A/N: All right, so we now all know that this is a Smallville/X-Men crossover, so we can all stop pretending that we don't... :) Anyway, congrats to Miss Kryptonite for being my first reviewer for this story! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter, and I'd like to know how many of you can recognize the guy that Chloe meets!

Chapter 2: Searching

They watched cautiously from the barn as the large black jet landed in the field near the house. Clark had given them their instructions just moments before. Stall them until we leave. Lana turned to Lex. "How easy do you think it'll be to keep them here?"

"I have no idea. Let's just hope that none of them is a mind reader."

The ramp to the aircraft lowered to the ground, and a small team stepped out. They were a strange-looking group, to say the least. Though most of them appeared normal, there were some who you could tell were mutants. There were maybe six of them altogether, two of which were female, and they all wore uniforms composed entirely of black leather. The older woman, obviously their leader, took in her surroundings before climbing the fence and walking toward them.

"Lex Luthor?" she said as she came up to them, the rest of the team trailing behind her. "I'm Ororo Munroe. We spoke on the phone."

Juggling her research papers in one hand and an overfull mug of hot coffee in the other, she didn't see him walk right in front of her. Oddly, he didn't seem to see her, either. As they collided, the hot liquid sloshed out of her mug and splashed her hand, causing her to drop both the mug and her load of papers in surprise.

When he bent down to help with the now-soggy pages, she finally noticed him. They both apologized several times, and the phrase "I didn't see you there" was a frequent choice of words.

Finally, she got a good enough look at him to recognize him. He was the new transfer student at Smallville High. "I believe proper introductions are in order," he said as he helped her up. "Hi, I'm Alex Blanding."

"Chloe Sullivan." She smiled as she shook his outstretched hand. "Thanks for the save. You're the new transfer student, aren't you?"

He smiled rather sheepishly. "Guilty as charged, I'm afraid." He ran a hand through his short, blonde hair. "I'm not sure how to say this without it sounding forward, but since I'm kinda new around here, maybe you could give me the tour? You know, show me around, keep me from bumping into anyone else by accident?"

"I think I can manage something like that," she laughed. "But only if you'll buy me another cappuccino."

The cave was only dimly lit by the sunlight filtering between the few cracks in the stone ceiling. The sound of dripping water could be heard echoing back and forth against the walls, while a cool breeze flowed through the twisting tunnels and rock formations. It was peaceful, if not completely silent.

The Phoenix ran her hand along one of the many ancient paintings on the wall. They'd begun their search in the woods above the cavern before descending into the darkness, and as they searched she told him everything.

"After Liberty Island, everything changed," she was saying now. "My powers seemed to be increasing exponentially. I tried to control it, and for the most part I think I succeeded. But then there was Alkali Lake…"

Clark took the opportunity to scan the immediate area with his x-ray vision. "What happened at Alkali Lake?" he prodded when she didn't continue.

"The dam burst. The jet had lost power. They were all going to die. I had to save them." She paused again to examine one of the paintings, continuing on in a distracted tone. "I should have died that day. But I didn't. And when I woke up… she was in control."

The drawing she had stopped in front of, he noticed, was one resembling two men with streams of fire shooting from their eyes. "Why did Lionel Luthor mistake your boyfriend for me?"

"He didn't tell you?"

"He told me that he was like me, and that we get our energy from the sun, or something like that. But I thought I was the only one of my kind left."

"You may be the only one of your kind left, but he is not the only one of his." She pointed to the drawing. "See that circle? It represents the sun. The Phoenix Operation was based largely on the old Native American legends of a man named Naman coming down from the stars in a rain of fire, who would eat our sun and shoot its fire from his eyes." She indicated the two figures in the drawing. "The legend also told of another who would also eat the sun and shoot its fire from his eyes. But he is clearly not Naman, for only Naman has the strength of ten men." Here she pointed to another drawing farther down the wall, this one of the first figure lifting many smaller figures.

"Wait, start over. I'm confused. What does any of this have to do with your boyfriend?"

She smiled at his remark and placed a hand on the drawing. "He's a mutant, one with a rather unique power. He absorbs solar energy and converts it into a concussive force, which emanates from his eyes. For this reason, Luthor was not sure at first whether he was the alien, or if it was you."

There was silence between them for a few moments as Clark continued to stare at the drawing. "What's that smudge down there?"

"It's a bird engulfed in flames. A phoenix." She sighed, but whether in frustration at his apparent lack of perception, or in some unseen pain, he couldn't tell. "It's me."

A slight sound in the following silence caught his attention. "Did you hear that?" She shook her head, glancing around the cave. Turning away, he wandered down the dark tunnel, waiting for the sound to come again. The sunlight, he noticed, was much scarcer in this area, the cracks being several feet apart.

He had gone about twenty paces before he heard it again, much closer. Something was moaning in the darkness. "There's someone here!" he shouted over his shoulder. Peering into the shadows between two rocks, he saw it. It was a sight he didn't think he'd ever forget from his short time at the lab. A small reddish gleam, like a tiny flame flickering in the dark, fighting to stay alive while the shadows around it threaten to snuff it out. A quick scan with his x-ray vision confirmed it. There was someone there.

Before he knew it, the Phoenix was there, reaching in to pull the disheveled figure out of the darkness. If possible, he looked even worse than when Clark had last seen him. "Wha' are you doin' here?" he choked as she half-dragged him out of his dismal corner.

"Looking for you." She held him close for several moments, almost afraid to let go lest he disappear again. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, hear?" He nodded, shivering in her embrace. "Clark, help me get him outside."

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review!