Volume I

Chloe Sullivan, editor of the Smallville Torch, has a theory that the seemingly inexplicable and allegedly unrelated events occurring in Smallville are the result of the meteor rocks deposited during the 1989 meteor shower.

Chloe interviews Belinda Jenkins, the widow of Earl Jenkins. Her husband's condition came on him suddenly. A green dust they were spraying on crops on Level Three infected him. Their son Johnny is a handful, more than your average toddler. He's not ill, but doctors can't explain how he is different. Earl thought that if he could get back to Level Three, he could find the answers to his problem, but when Lex took him down there, it was all cleared out. Belinda reports that Dr. Arthur Walsh might have believed Earl's story. He called after Earl died, expressing remorse as if he was somehow responsible. As evidence that her husband's story is true, Belinda shows Chloe his work boots. The soles are stained with green dust.

Chloe journeys to Edge City to interview Dr. Arthur Walsh. He used to be a professor of genetics at Metropolis University, but now teaches high school biology. He initially expresses reluctance to talk about Earl Jenkins, but he does invite Chloe into his office. He tries to hide some envelopes with a strange green logo. When Chloe mentions meteor rocks, Dr. Walsh mumbles something about Dr. Steven Hamilton's results being replicated outside of the lab, and someone named Donovan. Chloe tries to encourage him to talk by mentioning all the people who have been killed and hurt by the meteor rocks. When the bell rings, he agrees to meet with Chloe again next week, and they can exchange notes.

Chloe goes to NuCorp, a high tech energy firm, to interview Dr. Donovan Jamison. Donovan worked with Drs. Walsh and Hamilton at Metropolis University in 1990. At first he thinks that Chloe is there to interview him about nuclear energy. He says that his research at Met U was about developing isotopes as alternatives to plutonium; it didn't have anything to do with meteor rocks. He says some insulting things about Dr. Walsh. Chloe accuses him of being responsible for certain deaths and Donovan threatens her. Before she leaves, she notices an envelope with the same strange green logo she saw in Walsh's office.

Chloe returns to Edge City with a digital copy of her Wall of Weird for Dr. Walsh, but she finds his classes canceled and his office empty. Before she leaves, a courier arrives to deliver something for Dr. Walsh. Chloe accepts the delivery and signs for an envelope. It has the same strange green logo and it is stuffed with cash and a note encouraging him to avoid further contact with Chloe. His principal was baffled by his disappearance and his house was empty. Chloe vows to continue investigating, but in the meantime she decides to give the money to Belinda Jenkins. While she is on the porch, she hears a loud crash inside, and Belinda hollers at Johnny to be careful about the furniture.