"How's he doing?" Lana asked Faye as she entered the medical bay. Pendar looked to be the only occupant, though there were plenty of empty beds. Faye sat beside the boy, looking anxious. Although Lana had aimed for friendliness, the girl was looking at her warily.

"He's going to be okay," said Faye. "I should never have… I tried to talk him out of it…"

"Hey, the important thing is that you're both going to be alright," said Lana, standing near the bed. Faye actually moved back to get away from her. Lana remembered that the three of them might all look the same, but they were from different races.

"He's too young to drive one of those things, and it belonged to my father," said Faye. "The C.P.C are going to ask all sorts of questions…"

Lana nodded. Kimda hadn't seemed too concerned by the whole thing, but that didn't mean he would leave them alone. She didn't know much about the legal system here, but they could be in trouble.

"Thanks, for your help back there," said Faye. "That guy you were with… I heard him called Clark… but also Kal-El…He's Jor-El's son?"

"That's right," said Lana. On Earth, Clark's secret was something she would die to protect, but here the cat was out of the bag, so to speak. Being different here wasn't exactly a big deal due to the huge varieties of peoples. The problem was that in her experience so far, she'd seen that the people were largely divided. Rather than coming together, the different races seemed to try to keep to themselves mostly.

"He was great back there. So fearless. Is he around? I'd like to thank him as well," she said, blushing slightly. Lana recognised the symptoms – the girl definitely had a case of Clark fever. No cure for that, Doctor Lang, but be sure to handle the patient delicately.

"He uh, ran off with Sergeant Kimda. Apparently there's some trouble at the Hall of Justice," said Lana, trying not to sound so worried. Clark had insisted on going along, and Kimda hadn't protested. Lana had told him not to get involved. On Earth, she understood that he had to use his abilities to help others. She would never try and stop him from doing that. Here, however, he didn't have any powers. He was totally vulnerable. Clark had explained that if someone was interfering with The Phantom Zone, it was his responsibility. She'd admired his determination, but had still tried to talk him around. Unsuccessfully, of course. Stubborn idiot!

"I'm sure he'll be okay," said Faye, as though reading her thoughts. Which reminded Lana about the unusual help they'd received during the attack.

"Faye, I think Clark and I should probably be the ones thanking you," she began, before noticing the girl's eyes. While she'd been apprehensive the whole time, she looked outright terrified now.

"It's okay," said Lana, raising her hands to signal everything was fine. Your bedside manner could use a little work, Doctor. "I've met lots of people with special abilities. They don't frighten me or anything. Well, except the ones that try to kill me. Which, um, is a lot of them."

Her attempt at humour failed.

"You can't tell anybody!" gasped Faye. "Nobody knows about what I can do. If the C.P.C find out…"

"Calm down," said Lana quietly. "Clark and I won't tell a soul. Where we come from, we don't want anyone to know he has abilities either, so we know how you feel. We're good at keeping secrets."

Faye regarded her carefully, nodding slowly.

"So you really are from outside Kandor. But how is that possible? Pendar says the C.P.C are lying to us about the bottle, but my father helped convince the people it was there."

"It thanks to Clark's father. He can transport us to and from the city," said Lana.

"Then we can get out," said Faye. Lana's heart sank.

"No, sorry," said Lana. "I don't really know how it works, but any Kandorian who leaves gets sick and dies."

"Oh. Well, at least Jor-El is working to get us free, right? Everyone knows he's one of the greatest scientists Krypton ever had. If anybody can help us, he can."

Lana smiled non-comittally. Don't give the patient false hope, Doctor, but don't leave them with no hope either. Besides, Clark had said he would find a way. She had no idea how, but if he said it, she would believe it. And what a pleasant thought that was, to be able to believe Clark Kent completely.

888

Despite the fact that he could now fly on his own (under a yellow sun, at least), the flying motorcycles were still pretty fun, Clark had to admit. Kimda had stuck him behind one of their escorts. The C.P.C were taking no chances; a dozen members were coming along for this one. Kimda had also insisted Clark wear a helmet. He wasn't sure what use a helmet would be if he fell fifty feet to the ground below, but didn't argue.

The guards fanned around Clark as they entered the building. He'd been given strict instructions not to get in the way. For the first time, he wished he'd listened to Lana. The C.P.C were armed with some kind of ray-guns, while he didn't even have his taser anymore. He wasn't exactly going to be much use here.

As they burst into the room containing The Phantom Zone equipment, he realised nobody was going to be much use. Not against this.

"Step away from the controls," ordered Kimda as the unit, as one, pointed their weapons at Brainiac.

"No, wait!" shouted Clark. Kimda wouldn't recognise what Brainiac was, not in it's Milton Fine form.

"Ah, Kal-El. I figured that you would be here, given your disappearance from Smallville. You've missed quite a lot while you've been away," said Brainiac, turning to meet them. No Kryptonian had powers under a red sun, but Clark knew Brainiac wasn't a Kryptonian… he'd just been made by them. They were all completely outmatched here.

"Sergeant, that's Brainiac. The one who shrunk Kandor all those years ago," warned Clark.

"That can't be!" growled Kimda. It was the first time Clark had seen him lose his composure.

"I assure you, it is quite true," said Brainiac casually. "Congratulations on your promotion, Professor Kimda. Personally I preferred your predecessor, but he now has been fortunate enough to aid the one who inspired him the most."

"You were created to serve us, not Zod!" roared Kimda, his hand cutting through the air.

"Your orders, sir?" asked a C.P.C member on the right. Clark noticed his hand was trembling.

"Do nothing!" ordered Kimda. "You must know the equipment is damaged. There's no way for you to release Zod from here."

"Not from here, no," said Brainiac. "So what do you say, Kal-El? Shall we go to your Fortress?"

Clark stepped through the line of officers, staring Brainiac down. Even without his powers, he would not show fear.

"I'll never release Zod," said Clark. "You know that."

Brainiac smiled.

"Come now, Mr Kent. Before you make any decisions, I'd like to show you something. It's not much… just a modest collection of mine."