3 Months ago

Night had fallen on the bustling city of Metropolis. Within the underground and windowless confines of a high-security laboratory, the time of day made no difference. The florescent lighting never changed, and Doctor Mason never knew if the sun was shining or not. It had been another long day of repeated tests and data collection.

Dr. Mason had just finished up the last of the tests on his two subjects for the evening. He walked down a lengthy hall and stopped in front of an automatic door, slid a key card in a slot and then entered a seven-digit number into a wall panel. The door slid opened, and he entered the control room of a large laboratory. He greeted an assistant with a nod, took a seat at a computer station and began to save information to a disk.

Mason watched the custom Genesis logo revolving slowly on his screen as the machine downloaded the latest data. He and a dozen other scientists had been handpicked to work on the project. The goal had been to engineer a human being with superior strength, speed, intelligence and disease resistance. It had seemed an impossible dream of science fiction, but none of them had been able to pass up the opportunity. Deep down, they had all held the secret hope that they would succeed. It wasn't just the promise of money that had them hooked, but the promise of glory as well.

Their daring had paid off. The proof of their success lay before Mason, on the other side of the observation window that formed one wall of the lab. He looked beyond the computer’s monitor, and through a thick glass window to stare idly at the two teenage boys, as he often did. They were the prototypes of the Genesis project representing thirteen years of exhaustive genetic trials. Both were restrained to tables, and looking at him curiously. A dividing wall separated each youth and yet he sensed they had some inner connection, like a pair of twins even though they were two years apart in age. These two were the most promising yet. They were called Kane and Abe, names given to them when they’d first been brought to the lab. Their real names had long since been forgotten.

Scientists always give names to their creations, even robots and computers. The names were nothing more than identifiers meant to represent the two specimens in the lab reports. Abe, the younger of the two, was smarter and more docile then Kane his older brother. He was what the program was trying to achieve. He had enhanced strength and extremely fast reflexes. At age 16 his intelligence was far more advanced then any normal human. Kane wasn’t as smart as Abe despite the fact he was two years older. But he was just a little faster and stronger than Abe. Both of them heal injuries very quickly as well.

Once the data was loaded onto the disk Mason went to his office to go over the results for the day. As soon as the scientist was out of his sight, Abe could relax. He was tired of all the testing and just wanted to be left alone. He was bound to the table by heavy restraints. He looked at the cuffs around his wrists and began focusing his mind on breaking free. Suddenly, as he was staring the locks started opening. Grinning wildly, he gave a slight tug with his arms and his hands were free. He had been practicing with his recently discovered telekinesis for a few weeks now.

"This is gonna come in handy!" He said to himself removing the rest of his restraints and standing up. "I bet Dr. Mason didn’t expect this." With the thought of Dr. Mason, Abe’s vision blurred and when it cleared, he was able to see through the doctor’s eyes.

He was not only able to see what the doctor was doing but he could control it. "And I know he didn’t see this one coming!" He laughed. " Enough practicing, this is my chance to get out of here!"

Mason stood up abruptly and walked out of his office and down the hall towards Abe’s cell. He stopped in front of the door, keyed in the unlock code and opened it. He then turned and went back to his office like nothing happened and went to sleep at his desk. Abe knew from experience that the doctor wouldn’t remember what he had done.

Once out of his cell Abe turned to run down a hallway and came face to face with Kane. "What are you doing here?"

Kane smirked at him and tapped his head. "I know what you know and can do what you do remember? Neat trick you’ve discovered. Hope ya weren’t thinking of leaving without me." Looking back towards Kane’s cell, Abe saw the body of one of the assistants slumped to the floor. Abe hoped he was okay but suspected he was dead.

"Of course, I should have known you’d read my mind." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well come on let’s get out of here before someone sees us."

They headed down another hallway when a shout from behind stopped them. "Stop! How did you two get out?" It was Dr. Mason coming out of his office. He obviously didn’t remember what Abe had made him do and was more than a little worried seeing the two subjects running loose.

He moved a few steps forward taking a syringe out of his coat pocket. "Okay don’t do anything foolish. Lets all stay calm," he soothed inching closer to them with each word.

"Not this time, Doc!" Kane growled. Using his telekinetic power, he flung the doctor into the far wall and held him there. "You’re not gonna keep us here anymore! We are through being your lab rats!" With that, he took the syringe from the terrified doctor’s hand and plunged it deep into his neck.

He screamed out in agony then slumped to the floor. "Oh my god, I think you killed him!!" Abe shrieked at him.

"Yeah so?" Kane shrugged "C’mon are we gonna get out of here or not?"

Abe wasn’t thrilled at the thought of Kane killing people but he was less thrilled about the idea of going back into a cage so he ran as fast as he could with Kane just ahead of him.

It was late enough at night that they only encountered a few people as they made their escape through the maze of corridors. Abe used his telekinetic power to render them unconscious. Kane was less concerned with not hurting anyone than he was with just getting out of the lab. He killed at least two more people. Abe wasn’t sure. Finally, they reached the exit and sped out of the facility as alarms sounded.

Once outside, they jogged to the perimeter of the lab grounds where they came to a chain link fence. Kane was about to start climbing it but Abe stopped him. "Wait! I think it’s electrified!"

"I’m not going back in there!" Kane yelled.

"Shhh!! Keep it down. I have an idea. We’ll have to work together but I think we can rip it apart with our minds."

Kane gave his brother a dubious look but decided to trust him since they really had no other choice. Taking several steps back the two of them concentrated on the obstacle blocking them from freedom and imagined it coming apart. Slowly sparks began to fly as the fence split in two. The separate ends of the fence curled back making a sizeable hole the boys could easily slip through. As the alarms continued to blare, they raced into the night as fast as they could.

Present

The Talon was packed with the after school crowd. Clark, Pete and Chloe were sitting at their usual table waiting on Lana and Steve to get there. They were supposed to meet up for a cram session. Lana had to take a shift later that evening so she wanted to stop off at home before joining the rest of the gang to study, and Steve had offered to go with her.

Clark was enjoying just hanging out with his friends. Things had finally calmed down since he and Lex had been kidnapped from the Talon by a couple of local goat farmers. It had taken him and Lex awhile to convince everyone that Clark wasn’t really Lex Luthor, and Clark never wanted to drink goat’s milk again. It had been awhile since anything strange had happened and Clark was glad of that.

Chloe on the other hand was a little bummed. Not that she wanted anything bad to happen but she was desperate for a good story to put in the Torch. Her mind was also preoccupied with another matter as well. Clark.

She was almost certain he was a meteor freak but she didn’t have all the facts and she didn’t really know how to bring the subject up with him. There was always the slight possibility that he would snap and turn homicidal on her. She didn’t really think he would but she was almost reluctant to even mention the meteor rocks to him at all. She had so many questions but didn’t ask any of them.

"Earth to Chloe, Come in Chloe!" Clark’s voice snapped her out of her reverie. She looked at him and blinked, pretending to be annoyed at him.

"Sorry Clark, what did you say?"

Clark chuckled at her, "I just asked if you wanted to go ahead and get started while we wait for Lana and Steve."

"Um, yeah sure." She grinned at Clark, and Pete just shook his head. He didn’t know what was up with Chloe but she had been acting strange the past few weeks. He gave her a curious look but just chalked her odd behavior up to the fact that she was finally dating the guy of her dreams.

"Right, let’s get goin’ with this. Lana and Steve will just have to catch up whenever they get here." Pete said opening his book.

They had been working and talking for almost half an hour when Clark suddenly felt nauseous. He was hoping the feeling would pass before Pete or Chloe noticed but it was getting stronger and he could feel the all too familiar pain and dizziness start to wash over him.

Chloe glanced up at him when she heard him gasp slightly. "Clark, are you okay?" He looked like he was about to either throw up or pass out. She wasn’t sure.

"I’m fine, Chloe," he tried to assure her but he didn’t sound too convincing.

"You sure, man?" Pete asked setting his pencil down and raising an eyebrow at him. Clark nodded at him, not trusting himself to speak as he began to feel even worse. He wasn’t sure how long he could stand it.

"Hi guys." Lana said cheerfully, walking up to their table with Steve by her side. Clark looked up at her and realized why he was in pain. Lana was wearing her meteor rock necklace. Clark was starting to panic there was no way he could stay and study while Lana wore the necklace but what could he say? I thought she gave that thing to Whitney, he thought miserably. I gotta get outta here before I pass out.

"Hey Lana, wow you have your necklace? Didn’t you give it to Whitney before he left?" Chloe asked echoing Clark’s thoughts.

"Yes, I did. But he sent it back to me with a letter saying he knew how much it meant to me so he wanted me to have it back. He can be so sweet." She smiled pleasantly. "It was waiting for me when I got home." Lana gushed and ran her fingers over the green stone. Steve was standing just behind Lana and rolled his eyes slightly at the mention of Whitney.

"You guys want anything? I’m gonna get an iced coffee then we can get started." Lana asked. Everyone shook their heads ‘no’ so she walked toward the counter. Steve grabbed an empty chair from a nearby table, turned it backwards and sat down at the end of their table. As Lana walked away toward the counter, Steve watched her, a wistful expression on his face. Chloe grinned to herself, secretly satisfied that Clark wasn't the one looking at Lana like that.

Clark took the opportunity to make his excuse and leave. He jumped up and gathered his books as soon as Lana was far enough away that his legs didn’t feel like green jello, "Um, sorry, I just remembered I’m supposed to pick up some stuff for my Dad. I’ll catch you guys later." Before anyone could say a word to him, he was out the door. He hated having to dash off like that but he didn’t know what else to do. Why couldn’t you have kept the necklace, Whitney? Clark wondered as he made his way down the street towards the farm.

"That was weird." Chloe announced taking a sip of her latte.

Lana came back with her coffee, "Where’d Clark go?" She asked, sitting in the seat Clark had recently vacated.

"He said he had to run an errand for his dad." Pete told her. Somehow, Chloe doubted that was the real reason he left and she was determined to find out why. He looked sick.

Lana shrugged thinking it was strange but then that was Clark. The four of them continued to work the rest of the afternoon.

The sun was just setting when Kane arrived in Smallville. He had one goal in mind, to kill one man in particular. He had a few obstacles in his way that he would have to overcome first. In his weary state, he needed food and rest. He needed more money as well. He had another problem too...his brother! Abe was following him, he knew where Kane was going by reading his mind, and wasn’t far behind him.

Kane was wearing a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans he managed to steal in Metropolis. Kane was strong enough and fast enough to overpower others and take what he wanted, so why shouldn’t he? Isn’t that what he had been created to do? But Abe had been trying to stop Kane from doing such things ever since they had escaped their imprisonment three months ago. In trying to help Kane see there was no need for such violence, he had discovered they had the ability to make people go to sleep with their minds. Kane had found they had a much more interesting talent, the ability to plant thoughts and hallucinations in people’s minds. He could make them believe whatever he wanted them to. They tried to slow each other down by using their mind abilities but other then the telepathy, they didn’t seem to work on each other.

Kane had amazing stamina but even he got tired. He had been running almost non-stop from Metropolis and he was sick of seeing cornfields. He’d stayed mostly on the highway only diverting to the fields when the occasional car came along. Not long after passing the Welcome to Smallville sign, he came across a small white farmhouse and decided it would be the perfect place to find something to eat and rest. He swiftly made his way inside and began raiding the kitchen. It was well stocked with a variety of food.

It had been a very long day and Joe Andrews was preparing to go to bed for the evening. As he was about to climb into bed, he heard a loud noise from downstairs in the kitchen. Knowing his wife was away at her mother’s in Edge City he decided to grab his shotgun before he went to investigate.

He slipped the closet door open and pulled out his shotgun. He reached up and grabbed the ammo box from the top shelf and quickly loaded the weapon. He made his way down the dark stairs as stealthily as he could. Once he reached the kitchen doorway the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. The room was completely dark except for the small patch of moonlight shinning in through the window and the light from the open refrigerator. He saw a tall broad shouldered teenager rooting though it.

Joe tensed his body as he raised the shotgun and aimed at the intruder’s back. "Ok mister turn around slowly with your hands were I can see ‘em!"

Kane turned around with an evil smirk on his face. "And what are you gonna do?" He laughed.

"Don’t push me, kid!" Joe growled cocking the gun and trying to sound menacing. Even though he was trembling on the inside, he managed to hold the gun steady.

Before Joe could comprehend what happened Kane sped over to him and yanked the shotgun from his hands and snapped it in half throwing the pieces to the floor with a loud clatter. He then grabbed Joe by the neck with one large hand and lifted him up in the air. "You shouldn’t have gotten in my way!" With one quick flick of his wrist, he broke Joe’s neck and tossed his limp, lifeless body to the floor. He could have used his telekinetic power, but he preferred the physical contact of killing with his bare hands it was more satisfying.

After admiring his handy work, Kane went back to eating his meal. When he finished, he checked the rest of the house and found it was empty. He came back into the kitchen and found Abe standing over the body of Joe Anderson. "Do you have to kill everyone?" He asked annoyed.

Kane just shrugged. "Like it matters." He tossed an apple from the table to Abe. "I mean isn’t this what we were designed to do? Why else are we so strong and fast? Do you realize what all we could accomplish with the things we can do? We could be unstoppable!" Kane was shouting at this point.

"You are completely crazy!" Abe sat down taking a bite of the apple. He was mad at Kane but he was hungry too. "You can’t keep on killing people. It’s wrong. Besides," he ate more of his apple. "This town is a lot smaller than Metropolis. People will notice this guy getting murdered. Do you want the cops to start chasing us?"

Kane snorted. "Yeah like the cops could stop us!"

"You can’t kill all the cops in the county and besides if you keep on you’ll draw attention to us from the lab and we’ll end up back there again. You ever think if they catch us, we might not be able to get out again. If they don’t just decide to kill us because they think we are dangerous! Don’t you want to just live a normal life and not be a guinea pig any more?" Abe asked and got up and fixed himself a glass of water.

"I don’t want anyone telling me what to do anymore! And that includes you! Just because you can read my mind doesn’t mean you are my boss! Hell I’m older then you I should be ordering you around!" He stood up and glared at Abe before turning toward the stairs.

"What are we doing here anyway?" Abe asked rummaging in the fridge for more food.

Kane sighed and turned to face his brother. "We were born here in Smallville. I’m sure our Mom still lives around here." Kane’s tone softened at the mention of their mother.

"Our Mom?" Abe was confused. He didn’t remember anything but being in the lab all his life. "You remember her?" He was eating some left over chicken he’d found.

"Of course I remember her! I can’t believe you don’t!" Kane sighed again. "I guess you were too young." Kane grew angry again at the life and memories that had been stolen from him and his younger brother. "Well, we are gonna find her and make sure she is okay." Kane gritted his teeth and punched the wall splintering the wood and leaving a huge hole. "And I’m gonna get revenge on the man responsible for taking us away from her!" With that, he stormed off towards the stairs.

Abe followed. "Where are you going?"

"I’m gonna get some sleep. You should do the same." He continued up the stairs and settled into the first bedroom he came to. Abe reluctantly did the same after eating the rest of the chicken. He was tired and decided he'd talk to Kane again in the morning.