipped her keys out as they ran through the parking lot. When she came to a stop next to her car she turned to see Clark by her side, but Austin was a few steps behind, looking at them warily. "Come on Austin." She urged.

"I can't." He said. "It's too dangerous. You've already gone through enough to help me, I can't—"

"Don't be silly." Chloe tried to assure him. "You have to come with us. We can find a safe place for you. You can help bring Lex down."

He shook his head and took a step backwards. The sound of sirens struck up in the distance and he glanced over his shoulder. "I've already given you everything you need—so use it well."

"But—" Chloe argued.

"Thank you for all that you've done. I'll be watching for your story." He waved and turned to run off down the street, ducking into the shadows. The sirens grew louder and Chloe felt Clark grab her arm.

"Come on Chloe."

She said nothing, reaching inside her pocket to make sure the device was still there. Her fingers found it and she nodded her head, lunging for the car.