In front of the diner in Smallville, Mr. Lynch tells Superboy how long ago Jonathan Kent's ancestor Sheriff Nate Kent and his deputy Albert Valentine had stopped Eben Took and his three sons from performing demonic rites on their farm. At the end of the story, however, the Phantom Stranger posseses Mr. Lynch and warns Superboy that a woman he knows is in danger. Simon and Psionic Lad arrive, and the three rush to the old Took farm, now the site of Lori Luthor's home. There, the Phantom Stranger takes them far down into the ground where they find the Hollow Men.