It took several hours, but Chloe, Clark, and Victor worked together to form a plan on how best to investigate the area around the former Geothermal Plant without disturbing the areas that still contained Doomsday. After a few hours rest, the team members and Davis met up in Watchtower once more.

"The most stable area of complex is on the eastern side," Victor explained as he pointed the area out on a schematic diagram to Clark, Chloe, and Davis. "If Lex has set up some sort of secret entrance into the unstable sections that house Doomsday, he probably would have done it there." He turned to Clark. "When you did your earlier sweep, did you get to this area?"

"No, Chloe pulled me out before I got to that part because of the quake." He turned to smile at the blonde, taking any sting of rebuke from his words. "We couldn't have Doomsday sense me there if he was close to the surface."

Victor nodded. "That is still a risk. It is possible that Doomsday will feel the presence of either you or Davis at the site, but unfortunately, it is a risk we have to take. You two would be the most sensitive to anything Kryptonian that Lex may have down there. It is also possible that with you down there, if there are any weak points in the monster's prison, you can shut them down."

Davis turned to Clark. "Poking around an unstable prison on the off-chance Lex is somehow involved seems risky to me. Can't you scan the area with X-ray vision without us having to go in?"

Clark shook his head. "No. Between the lead shielding that was part of the original plant and Lex's own knowledge of my X-ray vision and it's limitations, there is too much blocked off for me to see very far into the structure. We have to go in person."

"But why does it matter if Lex is involved? My concern is for Doomsday, not him."

"Because if Lex has somehow figured out a way to harness Doomsday's power, we could have bigger problems. Besides, we learned a long time ago not to trust Lex Luthor when it comes to secrets," Clark answered.

"Alright, but what do we do if Doomsday senses us and breaks out?" Davis asked.

"That is what we are working to prevent," Clark replied, his expression determined.

Davis could see that he wasn't going to get anywhere right now. For reasons he didn't quite grasp, the others were determined to search for some possible secret lab. Though if Lex was anything like his dead half-sister, they might have a point in being concerned with his plans. Well, he'd let them do their searching. This mission would still give him the chance to see how Doomsday's prison stood.

"Any other questions?" Victor asked.

No one spoke up.

"Fine, then suit up. It's going to be a long night."

Looking out the back window of Clark's truck, Davis reflected on how strange it was to be going back to the Geothermal Plant after all this time. So much had happened there - he'd been drugged and taken there by Oliver and his team, had his monstrous selves split off, lost Chloe, saved Clark, fought Doomsday...and he'd died. Again.

And now he was going back. With Clark (aka Superman, though he currently had a coat thrown over his distinctive costume) and Chloe at his side to look for a secret lab and check in on his monstrous alter-ego.

It was almost too strange for belief when he though that just a few days ago he was just an aid worker in the middle of the rain forest.

No one had brought up his powers, which worried Davis somewhat. He didn't know if it was their way of respecting his wishes to redeem himself as a man, or if they expected he would use them when the need arose. Honestly, Davis wasn't even sure how he felt about his powers right now. When he'd decided to forsake his Kryptonian side, it was so he could work to better mankind as one of them. It was his penance. But could a man hope to stand against The Beast?

Not likely. But if he broke his vow and used his powers - even if only against Doomsday - did that undo all the good he had done as Aidan Kell?

He wasn't sure.

Chloe's eyes flicked up to the rearview mirror again to watch Davis in the backseat of the truck. He appeared to be deep in thought judging by the crease between his brows. She expected returning to the scene of so much pain for him must be straining.

She felt Clark looking at her from the driver's seat and quickly looked away from the mirror. She knew Clark was concerned about her with Davis' reappearance. He had so carefully not asked about her conversation with Davis on the bench that she was sure he had been listening in. She knew Clark was trying to give her space to decide for herself what to think about Davis, but disapproval flowed off of him in waves. He wanted to keep the other Kryptonian as far from them, or really - from her - as possible. Not that she could entirely blame him. Clark hadn't exactly had many good experiences with others from his planet...including Davis. Clark could forgive with time, but that forgiveness had to be earned. And despite what he had learned of Davis' actions saving him in the Geothermal plant years ago, Chloe knew that in his heart. Clark wasn't close to letting go of his anger.

She sighed. She shouldn't be annoyed at Clark for how he felt about Davis. She wasn't sure what she thought of him either right now. It had been easier when he had first showed up at Watchtower this morning. Then she'd had anger to shield her. She could bury her hurt behind rage at his leaving, rage at his deception, rage at his unexpected return.

But then she'd gone out to that damn bench to talk to him...and it had almost felt like nothing had changed. Despite sensing he was still hiding something, he'd been open and vulnerable in the way she'd remembered. And when he had smiled...it had been the same warm smile. The one had had given he so often in days long gone. And as they had talked, she had felt the shadow of the easiness that had been between them from the first moment they had met.

That last was what had scared her the most. The thought that she could so easily slip back into the past with him unnerved her. She wasn't the same person she had been then...and she didn't think he was either.

But still...

Without conscious thought, her eyes flicked back to the rearview mirror again.

Pulling the truck off the end of the drive just short of the fence circling the closed plant, Clark announced, "We're here."

Cyborg's voiced crackled in their earpieces. "I read you. I'm not detecting anyone near your position. Proceed with the plan."

Chloe nodded and pulled on a black ski mask. Davis did the same.

Clark, on the other hand, divested himself of his coat, exposing his bright red, blue, and yellow suit.

Davis noted how he and Chloe sought to conceal their true identities, while Clark - or rather, Superman - had his face out for the world and lived his normal life as a disguise.

Davis found himself strangely unnerved by that. It seemed like a purified reflection of what had once been his own life. Once he'd been out on the streets of Metropolis saving lives as a paramedic, but at the same time, he had also been taking the lives of the wicked and guilty to keep The Beast contained. He wondered now which had been his real life and which had just been a cover.

Now he also had his life as Aidan Kell - where all the work he did and the lives he saved were true, but nothing else about him was.

He looked down at himself, covered in black from head to foot, ready to break into a monster's home base, and wondered who the hell he was now.

Then he caught Chloe looking at him. He couldn't see anything of her face except her eyes, but he saw them sparkle with excitement.

That was when he decided, that whoever he was - Davis, Aidan, or someone else altogether - he would be the one that kept her safe.

Clark flew Chloe over the fence, and after a questioning look at Davis to see if he was willing to use his powers to join them, came back and carried the other man over as well. Though it was a strange and uncomfortable experience to be carried by the big man, Davis wasn't willing to break his taboo against using his powers for such a weak reason as pride.

Following the course they had predetermined, the group made its way to what had once been the east side of the plant. Once there, they rooted around in the debris until they uncovered a well-concealed entrance. Chloe bent down to examine the hidden hatch, shining the red light of her flashlight around the portal.

"The metal is new. Not corroded or damaged like the rest, and see here -" She pointed to the hinges. "These are well-oiled." She looked up at the men. "I'm afraid we might be right in our hunch that something is going on out here."

Clark's jaw tightened and he nodded, unsurprised. "Then we should assume they will have security measures in effect too."

"Right you are," Chloe agreed, already slinging her backpack from her shoulder. She quickly pulled out a sleek-looking laptop and plugged several cables into it. She then attached the cables to suction-cup looking devices and put them onto the hatch door. After a moment, Chloe's screen lit up with a dim image of a hallway. "Alright, Victor, we're looking inside the hatch now. Sending image to you too." She looked up and caught Davis surprised expression at the advanced technology. She smiled broadly. "I tapped into their wireless security network by grounding through this door. Even without Brainiac in my head, I've picked up few tricks." Davis smiled back at her widely, obviously proud of her cleverness.

Chloe felt suddenly shy at the obvious approval, and looked back down to hide any tell-tale flush. But as soon as her eyes were back on the screen, she was instantly back on target. "I see only basic security cameras from here. No signs of infrared or lasers detection, though that would be hard to see through the link. My guess is that they might have the higher-level stuff farther on. They wouldn't want anything back here to ping as 'secret lab' if we were just kids or junkies or other undesirable, but ultimately harmless trespassers. The main defense for this place would be its anonymity...at least, at first."

"So how do you want to proceed?" Clark asked.

Chloe pulled off her ski-mask, and gave her hair a shake to make it float wildly around her. Then she reached a hand into her backpack again and pulled out a can of spray paint. With a wicked grin she shook the can and said, "We be run-of-the-mill undesirables."

The two black-clad punks were falling all over each other as they tumbled through the hatch and into the outer hallway of the former East Wing of the Geothermal facility.

Phil, the guard watching the security feed perked up as their appearance. It wasn't all that uncommon for some ne'er-do-well to stumble around the old plant. Hipsters who called themselves 'urban explorers', kids looking to drink cheap beer and make out, and transients were undeterred by the fences and signs telling them the area was private and hazardous. As long as they didn't make it past the first passage, they were directed to leave them be. Keeping the main operation hidden was more important than kicking out a few random vandals. Still...those spray cans had Phil worried.

The security cameras were tucked amongst cracks in the rubble of the hall, made to look like part of the other debris of the former facility, but if these punks decided to start tagging the walls, they could cover his concealed camera lenses, leaving him blind.

Phil chewed his lip, unsure what to do.

Then they started painting and Phil's anxiety grew.

"Really, Davis?" Chloe hissed at him. "A smiley face? You spray-painted a smiley face?"

"What?" Davis hissed back. "The eyes perfectly covered the lens over here."

"Yeah, but weren't you a tough foster kid? I'd think you'd have a better tag than a smiley face," Chloe shot him a teasing smile.

Davis rolled his eyes as Chloe put the final flourish on her anarchy A, obscuring another camera lens.

"Do we want to cover all of them?" Davis asked as he started painting on another wall.

"No," Chloe replied. "We want to leave one facing the doorway open."

Davis nodded, understanding. "So they can see us 'leave', right?"

"Right. Then Clark can zip us back in with superspeed and we can take out the next door, unseen and unsuspected."

Crap. Crap, crap, crap! Phil thought, seeing the two punks scrawl across walls, blocking out his cameras as they went. If he lost sight, he'd have to alert -

The taggers had stopped and were now high-fiving and hugging each other as they surveyed their handiwork inside the tunnel, gesturing enthusiastically. The jerks had left him only a single working camera, but at least they were leaving now. He'd have to file a report to get the cameras cleaned and remounted, but at least he didn't have to set off the alert.

Turning away from the bank of now mostly-useless screens, Phil pulled up the work order form and began filling it out.

He didn't notice the split-second blur that passed the single working camera.

Working remotely with Victor, Chloe had the heavily secured door past the hallway open in minutes. Winding up her cables, she muttered, "Lucky for us Lex doesn't remember I've been breaking into Luthorcorp - err, Lexcorp - facilities since I was 13. You'd think he would invest into some new technology."

Clark smiled down at his friend. "Well, like you said, he doesn't remember enough to fear your mad skills, Chloe."

"True, and Superman isn't really known for his subtlety in breaking into places. Usually it is all just smashy-smashy."

"Hey!" Clark protested, though he couldn't deny the accusation. He did have a rather large amount of property damage under his belt.

"Ok, now hold on a moment, while I scan this next room," Chloe instructed.

Davis squinted into the darkness of the open room, an uneasy sensation running along his skin. "Chloe I think there is something here. I feel it -"

Chloe and Clark turned sharp gazes on him. "Something like Doomsday?" Clark asked, his voice sharp.

"No, something else. A power, but not alien."

Victor's voice came over their earpieces. "He's right. It's not alien, but there is a laser grid."

Clark nodded. "Ok, then. Step back a moment. I can freeze it."

"Freeze the laser grid?" Davis asked in surprise.

"Sort of," Chloe shrugged. "You'll see. Just be ready to move as soon as he is done."

Clark let out a stream of roiling cold across the doorway. As it traveled, the beams of the lasers became visible as red lines of light for a moment before ice crystallized over the laser housings and the lights went dim.

"We'll only have a moment before they defrost. Let's go!" Without delay, Clark scooped up Chloe and raced across the room at super speed - with Davis trailing behind him.

Davis looked back across the room at the laser beams as they started to become visible once more before returning to their unseen state. With a final leap to the doorway on the far side of the laser field, the last light dimmed. He'd just barely made it in time.

Climbing back to his feet, he noted a deep frown on Clark's face, as if the other man was disappointed that he hadn't used his own superspeed.

Before Davis could try to puzzle out Clark's strange reaction, the door in front of them opened up...and let in a pool of greenish light.

That was the point when everything went to hell.

"Kryptonite!" Chloe screamed only a second before Clark fell to the ground writhing in agony.

Author's Note: For the next few chapters please forgive any technology or scientific errors. It is all in the name of "Smallville Science." :)