Fortune Favors the Brave (SV, XO, CC, Teen) [WIP]

[MagickFantasy86]

Title: Fortune Favors the Brave
Authors: MagickFantasy86 and DarkSorceress
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters or basic plot of either Roswell or Smallville. Those belong to Jason Katims and the CW and all others who have the money to own something beyond a couple of college textbooks. Some lines are taken directly from the show.
Category: Roswell/Smallville crossover
Couples: All CC
Rating: Teen
Summary: What if two small towns hiding very similar secrets were more related than anyone knew?

A/N: "Holy spandex, Batman! They're back!" You might have seen this fic from a couple of years ago, however, it disappeared from the board, after it took us a fair amount of time to get anything new written. But we're back, with a new chapter, and a better understanding of where we're going with this story. So without further ado, here it is.

Disclaimer: Some lines are taken from the Roswell episode "Pilot."


Prologue- The Beginning

1986

Nancy Parker rubbed her eyes tiredly before returning her gaze to the artificially lit road before her. She yawned slightly and flipped on the radio to try to stay alert. Her mind started wandering away from the monotony of the tiny road into Roswell, replaying the evening. It was definitely good to see her sister after so many years. The restaurant noise and conversation flowed through her mind. She glanced at the clock on her dashboard for a second before scanning the empty, flat expanse of the road ahead.

Some sort of debris twinkled softly on the road. She squinted ahead of her , then shrugged, dismissing it as a pile of beer bottles from a crashed teenage party. Nancy looked over to the passenger seat of her car for the phone to call her sister, make sure she was on her way home. Nancy gripped the phone in her hand and lifted her eyes to the road. A little girl stood frozen near the edge of the street, staring into the headlights. She seemed to sparkle in the moonlight. Nancy was mesmerized, unable to stop the car from speeding toward the child. “Oh God!” The spell broke as a phantom hand latched onto the girl’s forearm, ripping her from the road.

Nancy swerved her car to the dirt on the opposite side of the road, pushing the car into park. She threw open her car door and knelt at the roadside, staring across the way. There were two of them now, a boy and a girl. ‘They can’t be more than three years old,’ she thought. The boy stared intently at her with unrelenting distrust, as if he blamed her for nearly crashing into his... friend? sister? The girl smiled softly, slipping her hand into the boy’s hand to pacify his anger.

“Hi, honey,” Nancy said. “Where did you come from?” The girl laughed and scratched her head. She took a step onto the road. Laughing still, she smiled at Nancy and turned back to the little boy. The two stared at each other intently, seeming to communicate silently for a few moments before the little boy took the girl’s hand and hesitantly stepped onto the road. The boy and girl looked once more up at Nancy. Working quickly, afraid the boy might convince the girl to run from her, Nancy wrapped the two in blankets from her car’s trunk and ushered the children into the car. With the two little children safely buckled into the back seat, Nancy drove anxiously back to Roswell.



One week later:

Ring. Ring. Nancy picked up the phone in the back room of the diner she and her husband, Jeff, owned, known as the Crashdown.

“Hello?” Nancy asked hesitantly into the mouthpiece of the phone.

“Nancy?” Sheriff Jim Valenti’s voice came through the phone. “About those children you brought in last week...” Nancy’s heart began to race. “I need you to come over to the orphanage as soon as you have time. Nancy? Nancy?” Jim’s voice echoed throughout the empty back room, as the phone swung, gently hitting the wall, hanging from its cord.



Jim met Nancy just inside the doors of the orphanage. Soft wailing could be heard echoing off the ceramic tile floors.

“What’s wrong?” Nancy asked, her breath coming in short gasps.

“We don’t know. She’s been crying since we brought Kyle home.”

“Kyle?” Nancy grabbed onto Jim, stopping him.

“The boy. Michelle and I adopted him.” Nancy nodded reflectively before continuing forward.

“Has anyone asked her what’s wrong?”

“We’ve tried. Neither she nor Kyle has spoken a word since you brought them in last week.” Nancy and Jim pushed through the doors that led to the main children's room.

The moment Nancy stepped into the room, the wailing stopped. The small brown haired girl sitting in the middle of the floor turned around, her eyes shining. To the astonishment of everyone in the room, the girl opened her mouth and uttered the first word anyone had ever hear her say.

“Mommy!”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Laura Lang searched the dark landscape for familiar neon lights. The desert stretched on for miles all around her. She sighed, glancing down at the gas gage in her car.

“Hallelujah,” she whispered, speeding past a sign boasting a Route 66 in ten miles. She sped along the deserted road to the gas station breathing in the neon lights of civilization after the hour and a half of nothingness since she left Roswell. She connected the nozzle to her car and ran inside as the gas flooded into the tank. She waited until the pump snapped off and reached out to pay the clerk, grabbing a Baby Ruth as an after thought. She dropped her change into the Plexiglas box proclaiming support for children in Africa, the worn faces on the poster tugging on her heartstrings. She shred the wrapper on the candy, letting the chocolate coat her mouth as she pushed out the door.

“Oh my goodness!” She thrust her hands out to catch herself as she fell toward the ground. She flipped around to curse the object that tripped her; her tongue froze in her mouth. Two little girls sat on the curb staring at her with wide eyes. Laura pushed herself up onto her knees, still clutching the chocolate in her fist. the first girl shivered a little under the fluorescent lights, hiding her eyes under her sheet or brown hair. The second child, a blonde girl, studied Laura with a critical expression on her face, glancing longingly at the candy occasionally. “Here, take it...” Laura unfolded her fist, bearing the chocolate. The blonde girl snatched the candy from her hand, greedily pushing the candy toward her mouth. The other girl stopped her arm and the two of them locked eyes. Laura’s eyes flicked between the two girls until, eventually, the blonde girl sighed. She glanced at the candy in her small hand. The candy shuddered and split itself down the center. When both girls had had their chocolate, they looked up and met Laura’s shocked, wide eyes. “What are you?”

The girls exchanged a glance and looked back into Laura’s eyes. “Where did you come from?” Laura struggled to keep her voice even. The dark haired girl stretched out her arm, her eyes expectant. Laura moved to touch the girl’s hand. At the instant they touched, a jolt of power rocketed through her body, pushing flashes of images into Laura’s head: an explosion... a feeling of fear and confusion... the moonlight on the sand... the girls scrambling on the Roswellian desert... a sense of infinite loss... faces of a boy and a girl smiling, emanating a feeling of love... the gas station lights... Laura’s face. An intense wave of emotion passed through Laura, causing her pulse to race. Tears cut paths down her cheeks as she opened her eyes and looked down at the girl. The child squeezed her hand and stared up at Laura, silently pleading with her eyes. “Come on, honey. I’ll take care of you.” Her voice cracked as she glanced at the two girls. “Both of you, I promise.”



“What do you mean I can’t adopt them both?” Laura Lang sat, perched nervously on the edge of her chair, the phone clutched lightly to her ear.

“I’m sorry ma’am.” The woman’s voice was broken in the ear piece. “But you husband’s income and yours combined are simply not enough to support both girls. Besides, the blonde girl has already been adopted.”

“What!?” Laura’s heart began to race. What if someone found out the girls were different. They could be in danger.

“Could you at least tell me the family’s name?”

“I’m sorry ma’am, but that’s against our policy. Their records are supposed to be sealed until the child turns eighteen.”

“But the girls are sisters.” Laura could feel the despair rushing through her.

“Ma’am, we don’t know that for sure.” The woman’s high nasal voice was really beginning to piss Laura off.

“They were found together in the middle of nowhere, naked! They were supporting each other! What else are we supposed to think? Please, a name, that’s all I ask. Just so they can still see each other every once in a while.” There were a few moments of silence.

“Gabe Sullivan.”

“Excuse me?”

“His name is Gabe Sullivan.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Smallville, 1989

Thunder reverberated through the ground. Lightning, an eerie shade of green, flashed against the purple clouds. Great glowing rocks fell from the sky. Panic ran throughout the small town in the middle of Kansas. In the middle of town, a young girl with long, brown hair cried out in horror as she watched her parents destroyed by the strange glowing rocks. The intensity of the falling rocks until three large booms echoed through the air. The meteors stopped falling. In the following silence, three unknown pairs of eyes looked out with curiosity into the deepening darkness.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Roswell

Nancy sat nervously in the back room couch, wringing her hands, staring intently at the television screen in the corner. She watched, holding her breath, as the glowing meteors fell on Smallville, Kansas. The young girl, now Liz Parker, was over at the Valenti residence with Kyle and Michelle Valenti. Sheriff Valenti stood hovering over Nancy.

“I don't understand,” he said, glancing down at Nancy. “I’ve never seen anything like this. Maybe we should wait unti-”

“No.” Nancy broke in, shaking her head. “If something this terrible is happening in Smallville, I want to know my family is safe.” She looked up at him, trying not to cry.

“All right... I’ll head out and call the Sheriff’s office there and on the way back, I’ll check on the kids.”

“Oh! And Amy too!”

“What? Amy who?” Nancy raised her eyebrows.

“Amy DeLuca.”

“What is she doing out there? Nevermind. I’ll be back when I hear anything.” Valenti picked his hat up from the vacant seat and pushed through the door to the main cafe floor. He walked across the floor and raised his hand to push open the door. Thunk! He froze as a hollow crash echoed behind him. He whirled around to see several chairs had fallen from their inverted positions on top of the tables. Nancy burst through the door.

“What happened?” Jim knelt down next to the nearest chair to him.

“I don’t know. Something shook them off I guess. I need to go check on our kids and that meteor shower.”



Traffic was terrible. People were running around frantically, confused as to what had just happened. Riots were breaking; people were threatening to loot. The police station was strained for personnel and as such, it was dark before Jim finally reached home. Walking in through the front door of his small ranch style home he called out “Michelle!” but no one answered.

“Michelle!” he called again. Silence remained in the household.

Jim found both Kyle and Liz staring intently through the back door window, which looked out into the desert.

“Hey Kyle, do you know where your mother is?” Neither child answered him. “Hey kids, what are you looking at?” Liz turned to glance at him with her large, brown eyes.

“They’re coming,” she said. Small creases formed on Jim’s forehead as he frowned.

“Who’s coming?” But both children were once again staring intently through the window. At that moment the phone rang.

Jim rushed to pick up the phone. “Hello?”

“Sheriff?” Deputy Hanson’s voice came over the line, barely audible above the static. “We’ve got a situation down at the station. A kid was found naked, wandering around out in the desert.” Jim sighed and pushed his hand through his hair.

“All right. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”



Three hours later, two more children were brought in after being found wandering naked in the desert by Phillip and Diane Evans, two lawyers who were thinking of moving into the area.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Smallville, a few hours earlier.

“Gabe, she is the most adorable girl I’ve ever seen!” Amy DeLuca sat in the living room of the new home recently bought by Gabe Sullivan, an old college buddy of Amy’s. Gabe’s adopted daughter, Chloe, sat reading Dr. Suess on the floor.

“Yeah, she’s a beauty, isn’t she?” He reached down to ruffle her hair, causing the girl to giggle.

“Daaaaaddyyy!” Chloe swatted at his hand and picked up her book. Amy laughed.

“Gabe?”

“Hmmm?”

“I have a sort of strange question.” She paused, listening to the sounds beyond the window. “IS something going on outside?”

“What?” His eyes unfocused as he listened. Crashes muffled by distance echoed off of the walls. “I don’t know. Probably just a distant hailstorm or someone working outside. Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh.” Gave raised an eyebrow.

“Was that the question, Amy?” She glanced down at Chloe, a ghost of a sad smile playing across her lips.

“No...” She slid off the couch to the floor, sitting next to Chloe. the girl smiled up at Amy and offered her book to share. “Gabe, I want this.”

“The book?”

“No,” she laughed. “A little girl, a daughter. Do you think I could... I mean...”

“Amy, I have no doubt you’d raise a beautiful daughter.” Chloe’s small squeaking yawn broke into their conversation. Gave and Amy glanced down a the top of Chloe’s blonde head and smiled. “I think it’s time to put this little lady to bed. You can stay if...” Amy waved her hand in negation.

“I need to get going anyway. It was nice seeing you, though.”

“Same here.” Gabe and Amy stood up and hugged. “ You look after yourself, now. And tell Brian I said hi.”

“Will do.” They walked to the door and Gabe opened it slightly for Amy. Amy peaked her head out. “ Looks like your storm is almost over. See ya.” And then Amy stepped out into the darkening evening. She cast a final glance up at the sky before and orange glow caught her eye. “Strange...” She looked at her watch for a moment before getting into her car and driving toward the light.

As she got closer, the headlights on her Jetta illuminated the edge of a cornfield. The fire brightened the night, consuming the crop. Amy drew a little closer, squinting her eyes, trying to see the source of the blaze.

“Oh my...” She breathed. Tongues of flame leapt around a bulky black shadow that from her vantage point looked surprisingly like a wrecked car. She threw open the car door and ran toward the shape. “I’m coming... I can help you!” She yelled toward the unseen victim of the crash. When she was close to fifty yards away, the car exploded, sending a shock wave through the field, lifting Amy off of her feet and slamming her onto her back several feet away. “Hold...on,” she muttered before passing out, surrounded by scorched cornstalks.

Amy blinked her eyes several times, trying to focus them. She rolled her head to the side to try and ease the throbbing behind her eyes. A soft hand pushed the hair off of her face.

“Who?” She looked over and met a pair of green eyes. Amy sat up, wincing slightly, to stare at the naked little girl that seemed to be trying to take care of her. The two stared at each other for awhile before the girl glanced over her shoulder at the smoldering remains of the “car.” “Is that where you came from?” Amy whispered. The girl looked back at Amy, seeming to ignore the question and held out her hand a with a smile. Amy’s heart melted and a tear slid down her cheek. She scooped up the girl and ambled slowly to the Jetta. When she closed the driver door and brought the engine to life, she looked at the girl buckled into the back seat and smiled. Amy put her car in drive and drove on instinct rather than knowledge. As the anxiety mounted in her veins, she put more pressure on the accelerator, tearing out onto the nearly empty highway and past the sign “You are now leaving Smallville. 150 miles to Metropolis.” Amy flicked her eyes to the child again, gripping the wheel harder. “150 miles...” she murmured, flicking the turn signal to merge into the fast lane. “Jetta don’t fail me now.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Charles Whitman sighed heavily as he braced himself for the helicopter landing. He hated the bureaucratic bullshit that came with these things. He was an engineer, not a business man, but Lionel Luthor often seemed to care more about the earnings than the actual product. There was no point to coming with Lionel on these plant tours. Lionel didn’t care if the plant operation was working perfectly or if the plant was spewing out dangerous chemicals: he only cared if a profit was being made, no matter how he had to get one. Smallville, Kansas was merely one step in a long, long list of plants to see.

Charles Whitman had just stepped out of the helicopter behind Lex and Lionel Luthor, when a heated blast at his back threw him into the air. He landed on a farmer’s forgotten haystack twenty yards from the helicopter. Wincing as he moved, Charles turned to look at the helicopter. Black smoke bellowed up from the leaping flames coming from the ruins. Embedded in the hull of the helicopter was a large glowing green rock. Charles glanced around for other survivors. He found Lionel Luthor lying unconscious, but not seriously hurt, a few yards from him; Lex was nowhere to be found.

Charles stumbled dizzily into the neighboring cornfield, searching for the boy. He might not have like Lionel Luthor, but his son was still an innocent... for now. He stumbled dazedly into an open portion of the field. Lex Luthor lay in the center, all the hair gone from his head. A young, dark haired boy of about six stood peering over Lex. The boy had no clothes on. As Charles took another step forward, the boy turned his head sharply toward Charles. The man and boy stood there for a few moments, staring at each other until sirens could be heard faintly in the distance. The boy tensed and Charles feared the boy might run off.

“Wait, don’t go anywhere. Just stay here and I’ll be back really soon. Okay?” The boy just stared at him, making no motions that he understood. Charles gingerly picked up Lex Luthor and carried the boy out to the waiting ambulances. The Paramedics tried to examine Charles, but he waved them off, insisting that all he needed was a phone to call his wife, Gloria.

“Metropolis, please,” he said to the operator over the phone. “Honey? Can you drive down to Smallville? I can’t talk about it over the phone. I’ll show you when you get here. Bye, honey.”

Making sure that no one saw him, Charles slipped back into the cornfield. He found the boy sitting patiently, exactly where Charles had left him.

The boy’s eyes lit up excitedly when he saw Charles enter the clearing. The boy jumped up and tugged on Charles’ hand- HARD, urging him further into the cornfield. Charles stumbled after the boy, wheezing in exhaustion , and blinked a few times when the two reached their destination.

Charles had to shake his head a few times to make sure that he wasn’t imagining things. Standing in the middle of the field, barely hidden by the stalks, was a ship. It looked like on of the model space ships from an old fifties TV show. The boy touched the hull of the ship and it glowed slightly, seeming to recognize his touch.

“We’re going to need a truck,” Charles said to the surrounding cornfield.



Two weeks later, Charles Whitman was waiting nervously in Lionel Luthor’s office in Metropolis. He and Gloria had been forced to hand the boy over to the authorities, but they had managed to get the ship out of the cornfield without anyone noticing, or so Charles hoped. The ship was now stored in a privately owned garage on the outskirts of Metropolis and only he and Gloria had the keys to the garage. But now, here he was, in Luthor’s office. He sincerely hoped Lionel hadn’t seen anything.

Lionel entered briskly through a side door and sat down with little ceremony, simply staring at Charles. Charles gulped slightly.

“Uh- how’s you son, Lex, doing, Mr. Luthor?” He folded his hands neatly in his lap, trying to hide his anxiety. Lionel smiled slightly.

“Oh, he’s doing fine. He seems to be perfectly healthy. I wanted to thank you, by the way, for helping him.”

“Oh, it was nothi-”

“But that’s not why I asked you in here.”

“It’s not?” Charles’ voice shook slightly.

“No. I wanted to know if you saw anything... unusual that day.” Charles’ legs were shaking under the desk.

“Um- besides the glowing meteors... no.” Charles hoped he hadn’t sounded too scared. Lionel’s smile grew smaller, if that was possible. He sighed slightly.

“Very well. That’s all; you may go.” Charles started to stand up, but then sat back down.

“Mr. Luthor, about that boy that I found.” Luthor’s eyebrows went up. “I was wondering if it was possible for Gloria and I to adopt him?” Luthor’s smile grew wider than Charles had ever seen.

Later that day, Charles turned in his two weeks notice.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Smallville, Day of the Meteor Shower

Back on the day of the meteor shower, a young married couple were driving on the dust country road in their brand new, red truck. They had almost reached their farm house when a car, wrecked by the meteors, blocked the road. Turning sharply, the man tried to avoid the flaming car, but only succeeded in flipping the truck off the road. The couple sat upside-down in silence. The heavy base of the truck started to crush the roof of the cabin. The couple grabbed each others hands, sure that this was the end.

The truck shuddered slightly as it began to rise. A small face peaked in through the window. The young boy with black hair smiled broadly as he continued to lift the truck. The couple spoke amazedly at the same time.

“Martha-”

“Jonathan!”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Roswell: September 19th, 1999

Liz Parker put the old faded photograph back into the pocket of her alien head shaped apron and smiled as she turned around. She glanced slightly at another table in her section where Max Evans and Michael Guerin sat as she wove her way between tables, heading toward the waitress station . Her best friend, Maria, who was waiting for her there, bumped Liz with her hip.

“You are so bad, girl!” They smiled at each other knowingly.

Plates clattered to the floor; the sound echoed through the busy cafe. All conversation stopped save for tow men sitting next to the wall.

“I want my money now!”

Liz froze in place as the gunshot rang throughout the cafe. She shuddered against the sharp pain in her stomach, falling to the floor. Thoughts ran frantically through her mind. This is it. I’ll never learn why I’m here. They’ll find something different with me and I’ll get dissected and then they’ll suspect that Kyle is- She felt her uniform rip apart. A strong warm hand touched her stomach, sending shocks coursing through her blood. A deep voice that sent shivers down her back sounded over her fallen form. The voice sounded so desperate and familiar and loving-

“Liz! You have to look at me!”

A/N: I'll be updating this story every two weeks or so with what we have, to give us some time to write some more. Hope you enjoy! Feedback is greatly, greatly appreciated.

[MagickFantasy86]

Hey it's that time again!Title: Fortune Favors the Brave

Authors: MagickFantasy86 and DarkSorceress
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters or basic plot of either Roswell or Smallville. Those belong to Jason Katims and the CW and all others who have the money to own something beyond a couple of college textbooks. Some lines are taken directly from the show.
Category: Roswell/Smallville crossover
Couples: All CC
Rating: Teen
Summary: What if two small towns hiding very similar secrets were more related than anyone knew?

A/N (Disclaimer): All titles come from lines or song titles from the musical Aida, music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice.

Chapter 1:
The More We Find, The More We See, The More We Come To Learn

Liz buried her head in her hands, staring at the cold, ceramic tile floor. Oh god, she thought. What am I supposed to do now? I can’t change his blood otherwise he’ll know I’m not human either. But I know Kyle is wrong. Max can’t be our enemy; he just can’t. Her head snapped up as the doors crashed open.

“What did you do!?” Michael stormed through the doors toward Liz, followed closely by Maria.

“Michael!” Maria reached out and dropped her hand on his shoulder slightly. He jerked to a halt and fell back a few inches. She pulled her hand back quickly and he grabbed onto his shoulder in pain.

“Did you just-? Never mind. What the hell happened?” Isabel walked through the door behind the two quarrelers.

“Michael, calm down. Now, Liz, what the hell happened?”

“Max was taking me somewhere. We were driving down 285 south but there was a horse in the middle of the road and Max swerved to avoid it and we ended up in a ditch. That’s when I blacked out and then I woke up in the ambulance. They said I was fine, but Max hadn’t awoken yet.” Isabel sat down in the chair behind her, mimicking Liz as her head fell into her hands.

“Oh God, Michael, what are we going to do? What if they take his blood? What if they find out what he is?”

“They won’t happen alright? That isn’t an option.” Isabel sat up, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

“I hope you’re right, Michael.”

“Well can the doctors tell anything from Max’s blood?” Liz tried to play the uninformed “human.” Isabel sighed deeply, falling back into her chair.

“They can.”

“We’ll need to get that blood and switch it.” Michael scowled, thinking. “Liz, we need some of your blood.”

“NO!” Liz yelled a little too strongly. “I mean…they can tell the difference between male and female blood.” Isabel nodded in agreement but glanced at Michael in confusion over Liz’s outburst.

“Hold on a minute, alright.” He spun around to face Maria. “Your friend…that lanky kid…Whitman!”

“Yeah?” Maria narrowed her eyes in a scowl.

“Get him; we’ll use his blood-.”

“No, Michael, I won’t.”

“Why not? We’re not going to kill him or anything.”

“I won’t do it, Michael! He’s my friend. You’re so insensitive! You only think about yourself!”

“Maria, I don’t have-.”

“I’ll go…” Liz broke into their argument standing between them.

“Liz,” Maria worked to steady her voice, “Please…he shouldn’t be involved. I mean…uh…he could get thrown in jail for this.” Liz reached out and squeezed Maria’s wrist.

“He’ll be fine.” Liz turned and swept out the door.

“Finally,” Michael sighed, “Someone listens to me.”

“I’ll be right back…” Maria ran past Michael, breaking away as he tried to grab her and fled into the ladies’ room. She stared into the mirror. “Alex. . . I’ll figure something out.” She swung her arm, intending to lightly hit the paper towel dispenser. She jumped back when she heard the crash of her hand flattening the dispenser into a fresh crater in the brick wall of the bathroom. Her handprint was perfectly preserved in the stainless steel. She ran her fingers through her hair and pulled open the door, cautious this time, slipping silently back into the waiting room with the others.

* * *

Smallville

Clark Kent rounded the corner of the now deserted school hallway, rushing to get to the Torch office while being mindful to keep his true speed hidden, just in case anybody was watching. His story on the previous day’s football game was due about five minutes ago, and while Chloe might be somewhat forgiving of Clark’s tendency to disappear in the middle of a conversation, when it came to her newspaper, she let nothing slide. As Clark skidded into the Torch office, he found Chloe sitting at her desk, staring intently at the computer screen. Hearing Clark enter, she glanced up from her monitor, one eyebrow raised.

“I know. I know.” Clark raised his hands in a mock surrender. “I’m late.” As Chloe chuckled to herself, Clark placed the floppy disk with her story on her desk and meandered behind her chair to peek at whatever held Chloe’s interest.

“Local waitress miraculously healed after mysterious shooting? What’s this, Chloe? Something new you’re working on for the Wall of Weird?”
Chloe cleared her throat nervously and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Um…” She swallowed a shaky laugh. “Yeah, something like that.” She closed out the window as quickly as possible, turned off her computer and spun around in her chair to face Clark. “So, do you need a ride home?”

Clark hesitated for a moment, startled by the sudden change in subject, but filed the thought away for the time being. “No, I’ll walk. I need to think some things over. Listen, I’ve gotta go.”

“Walk? But, Clark, your house is really-“ Chloe found herself talking to an empty room. “Ugh. I hate it when he does that.” With a resigned sigh, Chloe stood up, turned off the lights and headed home.

* * *

Clark looked around him at the deserted town. The clouds jerked darkly overhead, flashing forks of red lightning. He whirled around as a flaming boulder hurtled toward him from above. “Oh my god…” Suddenly the meteor shower intensified, pelting Smallville without mercy. A meteorite shattered on the ground near him, revealing a glowing green mineral. Clark shrunk back from the mineral as a crash, louder than the rest, echoed behind him. The ship, he thought. He turned and ran toward the sound, toward the crash. The world flashed by him… he was there in seconds. He looked out over the field at the ship burning among the crops. He sprinted to it, pulling on the door. He yanked it clean off of the ship and hurled it yards away from him. He bent to look inside, when he heard it. A soft gasp floated over the chaos to his ears.

“Lana?” he glanced over his shoulder at her staring at him. “Run!” Her eyes didn’t seem to comprehend what they were seeing. “Lana, it’s not…” He suddenly felt the air around him charged with energy. “Lana!” He flew through the air, tackling her as the explosion rocked through the field. He pushed himself up slightly to look down at her. She couldn’t speak. She just stared up at him as if she couldn’t recognize him. He sat up and pushed back away from her, struggling to think of an explanation. “Lana… I-” He couldn’t remember ever feeling so uncomfortable. He could feel his skin heating up, his face flushing deep red.

“Clark!” Lana screamed through her silence, pointing at him in horror. “Oh god, Clark, fire!” He looked down, following her frantic pointing to show him the smoldering bush igniting the material of his shirt. Without thinking, he grabbed his shirt, still flaming, and threw it behind him, his eyes following the projectile until it landed a distance away. He turned to talk to Lana again but she was staring at his chest, bare and flawless. The flames hadn’t even touched him.

Lana gasped as she pulled herself awake. Just a dream… only a dream, she chanted in her head, her finger still firmly pressed onto Clark’s picture. Chloe rolled over in her sleep, forcing Lana back to reality. She couldn’t get the images out of her head. Smallville in flames… Clark… She shook her head. Something was very strange about Clark Kent. “He was on fire…” she whispered into the darkness.

“What? I’m not fire. I’ll take a Diet Coke for $400, Alex.” Chloe murmured in her sleep. Lana laughed quietly to herself, pulling the blanket over her. As she fell asleep, the image of Clark looking down at her filled her mind.

* * *

When Chloe awoke in the morning, squinting against the sun streaming through the window, she found Lana perched on the edge of her bed, wringing her hands, a worn photo of Clark Kent resting on her lap.

“Lana?” Chloe asked, her voice thick with the morning. Lana paid her no heed, but continued to stare at the photo in front of her. “Lana!” Chloe grabbed Lana’s hand startling Lana into reality. Now, fully wide awake, Chloe tightened her hold on Lana and, frowning, asked, “You okay?”
Shakily, Lana pulled her hand away from Chloe’s grasp and with her other hand lifted Clark’s picture and placed it on the bed beside her, face down.

“Do you ever wonder if we’re not alone?” Chloe sat back, staring at Lana, still frowning.

“Of course. We’ve both always felt that others were supposed to be with us; that there were others like us somewhere. That’s why I started the Wall of Weird, to look for any sign that they might be out there.” Lana shook her head sharply, her long dark hair swirling around her face.

“No, I mean…not like us, but like us, as in not of this earth, like us.” Chloe said nothing for a few moments, her mouth open slightly, her forehead scrunched in concentration, focused solely on what Lana had just said.

“Lana, what are you talking about?” Lana took a deep breath, folded her hands on her lap and spoke softly.

“Last night, I dreamwalked Clark. And…and I think he saw me,” Lana finished in a whisper. Chloe shot up.

“Lana, that’s impossible!”

“I know! I know! But the fact remains that he looked directly at me.”

“Ok, ok…what happened? There has to be a logical expla—”

“No!” Lana interrupted, “He saw me. He knew it was me. I was following him through town and the meteors started falling. They were glowing bright green! Then he just disappeared.” Lana stared at Chloe searching her face for a hint of understanding. Chloe just raised an eyebrow a confused expression locked on her face. “I’m serious! He just looked off into the distance for a second and then he vanished. It took me a while to find him again. And then…he threw the door off of a spaceship and—”

“What?!”

“Yeah, I said spaceship. I made a noise and he turned around. He tackled me.”

“Wait a minute…why would he do that, huh?”

“Chloe! Focus, please, get your mind out of the gutter. He was saving me. Then he caught fire but it didn’t hurt him at all. Them I woke up.”

“How do you know he wasn’t burned? Lana dropped her down to her lap turning away. She tried to stop herself from blushing.

“He threw his…um shirt off.” Chloe leaned forward.

“Now we’re talking. Details.”

“Chloe!”

“Lana, forget about it. Boys are weird, we know this. It’s called hormones.”

“But…it was so real.”

“Clark Kent probably wishes he was a superhero so he could save his damsel in distress.”

Chloe reached for Lana’s hands. “Don’t worry too much about it. Just get back to your normal daydreams of Kent naked.” Chloe laughed as she ducked out of the path of the pillow aimed at her head. “Hey! I almost forgot. I found something.” Lana straightened abruptly but then pursed her lips together in a small frown.

“Chloe, this isn’t another one of your meteor-freak conspiracy theories, is it?” Chloe frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

“No. And I’ll have you know, there is something weird going on with the meteors. Just read the article.” Lana placed the laptop on her bed and began to scan the article.

“What is this exactly?”

“This came from a paper in Mew Mexico…Roswell, New Mexico.”

“‘Unexplained altercation led to a sudden shooting in local Crashdown Café. Witnesses state tha—”

“Give me that!” Chloe impatiently grabbed the laptop and scrolled through the article highlighting a passage with the mouse. “Read there!”

“Among one of the sketchier details is whether or not the waitress Elizabeth Parker, 16, was actually shot. Although witnesses say they are sure of her injury, she left the scene unharmed. Several theories are floating around about the health and miracle recovery of the girl including a claimed sighting of a silver hand print on her abdomen where she was said to be injured.” Lana looked up her eyes wide. Chloe nodded, pushing the laptop closed with her hand.

“So what do you say now?”

“I say,” Lana stood up and headed toward the door, “We’re going to Roswell.”

* * *

Clark lay, stretched out on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. He had woken up just before dawn from a very strange dream. He had been dreaming about the meteor shower and his ship, which wasn’t that unusual, but Lana had shown up halfway through the dream. She had just… appeared… out of nowhere. Sure, he’d had dreams of Lana before, I mean come on, this was Lana, but the dreams had always been about her freaking out about his powers or where he was … um… kissing her. He rolled over onto his side, trying to think about something else… anything else. Finally, he just grabbed the phone, dialing quickly from memory.

“Hmmgh.” A groggy grunt came over the line.

“Pete?”

“Huh?”

“Pete! Wake up, I need to talk to you.”

“Clark? What could possibly be this important? I was sleeping, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. I can’t stop thinking about this dream.”

“Oh god… goodnight, Clark.”

"No, Pete, it was different. Lana was-”

“It’s always about Lana.”

“No it’s not.” He heard Pete laugh.

“When was the last time it wasn’t about Lana?” Clark opened his mouth to say something and froze. “Exactly. Go back to bed.”

“I can’t stop thinking about it… about her.”

“Are you going to shut about this if I hang up on you?”

“No,” Clark answered through a smile. Pete sighed.

“I’ll see you in fifteen minutes. And Kent?”

“Yeah?”

“You owe me.” Pete hung up. Clark felt his mood lighten up a little, knowing his friend would be there, but something about that damn dream wouldn’t stop nagging at him.

“She’s hiding something…” he whispered to himself. He knew he had to go talk to her. He slid back onto his back, having the conversation with her in his
head.

“KENT! You better not be asleep after I drug myself over here! Move it, Clark. You have some serious debt to repay me here.” Clark smiled to himself when he heard Pete yelling outside.

“And… I’m hungry!”

* * *

“So… are we stopping for food on this adventure?” Alex asked hopefully. Liz kept her eyes glued to the road, her face slightly sweaty and frantic. “Liz? I’m talking and to you, I might add… you being the only other person in the car.” He paused and stared at her. She had no reaction to anything he said.

“Oooook… Then I’ll talk to… myself. Whitman, how are you? Good, good, you? Actually I’m a little hungry. I see, well gotta stay strong. Right, you’re really an intelligent guy, Alex. Oh stop, really? No, no, I mean it. You’re smart, musical, and embarrassingly handsome. You, sir, are a hottie. Oh, thank you… your wisdom is apparent.” Alex looked over at Liz, who remained frozen in place. He shrugged. “You know, Alex, I like talking to you. I can’t believe you’re single! Oh, it’s all the testosterone… it’s too much for the ladies my age. One day I’ll learn to tone it down. Whoa!” Liz jerked the steering wheel into a hard left turn, slamming Alex into his door. “Liz, what’s the…” He glanced up at the building in front of them. “The hospital… Liz wha-”

“I just need to see someone, ok? Then we’ll go get burgers.”

“Burgers!” Alex’s face lit up as he swung open his door. The second he stepped onto the asphalt, Liz latched onto his hand a pulled him across the parking lot through the hospital doors. He glanced around. Michael and Isabel were standing in the waiting room, staring at him. Maria was slumped in a chair. She wouldn’t meet his eyes. “What’s going on?” Liz walked around and stood in front of him. She looked up at him, pleading with her eyes.

“We need your blood.” Alex stood there, frozen in silence. His smile slowly melted away.

“Repeat that.”

“We need your blood, Alex. Please.”

“What!?” Alex backed away from all of them, falling into a chair across the room. “No way! No… freaking…way.”

“Alex,” Liz started toward him, “please. Max-”

“No, Liz! It’s illegal, immoral, impossible, and lots of other negative words that start with ‘i.’ I mean, guys, this is a really bad idea. I’m not just going to give you my blood for no reason. I…”

Isabel slowly strutted over to Alex, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she stepped in front of him. “Alex, please.” She stroked his cheek lightly. “My brother really needs your help.” Alex looked at Isabel in shock for a moment, and gulped slightly. He turned his head sharply towards Liz.

“No fair,” and Alex followed Isabel to an empty examination room. Liz and Maria followed them in, Maria, with her head bent slightly down.

Isabel brought the empty syringe up to Alex’s arm. He pulled away quickly. “Guys, really, I‘m bad with needles. I mean, terrified really.” Isabel placed a hand on his arm.

“Alex, relax. This won’t hurt a bit.” Alex winced in anticipation, closing his eyes and turning his head away. Isabel held the syringe to Alex’s arm, but did not stick the needle in. Using her powers, she slowly drew Alex’s blood into the syringe, until it was full. “All done!”

Alex opened his eyes sharply and stared at the vial full of thick red liquid. He took a deep breath and turned his head to Maria.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Alex, really, can’t it wait, I mean-”

“Now!” And Alex tugged Maria out of the door. They flew down the corridor to the empty cafeteria.

“Maria, what the hell is going on here?”

“Alex, I wish I could tell you, really, but-“

“Maria, cut the bullshit! How the hell was Isabel able to draw my blood?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Maria, has anyone ever tried to draw your blood? Hell, has anyone ever tried to stab you with anything?” Maria pulled her head back in confusion.

“What!? Alex, how does that pertain to anything?”

“Because this is what happens!!” Alex grabbed a fork from the container and before Maria could stop him, he rammed the tines into his skin. He handed the fork to Maria, who alternated her shocked expression between Alex’s unblemished skin and the haphazardly bent tines on the fork. Alex looked at her with a stern expression on his face.

“So, you want to tell me how Isabel Evans was able to draw my blood!?”




So there ends Chapter 1. Reviews do a growing body good.

[MagickFantasy86]

Title: Fortune Favors the Brave
Authors: MagickFantasy86 and DarkSorceress
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters or basic plot of either Roswell or Smallville. Those belong to Jason Katims and the CW and all others who have the money to own something beyond a couple of college textbooks. Some lines are taken from "Blood Brothers."
Category: Roswell/Smallville crossover
Couples: All CC
Rating: Teen
Summary: What if two small towns hiding very similar secrets were more related than anyone knew?




Chapter 2:
Elaborate Lives, Wild Ambitions

Maria continued to stare at the mutilated fork for moment, before tossing the fork across the room. Alex ducked to avoid the flying metal object as it clattered in the corner of the empty cafeteria.

“Hey! What the hell was that for?” Maria continued to sit at the cafeteria table, her vacant gaze directed at the area where the discarded fork lay.

“Why can’t you just pretend that we’re normal?” her voice was barely a whisper. Alex felt his anger melt away. He sat on the table next to her, wrapped one arm around her shoulder and squeezed her in a guy only the two of them could ever share.

“There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t wish that we were normal... human. But, Maria, we’re not. We’re different, and if we’re not careful, we could hurt someone.” The color drained from Maria’s face. Her head turned sharply to face Alex.

“Alex, were different!” Alex frowned with an amused, but slightly confused expression on his face.

“Maria, that’s what I just said.”

“No Alex, we’re different. Alex, what did you do today?” Alex pursed his lips together, thinking.

“Well, I didn’t eat burgers.”

“Alex, focus!”

“Hm, I was in the car with Liz and she wasn’t talking to me, so I started talking t myself. You know, I’m really starting to get sick of this whole let’s push Alex away-”

“No Alex, what did Isabel do?”

“Well, she touched my cheek, and then she smiled at me, and she was really beautiful-”

“Alex!”

“Sorry, and she led me into a room and she had a syringe and... oh. Maria, what is going on here? What happened back in that room? I think I have the right to know, especially when it’s endangering us as well.” Alex no longer had Maria wrapped up in a brotherly hug, but stood before her, his face stoic. Maria stared at the ground, unable to look him in the eyes.

“Alex... I-” she began, her voice barely above a whisper, but was saved from having to continue as Liz burst through the swinging doors.

“Sorry. I was looking for the bathroom. The one in the waiting room seems to be out of order. What’s going on here?” Alex stared at both girls in succession, no emotion playing on his face. His chest heaved up and down once in a silent sigh.

“Nothing apparently.” His voice was cold, colder than ice, echoing with a hollowness that made both girls shudder. “I mean… I have no clue what the hell- and God! What I just did, I could get arrested for. You know what… I’m done. Either tell me what’s going on, or this friendship is over.”

Liz’s eyes widened. “Alex, don’t say things that-” Alex sharply turned his hard gaze toward her.

“What, Liz? That I don’t mean” He laughed hoarsely to himself. “Cause I couldn’t possibly mean that. I’m just stupid, naïve, gullible, weak, little Alex Whitman, who’ll do anything for anyone.” He ignored Liz and focused solely on Maria, who sat on the cafeteria table defeatedly. “I am not that person.” Without another word he swept out of the room, the cafeteria doors swinging violently to accent his absence. The two girls sat in silence for a few moments before Maria spoke.

“Well, that went well,” she said sarcastically, getting up to retrieve the fork that lay in the corner of the room. Fatigue showed in her movements and voice.

“It could have been worse.”

“Tell me, Liz. How could it have been any worse?” She threw the errant fork into a side trash can, the metal object hitting the plastic bottom with a dull thud. “We should have told him.”

“No!” Liz’s voice rang throughout the cafeteria. “No one else can know. Alex doesn’t need to be a part of this.” Maria looked at Liz incredulously.

“Don’t you get it? He’s already a part of this! We- no. I take that back. YOU made him a part of this. God, Liz. We can trust Alex. I thought you would have been fighting for him. What is going on with you? I don’t even know you anymore!” Liz tried to grab a hold of the blonde as she passed.

“Maria!-” But the girl had already exited the room. Liz sat in the empty cafeteria, her head in her hands as a headache slowly built. She closed her eyes, trying to block the voices nagging at her to give in and simply tell all of her secrets.

She was startled out of her meditation as a well known presence entered her awareness. She snapped her head around just as the person came in through the doors. Liz frowned for a moment, thinking. ‘I’m such an idiot. How could I have let myself fall for him?’ before plastering the brightest smile she could muster on her face.

“Max, what are you doing up?”

He sat down next to her. Heat radiated softly from him, causing Liz to shiver slightly.

“They let me go. Apparently I had some sort of ‘miraculously recovery.’” They both chuckled at the meaning behind that statement. “How are you doing?” Liz nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Fine. I wasn’t hurt.” ‘Thank God,’ both thought, but for very different reasons. The two sat in a looming silence, each lost in his or her thoughts of the other.

“I- uh. Isabel told me what Alex did for us. Is he alright? I mean- do you think he’ll say anything?” Liz sighed, closing here eyes for a moment to gather her thoughts.

“He’s angry, I mean, really, really angry. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this pissed before. But he’s a really loyal friend. I don’t think he’ll tell anyone.” Her voice was terse with pain.

“Liz, I really wish we could tell him but-” Liz held her hand up to Max’s mouth to silence him.

“I know. I told Maria the same thing.” Realizing she still had her hand to Max’s mouth, she snatched the hand back quickly and after hesitating for a moment, again tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Umm- we should probably go. I’m sure Isabel is probably looking for you.” Max said nothing and followed Liz out through the doors, reveling in the memory of Liz’s fingers on his lips.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“Damn!” Kyle threw the file back into the cabinet. He rubbed his eyes. He’d been searching through the office for over an hour and still nothing. He glanced at his watch. “Dad’ll be home soon,” he thought. Kyle reached for the next file. Suddenly he froze his hand inches from the soft cardboard covering the sheriff’s papers. He listened for a moment before shrugging it off. “Get a grip Valenti.” His fingers grazed the files’ surface.

“Ahem… uh-”

“Holy shit!!!” Kyle whirled around toward the door. “Whitman? What the hell are you doing in my house?” Alex leaned back against the door fame looking down at his feet.

“I came to talk-”

“To me? Oh…I get it. A spy.” Alex looked up at him.

“What?” I’m just-”

“Liz sent you to see if I told anybody anything, right?”

“No, I need to… wait. Told anybody what?” Kyle coughed a laugh and pushed past Alex into the living room.

“You know what hurts the most? She sent the B-team… I mean you and not Maria.”

“Kyle, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Yeah, you think I’m gonna believe Liz didn’t let you in on her secret? I’m not that stupid. You-” Kyle looked out the window as headlights reflected off the glass.

“You know…I don’t need this.” Alex backed out of the front door heading for the truck in the driveway. Kyle walked up to the glass watching as Alex slid into the passenger seat to talk to Sheriff Valenti. They talked for a moment before the truck lurched, backing out of the driveway. Alex glanced back to the window to see Kyle glaring at him.

Speeding through the streets, Alex tried to ignore the continuous tirade of questions Sheriff Valenti was frantically firing at him. He gave non-committal answers to each, his mind not on the conversation but on the events of the day. How had Isabel been able to draw his blood? He didn’t feel any needle. Hell, he didn’t even know what a needle felt like. He noticed an ink pen on the floor of the car. Scooping it up he pressed it into his forearm. The plastic bent into an impossible loop. No way that girl got a needle into his arm. She would have be some kind of supernatural… “No.”

“What? No what? Alex…you need to talk to me. I need to know what’s going on. I can't continue to protect the two of you if you don't let me in.”

“No…actually Sheriff I think you know too much.” Valenti turned to look at Alex to find him glaring back in the dark. “What do you know about Isabel Evans? And don’t try and pull a “Liz Parker” on me. I’m so tired of people lying to me.”

“Alex, son, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Isabel…she…um…perfectly normal teenage girl.”

“I’ll bet. Pull over.”

“What? Alex, we’re miles away from you’re hou-“

“Pull over!” Alex dropped his fist onto the dashboard of the truck creating a dent in the thick plastic. The car screeched to a halt and they sat in silence for a moment.

“Alex…”

“You’re not going to tell me. Even if whatever secret you’re keeping could hurt me…or worse Maria.”

“I’m sorry. I pro-“

“Save it,” Alex popped open the car door stepping out into the night. “Sorry about the car.” He slammed the door closed and started walking waiting until Valenti’s headlights were out of sight before taking off in a run. As the wind whipped by the trees blurs in his peripheral vision his mind wandered. He couldn’t shake the feeling that they were hiding something and whatever it was affect both him and Maria. No matter how mad at her he could get there was no way he was letting Max Evans and temptress Isabel hurt her. He stopped in front of his house. Seeing all the windows dark, he sighed. Alex let himself into the house, collapsing on the couch dropping his heel on top of a pile of magazines on the coffee table. His body hit auto pilot channel surfing with out actually looking at the screen.

“Alex, is that you out there?” He whirled around.

“Hey dad. I didn’t know you were back there.” He heard his dad laugh from his room. Alex concentrated his hearing sharpened.

“Those kids…sometimes they seem so alien.” Alex laughed. “What’s funny?”

“Um…Monkey wrestling on the tube. Wanna join?” Alex didn’t have to hear his dad’s response to know what he would say. He jumped off the couch to grab a bag of chips and froze his arm extended toward the bag. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” He ran back to the table throwing the magazine off of a book that lay underneath. Aliens among Us, a stupid joke gift Maria had given him months ago. He had thought she had meant the two of them but what if… He opened the book to read the note she left him.

“To enlighten yourself, Whitman. Not everything is what it seems. Love, Maria.” He hit himself in the head with the novel. She did everything but come out and say it.

“Dad I’m going out!”

“But you just got back.”

“I have to get…a new razor. The ladies love it when I shave.” What? He thought. And the lame excuse award goes to…

“Lock the door when you get back in.” Alex shook his head smiling as he walked out of the door, walking a few yards before breaking into a run not slowing until his hand was right in from of Maria’s door. KNOCK KNOCK!

“Alex…what the heck?” He dropped the book into her hands. She glanced down at it as a sly smile caught her lips. “Well, well…it certainly took you long enough.”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The gray metal gleamed in the dark void, casting an eerie halo around its form. A lone figure sat just beyond the edge of the glow, scowling at the hunk of metal. The figure shifted slightly, grabbing something off of the ground. The figure made a throwing motion and a small stone flew out of his hand at an extremely fast rate toward the metal form. The pebble sped toward the form until, a few inches from the side, the rock slowed and changed direction, hitting the back of the barn with a dull thud. The figure stood, back erect, frustration and sadness playing across his face; he raised his fist over the metal form and began to bring it down-

“Clark?” Clark snatched his back away from the small ship in front of him.

“Clark? Can you hear me? Your mom said you were out here?” Using his x-ray vision, Clark could see Lana working her way toward the doors of the barn in which both he and the vehicle which brought him to earth hid. He panicked.

“Hold on just a second, Lana! I’ll be right out!” Clark quickly threw the tarp lying on the ground back over the ship. He hurriedly composed himself before walking toward the door. Just as he reached for the handles the door swung open.

“There you are.” She peered past Clark into the darkened barn. “What were you doing in here?” Clark smiled nervously and shifted his weight, trying to further hide the tarp-covered ship.

“Oh, nothing. Just... thinking.” Thinking he had deterred her, Clark looked more closely at Lana. “Are you alright? You look pale.”

“Your compliments are enthralling,” she deadpanned. “Bad night. Don’t worry about it. Besides, you don’t look to hot yourself.”

“I didn’t sleep all that well either.”

“Bad dreams?” she pushed. “You want to talk about them?”

“I- uh- don’t remember them,” he said haltingly. “How about you?”

“Yeah. I don’t either.” She smiled, somewhat knowingly. “So, are you going to let me in out of the heat or are you just gonna keep me in the doorway?” She looked pointedly into the darkness toward the hidden ship.

“I…uh…” he faltered, but was saved by the sound of a honking horn coming from the driveway.

“Hey Lana! You ready to go?” Chloe’s shout echoed across the farm. As Clark was momentarily distracted by Chloe’s interruption, Lana sighed silently and rolled her eyes. She quickly put a smile back on her face as Clark turned his attention back to her.

“Go? Where are you going?” Lana hesitated. Clark could see the wheels spin in her head.

“Oh… I’m meeting Aunt Nell in Albuquerque, New Mexico to visit with some relatives and uh… Chloe’s coming with me to keep me company.”

“Oh,” Clark said quietly, somewhat questioningly. “Well- have fun.” Lana smiled brightly.

“I’m sure it will be interesting. See you later, Clark.” She smiled and standing on her tip toes, gave him a kiss on the cheek. Coming back down, she smiled again a Clark and then left.

“Bye-” He was still standing in the doorway of the barn, smiling, when Pete found him ten minutes later.

“Hey man. Was Lana just here?”

“Yeah, did you see her leave?” Pete slapped him on the back, laughing.

“No, man. But you’re smiling like an idiot and that can only mean that Lana was here. So where’d she go?” Clark shook himself out of his daydream.

“Oh-uh. She said she was visiting some relatives in Albuquerque.” Pete frowned, confused.

“I don’t think Lana had any relatives outside of Kansas. At least, I’ve never heard of any.”

“Well, she said she was meeting Nell there. Maybe she has some relatives we’ve never heard of, or she hasn’t.” Pete shook his head, continuing to frown.

“I just saw Nell at the Talon, complaining as usual. She was saying she had to come back for some sort of real estate issue and how she hoped it wouldn’t take too long since she had to be back to work tomorrow.” Clark slumped down onto the bench beside the barn, thinking.

“That’s not like Lana… although, Chloe was going with her.” Pete laughed knowingly.

“Oh man, with Chloe it can only mean trouble!” Clark sighed as he remembered something.

“Chloe had this article up about some waitress who’d been miraculously healed after being shot in New Mexico. But you don’t think they-”

“Come on, this is Chloe we’re talking about. She’ll do anything to get a story, no matter how dangerous it is. So what do you want to do?” Clark stood, strength and determination filling every muscle of his body.

“We follow them, and make sure they stay out of trouble.”

[MagickFantasy86]

A/N: Hey if any of you creative and computer savvy people out there have any interest in making a banner for this story please let either one of us know.

[MagickFantasy86]

Title: Fortune Favors the Brave
Authors: MagickFantasy86 and DarkSorceress
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters or basic plot of either Roswell or Smallville. Those belong to Jason Katims and the CW and all others who have the money to own something beyond a couple of college textbooks. Some lines are taken from "Blood Brothers."
Category: Roswell/Smallville crossover
Couples: All CC
Rating: Teen
Summary: What if two small towns hiding very similar secrets were more related than anyone knew?

A/N: So I believe I was supposed to post this chapter like two weeks ago, but failed miserably. Sorry...

Chapter Three:
I Know the Truth and It Haunts Me

Isabel snapped a black elastic on her wrist a few times before using it to flip her blond hair into a messy bun. “Why is this taking so long? Why did they take him back in there like that? All the tests or whatever they do should be over.”

“This is the ER. I mean, they have a lot of things to get done,” Liz interjected The suddenly angry blonde shot her a look.

“Why are you even still here? This is your fault.”

“Isabel-”

“No, Michael, ever since Max took that stupid risk to save her life horrible things have been happening. And the one time one of us ends up in this place…surprise surprise Liz Parker is involved. If I had my way you would…” she trailed off her finger suspended in the air pointing accusingly. Liz fought hard against the urge to cry letting her eyes well up but not overflow. She looked up to try and meet Isabel’s eyes, reason with her only to find that Isabel’s expression had changed from fury to confusion. Liz stared as the girl’s finger lowered and her gazed focused on something behind her.

“Michael, Isabel,” Liz felt the muscles in her back tighten at the sound of the voice, “Liz…shouldn’t you be in school?” She whirled around to face Sheriff Valenti as he pulled off his hat.

“Well, sir,” Michael started, “there was an…emergency.”

“Really,” Valenti squinted his eyes a little studying them. “Anything having to do with that accident on the highway?” He caught the shock and hint of fear on Liz’s face before she could stifle it. Valenti kept his face passive as he went over the details of the story he was told by Alex in his truck. “Liz?”

“Everyone is fine, Sheriff. I mean, Max is here and that doctor says he’s going to be fine so there’s really no reason for you to be here. We’re ok.” Valenti hooked his right thumb into a front belt loop and shifted his weight.

“It’s my job to make of a report of the accidents in Roswell so there is a reason for me to be here.” The teens fell silent and simply stared at Valenti not knowing what to do. “Why don’t you three just take a seat. I’m going to ask a few questions then…” he turned his gaze on Isabel, “I have a few questions for you.” He smiled at them and started off toward the nurses’ station in the middle of the lobby. When he reached the desk he turned seeing Michael trying to comfort a frustrated Isabel while Liz sat in a solitary chair staring at the far wall.

“Can I help you?”

“Uh, yes,” he paused to read the nurses name badge, “Susan.”

“Oh, Sheriff! I didn’t recognize you just then.” She laughed to herself. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, ma’am…I’m going to be donating some blood real soon but they told me I need to get it tested first. Could you do that for me?” The nurse hesitated surveying the slightly full hospital lobby.

“I couldn’t run the tests just now.”

“I understand you’re busy. I don’t have many opportunities to stop by.” Marge bit her lip, flicking her eyes down a list tacked to a metallic clipboard.

“I supposed I could just draw the blood now. I’ll run the tests when I have time.” Valenti smiled.

“That would do fine.” She beamed back at him setting down the clipboard.

“Wait a moment and I’ll get everything and find us an empty exam room.” He nodded as she shuffled off. He turned his back to the nurses’ station so he could observe the teenagers. Isabel had run out of anger and was sitting in a chair, free strands of hair falling over the worry written on her face. Susan returned a moment later to slap the clipboard down on the cluttered countertop. “Right this way.” He gave her a smile following her back into the hospital but let his mind wander away to the somewhat illegal task ahead of him. Susan stopped suddenly at an empty room, turning to face him. “We’ll use this room here. I’ll just hop off to the lab and get a fresh vial and be right with you, Sherriff.”

“Thanks. And…call me Jim.” She flushed a little spinning quickly to walk down the hallway. Valenti watched her move toward the end of the corridor and slip into a door that has held open for her by an orderly. As the heavy lab door closed behind Susan, Valenti finally settled into the exam room to wait. He glanced at his watch, hoping to catch the time it took for Susan to return. There was no way to explain this if he got caught.

“Ok! Let me close this door here.” She kicked at the door with her foot to release the door stop letting it swing closed on its own. She took her time organizing the needle and vials before she swabbed his arm to draw the blood. Valenti looked past her to the small window of the exam room door just in time to see a face dart out of view. He suppressed a smile and waited patiently until the nurse finished before looking up again.

“Do you have a visitor or do I?”

“Pardon?” Valenti gestured to the door and when Susan turned around she blanched. “Well, I mean…I guess he’s for me. I think he has a little crush…I’ll take care of this.” She rushed toward the door nearly hitting Michael in the face with it. Valenti heard some sort of mumbled excuse from him and protests from her. “Enough…I’m going to walk you out this time!” Susan grabbed Michael by the arm and pulled him away. Valenti waited a moment before grabbing his hat and his blood. He glanced down the hallway moving quickly to the lab door. He looked at his watch before pushing inside. He looked around and sighed in relief. He had gotten lucky. The vial labeled Evans, Max was sitting on the table untouched by technicians. He quickly put Max’s label on his newly drawn blood taking care to put the new vial exactly where the old one had been. Leaving the lab, he headed down the hallway, quickly turning around and heading the other direction when he saw an orderly that he could have sworn he had seen before. Valenti stopped in a bathroom breaking the seal on the vial to flush the blood away and dropping the glass tube into a biohazard bin. He bent down to wash his hands. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror.

“It’s over now,” he whispered to himself before leaving the restroom and heading to the ER lobby. He noticed the kids were gone…probably told to go home by now.

“Oh, Sherriff! Thank goodness…maybe you can help me.”

“Ms. Topolsky?”

“They refuse to give me any details about the accident with some of my students. Maybe you can-”

“The hospital can’t give you the medical records of patients…even if you do work at their school.” She gave him a little smile and looked down slightly.

“I’m only here to help them through this. Accidents involving friends can be rough on young people.”

“At least now I know they have someone…watching over them.” Valenti stepped away from her, heading out the door to his truck. As he drove away he looked into his rear view mirror to find Topolsky watching him. As soon as he as was out of sight, he took out his cell phone and made a call.

“Hello? Yeah it’s done. I got it. Don't worry, I already got rid of it. Now are you going to tell me why I just got rid of blood that you apparently donated to help someone that you and I both don't trust? Fine, but I expect answers soon. How am I supposed to continue to protect your secret if I don’t know what’s going on? Fine… but we aren’t done with this.” Glowering, he drove back to his office.

***************************************************************

“Hello?”

“LIZ! What the hell is going on? I’ve been trying to call you for ages.”

“Kyle…it’s after three A.M. I was asleep.” She could hear him breathing, frustrated.

“So you weren’t going to call me and let me know you were ok after your run-in with Max Evans.”

“How did you know about that?”

“Remember who I live with, Liz. I’m surprised you’d think I wouldn’t find out.” She took a slow breath, blinking sleep from her eyes.

“I’m fine. I promise. I mean, I was a little scared but Max is-“

“Liz…listen to me. I don’t care how Evans is right now. How do you think I felt when I heard a car Max was driving crashed WITH YOU IN IT! And basically all of Roswell was there…except for me. Where was Kyle? He was searching through files.”

“Files…what files?”

“On Max.” Liz shot up in bed.

“Kyle, no! You can’t.”

“He’s hiding something and I’ll be damned if I let some secret hurt you.”

“I said I’m fine! But I can’t tell you. It’s not my secret to tell.”

“You know and you’d hide this from me? We’ve never kept a single secret from each other…not ever. It's always been the two of us against everyone else. We haven't told anyone, not even our parents. And now, he's all you talk about. You're getting too close. He’s done something to you. Don’t worry…I’ll get to the bot-“

"Kyle, stop! You don’t have any idea what you are talking about. This is more important than your feelings being hurt or a male pride thing. I will keep this secret and for as long as he wants me to, from everyone…especially you!” Liz bit her lip as her words flew out of her mouth. She listened hard trying to hear him…any reaction at all. He answered her with silence. “Kyle?”

“Is that what you think? This is about my pride? I was worried about you…that you needed help but,” he sighed, “I don’t know you at all do I?”

“I…I didn’t mean it.”

“But you did…every word.” Liz tried to collect her thoughts to think of something to say to him. Anything.

“Kyle?” No sound answered her. She called his name over and over again before realizing he’d simply hung up. Liz set the phone down on her desk. “What have I done?” she whispered to her empty room. She jumped up and ran to the bathroom to throw up her stomach cramping. Sitting on the cold tile, her eyes flooded the tears cascading down her face. She couldn’t keep losing people. First Alex, now Kyle. Oh God, Kyle… A fresh wave of nausea took her and she pressed her hand to her forehead.

“Liz? Is that you in there?” Nancy’s groggy voice came through the door, “Are you ok, honey?” Liz cried harder throwing the door open to face her mother.

“Mom…I don’t know what to do. I’m so lost,” she shook her head letting Nancy wrap her in a hug.

“Whatever it is, honey, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Do you want to talk? I have cookies.” Liz sobbed out a little laugh and nodded. As she followed Nancy to the kitchen memories of being a little girl passed through her head. the orphanage, playing outside, the first day of school…she blinked. Until Max entered her life almost every moment she could remember Kyle was with her. “Here we are. There isn’t anything chocolate chip cookies and milk can’t fix. You aren’t too old for cookies and milk are you?”

“No,” she laughed quickly sinking her teeth into the warm cookie as Nancy set two tall glasses in front of them. “Mom…have you ever made a choice that scared you?” Nancy’s hand froze over her cookie her face paling slightly.

“Are you in trouble?”

“No, no Mom. I just…” she tipped her head forward a tear falling into her milk. “I made a promise to someone but…”

“Your friends don’t understand your choice?” Liz looked up shocked. “I was young once. Is this about Max?” Liz made an affirmative noise around the cookie in her mouth. “You have to do what you think is right and trust that your friends will do the same. Just don’t let Max pressure you into changing for him or into an…um adult situation.” Liz spit crumbs and bit of chocolate across the table.

“MOM!”

“Well, it had to be said. But talk to me, Liz, I’m sure we can think of something.” Liz took a sip of her milk before letting all her problems fall on Nancy. Without giving up her secret, she talked and talked feeling her uncertainty start to melt away. Maybe it’s the chocolate, she thought. Liz felt a connection to Nancy that she hadn’t felt in years remembering why she felt drawn to the woman in the first place. When they had finally ran out of things to say, Liz looked up to see the sun peeking over the horizon.

“Wow! What time is it?” Nancy blinked looking but at the clock on the wall.

“Time for me to get up,” she laughed. “Feel better?”

“ Much. Thanks for the talk.”

“That’s wha-” RING! They looked over at the phone watching it for a moment. “Who would call this early?” Liz leapt up off of her chair hoping.

“Kyle? Hello? Hello?”

“May I speak to Nancy Parker?” Liz froze trying not to let the disappointment show in her voice.

“It’s for you.” Nancy took the phone and Liz grabbed the last cookie before heading back to her room.

“Hello? This is Nancy.”

“Um…Mrs. Parker this might sound a little strange but I don’t have anyone else there to call.”

“Who is this?”

“My name is Lana. Lana Lang.”

*******************************************************************************************************************************

Lex stretched back in his Italian leather chair, rubbing the glare of the computer screen from his eyes. His life felt so out of control recently. He felt as though he were being stretched in two opposites, the man he wanted to be, the man who was a friend of Clark; and the man his father wanted him to be, the ruthless, cold-blooded killer in the business world. How his father could be so monstrous, so power hungry, so inhuman, Lex could barely understand. His mother had been a beautiful human being, always willing to help those not as fortunate as herself. When she had died suddenly and mysteriously, Lex had felt a part of himself die with her. She had kept him in check, had nourished his sympathetic side. Now he felt his humanity slipping away. It hurt to know his mother would be ashamed of what he had become.

He was startled out of his momentary self-reflection by an unwanted guest bursting through his study doors, unannounced. His butler came skittering in after, looking half timid of the man who had burst in and half terrified at the break in household protocol.

“I am terrible sorry, sir. I tried to stop him but…” Lex straightened in his chair and squared his shoulders, preparing himself for the ensuing battle of wits. A small smile crept onto his face as he calculated his next move.

“That’s all right Bentley. My father has a tendency to be tenacious beyond the capacity of most people.” Bentley slinked out of the room as fast as he could. Lex leaned back in the chair, taking a relaxed stance with his hands clasped behind his head.

“Hello Dad. What brings you to Smallville? Collapsing independent companies and destroying other people’s lives finally boring you?” Lionel Luthor strolled up to the chair facing the desk and sat as though he owned the place.

“Hello son. As always your lack of manners astounds me. Have you really grown so entrenched in this town that you show no respect for your father?” The two simply stared at one another for a few minutes, neither willing to lose round. Then suddenly, Lionel smiled. “But let’s leave the battle to another day. I have something I want you to do. I want you to host the winner of the Luthor Corp. Internship Program. The winner is from a small town himself, so I though Smallville would be a good place to get his feet wet.”

“Right. So is he a spy to keep tabs on me or some charity case you picked up to make the community believe you were giving back?”
“You will do this, son, or I will personally make your life miserable and all your accomplishments fail. You will sit by helplessly as all thoughts of a successful future crumble before you. You do not want to try my patience. You will keep him at your side constantly. He will learn all aspects of your work with no details left out. Listen courteously to any ideas he might have. He is an intelligent boy, with an ageless wisdom and I think he has a bright future ahead in our company.”

Lex sat back, his jaw set in frustration. “So when do I get to meet this boy wonder?”

“Oh he’s right outside. Nicholas, please come in.” the door handled turned and in walked a boy with spiky dark blond hair of no more than fifteen years. But his eyes spoke of ages beyond the years of his face and held a certain malice only barely veiled by childhood innocence.

“ Lex, I’d like you to meet Nicholas Crawford.”

***********************************************************************************************************

Chloe stretched lifting her arms over her head. She glanced over her shoulder at Lana still on the phone writing something down on a napkin. She walked around the car popping open the fuel door and removing the cap. The tiny gas station was the first that had seen in an hour. No point getting stranded, she thought. As she pushed the pump into the car, Lana got out and leaned against the passenger door. “So?”

“Well it wasn’t as awkward as I thought it would be.” Lana replied pulling her long hair into a ponytail. “At least we have a place to stay in Roswell.”

“Did she remember you?”

“Barely…It seemed like she just fell out of touch. I think I shocked her a little. But hey do you remember hearing that she had a daughter?” Chloe shook her head.

“But then again it’s possible. Like it’s possible there are towns smaller than Smallville.” Lana laughed glancing around them.

“I’ll go pay. Do you want something to eat?”

“Anything that incorporates as many of the five virtues of food as humanly possible.”

“Chocolate, sugar, fat, fried, and chocolate,” they recited together. Lana smiled heading toward the small general store. She paused turning back to Chloe.

“You ever think we should think of an actual fifth one instead of repeating chocolate?”

“Nonsense, Lang! Chocolate is twice as important. Now go!” Chloe turned back to replace the pump watching as the people of the town moved between the few buildings. She went over what she would say when she got to Roswell. She’d been running the possibility of people waiting for her…that knew where she and Lana had come from.

“Donuts!” Chloe snapped out of her reverie to see Lana brandishing a huge box of glazed donuts in front of her. “Ok so I managed three!” Her smile wilted a little at Chloe’s expression. “What is it?”

“Nothing…nothing, just lack of chocolate.”

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

Pete shook his head grabbing a handful of Clark’s fries as his friend stared off into space. “Let me get this straight” he said through the half chewed potatoes, “You had a random dream where you saved Lana’s life. So…you have a hero complex. I thought be had established that your Mr. “pull out chairs, hold doors, and save the damsel in distress while still having time for homework” Kent.”

“Pete, this was different. It was like Lana was in the dream.” Pete stared at him.

“Didn’t I say that?”

“No…I mean yeah. But it was like she wasn’t a part of my dream…but that she was just in it.” Clark scratched his head. “I’m not making any sense am I?”

“Nope…but you’re paying for the food right?”

“Yeah,” Clark laughed.

“Then, buddy, I’m all ears.” The conversation paused for a moment as the waitress came over and Clark ordered more fries to replace the ones his friend devoured. “Something’s bothering me, Kent.”

“What?”

“She didn’t tell you exactly where she was going.”

“Who?”

“Janet Reno…LANA. Keep up, Clark. We’ve only been talking about her non stop since you woke me up. How are you ever been to Albuquerque? It’s no Smallville, man, it’s huge! How are you going to find her in a place that big?”

“Raid the Torch.” Pete froze.

“What ever drug you’re on…will you share?”

“What?”

“You’re talking crazy. There’s no…way…you…can …get…in,” Pete struggled with the ketchup bottle cap between words. Clark reached over and popped the cap off. His friend stared at him. “I hate that. Anyway, the Torch is a fortress. Fortress of Chloe…not only can we not get if but if she finds out we tried…painful deaths for both of us.”

“Pete, you forget…I have a key.”

“Oh…in that case. Let’s get these fries to go.” Clark laughed, laying bills on top of their check.

“You really do eat a lot of fries.”

“Don’t knock fries, Kent. Now let’s get this over with ok?”


A/N: So I believe this is the last of the reposted chapters. Coming up next: new advancement in the plot! As always, reviews are welcomed, really really welcomed.

[MagickFantasy86]

Title: Fortune Favors the Brave
Authors: MagickFantasy86 and DarkSorceress
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters or basic plot of either Roswell or Smallville. Those belong to Jason Katims and the CW and all others who have the money to own something beyond a couple of college textbooks. Some lines are taken directly from the show.
Category: Roswell/Smallville crossover
Couples: All CC
Rating: Teen
Summary: What if two small towns hiding very similar secrets were more related than anyone knew?

A/N: Finally! Something new!


Chapter 4
A Step Too Far

“Ok… so I have just one more question.”

“No, Alex!” Maria pushed her sun glasses to the top of her head and glanced over at him as he tried to fit his long legs into her car. “When I said I would give you a ride to school, I was not aware that that meant you would continue with last night’s marathon interrogation.”

“Come on, Maria. I can run faster than you can drive me and I wouldn’t feel like I was folded up in a suitcase.”

“The seats do move back you know.”

“Irrelevant!” He reached over and picked up the travel mug that was sitting in the cup holder. He sniffed it. “Orange juice?” he asked hopefully.

“A smoothie my mom made. What?” Alex had lifted the lid off of the cup and was staring at the contents in horror.

“It’s green. It looks like liquefied shamrock. Nothing meant for human consumption should be green.” She grabbed the mug and took a deliberate sip.

“Then lucky for me I’m not human.” She raised her eyebrow at him as she paused at a stop sign.

“Touché… can I ask my question now?” She sighed but didn’t object. Alex smiled. “So, how long have you known?” Maria pulled here sunglasses back down.

“About the ‘Aliens Among Us’? Liz told me. After she was shot.”

“Why didn’t she … never mind, don’t answer that. Do they have normal digestion?”

“What?! Alex, besides the obvious ridiculousness of that question… you asked me that last night.” He shrugged.

“It’s an important question. What if they’re here for a hostile takeover?”

“Of what? School? Look…don’t be insane! No, they don’ eat people. No, they don’t know where they came from. No, they haven’t brainwashed Liz. And no, they are not green and slimy covered in fake skin.” She paused. “Although, I did ask that question myself. And they are not bent on world domination…except maybe Isabel.”

“Hey! Leave her out of this.” Maria pulled her car into a spot on the school lot and turned around to look at him.

“Do not tell me you have a crush on Isabel Evans. Here you are worrying if they’re here to hurt us, and now you’re in love with one of them?” He coughed into his hand in a way that sounded vaguely like Michael. Maria narrowed her eyes. “I heard that. Besides… that’s uh… research.”

“Right… and that green smoothie tastes better than Doritos. How can they be just hiding this huge secret like that?”

“Well… how do we?”

“We didn’t bring a girl back from the brink of death. And you said they are already suspicious that someone may be after them. Maria, this could get bad.”

“I’m pretty sure they can take care of themselves.” Alex didn’t smile and Maria lowered her eyes. “I know…bad for us.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure the people after them wouldn’t really mind if they nabbed us instead. And Liz… she involved me… us in this without telling me the
truth!” Maria’s head shot up.

“She couldn’t. she promised him she wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“She told you. And if someone was watching the hospital yesterday… they’ve seen me now… with them. This could get me in a lot of trouble and she can’t even give me a reason why.”

“But now you know why. So it’s okay, right?”

“I found out from a book. I thought she was my friend. And now, it’s obvious she would throw me away to save her boyfriend.” Alex pushed open the car door and paused. “What’s stopping her from doing the same to you?” He grabbed his bag and tapped the car door causing it to slam forcefully into the body of the Jetta. As he headed toward the school doors, he suddenly started to whistle, drowning out the sound of Maria calling his name.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Kathleen Topolsky read over her email to her boss before hastily clicking the send icon over and over again. The lost hospital opportunity was nagging at her. The blood tests were normal? That isn’t possible. The more she thought about it the more convinced she was…the blood was not Max Evan’s. RING! RING!
She jumped, glaring at her phone for breaking her train of thought. “Topolsky.” She froze. She had just sent the email to the director a moment ago. She hadn’t expected a call. “Yes, sir. No, sir, the blood tests were normal but it’s possible there was a switch. I…we couldn’t watch them at all times the doctors…I understand. I will. You will have the new results within the hour.” Replacing the receiver she reached into her desk. Shaking the white powder in its glass vial she glanced at the wall clock. Perfect timing, she thought, I’ll get a sample of Alex’s blood and still have time for lunch.

***************************************************************************************************************

“I don’t think I can do this. I haven’t even heard from any of them in years.”

“But they’re still your family.” Lana threw her hands in the air.

“They don’t even send Christmas cards to us anymore!” Chloe paused at the rare break in her friend’s composure. She shifted her weight.

“Do you want to wait? You know, until the daughter comes home?” Lana exhaled.

“No, it’s now or never. Let’s go.” She hiked her bag further up onto her shoulder, heading toward the Crashdown. She smiled at the boy holding the door for her, exchanging a laugh with Chloe when he almost fell into the glass. Stopping at the counter, the girls dropped their bags sliding onto the bar stools.

“I like sitting,” Chloe sighed. Lana nodded finger combing her hair. She paused when a middle aged man headed toward them.

“You think that’s Mr. Parker?”

“Has to be…has “Dad” written all over him.”

“Hello, ladies,” Mr. Parker said as he reached him, “Can I get you something to drink?” Lana hesitated for a moment, flicking her eyes nervously to Chloe.

“Hi, um…cherry Coke. You like cherry, don’t you Lana? Lana?”

“Ow,” she moaned after receiving Chloe’s elbow in the ribs, “Yeah cherry’s fine.” As Mr. Parker turned away, she slammed her palms on the counter standing up suddenly. “Wait! Are you Mr. Parker? Please say you are.”

“Um…well yes but-“

“Please, My name is Lana Lang. I called your home and spoke to your wife. I’m…I’m your niece.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“Why are we here again?” Maria asked as she pulled her mom’s old Jetta into a space down the street from one of the many dingy motels that littered Roswell.

“There was a guy poking around the blood samples at the hospital yesterday. I think he was FBI.” Maria interrupted Michael as she put the car in park.

“FBI?”

Michael sighed. “He had slicked back hair, a blank face, sunglasses on indoors and a black suit.”

“Typical Men in Black. Got it. Figures. When will they learn?” Michael rolled his eyes.


“Anyway, I tailed him yesterday to here. Now, we just gotta wait for him to leave and then search his room to see how much he knows.” Maria looked over at Michael.

“You tailed someone?” she asked incredulously.

“WHAT?” Maria shook her head, laughing silently.

“Nothing.” They sat in silence for a few moments. “So why am I here?”

“I needed someone to keep look out.”

“And where are Max and Isabel? You know, the Galactic Three Musketeers. Or have you finally decided that lowly humans,” Maria dramatically stressed the word, “are worthy of your presence?”

Michael sighed. She was starting to yell at him again. He couldn’t seem to get her voice out of his head as it was. However, he was finding that he minded it less and less. In fact, he almost enjoyed getting her riled up just so he could hear her voice continue to sound.

“Isabel is off with her stupid popular friends and Max is out with Liz.” Michael spat Liz’s name out a though it was something acidic, bitter and tasted of used gym socks all at once.

“You’re going to have to accept them eventually. The whole look into each other’s eyes soul mate thing has destiny written all over it. The temperature rises so high when they’re in the same room, I’m surprised they haven’t jumped each other yet. Beside, Liz has done nothing but help you. She couldn’t help that she got shot , nor that Max loves her.”

Michael sighed again. He’d only meant to get her somewhat angry, not to insult her best friend. He tied to retreat. “No, I know. I have nothing against Liz herself, although, Isabel might say differently. She just provides too much of a distraction for Max. He should be out looking for information about who we are, but instead he’s making google-y eyes at the local waitress!”

“Why are you so obsessed with being an alien?” Uh oh. This isn’t what he meant to do. She seemed almost sad, not angry. “I mean, if I were an alien… if that were even somewhat likely…I would try to focus on the things that made me like everyone else, not the things that make me completely different. Even though there are one or two others who would understand, I would want there to be more…others to find some companionship, even if they didn’t know every bit about who I was.” She paused and looked out the window. “I mean if it was me.”

Michael swallowed inaudibly. Where the hell had that come from, he thought. All of the sudden he felt hot and had some trouble breathing. Some of what she had said had rung true with something in the depths of Michael’s being. The truth in her words struck something he wasn’t aware of until then. It hurt but he couldn’t admit it not to himself, not to Maria...not to anyone

“You wouldn’t get it. You’re not one of us”

“No, I guess I’m not.” There was a strange tone in her voice and Michael had plenty of time to ponder it as they sat in the uncomfortable silence, waiting for the FBI agent to leave his room. Maria shifted in her seat. She looked over to find Michael staring at her. “What!?”

“You’re all intense. If I didn’t-“

“need your car,” She mocked in a high voice. She smiled a little as he scowled forcing herself out of her bad mood. “Then I wouldn’t be here and you, Michael Guerin, would have missed your mark coming out of his room, Mr. Spy.” She jabbed the windshield pointing in the direction of the exiting agent. Michael grabbed her and pulled her down out of sight. “Hey!”

“Are you insane?”

“Well I am here with you, aren’t I?”

“He can’t see us!”

“Will you stop yelling at me?”

“When you stop trying to get us caught!” She opened her mouth but said nothing. She glared at him bent at an awkward angle hiding below the dash board. Suddenly she noticed how close they were to each other. He shifted in his seat slightly and she stopped breathing for a second. It is really quiet in here, she thought. An engine near them roared to life and away from them kicking loose asphalt into the bumper of the Jetta. Michael burst out of the car, slamming the door then leaned against it to appear bored. She opened her door and stepped out heading toward the agent’s room door. She paused, glancing back at him.

“Well?” He huffed pushing off of the car and walking past her to the door. He passed his hand over the lock just before she stopped behind him. As he pulled the door open, she grabbed his forearm. “How did you-“

“I picked the lock.”

“In ten seconds?”

“Are you going in or not?” She shrugged walking past him into the room. He went in after her closing the door and looking around.

“Closet.”

“What?”

“Check the closet…you know luggage tags things like that.” He stared down at her.

“Will you just go look out the window?”

“Can’t do that, Mr. Spy. You need me.” He sighed and shook his head making her smile. He moved off toward the closet pulling open the doors.

“No tags. Now what?” He walked into the bathroom. Maria paused. She was hoping there would be tags on the bags. She didn’t really have another plan and she could feel a little head ache coming on. She looked around the room for some kind of clue. Glancing across the floor at the trash can she squinted her eyes a little to get a better look. Suddenly her headache flared and the sides of the trash can when transparent. She could read numbers on the piece of paper in the can. She shrieked.

“What!?” Michael rushed out of the bathroom holding the agent’s deodorant.

“Uh…I just…Deodorant? Really? I mean I’m sure you can tell a lot about a man from his personal hygiene products, something you should note by the way. But I think you should look in the trash.”

“Why did you scream?”

“Broke a nail!” She waved her hand in his face and giggled nervously. He frowned at her.

“If I didn’t need your car…where is it?”

“My nail?”

“The trash can, Maria!” She giggled again pointing at the can. He pulled the paper out of it and flattened it. “A phone number.” She looked over his shoulder at the number.

“Oooh…local.” She picked up the phone and started punching in numbers.

“What are you doing?”

“You wanna see who on the other end don’t you?” Ring…Ring…

“Topolsky.” Click.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“Pete… relax. She’s not going to notice.”

“Not go-… not going to notice?!” Remember you told me she yelled at you for moving the pens around on her desk. This is worse.”

“Just look around.” Pete sighed and finally crossed the threshold of the Torch. E watched Clark sit down at his desk and flip on the computer. Pete walked around Chloe’s desk, giving it a wide berth. He heard Clark laugh. “It won’t bite you.”

“Not taking chances.”

“Why don’t you check the pile of old story ideas she threw away? Back by the wall.” Pete started flipping through rejected stories when he heard Clark turn on another computer.

“Tell me that wasn’t her computer.” Clark smiled slyly and started typing. Pete groaned, glancing back to Chloe’s decorated back wall. “So the Wall of Weird’s getting crowded. Hey! Did you know Lexcorp torpedoed a hospital plan because he wanted to get a new jet?” Clark stopped typing.

“What?”

“She underlined it in this article along with stuff about meteor showers and a New Mexican waitress being shot.” Clark shop up, knocking the chair through the air into the wall. “What the-“

“A what where was what?”

“Clark, I love all the alliteration in that sentence but I think all this snooping overloaded your brain.”

“Was the girl shot in Albuquerque?”

“Uh…”Pete skimmed the article, “No… someplace called Roswell. Oh get this, there’s no proof she was actually shot. No would. Weird.” He patted the article pinned on the wall. “You belong here.”

“Roswell? What are the chances that that’s where they are?” Pete shrugged. Clark whirled around and shut down the computer. “We’re going to Roswell.”

“Excuse me? How do you know they’re even there? They could be in California.”

“Because Lana doesn’t lie! She would have said something close so she felt like it wasn’t too much of a lie, right?”

“I guess…”

“They don’t have that much of a head start.” Clark turned toward the door. “If we leave now we-” He froze. Framed in the doorway was a young kid in a ridiculously expensive suit. He looked like e had been standing there for awhile. The kid blinked at Clark but didn’t speak. Clark turned, trying to see if Pete saw him too but his friend was busy rereading the Roswell article. Clark turned back to the door. The kid was gone. “Um… come on… we should go.” He let Pete out first, closing the door behind them. As they walked down the hall, Clark glanced over his shoulder ever few feet to try and find that kid again. There was something about him that made his skin crawl. If only he could find him ag- BAM! “Oh! Sir, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see… Lex?”

“Clark…” He ran his hand over the front of his suit, smoothing it. “Let me guess… thinking about Lana?” Pete barked out a laugh and Clark smiled a little.

“What are you doing here Lex?”

“Spending time somewhere my father… isn’t.” A silence fell over them as a strange emotion flashed behind Lex’s eyes. Suddenly a coffee cup appeared in the space between them. Lex reached for it. Clark followed the arm holding the cup and stopped breathing for a moment. The kid!

“Lex… who is that?”

“What? Oh… intern errand boy. Nicholas is his name, I think. I should go before you start moving again and I get coffee on my suit instead of just the wind knocked out of me.” Lex granted them a half nod before passing them, Nicholas trailing obediantly behind. As they passed through the door, Nicholas turned and locked eyes with Clark. As he watched, the boy’s face transformed into a cocky smile. Clark’s jaw dropped. An instant later Nicholas’s stoic mask was back in place and he was gone.

“Creepy,” Pete whispered, “it’s like he knew you…”

“Forget it… let’s go. We have driving to do.”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


Anyone who lingered in the halls risked their lives, so it was a very lucky coincidence that no one was around as the teenaged alien flew down the halls, nervous (and somewhat alien) energy swirling around her; for Liz was a woman on a mission. Alex had been avoiding her all day during school and their conversation yesterday had not left warm fuzzy happy feelings in her stomach with regards to her future and NOT being shipped to a dissection table. She wasn’t sure whether to jump for joy or drop into a bottomless pit as she caught sight of her prey around the corner. Swallowing her growing anxiety, she called out to him.

“Alex! Wait up!” Alex ignored Liz’s call and continued to his locker. He was opening the door just as Liz ran up to him. “Alex! I’ve been looking for you all day. Listen,” Liz’s voice dropped a number of decibels as Alex stuck his head further into his locker, continuing to ignore Liz. “I need to know that you aren’t going to say anything about what happened yesterday to anyone.”

“Well that might be a problem Liz,” Alex’s voice was muffled inside of his locker. “because Topolsky asked me to meet her in about fifteen minutes. Three guesses as to what she’s going to ask about.”

“Please Alex. Please, I’m asking you to trust me.” Alex’s gaze seemed to bore into the very center of her soul. Normally she loved the warm look they would hold, finding warmth in the brotherly love that would always be there; now she only saw emptiness with a hint of anger and sadness.

“I guess that’s the problem, Liz. I don’t. Not anymore. You lost that trust when you put Max above our friendship. You made me do something illegal to protect Max! I mean, what is it, Liz, drugs?!?”

Liz hesitated for a moment, pain, sadness, confusion and resignation tearing through her eyes before sighing. “Yes, Alex. It’s drugs.”

Alex became very still, staring directly into Liz’s eyes. “I don’t believe you.” His voice became soft. “I don’t know if he has done something to you or not, but I can’t help unless I know what’s going on. I can protect you, but only if you let me in.”

Liz took a step back/ “Alex, how can you pr-” At that moment her cell phone blared out a series of high pitched tones. “Maria? Wait? What do you mean you have proof? Topolsky’s a what?” At that moment Liz’s face turned ash white. Alex saw the fear that crossed Liz’s face, far more than should exist for her almost boyfriend. He took this little piece of information and tucked it away for later analysis. He quickly turned and headed further into the school.

“Alex, where are you going?” Liz’s harried voice floated toward him.

“Did you forget?” He glanced back at her. “I have a meeting with Topolsky.”

Liz’s eyes grew wide as she took off after him, “Alex-!”

“Liz, I’m still angry but I won’t let her hurt you.” Liz stopped and stared at his retreating form in confusion for a moment, before again taking off after him.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


The stage had been set, the players were all in position, Topolsky was revealed, unsurprisingly, as an FBI agent and Alex was mad, angrier than he thought he’d ever been before. Liz had tried to confront him immediately after their joint effort to expose Topolsky, but he had brushed her off, too angry and confused to try to have a civilized conversation with one of his oldest friends. She was hiding things from him, something she had never done before Max Evans had come into the picture.

“But,” that annoying little voice in the back of his mind interjected saccharinely, “you’ve been hiding things from her since the first moment you met her.”

“SHUT UP!” he yelled inside his mind. All he wanted to do at that moment was get home so he could figure things out from the protective, silent sanctuary of his own room, but, alas it was not meant to be.

For, as he neared the long awaited exit of this forsaken school, the object of his anger entered his field of vision. Max Evans.

“Not now Evans.”

“What did you say to Topolsky?”

“That is none of your business.”

“Alex, please, lives hang in the balance.”

Alex’s trajectory toward the door stopped suddenly as he sharply turned towards his hated foe.

“I don’t know what sort of mind control you have over Liz, but I have no loyalty to you. Ever since you entered their lives, you have only endangered not only Liz, who you claim to care for, but also Maria, who means more to me than you will ever know. I will fight for my girls, no matter what it takes. I’m on to you Evans. If you take one step out of line, abduct or prove them in any way, I will hurt you.

And with that, Alex Whitman, one of the last sons of Krypton, although neither knew this fact, walked out the door, leaving a shocked King of Antar in his wake.


A/N: Tah dah!!!! We should (hopefully have a new part soon!)

[MagickFantasy86]

A/N: Hey guys! FINALLY! We're hard at work on a new part, so get excited!

~Alex and Rachelle

[MagickFantasy86]

Title: Fortune Favors the Brave
Authors: MagickFantasy86 and DarkSorceress
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters or basic plot of either Roswell or Smallville. Those belong to Jason Katims and the CW and all others who have the money to own something beyond a couple of college textbooks. Some lines are taken directly from the show.
Category: Roswell/Smallville crossover
Couples: All CC
Rating: Teen
Summary: What if two small towns hiding very similar secrets were more related than anyone knew?

A/N: What the?! They're back?!? It's a miracle!


Fortune Favors the Brave Chapter 5
That a Life of Great Potential is Dismissed…Inconsequential

It's December 2nd, 1999. I'm Liz Parker, and this heat wave has made everyone crazy. Heat expands, melts, makes things boil, sets things on fire. And seeing the effect of this heat all around me just pointed out in this really blatant way how my life wasn't expanding...that I was stuck. How is it every cell…every molecule of my being is pulling me in one direction and everyone I care about is pushing me the opposite way? How can Max be poison if without him I feel only half alive? Nothing is simple anymore…to be “normal” is to deny my nature, my biology, my humanity…for whatever that is worth.

As the desert heat rises, the effects of a fever set in. The blood boils, the heart races, and you lose control. Tonight, Maria and Michael lost resistance. I saw them together behind the counter of the Crashdown, plates and glasses shattering in their wake. Michael and Maria…would Max..?

The house is full anyway. My lost cousin visits with her friend…Lana and Chloe. There’s something so familiar about them as if they were supposed to be here. I find myself stopping my tongue from screaming at them “why did you leave?!” And for some reason I think Chloe can sense something too. She questions me constantly with her eyes. They are nice enough but perhaps a little too intuitive for—

“Hey neighbor!” Chloe burst into Liz’s room, pausing to examine some of the framed photos gathered on the desk. Liz slammed her journal shut condemning her pen to darkness.

“Chloe? Where oh!” Lana cut off, giving Liz an apologetic smile when she caught sight of her friend.

“I’m sorry. The reporter in her knows no boundaries.” Liz uneasily returned Lana’s smile.

“Who’s this? Boyfriend?” Chloe picked up a photo in a black and silver frame. Liz’s smile faded a little recognizing the frame, knowing from memory the smiles it protected.

“No…that’s uh…that’s Kyle. He’s a friend”

“He’s cute.”

“Chloe!” Lana admonished studying Liz’s expression, concerned.

“What, Lana, you like the rugged small town boy type.” Chloe smirked at Lana’s reddening cheeks as she put the frame back down.

“Why don’t you get us something to drink?” Chloe stopped the protest on her lips when Lana raised her eyebrows in silent command. Chloe dipped her head slightly and disappeared into the hallway. “I’m sorry if—”

“No, no, you guys are guests…it’s alright.” Liz dropped her gaze to her lap. Lana moved over to the bed sitting on the edge next to Liz.

“We came out of nowhere, invading your space, you have every right to feel just bombarded!” Lana threw up her hands at her last word and dropped them to her lap. “But Liz, I…we really appreciate you and your family being so nice.” Liz looked up and Lana’s eyes captured hers. “It helps…having someone understand. Doesn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Secrets are toxic. We hide so much of ourselves from others and knowing there’s someone…anyone out there that accepts you for you…it changes everything.” A little tear formed in Liz’s eye. Lana handed her a tissue from the box hiding behind a lamp on the nightstand. “It’ll be ok. Nothing’s ever as impossible as it seems.” Liz stared at Lana’s knowing smile, suspicious yet comforted.

“Thanks,” she whispered, “but I can’t…”

“No. You don’t have to say anything. I understand. Believe me…I’m there too.” Lana turned glancing at the door a second before Chloe reappeared.

“Did you know there’s a scene almost worthy of Penthouse Forum happening down there?” Liz coughed a laugh.

“Ah…that’s Maria…new situation, I think.” Liz made a face and the girls shared a laugh.

“Well,” Lana stood up, moving toward the door, “we should go. We’ve intruded enough.” Lana paused at the door and smiled back at Liz before vanishing into the hallway. Liz hugged her journal to her chest for a moment listening to their footsteps recede. A small smile swept across her lips for an instant before it was chased away. She sighed pulling her journal open onto her lap.

Could Lana have known exactly what I’m feeling? And can everything really change in the face of this heat?

Kyle hasn’t spoken to me since the fight. For the first time, I’m afraid he won’t forgive me. Why didn’t I tell him? Max’s secret…my secret…who would have kept it safer than Kyle who plays the part better than I ever could. So, why couldn’t I just say the words “There are others. Kyle, we’re not alone.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lex sighed as he leaned back in his Italian leather chair, his feet stretched out on his, now emptied, mahogany desk. He brought his feet back down, twirling his chair to face the window as he swirled the brandy in the glass in his hand. He stared out the window, pondering the thousands of stars which would have been invisible in the city. As much as he missed the fast pace of the city life, he had a new appreciation for the expanse of stars which covered this empty country every night. They… called to him like nothing else before had. He was startled out of his musings by the creak of the doorknob as the door slowly opened and a head peaked around.

“Ah- Nicholas. Come in.” Nicholas shuffled in as if he were afraid to enter.

“Will there be anything else tonight, sir?” Lex stood up, walking toward Nicholas.

“No...you can go. I can handle business on my own. Whether or not my father agrees.”
Nicholas stood staring at Lex for a few moments before turning to the bookcase on his right and browsing the titles written in gold on the leather spines. “You don’t like your father?”

“I don’t like many of his tactics. He’s a brilliant business man and few can stand against his strategic mind, but he lacks… morals.”

“Morals?” Nicholas glanced over his shoulder, a small smirk on his face, but Lex seemed to take no notice.

“Sometimes he seems so inhuman… I miss my mother. She was a beautiful human being.” Nicholas seemed to grimace slightly, but once again, Lex took no notice, lost as he was, in memories of his deceased mother.

“You shouldn’t write off your father’s tactics so easily,” Nicholas said as he began to browse once more. “Business is much like war, and your father will soon be a victor. You have to be prepared for anything your enemy may throw at you.” At this, Nicholas turned back to Lex, a hint of venom entering his voice. “Even if you think you have destroyed all of your competitors, they keep coming back at you. You have to be willing to do whatever it takes to win, be it lying, cheating or betrayal.” His speech done, Nicholas seemed to shrink back into his usual slightly timid persona. “Just something to think about, sir.” And with that, he left the room, closing the doors behind him with a small bow of his head.

Lex stared at the closed door for a few minutes, then stat back down in his chair behind his large and expensive desk. He grabbed his glass of brandy and turned towards the window, once again lost in thought. Only now, he had new things to contemplate.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Liz turned into the hallway toward her locker, her mind on everything except where she was going. She glanced up a moment before bumping into Kyle. “Oh! Oh… Hi Kyle.”

“Liz.”

“Kyle, look I-”

“You know Vicky, right?” He cut her off, inclining his head toward a girl next to him. The hope behind Liz’s eyes for their failing friendship dimmed as she forced a smile.

“Sure. How are you, Vicky?” Liz focused on Kyle’s expression as the girl answered. When he met her eyes, for the only time in her memory, she couldn’t read his expression. Her heart sank and suddenly she noticed

Vicky staring at her expectantly. “Oh sorry, what?”

“Friday? Party? You should come. Jeez Liz, what planet were you on?”

“Not mine,” Kyle flat-panned, “besides that not her sort of thing…”

“No… a party. Sounds fun! See you there, maybe.” Vicky smiled.

“See? I told you she’d be cool.” Kyle dropped his arm around Vicky’s shoulders.

“Yeah… Guess I don’t know her that well after all. Bye Liz.”

“I… Later Kyle.” He nodded steering Vicky down the hall just as the girl started chattering away about something. Liz shook her head running her fingers through her hair. “Could this day please not get any-”

“Hotter?” Michael leaned back against the locker next to hers staring at Liz as she neared.

“I was going to say worse, but that works too. So…”

“So… I see you and the jock had a falling out.” Liz spun the lock on her locker and forcefully pulled it open.

“Kyle and I are fine.”

“Good, so I don’t have to worry about him running off and telling anyone a big secret, like his father, perhaps?”

Liz slammed her locker shut and stared at Michael murderously. “I’ve told you before, I trust Kyle with my life. He’s known about me long before you ever entered into my life.”

“If you trust him so much, above even Maria and Alex as it seems, why haven’t you told him about us?”

“Because it’s not my secret to share. Besides, you wouldn’t be treating me any different if you hadn’t taken my diary. I didn’t have a choice when it came to you invading my privacy.”

“I gotta ask, Liz. Why him? Why tell Kyle about your alien status?”

“Because.” Liz shifted her bag to her other shoulder. “Kyle’s been with me since before I can even remember. He was the first person I met when I got here and I knew, I just knew that I could trust him with everything. This is the first time we’ve had a fight like this.” Her shoulders sank, depressed.

Michael shuffled uncomfortably. “Hey, it’ll be alright. The jock’ll get over it. But you’re still not going to tell him, right?” Liz sighed.

“No, Michael. Even as all my friends continue to start hating me and my life-long relationships fail, I’m not going to tell anyone… else.” She hesitated for a moment as Michael nodded his head and began to walk away, back down the hall. “Hey Michael! Why haven’t you told anyone? You know, about me? After you returned my diary, I expected…I mean I never thought you would keep something like this secret from Max and Isabel. Especially for me.”

There was silence for a few moments before Michael grinned slightly and spoke. “Because I get it, the need to protect your family whether they’re related to you or not. Besides, like you said, it’s not my secret to tell.”

Liz smiled to herself as she yelled at Michael’s retreating back. “Hey! I’d prefer it if you didn’t use the Crashdown’s kitchen floor as a make out couch again!”

“Yeah, yeah.” He waved her off as he turned the corner.

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Still thinking over her two conversations earlier that morning, Liz passed the principal’s office. She stopped suddenly as she saw who was inside: Alex and Valenti. Her heart pounded faster as she saw Valenti begin to talk amiably with Alex answering his every question, looking only somewhat concerned. Alex glanced at her briefly through the window before turning back to Valenti.

“Damn it! Can this day get any worse?” she mumbled to herself as she took off in search of Max. She found him sitting in the library reading through a history textbook.

“Hi. I’ve been looking for you. I just saw Valenti talking to Alex. They were in the principal’s office.” Max closed his book with a sigh and turned to Liz with concern shining through his eyes.

“Could you tell what Alex was saying to him?”

Liz sat on the armrest of the chair Max currently occupying, her arm barely brushing past Max’s shoulder. “I couldn’t tell. But he did see me. I’ll try to catch up to him later. Not that he’ll really talk to me once I do.” Max took her hand and started tracing small designs onto her palm with his finger.

“Liz. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault you know? I’m just a little bit worried right now. He won’t talk to me and he barely talks to Maria anymore, and those two have always been closer. I’ve never seen him like this before. Oh, but there is one piece of good news.” Liz tried to make her voice come out cheery, but failed. Max tilted his head. “Kyle started seeing someone. Vicky Delaney.” Her name came out sounding like something poisonous as Liz tried desperately to swallow the lump of sorrow that had formed in her throat.

“Oh,” Max said confusedly.

“So maybe she’s gonna take his mind off all of his suspicions.” Try as she might, Liz still couldn’t get the remainder of grief out of her voice. Max looked at her just as her eyes began to tear up. Max tightened his grip on her hand, letting her know he was there for her even if he didn’t understand. He looked at her more closely trying to read the darker emotions in her eyes.

“Right.”

“Right.” She shook her head, trying to get herself out of this funk. Max’s strong warm hands around her tiny one making her relax more. “Oh, and apparently it’s gotten really serious.” Lies, she told herself, letting her thoughts race to console her. Even if she and Kyle were in a fight, he had never had a serious relationship. He wouldn’t let himself get close to anyone, fearing that the relationship might somehow expose them. The fact that he had even found a date so soon was rather strange. She chalked it up to the heat which was making everyone a little crazy. Fortunately she could stay above it. He had never been close to anyone. She felt her train of thought freeze as she glanced down at Max. Kyle wasn’t falling like she was. She shivered even in the heat as Max’s hand resting on her arm. She forced herself to focus.
“Because they’re going to this party together on Friday night. You know, at the old soap factory.”

“Right.” The words seemed to spring off of his lips before he could concentrate on what he was saying. He couldn’t seem to give attention to anything Liz was saying. All he could do was watch Liz’s lips move as he focused on her hand in his own. Her hand which was connected to Liz’s delicate arm which was connected to her fantastic shoulders below which were her- Nope. Couldn’t go there. Liz continued to talk as he desperately tried not to let his eyes wander.

“It’s kinda funny, isn’t it? You know, how people have started pairing up and moving forward. Um… have you noticed anything strange about Michael lately?”

Max shot out of his daydreams as Michael’s name broke through. “What do you mean?”

“Maybe just the way he acts around Maria.” She smirked knowingly. “You didn’t notice?” Max shook his head wishing the worry about Michael wouldn’t intrude on his moment with Liz. She looked over at him catching him staring at her, only half listening. She caught the rest of her observations on her tongue leaving them unsaid. She smiled slowly letting her thoughts melt away under his gaze. Suddenly nothing seemed to matter. She squeezed his hand slightly shifting her weight closer to him. Max moved his other hand to her shin, sliding his hand slowly upwards toward her knee. Liz bit her lip slightly, her smile turned nervous-excited. She leaned downward, taking a breath parting her lips to…

“Max.” Liz whipped around, glaring despite herself at Michael’s interruption. “I need to talk to you.”

“Now?” Max asked, although he could guess the answer.

“Now. Sorry Liz…alien business. Scurry off.” Max sighed shaking his head as Liz got up from the chair’s arm. She paused for a moment as if to say something but decided against it when she saw Michael’s face turning instead to leave the library.

“You could be nicer to her.”

“I’m nicer to her than you could ever know, Maxwell. But now we got a problem...”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Do you think we can stay out of trouble for the rest of today?” Lana pulled the cherry off of the top of her milkshake and laid it down on her napkin. “I don’t feel like there’s much more snooping you can do.” Chloe laughed as she scooped up the cherry completing their private tradition as she dripped Tabasco on the treat before eating it.

“Investigating…not snooping. Besides after that long drive to get here it would be a shame to not get what we are looking for.”

“Which is?” Chloe looked away for a second.

“Remember when we were little and we used to have these vivid dreams about family we were missing. Best friends with the same dreams…we thought it was a sign.” Lana smiled at the sense of nostalgia, biting down on her straw. “What if it was?”

“What?”

“No, listen. We both found that article about the Roswell waitress more than intriguing. Especially with the evidence of the silver handprint. What if we are missing family and they are here.” Lana stared across the table into Chloe’s probing eyes.

“There’s no evidence that there was even a shooting let alone something other worldly going on.”

“Lana, the only other silver handprints I have seen on skin have been painted on in sad Halloween shows and the ones we saw in all of our-

“Shhh!”

“dreams.” Chloe squinted in surprise at Lana’s outburst. “What now?”

“If…and I am emphasizing the if…you are right and someone else is here…if there are more of us in Roswell I’m pretty sure we won’t be the only ones looking.” Chloe tilted her head to the side as Lana drained the rest of her drink.

“Obviously…but that’s what I’m counting on. If they are paying attention to who’s after them they surely won’t be bothered with me as I do a little reading.”

“Why does that worry me?”

“I’ll be careful. I’m not trying to bring down LuthorCorp…you should be happy.” Lana sighed. “Unless…you don’t want to know.”

“I already know. Every instinct I have is telling me that there are others. I’m terrified that that isn’t all you will find. If finding them means losing you then no… I don’t want to know.” Chloe nodded slowly, touching her friend’s arm for a second.

“We’ll be careful, ok? I just need a few days to run down some leads and we can head back to Kansas.” The girls stood up and headed toward the CrashDown’s front door.

“Going to the UFO Center girls?” Mr. Parker asked setting a plate of steaming fries in front of a customer. “Ready to see some aliens?” The girls exchanged an amused look.

“Of course, Mr. Parker,” Chloe replied. “Today’s a great day to join the Roswell alien hunt.” Mr. Parker looked at them confused for a moment before he moved on the wait on a different customer. As the girls passed beyond the glass doors, Chloe looped her arm through Lana’s. “What are you thinking?”

“I just have a feeling that we may find more that we’re ready for.” Chloe squeezed her arm and steered her toward the UFO Center.

“Don’t worry. Just in case, when we get back to Smallville I’ll start looking for a bigger space for my expanding Wall of Weird.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the last bell rang, Liz rushed outside, hoping to catch Alex before he disappeared into the nooks and crannies of Roswell’s bustling metropolis. She spotted his tall lanky form, his head rising above the other students as he moved toward the buses. She yelled at him across the courtyard. He twitched slightly at her first call, but continued forward, as if he had actually heard her. Although it was impossible that he could have heard her across a crowded courtyard with small groups of students, each with their own boisterous conversation. She pushed her way through the students, continuing to call Alex’s name. About halfway through, Alex seemed to actually hear her by responding to her voice; his shoulders dropped and he started to turn away from the buses toward the street.

“Alex! Alex, please wait. Will you just give me a chance?” she said as she finally caught up to him. He stopped suddenly and turned towards her.

“What?”

“Let’s just try and talk.” She pulled him around the corner of the school building, away from the crowds.

“I have nothing more to say to you. What more do you want from me? More blood? A urine sample? My left kidney? Or why don’t you just strap the handcuffs on me now? Because that’s all that this conversation is going to get me: locked up.”

Liz sighed, trying to fight back the tears that were threatening to surface. “Alex, please. I just want to be friends again.”

“Friends, Liz? Friends? Friends wouldn’t ask each other to break the law! Friends would not constantly put each other in danger. Because that’s what you are doing. You’re putting me in danger without letting me know why! You’re putting Maria in danger. Who are you Liz? Why are you putting Max Evans above everyone else? Who is he that’s so damn important?”

By this point Liz’s eyes were closed, tears brimming under her lashes. “Alex, I wish I could tell you, I really do, but it’s not my secret to tell. I just really need you to be on my side.”

“Liz, I need you to tell me what’s going on. I can’t protect you if I don’t know.” He took her face in between his hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. “Has Max Evans done anything to you?” She shook her head, unable to get her vocal cords to function. “Alright Liz, please tell me what’s going on here. Please.”

“I can’t,” she whispered. She was silent for a few moments and in that silent pause, Alex merely shook his head and turned away. Finally Liz found her voice as she stared at Alex’s retreating back. “Alex, I really need to know what you told the sheriff.”

He looked over his shoulder. “You know Liz, I really wish I could tell you, but it’s not my secret to tell.”

Liz’s shoulder slumped in defeat as she watched Alex walk back towards the street.

“Alex, wait!” she called out. “The buses are over there.” She pointed in the opposite direction.

“I thought I’d jog home today.”

“Jog? But Alex, that’s really- far…” But by now she realized she was talking to empty air. “Damnit.”

[MagickFantasy86]

Hey guys,

I know it's been a really long time, but both Rachelle and I have been unhappily joining the real world. However, we have good new. A new part is nearly finished. Just a few minor adjustments and we'll be good to go. Expect it by the end of the week!

Alex

[MagickFantasy86]

Title: Fortune Favors the Brave
Authors: MagickFantasy86 and DarkSorceress
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters or basic plot of either Roswell or Smallville. Those belong to Jason Katims and the CW and all others who have the money to own something beyond a couple of college textbooks. Some lines are taken directly from "Heat Wave".
Category: Roswell/Smallville crossover
Couples: All CC
Rating: Teen
Summary: What if two small towns hiding very similar secrets were more related than anyone knew?

A/N: As promised, here it is! More will be coming... hopefully soon.

Fortune Favors the Brave Chapter 6
I Will Think or Dream of You



Isabel leaned back to admire her newly painted toenails, glancing at Liz through the hair dangling over her eyes. She took a breath trying to find something to break the silence as Liz struggled to pull the top off of her nail polish bottle. “Here, let me get it.” Liz paused before handing the bottle over.

“I’m glad you invited me over,” Liz said quietly.

“If you’re going to be a part of my life, then I should know more about you.”

“Yeah but what about you? I don’t know much about you either. Like with guys for example.” Isabel raised an eyebrow. “Well I mean it seems like you have all these guys interested in you but you keep things pretty platonic.”

“Have you been spying on me or something?”

“No, no I was just curious if there was a reason why…you know you never got close to anyone. Because well-”

“Have you ever been afraid to let somebody in?” Isabel cut in. “To let them see who you really are?”

“Of course.”

“Well multiply that feeling by a million.” Liz coughed a bitter laugh finally taking the nail polish back from Isabel. “What you don’t believe me?”

“No it’s just…I don’t believe we’re as different as you think we are. I have the same fears you do, I—”

“Are you kidding? I’m running for my life everyday while you worry about your biology homework. We’re different in all the ways it counts.” Liz put down the polish and pressed her fingertips to her forehead to stop a budding headache from flowering.

“Maybe…but I can’t even keep my best friends. In no time at all everything I built my life upon started crumbling. And with you and Michael reluctant to trust me…I’m constantly on edge that I’ll lose Max too. What if you’re right and I have no idea what you’re going through…but it’s possible I’m the only one that understands.” Isabel stared at Liz even though the other girl refused to look at her. Isabel reached over and touched the foam of Liz’s flip flop. Brushing her fingers across the glass of the nail polish bottle she dyed the clear polish to match the shoe. She passed Liz one of her disarming smiles.

“At least I can do cool things like that huh?” Liz looked up and felt her lips pull into a slight smile. The girls fidgeted in silence for a moment, perfecting their pedicures. “So tell me, what’s this about your friends? Maria seems as attached to us as you are.”

“Yeah, Maria seems ok. It’s Alex I’m especially worried about after seeing him with the sheriff.”

“You think he’s gonna cave? How bad is this?” Liz shook her head.

“I don’t know. I just…I wish I could see what was going on in his head.” Isabel dropped her head a little to hide her secret smile.

“I’ll look into it.”

“What? What do you mean you’re going to ‘look into it’?”

“Don’t worry about it. Never mind.” Liz frowned opening her mouth to protest when she heard the front door of the Evan’s house slam closed. She felt her mind race. Was it him? What would he do when he found me in his house? Would we- “Liz!” Isabel’s voice cut into her thoughts. “You need air to live you know.” Liz forced herself to take a breath while ignoring Isabel’s eyes studying her. “Maybe I should sneak you out of here.” Isabel suppressed a laugh at the brief flash of hope on Liz’s face.

“It’s just today in the library-”

“No…that I do not need to know…at all. Come on, I’ll walk you out.” Isabel pulled her room door open for Liz as she finished speaking. Liz smiled at her for a moment and before following Isabel out of her room and through her house. As they passed through the living room, Liz caught herself holding her breath at the sound of Max’s laugh coming from the kitchen. Isabel coughed slightly, grabbing her attention and finally guiding Liz toward the door. The girls said goodbye and Isabel closed the door quickly as Max came around the corner. “Hi!” she said a bit too quickly.

“What’s going on, Isabel?” Max stared at his sister confused. She looked back at him before feigning a theatrical yawn, stretching her arms over her head.

“I’m going to bed.” Max glanced over at a clock before turning back to Isabel. “Beauty sleep. Don’t worry…everything is under control.”

“Under control? Isabel?” he asked to her back as she quickly retreated to her room, ignoring his questions. There wasn’t time. There are only so many hours in a night. She pulled out her yearbook, flipping to the accumulated wallet sized photos of her classmates. She slid her fingers over a familiar image of a tall boy with slightly unruly hair and a goofy smile. She had work to do.

Alex stared at himself in his bathroom mirror watching beads of water roll downs his face from his shower. If only I could wash off this entire day, he thought. He trudged over to his bed kicking a pile of clothes out of the way. Falling on to his bed, he reached over and set his alarm clock cursing it as one of the buttons fell off. “Can’t have a nice clock if you keep smashing them when you try to hit snooze button in the morning, Alex. Story of my life. Faulty clock…faulty friends.” He sighed. “Annnd I’m talking to myself, again. It is definitely time for bed.” He burrowed into his blankets knocking a lone sock off of the end of the bed in the process as he fell asleep.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Alex looked up at the sky watching meteorites scorch in the atmosphere. He picked up a rock from the ground and hurled it into the air. “It’s a beautiful night isn’t it?” A soft gasp answered his question and he turned around to meet Isabel’s stunned eyes.

“Are you looking at me?” she breathed.

“I’m always looking at you. I’ve been waiting for you to see me.” She took a step backwards.

“This isn’t right. You shouldn’t-” Alex smiled and looked down for a moment.

“I think that under that beautiful exterior is an even more beautiful interior. One that you are too scared to show because of what may happen to you.” He took a step closer to her. “You can show me.” She shook her head, momentarily forgetting the strange conditions of this dreamwalk and getting lost in his words. “I can protect you.”

“Alex…” Isabel sighed. He reached out for her hand and she hesitated. He frowned for a moment before an idea crossed his mind.

“Let me prove it.” He glanced off into the distance and turned back to her. “Where do you want to go? Anywhere in the world.”

“Alex, what are you talking about?” He smiled a knowing lopsided smile and took a step toward her. He wrapped his arm around her waist. He paused blushing a little before he lifted her up into her arms. “Alex! Put me-” A unexpected wind cut her off and the world became an ethereal blur. She could feel his muscles contracting in effort but it didn’t feel like they were moving. She closed her eyes just for a second and when she opened them… “Oh.” Alex set her down at the base of the Eiffel Tower the stars and lights of Paris twinkling in greeting.

“Do you like it?”

“I always wanted…never in my wildest dreams…well maybe the wildest.” She shook her head willing sense to come back. Come on Isabel, she thought, you don’t fall like this. “How did we get here? Do you teleport in your dreams?” She laughed nervously but the sound died away when she noticed he was just smiling at her.

“I ran.”

“Ran? Alex…there are miles and an ocean.” She smiled a little to herself. “It is just a dream. Nothing here is real.”

“If this,” he gestured around them, “is the only place to talk to you like this, I’ll take it. But it is real. You should know, the longer you hide the more you wish there was someone there who knew. We’re not as different as you think, Isabel. Your secret…” he took Isabel’s hand and threaded his fingers through hers. “It’s our secret. You don’t have to hide from me.”

“I don’t?” He squeezed her hand slightly. She marveled for a moment at how strong he seemed to be.

“You never did.” He shifted and kissed the back of her hand before releasing it. She sank down onto a bench staring out at Paris as he sat next to her. Sitting in silence, thoughts raced through her mind. She fought her feelings for rational control. She was here to investigate not go on a dream date with Alex…to Paris. It’s just a dream. She leaned her head onto his shoulder and giggled a little to herself when he jumped a little at her touch. He made a noise as if he was trying to think of something to say and she smiled scooting closer to him. “I’ve…um…run out of smooth things to say after the confession and the run to Paris. I don’t have many moves you know? Not that I was-”

“Alex?”

“Yeah?”

“Shh. You were doing great until you started rambling.” He coughed a laugh and she could feel his happiness rather than see it. He settled down on the bench watching the stars wink at them in the sky. An obtrusive beeping echoed through the dream seeming to shake the sky. His shoulders slumped in a slight sigh. “The alarm calls. Goodbye, my dream girl.”

“Alex…I don’t understand what happened here” He didn’t say anything just taking the moment to look at her, watching her hair blow softly across her face in the wind as his dream faded into consciousness. He shook his head driving the sleep out of his eyes a little smile on his face. Dreams of Isabel made the mornings just a little better. As he sat up, he realized he didn’t remember turning off the alarm. He winced in the silence anticipating what he saw on his nightstand. He gave the broken alarm clock a little poke. “Another one bites the dust…”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Isabel stared up at her ceiling a smile pasted onto her face that she couldn’t wipe away. She rolled over hugging her pillow as a knock echoed through the door. “Come in…” She stared at her door as Max came through it.

“You look happy.”

“It’s a beautiful morning, Max. Why shouldn’t I be happy?” Max moved closer to her bed, a puzzled expression on his face which morphed into slight anger when he noticed the open yearbook on her bed.

“A little light reading?”

“I need to check on something. Liz couldn’t control her friend so I made sure everything was fine.”

“I can’t believe you did that.” Isabel swung her legs off the end of her bed and stood up.

“You’re not the only one who’s scared about what’s going to happen to us, Max. It’s not just you…there’s Michael and there’s me. And since you let our secret slip there are things to take care of. And it’s clear that out of all of us, I’m the one that should…deal with Alex.”

“You? What did you see?” The smile returned to her face.

“Everything I ever wanted to see.”

“And?” She shifted her weight her eyes focusing on Max for a moment before she looked away.

“It was confusing.”

“Were you able to get in?” She nodded fighting to keep her face stoic. “So what happened? What was the dream about?”

“I told you it was confusing. He’s a complex individual with…a lot of complexities.”

“Are you blushing?”

“It’s the heat! There has been a heat wave going on if you haven’t noticed. I mean I was in his subconscious. It’s not hard science I don’t know what everything I saw means. But,” she moved around him toward her open door, “it’s under control.”

“Is?”

“It’s under control, Max.” She turned away from him going toward the bathroom and leaving him to stare after her. The moment she stepped through her bedroom door the grin returned to her face. She reached up and finger combed her hair, shaking it out. Every time she closed her eyes she could see the Parisian skyline, feel the soft wind on her face, and imagine Alex was next to her. Heat flooded her face spreading a pink glow across her cheeks. It really was a beautiful day.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Max was wandering the school halls. Things were getting complicated. Maria and Michael were getting far closer than Max had realized, and even with Michael’s protestations, Max knew they would only continue to go down the path they both were on. But was that necessarily a bad thing? Well, maybe it was if they continued down the path kicking and screaming. He had a feeling someone was going to get injured and more than likely it was going to be him.

And now there was something going on with Isabel. She was a little too perky this morning. There was definitely something more to that dreamwalk than she was letting on. Oh well; she’d let him know when she was ready.

And then on top of all of the personal problems, there was the fact that he had been in an accident a couple a days ago, leading to the close call with his blood. Then finding out that Topolsky was an FBI agent. And the sheriff was still on their case. And now, Topolsky was missing. There were just too many things going through his mind, but one though stood out amongst the others: Liz. He had to get to Liz. It was an urge he couldn’t explain. He kept trying to convince himself it was because no one could help him figure out his problems like she could, but it was so much stronger than that. He could feel her; a beacon shining from down the hall. He followed it to the biology lab and, taking a deep breath, opened the door.

He found Liz at one of the lab tables, bent over a tray, fidgeting with something.

“Hey.” She looked up, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she smiled at him.

“Hey, what’s up? I’m just trying to get these stupid slugs to mate. Oh, come on! Won’t you guys just do it?”

“Maybe one of ’em’s gay.” Liz laughed giving one of the slugs another encouraging poke before giving up for a moment. She sat back on her stool and turned toward him. He moved in closer to her and she sighed. “Remember when you told me we couldn’t be together? That we were different? I just…I accepted it you know? Because I thought you knew…I mean because I thought that it was like impossible. But when I saw Maria with Michael,” Max looked away but she forced herself to continue, “I was hurt, Max.”

“I know. We are different, Liz, I-”

“But you’re wrong!” He stared at her and she froze. “I mean…If it’s ok for Michael and Maria then why not for us?”

“Because I know it isn’t meant to be. Somewhere along the lines…we’re going to get hurt. And I can’t live with hurting you.” She straightened up on her stool to look him in the eye.

“That’s not your decision to make.” He smiled slightly.

“No…I guess it isn’t.” He opened his mouth to continue when the biology teacher returned to help Liz with her project. He took a step back as Liz reabsorbed herself in her work without another word. He paused at the door to glace back at her and she granted him a smile, quick but luminous. Any doubt he had melted from his mind. He moved down the hallway toward his next class when something made him freeze. Isabel with Alex? She didn’t seem to see him as he watched them from his spot down the hall. Alex looked completely hypnotized by her. She reached up to unbutton the top button on his shirt and he just looked her occasionally mumbling a response to her questions. Finally she turned away heading off down the halls away from him leaving Alex paralyzed by his locker. He reached up to touch his button and examine it in amazement. He started ambling away from his locker in a daze. He was several yards away from his locker before he realized he had left it wide open and dashed over to it to slam it closed. Alex winced staring at his locker door before reopening it to poke the inside of the door. Max took a breath and moved closer to Alex. “Need help, Alex?” Alex jumped a little and stopped his door prodding.

“Doesn’t help to you mean sticking a needle in a friend’s arm?” Max frowned and watched Alex gingerly close his locker door noting several little dents in the metal.

“They should really replace those someday huh?” Alex stared at Max as if trying to find hidden meanings in his words. Seemingly satisfied, he just shook his head and prepared to leave. “Listen Alex, Liz-”

“No, you don’t get to talk to me about her. We don’t need to have this talk again do we?” Max sighed, turning sideways to indicate that Alex was free to leave. Alex scoffed, trudging past Max and disappearing around a corner.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Alex stood in the corner of the Old soap factory, admiring the sound equipment across the room out of the corner of his eye, while at the same time, cringing at the poor choice in music with far too much bass pounding through the open room. His eyes scanned the crowd, looking for familiar faces- well- one particular familiar face.

After he had smashed yet another alarm clock this morning, it had taken a few moments to think over the strange dream. Clearly it was yet another dream charged by his libido, he thought wryly, but there was something odd about it, something a little too realistic. It must have also been fuelled by Maria’s recent revelations of aliens among us – besides the two of them. But later that day, when Isabel came up to talk to him, actually had a conversation with him and not tried to draw more blood AND then had actually, personally, invited him to a party, warning bells started to sound in his head. What were the chances that he would have an odd dream featuring Isabel, well odder than his other dreams of Isabel, only to have her seek him out the next day?

Of course it could be another attempt to make sure he kept quiet about the blood thing, but Isabel had pretty much stayed away from him since that particular fiasco. In fact, the only people who had continued to approach him were Liz and Max, and of course Jim, but he really didn’t want to think about that disaster at this moment.

And then he saw her. She was a goddess – and you have no chance with her, he thought. He looked closely, trying to see if there was anything that would mark her as different. But then again, he didn’t exactly look like a Martian either.

“Isabel!”

“Alex!”

“Hey!”

“Hey! You look great,” she said as she unbuttoned his top button. Why did she keep doing that?

“You too. So listen, just to… to clarify, when…when you asked me to come to this party tonight, did you mean like come with you or… or was it more just like letting me know that this party existed, you know? Because that would be amazing in and of itself. I… I’m just curious.”

“Alex, you’re rambling again.”

“Again?” he thought back hurriedly. He hadn’t rambled in front of her before had he? Well in that dream, yes, but that didn’t really count. But was there another time or – oh god, now he was rambling in his head.

“You wanna go someplace?”

“Go… go someplace?” he shook his head trying to clear the cobwebs he had inadvertently created.

“To talk.”

“Oh, talk. Yeah sure… sure.” What? Isabel wanted to talk? What was going to happen next? Pigs fly? Or even less likely, himself? Laughing to himself at that thought, he followed Isabel out of the room.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Lana yawned staring out of the little window of the guest room that she and Chloe shared in the Parker’s apartment. She felt drained but glancing at Chloe she could tell her friend was wide awake and completely animated making notes about the day on her laptop. She built a small fort of pillows and leaned back against them so she could peek over at the screen. “Exciting day?”

“What?” Chloe’s fingers paused on the keys as their eyes met.

“Well, I mean the way you’re typing you would think you uncovered the secret to throwing Lionel Luthor behind bars forever.” Chloe laughed

“I wish. I just don’t want to forget anything. Today was enlightening.”

“But didn’t you find that UFO place sad…you know depressing? I mean looking at the display of the crash...I don’t know how we could have survived if that’s what the wreck looked like.” Chloe pulled her fingers off of the keyboard and brushed her hair off of her forehead.

“I know. But I’m thinking it was exaggerated for effect. There’s no way any of the people that worked at that UFO center were actually there to see the crash site. You can’t let it get to you.” Chloe paused as a thought suddenly became clear. “Was that why you froze when you were talking to the guy? You were totally fine when you had your back to him and then you looked at him and it’s like you locked up. I thought you just liked him.” Lana giggled.

“No…I just…there was something about him. He’s a mystery. I think he was expecting me to be someone else and when I turned around the tone of his voice changed. Did you notice?” Chloe frowned.

“We only talked to him for a few minutes and it was about whether or not we needed a brochure.”

“I know but when I was facing him it was like he spending extra time picking his words. Like he was painfully aware that he was hiding something, even from strangers,” she sighed. “And I’ve been around enough men with secrets to know one when I see one.” Lana looked away.

“You mean Clark?”

“Forget it.”

“Lana?” Nancy Parker’s voice carried through the apartment stopping Chloe’s response before she could make it. A soft knock sounded against the wood of the door. “Lana…can I talk to you for a moment?” Chloe jumped up before Lana could answer and opened to door.

“I was just gonna go get a snack anyway,” she slipped around Nancy passing Lana an encouraging smile as she shut the door behind her. Chloe could hear the faint sounds of conversation coming from the room as she headed further into the hallway. As she passed Liz’s room she paused glancing sideways into the unoccupied space. A sly smile crossed her lips and she turned into Liz’s bedroom. She stopped in the center of the room and looked around. Her reflection stared back at her from a full length mirror. She scowled. “Why didn’t she tell me this top looked this terrible? Thanks Lana.” She took a step toward the mirror and pointed at it accusingly. “And thank you for the boost in self esteem.” She leaned forward to poke the mirror. Instantly, the air was sucked out of her lungs. Her vision tunneled. Images flashed through her mind. She fought to focus on them to try and hold them together into a coherent message. Finally, a longer memory clip unfolded for her. Liz, her knuckles white clutched the hem of her top, staring at herself in the same mirror Chloe stood in front of. The residual memory made the entire image dark and gray…except for one feature. Splayed across her abdomen was an iridescent silver handprint. Chloe inhaled sharply, pulling herself out of the flash and blinking to regain a sense of reality. She took a step back falling down onto the bed to rest for a moment. Whoosh…the room was gone again. She watched the clips run faster as if rushing past her. Liz writing in her journal, shutting the book and looking around nervously, sliding a brick into the wall. This time as Chloe didn’t move as she took a few steadying breaths. She scanned the room her eyes locking on a brick wall that looked so familiar. She ran her hand over the surface, noticing the brick that didn’t seem to fit and pulling out the journal she knew she had to read. She did not bother to sit down before she dug into her new read. Before she turned the first page she felt a smile light her face. The reporter in Chloe knew instantly…it was everything she could have ever dreamed of finding. The smoking gun. She kept reading time running past her as she took her walk through Liz’s life. She slammed the journal closed shoved it back into its dark burrow and hurried back to her room. She pushed open the door finding Lana inside alone. “You won’t believe…” She stopped when Lana didn’t look up. “Lana? What is it?” Lana held up the picture she had been staring at, her eyes wet.

“My mom and Nancy…some family vacation or something. It’s weird. She came in here to tell me why they lost touch and it just seems like it was because of me. Or Liz…or both of us. They got too busy for each other and now Mom’s gone. How is that possible? We’ve spent…who knows how long looking for our family and they have each other and just let it go.” Chloe sat down on the edge of the bed as Lana shook her head. “She doesn’t blame me she says. It isn’t my fault and she wants me to be here but I can’t help feeling like I pushed her away from her sister.”

“You were little kid…there’s no way you could have know how your mom would react to…you know us.”

“We knew. I mean on some level we had to or we wouldn’t have just told her everything…shown her everything on our first meeting.” Chloe smiled.

“Remember the look on her face?”

“One of my first memories,” Lana laughed rubbing her eyes dry. “Ok new subject. What were you talking about?”

“Oh…well I found the waitress. The one that was shot here”

“What?! Where?”

“The next room…it’s Liz.” Lana’s jaw dropped. She just stared at Chloe unable to process her thoughts
into words. “I know…but it gets better. Lana, she isn’t human. Wait! Before you say anything…there’s still more. There are others. She wrote about a bunch of others and I think, if I understand Roswellian teenager speak, that brings the count up to four, maybe five.”

“Wrote?”

“Her journal…” they said together Lana in mild disgust and Chloe in triumph.

“We needed to know! I knew she was writing something important in there the way she shut it so fast when we came into her room.”

“They were her personal thoughts, Chloe! You don’t think that was crossing a line. I can’t believe—wait did you say maybe five?”

“Thank you for getting back on the train. Yes. One, Kyle, he’s my maybe. She’s closest to him and never says it outright but yeah, I think he’s one of us too.”

“So. Five. Counting us?” Chloe shook her head excitedly. “This is…this is more than I expected. I…what do we do?”

“Let’s go confront them. Tell them we know.”

“Are you crazy?” Lana grabbed onto the excited blonde’s arm and shook it. “We’re getting in over our heads here. If someone ran up to you and yelled ‘I know what you are!’ would you greet them with open arms? I kinda doubt it.”

“Well we aren’t going to do nothing.” Lana sat up on the bed and started at Chloe. Her voice portrayed the steel of her conviction.

“For now that is exactly what we are going to do…nothing. If what we came here to find is a place to belong…a family…you will not destroy it by throwing their secrets in their faces. We’ll find another way. Besides if Liz…and the others are who we hope they are…there will be some way to connect with them.”
Chloe sat back into the pile of pillows on the bed and sighed.

“You know, I’ve officially changed my mind. Smallville has its moments but if you’re looking for weird…Welcome to Roswell.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Music continued to drum with a hollow, thudding beat as Alex and Isabel moved further into the depths of the Old Soap Factory, further and further away from the throngs of students letting loose to booze and music. Satisfied that they were truly alone, she sat, smiling up at Alex before inviting him to sit as well.

“You’re a really, really good guy Alex.” Alex smiled nervously, wondering where she was going with this conversation. He answered hesitantly.

“Oh. Thank you, Isabel. I guess…” Isabel smiled secretively.

“No, really. I mean, most guys are just disgusting animals whose sole purpose in life is to try to maul me. But you’re different.”

Alex’s breath hitched a little in his throat as this conversation brought him back to his conversation with Maria in the hospital cafeteria.

“I am?” he asked cautiously, but then reeled back mentally. She couldn’t know he was different, could she? He tried to feign surprise. “I mean, I am! Yeah. Oh, yeah. I just… don’t see you that way, Isabel.” Doofus! Don’t make her think you’re some kind of sap! “Not that I wouldn’t want to…” Warning! Warning! Do not pass go! Do not collect $200!

“Relax, Alex. I know.”

“Know?” he asked absently, his mind reeling from mixed messages between his fight or flight reflex and his hormones.

“Yeah, you’re the kind of guy who would give a girl flowers just because… or would whisk her off to Paris without warning.”

“What?!” he asked suddenly.

“Tell me, Alex, how did you sleep last night?”

All color drained from his face as he stood up suddenly.

“Alex! Relax! I know. And it doesn’t matter because you know you can trust me, just like I know I can trust you. I saw at least that much last night.” Alex sat back down again, confusion radiating from his gaze.

“That was you? You really were there?” She smiled.

“It’s…uh… one of my gifts, you could say. And you! How did you know about me?”

“Maria…she kind of hinted at it… in her own, very unique way. Don’t ask.” Alex smiled at the confused look on Isabel’s face.

“We’re a lot… closer than most people know, even Liz.” Isabel tucked that bit of information away for later.

“So, all of that stuff you did in the dream, I mean, can you really do all of that? Or was that, I don’t know, wishful thinking or dream symbolism?” Alex looked directly into her eyes and smirked slightly.

“Let’s just say that if you wanted unpasteurized cheese from a little farm in rural France, I could get it for you in about five minutes.” She smiled with amusement, but something else twinkled behind her eyes.

“Huh. So what else can you do?”

“I’ll show you later. We’ll have a joint show and tell… after I tell Maria that you know.”

“Okay! I’ll bring Max and Michael.”

“No! I don’t trust them yet.”

“But—”

“Isabel, you’re the first person I’ve ever let in besides Maria, who has known forever. Not even Liz knows, and I’d trust her with my life, well I used to. The first real interactions with Michael and Max have been them threatening me.” She sighed.

“Fine, but -- ”

“Maybe someday soon. I just need to get better feel for them before I put my life in their hands.”

“Why not tell Liz? What’s going on?”

“It used to be for her protection, that she couldn’t protect herself if anyone ever came after us.”

“Us?”

“Maria and I.” Shit.

“Because Maria’s like you? – I’ll take your silence as a yes. But why not now? OH , wait. Liz’s the only human.”

“Yeah, ironic since she’s the first to have an ‘alien encounter.’ I guess it started when she almost got shot, I assume Max did something to her? Right. I just escalated with the blood incident.

“Oh my god. Alex! The blood -- ”

“Has already been taken care of. But see! That’s my point! She cajoled me into risking my life without letting me know what it was for. Even if I wasn’t an alien, you guys are being investigated by the FBI, and by putting my blood in there that makes me a suspect too. Only I wouldn’t know why. And not knowing the risks is just plain stupid.”

That made Isabel pause. How many people’s lives had they changed without knowing? She was startled out of her internal debate by Alex’s hand on her arm.

“Do you hear sirens?”

“What?”

“Come on!”

Grabbing Isabel’s hand again, they stood up and ran down the hall. Suddenly Isabel could hear it as well. Wailing over the heavy thumping was the sound of sires, the bane of every teenager’s existence: cops.

“I gotta find Max!”

Alex sighed as she ran off to the right. “All right! I’ll… go… find the others,” he trailed off. Shaking his head he headed into the main room of the party. Across the room he could see Liz, her face slightly panicked. She ran up to him.

“Alex, where’s Isabel?”

“What’s going on?”

“We have to get out of here.” Alex, startled by Liz’s concern, blinked his eyes.

“What?”

“We have to get out of here!” At that moment some unnamed kid who Alex could only sort of remember from school ran up to them and thrust half empty bottles of alcohol into her hands.

“Here, take these,” he said as he ran off.

Alex and Liz stared at each other for a few seconds until they heard footsteps approach. The dark but still angry blazing eyes of Sheriff Valenti bore into them.

“I need you two to come with me.”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“Alex...Alex…Alex…Alex…Alex…” Liz sighed ignoring the feel of the iron bar against her forehead. “Come on, talk to me! We just…we have to get our stories straight.”

“No, Liz…I am in JAIL! First my blood, now my freedom, what else do you want? What else are you willing to take from me for Max?”

“Max? This…this has nothing to do with Max. It’s about you and me.”

“It’s about you lying to me.” He leaned his head back against the wall stretching his legs out on the hard cell bed. Liz shifted her weight uncomfortably.

“I…Alex-” she cut herself off with a sigh. “You’re right.” Alex sat up and looked at her. “I just didn’t know what to do. It’s all been spinning out of control and I was just scared.” Liz looked down at the dirty floor. “That’s not really an excuse is it.”

“Scared of what?”

“…Of being different” She looked up at him searching his expression. He looked hopeful.

“So this is about Max.”

“No.” His brow furrowed in confusion. She looked slightly terrified like she was fighting against all her instincts. Where is this going, he thought. Maybe I should just tell her I already know.

“Liz, I already-“

“I’m different.” She blurted out cutting him off. A tear escaped from her eye but she looked relieved.

“I’m sorry, what?” He stood up from the bed and walked over to the bars separating their cells and knelt in front of her. “Like you secretly like CREED different?”

“What?! No, Alex…I’m adopted.” Alex sat back on his heels and smiled a little.

“You’ve been lying to be because-“

“No let me finish. Nancy Parker found in the desert. I’m not from around here.”

“So where are you from?” Liz searched her mind for the right words suddenly remembering her meeting with Max she pointed upwards, staring at Alex to try and force him to understand. He looked at her blankly in response.

“What, like Wyoming?” She raised her hand higher. “Oh...ok, fine. Canada. You're a Canuck. So what, did you forget your passport? You're saying the FBI is involved because you’re like...an illegal alien?” She grabbed on to the bars and nodded.

“Yeah…well sort of. Alex, I was in the crash.”

“Yeah I know the car-“

“No…the 1947 crash. I don’t remember much of it except I came out of this pod and it was bright and then it was night time and I was wandering in the desert with…well I was in the desert and my mom found me and adopted me. That’s why the FBI is involved, that’s why Toplosky was here and that’s why we’re in jail. Because they suspect me and now Alex, you’re involved.” Alex stared at her in disbelief.

“You…are you alright?”

“Oh, Alex you have no idea it has been torture lying to you all this time but I will never lie to you again. I promise.” Alex moved closer to the bars and looked into Liz’s eyes searching for an indication that she was making up this story to avoid telling him about Max, Michael, and Isabel. The problem was…there wasn’t one.

“You’re serious. You…you were in the crash?” She nodded.

“I’ve never been able to tell anyone else but if I could trust anyone it’s you, right?”

“Max doesn’t know?” She shook her head and Alex reached up to scratch his eyebrow. “Well…um that was unexpected. You would think I would have had enough unexpected for one day. Where’s Rod Serling? Is this the Twilight Zone? I’m not in black and white, though.”

“What?”

“Nevermind. Nothing…It’s ok. I guess I owe you a little truth too, huh? Remember the blood that I keep harping on? Well the blood the lab intern minion ran wasn’t mine.”

“Yes it was, we switched the vials.”

“And I had Valenti switch them again…they ran his blood. Because mine isn’t normal either.” Liz tightened her fists around the bars. “I don’t know where I’m from…but I remember cornfield not desert. When I crashed the ship wasn’t in pieces so I still have it. And my dad got a new job and I became New Mexico Alex.”

“Are you making fun of me? I’m serious…look.” She released the bar and passed her hand over it making a small gap appear in the iron. She moved her hand back to return the metal to its original configuration. Alex’s eyes remained on the place where the gap used to be.

“No, Liz, I-“

“Whitman. How’d you sleep? Ready to talk…” Sheriff Valenti stared down at them. Alex looked over at Liz before standing up to face him.

“What is this about? You know this has nothing to do with the party!”

“Everyone at that party was trespassing on private property and you two were minors in possession of alcohol. Besides you and I have some unfinished business. I need to know about your involvement with Max, Michael, and Isabel, the car accident, and the incident with Ms. Topolsky at the school.”

“No…we’re done talking. Sheriff, I want out of here...right now. I demand it, or I'm going to get a lawyer and I'm going to sue for abusive treatment of a minor. I may be 16, but I know my rights.” Valenti shifted his weight thinking and Alex leaned forward into the bars wrapping his fingers around the rusty iron. “Besides, if I really wanted to go,” he flexed lifting the bolts out of their hinges wrenching the door free, “do you think you could keep me here?” Liz gasped from her spot on the floor and marveled at the fact that while Valenti looked angry…he didn’t look surprised. Valenti sighed.

“Put it back…We’ll talk later.” He looked over at Liz and while Alex replaced the cell door bending the hinges back into place Valenti unlocked her door to let her go. The Sheriff didn’t say another word to them as he watched them pass through the office and out the door into the night.

“Alex…I didn’t-”

“Believe me I didn’t really believe you either. Actions speak louder than words.”

“Are you still mad?” Alex smiled down at her and gave her a one armed hug. “No, I know how hard telling me…that secret was. So maybe one day you’ll trust me with the rest.” She looked up at him, confused. “Don’t worry about it now. Want me to walk you home?”

“No…I’ll be ok. Thanks Alex.” She glanced in the direction of her house and looked back but he was gone. “Alex? I guess that explains that…” Alex stopped running and walked the remaining few feet to Maria’s front door. He barely brushed to wood of the door with his fingers and waited. Within seconds the light in her room came on. He waited bouncing on the balls of his feet until Maria opened the door.

“Oh my god, Alex! I heard you were in jail. What the heck did you do to get on Valenti’s bad side? I mean come on he has been taking care of us for who knows how long and-

“MARIA!” he yelled to get her to finally stop talking at hyper speed. She jumped surprised and stared at him. “We have to talk.”

“What happened?”

“It’s more like…what didn’t happen tonight. I’m starting to think that my life is just one hallucinogen induced episode after another.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Maria, I told Isabel.”


A/N: So there it is. Please hit that shiny button below. Reviews are our own lovely brand of drug.