With one touch, she could become stronger than she'd ever dreamed.

Kimda, oblivious to her thoughts, continued arranging the crystals in the main console; if he was achieving something, he wasn't sharing. Lyla licked her lips, hand reaching out gingerly. On Kandor, she had always relied on her father for protection. It was true also that one of the things that appealed to her about Clark was his role as protector. Yet if she had that kind of strength for herself, she wouldn't need to look to anyone else for help like that. Her head was still pounding from Pendar's assault; she wouldn't have to worry about anything like that again.

Except, of course, she quickly realised - once she was back on Kandor, she'd lose all of those Kryptonian powers. Even if she decided she wanted to stay here on Earth, Kryptonian abilities wouldn't protect her from the exposure sickness. She wasn't sure if it might slow the effects down, but it would still surely kill her and Kimda both. Lowering her hand, she gave the still immobile Pendar a worried glance before standing next to Kimda.

"How long do we have?" she asked in a whisper.

"We'll start showing symptoms before too long, but they'll be manageable for a few hours yet, I think."

"And after that?"

Kimda hesitated, so she repeated the question.

"We'll both be dead before the sun sets. Don't worry; we'll both be safely back home before that happens."

"What are the symptoms?" asked Lyla, not feeling reassured at all. She wished Clark were here instead of Kimda. Even his presence would make her feel safer. At the very least, Clark didn't want her as some lab rat.

"In the early stages: nausea, nosebleeds, that kind of thing," said Kimda, in a tone that suggested he was being distracted. "Like I said, we won't need to worry about the later stages. I just need to use what little power is left here to track Jor-El."

"And then all we need to do is find some way to re-power The Fortress," said Lyla miserably. Kimda's shoulders slumped over the console. He turned to look at her, a weird glint in his eyes, placing a hand on her arm. She shrugged it off, remembering how close she had come to touching him herself, and stealing his powers. She could have done so much with abilities like that, she could help people the way Clark did.

"Hey, there's no need to worry. I'm going to take care of you," said Kimda gently.

"Shouldn't you be trying to help J'onn and Raya?"

"I lost track of them a while back, so I'm afraid they're on their own. They know what they're doing. Raya warned me about The Eradicator; I was just too arrogant to listen. If he had turned against me earlier… well, the consequences to Kandor would have been catastrophic. I wonder if that's why Jor-El sent her. I guess he doesn't consider me any better for Kandor than Preus."

"I thought the two of you used to be friends? You and Jor-El, I mean. Not Preus."

"You might be surprised with Preus," smiled Kimda sadly. "I used to consider him a very noble man, a long time ago, before I saw another side to him. As for Jor-El… most Kryptonians considered me rather an… outsider. Kryptonians can be very set in their ways, but I preferred thinking outside the box. Jor-El considered that to be an asset, but much of the council considered it to be not conductive to The Kryptonian way of thinking. Problem was, most of my ideas were rejected or ridiculed, while Jor-El became one of the most revered Kryptonians who ever lived. I always knew I should be able to rise above it, but the truth is…"

"It wasn't really you, though, was it?" asked Lyla thoughtfully. "Empireth are always taught that there's a difference between the soul and memory. We can absorb someone's memories, but not their souls."

She flinched with surprise as Kimda laughed.

"Soul?" he said, almost bending over with laughter. Composing himself, he looked at her with an expression that was difficult to read. "You consider me to be without a soul?"

"I'm not going to let you run your experiments on me," she said. "This is your only warning."

"The warning is heard," said Kimda in a neutral tone. Lyla knew by now that Kimda was not one to betray his emotions. His mind, however, was open to her, and she could sense anger there. He had a tight reign on it - his self control impressed her – but it was there nonetheless.

"So what do we do now?"

"I can't find Jor-El's exact location, but I believe he has transferred his essence into some kind of vessel. If we can find Kal-El, I think he might be able to help us."

Kimda might have a tight control of his emotions, but Lyla did not, and she could not stop delight appearing in her eyes at mention of Clark.

"What about Pendar? We can't just leave him here. His people have some resistance to cold, but…"

"I'll find somewhere safe to leave him and then come back for you. Fortunately for us, I can cover a lot of ground very quickly. Problem is though, I have no idea where we might find Kal-El."

"He lives in some place called Smallville, on a farm," she said, excited for a moment at the thought of seeing him. Quickly, however, the worry over the exposure sickness killed that happiness completely. Kimda looked at her with concern.

Her nose was bleeding.

888

While Clark ran through his limited options for dealing with Lenaria, Lana picked up a newspaper that was sitting on the table in the waiting area. The whole place was deserted, something that felt slightly creepy despite being a positive sign. New patients were being brought in, but with Lenaria having healed so many, the doctors weren't exactly struggling to cope. To her disgust, she noticed a board on the wall had been peppered with photos of Lenaria taken with patients she'd helped. Just seeing her face was enough to make Lana's blood boil.

The paper wasn't much better, as almost every story had some reference to Lenaria in it, even if the link was tenuous. It made her sick that she got the credit for saving the cities while Clark got nothing. Not that he'd done it for a reward or anything, but…

Only one story looked promising, one where witnesses from Gotham claimed that they had been attacked by Lenaria, only to be rescued by someone who moved faster than they could see. Her hopes that people might begin to see through Lenaria's façade quickly faded, however, as the popular theory was that the attack had been part of a plot by Brainiac to discredit her. It looked like people really wanted to believe that The Empireth was here to help them. It was sad, she thought, that Earth was looking to her for a hero when it had Clark. She was lucky she knew that.

Before too long they were allowed in to see Chloe. Lana was worried not just about Chloe's injuries, but also about her state of mind. Lana had been a complete wreck since the attack on the base, and only thanks to Lex and more importantly Clark had she been able to even begin pulling herself back together. She was very concerned about what her friend must be going through.

"Chloe, I'm so glad you're alright," said Clark, immediately taking her hand and looking at her with affection. Once, that look might have made Lana envious, but not here. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there."

"Do you want to tell him it's not his fault?" asked Chloe. She was aiming for levity, but it sounded forced, and her voice was weak. Lana could see she'd been crying, and was vaguely aware that she was now joining in.

"Do you know? About Pete?" asked Lana gently. The blonde nodded. There were visible burns on her face; they were no laughing matter, but she'd still been very lucky.

"Yeah," replied Chloe. "He… he bought me just enough time to get away. He saved my life. Did… did you… see?"

"Yeah," whispered Clark. "I saw. His body was still in one piece. He's still… recognisable. His family know. I don't know how the military explained it to them, but they know."

"Clark," said Chloe, taking deep breaths. "I need to get out of here. Please?"

"Chloe, you know I want to help, but you're still hurt, and…"

"Can't you just call Brainiac and have him fix me up or something?"

"Well, I have him on guard duty here somewhere, but it'd look suspicious if…"

Chloe grabbed his arm.

"Clark, every single person in this place just got miraculously healed and walked out. I don't think they're going to look too far for an explanation."

"While it would be a pleasure to help you, Miss Sullivan, we have two urgent matters that have just come to my attention."

A doctor had just walked into the room, looking a rather unassuming figure; bald, large glasses, thick beard. Of course, Lana realised, Brainiac was a shapeshifter. This form might be less pleasant to the eye than Milton Fine, but of course he'd be in disguise to catch any troublemakers off guard. Clark turned and asked the machine what he meant. Brainiac lifted a remote and turned on the television in the room.

"…we as a society are in her debt…"

Lana gasped as she saw Lex. She'd been with him just hours ago, and now here he was giving some kind of press conference… and he was speaking praise for Lenaria.

"This was recorded earlier this morning at an undisclosed location," said Brainiac. "It has been shown on every major news network around the world."

"To that end, she has chosen me to be her emissary."

"What?" said Clark, standing up and walking closer to the screen. Chloe had to point out he was blocking her view. Lana shared a concerned look with her. What new problem did they have now?

"I was honoured to accept this position," continued Lex. However, there is a reason why Lenaria herself has not appeared in public since her victory over Brainiac. Such a great battle has weakened her, and she needs time to recover before her next endeavour. It is with regret that I must inform you that there is another alien walking among us – and this one poses a greater threat than even Brainiac."

"No…" gasped Clark, sounding fearful. "No, NO!"

"Wait a minute, Clark," said Lana quickly, taking his arm. "If Lex exposed you, why wouldn't the staff here have noticed you the moment you walked in?"

"They must not have had a chance to see it yet," said Clark, eyes darting around everywhere. On the screen, the reporters were going absolutely crazy.

"All I can tell you," said Lex, whose voice barely carried over the noise. "All I can tell you is that Lenaria believes this one has been sent in preparation for an invasion. However… HOWEVER, she assures me that there is no need for panic. She wants each and every one of you to know that Earth is under her personal protection. Our lives are going to continue on as normal. Luthorcorp will be working with her to ensure you safety."

Clark looked as if he wanted to smash the television. Lana tried her best to reassure him, but she also tried to listen carefully. Lex continued on for some time, but gave no specific information about the threat. Nothing that said anything about Clark.

"It's okay, Clark. Your secret is still safe."

"How can you say that?" asked Clark, slumping against the wall. "Lex knows. I don't know why he didn't come out and say my name, but that was all about me."

"Listen to me," said Lana, holding his head up and forcing him to look at her. "We both know Lenaria made him go up there and say those things. Nobody has been more outspoken against her in public than Lex. There's no way he'd turn about so easily. But Clark… he didn't give your name. He didn't betray you. I think he gave just enough information to try and make her happy, but not so much that he told your secret."

"Lana, I really don't…" began Clark, looking at Chloe. Lana knew Chloe probably wouldn't agree with her, but she was convinced she was right.

"Think about it! Lex has done nothing but try to help us. He got shot that time when we were holed up in the Luthor mansion to protect me. He got Kandor back from Brainiac for us, and he saved me again back at the military camp."

"Lex has done nothing but help YOU, Lana, not me. Lex has feelings for you, or he thinks he does. He's always been obsessed with finding out the truth about me. You think now he knows he's just going to start being my friend again? We can't trust him."

"What if I'm right? Don't you see? This could be the chance we've been waiting for. If Lenaria thinks Lex is on her side, we can use that to our advantage. We need to talk to him. If we work together, we can set a trap for Lenaria. Clark, we can finish her for good."