Chloe was working late in the lab when she got the call. She wasn't doing lab work—she wasn't a scientist. She was writing a journal entry, which was the closest she did to reporting these days.

There was a lot to write about. At this point, she and Lex were looking at expanding their labs because of the number of live specimen they had, and the results of their studying had been really interesting. Not only were they able to get more accurate information to hunters about how to stop monsters; they'd found ways to subdue a couple of varieties and bring them back to their human forms, basically curing them. Most recently, they were starting to make a bit of progress on a cure for lycanthropy.

The exact mechanisms by which Kryptonite worked were still a mystery, though. Chloe was writing down some of her theories when her phone buzzed. It was Sam.

"Hey Sam."

"Hey, Chloe. I need a favor."

"Sure, what's that?"

"I . . . I don't know where to start. Can you get an appointment for me to come in and be tested?"

"For Kryptonite?" Everyone they knew who knew about Kryptonite took tests for infection every month or so. A geiger counter was a good start, but it sometimes gave false positives with people who had lived in Smallville their whole lives, and sometimes didn't register low levels of infection. It had taken her and Lex a couple of years to develop a more reliable blood test, but the peace of mind was worth it, especially when they took in new research specimen. They'd all taken their tests less than two weeks ago; Sam wasn't due.

"Yeah. For starters."

"Uh." Chloe bit her lip, looking over at the scientists, hard at work. They usually did the Kryptonite tests on a day the employees had off.

"Look, it might be nothing, but if it isn't . . . it might be important. Maybe time sensitive."

She was about to ask him if Saturday was okay, but something about his tone of voice . . . "Night shift clears out in a couple of hours. Want to come by?"

"Thank you so much."

"No problem. See you soon," Chloe said, and she began dialing Lex. She knew he'd be awake for plenty long enough to help Sam, anyway.

Lex easily agreed to come in and take a look, and Chloe shoved her phone in her pocket and sighed, trying to return to her journal entry, but she couldn't focus on it anymore. She'd known that there was always a risk that one of their tests would come up positive, that one of them would become infected with something alien or supernatural—Clark was an alien, and Lex was infected with Kryptonite, though it hadn't seemed to have done much other than take his hair and give him a little extra immunity. The fear that one of them would end up badly hurt or truly compromised was always a distant fear; all at once, it was feeling real.

A few hours later, Chloe welcomed Sam into the lab. She was glad they called the meeting tonight—he looked really shaken.

She led him into the examination room, where Lex was putting on gloves. "Hey, Sam."

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"Hey. I'm sorry for calling so late."

"Why don't you tell us what happened?"

"I'm not completely sure myself," he said, sitting on the examination table as Lex started preparing him for a blood draw. "We were just sitting down to dinner, and I suddenly got this . . . this blinding headache—I had a few migraines back in college, but this was so much worse—and then . . . I had this . . . vision."

Chloe sucked in her breath. This wasn't the first time they'd dealt with visions; it was never a good sign.

If Lex was shocked, he didn't show it. He seldom did. "Do you remember any of it?"

"There was a woman running away from something. It bit her."

"You're sure it wasn't some sort of nightmare?"

With the look on Sam's face, Chloe didn't know how Lex could even ask that, but she knew it was part of standard procedure to rule out every mundane possibility.

Sam looked Lex right in the eye. "This was not a nightmare."

Lex nodded slowly, and he took the vial of blood over to the table, beginning the test procedure.

Chloe went to sit beside Sam. "Did you see any sign of where this was happening?"

"Uh . . ." He squeezed his eyes shut, dropping his head. "I think it was in the city. I was kind of focused on the girl, but I think I saw a sign for some motel in Metropolis."

"You couldn't tell what bit her?"

"It might have been a werewolf?

"Green eyes?"

"Couldn't tell. Maybe . . ."

Chloe could tell there was something he wasn't saying. "What else?"

"Uh . . . I recognized the girl."

"Who was it?" Chloe's heart suddenly sank—what if it was her? Sam could be seeing the future, somehow . . .

Sam glanced toward Lex, who was faced away, busy at work. "It was Madison," Sam said.

Lex froze, but only for a half a second. When he began working again, it was at half speed.

Chloe swallowed hard. Lex didn't talk about his almost-wife, the girl who had been possessed by the demon he dated and married. The one time Chloe had asked what became of her, he'd shut down and snapped at her. He apologized later, but she didn't blame him. She still hadn't totally mastered reining in her curiosity.

"Did you, uh . . ." Chloe cleared her throat. "Could you tell when it was happening?"

"Just that it was at night. I don't know anything else."

Lex turned to face them. "Kryptonite test is clean. We'll have to go a little more extensive. I'll need a few more samples."

Sam frowned. "Lex, I know—"

"You came here for testing. We'll run tests. They'll take a couple of days. I'll text you the results."

Sam breathed in to say something else, but Chloe put a hand on his arm and shook her head.

They collected the remainder of the samples silently, and Sam nodded to each of them as he left, though Lex didn't acknowledge him.

As soon as Sam was gone, Chloe turned to Lex. "I know what you're going to do."

"Full moon was tonight. Whatever he saw, it's already happened. We can't stop it."

"You don't know that. Mutant werewolves don't always strike at full moon."

"Metropolis werewolves shouldn't be meteor infected."

"So you're not going to go after her?"

"She doesn't want to see me again."

"Oh, and the fact that you won't talk about her three years after the fact proves you're totally over her."

"Chloe—"

"She could be hurt. God only knows why she was running from werewolves."

"We don't even know if Sam's vision was real."

"You're not even going to check on her?"

Lex just stood there. His jaw pulsed.

She let her breath out. She knew that look. Of course he was going to check on her—he wouldn't be Lex if he didn't. He was just trying to talk himself out of it first. "If she's really in trouble, she'll be happy to see you."

"She was really in trouble when she married me. Trust me, Chloe, I'm the last person she wants to see."

"But you're going to her anyway."

"Please don't follow me."

"I won't." This time, she actually meant it. This was personal. Besides, if Madison was injured in a way they could help with, Chloe would be ready and waiting for them back in the lab. "Anything I can do?"

"It might take me a day or two to find her. Keep things running?"

"Of course."

He smiled, very slightly. "Too early give you another raise?"

He'd just given her one a month ago. "Maybe. I'd take a bonus if you're offering, though."

"Can't afford what you're worth."

She grinned.

"Go home, Chloe. Get some sleep."

"You too," she said, but she knew before she even said it how ridiculous the sentiment was.