AUTHOR'S NOTE Sorry I haven't posted in a while! Next time won't be so long, I promise!

Big thank you, as always, to my ever-patient beta Lauren.

DISCLAIMER Don't own anyone.

Jonathan closed the door with a heavy hand. He turned to Martha, who looked at him blankly. "Tell me that didn't just happen," she begged. "Please."

He sighed and nodded. "I wish I could. I think that was really her, Martha." He crossed to her and held her close to him.

Years of pain came rushing back and Martha broke down in tears. "She thinks they didn't want her," she cried. "She thinks they threw her away."

Jonathan held her comfortingly. The kitchen door banged open and, moments later, their son Clark appeared behind them. "Mom?" he asked immediately. "What's wrong?"

Martha didn't answer. Clark looked to his father for help. "Come into the living room, son," he said. "There's something we have to tell you."

Clark followed them nervously. "What's going on?" he asked. "Is everyone alright? No one's in the hospital or anything, are they?"

"No," Jonathan answered.

He paled. "Did someone else find out about me?"

"No, Clark," Martha said, drying her eyes.

Clark breathed a sigh of relief. "Then what is it?"

Jonathan and Martha shared a look. "Clark, there's something we need to tell you about Lana," Martha finally said.

Apprehension clouded their son's face. "What about Lana?"

Jonathan took a deep breath. "Six years before Lana was born, Mr. and Mrs. Lang had a first child. A daughter." Clark looked surprised. "Her name was Liza."

"What? Why hasn't Lana ever said anything about her?" Clark asked.

"Lana never knew her," Martha answered. "When Laura, Lana's mother, was pregnant with her, Liza was kidnapped on the night before her seventh birthday."

"Oh my God," Clark said softly. "Did they ever find her?"

Martha shook her head sadly. "After a few years, the official report gave her up for dead. And then after the meteor shower, Nell had a funeral service for Liza along with her parents. She never spoke of her again."

Clark was quiet for a long moment. "Does Lana even know about her?"

Martha smiled. "Oh yes. That fairy princess costume that Lana used to wear actually belonged to Liza. Her parents used to tell her about Liza all the time. They never gave up hope that she was alive."

Getting up from the couch, Clark paced around the room. "Why are you telling me this now? What's going on?"

His parents shared a look again. "Clark, did you see anyone leaving the house before you came in?" Jonathan asked.

Clark shook his head. "No, why?"

"A girl came here tonight, searching for her parents," Martha answered, her voice low. "It was Liza."

"What?" Clark exclaimed.

"After all this time, she finally came home," Martha said.

"This is great!" Clark smiled. "Lana will be so happy!"

Jonathan stood and put a hand on his son's arm. "Not so fast. Liza hasn't been in Smallville very long."

"What are you talking about? She spent the first six years of her life here."

Martha joined them. "What your father means is that it didn't sound like Liza knows anything about what's happened since the night she was taken. The meteor shower, her parents, she's even calling herself a different name."

Clark sank back down on the couch. "Oh wow. Poor girl." He jumped up again. "I should go warn Lana! Who knows how she'll take this?"

Jonathan had to grab his arm again. "Son, I don't think we should get involved. This is a family matter between Lana and her sister."

Clark looked reading to argue, but after a moment, sighed and nodded. "You're probably right. I just wish I could be there for her."

"You can be, just not right now." Jonathan squeezed his shoulder. "Don't stay up too late. You've got to help me fix that south fence first thing in the morning."

…

Nell had ushered Cho inside before disappearing up the stairs. Cho thought she heard her crying. She could not sit still, so she began exploring the dining room.

There were pictures everywhere. The framed photograph in the center of the mantelpiece brought tears to Cho's eyes. Gently, she took it down and stared at the young happy couple. "Mum," she whispered. "Dad. What happened? Why did you throw me away?"

Since the first night that she broke the memory charm, many more images and feelings pertaining to her parents had surfaced. Above all, she knew that they loved her and that made the knowledge that they'd given her up all the more painful.

She put the photograph back and looked at the next one. It was of a pretty teenaged girl with Nell. "The baby," Cho said with a sad smile. "A little sister."

There was another picture, this one of her parents and a little girl who must have been her sister when she was a child. And then finally there was one of Cho as a little girl and her parents. Cho picked it up and held it close to her. Somewhere upstairs, Nell was hiding still. Cho knew it would be a long time before she came down. But she was not prepared to turn and see a girl who could only be her sister glaring furiously at her.

"Who are you?" she raged before Cho could say anything. "What are you doing with that picture?" She flew across the room and snatched the frame away.

"Calm down!" Cho finally said. She grabbed the picture back. "This is mine!"

"Like hell it is! Get out of my house!" the girl snarled.

Cho laughed dryly. "Of course I get a brat for a sister. I guess it was my fault for wishing it. This is my house too!"

But the girl had stopped fighting, a look of frozen disbelief on her face. When she found her voice again, she whispered, "Liza?"

"That was my name once," Cho said harshly. "Who are you?"

"I'm Lana," she said. "Your sister!" She as though she was about to hug her, but Cho stepped back. "Where have you been all these years?"

Cho narrowed her eyes. "Why don't you ask Mum and Dad? They're the ones who put me up for adoption."

All the happiness drained out of Lana's face. "What?" she asked, horrified.

"What, can't believe our perfect parents would do that?" Cho bit out. "I suppose they didn't want to deal with two kids, so I got the short end of the broom."

"Liza, what are you talking about?" Lana asked in a small voice.

"Don't call me that!" Cho shouted. "My name is Cho Chang!" She struggled to hold back tears. "So are they around?" she asked. "Good old Mum and Dad?"

Lana was crying. "Why are you saying these things?"

"I want to meet them face-to-face so I can ask them why they threw me away!" Cho cried.

Lana looked her straight in the eye, her eyes flashing. "You want to meet them face-to-face?" she asked coldly. "Fine. Follow me." With that, she spun on her heel and marched out the door. Wordlessly, Cho threw the photograph on the couch and followed.

…

The night was nearly pitch black, but Lana seemed to know exactly where she was going. Every once and a while the moon broke through the clouds, saving Cho from a few rather embarrassing falls.

She was so intent on watching the ground that she really was not paying attention to where Lana was leading her. Finally her sister halted and looked at her rather violently. "Well, here we are," she said. "Here are good old Mom and Dad."

Every ounce of hurt and anger drained away when Cho looked down and saw a double gravestone at her feet. Laura and Lewis Lang – Liza Lang's parents – where buried right where she stood. She opened her mouth a few times, unable to speak. "They're…"

"Dead," Lana said stoically. She pointed to the date. "October 16, 1989. The day of the meteor shower."

"What meteor shower?" Cho asked softly.

Lana looked up at her, genuine surprise in her eyes. "There was a massive meteor shower that hit Smallville just before I turned three. Mom and Dad left me with Nell while they went to the Homecoming game." Lana's voice had grown far away and soft. "I was wearing your fairy princess costume. They pulled up across the street and waved to me." Tears sparkled in Lana's eyes as she gazed at the gravestone. "A meteor slammed into their car right in front of me. They were both killed instantly."

"I don't know what to say," Cho whispered.

Lana took a shaky breath. "Nell held a triple funeral, for them and for you."

A little flare of anger rose in Cho's throat. "She hated me so much that she declared me dead?"

"We thought you were dead!" Lana cried. "Liza, or Cho, or whoever you are, our parents never gave you away!"

"And how exactly did I end up in England?" Cho asked.

Lana's eyes filled with pity. "You really don't remember, do you?" She put a hand on Cho's shoulder. "You were kidnapped out of your bedroom two months before I was born."

Cho shook her head and pulled away. "You're lying."

"You were just about to turn seven," Lana insisted.

"No."

"It's true."

Cho started to cry. "How would you know? You weren't even born!"

Lana grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the tombstone. "Because Mom and Dad never gave up the idea that you were alive! They told me about you every day from the day I was born until the day they died! They always thought you'd be found or come home one day." Another tear slipped down her cheek. "They were right."

Cho did not know what to say, so she did not say anything. Her early memories were still coming back to her, so what Lana said could be true. Then Lana looked at her so painfully that it was clear she was laying her heart out as she said, "When I was little, my best friend died in front of my eyes because I wasn't brave enough to rescue her from drowning. I let another of my friends get hit by a car. My boyfriend just left to join the marines and I may never see him again! But none of that hurts as much as the fact that I lost my big sister before I even got a chance to know her."

Cho choked back a sob. "Lana…"

"Liza, don't leave me again," Lana whispered.

The rest of Cho's strength crumbled as she collapsed in Lana's arms. The sisters sank to the ground beside their parents' graves, hugging each other and crying.

…

Just as the sun broke over the cornfields the next morning, the future got a whole lot darker for the town of Smallville. Just outside the gates of the Luthor mansion, Bellatrix Lestrange and a handful of her loyal followers appeared out of nowhere with a loud pop. Crabbe and Goyle looked up at the mansion numbly. "Big place," Crabbe said. Malfoy rolled his eyes.

But Bellatrix just smiled. "Shipped all the way over one by one to the cornfield from Scotland. But the rich man's a Muggle. Too bad, he could have helped us."

"So why are we here then?" Goyle asked.

Bellatrix nodded toward the mansion. "Because his son was the first person little Liza Lang went to when she got to town."

Malfoy frowned. "Who's Liza Lang?"

Bellatrix sighed impatiently. "Really Draco, I though you of all people would be able to keep up." Draco blushed deeply. "Your schoolmate Cho Chang is actually Liza Lang, the lost heir of the French countess Isabelle Theroux."

"Oh," Malfoy mumbled, embarrassed.

Bellatrix did not seem fazed, though. Merrily, she led the other Death Eaters toward the gate. "Let's go visit Mr. Alexander Luthor and see exactly why he was our friend's first stop."

The gate was only guarded by one man. "Imperio," Bellatrix said lazily. The man's eyes glazed over. "Take us to Alexander." He nodded and led them docilely into the mansion.

The master of the house was asleep. The watchman led Bellatrix and the others right into his bedroom. "That's all," Bellatrix said. "Go back to your post." The watchman nodded and left without another word.

Bellatrix leaned over the young man's sleeping form and grinned sweetly. "Wakey wakey!"

He sat up with a start and a gasp. It took a minute before he got his bearings, then looked at Bellatrix and snapped, "Who are you?"

"A friend, if you're good," Bellatrix replied.

"Like hell," he replied. He threw off the black and climbed out of bed clad only in pajama pants. "What are you doing in my bedroom at the crack of dawn?"

"We've come looking for your friend," Bellatrix replied. "Miss Lang?"

Lex's eyes narrowed. "What do you want with Lana?"

She laughed and Lex cringed at the sound. "Not the little girl! The other Lang. Or you might know her as Cho Chang?"

Lex's expression changed just enough. "I don't know anyone by that name."

"What I don't understand," Bellatrix said as she sauntered around the bed, "is why she came to you first. I expected her to go straight to Kal-El."

Lex was backing as far into the corner as he could. "Who?"

Her eyes lit up and she looked suddenly even more dangerous. "You know everyone in the cornfield, young Lex. Maybe you can help me find the man I'm looking for."

Shifting uncomfortably, Lex asked, "How would I know this person?"

"He is stronger than other men. And faster and more extraordinary than any wizard alive."

It was then that Lex saw the wand in her hand. He swallowed nervously. "I don't know anyone like that."

She leveled her wand at his chest. "Think very, very hard."

Suddenly an impossible thought occurred to him. There was someone who seemed more extraordinary than any normal person. Who seemed always to be keeping secrets. But Clark Kent was his friend and Lex could not bring himself to send these obviously unbalanced and dangerous people after him just to save himself. "I don't know anyone," he repeated, his jaw set.

"You're lying," she sang. Before Lex could react, she had muttered "Imperio!" and a heavy fog descended over him. "Now." Bellaxtrix's voice was clear through the haze. "Who is Kal-El?"

'Just tell her,' a voice told Lex. 'Tell her how strange Clark is. You know it's true. What's the harm?'

Clark is my friend.

'Just tell her and this will al be over. I promise.'

I can't send them after Clark. They'll kill him!

'Better than killing you.'

No.

'Just tell her.'

No!

'Tell her!'

"NO!" Lex shouted and the fog lifted.

Bellatrix and the others stared at him, aghast. She pointed her wand at his heart and cried angrily, "Crucio!"

Lex fell immediately screaming to the floor. Bellatrix smiled coldly as more Cruciatus curses hit Lex from the wands of her followers. After moments of agonized cries, a silence fell as Lex sagged unconscious on the floor beside his bed. With a look of disgust, Bellatrix turned and swept from the room.

…

Clark Kent drove a wooden fence post into the ground as the sun cleared the cornfields. Smiling at the extra light, he picked up another post and slammed it in next to the previous one.

A strange flash caught his eye on the horizon in the direction of the Luthor mansion. Squinting against the sun, Clark saw it again – a red flash that flickered and died before starting up again. He cast a doubtful eye back at the house, as the post in his hand, and finally back toward the mansion before dropping the wooden beam and taking off toward Lex's home.

He was there in a matter of seconds. No one stopped him as he raced into the castle. "Lex!" he called. "Lex?"

One of Lex's security guards rounded a corner. "Here a little early, aren't you, Mr. Kent?" he asked wryly.

"Where's Lex?" Clark asked.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Asleep, Mr. Kent. The sun's barely up."

"Are you sure?"

Throwing his hands up in the air, the guard said, "Go check if you like. I don't know why Mr. Luthor tolerates your strange behavior."

Clark frowned, but thanked him and ran up the stairs. "Lex?" he called again. He did not care if he woke Lex up. There was a bad feeling about the house.

The door to Lex's bedroom was slightly ajar. Clark pushed it open slowly. "Lex?"

The bed was empty. "Lex, are you here?" Clark asked. Cautiously, he walked around the bed. Then he gasped and dropped down beside Lex's body. "Lex? Oh God. Lex!" he shouted and shook Lex's shoulders. Nothing happened. He sank down beside him, desperately calling for him to wake up, with no idea what to do next.