Lana lost track of time as Pete drove them through some of Smallville's less travelled roads. She felt completely numb inside. In truth, she had given up. There was no-one to help her, no-one to stop Lenaria. She regained feeling only when Pete pulled over and parked the truck outside of an old cabin. It looked a bizarre place for Lenaria to be using, but Lana supposed the alien would be avoiding any major cities for fear of another attack from Brainiac.

Lenaria was waiting to greet her inside, looking a picture of elegance in a shimmering green dress. The Empireth smiled warmly at Chloe and Pete, gesturing for them to stand aside. Lana stood trembling as Lenaria wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close as though to kiss her.

"There's no need to be afraid, Lana," she whispered. "You have chosen your side badly, but Lenaria is loving. She is forgiving. And you did try to save my husband, something I repaid you poorly for. So I give you a choice. You may kneel before your Goddess and pledge to devote yourself to her for all eternity. Or…"

Lenaria stepped aside, turning Lana to look at an array of needles and tools. Some of the cutting implements looked like the kind of thing you might see in a butchers. With these, Lenaria could cut her wide open.

"What are you going to do?" asked Lana. She knew Lenaria was a born coward, but the only person afraid right now was herself. She was outright terrified.

"This was my original intention, to basically… alter those pretty features of yours. I spent years on Earth turning humans into mutants for Mongul. I have gotten rather good at it. Thankfully Mongul is now dead, thanks to Clark; you would be kept by my side, as my pet," said Lenaria, running a finger through Lana's hair. "But I have calmed somewhat since then. Edward would not wish me to be so cruel to such a sweet girl, and there are other ways for me to get my revenge on Clark. The choice, then, is yours."

It wasn't much of a choice. Pete and Chloe merely stood silently, nodding encouragingly at her. Feeling defeated, Lana sank to her knees, grabbing the hem of Lenaria's dress and planting kisses on it. Lenaria laughed delightedly. It looked like she enjoyed watching someone grovelling to her for a change. Lana's pledges were, of course, as sincere as Lenaria's own would be in such cases.

"You may stand," Lenaria said finally. "And I feel, honest as I'm sure you are, that further proof of your devotion is required."

Lana managed to get to her feet, legs trembling. Lenaria placed a knife into her hand, though it dropped as Lana's fingers failed to close around it. With a look of irritation, Lenaria picked it up and gave it to her more forcefully this time.

"Now, Lana, I'm ordering you to kill one of your friends. Which one is up to you."

"No, please…"

"Do it, Lana!" said Chloe pleasantly.

"Yeah, c'mon girl, it'd be an honour to die for Lenaria," said Pete, indicating she should place the knife into his chest.

(Lana? Lana, it's me. I'm still here. Listen, we don't have much time. I've… not been honest with you. My name isn't Faye, it's Lyla. And you were right, I am an Empireth. Lana, give me control of your body. I can reason with her, I know I can…)

The only thing Lana felt as Faye… Lyla took control was a sense of relief. She knew she was far from saved – Lenaria was surely beyond reason by now – but she felt glad she no longer had to take any responsibility here. Alright, so she felt relief AND some shame. But she just wasn't as brave as Clark was.

"That's enough, Lenaria," said Lyla through Lana's mouth. Lenaria's eyes widened.

"Another mind? I should have sensed it sooner… but your powers are nothing compared to mine."

"I'm not your enemy! Please, listen to me: We're the same, you and I. I'm an Empireth too. You'd left Kandor before I was born, but I know your name, Lenaria. I know you broke the laws of our race. So have I."

"I was told all Empireth on Kandor were dead," said Lenaria, licking her lips.

"All except me. When I was still a child I absorbed the memories of a dying girl and took over her life. Nobody on Kandor knows who I really am."

"When you were a child? An incredibly foolish thing to do. Your whole identity could have been wiped out in an instant. Why, when …"

Lenaria fell silent then, hissing for Lyla to do the same when she began to speak.

"Not possible," said Lenaria, sounding fearful. Although she was no longer in control, Lana could still see everything that was happening, and was at first frightened as the cabin door was torn off, and then delighted as Clark walked in. She tried to call to him, but found Lyla wouldn't let her have control. Starting to panic, she tried to force herself to the front of her mind and seemed to slam against an invisible barrier.

(Lyla! Lyla let me out! Please, I'm scared!)

"Clark, stay out of this," said Lyla. Clark frowned.

(Clark, that isn't me! Don't listen to her!)

"It's okay, Lana," said Clark. "Lenaria's controlling you. But you'll be free soon."

"Oh really," said Lenaria dryly. "I have no idea how you escaped my mind trap, but it makes no difference. Did you forget, Clark, that while you're around me you're as much a threat to Lana as I am?"

Lana watched helplessly as Clark fell to his knees, looking at Lenaria with love in his eyes. Lenaria smirked, patting his head as though he were a dog.

"Good boy. Now tell Lenaria how much you love her."

Lenaria's smile froze. She gave a gasp as though cold water had just been thrown over her. Protruding from her side was one of the crystals from the Fortress, shaped like a dagger. Clark got to his feet. He could have killed Lenaria right then, but Lana knew he didn't have it in him. Lenaria, howling, tried to retreat backwards, but Clark elbowed the side of her head, knocking her to the floor. He climbed on top of her and tried to pin her down.

"Not as much as she thinks," hissed Clark, pushing the dagger in further as Lenaria flailed desperately beneath him. "You're going back to The Phantom Zone, and this time no-one's going to help you."

"NO!" Lenaria screamed, swerving her body and getting herself on top of Clark. Blood poured from her side and her eyes were leaking tears. "I'll never go back there!"

Lana willed Lyla to help Clark, but she just stood there unmoving. Chloe and Pete, while looking concerned, weren't doing anything either. Lenaria's thumbs moved towards Clark's eyes, and he held her wrists desperately to try and stop her. Changing her approach, Lenaria instead grabbed Clark's head and began ramming it against the floor.

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE HATE HATE YOU YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Under other circumstances, Lenaria's childish tantrum – done at more than twice Lana's own age - might have been amusing, but Lana couldn't see the funny side now. Clark, slightly dazed, managed to get an arm free and used it to toss Lenaria casually through the roof. Against most opponents, that would have been the end, but Lana knew this was far from over.

"I'm not that fond of you either," said Clark, and sped out of the cabin in pursuit.