AUTHOR'S NOTE Sorry for the delay! I hope the characters here aren't too OOC. I tried to make them as in character as possible. Also, what Lex is talking about with being the new Smallville villain is the whole thing about his plant at the end of season one. This story takes place between "Vortex" (the aftermath of the tornadoes) and "Heat" (the one where Clark gets his heat vision). I'm choosing to ignore that whole thing in "Heat" about Lex's crazy fiancé.

Thanks as always to my beta Lauren!

DISCLAIMER JK Rowling and whoever owns Smallville on these characters, not me, as usual.

It took Cho awhile to even get to a house. And much to her wonder, it was not a house so much as a stone castle worthy of an English moor. Cautiously, she approached the gate and peered through the bars. There was no one around. The castle looked fairly deserted.

"Alohamora," she whispered and slipped through the gate. Dusk was deepening, but she was afraid to ignite the tip of her wand for fear of being seen. Even so, it wasn't hard to find the front door of the massive mansion as the driveway was softly lit by a glow streaming through the stained glass windows.

The front hall was huge. Nothing like Hogwarts of course, but more impressive than any home she'd ever seen. She smirked. 'I bet it's even bigger than the Malfoys!'

For a house as obviously expensive as this one, it certainly was not guarded well. Or at all. "So where are all the people?" she muttered to herself as she picked a hallway and wandered down it.

"They're watching you on the closed-circuit surveillance system."

Cho spun around at the voice, hiding her wand in her sleeve. "Who're you?" she asked.

He laughed wryly. "I could ask you the same question. I live here. You don't. Now, you want to tell me what you're doing sneaking around my mansion?"

Cho felt her face burn. The man standing before her was a muggle, but he was powerful nonetheless. He was dressed in a sophisticated suit and, although he looked close to her age, he was completely bald. And his stare was not all that friendly. "Well?" he pressed.

"I'm lost," she said lamely.

He raised an eyebrow. "In my foyer?"

"I'm new in town."

He walked toward her. "I can see that." A ghost of a smile played on his lips. "Thing about a town called Smallville, you tend to know everyone."

Cho relaxed a little. "I bet."

The man paused at a doorway and beckoned her inside. "I'm pretty convinced you aren't here to rob me, so why don't you come in and sit down?" Noticing her hesitation, he added, "I insist."

After a moment, she replied, "All right."

The room he led her to actually resembled Ravenclaw's common room back at Hogwarts. Awkwardly, she sat down. Her host crossed to a decanter of liquor set on one of the tables. "Would you like a drink?" he asked. She shook her head. He shrugged and poured only one for himself. "You never did tell me who you were."

Cho lifted her chin defiantly. "Neither did you."

He laughed. "Well I don't know about where you're from, but around here it's usually the person breaking in who answers the questions."

Angry at how flustered this stranger made her, Cho replied, "I didn't break in."

"Of course." He nodded, humoring her. "I just left my front gate open, which I've never done before, and you wandered in because you were lost. How could I ever doubt you?"

She was blushing again. "I really am new in town," she offered.

"Oh, I don't doubt that." He settled himself into a leather chair. "Anyone who lives here would know better than to skulk around my house."

"Why?"

He looked at her strangely. "Why? I'm Smallville's new supervillain," he answered mockingly. "I've been shunned my whole life. Here isn't any different." A look of comprehension swept across his face. "Do you know who I am?" he suddenly asked.

Cho shook her head. "Should I?"

"No, it's somewhat refreshing to meet someone who doesn't. I'm Lex Luthor." Lex watched her closely for a reaction to his name at least, but there was none. Instead, he smiled. "Now do I get to know your name?"
"Oh! Sorry." But Cho paused. What was her real name? She remembered the name her birth parents had given her, but it didn't mean anything. Finally, she said, "I'm Cho Chang."

"Well Cho Chang, what are you doing here in Smallville?" Lex asked. "Judging from your accent, I'd say that you're pretty far from home."

Cho smirked humorlessly. "Actually I am home."

Lex looked confused. "You want to explain that one?"

She stood up and begain pacing restlessly. "It has recently been brought to my attention that I was adopted when I was a child. My parents were from here. I came back to find them."

Lex stood to join her. "Wow. That's a lot to handle all of a sudden. Your parents never told you?"

Shaking her head, Cho replied, "No. I suppose they never felt the need."

"That's rough."

She nodded. "So now I'm here waiting to knock on my real parents' door. Only trouble is, I don't know which door to knock on."

Lex looked thoughtful. "I'm sure I could help you find them. I know pretty much everyone in this town, even if most of them don't like me." Cho cracked a smile. "What's the name?" Lex asked.

Cho shrugged. "Don't know."

"And therein lies the problem," Lex finished. He thought for another minute, then smiled. "Well I can't help you, but I know someone who probably can."

Doubtfully, Cho asked, "Who?"

"A couple that has a farm just outside of town. Their son is adopted. They might know how to track down your biological parents."

She smiled. "That sounds great. What's their name?"

"Jonathan and Martha Kent," Lex replied.

"Okay, great."

An awkward silence fell between them. Finally, Lex said, "You should probably get going. Don't want it to get too late."

"Yeah." Cho nodded. "Right."

Lex led her back to the front door and gave her directions to the Kent farm. "Let me know how everything turns out."

She smiled nervously. "Okay. I'll, uh, see you around."

"Sure." Lex watched her make her way down the dark driveway. It did not occur occur to him until just after she had disappeared to call out, "Hey, do you want a ride?"

But he was met with the sound of a small pop and then silence. He stood there for a moment before shrugging and heading back inside.

…

Jonathan Kent descended the stairs of his family's old farmhouse to see his wife hanging up the phone. "Who was that, sweetheart?"

Martha turned and answered, "Lex." She ignored her husband's sour look and added, "He wanted to give us a head's up."

"About what?"

"He sent a friend of his over. She's adopted and searching for her birth parents here in Smallville," she explained.

"Really," Jonathan said as he entered the kitchen. "And why did Lex feel the need to send her here?"

Martha sighed. "Probably because we have an adopted son. Really Jonathan, Lex isn't as bad as you'd like him to be."

"He investigated Clark!"

"And all he's doing now is trying to help a friend find her family," Martha said soothingly. "Please don't take your feelings toward Lex out on her."

There was a knock on the front door before Jonathan could answer. "That was fast," Martha commented as she went to answer the door.

Cho fidgeted nervously as she waited on the Kents' doorstep. She wasn't sure exactly what put her on edge. Maybe it was being around so many muggles. Of course, being around Lex made her nervous in a whole different way, but she was trying not to think about that.

The door finally opened. Cho smiled. "Hi. You must be Mrs. Kent?"

The red-haired woman stared at her open-mouthed for a minute before finally saying, "Uh, yes. And you must be Cho. Please come in."

Cho walked timidly into the farmhouse and sat at the kitchen table when invited. Mrs. Kent immediately excused herself and retreated to the living room, leaving Cho alone with Mr. Kent. Mr. Kent too seemed to be shaken by the sight of her. "So, uh, what do you know about your birth parents?" he asked.

"Nothing really," she admitted. "Except that they lived in Smallville when I was little."

"That's all?" he pressed.

"And that they threw me away to be adopted by an abusive Englishman," Cho added wryly. She did not see the sharp, distraught look that passed between Mr. and Mrs. Kent. "Do you know anything about tracking down birth parents? Has your son ever tried to find his?"

"No," Mr. Kent said immediately. "We, uh, we think they're dead."

Cho sobered. "I'm sorry. For your son, I mean, uh, not that…" She let her voice trail off awkwardly.

They sat in silence. Mrs. Kent did not return from the kitchen. Finally Cho stood up. "I'm sorry, I'm taking up your time." Hastily, she made for the door.

Mr. Kent followed, clearly as eager for her to leave as she was to be gone. "I'm sorry we couldn't be more help," he said. "Good luck in your search."

"Thanks." Cho practically raced down the stairs as soon as she heard the door of the farmhouse close behind her. She did not Apparate, instead choosing to walk. 'Although the last time I did that,' she mused. 'I got kidnapped by Voldemort's psycho foster-daughter.'

There was another house down the road. Cho headed for the lights almost instinctively. Something about the way the Kents had looked at her was deeply unsettling. They looked afraid of her.

'Maybe they could tell I'm a witch?' she thought. 'No, that's impossible.' A muggle would never have been able to discover a witch just by looking at them and a squib or another witch or wizard would not be afraid.

Nights in Smallville were loud, between the night birds calling and the crickets chirping. Nevertheless, Cho heard a screen door slam and turned around to see a dark-haired woman standing on the porch of the house she had been walking by. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Not unless you know how to find lost parents," Cho muttered.

The other woman frowned. "Lost parents?"

"Don't worry about it," Cho said and smiled. "Sorry to interrupt your evening."

The woman came slowly down the stairs. "No bother. I'm Nell. Who is it exactly that you're looking for?"

Cho sighed but stopped for a moment and resigned herself to the conversation. "I'm looking for my parents. But I haven't been here for many years. I'm not even sure where to look."

Nell frowned and beckoned Cho to come closer to her. "Come here. Let me see you in the light. Maybe you look like your parents. I know pretty much everyone in Smallville. I've lived here all my life…" Her voice trailed off as the light fell on Cho's face and she did not speak for a long moment. Then she whispered, "Liza?"

Hearing her name triggered a new memory. Cho cocked her head and stared into Nell's eyes, then smiled slightly. "Aunt Nell. I guess I'm home."