With a somewhat regretful smile on her face, Alicia leaned back on her bed. Clark waited patiently, eyes intent. Part of him expected her to simply teleport away, but when she didn't he knew Alicia's days of running were over. When she'd first been released from Belle Reeve, she'd thought of getting away all the time, he knew. He'd felt the same after he inadvertently caused the death of his mother's unborn child. Running away had been easier. But he'd ultimately come back to face that demon. It wasn't something he would ever forgive himself for, but it was something he had learned to live with. A burden he had learned to accept. Freedom wasn't something you got just because you were released from a cell. It was also something you had to find for yourself.

"When you asked me about him before… back when we first met… that was the one thing I felt I couldn't tell you," she told him sadly. She screwed up her eyes as though fighting back tears. "The one secret I kept from you."

"You can tell me, Alicia. I need to know."

"I was so alone back then, Clark. You know I never let people get close to me, in case they found out what I could do. But it's hard to be like that all the time. Just for one moment I met a guy I thought I could have a normal relationship with."

"So you told him your secret," said Clark. That was something he'd never managed with anyone, not even Lana. Like Alicia, he'd always been too afraid. While he'd taken the decision to lie to the people closest to him, Alicia had chosen not to have anyone close to her at all. He couldn't imagine having to live that way.

"He didn't react very well. When I told him about it, he didn't believe me at first. So I showed him. And he freaked out. After that he ran off. I teleported over to his house and heard him almost tell Julia, his sister, about my abilities. I stopped him, threatened to hurt his family if he ever told anyone about me."

Her eyes were trying to gauge Clark's reaction. Clark realised then that Alicia was always waiting to be judged by other people, for her powers, for the things she had used them for. Here he was, the man she loved, and she expected him to hate her too. She'd threatened his family too once, but that was not the same girl that was sitting with him now.

"He got so angry then. He said a lot of hurtful things, and then he said he was going to tell not just his family, but the whole world about me. I got caught off guard, and he attacked me. While I recovered, he got in his truck and drove off to tell the police about what I was. So I teleported right into the front seat, startling him completely. He crashed into a tree. I wasn't hurt too badly, but he was dead on impact."

"Alicia…"

"I'm so sorry for what happened, but I can never put it right."

"It's all right," said Clark, taking her in his arms. "It was an accident."

"Maybe, but it was still my fault," she said, as Clark's hand brushed her cheek. "I don't understand, Clark. Don't you hate me?"

"I could never hate you. I love you," he said.

888

To hear Clark say those words meant everything to her. When she and Clark had almost slept together, during the time he was wearing the red meteor necklace, she'd told him she loved him. He'd replied: "I know how you feel." Which wasn't quite the same as saying he loved her, she knew. But now she had him here, all of him, and he knew the best of her and the worst of her. And he loved her. She lay against him, head pressed against his chest, feeling his heart pounding rhythmically.

"I could lie like this forever," she said as Clark kissed the top of her head.

"So could I, except I have a bit of an emergency."

"Someone in trouble?"

"Er, no. Actually, I have to use the bathroom."

Forcing herself to sit up, she smiled reproachfully at him.

"And I was just getting comfortable, too!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not sure how comfy you'd be if I wet myself."

Wrinkling her nose, Alicia giggled.

"Clark Kent, you know just what to say to a girl."

888

"So Luthor won't remember anything?" David asked, pacing around nervously.

"No, it's just as you wanted," replied Mikhail.

"Why haven't we heard anything about Alicia yet?"

"It seems likely that they failed," admitted Mikhail.

David slammed his fists against the table. Getting Mikhail on board had been difficult. The man's powers were terrifying in terms of potential. That was why he'd made sure to have a way of controlling the man. Before restoring his powers, he'd worked out how to take them away again. Sharing the secret with a select few just to be sure. But he still had to be very careful not to push Mikhail too far.

"I thought you were on top of things."

"We'll do better next time."

"This is all getting too dangerous. Let's get Lex out of here. After that, we're going to destroy this place."

"A bit drastic, don't you think?" said the youth calmly. Of course, he didn't share David's own view that all freaks should be wiped out. And David was not stupid enough to share this view with him.

"Got to be done. And I know just the way to do it… and how to take care of Alicia once and for all."