Smallville 1. Chapter 1

**1**

Clark sighed and looked down at the surprise Chloe had brought him in the loft. "Uh, Chlo?"

"What?"

"Why did you set a blue and yellow rock on fire? Did it do something to you?"

Chloe glared at him. "It's not a rock!"

He squinted harder at it. Nope, it still looked like a rock." Trying to figure out this whole mess, Clark took off his glasses and rubbed them before readjusting them on his nose. "Um, is it covered in icing?"

"Yes that is icing," Chloe replied, her tone clipped. "And it's not a rock. It's a cake."

Clark leaned in closer but not too close since he didn't want to singe his eyebrows on the candles. "It's a pretty lopsided."

"I made it."

Clark gulped. Chloe had somehow gotten it into her head that she could cook. Or maybe it wasn't that she thought she could as that she believed that if she learned to do it, she'd be more like every other girl. His mom was the best baker in town and, once, Lana had had some talent for it (Nell made a nice profit selling homemade cookies at the flower shop before it had closed). Chloe mostly set stuff on fire. But she really wanted to be June Cleaver sometimes.

"Yeah, you sure did."

Chloe leaned against the loft window. "Do you want to blow out the candles or what? The cake will be on fire before you do."

Clark decided not to ask her if the cake were even flammable. That would get him turned into a pretzel. "Sure," he replied, taking a deep breath (as deep as he could considering the stupid asthma). The candles flickered and died out.

Then they sputtered back to life again.

He glared. "That's a dirty pull. I don't have enough air to keep doing this."

Chloe nodded and used her thumb and forefinger to quickly put each candle out by hand. "I thought it was kind of funny."

Clark shook his head and kissed her cheek. "I don't know why I put up with you."

"Because I'm devastatingly attractive and the best reporter in the state?"

"Nah, that's not it."

"Because I have about five incredible superpowers?" She added, setting the "cake" down on his steamer trunk and cutting into it with a knife she'd borrowed from his kitchen.

"Nope, not that either."

She grinned and leaned up to whisper into his ear. "It's because I do that thing with my-"

He blushed. "Well, there is that. You have your charms, but you also have a mean streak."

Chloe stopped cutting for a second and he swore she flinched. "I don't."

"I didn't mean literally. It's not like you drown kittens or something."

"Who does that?"

"Evil people like Lionel Luthor. He probably drowns kittens and blocks the sun and steals candy from babies like Mr. Burns or something."

"Heh," Chloe said, finishing up his slice. "Yup, I'm nothing like that."

There was a forced cheerfulness in her tone he didn't like all that much. Sometimes he got the feeling she and Lex had something going that had nothing to do with any romantic feelings (he trusted Chloe implicitly about that) or with alien research in the Von Daniken vein. There were things she'd let slip when everything with Swann had come out and he just had this feeling.

But you couldn't base things on those. He was a reporter; he knew better than that.

"So," she said, interrupting his thoughts. "Cake now?"

He gulped down at his slice as she placed the plate in his hands. "My mom makes me a chocolate one every year."

"It is chocolate."

He quirked his head at the tannish color of the slice and sniffed. It did smell vaguely like chocolate and the ocean. Clark took a tenative bite and then coughed. "Water!" The glass was in his hand like a magic trick. God, he loved superspeed.

"Clark, are you okay?"

He nodded as he gulped the water down greedily. "I will be. Chlo, don't take this the wrong way, but you mixed up the salt and the sugar again."

"Damn it!"

He set his piece back down and hugged her. "You tried. See, that's the important part and maybe for my birthday next year you can try to _not _try."

"Huh?"

"I like store bought cakes. Really, you have a lot of great talents, Chlo. This just isn't going to be one of them."

She frowned and sat next to him on the sofa. "Do you think it's because my mom left when I was little or because I'm not from here that I suck at cooking."

"Suck's a harsh word."

"It's appropriate," she replied. "I'm serious. Maybe Kryptonians didn't cook."

"You eat."

She shrugged. "Maybe we had like pills like in _The Jetsons _."

"That's a depressing thought. I like food."

Chloe snorted. "I noticed. Sorry it went poorly. Maybe next time I could-"

"Just ask my mom. Maybe if she coached you a lot and you started out just stirring things, it would go better."

"Maybe."

"My mom's from Metropolis too. It took her a while to get the hang of it. I'm sure you might even learn to read labels."

"Very funny."

Clark gestured toward the cake. "Come on, this was pretty bad. Were you distracted?"

"Well, I might have been using my laptop to come up with the layout for tomorrow, but I was mostly paying attention."

"That might be your problem," he said, squeezing her tight. "But it was a nice thought."

"Uh-huh. I did get you something else for tomorrow, you know. It's not just about cake."

"Oh thank God, not that it wasn't nice."

"You failed that save, Clark," she said, leaning into him. "So, happy birthday. Does fifteen feel any different?"

"No. You'll let me know next November if sixteen is as awesome as it's supposed to be," he replied glumly.

Chloe looked back at him. "Alright so me and Pete tease you about being the baby. We don't mean it."

"No it's not that."

"Then what?"

"Well, I dunno. It's just that my birth certificate says I'm fifteen."

She snorted. "The one Lionel forged says I'm human. I have you beat."

He nodded. "I know and this is maybe not the best conversation ever."

"No, it's good. I didn't know you thought about stuff like that."

"Sometimes," he admitted. "I love my mom and dad."

"Mutual feeling. I'm going to steal Martha."

"Yeah right. But I wonder about my other parents a lot."

"I bet they're from Earth."

"Maybe I'm from Melmac and you don't know," he said, sighing at the bitterness in her tone.

"Maybe."

"It's just...the whole date, all of it, it's just-"

"Something your parents picked out when they adopted you."

"Exactly. It could be any day, really, and I'm really not convinced the year's right. I was really tall for a supposed eighth grader."

"I think so. Pete definitely has a vote to have you tested for growth hormones, mister."

"Jealous."

"A little. I don't even know if we had months."

"Had Dr. Crosby-" Clark started. Chloe liked her better than she liked Dr. Swann and visited the planetarium with him in tow about once a month in addition to her (encrypted) e-mails.

Chloe shrugged. "Dr. Swann and Dr. Crosby both showed me every transmission they'd gotten in the few years before the shower. It's nothing of any substance. Something vague about...I don't know what exactly."

"What do you have?"

"I don't know. There's a symbol that comes up a lot but I don't know the translation. I think it's like a proper name, but not like 'El.' It just means something."

He frowned. "That Zish thing?"

"Yeah, but it's all a font of nothing anyway. I'm at about square one with 'some Apocalypse' and that's about it. Clark?"

"Yeah?" He asked, looking down at her.

"Do you think a whole advanced civilization could just disappear? Really?"

He sighed. Somehow, the fact that he'd read a few-okay tons-of astronomy journals made him some kind of expert on the universe. "It didn't."

"I mean, besides me. There has to be something, right?"

"It seems unlikely that you're the only one."

"Like Tigger," she mused.

"Kind of, but much less bouncy," he replied. "The stuff from Lex's files didn't help either?"

"Not if you count massive world conquest as a reassuring sign. I am so sick of dead ends. It's been the same thing for months."

"Yeah, but at least you have a planet to start from. If you got this far, maybe there's someone else out there."

"I wish," she replied. "And the ship's worse. I mean, 'Go out and rule the world, Mom and Dad!'"

"To be fair, it didn't say the mom and dad part."

"Exactly," she said, sighing. "A few answers would be nice."

Clark nodded. "Trust me, I know."

"But in three years, you get your birth records opened if you want or can hire a detective or something. One of the brightest men on the planet is at a dead end with me. It sucks."

Clark sighed and kissed her. "Maybe you could stop thinking about it for a little bit."

"Are you kidding?"

"Okay, but maybe if you tried stepping back for a second, concentrated on the Planet internship this summer or wood carving or cooking or whatever. I don't know...but Einstein said that you can't solve a problem thinking at the same level you created it."

"_ I _didn't create it. Whatever genius put me in the ship did."

"I know, but you're stuck. Either there's something we're all missing or there's another angle we aren't taking. You've been focusing the same way for months. We'll get this."

"How are you so optimistic?"

"It's my dad. You have to always believe the next harvest will be better."

"Yeah," she said, noncommittally. "But I'm not tilling stuff."

"Not exactly."

"Not at all."

"Chlo, You found a lot more than you had even last year. I mean something's gotta break."

"Like a wave."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Risk of dating an overemotional Czechoslovakian; it all becomes shop talk. So, Clark, do you want to go to The Talon for real dessert or just zone out?"

"Oh, zoning out sounds perfect," he agreed, pulling her to his chest. "Don't apologize. You're not overemotional and these are good questions."

"But then your birthday becomes more about me and-"

"You've been a little preoccupied lately and clearly you took time out of your busy week to bake me, um, something."

"It's mostly a cake."

"Right. We're cool, Chlo. Besides, I think I know how to get your mind off of all things Kryptonian."

She rolled her eyes. "Do you at least have the fire extinguisher. I'm a great liar, but even I was stretching trying to explain the scorch marks on the rafters."

Clark grinned and opened up the steamer trunk. "Your dad's been really helpful about that."

She giggled and kissed him. "I doubt that's what he had in mind."

"Probably not, but it's my birthday and I want a two things-you and an intact barn."

Her eyes flashed for just a second. "I think I can oblige.


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

Chloe yawned and leaned on her elbows at The Talon's counter. She wasn't sure how that all worked out. She was a superpowered alien with an incredible metabolism but she still got tired from time to time and she was plenty exhausted from last night. She and Clark had spent a great deal of time alone together in the loft. She wondered if Mrs. Kent had done that as part of a birthday present to Clark as well or if his parents had been so mired in baby preparations that they'd forgotten his curfew for a full hour past it. Chloe sighed and took another sip of her coffee. The baby was something else altogether and it all tied back to her. Mrs. Kent had been helping her work on some stupid Home Ec project and followed her just far enough into the basement to be exposed to the spores, although thankfully, hadn't paid much attention at the time to large tarp-covered lump in the far corner.

Chloe'd inadvertently gotten her sick with a Kryptonian virus and when the ship had cured her, it seemed like a natural idea to expose Mrs. Kent to the same blast of energy. She didn't know it would heal _everything _that had ever been wrong with her. It made Chloe and her father both distinctly nervous that Clark's future brother-to-be only existed because of extraterrestrial intervention. She was pretty sure that Clark's brother wasn't going to be born with anything odd like tentacles, but it probably wasn't the best way to start off a pregnancy either.

If Clark were worried about that part of it, he'd never said anything. On the other hand, he'd been quieter lately, a little withdrawn. Granted, Clark wasn't much of a talker. He had insightful things to say but was most definitely the sounding board in their relationship. Still, she had a feeling the baby mania his parents had been swept up him was weighing on him. Oh Clark was excited about finally having a little brother (he'd adored Ryan after all), but there were more than a few comments along the lines of "They were out late at the Babies 'R Us in Granville last night." Just little hints of him fading into the woodwork too much at Kent Farm.

And she'd been busy lately with Dr. Crosby and with applying for her second internship at the Planet and with Lex.

Speaking of that...

Chloe took another sip of coffee and gaped at the stack of velum that Lana had slammed onto the counter. They were heavy enough to make it buckle.

"How are the wedding place cards coming?"

"Can you do cursive?"

"Well enough," she replied, taking a pen from her friend. "So it is going that well, isn't it?"

Lana glared and started writing on a fresh sheet. "I told Lex that I'd help out if he needed it. He's my boss and it's good to keep them happy, you know. Besides, I thought it was a normal offer. I do have good handwriting, but it's like he heard 'Yeah, I'll be your slave for a month' instead."

Chloe nodded and kept writing. "That's why I don't volunteer for things and I'm my own editor."

"Fair point, but I think he's going to make me carry around an ice bucket and a headset at the wedding instead of being an actual guest."

"Uh-huh, that's nice," Chloe replied, looping an "L" and yawning.

Lana grinned. "I see how it is."

"What?"

"You were up late last night, weren't you Chloe?"

"No."

Lana smirked wider. "Right. Look, Judge Ross is never leaving me and Pete alone in a room long enough for us to even hold hands. Someone has to be having fun on my behalf."

Chloe whistled. "Wow, they're still on that kick?"

"I can't tell if it's the judge or Aunt Nell more. Even if we're just sneaking behind the bleachers, Pete's very hands off. I wish my aunt wouldn't scare my boyfriends off all the way from another city. It's a low blow."

"Well, not for Pete," Chloe said, jumping on the double entendre band wagon.

"Nope. Who knew Pete "The Boss" Ross had any self restraint until now, but that's not important. What matters is what Clark got for his birthday."

Chloe blushed. "I made him a cake."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Why?"

Lana shuddered. "Look, you're my editor too and I don't want to make you mad since I have this great strip about the softball team I'm working on, but you can't cook."

"It wasn't that bad. I mean, if I'd kept the salt and the sugar straight, I'm sure it would have been edible."

Lana sighed and pulled out another card. "Maybe you should try microwaving things first."

"Clark suggested that, but, on the plus side, he was able to use the icing I made to help his dad fix the sink."

"Hmm, maybe you have something there," Lana mused. "Seriously, though, I know you. Clark was unwrapping something that had nothing to do with cartoon paper."

"You really are hard up. You weren't like this with Whitney."

"I actually like Pete," she corrected. "It doesn't change things. How was it?"

She grinned. "Nice and I don't kiss and tell all that much, Lana, so get over it."

"Spoiled sport. Come on, my hand's cramps have cramps. I need something to make my lonely place card writing more interesting."

"Well, there might have been some bases rounded," she replied. "But no one lost their shirt."

"Not even Clark? That's a shame. I mean, I know I didn't notice him all that much but he's pretty cute. If Pete weren't the one with the better personality-"

"Hey!"

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. Clark's sweet but Pete's a charmer. I like the charisma."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm serious. Clark's a nice guy but he's just not for me. Pete's not a rebel without a cause but he has some edge to him. He's a little less dependable and that's kind of exciting."

Chloe gulped. She did understand the feeling. She loved her boyfriend and he was the most stable thing in her life outside of her dad's devotion, but sometimes, there was something intoxicating about Lex, about not being able to quite trust him or even be sure what he'd do with her. She didn't believe that if Lex could prove her origins, that he'd hurt her. She didn't see herself being sent off as a joint venture for Lex with his dad at Level 3 (mostly because Lex hated Lionel so much), but there was still that risk there and it made it hard to quit seeking him out.

"I like the wholesome and never mind. There was no nakedness." There had been moderate floating for her and maybe, just a little, she'd scorched his desk. He was lucky he'd put his laptop up when she'd entered the loft. Idly, Chloe wondered what it was like for other girls. Lana and Pete weren't getting very far but that was transient at best. She bet when the time did come, that Pete wouldn't have to worry about Lana setting his bedroom on fire.

"Chloe?"

"What?"

"You're drawing on the counter top. You are distracted."

"Like I said, late night," she replied, sighing. "I'm a night owl but it's a lot of stuff."

"Wedding preparation blues, I get that." Lana shook her head. "I'm still confused, though."

"How so?"

"How did you even end up in Helen's bridal party?"

Chloe didn't know either. Helen didn't like her very much. In fact, they'd clashed ever since the other woman had come onto her radar. The doctor didn't like how much time she spent with Lex, which wasn't that much compared to the best man, who practically was glued to Lex's media room sofa. Still, they did have late night meetings to go over some of the files from Egypt and China, and of course, the two of them and said best man (Clark) sometimes did a late night movie. Still, Helen and she didn't get along. Except, then Helen had been the doctor her dad had taken a chance with and now she was nothing but solicitous of Chloe. Chloe wasn't sure why. She had her suspicions, of course. If her life were normal, she'd have said that Helen was trying to mend fences with a person who mattered to her fiance. However, it was more likely that Helen knew exactly how abnormal her blood work was, might have even done some rudimentary DNA testing. If she had to bet, Chloe was betting that Helen was trying to butter her up enough to get her to volunteer for more testing.

Fat chance on that one.

"We could be close."

"Right."

"We could! Or, you know, we're both transplanted city girls with too much ambition and who have to deal with Lex all the time. We have stuff in common."

_Like my secret. _

"Sure," Lana replied, snorting. Chloe rolled her eyes. She liked Lana, but there was still some Nell in her. It was like she couldn't always curtail her inner bitch. "So, how bad is the bridesmaid dress?"

"Not so much," she replied. "It's a pretty tasteful wine color and I look great in it." And so what if Lex had stared at her for too long after the fitting part of it. It wasn't like she cared. Clark was going to love it when he finally saw it. The cut made her boobs look fantastic. She wondered if all girls on Krypton had been like her. Was she short there? Was she too curvy? What if she were too thin? Hell, what if all the others had been squid monsters or...

"Chloe! Damn it! When you write on the glass, it leaves a stain. Maybe I'll just keep you with coffee," Lana replied, taking the pen out of her hand. "You sure do have a lot on your mind. Of course, you've been that way since your e-mail account got spammed that one time."

"Heh, tell me about it," she replied, giving up and drinking her fresh cup. "It's just stuff, you know."

Lana frowned. "Chloe, if you ever need to actually tell me something...I mean, I know I came late into all of this because you, Pete and Clark are like musketeers, but if it's a girl thing."

"Nope, it's not. Just regular school and Planet applications stress, I promise."

"Cool, well watch me make curlie-qs for six hours," Lana groused.

"Or, you know, little help!" Clark called, coming through the front door, loaded down with covered dishes. "Chlo, mom's getting the muffin stuff out of the car. I know they're not heavy because they're muffins but..."

"She shouldn't be lifting in her condition, gotcha," she replied, hopping off of the stool and heading to the door, only to be greeted by Mrs. Kent who was still loaded down with a large case of muffins. "Mrs. Kent, let me do it."

Clark's mom snorted. "I can do it, Chloe. I'm only at four months and I'm not some invalid. Besides, isn't it a little heavy for you?"

Clark shot her an amused glance from where he was busy restocking the shelves under the cappuccino machine. "Well, I know Chloe carries new printer paper sheafs all the time."

Chloe sighed and took the muffins from Mrs. Kent, pulling them out of her hands with a little more force than was necessary. "I may not do farm chores, but I can manage." Adding under her breath, "In fact, I can manage to lift your whole truck."

"What's that, dear?"

"Nothing," she mumbled, setting the muffins next to Lana's card pile on the counter. "It's just that Clark or Pete or Lana-"

"I don't lift things."

"Fine or I would love to help you out, Mrs. Kent. It's fine."

Mrs. Kent smiled and patted Clark on the shoulder. "That's why I have one strapping boy right now and another on the way."

Clark smiled self-consciously. "Yeah, the little one doesn't know he's about to be slave labor."

"Very funny," she replied, wiping at her brow. "Clark, it's almost ninety. Aren't you too hot for flannel?"

Chloe frowned back at Clark. There was a heat wave, not that she'd noticed much. She still wore a few tailored jackets over her shirts this deep into May, but now that his mom had mentioned it. "Seriously, it's kind of toasty. What gives?"

Clark gulped. "Laundry day. I had no more t-shirts. It's not such a big deal."

"And you're all sweaty and gross in front of my counter," Lana complained. "Jeez, Clark, at least roll them up," she replied, reaching for one arm and shoving the sleeve up.

"Lana, really, I-"

"Whoa!" Lana exclaimed as she finished pushing his sleeve up far enough to reach his mid bicep. "Did Donatello bite you?"

"Clark! When did that even happen?" his mom asked, fingering the massive bruise on his arm delicately. "Baby, you know the rules. If something happens on the farm, you have to tell us. I know the insurance can be tricky, but this should have been seen by a doctor. Did this happen last night when you were mucking out the stalls?"

"Uh..."

Chloe glanced down at the wound, curious to see what horse teeth marks looked like and then she blanched. Balling up her fists, she shoved them deeply into her pockets. She didn't want anyone there to realize how well her palms would have matched up with the bruising. "My god."

"It's not the worst thing ever," Lana replied. "I've seen worse on some of the hands at the Smallville stables. That's so unlike Donnie, though. He's a sweetheart."

"Uh, yeah," Clark hedged, frowning back at Chloe. "Um, I just remembered that I left this thing in the kitchen. Chloe, can you help me with it."

Lana smirked, "With your thing, right?"

Mrs. Kent pursed her lips. "You have place cards to write and muffins to help me store. Clark, you don't actually work here. You're free to do whatever you want."

"Cool. Chlo?"

She swallowed and forced herself to watch as she rolled his sleeve back down. "Of course, Clark. Let's go."

She shut the door behind her, reminding herself just barely not to slam it shut and knock it off of its hinges. "Off with it."

"Wow, that's direct."

She glared at him. "Take off your shirt, Clark."

"My mom's on the other side of the door."

"You know it's not sexual, Clark, now strip."

"Chlo-"

That was enough, Chloe did it for him. Clark was naked from the waist up before he could blink, and she was nauseous. "Oh god."

Clark sighed and yanked his shirt back from her. "That was incredibly rude."

Chloe didn't reply but ran her hand over the mottled collection on his shoulders. She'd been worked up last night and she hadn't been thinking but she thought she'd been careful, aside from the smoking desk. "I did that."

"Not on purpose. It's not a big deal. Sometimes you get a little over excited."

"We've been dating for two years. Was I always this bad?"

Clark looked down at his shirt as he started to slip it back on. "Not exactly. It only picked up since your fever. I guess you might have had a growth spurt and not even noticed."

She had noticed. After being all healed up, she'd spent a week home "sick" because she couldn't even touch doorknobs without crunching the metal. She just thought she had better control. "I'm sorry. You should have told me."

He sighed and rubbed at the bridge of his nose, leaving his glasses skewed on his face. "You are getting better. I mean, last night was pretty intense even for us, and I just didn't want to make you feel bad."

"Because other girls don't do that."

"Uh, well, maybe Olympic weight lifters," he hedged. "Chlo, it's not your fault. I know you don't mean to anymore than you meant to scorch my desk. I think you'll grow out of getting too excited. I mean, you can't help if you had a growth spurt."

"It's more than a growth spurt. Look, that's sort of the part of dating a Czechoslovakian I thought you were on board for."

"I said I understood about the, um, complications."

"No, you have to _talk _to me. If I'd known, I could have been readjusting things or we could have taken a break or something, Clark."

"If I told you, you'd never be comfortable with me, again. I know you. You'd take it as some sign and shut me out."

"Well for good reason. You do look like a donkey kicked you or something."

"And I don't need to be protected."

"Except from me apparently," she said, leaning against the door. "Maybe we shouldn't hang out as much."

"What?"

"I don't...if I'm going to do _that _."

"Chlo," he urged stepping forward and taking her hands. She went dead still, afraid she'd even squeeze his knuckles wrong. "Just think for a second, alright. I was wrong not to tell you but I didn't want to freak you out."

"That's healthy."

"You and the caves. It goes both ways. Sometimes you ex me out of stuff. I just thought it would be easier if-"

"We waited until I crunched a wrist bone. I...what a lousy birthday."

"Actually, a few bruises aren't that bad and the making out was awesome," he finished, reaching up to stroke her hair.

She backed away from him. "Not today. Look, I...can you cover for me at school? Just make sure to grab my notes."

"What?"

"I need to go to New York."

"It's five AM here."

"I know but I just can't deal with this right now. Besides, maybe I should pick you up a birthday present that doesn't suck. So far today I tried to poison you and then I beat you up."

"You didn't exactly..."

"Clark, I'll be at the Planetarium, okay? If my dad asks, I'm fine."

And with that, she was gone.

"Kala, it's six-thirty," Dr. Crosby deadpanned as she watched her enter the office.

"And you're up and dressed impeccably and already at the Planetarium."

"I have a grant due in about thirty-six hours. Sleep is for the weak."

"I can come back."

Dr. Crosby smiled. "But it's from the Swann Foundation. I think I'll get through the preliminaries."

"Cheater."

"Oh it's excellent work. Doesn't matter. I promised my door was always open. Kala, what happened?"

Chloe sighed and sat down on the doctor's sofa. "It's Chloe."

Dr. Crosby smiled back to her and offered her a cup of tea. "Forgive me. I spent thirteen years thinking about Kala Jor-El every day. It's hard for me to remember sometimes that she's Chloe Sullivan now."

"I can understand the feeling," Chloe replied. She didn't know what to do with the revelation of her heritage. Some times she felt like all there really was was Kala, as if Chloe was a dream she was reluctant to wake up from.

"Chloe, what are you doing here? You usually try and come during daylight hours."

She sighed and looked down at her hands, clutched gently around the mug. "Everything's wrong."

"That's a big place to start. Is this about being sixteen or is this about something extraterrestrial?"

"It's just me. I...apparently I had a growth spurt."

Dr. Crosby raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't look any taller."

"I was sick. There was this spore from my homeworld that came with me and I was dying."

"Recently?" She asked, her alarmed tone warming something in Chloe. It reminded her of the way Martha was with Clark, something deeply maternal that she wasn't even sure she'd ever heard from Moira.

"No, before I met you but only by a few weeks. I was sick and my ship healed me but my strength is more than it used to be. I thought I had a handle on it and I do, mostly, but if I get excited..."

"When are you most excited?" Dr. Crosby asked, but she could tell from her tone that she already knew the answer.

Chloe kept looking down at her fingers. They didn't look powerful, not with slightly chipped pink polish and dirty cuticles. "With Clark, when we...I didn't know since he didn't want to tell me and then today he rolled up his sleeve and his mom thought one of the horses had bitten him. The bruising was _that _bad."

"Kala, I'm sorry," Dr. Crosby said and Chloe forgave her slip.

"I know. It's all these things, you know. We have to have a fire extinguisher all the time because sometimes my heat vision goes off when I'm worked up. I float sometimes and now the bruising. I mean, I get control of my strength eventually and now that I know...if I ever trust myself to touch him again, I'll be careful, but can you make this stop?"

"What?"

"I...you said that if I wanted something to come here. I know you meant more about when I was older and if I wanted to try to have children, but I was just thinking about now. I can't get anything under control. I used to be so much more focused and if I let myself relax, it all falls apart."

"Ka...Chloe, we can try a few things, but, honestly, it's not a physics problem. It's psychological and that's mostly out of my purview."

"Mostly?"

"I don't have any clinical experience dealing with teenage girls, just the personal kind."

"From thirty years ago," she snarked before blushing. "Sorry. I didn't mean that. I just meant that it's been a while."

Dr. Crosby laughed. "You're tired, I'm sure. But I didn't mean from my life." Standing up, Dr. Crosby rummaged through the photos on her desk and handed a gilded frame back to her. "That's Patricia."

"I thought you said-"

"She's not mine, messy divorce and all that. But she lived in New York with us because of joint custody so I went through all of that drama recently."

"How old is she now?"

"23."

Chloe frowned. "That makes her Lex's age."

"Yeah," Dr. Crosby replied, her face darkening.

_Interesting. _

"Patty was a little high strung, so we worked on meditation techniques together. Maybe we can try a little of that."

"Can we start today?"

"If you give me three hours to rerun the stats, of course. Would you like to see some of New York while you're here. I have a feeling you aren't going to school."

"Good call," she replied. "Yeah, I just...maybe a nap would be good," Chloe said, leaning back on the sofa.

"Kala?"

"Yes?"

"We'll figure something out."

"My dad said that a lot. Last time he said it, I had to move to Smallville because I set the school gym on fire with my eyes."

Dr. Crosby nodded. "Well, considering how fond you are of Clark and your friend Pete, I'd say that actually worked out for you. I'll take care of you."

Chloe didn't know what to say to that so she just smiled weakly and tried to fall asleep. With her perfect recall and the memories of Clark's arms, it was anything but a restful sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Clark complained, banging his head against his desk at The Torch. He'd had one job, only one. All he had to do was keep his arms hidden. One flannel shirt was not a complicated cover-up and he'd still managed to screw it up. Clark sighed and looked down at his biceps. Chloe hadn't meant to do what she had. Okay, so that sounded like he was in some lifetime movie, but it wasn't like that. Chloe couldn't always control her abilities. The scorch marks in the rafters were proof of that. She couldn't change who she was and he wouldn't want her to; he was just trying to work around it. She was getting better at a lot of things. It was more that since she'd almost died, she'd been on over drive.

At least for a Kryptonian.

Now he'd be lucky if she ever touched him again.

"Moron."

"I'll say."

_Pete, goodie. _

"Pete, uh, hey."

Pete narrowed his eyes at Clark and then shut and locked The Torch door behind. "What's going on?"

"Wow, news spreads fast."  
>Pete shook his head. "Lana mentioned how bad Donatello's bites were this morning in homeroom. Since we all know your horses have never bitten anybody and since Chloe isn't here today, I think I can guess where this is all going."<p>

Clark sighed. He liked Pete. They'd been best friends ever since he'd come to Smallville, but it was sometimes impossible to deal with him. Pete was on the other side of the secret keepers' spectrum. He wanted everything to be locked up tighter than Fort Knox. He was leery of Lex, which, considering everything that had happened with Nixon and the caves wasn't completely unfounded. But there were other things. He didn't like Dr. Swan and still believed that the other man had ulterior motives. Pete was sometimes even more overprotective of Chloe than her dad, except when he'd been hopped up on adrenaline and the parasite.

Then he'd been more than happy to use Chloe's powers selfishly.

"It's not what you think."

"Clark, if Chloe was hurting you or her powers were acting up, you should have said something to the rest of us."

"Great. Mr. Sullivan is already having heart attacks after the curtains in the living room got flambed, and what happens between me and Chloe is just that-it's what happens between me and Chloe."

"When her powers act up, it's about all of us trying to help her. What if this overdrive thing isn't just about being worked up from making out? What if she might run into other problems?"

"It's been two months and that hasn't been a problem," he corrected.

Pete squeezed Clark's upper arm tightly until he gritted his teeth and wheezed. "Looks like you've run into quite a few problems to me."

Clark pulled his arm out of Pete's grasp and cradled it to his chest. "What happens between Chloe and me is our business. I know you want to help, Pete, but you can't."

"Is Mr. Sullivan going to hear about this?"

"He'll probably figure it out. Chloe was so freaked out this morning. I can't see her wanting to even speak to me, let alone having me over to her house four or five times a week."

"Maybe she's not wrong and you two need to cool it for a while."

Clark's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious. I mean, it's Chloe. She's not dangerous."

"She doesn't mean to be," Pete corrected. "Maybe giving her space is a good thing. I mean, where is she?"

"New York."

Pete rolled his eyes. "Swan again, right?"

"More like Dr. Crosby but the same idea. She doesn't want to be around me right now. She feels terrible and she didn't do anything wrong. I keep saying it-she can't help that she's this strong."

"Maybe humans and Kryptonians aren't really supposed to date then."

"I don't believe that. She made a mistake, I tried to cover it up and failed, and now she feels so bad that she's in another time zone. When she gets back to town, I'm going to make her understand that it's alright. I mean, yeah, I'm just a human guy. Hell, I'm more fragile than most because of all my asthma problems. But I'm not made out of porcelain here. I know what Chloe's capable of and I don't care."

"And she's just being cautious, man. You've got to know she's freaked."

"Clearly but having her withdraw from everything? It's not going to help her. She'll get to some neurotic point where she won't even touch, let alone hug someone."

"Like how you won't go even on a step ladder."

Clark rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah, even if it doesn't sound all that manly. I just don't want her to shut down. I thought we were losing her when she finally met up with Dr. Swan. She's recovering from that whole 'last of your kind and please be taking over the world soon' revelation. Hurting people? She's terrified of that. The only reason she's in Smallville is because she burned down the gym and they had to evacuate it while it was happening."

"I know."

Clark frowned back at Pete. "You don't have very much faith in her, do you?"

"I love Chloe. She's my best friend, the other musketeer. I trust you and her tons."

"But you don't think we should date anymore."

Pete looked pointedly at Clark's arms. "I just think there are some things that members of different species can't do, and when the Kryptonian in the equation can snap bone when she gets distracted…"

"You think she's a freak!" Clark accused.

"No, I think that if something permanently injured you, like if she did shatter your arm or burned you enough to scar, that Chloe would never forgive herself. She'd live with that guilt every day for the rest of her life and it would drive her nuts, man. I don't want you to keep trying it for the same reason you lied to her for months. I don't want her to deal with the fallout."

Clark nodded. "I don't want her to ever feel guilty, but I don't want to give her up either. I _know _we can work this out, that it's some mental thing she has to get past. If I give it up now, then she'll never get over it."

"She might cut you out anyway. Chloe has all these hang-ups about how she thinks she's protecting everyone."

"I know."

"Maybe she'll come back from New York and you two won't be dating at all."

Clark swallowed and it felt like glass cutting through his throat. "I don't believe that either."

"Uh-huh, so comes the verdict from optimists' corner," he replied. "Wish I was as sure in things as you always are, Clark."

_Me too._


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

Chloe woke up to the tantalizing scent of hot cocoa wafting through the air. Sitting up, she gratefully took the mug that Dr. Crosby was offering. Gazing at the clock on the doctor's desk, Chloe frowned. "Whoa, did I really sleep for three hours?"

Dr. Crosby smiled. "I was going to give you a few more but you started mumbling in your sleep."

Chloe blushed. "Um, what exactly did you hear?"

"Incoherent mumbling. Your secrets are safe with you."

"But you have the best one," she finished, taking a sip.

"It's not...you could have blown on it."

She grinned. "I like it scalding. It's part of my coffee fixation but only really at home, you know?"

"I see. Well now it's 9:30 and not just past the crack of dawn, do you want to talk about what's wrong, Kala?"

Chloe sighed as she took another sip. Dr. Crosby and Dr. Swann were probably never going to adjust to the fact that Chloe Sullivan was the name of the alien girl they'd been looking for. Of course, what Dr. Crosby called her this morning was so low on her list of priorities that she didn't even care. "I'd love to."

"Is it something you'd rather discuss with your father? I mean, Virgil and I don't want to overstep."

That was code for her dad really wasn't thrilled with the world's most famous astronomer knowing her story. Dad let her keep meeting with them but, like Pete, he was half convinced that she'd go to New York one day as normal and then end up in a cage. Chloe really didn't think that would happen.

"It's fine. It's a, well, it's kind of a girl thing anyway. I mean, of course dad knows that I'm dating Clark and he's the one who gave us the protection in the first place-"

Dr. Crosby sputtered into her coffee. "The what?"

Chloe blushed. "No, I meant literally. See, the heat vision is hormone-based. When I get too worked up...well, daddy learned it's better on the curtains if we have a fire extinguisher handy."

"So many complications."

"Yeah, thanks for stating the obvious, doctor."

"I'm sorry, Kala. I just never thought that this would be part of meeting you. I want to help, but I never thought about everything that would come with you being a Kryptonian here on Earth."

"I don't know if my birth parents thought that far ahead either. I mean, I know we visited here before. I have the proof with my own hands. They had to know that I'd get all these powers. The things that they..._ we _did in China."

"Kala?"

Chloe set the mug down and set her hands in her lap. "The Kryptonian who lived there. He did terrible things."

"Yes, I've heard the legends."

"Yeah, well Lex has the translation in his office. The Kryptonian...he took a harem, sort of."

"Sort of?"

"Well no girl ever lasted past the first night because he tore her apart. I met Kyle, the Chief of the Kawatchee's grandson. Humans and my people are supposed to be compatible but how can that be true. I mean, all I did was get a little bit distracted while kissing. Just _kissing _. What if we tried to go farther and I couldn't control it at all? Am I supposed to wait until I shatter bones." Her blush deepened. "Or something else."

Clark would surely be a good sport about everything, because that was the kind of guy he was. But there had to be a limit. He might not mind a cast on his arm. But her imagination was running wild with all sorts of things she could break that Clark would value more.

"So you're afraid you're not compatible at all?"

"I don't know. It feels right between us. He's so sweet and he wants to try so hard."

Dr. Crosby smirked. "Boys often are enthusiastic at this age. I remember with Patricia."

"You know Clark. He's not like that. He's a complete gentleman and he'd never push. I just want to give him what other girls can."

"Kala, you're still only 15."

"No, but eventually, I'd be with him, like a real girl."

"Which you are."

"Maybe, if you squint hard enough," Chloe countered. "I just want to be more normal."

"Which is a futile wish, Kala."

"Chloe. Two syllables," she snarled.

Dr. Crosby nodded. "I'm trying, _Chloe _. Clark is willing to make accommodations for your nature, which may be more than many men would do."

"Definitely. I don't think there's a line to date aliens outside of a Star Wards convention."

"Which can be fun. Virgil is quite the fantasy enthusiast. You should have seen him at his first ever Warrior Angel convention." The fondness was evident in her tone.

"You really love him, don't you?"

"Yes. But it's hard and I understand that. Clark understands that."

"Clark's not dating Dr. Swann."

"No, but Clark knows what it's like to love someone truly extraordinary, someone with a destiny greater than his own."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "I don't have a destiny except avoiding Lionel's Level Three research or ending up on my own wall."

"The records we combed through in The Ledger don't agree. You save a lot of people, Chloe."

She shuddered. She'd left a lot of people injured in collateral damage too. And if what her ship said was true...destiny was the last thing she wanted. She didn't want to rule the world or have slaves or topple civilizations. She just wanted to work at the Planet with Clark and be normal. She'd give anything if she could just get rid of her powers and the stupid destiny her psychotic ship had laid out for her. But she couldn't tell Dr. Crosby or Dr. Swann that. Sure, they liked her when she was innocent, fluffy, ET first contact. She doubted they'd still treat her with such courtesy when they learned of her legacy. God forbid she ever have to admit to Dr. Crosby about the things the El family had already done here.

"Maybe, but I don't want to have that be my legacy. If someone's hurt, sure, I can lend a hand, but I don't want that to be all that I am. You know?"

"I confess that I can't quite understand it. I just am trying to guide you. Right now, I think that throwing in the towel on any relationship, especially what you have with Clark, is foolish. Normal humans wait for what you have and sometimes never find it."

"Really?"

"I know it. Running away from it isn't going to fix it. So we work with it. You won't always be an overexcited 15 year old. And you definitely won't always be adjusting to growth spurts."

"Well, I only anticipate being blasted by my own ship so often," She frowned. "Dr. Crosby, about what happened with my ship."

"I wish we had a chance to observe it."

"And I don't want to have anything to do with it. If I knew how to destroy something that survived intergalactic travel, I would, believe me."

"Kala..."

"I mean it," She continued. "But that's not the point. I...something happened. Mrs. Kent was exposed to the spore too and we had to cure her. That's how she was able to get pregnant. She never could before."

Dr. Crosby stilled but kept breathing. "You're worried about the side effects."

"I'm not saying Clark's getting a baby brother with superspeed. That's insane, but it makes me worried. But we can't even tell Mrs. Kent why we're worried. It's just one more complication, you know?"

"One thing at a time. How far along is Mrs. Kent?"

"About four months and Clark swears nothing weird has ever happened. She's fine, really healthy. But I can't just let her in on my secret. I just-"

"One thing at a time. I'm going to take you to a studio we used to take Patricia to for yoga. I'm not foolish enough to think one session will do much but a start Chloe. If you're more aware of your body, you might be able to exert better control. We'll take it slow."

"Yes, because that's what teenage boys are known for. Restraint."

Dr. Crosby shook her head. "I have faith in Clark Kent to have some."

Chloe grinned despite herself. "Me too. So, yoga and self control. Why would someone at like Harvard need all of that?"

"Because she didn't used to be so restrained. She was at St. Catherine's when Lex Luthor was at Excelsior and the things they did, the pharmeceuticals they got into together...it's why her mother sent her to New York in the first place."

"Wait, Lex? Like my Lex?" Chloe blushed. That sounded wrong.

Dr. Crosby arched an eyebrow at her. "There's only one Lex Luthor. So yes. As much faith as I have in Clark is as little confidence as I have in Lex. He's dangerous, Kala."

"Yes, mother," Chloe mocked, wincing a little at the crestfalled expression on Dr. Crosby's face. "Sorry, that was rude."

"Not completely. I'm not your parent."

_Sometimes I wish you were. You're better than Moira ever was. _

"But you're considerate with me and it was snotty. It's just that Lex is my friend."

"Then, Kala, you've chosen poorly."

_I hope not._


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

"So, the thing is I'm not a maid, you know? I work twenty hours a week at The Talon and pick up some extra weekend shifts. I don't mind that because it meant so much to my parents to have it up and running, but I'm not a wedding planner either. Right, Clark?" Lana said, filling up another cup of cappuccino.

Clark nodded and kept sipping on his cup of plain black coffee. Once he'd had a raging crush on Lana and now she was one of his best friends along with Pete and Chloe, but he'd never sat and listened to her that often. She talked.

A lot.

And most of the time about herself. Of course, if he were conscripted into helping Lex get married, maybe he'd be complaining a lot too. He kept nodding along as Lana elaborated on the differences in the place card calligraphy she had to get just right (since, of course, Lex was a perfectionist), but he wasn't focusing much. He and Chloe had had a late night and then sleeping hadn't been all that comfortable. Add in a five AM muffin run with his mom and he was just dragging.

"Clark?"

"I think the stuff you've written has looked nice so far."

"I know it does, but I was asking you how you were feeling. I know that Donny's bite had to sting."

"No, ah," he replied, pulling down his sleeves once more. "Well, it still feels a little sore, but I'm adjusting. Mostly just tired."

"I can relate to that. It's nice to help your mom out with the muffin runs. I know it's pretty early in the morning."

"So is milking. It's fine. I love helping."

Lana grinned and winked at him. "You just love me."

He blushed. "And I love the smell of cappuccino 24/7. Besides, I really don't like my mom lifting all this heavy stuff while she's pregnant."

Lana stopped mixing drinks long enough to squeal. "So cute. I bet you're going to be a great big brother, Clark. I always wanted a little sister even with Nell and watching Pete with all his brothers? It just seems like so much fun."

"Well, you and me and Chloe have all been in the only child club for a while."

"Only our whole lives, but I think it's great that your family's growing. Your mom just seems so happy. She keeps going on and on about all the preparations."

"Yeah, they've pretty much bought out Granville. They'll have to go all the way to Metropolis soon for cribs, you know?" He sighed, taking another sip of his coffee. Truth was, he was excited about having a little brother, but sometimes he wished his parents would talk about something else besides the baby. It felt like he was on overload there and he was sort of blending into the background. And with everything that was still going on with Chloe since she'd figured out how to read Kryptonian, well, he just needed a day off from everything.

"Clark?"

"Yeah, I get it. You need me to move to a booth so the paying customers and not the one nursing the same coffee for an hour have better access."

"Actually, I was going to double check to see if you were okay. You've been spacing a little on me."

"Just tired," he replied, picking up his coffee and heading to the back of The Talon. "I think I might just rest a little before heading home. Have to duck out of farm chores, right?"

Lana smiled although it was more concerned than he'd like. "Sure thing but don't let how busy I am throw you. If you need anything, well, I like being out of counter cleaning duty."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks Lana."

"No problem. Hey, I might throw in a brownie at half price if you play your cards right."

"Thanks again," he said, slipping into the booth in the back corner. He had about five minutes to himself before Mr. Sullivan sat down at his table. "I guess you're not here for a brownie, are you?"

"No, Clark. I'm here because I got a call from Pete. He didn't say anything much over the phone but he did tell me that I really should stop by The Talon and talk to you. So, I have to wonder why I took off work a few hours early and why my daughter is in New York and you brought home all her assignments."

"It's nothing. She just had one of those days. She needed a break."

"I know, but Chloe understands that she can't just take off on school days to see Swann. It's not right. Even if she has all this other chaos in her life, she can't miss school. Anything that draws attention is bad."

"I don't think she felt that one day would make a difference, sir."

"Pete wouldn't have called me if it wasn't something important and she wouldn't be halfway across the country if it weren't. The last time I saw her was this morning over a ridiculously early breakfast. She was very happy, had that mile wide smile on her face. So what changed?"

Clark gulped. "You're implying that I might have changed something."

"Not that you did anything but something had to happen before she even got to school. Clark, I appreciate everything that you do for her, but I don't want this ever to become divided."

He frowned. "Divided how?"

"I don't want you and Chloe to start doing things on your own. It's bad enough that she keeps up with Lex and did everything with the Kawatchee research. If she got a new power or if something like that happened, you need to keep me informed."

"It's not a new power."

"It's something."

He looked away from Mr. Sullivan's prying eyes. "It's kind of private."

"How private?"

His eyes widened. "Not that private...nothing like that. I wouldn't do that. I mean, I would one day because it's not a 'she's an alien' thing. I mean that I would wait until like longer and I knew you wouldn't kill me or my dad would get upset or...that's not helping."

Mr. Sullivan chuckled. "So it's not something I have to kill you for?"

"No sir. But I think you're still going to be upset."

"Did Chloe do anything?"

God, he couldn't...but he'd promised to stay honest with Mr. Sullivan. It balanced out the times when Chloe didn't share everything with them. "She didn't mean to."

"What does that mean?"

"We were in the loft and she came over to help me celebrate my birthday and nothing big happened, I swear, just kissing but she got a little more relaxed than she should have been."

"Did she break anything?"

Clark looked over his shoulder to make sure no one had heard Mr. Sullivan's slightly panicked voice. "No, it's just bruises and they're already getting better."

"Show me."

"What?"

"Are they some place I can see them?"

"I'm not stripping down in the middle of The Talon, sir. There's some on my ribs and my arm's a little mottled."

"Clark, please, I need to see what she did."

He sighed and rolled up his right sleeve. "It looks really bad right now, a little swollen even, but it's not very painful." He wheezed a bit when Mr. Sullivan touched his arm and then cursed to himself about his tell.

"So it's _not _painful, huh?"

"It'll heal. It's not so bad, not at all. I don't care what happens because it's not her fault she's so strong. It's not like she did it on purpose."

"Were you two going to never mention it to me? Clearly, Pete knows."

"We were working on it. Frankly, Chloe freaked out and ran off to New York before much could happen one way or the other. I'm waiting for her to come back. As upset as she was, I was pretty sure you'd be on her list of people to tell."

"Clark, maybe I was wrong to let you in so close. We didn't have a choice with Pete because we needed that ship back, but maybe this is too much for you."

"It wasn't too much. I've done a lot of things to help her."

"And a lot of things have gone wrong too. Your mother almost died. And who knows...nevermind."

Clark clenched his hands around his mug. "Who knows what's going on with my little brother. That's what you want to say. He's fine, thank you."

"But I bet your parents don't know they owe their miracle to a Kryptonian spaceship."

"That hasn't come up in so many words, sir."

"Clark, maybe Chloe just needs a breather."

"How much talking have you done with Pete? She had a breather. It was her running to New York for the afternoon. Why does everyone want us to stop dating all of a sudden?"

"I didn't say that."

"Not in so many words, but Pete and Chloe already beat you to the punch."

"Maybe just slowing down isn't so wrong."

"Running, you mean. Not so much in changing cities, but it's the same principle. Something happened once in Metropolis, and you had to move all the way here. Now one setback with me and her and maybe Chloe shouldn't date. If she starts pulling back now...what if she never wants to date again? Or gets to the point where she can't touch anyone?"

"It's not the same. Caution's a good thing."

Clark frowned. "I don't think she ever got over having to leave St. Catherine's. Chloe just lets things build up all the time, like with her mom. I don't want me to be something she has a phobia over. I love her too much for that."

Mr. Sullivan nodded and smiled sadly back at him. "I'm glad she did burn down the gym, if only because she got to meet you."

Clark nodded and took the final sip of his coffee. "I know I was kind of blind to things in the beginning. Lana can kind of do that-"

Mr. Sullivan shook his head as he eyed The Talon assistant manager refilling a coffee. "She comes on strong in her own way."

"But I'm serious about Chloe and I'm not going anywhere. My little brother, this growth spurt thing, that stupid ship, we're going to figure it all out."

Mr. Sullivan sobered and placed a five dollar bill on the table. "I wish I could be as optimistic as you are, Clark."

"I'm just stubborn. It's a Kent thing. Unfortunately, I think it might be a Sullivan special because I still have no clue if Chloe will let me be in the same room with her."

The other man laughed. "You haven't seen anything yet. You should have met Chloe's Aunt Ella or her cousin Lois. Tough pretty much runs in the whole Lane family."

"Yeah, I, uh, might have noticed that. But I think I can out stubborn her if I try."

"I hope so. Clark, I think dinner would be great. Chloe knows to come home by dark from the east coast. I was thinking a whole family thing, Pete too."

"Great, Pete," Clark added, trying not to sound sarcastic. "Sure, Mr. Sullivan. Want to head back and wait for her?"

He nodded as they both stood up. "Sometimes I feel like that's all I do."

"Me too."


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

Chloe was an odd kind of popular. She didn't have a cheerleading squad's worth of friends or anything close to that. But she did have a little bit of a club that followed her around. Granted, popularity wasn't usually measured by having your dad waiting up for you on the sofa, but she could count on certain things. For instance, she could count on being able to fix a flat without a jack or on singeing the curtains when certain activities got too intense. As she stared at (not through) the front door of her house, she could count that Pete, Clark, and her dad would all be in her living room with identical worried expressions on their faces.

Sighing and reminding herself that it was not a good idea to run away to Patagonia just because she could, Chloe opened the door and put on her bravest, "nothing's wrong with me" smile. "Hey guys, so did any of you happen to start cooking dinner. I don't know about you but cross country running makes me exhausted."

"Cute Chloe," her dad replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "Did you enjoy your trip?"

"Well, it was okay. New York's still crowded and a little dirty but I got to see Fifth Avenue which is fun. You have got to see FAO Schwartz one of these days. They have that piano from Big and that's pretty neat."

"Well that sounded fun," Clark finished lamely. He was trying so hard. Her dad was shaking his head in her direction and Pete who just seemed constipated.

Chloe sighed and gave him a small smile. "It was nice. Dr. Crosby says hello. She also send this article back with me. It's an advanced draft of something Dr. Swann's been working on. She said the math's a pain but you'd like the gist of it."

His eyes brightened. "Really? That's cool."

She nodded and pulled the sheaf of papers from her purse, hesitating when she reached out to him. "Ah, you can just grab it right out, you know?"

All that joy died instantly as he grabbed for the papers, exceedingly careful not to "accidentally" graze her fingers. And that was why she loved Clark. Even when she was being what she was sure he must have thought of as neurotic, he was still listening to her as best he could. "Thanks, Chlo, I really appreciate it. Maybe next time I can actually come when you see Swann?"

"Oh sure," she lied. After this morning's show there was no way she was going to carry Clark (it was possible though awkward) anywhere. Even if he did like popping into New York even more than she did.

"Chloe, you don't always have to rush off to New York as a default," her dad offered, his tone wounded.

Chloe started to lean over to hug him but stopped herself. "I know, daddy, and I'm sorry. I just needed some time to think."

"Thinking can be good," Pete replied neutrally. "What did you think about?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. If eating at vendor in Times Square is hygienically safe, should I grow out my bangs, whether I should ever attempt touching a human again. Things like that."

Clark flinched. "Look, really, it's not that bad. It'll probably be healed up by next week."

She started pacing as she talked, letting herself be worked up. "And that's not the point. You shouldn't have to worry about bruising up at all. I mean should we just take the summer off so your parents don't notice anything when your working the fields or down at Crater Lake?"

Clark rolled his eyes. "And you'll get the hang of it."

"But maybe not before I crack a rib. I just...it's a lot of things."

"And what did Dr. Crosby say? She's usually pretty smart about these things," he prodded.

"'Don't be rash. There are different techniques you can try for concentration. Here's some yoga stuff.'"

"See then she's as smart as I thought she was."

"That's because she has your opinion."

Clark quirked his head at her. "You mean where I'm thinking that it's a bad idea for you to shun human contact forever."

"I'm not going to shun it forever. I'm just refraining from it for an undetermined period of time. And come on! I mean, daddy, back me up. You don't want me crunching ribs either do you?"

"Chlo-bear, I don't think you're going to crunch me. You've always had such wonderful control."

She frowned. "There's a but there, isn't there?"

He nodded, "But I think you're right about some of the things that...well with Clark it's...and then there's..." Oh and he was like a fire engine.

Pete continued, "Maybe you're not wrong about dating."

Chloe swallowed. It seemed wrong to want to argue that point. It was the same conclusion she'd made at six AM. Except she'd been expecting the rest of her family to try talking her out of the decision, the way Clark was. Not that she was going to be talked out of it, but shouldn't someone try?

"Yeah, I've been saying that," she added, recovering. "It's just bone crushing and base rounding are separate activities, am I right?"

Pete nodded. "Definitely. That was what I was trying to tell Clark man earlier. It's nothing personal, Chloe. It's just smart. If he landed in the hospital, you'd never forgive yourself."

"Oh totally." Clark and her father exchanged a frown. They weren't as sold on this not touching plan as Pete was. Some small petty part of her wondered if some of this was because he wasn't the guy in question. Chloe wasn't blind about Pete's crush. It was just that she'd never seen him that way and she was very happy with Clark. But sometimes, with the way he looked at her, she wondered if he wanted more.

"So I'm glad it's all agreed. You two can just cool it for a while. It's not forever, just until you get used to your growth spurt."

"Right, completely," she added. "That's exactly what I was thinking." And it had sounded like a good idea, even with all of Dr. Crosby's warnings, until she saw how dejected Clark looked, how stricken.

"I think it's stupid. You're not that dangerous. In fact, you're not bad at all. Now that you're aware of it, you won't do it again and things will work out fine. Getting scared and running away."

"I'm not running. Just not touching," she defended. "So is that it? I came home. Everyone's safe and sound and I promise not to get too busy with the touching, you know?"

Her dad sighed and looked back at her. "There was one other thing, Chlo-bear."

"Which was?"

"We're still debating what to do about Clark's little brother." Pete added and sometimes he could be so bossy.

"What is there to do? Why is there a problem?"

"Your ship," her dad replied. "If it affected Martha in some way."

"It got her knocked up." She snapped and then blushed. "Sorry Clark."

"It's okay. I still think my little brother is coming from a stork so it's not bothering me," Clark said.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Is there a plan here to what? Take Mrs. Kent aside and go 'You might be having a baby altered by Kryptonian technology?'"

Clark frowned. "Hey! My little brother is not altered. I don't think he's going to have superstrength or anything."

"And I wasn't going to tell Martha anything unless it became necessary, but I'm with Clark. I doubt that anything odd is going to happen with the baby. It's not as if she's doing anything out of the ordinary herself," her dad finished.

"Then why are we talking about this?"

"Because you and Clark didn't tell me exactly what happened. This isn't about Clark's little brother as much as it is about you keeping me in the loop," he replied, looking between her and Clark. "He tried to hide the bruising from me and both of you were less than honest about the baby. I thought we agreed to stop doing all of that after the caves."

Chloe sighed. "We did and I'm trying. I didn't want to mention the connection with the ship because I don't know what that means and it's not like I have anyone to ask. And I know we can't just go around telling anyone in town what I am."

"Who," Clark said quietly. "And I'm not sponsoring that myself. But if something did happen and I'm sure it won't, I really am, my mom and dad could handle it. They wouldn't freak out."

"Had to learn your amazing tolerance from somewhere, right Clark?" she replied. "Look everything's just fine."

"Chlo-"

"It's fine. Now I have to get to my room and make up for the classes I missed, you know?"

She was waiting for the knock on her door since she shut it behind her and realized she'd left her backpack downstairs. Looking up from her bed, she shook her head when she realized it was Clark and not her dad. "You know, my dad must really trust my neuroses if he's going to let us be alone in my room."

Clark narrowed his eyes and dropped the backpack with a thunk onto her bed. "That's not funny."

"Well you're not here to ravish me either, are you?"

"I wouldn't do that because your dad would murder me, you know."

"But?"

"But it doesn't mean I wouldn't like to," he replied, blushing. "Chloe, can I have a seat?"

"This makes it less likely that you aren't heading to make out territory."

"I'm serious," he said, slipping onto her bed, moving her old stuffed panda, Cronky out of the way. "I think you're really stupid for a Czechoslovakian."

"This is not making me want to take you back any more if you call me stupid. Did you know that?"

"But you're also being stupid," he said, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"Don't."

Clark sighed and kissed the top of her head. "You've got this idea that you can't touch me and it's stupid. But, the way I see it, none of that anywhere says that I can't touch you. If you're worried about crushing me-which is beyond stupid, by the way-then I'm not worried about touching you at all."

"So I'm going to just be still the rest of the time we date?"

"You're going to relax and if this is how we have to do it for a while until you adjust to the whole growth spurt thing, then so be it, you know?"

Chloe grinned despite herself. "So you're just being stubborn, Mr. Kent?"

"Yeah, it runs in my family and I am great at it."

"Well, I think being stubborn is a very Sullivan thing, too."

He pulled back a little. "I'm pretty insistent on this. I don't want to lose this, Chloe, not ever. Nothing you do could make me leave."

"Casts aren't so fun, I've heard."

"And being 'just friends' isn't fun either," he answered back. "We can do this, you know."

Chloe sighed and leaned back into him oh so carefully. "Pete says-"

"Not to sound like a caveman, but you aren't dating him. I like Pete. He's a great guy but he's also paranoid. He wants to run Lex out on a rail. He doesn't trust your control like I do."

"You think he's jealous, don't you?"

"I didn't say that."

She snorted. "I thought that myself. Just because Pete's a little prickly doesn't make him wrong."

"Just because he's stern about things doesn't make him right. I'm like a parasite now and you aren't getting rid of me."

"That's decidedly less romantic."

"It's true!"

She shook her head and rested it on his shoulder. "Fine, but I just can't...touching's out for a while from me, okay?"

"I get that but don't pull some 'alien must be exiled' plot either because it's just wrong."

"I don't really deserve you."

"I am pretty handsome and smart, so I can see how you'd think that, Chlo."

"Ha-ha," she said, going rigid when he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. He pulled back after realizing he'd get more pliability from steel. "Sorry, I'm still...adjustments."

"I'm cool with it," Clark replied and he actually meant it. Huh, maybe he wasn't a normal teenager either.

"Hey, you know I picked you up one of those miniature statues of liberty while I was there."

"You went to Liberty Island?"

"No, but there was this guy who was on Fifth Avenue with this nice overly large rain coat. It was this or a fake rolex."

"I missed out on a Folex? Chlo, what kind of girlfriend are you?"

"Well, I could run back and get that...if he didn't get arrested first."

Clark laughed. "You know. Dr. Swann has this theory that one day you'll be able to actually see things microscopically. You'd just know with a squint that it was a for sure Folex."

"Or the fact some shady guy off an alley was selling them could be a clue." She deflected, uncomfortable with Clark's awe. It wasn't that he was a groupie, exactly. It was more that she wasn't so in love with her powers right then. She just wasn't feeling all that grateful for any of it, not since this morning.

"It's a thought," he replied, a little deflated, kissing her again. "Thanks for the souvenir."

"No problem. I'm thinking of starting a courier service."

"That could be a career move," he joked.

"Yeah, exactly."

And if they trailed off right then, surely it wasn't a bad thing, was it?


	7. Chapter 7

7

"So are you coming over to help me out?" Clark asked, leaning back in his chair at The Torch.

Chloe sighed and rolled her eyes. "I can't. I know you're counting on me to be your editor this once, but I really can't. I promised Helen that I'd come by the mansion for a final fitting and it's getting up to the final week."

Clark frowned. "But I could really use some help. I don't know anything about making a toast."

"Well," she chirped, looking up from the layout she was finishing. "Lex must be pretty confident that you can do it or he wouldn't have made you the best man."

"Or he could secretly hate me and be setting me up for public ridicule," he replied. "Just look at Lex's dad. Evil runs in the family. I think it's definitely setting me up for humiliation."

"No. Lex respects you and thinks you're going to give a good toast. As someone who's read your work for a couple of years now, I think he's got a point. I'm sure whatever you come up with is going to be fine. Just don't go on forever and ever. People hate that."

"But what am I supposed to say? Am I supposed to go on about true love and how amazing it is that Lex and Helen have it."

"That's very Hallmark of you," she said, leaning against his desk. "You can do better. Just be honest and, like I said, brief, so we can get to the sparkling cider."

"Thanks for the advice, but I'd feel better if you were reading over my stuff. It's usually how we work."

"But I have to go out and look fabulous in Vera Wang."

"Really?"

"Um, I think, but it probably won't look right," she finished, pointing to her hips. "Advanced alien race and a supermetabolism and I'm going to stand out next to Helen and not in the good way."

"Right," he said, reaching out to wrap and arm around her waist. Chloe stiffened but finally relaxed in his grip. It had been like that for the last few weeks with Chloe being so hesitant in his grasp. She hadn't reached out to touch him since she'd seen his arms, and touching her was almost as fun as cuddling up to marble. She was that pliable. It was hard, but at least she wasn't hiding out in New York or refusing to try at all. Still, he wished she could just relax with him. Yeah, he was human and she wasn't. But he wasn't just going to break.

Maybe bruise him a little, but he could live with that.

"Oh yeah right. She's pretty much a knockout. I can tell you why Lex is marrying her. Brilliant and perfect looking, totally his type."

"You're not jealous?"

"No, but it makes me a little nervous. I know Lex is not completely trustworthy."

"Pete would say he's Satan with a pitchfork and everything."

"Pretty much and that's not fair either, I know that. But you're nervous because Helen's seen your bloodwork."

"It seemed like a good idea for you and my dad when I was dying and you were running out of ideas. But she _knows _something is seriously wrong with me."

"I wouldn't say wrong."

"Semantics. It's just...I don't think that Lex would ever hurt me. I think he's as big an alien groupie as you are."

"Well if all Czechoslovakians are as attractive as you are, then I think there'd be more groupies."

"And you are laying it on thick."

"And you're being insecure. You're going to look great and I'm going to make a solid toast and then we'll end up dancing the electric slide at the reception. All that great stuff."

Chloe nodded and he could see her worry her bottom lip. "I just don't completely trust Helen. Lex isn't someone I worry about but there's his dad and that kind of information could be sold to Belle Reve or who knows who else. Besides, I get this feeling she doesn't like me very much."

"She made you the Maid of Honor."

"Uh-huh, but Helen doesn't have any close friends in Smallville and Lex sort of suggested it since you're already best man, like a matching set. I don't think she's thrilled with the idea."

"Why wouldn't she be?" he asked, confused.

Chloe blushed. "I think it's mostly because I won't offer any explanations for my blood work."

He frowned and considered his girlfriend for a second. It wasn't that he didn't trust Chloe. He did and always would. It was just that sometimes her relationship with Lex was hard to define. Considering how Lex was always so helpful in offering him older brother wisdom on girls whenever he was at the mansion, Clark really didn't think there was a rivalry between them. He and Chloe had been (mostly) happily dating for a year and a half. No matter what Pete kept complaining about, there wasn't anything there.

Not at all.

"And she'll have to learn that unusual blood work is a Smallville trademark. You're going to be fine. You'll get through the fitting and everything will work out fine."

Chloe snickered. "And that's more of the Kent wisdom. I tell you what. I'll finish with Lex and stop by tonight if you're still stressing about it."

"Cool," he said, leaning up to kiss her, sighing a little when she still remained stiff in his arms. Chloe's phobias made her believe that her even moving a little in his grasp would hurt him. He hoped that soon she'd get over it.

After all, his bruises had already faded.

"Chlo-"

She backed away quickly, though in human speed. "I'll catch up with you later."

Clark counted the seconds until she blurred away. It was a cool trick but he grew tired of seeing it so often; that was all.


	8. Chapter 8

**8**

"The dress really is pretty," Chloe said, trying her best to keep a smile plastered on her face. She had no more interest in being Helen's Maid of Honor any more than the other woman had in giving Chloe that honorary position. They were both doing it to please Lex who at least seemed happy by the arrangement. Still, Chloe didn't like Helen and the feeling was mutual. She had yet to see the woman give her anything approaching a sincere smile. Hell, she hadn't seen Helen look at her with anything but intense scrutiny since she'd had her fever.

Helen knew more than enough to know something was wrong with her.

And so Chloe got the stares.

"It's nice," Helen agreed, eying her as the seamstress finished pinning the off-the-shoulder straps into place. "I'd have preferred for my wedding colors to have been something in a teal."

Chloe had to chuckle at that. "But I got lilac. I guess Lex hinted."

"A lot. Purple is just a very Luthor color, apparently," she replied, a tight smile on her lips. "You look lovely, Chloe."

"Well thanks but it's just the bridesmaid dress. I'll shorten it, wear it again, and then people will know that I was at a wedding first."

"It's the taffeta right?" Helen joked, nodding as the little seamstress stepped back out of the room.

"Well, I think that and the full skirt. It's nice though. I think it's going to look great at the wedding. Plus, empire waist. That's a plus if you're a little hippy." Helen was rail thin. Chloe hated that. She really thought that if she had a supermetabolism she should also look like a supermodel-height and the whole nine yards. Now that would have been a superpower.

"You look very nice."

"We covered that."

Helen sighed. "We did, didn't we?"

"Yeah," Chloe replied, turning around and pulling the dress over her head. She moved as fast as was acceptable to shove on her jeans and t-shirt. "So, I guess I'll just be getting back to school."

"It's five o'clock."

"But there's always time to add to The Torch."

"Workaholic?"

She nodded. "Aren't we all? I mean, I know you must work overtime at Smallville Med. It's a small staff and it's Smallville so there's always some emergency case coming in."

"Smallville is a colorful town."

"Uh, yeah," Chloe said, trying to keep herself from blushing. "Is there anything else you needed Helen?"

The other woman quirked her head at Chloe and let her hand splay across the closed door. "I had a proposition for you. I wanted to talk to you about your blood work."

Chloe stilled. "There's nothing to talk about. This is Smallville. I'm not the only person in town whose blood is not exactly normal. I have files on a couple hundred who would look like me and, no, you can't have those files either."

"I've had other patients who were unusual," she hissed. "But yours is in a league of its own."

"Then I swept the lottery. Joy. I promise you, if there were a way to get rid of it, I would."

"That's not my point. I just wanted to know more about you, what you can do."

"Do?"

"Don't play dumb. The meteor infected come with different powers. We've all seen that. Blood as unique as yours, you must have some ability as well."

"My blood work isn't any of your business now that I'm better. It's all doctor-patient privilege, and you're supposed to respect that."

"Then as your physician-the only one it looks like from your records-I think it might be critical to examine who you are."

"Thanks, but I'd rather not."

Helen pursed her lips. "Maybe Lex would be interested-"

Chloe moved perhaps a little faster than she should have and grabbed Helen's wrist, applying enough pressure to make it uncomfortable for her. "Lex stays out of it."

"Isn't he already in it?"

"What?"

"Why would a billionaire and a man as smart as he is, waste his time with a sophomore cub reporter."

"I've actually interned at the Planet," she corrected.

"You spent time together pouring over the pictures from the Kawatchee caves."

Technically, they spent time together on it, but she threw in as many red herrings as she could. She liked Lex a lot, but, at the end of the day, her father was right and she couldn't trust him. She had her friends and no one else would be allowed to know, especially not Lionel Luthor's son. It was too dangerous. She certainly wasn't going to tell Helen.

"Skinwalker legends are fascinating and I've always had a love of decryption."

"Really? That's it?"

"I don't like what you're implying."

"Fine, but just between us girls, what is you interest in my fiance?"

"We're friends." Which, honestly, was the best word Chloe had for it. Mentioning that he helped her with the wet works in her life was too much to add.

"He spends a lot of time with you."

"Not as much as with Clark," she defended, and that was true. The two of them did guy things usually involving video games or the pool table. She and Lex conferred on cave symbols but she tried to limit her visits. It just didn't look right if she was over there all the time. Besides, it gave her just that many more opportunities to slip up and to be caught.

"After we're married, I don't want you coming around."

"I think that's a decision that Lex would make and I'm not trying to steal him. Clark and I have been dating almost since Lex moved to town. It's insane to think that I'd take him away. I don't like him like that."

"Well, I'd share him. If you talked about your blood work."

Chloe gaped. "He's not a commodity. How could you even-"

"It's a business arrangement first. My dad is one of the preeminent plastic surgeons in Metropolis. I know how these things work."

"Lex isn't like that."

"He'll learn to be. So, Chloe, if you want to be in his life, let's talk about the blood work."

Chloe narrowed her eyes and made an effort to reign in her heat vision. "No, Helen."

With that, she walked out the door of the salon.

"Chloe, this is a surprise," Lex said as he walked into his office. "I expected you and Helen to be finishing up girl things that I'm not supposed to know about."

She nodded. "It was just my dress at the fitting. There was no risk of seeing Helen in her gown before the ceremony, no bad luck."

"I had been a little worried."

"Nope," she replied, smiling brightly. "Just me and a lot of purple."

"It's technically lilac."

"That's what Helen told me. Can I say I expected her to be the one picking the color scheme. People will talk."

"When you're rich, you can afford to be eccentric," he replied, coming to lean against the desk next to her. "Besides, it's a wonderful color and I bet it looks beautiful on you."

"Oh you're quite the charmer. I heard all the sweet talk you've been giving Lana in order to get her to do more last minute errands."

"Lana is being compensated."

"Running ice buckets, Lex," she replied.

"Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"Because you don't just usually drop by my office. Clark, sure. We usually have a scheduled appointment or there's usually another meteor mutant on the loose and you're giving me the heads up. Am I being stalked again?"

"No, you're fine. There's no Defcon 1."

"But something's off?"

"No, it's nothing."

Lex turned to her and fixed his intense gaze on her. "There's something, Chloe. I just want to know what it is. Did you and Helen fight?"

"Why would you think that?"

"She's been tense about wedding stuff all week. I assure you it's nothing personal."

"Actually, I think it's other stuff. I mean, she's my doctor too, which is weird. She's getting me to take more of an interest in my health, I'd guess."

"You almost died a few months ago. She'd be a poor physician if she weren't worried about you."

"I know. She's great, really."

He frowned back at her. "You and Helen don't get along, do you?"

"Why would you say that? Of course we do."

"You're a good liar, Sullivan, but I've watched the two of you. There's less tension between me and my father."

Chloe turned to him and it was then that she realized how close they were, practically touching. She swallowed but didn't look away. "It's a lot of things, some of them girl stuff, some of them not."

"What's the 'girl stuff?'"

Chloe swallowed again. The room seemed impossibly small around her. "She's jealous."

"Of you?"

"I know. It's crazy, right? She thinks that we're competing for you."

"That's irrational."

She nodded too vigorously. "Completely."

"I love Helen."

"Oh exactly and Clark's great."

"Yes, of course. He's like my little brother."

"Oh yeah, and Helen just has wedding jitters."

"I would assume so. Cold feet."

Chloe nodded again and she could feel Lex's breath on her cheeks. "Exactly, there's nothing going on here."

"Not at all." And then he was kissing her and unlike with Clark she wasn't scared, wasn't standing stock still. Clark was fragile and sickly, Lex had a white blood cell count even the meteor freaks in Smallville would kill for. He wasn't as easily broken. Despite herself, despite everything, Chloe reached up and drew him closer to him, leaning into the kiss as it happened.

Eventually, he broke apart for air.

She wasn't even gasping.

"Chloe...I'm sorry," he stuttered, stumbling back a few feet. "I didn't mean it."

It took her a few minutes to get her brain working again after everything that had happened. "What? No, oh, I'm the bad one. I'm supposed to be the Maid of Honor and look what I did. It's just finals stress and the last few issues of The Torch and I'm just not thinking straight. I...it's not a big deal. And I need to get going," she finished, rushing (human speed) to the door.

"Chloe, wait!"

"No, I've got to go."

And it felt like forever until she could get back into her car and drive home.


	9. Chapter 9

**9**

"Chlo, are you sure you can't make it? No, that's understandable. Well it is all that girls' stuff. I'm not surprised the fittings ran long. Nah, it's cool. I came home anyway. I do speeches better in the loft. It's where I wrote my presidential campaign speech. _I _liked my speech. Hah. Chlo, are you okay? Helen wasn't mean was she? Cool, it's just that you sound off...no, I don't know the stress of dress fitting. Yeah, okay, but...sure I love you too."

There was a clicking noise on the other end and the line went dead.

Clark frowned. Helen had probably been pushing her hard about her blood work. It was understandable if she didn't want to get into it over the phone. Still, there was something else in her voice, something she was trying to hide. Clark sighed to himself and shut the Bartlett's Book of Quotations. He wasn't going to be getting anything written tonight. It just wasn't happening, not when his mind was swirling with thoughts about Chloe and the wedding and everything else.

Sometimes he wished Chloe could be more honest with him. She'd trusted him with something amazing and he was honored that she had. However, Chloe still didn't trust easily. She kept so much bottled up from not only him, but from Pete and her father as well. Clark wondered if she ever showed Lex things she was afraid to show him. Maybe if things were reversed, she'd be more open with Lex, at least about her fears. He wasn't trying to be petty. It's just that sometimes he wondered what more he could do to make himself open to her, to make her comfortable.

He just wanted her not to feel like she had to go to New York first or never tell anyone at all.

Opening the back door to the kitchen, Clark forced himself to smile as he greeted his mother at the table. And then he frowned, moving quickly, he scooted between her and the high shelf and reached up for the mixing bowl. "Mom, no exertion."

"I'm five months, sweetie, not all the way, and I was only up on my toes a little."

"But you have a big tall son to get the rest of it."

"And," she said, opening up the flour canister and sprinkling in a liberal amount into the bowl. "Soon I'll have a second one, even if it takes another fourteen years for him to be as tall."

Clark considered that. "He might get midget genes from you."

"I'm average height for a woman and your dad's so tall. It's what was nice about you. That the two of you bump your heads on the same places."

"Very funny," he replied, his tone light, but he felt something constrict a little in his chest. It was easy a lot of days, despite how little he looked like his mom and dad, to feel like he'd always been a Kent. Even though he still had vague memories of the first few years in foster care, he'd been on the farm so long that it had always been his home as far as he was concerned. It wasn't like being Chloe, either. He never wanted to find his birth parents. They'd clearly not wanted him, and he was fine with that, truly he was. But this...things were different. He was excited to be a big brother, even if he'd be in college by the time his little brother started preschool. However, he wondered what the farm would be like with a little boy with sandy hair and bright blue eyes, who was clearly a Kent from the moment you laid eyes on him.

"Clark? Are you okay?"

He nodded and started adding the butter and cocoa powder into the brownie mix. "Sure. It' mostly Chloe. We're having a rough patch."

"That doesn't sound like you two. I have to think of so many reasons to 'bring snacks' out to the loft."

"You don't trust me."

"I don't trust fifteen year old boys, sweetie. But you two have been going strong for over a year and I thought you were really happy after her birthday party."

"Impromptu," he riposted. "It's just Chloe over thinks things. It might be because her mom left when she was little, you know."

His mom nodded. "Or it might be because of the fever. She snapped back from it, but, Clark, something like that is terrifying." His mom blushed a little. "After I recovered, I know I needed to just spend more time with your father, talk about my fears."

"Chloe's not big about talking about her fears. She has this denial thing going."

"That might be where everything else has come from, sweetheart. She might not want to talk about her fears but she should."

"Getting Chloe to talk about her emotions is usually like redirecting the Mississippi. We'll get through it, mom. We always do."

"I know, but it's not surprising that she feels this way."

"I guess not," he replied, frowning back at the bump his mom was cultivating. "Mom, are you feeling okay?"

She quirked her head at him. "Why wouldn't I be? I'm a little tired, but I've been feeling fine. The doctor says I'm very healthy, which is such a relief for a late life pregnancy. I know that this is scary since we never thought this was going to happen, but your little brother is just fine."

"Yeah, cool, just checking."

Clark sighed and added the Nestle's morsels. Of course there was nothing wrong with the baby, except for the part where he wouldn't even exist without Chloe's ship. He wasn't paranoid. He didn't think that it was going to end up being some _Alien _scenario or that it would even prove to be dangerous for his mom. It was more that he was moderately concerned that his little brother wouldn't be completely normal. Not that there was anything wrong with Chloe; there wasn't. He just had no Earthly idea how to explain superspeed to his parents if it ever came up.

"Baby?" his mom asked as she started ladeling out the batter. "Are you sure you're okay and it's not just about Chloe?"

"Sure mom, everything else is great."

"If it's about the baby. We might have been swept up in all the doctor's visits and shopping, but he's not more important than you."

Clark nodded. "You say that enough times mom. I'm not jealous."

_Much. _

"Sure," she said, grinning and holding out the spatula for him.

"Mom, I'm fifteen."

"So, you're not gonna lick it?"

He rolled his eyes and took a taste of chocolatey goodness. She knew him too well. "Only because it's traditional."

She smiled and stroked his hair. "I know and I love you."

"Me too," he said, his mouth full of batter.

He didn't get much time to talk to Chloe in school that day. She wasn't in The Torch like always and, even though they had the bulk of their classes together, she was more focused in her textbooks than he had ever seen her. She'd even managed to disappear at lunch time and judging by the curry stain on her shirt, he had a feeling she'd run all the way to New York again.

He finally managed to corner her in the herd of kids piling to their lockers after the bell had rung.

"Chlo!"

She spied him in the throng. Too many witnesses around and Chloe couldn't speed away or duck out, finally. "Clark! Hi!"

"Hi? We had English, Spanish, Algebra II and History together today. I had three conversations with Pete and one with Lana. I even said hi to the janitor. You're avoiding me."

She gulped. "Avoid is such a strong word."

"What would you call it?"

"Clark, I'm just busy. The wedding is coming up in twenty four hours and I've been working over time. I just am behind on a few things and I was paying attention to school."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Something's wrong. Chloe, is this about the stuff from your birthday or is it Helen? Because we can definitely work around any of that," he finished, being careful to be as general as possible in the middle of the hall.

"No, of course not," she snapped. "Clark, I just have things that are going on right now."

"And my speech? I have nothing yet and you promised to keep me from embarrassing myself. I don't understand."

"Clark, I just am busy," she said, frowning and then reaching for her cell when it rang. "Hello? Lex? Oh look this is the worst time and he what? That's not possible. No it can't be he was brain dead. Okay, Clark? He's right here. Sure. We'll be there in twenty." She shut the phone and yanked him-and it still surprised him how strong she could be. She just didn't look it-into The Torch office.

"What was that?"

"Lex. Dr. Walden just woke up."


	10. Chapter 10

**10**

Chloe hated that they had to take her car. She hated that they had to keep appearances up for Lex. She hated that she had to drive the seven blocks to the medical center with Clark crammed in next to her, with him studying her with precise scrutiny. She hated that she'd brought this all on herself, but, mainly, she hated that she couldn't look at Clark without wanting to cry.

He wasn't even going to kill her if he figured it out.

He was going to be noble-because that was who he was-and find some insane reason to blame himself.

She didn't want to be responsible for crushing him in that way.

"Chlo, are you ever gonna talk to me again?"

"I am."

"Did I do something wrong?"

Big puppy dog eyes and she was the worst girlfriend in history.

"No, of course not."

"You haven't wanted to work on my toast. Hell, you haven't wanted to talk to me at all. I just don't understand."

She gulped and reminded herself not to squish the steering wheel. "It's nothing. It's just that Helen is too interested in my blood work."

"That doesn't mean that we stop talking. I don't get it. I thought everything was getting better since your birthday."

"Clark, it's not about you."

"It sure feels like it is when you won't talk to me."

"We're talking now," she countered.

"Only because it's about Dr. Walden and because Lex said we both had to come. If he hadn't specified, you'd be going alone to him."

She definitely felt something crunch that time. "I would not. I keep you in the loop about the Kawatchee stuff."

"I just...is it me?"

Chloe sighed as she pulled into the parking lot and unhooked her seat belt. "It could never be you. You know you're the best. I mean, other Czechoslovakians are jealous."

"Others?"

"I'm sure ALF never had a significant other as attentive."

"I'm serious."

"I know you are," she finished, hopping out of the car and watching Clark unfold himself. "I know that. I'm trying to be serious too. I'm just unsettled. It's been a bad twenty four hours. I'm just jumbled."

He frowned and reached out to grab her shoulders. "Don't lie. Something happened. I just can't figure out what."

She forced herself to smile and kissed him. "It's fine. Now, can we please just talk to Lex."

Clark's frown deepened, lines etching into his forehead. "We'll come back to it."

She nodded. "Of course, now if you'll just...hey Lex!"

Why was she squeaking.

Lex, who was a skilled liar (and thank God for both of them he was), gave them both a look over as he rushed out of the hospital. "I was coming to let you into the psych ward here."

"Psych?" Clark asked.

"That's where he's been since his coma started."

"He's still there? Is he awake?" Chloe wondered if Walden then had everything she had. If he could read Kryptonian now, knew elementary facts about her home world. She really hoped that he hadn't gotten the transfer, that he didn't know anything about her planet. Chloe had never like Walden. He was cold and cruel and if he suspected anything...

"Chloe? Are you alright?" Voice like velvet, and Chloe had nothing but problems from the man staring down at her now to Clark to Walden. Why weren't things easier?

"I'm fine. So where is he awake?" She asked, following with them, making a show of trying to keep pace with Lex's "quick" steps.

"That's the operative question."

Chloe paused at that and Clark bowled into her. She shrugged apologetically back at him when she noticed him rubbing his elbow. She did have a tendency to feel like brick if you crashed into her. "Wait," she said. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Lex said, still managing not to peer at her, "that Walden woke up, blasted through his cell, and no one has seen him since."

"What do you mean 'blasted?'" Clark asked.

"I mean that he held up his hand and did this," Lex replied, pointed at the mess of shattered glass before them.

Confused, Chloe walked into the cell and stared back at the shattered glass. Based on the angle the shards lay, she knew Lex was right. Something from inside the cell had shattered the glass outwards. Slipping into X-ray vision, Chloe stared more closely at them and noticed they were scorched, some of the glass had even melted. Heat like that was something she could have produced.

Well, maybe some day. She was still new to heat vision.

Clark was next to her and she liked his proximity. He made her feel safe, protected. Yet she'd still done what she had with Lex. God, what was wrong with her. However, Clark, for all his proximity, wasn't looking at her. Instead, he was staring straight up.

"Oh whoa."

Chloe arched her neck and gasped at the sight above her. Something had managed to burn Kryptonian script onto the ceiling.

_The day is coming _

Over and over again.

"Curious, isn't it?" Lex prodded.

"Walden had matches in the psych ward?" Clark asked.

"No, it's like I said. He's developed the ability to emit white hot energy from his hands. He burned it, himself, into the ceiling."

"That's a new one," Chloe replied. And technically it was. She only burned things with her eyes.

"I called you here because I was curious if you could read it, Chloe?"

Clark, sweet as he was, was still not an adept liar. Anxious, he gast Chloe a look before adding, "Why would she be able to do that?"

"She consults with Joseph. She's been spending months with me on the pictures from my expedition. I just wanted to know if she could offer any additional insight."

Chloe sighed. This, for all the other aspects she liked about Lex, was that line that divided them. "I can't. All I can tell you is that there's no one in my Wall of Weird database that even comes close to what Walden can do now. I guess the caves gave him that ability but believe me when I say that I have no idea how the Hell that's even possible."

"Meteor rock repositories in the caves?"

"You don't buy that," she finished, looking back at him and that was a mistake. God, her cheeks were heating up and she felt so embarrassed. How could Clark not see right through her with something so transparent?

"Of course not," Lex replied. "You know what I think about the caves."

Clark glanced back at him. "So the caves gave Dr. Walden the extraterrestrial ability to burn script with his hands? What's the point?"

"That's what I can't figure out. He kept mumbling something over and over again before he staged is escape. 'The day is coming.' Do you two have any idea what he could have meant?"

"It's all crazy talk to me," Clark replied. "I don't know what it means. Chlo?"

"Nothing but it does mean we have a seriously suped up scientist out there who's dangerous and pretty off the reservation. We need to find him."

"I have my team on it."

She nodded. "I can cover some places. The high school, see if he wanted any of the wall of weird records. He might be looking for something. The mansion's a good bet too because of all your files on the Kawatchee language research."

"And the caves, of course." Lex added.

She nodded. "Yeah, Clark, can you get the caves? I'm heading to The Torch. Lex, I'd have the security and staff on high alert. You might want to go to your office and start clearing it out. Take any files you don't want away from Walden would think to look for it."

"Chlo-"

"Clark," she finished, tossing him her keys. "You can get a head start. I'm gonna make sure The Torch is locked down."

Clark narrowed his eyes at her. He wasn't really buying it. They both knew that the caves were the top place Walden was going to be looking. "I think we both should hit the caves."

"You go and I'll come along. Please."

He let out a deep breath and gripped her key more tightly. "Sure thing." With that, he was walking back through the hole left by Walden and down the hall.

She could almost her the "You owe me" on the end of his words.

"Clark's taking your car. Does that mean you'll need a ride with me?"

She pulled out her cell. "No, daddy can get me."

"It's no bother."

"It's a big bother."

"Is this about yesterday?"

"Of course it is. Look, I know that we were just overstressed and it happens sometimes with two people and I was in formal wear and it's not that big a deal."

"We covered that."

"Oh, we did, but I just wanted you to know where I stood."

He nodded. "I do. Chloe, I never meant to put you in an awkward position with Clark."

She swallowed and realized that he was really standing closer than he should have. "I'm the one who kissed an engaged man three days before his wedding. Who does that? I'm a terrible person."

"I'd never think that. Like you said, it was one of those things that just happens. It's not going to happen again, of course. You and Clark are wonderful together and I love Helen."

"Why?"

"Excuse me."

"Lex, I know this is the absolute worst time to bring this up, but why Helen?"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Are you jealous."

"No, I'm not. It's not about what happened yesterday. I mean, well it is, but it's not about what happened with us. She said a few things to me. I just...are you sure she's marrying Lex and not just marrying a Luthor."

Lex stiffened. "Helen loves me."

"She used you as leverage for something."

"For what?"

"That's between me and her."

"So you'll only confess enough to make her look worse."

"It's personal, feminine things," she said, relishing in that magic word that often made men step back. Lex wasn't fooled by the ploy.

"What was it about? If it wasn't directly about me, the only other thing you two have in common is that she's your doctor."

"I am not playing that game with you, not today, not with Walden loose and me and Clark on the rocks. I'm trying to help you. She told me that you'd fall in line with her because that's the way the game is played, that she knows how high society marriages work. She wants it to be like a business, Lex."

"It's not so unusual," he replied hollowly.

Chloe put on hand on his chest. "It's not how you want to be married. You want what Mr. and Mrs. Kent have and we both know it. Helen's not a very nice person, and I don't think she's marrying you for the right reasons."

"I don't know if I can trust you."

"Why would I lie?"

He placed his hand over hers and squeezed. When he spoke, his voice was husky. "I think we both know why."

She pulled back, maybe a bit more strongly than she should have. "Believe me or don't but I don't want to see you hurt and I'd be a bad friend if I didn't warn you. You can do what you want, but just think about it. I mean, you've known her six months. Why are you rushing it?"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. I asked you here for Walden, not for Dear Abby."

"Lex I just was trying to-"

"Then don't," he finished, as he walked away.


	11. Chapter 11

**11**

He didn't understand anything today, it seemed. He didn't understand Chloe's reaction, nor the strange coldness between Lex and Chloe. Some of it, as always, was that Chloe became defensive and very careful about what she said when Lex hinted about the caves. She withdrew when anything could lead back to her heritage. Except, this time, it felt different, as if there were a strain between the two of them that hadn't been there before. What could have happened at the dress fitting to put them in such a place.

It could be more about Helen, but he felt like there was something else. Something that wasn't brides or alien artifacts, something much deeper than that.

He could figure out what, but based on the way Chloe had avoided eye contact with Lex...well, he didn't want to make assumptions. It was Chloe. She wouldn't.

He walked carefully over the rocks and boulders scattered on the cave floor, coughing as the dust assaulted his sensitive lungs. The cave looked the same to him, or so he thought. There were footprints, but grad students came in her with Dr. Willowbrook. Even if there were new prints from Walden, he might not be able to identify them.

"Dr. Walden? Hello? Are you there?"

He wanted to add, "Please don't flashfry me," as an afterthought. He had no idea what he'd do if he found the doctor and he decided to use his new powers against him.

"Dr. Walden?" He called, coming to stand in front of the cave wall, staring at the part with the octagonal indentation which Chloe's key fit. Something didn't look right. It didn't look as he remembered it. Quickly, he pulled out a small reporter's notebook from his jeans pocket and started to jot down the altered symbols.

"Interesting."

Clark almost dropped his book, but quickly shoved it back under the waist band of his jeans. "Mr. Luthor?"

"Well, hello Clark. How are you?"

"Fine." God, Chloe should be here. She was a better liar.

"I hear there's a linguist missing."

"Yeah, Lex and Chloe and I are looking for him. I promised to look for him here since this is where he got sick, but I guess he's not around." He was backing up and Lionel advanced on him.

"So, everything's set up with The Torch. I've even managed to get a state of the art printer from LuthorCorp."

"Thanks. Look, please don't tell Chloe that I came to you. She thinks it's a donation from Fordman's since that's the second biggest business in town. But she was so crushed after it was vandalized and we weren't going to be able to even put out a graduation edition. I really appreciate what you did for me."

"Of course. Miss Sullivan is an amazing talent. It would be a shame to let her potential go to waste. Besides, I hate to see young damsels in distressed."

Clark swallowed. He doubted that very much, based on Lex's conversations, but he'd been desperate. Seeing Chloe in tears had been unbearable and now The Torch was back and she was so excited. He'd done that.

"Well, again, I appreciate it."

"Oh, there's really no need to thank me. I'll just take your follow up as a thank you."

"What?"

"Clark, you can't expect to get so much for free."

"My dad always said that was how philanthropy worked."

"Philanthropy allows for tax write offs. There's always a trade-off."

He wheezed a little. It definitely felt like his lungs were in a vice. "Trade-off?"

"Why yes. You're a journalist too, aren't you? You've had some solid articles for the Planet."

"Just one. I got second byline when I finished off a piece with a real reporter. It was on opposite street parking."

"But you're the curious sort. Down here, in the caves, searching for lost linguists."

Clark backed up a little more and felt himself hit the wall. "What do you need me to be curious about?"

"Well this should be easy. I just want everything you know about Chloe Sullivan."

God, it was getting hard to breathe. "I'm not giving you details about our dates. That's a little disturbing, sir."

"No, I don't need that. I want to know more about her. She's adopted isn't she?"

"You set up Metropolis United Charities," he pointed out.

"Do you ever wonder where you girlfriend is actually from?"

"Lowell County, probably. Mr. Luthor, I'm not helping you with spying on Chloe."

"Spying is such an ugly term. Besides, she wants her paper, doesn't she? How else would you keep it?"

"I'll go to Lex."

"Lex is mortgaged to the hilt, keeping his company going. If you don't cooperate, The Torch won't last the week."

"Mr. Luthor, with all due respect, I won't help you. If that means Chloe and I have to print out leaflets or get a press or whatever, I'll do it. But I am not going to betray Chloe. She means too much to me."

"How honorable. I wonder if Miss Sullivan feels the same way about you."

"Of course she does," he huffed, stalking back out to the exits.

"I hope you're right. Oh and how interesting. Clark, did the symbols change?"

He turned and looked over his shoulder. "I don't think so."

"You were writing them down."

"I was checking off a list of where else I need to look for Dr. Walden."

"And you're sure they're not different?"

He shook his head. "It's all Kawatchee to me."

He found Chloe back at The Torch and, surprisingly, she was out of breath.

"Chlo?"

"I looked over five states, Clark. Everywhere I could think of and I can't find him. He's got my speed and some laser touch and he could be anywhere. What if he hurts somebody? I mean, telling people about me would be bad, but if he hurts someone because of what the stupid caves did-"

"Chlo, shh," he said, hugging her tightly and grateful she actually squeezed him back. Sometimes she trusted herself enough. He just wished it was all the time. "We're gonna find him. I promise."

"Did you have any luck?"

He took in a deep breath, deciding that mentioning Lionel would scare her more. "I didn't see him, but I did find something else," he finished, pulling back.

"What?"

"Can you read this?" he asked, pulling out the notes he'd made.

Frowning, Chloe took the paper and read it, her eyes skimming quickly over it. Then she dropped it. "No."

"Chlo? What could it possibly say?"

"Where'd you find this?"

"The caves. I think Walden was there and he did something to change the symbols around. But what does it say?"

She looked back up at him and she was shaking. "It says 'The day is coming when the last son will begin his quest to rule.'"

It took Clark a minute to remember the Kawatchee were convinced that they were going to be receiving a Kal-El instead of a Kala, that Chloe was the 'last daughter' who had been prophesied. "What?"

"It says I'm supposed to start ruling."

"Well that's vague."

"Really? You know about the temple in China with my family symbol. You know about 'rule them with strength.' This is just more of the same. Clark, I _am _dangerous."

"And Walden might have found a way to alter it and he's the one with the problem. He's the one who burned his way out of the hospital."

"This is the third thing telling me I'm a conqueror. I don't...Clark, I don't want to do that."

He smiled sadly and hugged her. "You don't even want to bruise me when I say it's okay."

"Not funny."

"I know. We'll find Walden and make sure he doesn't know anything about you that he shouldn't. You'll ignore some stupid 500 year old cave painting and then you'll look great at the wedding, be the one person who actually applauds my toast."

She slapped her forehead. "Your toast. I've been such a bitch."

He stepped back and quirked his head at her. "No you haven't. If Helen upset you, I can understand that. I just...did you and Lex fight too?"

"No, why would you ask that?"

Clark frowned. Her response came so quickly, almost as if it were rehearsed. "You were so different today, like tense. Are you sure?"

"I'm fine, Clark. It's just being under the microscope again. I hate that. It makes me nervous."

"Nervous enough to pull away from me?"

"I'm sorry. I know. I'm trying to work on it. For most of my life, I had to take care of myself. I had my dad, but I couldn't tell anyone else. When things get hard, I just want to close up."

"I know, believe me. I love you."

"I love you too," she added, her voice wavering.

Clark frowned and hugged her one last time. "Chlo, I promise. You might be the last daughter, but you're not going to hurt anyone. I know you're not."

She nodded and hugged him carefully back and, as she gradually relaxed into his embrace. Quietly, oh so quietly, she said something else.

Something odd.

Something that sounded like "I don't deserve you."

But of course she did.


	12. Chapter 12

**12**

"Chlo-Bear? You didn't come down for dinner," her dad said, opening her door wide and bringing in a tray with a cup of chicken and stars and half a grilled cheese (Munster, naturally) on it. That was the lunch he always made for her when she was homesick from school. It was her comfort food.

She just didn't think that she could be comforted this time.

"I wasn't hungry."

"It's good. I even brought grape soda."

She laughed. Her dad was going all out. He hated the taste of grape anything, called it Dimetap. He was working hard to make her feel better. Chloe wasn't even sure she deserved that and it had nothing to do with prospective alien prophecies and everything to do with the secrets she was hiding from Clark, with the feelings that were surfacing but shouldn't be.

She loved Clark, damn it.

So why was she still thinking about the kiss over a day later?

"Chlo-Bear?"

She sighed and sat up in bed, pushing up the sleeves of her flannel Snoopy pajamas. "Thanks. I was hungry."

"No you weren't."

"Well, I was thinking of eating at some point in time," she hedged, feeling the bed dip under her dad's weight as he sat down on it.

"Sweetheart, it's going to be okay. We went through this with Dr. Swann before. You don't have to do anything that you don't want to, be anyone you don't want to be."

"Daddy, I'm not even processing any of that right now. I haven't started conquering things yet, I really doubt that's going to happen any time soon."

"That's the spirit."

She sighed. "I just meant that I know who I am. It's been months since I first went to New York and the world's still here and I'm still worried more about my GPA than anything else."

Her dad considered this as he put the juice on her dresser. "You're not though."

"It's not all Czechoslovakian things this time."

"Chloe?"

She kicked off her covers and brought her knees to her chest. "Daddy, I know we never..._ I _never want to talk about Moira."

"Sweetheart about that-"

She let her eyes flare. "I don't need to hear about how she was really a great person. She clearly didn't like me enough and that's all I need to know."

"I don't think you understand everything."

"I understand a lot. I'm probably not what Moira was looking for in a daughter."

"Honey-"

"Dad, I just wanted to know one thing about Moira."

"What?"

She pushed her bangs back with her hand as she spoke. "How did you know she was the one? Was there ever any chance that you were wrong? And I don't mean because your daughter turned out to be E.T. I mean because something stupid and normal happened. I mean, did you ever have thoughts about someone else?"

Her dad's eyes widened. "Do you have a crush on Pete?"

"God no," she replied and most of that was because she had enough trouble with Helen. Anything encroaching on Pete would ruin her fragile friendship with Lana and she was the only female friend Chloe had.

"Is this about Lex?"

"I..."

"Chlo-bear," he said, crossing his arms over his chest, a glower marring his features. "What is it between you two. He's 23 and you're not."

"We don't know how old I really am and it's not like that. It wasn't...I didn't do anything like that."

"You did something."

"I kissed him, daddy. I wasn't thinking. I was there to talk about my fitting and he was there and I just...you're going to kill me, aren't you?"

"I don't know if it's possible to kill you," he groused. "I am thinking of castrating my boss. You're barely 16."

"I know. It's not like that. I just made a mistake. I was tired and stressed from Helen and I just wasn't thinking."

"What about Clark?"

She squeezed her knees tighter. It was a force that would have crushed mere mortal bone. "I love him."

"And then what the Hell was that with Lex?"

She swallowed and barely kept her lip from trembling. "I don't know. Lex isn't Clark. I...sometimes he understands things better than you two do."

"Lex is Lionel's son and he's dangerous. I never should have let you try your plan to 'trick' Lex with the caves."

"That's actually working. He's not making any progress."

"But what is he doing with you, Chlo-bear? How can you even think about doing that to Clark? That's not who I raised."

"I didn't think. I just...I made a mistake."

"You don't think it was a complete mistake, not if you're asking me about your mom."

"_ Moira _," she bit back.

"Do you think you're in love with Lex?"

She hesitated. She wasn't sure what she felt for Lex, except drawn to him. "No, but I thought I was in love with Clark, but what kind of girlfriend kisses someone else?"

Her dad blushed a little. "I didn't think we'd have these kinds of conversations."

"Because I'm different?"

"No, because I always thought your mom would be here and that I wouldn't have to handle girl things. Sweetheart, just because you and Clark started dating so young, doesn't make it forever."

"Well what about the Numan? He's supposed to have a True One. Isn't that supposed to be Clark?"

"The Numan is also supposed to be a man. Something on a cave doesn't dictate your life, not about what you do in the world and not about who you date."

"Besides Clark isn't a girl with a diamond-shaped necklace?"

"Yes, but he loves you very much and you have to decide together if you can work through this. You're obviously feeling guilty about it or you wouldn't have come to me."

"I just thought we were meant for each other. He gets it, daddy. He loves all of me; I know he does."

"But?"

"What if it's not enough? What if I'm just being selfish or I hurt him or-"

"Or what if you talk this over and he forgives you and you work everything out?"

"It's going to hurt him so much and I just wasn't thinking."

"Then maybe you better start."

Her dad drove her to the wedding rehearsal. She wanted to be free to run, but that always brought up questions with Lex. She had to be as normal as possible, even though she wasn't. She should have gone to Clark's house after her talk with her dad, but she was trying to work up her nerve.

"I kissed your best friend" was a difficult thing to say. Considering that Clark was the perfect boyfriend and had trusted her while Pete hadn't; it made her feel worse.

"Chlo-bear, don't tell Clark tonight."

"What?"

"Wait until tomorrow. He has to give that toast one way or the other and if he's upset it'll just embarrass him. Wait until he doesn't have to give a speech for Metropolis's finest."

"But I thought you wanted me to be honest?"

"I do, but I want Clark to be able to face the town in the morning."

She frowned. "I thought you said we could work it out."

"I believe you can, but it isn't going to make this any easier for him and Lex is the groom."

She nodded and unhooked her seat belt. "I know. I just-"

"I'm always going to be here, no matter what happens with Clark. I'll be here for you when you get done."

"I know daddy. I'm counting on it."

"Chlo, hey," Clark greeted, giving her a hug. Chloe stilled and forced herself to relax in his grip. She couldn't hug back-with him she was still afraid-but she let herself fall into his embrace. She did love him. She just was mixed up, that was all.

"Clark."

He pulled back and adjusted his tie. "I am so glad you finally got here. I'm about to go up there and I just need a friendly face."

She stood on tip toe and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You're going to be fine. I'm just sorry I couldn't help you with the speech."

"Well," he added, lowering his voice. "If I had Dr. Bryce breathing down my neck, I'd have other priorities too. I understand. Toasts rank below exposure, always."

She felt like any world's biggest bitch.

"I know but I just wish-"

"Lex gave me a few pointers. He might have pointed me to the boring dead Greek guy section of the mansion's library."

"Sounds romantic."

"Well they didn't help much. Then I asked my mom and she said to keep it simple. And you said to keep it short. So that's all in here."

"I'm sure you'll knock 'em dead."

"I'll just settle for no one snoring," he finished, gulping when Helen tapped her champagne glass, indicating it was time for the toast. "Oh why is everything blurry all of a sudden?"

She grinned and pushed his shoulders gently, egging him away from the bar (they'd had Cokes) and out to the middle of the floor.

Clark swallowed several times and clutched at his glass so tightly, Chloe wondered if it would shatter. When he started, his voice broke. "I'm really glad for Lex and Helen. I just...I think Lex made me best man mostly because he knows I hate speaking like this."

Chloe smiled as it elicited chuckles from the crowd.

"I just wanted to say that I'm glad for Lex and Helen because I see what they have and I think it's real. It reminds me of my mom and dad. I think they make each other better people, that they trust each other." Clark smiled at the couple and then turned to look at her. "I think that, no matter what other problems you have, that with trust like that, you can face anything."

And now Chloe officially felt like crap.

"So," he said, lifting his glass. "To Lex and Helen!"

The crowd echoed him. "To Lex and Helen."

Chloe chugged her glass and forced herself to applaud. It was then that Lex kissed Helen on the cheek, and started out across the dining hall. She realized he was heading for her and slipped out into the hallway towards the coat closet. She cursed under her breath and wished that she could speed, but not with Lex. He always knew too much.

And human girl speed in heels just didn't compare.

Lex had her arm gently in his grasp before she knew it.

"Chloe, I have to talk to you."

She spun around and hissed at him. "Not now and we agreed. It didn't mean anything."

"No, you don't understand."

"What don't I get?"

"Dr. Walden came to the mansion."

All awkwardness forgotten, Chloe reached out and started patting down Lex, looking for burns. "My God, did he hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine but my father was there and Dr. Walden said things."

She stepped back and dropped her hands. "What things?"

"He said that you were going to rule the world."

"He what? That's nuts."

"I know. But my father heard every word of it."

"What was his reaction?"

He didn't comment directly but he did quote one of his favorite Elizabethan poets, "Betwixt truth and madness lies but a sliver of a stream."

"Well Dr. Walden was pretty badly brain damaged. I don't know what he's talking about or if he even knows what he's talking about."

Lex frowned. "I'm not pressing right now."

"You always press."

"I know but I'm not pressing now. I'm only worried about you because if my father thinks that there's something more to you."

"There's not-"

"If he thinks that...you do not want to be on his bad side. You don't want him looking into you. I just wanted to let you know that. And that Walden is after you. You have to be careful, Chloe."

"I will be but it's all crazy talk. There's nothing there."

"For your sake I hope not."

"I thought you weren't speaking to me."

"I think you're wrong about Helen," he said, reaching out to touch her cheek. "But it doesn't mean I stopped caring about you or your safety."

"Lex-"

"Chlo?"

She broke off from Lex so fast she was afraid she'd almost slipped into superspeed. "Clark?"

He frowned between them before focusing on her. "Is everything okay?"

"Clark, it's fine. I just...ah!" she shouted covering her ears. That same tone was back, the one that had drawn her to the caves.

"Chloe!" Clark was shouting and cradling her and it hurt. "Lex go get some water and Mr. Sullivan's out waiting for her. Just hurry up." She didn't even bother to look to see if he'd left. The pain from the tone was too acute. "Chlo?"

"It's the key, Walden has it."

She found Walden headed for the caves with the key. She had no idea why he was going there, if he were going to attempt to place it in the wall again, now that his mind had been altered. She was only glad that he wasn't in her home. She couldn't afford to have him found there or to have him near her ship.

"Dr. Walden, stop!"

He turned then and raised his hand. "I know who you are."

She gulped. "I know you think you do."

"You're here to take over the world."

Chloe held up her own hands defensively. "Really, I'm not. I swear I'm not. It's not what you think."

"It is," he said, raising his left hand and showing her the key gripped in his palm. "I know what I have to do."

"Dr. Walden, just give me back my key, please. We can talk about this."

"I have to kill you."

"You wha-" and then she screamed. Something white hot and painful was flaring through her body, coursing down every nerve ending. Chloe screamed again and felt herself hit the ground, the white beam from Walden's hand retracting. Staggering, she managed to stumble up. "Mastering new powers is a bitch."

He held up his hand again. "I won't miss this time."

"No," she replied, steadying her heat vision and aiming for his right palm. "You will."

"Chlo?"

She was sitting under and old quilt Grammy Sullivan had crocheted for her when she'd been very young, perhaps a few weeks after her landing. It was the blanket her father had draped her under the day Moira had left. The key, still warm from the explosion caused when heat vision met whatever the hell power Walden had had, was in her left palm, clutched tight.

Kryptonians were explosion proof.

Humans were not.

"Hey, Clark."

"Hey, I heard that you got the key back."

"And Dr. Walden tried to kill me first. Apparently I'm some threat to mankind. That's the same old same old. The fact that Lionel overheard him ranting isn't."

He slipped into bed next to her and she let herself lean against him, forced herself to pretend she was a real girl and that he could protect her. "We'll take care of it. Hell, Lex is going to keep him away from you. We're friends."

God, about that...

"I know."

"Are you okay, besides the obvious?"

She sighed. "I was almost murdered to save the world, Lionel's onto me, and Helen might yet sell me out. Oh and I have to wear purple taffeta in two days. It's a bad week."

"I'm here and your dad, even Lex."

"And that's the problem."

"What?"

She took a deep breath. "You all can't protect me from everything and I don't know if I can protect you or anyone from who I could be."

"Not tonight, Chlo. Tonight I want to just be glad you're okay."

"I might not be."

"You're in one piece and that's a win in my book," he said, kissing her temple. "We'll worry about everything tomorrow. I promise we can come up with something and if we can't, I bet Dr. Crosby and Dr. Swann can."

She nodded and squeezed his hand as carefully as she could, so lightly she wondered if he could feel the pressure at all. "I don't deserve you."

"Sure you do."

If only he knew. Chloe lay there, letting her hearing focus on the steady beating of Clark's heart and if there was something underneath that sound, something that sounded like her birth name hanging in the air, the surely that was just an overtaxed imagination


	13. Chapter 13

**13**

Clark rolled over and found himself falling to the floor of his loft. Confused, he struggled to a sitting position and looked around. Sitting on his steamer trunk, as if it were mid afternoon and not late in the morning was Chloe.

"Chlo? God, what time is it?"

"A little after 3:30."

He frowned and, standing up, eased himself down onto the steamer trunk next to her. "Is everything okay? Lionel didn't come and the police, they didn't do anything did they?"

Chloe hiccupped and he noticed then how red her eyes were. "I wish my problems were just the police."

"Then what's going on. Walden?"

"No," she replied, her tone hollow. "He's still dead."

"I'm running out of things here, Chlo."

She ran a hand through her disheveled hair and turned to him. "I just met my father."

"Yes, I've met Gabe a lot of times," he finished. "Chlo, are you sure you're feeling alright? I know you said they beam thing didn't hurt that much, but if you're having memory problems…"

"No, I mean my biological father or the construct with his stored up memories, same difference."

Clark's eyes widened. "The ship has artificial intelligence?"

"And how," Chloe replied. "After you left, it started calling for me. I went downstairs to investigate and it started ordering me around."

The geek in Clark, which, to be fair, was most of him, was beyond excited. They were talking about extraterrestrial AI's that could mimic human-like personalities. It was extraordinary. The boyfriend part of him was just barely keeping from freaking out. So far, Chloe's family, even if it were just distant ancestors in China and the one engraving on her ship, had not seemed friendly. "What do you mean it ordered you?"

"It said that I had to leave Smallville today by sunset or I'd be punished. Clark, it wants to use me."

He considered this and wrapped an arm around her, grateful that she'd allow him to do that. "But it can't. It's just a recording, isn't it?"

"I don't think so. It knew about me. It picked out things about you and my dad and Lex that it couldn't possibly know without reading my mind."

Clark pushed aside any questions of why Lex would be forefront in her thoughts. Of course he would be under those circumstances, he knew the most of any human outside of The Sullivan Circle of Trust about the Kawatchee and the Kryptonian glyphs. All of Chloe's thoughts after meeting the ship had to have been going back to the carvings in China. How could they not have?

"Surface thoughts, most likely, not that it matters," he replied. "But it didn't hurt you?"

"No."

"And what did it do?"

"Talked to me, made a few holograms of you and dad, read my thoughts. Then it shut off in the middle of the conversation. It made its proclamation and I was supposed to go with it."

"It was made to send you here and clearly it was made to be durable so it could travel 28 galaxies over. But it was a cradle, basically, why would anyone think they're weapons on it."

"He said I'd regret it."

Clark considered this. He could feel her body shaking, her breath shuddering in her chest. Yes, Chloe did believe that the ship could harm her. Clark was less convinced. It clearly could do things none of them had anticipated, but that didn't mean it could harm her. Of course, the caves had given Walden powers that could harm Chloe and they'd originally been built with Kryptonian technology too. "We need to talk to your dad about this. Maybe if you go to New York and just put some distance between you and the ship then it can't affect you. I mean, you said you had to go to it, that you went to see what was calling for you."

"Yeah."

"He might be more about threats than actual delivery. Or maybe nothing will happen at all. We don't know how this works, but I don't think this all means that there's some reason to assume that the ship is going to brainwash you. That's incredibly intricate and it can take years. It does for cults. You're not some Manchurian Candidate."

"And I wish I'd never made you watch that," she grumbled. "Clark, it's a ship so tough it survived outer space and a crash landing. It can already do about three things I thought it couldn't. We're out maneuvered and out technologied, and I don't know what to do."

"And that's why we'll talk to your dad. He's good at this kind of stuff and he'll be able to help us out. That's what parents do."

She rolled her eyes. "That's so Waltons of you. You say that because your parents always have answers."

"No, we don't always."

Chloe broke out of his grip so fast that she blurred. "Mrs. Kent?"

Clark tumbled off the chest and to the floor again. Stumbling up, he gaped at his mother. She was standing at the top of the stairs, glancing between him and Chloe before finally settling on her. "What's going on here?"

"We were having sex," Chloe defended. "Lots of really raunchy sex. That's it, punishments are good now. Clark's been bad."

He blushed and sputtered. "That's not true."

"You're dressed," his mom countered. "Chloe, I'll tell you what I heard and you tell me something else besides a bald-faced lie.

"We'll see," Chloe replied, her jaw clenching. "What did you hear?"

"A lot about spaceships and aliens. I know you two have always been on a hunt for the paranormal around Smallville and I know the meteors have had a variety of strange effects on the people here. But I don't know if I believe in aliens. So, either you're both delusional and I'm going to have to get my son help or you're both telling the truth and I'm going to need to sit down."

Clark eyed Chloe and waited for her to answer one way or the other. Jaw clenched so tightly words barely passed her lips, she uttered, "I guess we are nuts."

"I saw you move, Chloe. You were so fast that I couldn't even see the motion completely."

"Then it's from the shower. Everything is in this town."

His mother paused long enough to set herself down in the sofa. She was still at five months, but she was left drained and tired from time to time. The pause made the moment more tense, and it was then that Clark remembered his mother had once clerked for his grandfather, that she was no stranger to cross-examinations. She was waiting for Chloe to self-incriminate, which, technically, she already had.

"I don't believe you. As odd as this is, I think you're telling the truth or have been led to believe sincerely that you're an alien. It matches certain facts that came up last fall with Rachel Dunleavy and your lack of a valid birth certificate. It explains the odd things that seem to happen when you're around, why our loft is burned in the rafters, why Clark is bruised by something that can't possibly be Donatello. What are you, Chloe Sullivan?"

Clark stood up and reached out for Chloe's hand, frustrated when she didn't grab it. He understood why. She was too nervous right now to hold onto anything without crushing it to powder. "She's my girlfriend."

"I know that," his mom replied and her tone was quiet, calm. "But I want to hear things from her."

"My dad's going to be mad I'm here. I can't stay," Chloe replied.

"Is Gabe like you? Is the adoption a sham completely?"

"Mom, please, just knock it off," Clark begged, but the two women in his life weren't listening. They were going back and forth with each other.

"It's about as real as Clark's considering Metropolis United Charities lasted a month and handled three adoptions. What did you give Lionel? I know my dad was the one who covered up EPA reports back when he was in corporate. What's the tit-for-tat, Mrs. Kent?"

It occurred to Clark, vaguely at that point, somewhere in the back of his mind that he was date the transplanted Metropolis city girl with a keen intellect, just like his dad had.

"It's not relevant," she replied, crossing her hands over her lap. "Chloe, this isn't what you think. I had morning sickness and I came down and realized the barn lights were on. Imagine my surprise when I came out and you and Clark were talking about what you were. I don't care where you're from so much as what's happening to you because, frankly, you sound terrified. So level with me."

"My dad's an adult. He handles things," Chloe shot back.

"Maybe he needs more help than he has. How many people know?"

Chloe sighed and slouched then, something was broken. "My dad, Pete, and Clark. That's it. Lex and Lionel suspect something but they can't prove anything."

Clark quirked his head at her and she shook hers back at him. Dr. Swann and Dr. Crosby weren't a part of this, apparently.

Martha nodded. "How long have Clark and Pete known?"

"Clark found out the day Lex hit me on the bridge and Pete found my ship back last fall. So, not too long, not if you compare it to my dad. I didn't know until the day Lex hit me either. He was holding out on that part because he was worried I'd talk too much."

Point.

"What are you going to do now, Mrs. Kent?"

Volley.

His mother glanced between them again and settled her gaze on Chloe. "I don't know. I wasn't supposed to hear what I did, was I?"

"No."

"And your father is going to be upset that you told, isn't he?"  
>"He'll have kittens," Chloe countered. "But once a part of it gets out; it just seems to keep spreading since Clark found out. But you have me, don't you. You heard the whole conversation and you know Clark well enough to know when he's being genuine about something."<p>

"And I know this town. I know that after being over at your house, I came down with something foreign that no doctor had ever scene and almost died."

Chloe nodded. "My ship had spores on it. We didn't know that. It's why we both got sick."

"And why no one could save us," his mother finished, one hand coming to rest on her stomach. "What saved us?"

Chloe looked to him and then back down at her hands. "You're not going to like this."

"Mom," he interrupted. "It was the ship. Turning it on sent something out that made both of you better."

His mom brought her other hand over her stomach and grimaced. "What about the baby?"

Chloe started to pace and Clark noticed she kept her speed human. She rarely did that alone with him when she got worked up. The blurring tended to make him nauseated but it was habit to her, normally. "Clark says all the lab tests came back normal. We don't really know what it does to the baby. We don't think it did anything but save your lives. It's not like you have superspeed."

"No."

"Mom, does anything feel different?"

She shook her head. "A little more energy, but I can't move like Chloe can. But the baby's going to be okay, isn't it?"

Chloe sighed. "I hope so."

"You weren't going to ever tell me and Jonathan about this." It was not a question. Something colder crept into his mother's voice.

"No, Mrs. Kent. I couldn't risk it but now you know everything and I can't hide things from you anymore. I assume this is the part where you ask me to leave and never bother Clark again with all my complicated problems."

His mother surprised both of them by standing up and hugging her. Chloe didn't reciprocate but stood stock still. "I'm not going to do that."

Clark frowned. "Now I'm really confused."

His mother turned and narrowed her eyes at him. "We're going to talk about the baby later, Clark. I know why you kept Chloe's secret, but this is my health and your sibling's health. That wasn't fair to either of us."

"Huh?"

"Mrs. Kent?" Chloe asked, pulling away from her. "I am sorry."

"I know the infection wasn't your fault," she replied. "Clark's happiest when he's with you. He's been a whole different person since you moved to town three years ago. If he trusts you and loves you, then that's enough for me. You're a part of this family."

"I…what?"

"I want to talk to your father. I want to try and help you with the ship with everything. I don't want Clark alone in this."

"Really, my dad's very capable."

"But I'm here now and I'm in on it," she declared, her chin cocked. "I might be out of my league, but I still don't think anyone, even if it is an alien…wait, sorry, is that a bad term?"

Clark grinned and finally took Chloe's hand. "She prefers Czechoslovakian. It's an inside joke."

His mother shook her head. "Not even a _Czechoslovakian _ship would want to mess with Martha Clark, litigator."

Chloe shook her head. "You don't want to deal with any of it. It's dangerous and you're pregnant."

"Clark's been dealing with it and, no offense, but you're both still children. I want to see Gabe right away. This has all been going on too long."

"Mom?" Clark asked, clutching Chloe's hand more tightly. "What about dad? Are we telling him?"

"We'll talk to Mr. Sullivan first and then we'll have to see. So, Chloe," his mom said, the smallest hint of a smile playing on her lips. "Take me to your leader."


	14. Chapter 14

**14**

Clark's mom knew.

She _knew _, and now Chloe was sitting on her sofa watching her dad turn a series of unflattering shades of purple as he tried to understand just how this had happened. Too many people had started to know since she moved to Smallville-Clark, Pete, Dr. Swann-and too many of the wrong people suspected. Mrs. Kent was just one more.

Between this and Dr. Walden's outbursts, it was just a matter of time before she got caught.

That scared her.

But her "father," Jor-El, scared her more.

"So, let me get this straight. Your ship spoke to you and said you have to leave Smallville and Martha overheard all of this so your number one reaction is to tell her about the baby?"

Chloe gulped. "I had a rough night and I don't lie well on no sleep. I'm sorry."

"Gabe, really, it's not as bad as it sounds," Mrs. Kent said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not?"

"I'm not trying to hurt Chloe and I don't want to keep her and Clark apart. I didn't think she was Czechoslovakian, but I knew she was special."

"There's a euphemism," Chloe groused. "I thought I was discrete."

Mrs. Kent turned to look at her. "It's all the miraculous saves you keep being at. Everyone knows, even if they don't talk about it, that there are people out there who use their abilities to hurt others. It made sense to me that you were the opposite. I just didn't think it was my place to say anything."

"So you decided to spy on my daughter?"

"No, my son was up at 3 AM in his loft and I wanted to see why. You can imagine my surprise when I started hearing things about alien ships. Sorry, Chloe."

"No, it's okay. It's a term I'm learning to live with it," she replied. Truly, whether she was an 'alien' or a Czechoslovakian was a minor concern compared to her alien father issuing edicts for her.

"But it was rude. Gabe, I'm not going to tell anyone."

"What about dad," Clark asked from his position next to Chloe on the couch. "If the ship did affect the baby, shouldn't he get to know?"

"Martha, you know because Chloe made a massive mistake. It's not your secret to tell and I'm sorry. I'm sure Jonathan wouldn't say anything but the less people who know the better. I can't let you tell anyone else."

"Let me?"

"Dad-"

"Exactly," he replied. "I'm sorry but, Martha, you have to understand. This is Chloe's life we're talking about. If the wrong person finds out and you don't have to be willing to tell them. I doubt whether you resist or not would stop someone like Lionel Luthor. If someone found out about Chloe, she'd end up in a laboratory and that's the best case scenario. Think about this. If it were Clark, what would you do?"

Martha glanced back at Clark and stiffened. What had she done, once upon a time with Metropolis United Charities to get Clark? Chloe had to wonder. No, if someone knew at least a portion of the desperation her father felt about her, it was Martha Kent. "No one would know. I wouldn't even have let him breathe a word of it to Chloe."

"What?"

"Well you are an editor, dear," Martha replied, cracking a faint smile. "I never would have let it get so far. I understand your concern but I can't forget what I know and I can't leave Chloe in trouble like this."

Chloe felt Clark squeeze her hand. For all his promises that nothing would happen to her, he was scared that he couldn't protect her either. She knew that. She wished she felt confident enough to squeeze his hand back.

"I don't think anyone can help me now. I don't know how the ship works and, even if I did, it's more powerful than I am. I mean, it survived a trip through space. If it wants me to go with it, then, I think I'm gonna go."

"Then don't be here at sunset," Martha said. "Just stay with us. Clark can take the couch and for a few days you can have his room. We'll say you have a leak in the roof of yours."

"Martha, I don't think changing locations is going to stop what was it again, Chlo-bear?"

"It called itself Jor-El and said it was the memories of my father collected in an archive."

Her father's face fell. "What?"

"It's a machine, daddy. It doesn't know anything. It just promised it would make me regret it if I didn't go with it at sunset. I don't know what to do."

"Then stay with us. Can the ship move? Can it find you?" Clark asked.

"It sort of hovers," she added. "I guess that's not very descriptive.

"Maybe it said today cause it runs out of juice. Who knows what it does," Clark continued. We should have Swann fly in to look at it over the next few days and maybe there's something about it we've missed. If you stay with me, I'm sure nothing will happen after sunset. I have you, Chlo."

"And you're both welcome to stay too, Gabe. We can get the spare cot. It's not a bother. Anything to help keep Chloe safe, we'll help you with."

Chloe nodded and forced herself to smile. "That sounds great. I just...that's a great idea. But, I need to get to school and do some stuff for The Torch and I promised this one last fitting thing with Helen. I just...I think I'll need that."

"Chlo-bear?" her dad asked, and the frown was clear on his face. He didn't think moving would change things much either, but neither of them had a plan that was better. At least Martha was giving them some kind of an option.

"I'm great dad, just fine."

Going to the mansion was the hardest thing she ever had to do. She'd seen Lex since their kiss but seeing him hadn't been intimate. There'd been so much fear over Walden and his own concern had masked a lot of the trivial things, like kisses. No matter what happened between them, what he thought about she and Helen, he didn't want his father to hurt her.

Neither did she.

But if someone had to hurt her, she wanted it to be him.

The doors of the study swung open and seeing Lex standing there was surreal. He was wearing the tux for his wedding and had the wedding band he was supposed to give to Helen in his hand.

"Chloe?"

"Lex?" She asked, her current crisis forgotten as she strode forward to put her hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

He laughed mirthlessly and sat down on the sofa, sinking easily into the soft leather. "I'm not getting married tomorrow."

"What?"

"I said that I'm not getting married tomorrow."

She swallowed but kept her hand on his shoulder. "Is this because of me because I didn't mean for any of that to happen."

Lex considered her, inquisitive eyes boring into hers. "You didn't?"

"Lex, I wasn't thinking and it...I just shouldn't have done it. Don't call the wedding off because I'm an idiot."

"This actually doesn't have anything to do with you, Sullivan."

"It doesn't?"

"No, I did something I shouldn't have, took something of Helen's without asking."

Chloe stilled but forced herself to keep breathing, to keep her facial expression the same. Helen had come to her dad about a week ago with a warning that her office had been broken into and her blood sample had been stolen. It was the only thing that had been stolen.

Lex had it.

Chloe wasn't even surprised, nor was she disappointed.

His curiosity was the barrier between them, the obstacle they danced around, but, in the end, it would always be there, the glaring reason she could never fully trust him. Why he would never be what Clark was for her.

She'd seen this coming.

Apparently, Helen, for all her talk of society positioning, hadn't.

"I see. So she called it off. You are going to call people, aren't you?"

He sighed and undid the tie of his tux with his left hand. "I needed a few hours to pretend it wasn't happening before I called off the catering. People will start to talk. First with Desiree and then with Helen. I'm not even 24 and I'm a serial husband."

"It's not you," she said, even though she knew it was. Lex was self-destructive, his own insatiable quest for answers and for power driving Helen from him.

Keeping her distant.

"Of course it is Chloe. This is just an especially bad day. If you're going to continue shooting me down and bringing up awkward memories, I'd hope that we can rain check it."

"Lex, I know we talked about it. I just...I want you to know that I am flattered and if I didn't have Clark and you weren't so much older..."

He frowned. "Would you really?"

"Would I what?"

Reaching over, her traced his fingers over the line of her wrist. "Would you fall in love with me?"

"I'm not, you know."

"I know. Physical attraction is not the same as being enamored with someone."

"Exactly. I mean, we spend a lot of time together. It's just natural things would come up and we should just ignore them."

Long, delicate fingers on her skin. "And do you want to forget it?"

She closed her eyes and turned her head away. She wasn't afraid with Lex, not like she was with Clark and she couldn't explain that. Mutant or not, Lex was still fragile, mortal. No one was as strong as she was. It just wasn't possible. Yet, with Clark she felt she was always protecting him from things, from who she truly was, but with Lex...

"We're equals."

"What?"

"We're equal. It would never work. We'd clash too much, Lex. We balance each other better as friends," she finished, looking back up at him.

"So if you and Clark had never dated?"

"We'd never work; we'd be at each others' throats in a week," she deflected, ignoring the way her cheeks flushed.

"Or maybe we wouldn't," he replied, squeezing her wrist gently. "Why are you really here, Chloe?"

"I need something from you."

"Money?"

"No. I need you to promise me something," she said, her voice wavering.

"Chloe?"

"I...this isn't going to make any sense."

"Try me."

She pulled away from him and put her hands in her lap. "If something happens to me, I want you to stop me."

Lex eyes the panel to the vault, behind which are the collected pictures from the caves and the Chinese temple. "Are you saying something?"

She didn't have to stare at the panel too, but she did. They both know what they're not quite talking about. Having Lex know could be dangerous, could lead back to his father, but she was more afraid of what Jor-El would do. She had to have a contingency plan in place, even if her father wouldn't agree with it.

"We don't talk about it. We skate around its edges, but we don't talk about it. I know what you suspect, you know that I know it."

Measured in-takes of breath. "And am I right?"

"You know I'll never say that out loud."

"Have you said them to Clark?" There was an insolence there and he sounded so much younger than he was.

"I won't say them out loud, not anymore. But I need you to promise."

"That's a lot to ask when you won't admit to anything, Chloe."

She swallowed and grabbed his hand, squeezing just tight enough to let him know the type of damage she could do but stopping shy of actually hurting him. "Clark knows about as much as you do."

"But you've confirmed it for him."

"I won't for you, stop asking."

"Then why are you even here?" he asked, trying to pull away from her and she held him still. The five four high school girl held him still. Lex could do the math on that, even if he didn't already have a room and a dented Porsche doing the bulk of the work for him. Eyes widened, he glanced back at her. "Why now?"

"Something's happening and I don't know what it is but it's bad. If I stop being me...if I become dangerous, I don't trust my dad and Clark to stop me."

"So you trust me? Cause I'm a Luthor? And surely we're all violent."

"No," she replied, her grip loosening. "I trust you because you're like me. You understand the gray and doing things because they're necessary. Clark can't and this time my dad_won't _." Chloe stared back at him, her head held high. "If things get terrible, I need to know you won't let me hurt anyone. Even if whatever comes, if she looks like me, sounds like me, I need you to know it's not, not anymore."

"I couldn't hurt you if I wanted to."

"It wouldn't be me," she replied. "What might come will be as dangerous as Walden promised and I can't live knowing that. Whatever happens to me, I can't let anything like what happened back in China loose. Do you understand that?"

"Chloe, you're still you. The fact that you're here right now...whatever you're not quite saying...you're fine."

"I don't know if I will be tomorrow."

"And I don't know how to stop whatever you think is coming."

She shook her head. "You're smart and you've been staring at the research for over a year. You'll figure it out fast enough. I'm trusting you to do this not for me but for my dad...I don't want him to see it."

"Chloe, surely there's something I can do. I don't understand why you're so sure on this."

She laughed. "I'm here, Lex, because I'm not sure about anything. But I need a plan B and I know you'll do that for me, because you've been preparing for it anyway."

"And if you don't need a Plan B, if whatever is supposed to happen is a ruse, will we pretend you didn't basically admit to everything?"

Chloe clutched his hand, reminding herself not to shatter anything in her anxiety. "I don't think I'm wrong this time."

"You're saying-"

"There's not going to be a later, not the way my family thinks there will be. You promise, don't you? If you care about me as much as I think you do, you'll save me."

"I don't think whatever your proposing counts as saving. It sounds like murder," he said, standing and starting to pace. "That's a Hell of a thing to put on me."

"Which is why you'll be the one to do it. I know you would."

He turned and glared back at her. "Are you using me?"

"I'm trusting you. You think you know me, the real _me _, then you can guess what I'm capable of. I have incredible self control. I have to, but something wants to take that from me. I could be used to hurt a lot of people and I could never live with myself if I were. I don't want to be what _he _wants me to be."

"Gabe?"

"My real father," she finished. "I can't explain it because I don't know how half of it is possible, but please don't let me hurt anyone. Please."

"But there has to be something we can do. There's always a way to negotiate or, forgive me, this isn't-"

Chloe curled up her lip. "An experiment. Anything to stop this?"

"Yes. If you give me twelve hours, I can have a dozen of the best doctors. We could find something to counteract whatever you think is coming, I know we could." She laughed and he huffed back at her, "What do you think is so funny?"

"Clark wants me to run away to the farm and pretend it's not happening, that there's nothing to be afraid of. You want to play Mr. Wizard with the problem. I knew that was going to happen. You're both so you."

"And what are you going to do?"

"I have to think of a Plan A. I don't want you to do anything you can't live with unless it's the only thing that can save the world."

"That's melodramatic, Sullivan."

"My dad's going to kill me-assuming that's possible," she said.

"Why?"

Chloe grinned and sped to the other side of the room. The look on Lex's face, the awe there, God, he was a complete Warrior Angel groupie. "Because when I say I could destroy the world, it's not hyperbole."

"How do you do that?"

"I don't know. I just do."

"You must be scared if I'm the lesser of two evils," he replied, his tone as bitter as it was when he talked about his father.

"It's not about that, not completely. My dad is going to kill me for this. You can never let them know you know."

"Them?"

"Clark and my dad. But if I'm suddenly re-enacting War of the Worlds on my own, then it won't matter. Can I trust you?"

"I don't want to hurt you," he countered, stepping forward and brushing the hair from her cheek. "There has to be something else."

"I'm working on it. But if something goes wrong tomorrow-really, Apocalyptically wrong-ask Pete."

"He knows? Am I the last on everything?"

"Huffy, much? Ask him. He's practical like you. If you need to know how to stop me, he'll help but it has to be you. I know you'll do everything that's necessary."

"Chloe," he started, leaning forward to kiss her, but she turned her head at the last minute.

"No, I won't do that. Besides, maybe you can salvage things with Helen. I can't imagine the vial of my blood tells you more than I just did. Return it. We just...we won't work."

"So you'll let me kill you, but otherwise I'm on my own?"

"Girl has to have her limits," she replied, leaning up and kissing his cheek. "Thank you, Lex. This means the world to me."

"Literally, it would seem."

"Yeah, look, I need to check the caves for a second. If there's a shot for a Plan A, it would be there."

"You can't."

"Well shock," she snarked, stepping back. "But the Kawatchee carvings really are extraterrestrial related."

"No, I mean, I don't own the caves anymore."

She coughed. "You did yesterday."

"Today I don't," Lex replied, tossing her the morning's copy of The Ledger. "'Luthor Senior Spelunks Junior from Caves.' Pithy isn't it?"

Chloe chewed back her nausea, suppressed the roiling in her stomach. "No, that's not...they're mine."

Lex considered her quietly. "They are, aren't they?"

"They really are and he's taking them."

"Chloe, don't go down there. Just stay here or tell me exactly what's going to try controlling you. I think we can think through this if you'd just-"

She was already at the caves before he could finish.

There was scaffolding everywhere. Large metal racks, something that looked like a gun and Chloe was surmising it had to be a laser. There were petri dishes and samples piled everywhere, there were flood lights flashing harsh light, illuminating the paintings-her paintings-for strangers.

It wasn't a refuge anymore.

"Miss Sullivan, I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to permit any of these unannounced visits in the caves in the future."

She turned away from the indentation for the key and glared at Lionel. "Mr. Luthor, Lex said you took the caves from him."

"Proprietorship was moved after a series of unfortunate accidents. LuthorCorp just took back from LexCorp. That's business."

"And now you have an interest in archaeology?"

"No more than you have, Miss Sullivan," he replied and his oily mane shook as he laughed. "You should be intrigued by these walls. According to them, you're going to rule the world."

"Yes, and they also talk about werewolves and ships from outerspace. I think the Kawatchee did more peyote than most tribes."

"And yet you're always here. There's something here and I intend to find it," he replied, stepping forward and running his hand over the indentation. "This cave might be the key to unraveling the mysteries of Smallville."

"Or it might be a way to fry one's brain like Dr. Walden," she snapped.

"Argumentative, aren't you? No wonder you and Lex have quite the arrangement."

"We don't have anything."

He smiled, something predatory yet amused. "Hmm, that's not what I've heard from Helen. She's been very upset this week. I wonder if Clark has been too."

He couldn't know. Lionel was bluffing, that was all.

"Helen's sensitive," she finished. "I can see the caves have been infested, no point in staying."

"Cutting, but you could do better."

"Maybe I could," she replied, frowning as he pulled a small lead box from his coat pocket. Instinctively, she took a step back, putting enough distance between her and the rock he was unveiling to keep herself from cramping and falling. "What is that?"

"A key. I made an imprint from Dr. Walden's hand and I think that it will help with opening the cave tomorrow."

"You can't!"

"I think I can. But if that bothers you...say, Miss Sullivan, you look so pale."

"I'm fine," she replied, moving back as smoothly as she could. "I wouldn't do that, Mr. Luthor. You don't want to end up like the doctor."

"Is that a threat?"

"No, but nothing good has come from these caves, believe me."

"Chlo, so Lionel has a Kryptonite key?"

"Yup, I don't think it could open the caves. I mean, it's a similar composition to whatever made my ship, sure, but it's not the real deal." She said, laying back on the cot in Clark's room. Sometimes Mrs. Kent was awesome. If she ever got to pick a mom, she'd have chosen Clark's hands down.

"And you're not bothered by this?" Clark asked, propping himself on one elbow to glance down at her.

"I think he's going to do the most damage to himself. I don't think the caves will work for anyone but me and he's been warned. I don't think Kryptonite will open anything and I definitely don't think he'll get a download that will point him to my door."

"Well, Walden did already say things."

"And I'm already trying to live my life," she replied. "I can't stop him from doing it and if I make an even bigger deal about it, it's like a neon sign that tells him I'm an alien."

"I really don't like that term."

She shrugged and sat up. "It's accurate enough." Chloe glanced out the window, watching as the last shades of burnt sienna faded from the night's sky and as the stars began to pop out across the indigo night. "I guess that's sunset."

"And you didn't go poof or anything."

Chloe laughed, feeling the pent-up frustration of the day melt from her bones. "I guess not."

"See, I told you we could beat it."

"You're brilliant plan involved me moving in with you."

"I thought that part was inspired," he defended. "Chlo, where were you today?"

"Well _my _caves that Lionel stole comes to mind."

"No, this morning. You weren't at The Torch. Lana was there working on this week's comic starting at six AM and you weren't there."

Chloe cursed under her breath and put "turn Lana Lang into a better liar" on her list of things to accomplish in the near future. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Look, I can't help but notice that, even if you take the Walden stuff out of the equation, you and Lex are acting weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah, like really stiff with each other. Did he press too hard again about the caves?"

Chloe sighed, looking up into large green eyes that were ridiculously naive for a guy Clark's age. "Yes, that's pretty much it. I have every Luthor and pseudo-Luthor interested in me. It's just stressful."

"Oh, cool, cause it just felt like...and Pete suggested...but I knew he was nuts. I mean, he probably thinks Lex has always been after 14 year olds."

"What?"

Clark blushed. "Pete and I were talking about it in homeroom and he implied you two were fooling around, but that's not like you at all, Chlo. And, I mean, it's not just because of your gifts and the whole touching phobia you're getting good at working around. It's more that you'd never do that to me. I know that. So I should just get points docked for being a bad boyfriend."

Chloe decided right then that she needed a very large rock to hide under. Clark was the best boyfriend a girl-Czechoslovakian or not-could have and she was a traitorous bitch.

Perfect.

"Chlo?"

She forced herself to smile and, leaning up, kissed him. "No, everything's fine, super even."

Chloe awoke to find herself in the basement of her house. She had no idea how she'd gotten there but it scared her. She hadn't slept flew since she'd first gotten her download from the caves. She'd almost been able to forget anything like that had ever happened to her.

"Hello?"

The ship was there, and it started to glow so brightly that she shut her eyes.

"Kala, you have disobeyed me."

She stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "I'm not going. Whatever you have planned, I'm not a part of it. Get some other girl to be your dictator."

"It does not work that way."

"Oh I'll show you how it works, you sorry piece of ahhh-" she screamed. A white hot flash of light, so much more intense than Walden's blasts, bore into her. Her shirt shredded and she could only scream as the flesh of her breasts and stomach smoldered and burned. "Stop!"

"This," the machine said, its tone as cold as ever. "Is the mark of your ancestors. You will learn to respect them and me."

Chloe was flung up against the rafters by the force of the blast, left crying as the branding continued.

"No."

"You will," the ship intoned and the beam stopped.

Relief flooded Chloe, even as the shock of landing on the ground jarred her bones. "I can't."

"You will come here to start your training when the sun reaches its Zenith tomorrow, or you will hurt all those you love."

"I'm not doing it!"

"You will obey me," the ship replied. "Or that mark will only be the beginning."


	15. Chapter 15

**15**

Clark awoke to found Chloe staring out the window in his bedroom. She was wearing one of his shirts and the fabric of the flannel was pooling at her knees. "Chlo?"

She turned and offered him a pained smile. "Sorry, I got really cold last night. I'm not used to the no heat lifestyle."

"I thought you never got cold."

"I never slept somewhere sans heat," she hedged. "Maybe it's a conditioning thing. I mean, I jones for coffee all the time as well and that doesn't do anything for me either."

He frowned. "I can get that but you've never borrowed my clothes before."

"I've never spent the night before. It's a nice adjustment."

"Oh, not that I don't like the sight of it, but are you sure you're okay?"

She nodded. "I feel fine. Why wouldn't I? I mean, here I am and I'm still chock-full of free will. I think your plan worked very well."

"Well, maybe we just need to move the ship somewhere permanently me. Pete and your dad and I can get it loaded into the pick up, maybe take it somewhere."

"Bury miraculous alien technology?"

"Well, not to sound defensive, but do you have a better plan?"

"No, of course not. I just...maybe it would be best not to keep something so terrifying in my basement. You have a point there," Chloe finished, still smiling but her voice was quiet, subdued. Clark could tell something was still bothering her, but he couldn't quite place what it was. After all, she was fine. Sunset had come and gone and she was still standing in front of him whole and herself.

That was a good thing, wasn't it?

Clark stood up and stretched, scratching slightly at his stomach. "Look, I promised to go over to the mansion. It's a best man thing, make sure Lex shows up."

Chloe bit her lower lip. "I don't know how to tell you this, but I heard that the wedding was canceled."

"From whom?"

"Lex. He told me that yesterday morning. Helen was mad at him and she called the whole thing off."

"Hmm, well I saw him last at about five o'clock and he swore it was back on. He mentioned being worried about a close call but that he and Helen worked it out. He might have mentioned that a mutual acquaintance of ours helped fix the problem. So I guess I need to thank a certain reporter that I'm ending up in formal wear today."

Chloe nodded and it was stiff, as if it took effort for her to do it. "I'm glad Helen and Lex worked it out, really. They make a great couple."

"You don't sound that thrilled."

"I just...Helen is hard to read. Sometimes I think she does love Lex and sometimes she does things like pressure me about my blood samples. I think she's a good match for Lex in some ways, but I just can't trust her."

"You'd think that after Desiree, that he'd be more cautious. I'm sure there's prenups and all that other stuff. I think it'll work."

Chloe sighed and played with the button on the collar. "I hope so. He deserves to actually have a wife who doesn't try killing him."

"I should have put that in my toast then," Clark replied. "Anyway, I promised to be there for the last minute best man stuff. I know that you'll be busy and I guess I'll see you at the ceremony, right?"

"Where else would I be. I mean, 11:00 AM and I'll be at the Granville Catholic Church. Why he has to have it forty-five minutes away-"

"Probably wanted something bigger than what we have in Smallville but away from the paparazzi. Reporters can be annoying."

"I'm taking that personally," she quipped, her tone still flat.

"Chlo?"

"Huh?"

"Are you sure you're alright. You seem awfully quiet this morning."

"It's eight AM and I was never a morning girl. I'm fine. In fact, I need to go do the whole hair and make-up thing. If daddy asks, I'm already at Lana's with the hair up in curls bit. For a girl who always wears her hair down, she's good with the frills stuff and the price is right."

"Okay, but Chlo..."

She smiled and flickered, appearing back in front of him in jeans and a blouse that was a riot of green, yellow and red. "I need to get going. I'll see you at the ceremony, okay?"

"Sure, I...are you sure you don't need me with you?"

"We're not Siamese twins, besides it's bad luck."

"Only if you see the _bride _before the ceremony," he reminded her.

"Yeah, well better not press our luck anyway," she finished, blurring out before he could say anything. It occurred to him after she was gone, that she'd left her dress still hanging up in a bag in the corner of the room.

He expected it to just miraculously disappear from his room.

Like her.

Clark was pacing in Lex's office. He'd been allowed to skip his chores this once to get out to the mansion by 8:30, considering the time crunch everyone was under. But he'd been there for already half an hour, feeling quite stupid in his over starched tux, and Lex hadn't shown up.

"Hey, Lex," he said, pulling out his cell. "I'm in your office and I'm trying to get to see you. I just know you had a few more things to go over about the ceremony and I can't imagine where you'd be. I just.. call me when you get this. I think I'll be here until I have to leave for the church in about fifteen minutes. I just hope you get this."

He sighed and shut the phone.

He'd left two messages like that already.

He couldn't figure out where Lex had gone.

"Where is he?"

"That's a good question," a familiar voice purred behind him.

Clark turned to see Helen, still in jeans and a sweater-her hair and make up were done, however-strolling into the room. It was a predatory stalk, something that reminded him of Lionel and Clark shifted nervously. "Dr. Bryce."

"Clark, you're the best man, we can be less formal than that. Call me, Helen."

"I don't know," he said, shuffling back and forth. "You treated my mom, so I still think of you as the family doctor. My dad would kill me for being rude."

Helen smiled, teeth looking sharp under the lights. "True. It's funny you should mention your mom. What a miraculous recovery that was, but a lot of amazing things happen around you, don't they Clark?"

He stiffened. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you do. Your mom should be dead but she recovered somehow. Your girlfriend definitely should have died, but she's a special case, isn't she. Her blood is unlike anything I've ever seen. I can't even identify some of the compounds in it."

"You should refresh your hematology then," Clark said, starting to stride out of the room.

Helen grabbed his shoulder. "I have something for you, something that would make you rethink all of your loyalty to Chloe."

"Nothing would do that so I'm not interested," he snapped, pulling away from her.

"Oh, I think this would interest you quite a bit," she finished, handing him a manilla folder.

"What is this?"

"Open it."

Clark wanted to stop, to throw it back in her face, but Chloe had been acting strangely lately and it was more than just her ship. It was something else. He had noticed her tension with Lex in the hospital. He just had to know. Slowly, he peeled open the folder and looked down. A few grainy photos, clearly lifted from the security cameras in the mansion.

It was of Chloe and Lex kissing by the fireplace.

The time stamp was from two days ago.

Clark couldn't breathe. Dropping the photos, he dug into the pocket of his coat and pulled out his inhaler. Taking deep puffs, he leaned against the black sofa and tried to calm down. A small hand began stroking his back.

"It's okay to be upset. I was. I think we reconciled over it. Lex told me it didn't mean anything, that he was more interested in leading Chloe on. He's as interested in her blood work as I am. He stole her sample from me but gave it back."

Clark pumped the inhaler again and willed his lungs to open up. It felt like Chloe, herself, was squeezing against them. "I...what?"

"I understand. Chloe's young; she was exploring her options. I know that it doesn't mean anything to Lex and that's enough for me."

"I...but she wouldn't do this."

"You can take the footage to your friend Pete, was it? He's the photographer for The Torch. He'd know faked footage, wouldn't he?"

"She wouldn't do this to me," he replied, finally getting in precious air.

"But she already has. So, if she's that loyal to you, why don't you just tell me more about her. Whatever secret she has, it must not be worth keeping, not if she'd treat you like this."

Clark stood up and shook his head. "I can't do that. I _won't _do it, no matter what you said. I promised her."

"Like she promised to be your girlfriend?"

"I _promised _and I'm not going to just hurt her like this."

"She hurt you first."

"I'm not going to betray Chloe, Dr. Bryce. So you can just forget about it," he snapped taking the pictures and tearing them in half.

"Then you're a fool, Clark."

"I get that a lot," he replied, before storming out.

It was ten AM by the time he pulled up to Chloe's home, and he half expected the Porsche to be there. Maybe Lex had really gone to Granville early or just ignored him, maybe it was too hard for the other man to face him, to be in the same room with the "little brother" he'd betrayed. Clark wanted to believe that but who knew anymore. Maybe Pete had been right all along and Lex had been waiting from day one to steal Chloe from him.

And he'd always stuck up for Lex. Lex who had a fiance waiting for him at the altar but who also decided that Clark's girlfriend on the side was what he wanted as well.

Clark was surprised to find the door locked. He saw Chloe's bright red beetle out in front (and his girlfriend was nothing if not gifted at keeping up appearances), and just assumed her door would be open. He pulled out his spare key and turned the lock, bracing himself for the confrontation to come. He wondered if she'd even have to decency to admit to what she'd done.

"Chloe?"

He creaked open the door and spied Chloe pacing in her kitchen, she was still in jeans and a t-shirt and she looked dusty, as if she'd been to the caves again.

For all her enhanced senses, she hadn't heard him coming. Her head shot up so fast at his words that it blurred. "Clark? You can't be here."

"I can't?"

She nodded emphatically. "You don't understand. I need you to go to the church and I'll be out there as soon as I can. I promised. I just need to finish something up."

Clark considered her as he walked into the kitchen. "We have to talk now."

She shook her head and started pushing on his shoulders. She was reining in her strength but he wondered how long she'd wait before she just manhandled him out. Her eyes were wide, her hair mussed, and her speech so far pressured. Something was wrong.

"We can't. At the wedding, I promise."

"No, now. Dr. Bryce showed me something."

"Well was she pressing you on my blood work?"

"In a way, but it's not exactly what you think," he said, starting to pace. "She showed me a bit of surveillance footage from Lex's office."

"What kind?" she squeaked.

"The kind where my girlfriend is perfectly okay with making out with my supposed to be best friend." He shook his head. "I can't believe either of you would do that."

"I..."

"Chloe, I trusted you. I know Lex has a reputation as a playboy so maybe, I dunno, but I thought I knew you. We share everything, so how could I not be enough?"

And that was at the heart of it. He wasn't rich. He wasn't smooth or suave like Lex. He knew he was a total dork and was sickly on top of that. He couldn't compete with billionaire, not that he thought Chloe had ever been that kind of girl. But now, what could explain it?

"Clark," she started reaching for him and he backed up.

"No, not today. I just can't. Have you been cheating on me all this time?"

"No," she said, her voice quiet. "It wasn't like that. It's something that just happened. We weren't going to tell you because it was never going to happen again. It was a mistake."

"You don't have any trouble embracing him," Clark countered.

She nodded. "I know."

"So some of this is me?"

"No, I...Lex isn't as fragile."

"I'm not either!"

"He's just...I wasn't think and we all know he heals and I just...it was a moment of weakness, Clark, we all have them."

"I haven't had one driving me to Lana or Missy Stevens or any of the cute girls at school. How could you?"

Chloe shook her head. "I don't know how to explain it. I'm sorry. You have to believe me about that. I'd never want to hurt you, not ever."

"But you did. I'll never tell anyone about you, you know that, don't you?"

Chloe frowned. "What are you getting at?"

"I won't tell anyone about you and I'll protect you, no matter what, but I can't be with you if you do this to me. I love you but apparently it's not enough."

"It is," she said, reaching out for him again as he side stepped her.

"I can't, Chlo. I just can't. I have to go. Despite all of this Dr. Bryce and Lex are still getting married."

"I know."

"And I have to go to the ceremony because I promised, but I just can't do this anymore. It hurts too much."

"Clark-"

"I'll see you at the wedding, Chloe."

With that, he walked back out the door.


	16. Chapter 16

**16**

She was at the mansion quickly, even for her, after leaving Clark behind. Lex was in his study, fiddling with the cuff of his tuxedo and Chloe frowned at the sight. She'd told him to go ahead, to be happy now that he and Helen had cleared the air, now that the secret of her blood could no longer tear them apart, but it hurt to see him doing this. She didn't think whatever he had with Helen would last, not with her power games nor his inability to really trust her. It would lead to disaster, but compared to anything with her. Besides, Lex loved Helen. He'd told Chloe that before. She just didn't trust it could work.

Lex spotted her and frowned. It was then she remembered she had Clark's flannel shirt on and that it fell all the way to her knees. "Chloe? You're not the person I was expecting."

"Clark's coming later," she replied. "I'm sure of it."

Lex stepped closer and quirked his head, studying her eyes, "Chloe? What's wrong?"

"It happened?"

"What?"

"It happened. Everything I've been afraid of started this morning."

"I don't understand." Chloe swallowed and began to unbutton her shirt as he held out his hands to stop her. "You definitely shouldn't be doing that here."

She shook her head and let her shirt drop to the floor, moving in superspeed to cover her chest. It wasn't sexual. She could think of nothing less enticing than the site of her chest, the way the scarred skin puckered and blistered, the alien mark branding her from her breast bone to her belly button. She'd look odd wearing anything more revealing that a t-shirt, but the deformity was the least of her worries. The power who stood for, however, was on the top of her list of things to fear.

"It wants me."

Lex reached out at first and dropped his hand, remembering the scars were in a delicate place for her. Bending over he picked up Clark's shirt and draped it backwards over her shoulders. "What could do that to you?"

"You are catching up."

"That's the symbol from the caves and the symbol from China. How in God's name did it get there?"

"Well I can promise God had little to do with it, but my ship did."

Lex cursed under his breath. "You had a ship with you and you didn't tell me. It's what the crop duster saw that day, isn't it?"

"I wasn't hiding it because of me or secrets or anything. I was hiding it because of what it can do. Would you rather it shoot out a laser in your labs, that it ends up hurting you instead of me?"

Lex reached across the expanse between them and cupped her face. "Does it hurt you?"

"It's not fun," she snarked. "The fabric touching hurts. It's why I slipped on Clark's shirt. I needed something loose."

"What the Hell is it?"

"It's the symbol of my family. The ship thinks it's my father...it's _programmed _to think that. I wasn't being an obedient daughter so I had to be punished."

Lex shuddered. "I understand that more than you know."

She paused but didn't press. Lex's history with his father was permanently on a need to know basis. She knew he and Lionel clashed; she just wasn't sure what she was allowed to know of it. "Did Lionel?"

"No one ever burned me like that. The ship's a monster."

"It's always nice to find your roots," she replied, finally rebuttoning the shirt in superspeed. "It's time for you to help me."

"I'm not killing you. I lied. I'm good at it."

She laughed bitterly. "I don't want you to kill me. I need you to help me destroy the ship. I should have done it earlier but I didn't have the right material to do it."

"The meteor rocks."

"Right," she replied, nodding. "Your father used a mold of Walden's hand to create a replica of my key in meteor rock. I've seen the ship neutralize Lana's necklace when Tina Greer forced me to wear it. I think it had to do that, that it had to keep itself and its systems running safely. If I can get a hold of that key, then I can stop all of this."

"Where do I come in?"

"I need a distraction. I'm fast, but Lionel will notice me blurring in. I need someone to be my alibi and to distract him. Can you do that?"

He smirked. "I'd love to mess with my father's plans. "I can do that. I'll even call of the wedding."

"No, no need," she said, forcing her voice to neutral. "I'm getting in, destroying the ship,and I'll be ready for maid of honor duties in no time. Trust me."

"It's not something you can just itemize."

"It is for me," she replied. "Now, let's go."

Chloe sat in Lex's Mercedes, staring at the small lead box he held in his hands. She was still in the oversized flannel, still cocooned safely in something Clark had given her, but he could no longer protect her. Her father could no longer protect her. And even Lex after a brilliant bit of annoying his father-to the point that Lionel had reared back his hand to smack him-could no longer be at her side.

Lex was staring down at the box now, tracing patterns over it with his lithe fingers, so quiet and still.

"Lex?"

"Yes?"

"Your dad...he seemed ready to hit you so quickly."

"We had disagreements when I was younger. It's not the first time that's happened. once I got into his papers when I was eight or nine. He hit me so hard I spiraled out onto the floor. I understand the ship, Chloe. I know what it's like to have a 'father' who abuses you, who leaves you with no options."

"Why can't they just listen?"

"I don't know. I've tried to make him listen a million different ways. I even went through my club kid phase, make him listen by being the worst example I could be, by defying everything. I wracked up a 10,000 tab the summer I was eighteen at Atlantis."

"Did he listen?"

"He sent me to a crap factory, no offense."

"None taken, my dad only has the job because it's an easy place to hide an alien."

Lex sighed, "You're more than that."

"Yeah, I'm extraordinary, right? I have to say that I've heard that one a lot."

"No, you're Chloe."

She snorted. "You and Clark are so alike."

"Well we do get along," he said stiffly. "Clark should be here."

"Clark won't let me do this."

"I won't let you do this by yourself."

She shook her head and moved fast enough to take the box before he'd even realized it was gone. "You're not letting me do anything. _I'm _doing it. If this goes wrong, any fallout could kill you. It won't do much to me."

"I thought you were allergic to meteor rocks?"

"I am but not to large explosions. I can do this and you can't and that's the way it has to be. Besides, my dad's already on the way to Granville for the ceremony. I need you to do this for me so that I can have a cover. I'll be there, I promise. I just need to cut ties."

"This is it, you know, last chance."

"I'm never going back there, having anything to do with them. I'm ready," she said, unhooking her seatbelt.

Lex leaned over and touched the side of her face. "Be careful."

"Have fun. If I can't make it, just start without me. I don't want anyone getting suspicious. This all has to be according to plan..."

Nothing was going according to plan. It was getting late and Clark showing up had derailed everything. Besides, the best man and the maid of honor both being here with less than an hour in the ceremony to go? It was going to set massive alarm bells off for her dad. Chloe knew that and she hated that it was true.

In fact, she hated everything then.

She hated that her life was falling apart and she couldn't fix it, that even if the menace that was the ship was gone, then she still had to find some way to make what she'd done up to Clark. They'd never be able to date again, not after what she'd done, how she'd betrayed him, but he was her confidante, her friend-her best friend. He'd given so much to her and she'd fix that.

And she'd fix whatever the Hell she had with Lex, find a way to keep her father from knowing he knew, be happy that he'd married Helen.

She'd be better.

She just had to destroy the ship.

Chloe ignored the tears rolling down her cheeks as she made her way to the basement. The ship in front of her was deceptively still and quiet. Egg-shaped, small, it didn't look like it had the power it did to hurt her. That's what confused her. That something that had ruined her life starting almost two years ago, could look innocuous, be hidden so well.

Except, the ship hadn't quite ruined her life, being _alien _hadn't done it. Being alien hadn't made her kiss Lex. It hadn't made her shut down with Clark. Hell, whatever damage Moira had caused had led, in part, to her turning away from Clark. She was too afraid of everything, of people leaving.

She'd left first.

God, if so, she'd take the monstrosity with her.

Chloe crushed the lead in her hand and immediately regretted it. She could feel the veins in her hands as they throbbed, the blood turning to poison within them. Her bones ached, her muscles spasmed, and she fell to her knees. She was so light headed, if only she could rest. Resting there would be a relief, would give her a chance to...just to...

She glared at the ship and then back to her chest. Clark's shirt had slipped down partially around her shoulder and she could see the burnt flesh peaking out from her chest. It could do _that _to her. She wouldn't let it hurt her family.

She'd never let it take her father from her.

Slowly, oh so slowly, Chloe inched to the ship and shoved in the key.

The change was immediate. The ship began to crack, a spiderweb of rust and decay spreading across it from its octagonal indentation. The metal rained down in chunks and the ship began to spasm. Chloe closed her eyes and braced herself as the ship once again emitted a pulse of bright light, the flash continued, crescendoed, and then there was a massive roar.

In the distance, her keen ears picked up something that sounded like a car crashing.

The ship imploded and she felt the force of the blast, felt it rip through her home as if a tornado had hit it. Chloe clamped her eyes tighter and willed everything to calm down. Eventually, the light receded and she felt the lack of Kryptonite anywhere. The explosion had neutralized it.

Sitting up, she gasped at the destruction around her. Her house was gutted, the front wall entirely torn away, leaving her visible to the street.

"Oh God!" she moaned, hopping up and rushing for the stairs so that she could get a better view of what she'd done.

Her father was going to kill her.

Chloe was up to the first floor when she looked out to the street and saw a familiar red car flipped over on its roof. Her father's old Fairlane and she was there in an instant, not caring for once who saw her. She leaned over and looked inside. Her father hang from the floor, pinned there by his seatbelt, blood gushing from a deep gash in his face. Beside him, Mrs. Kent look equally as beat up. Bruises were already beginning to form over her eyes and her lips.

"Daddy! Daddy, please!" Chloe shouted, shaking his shoulder, terrified when she couldn't even pick out his heartbeat.

Straining her ears, in fact, she could only pick out _one _.

There should have been three.

Desperate, Chloe dug her hands into her pockets and grabbed her phone:

"There's been an accident. God, hurry."


	17. Chapter 17

**17**

Clark left Chloe's, driving faster than he should have down the highway from Smallville to Granville. Whatever she was up to didn't concern him any longer. Hell, Lex's marriage didn't concern him either. He wouldn't be going except that he'd made a promise and unlike Lex and Chloe, he actually kept to his word. Besides, he had to see Lex. He had to know why Chloe was such a priority and it was more than just her secret or the thrill of a high school girl. Even if he didn't know Lex as well as he thought he did, Clark didn't believe for one minute that Lex had ever just tried to play Chloe, that he was ever going to be so shallow with her.

No, this, whatever the Hell it was, was something deeper.

Making his way to the back room of the church where the wedding party was preparing was one of the hardest things Clark had ever done. He didn't know if he could face Lex and yet he couldn't bear not to. The hall was long and dark and he heard few voices. Helen and her party-Chloe should have been among them-were on the other side of the church. Lex had few friends and Clark had been asked to be the sole groomsmen.

He'd do it to, but mostly because his mother would want him to, to keep his word.

Clark found Lex straightening his collar in front of a full length mirror. Quickly, Clark walked behind Lex and tapped on his shoulder. When Lex turned, Clark swung and hit the side of his jaw, sending the other man sprawling to the ground. The exertion left Clark panting.

"You kissed Chloe!"

Lex took time to gather himself to his hands and knees. "Damn it. I never should have taught you to throw a punch. You're ten times better than you were when you hit me at homecoming."

Clark glared back at him, not waiting for Lex to get to his feet. "You kissed Chloe."

Lex stood and eyed him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Helen gave me surveillance photos from your office but I just came from Chloe's. She confirmed everything."

Lex looked at him, his jaw clamped shut for a time before he started up again. "She did?"

"She said that you two didn't mean it and that you weren't ever going to do it again. Helen told me that you'd talked it over with her and you were just leading Chloe on because you know."

"I know what now?"

"You stole the bloodwork from Helen. That's how you violated her trust and that's why she called off the wedding."

Lex touched his cheek and flinched at the area there that was beginning to swell. "Helen and I have never once discussed Chloe's bloodwork."

"Did you steal it?"

"Clark, one has to ask why you and Chloe are so nervous about that. If there's nothing to find then the bloodwork is useless."

"It is useless."'

"Doubtful, but if you two continue in this charade, you'll both have to be better liars to placate my father and Helen."

"You care now?"

"I've always cared about both of you. You're the first two real friends I've had in a long time."

"Friends don't steal each other's girlfriends," Clark snapped, tamping down the urge to surge on Lex.

"I wasn't stealing her. It was a heat of the moment mistake. Neither of us want to hurt you."

"So you were never trying to steal Chloe to try tricking things out of her?"

"I wouldn't want to trick anything out of her. I wouldn't play her and, frankly, had I tried, she'd have seen right through me."

"Because she's so like you."

Lex shook his head. "You say that as if it's a bad thing, like a curse."

"Maybe it is. I'd like for once not to deal with secrets or double dealings or lies."

"Then I have a feeling you've thrown in with a poor lot. The Sullivans are many things but a simple, uncomplicated family is not one of them."

Clark frowned, "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"That I'm not a fool, Clark. I'd never do anything to hurt Chloe and, until some stupid impulse got the better of me, I'd never do anything to hurt you."

"Too late."

"Fair enough," Lex replied, although his voice was not as steady as it normally was. "I'm not a fool and neither are the people I run with. My father, my fiance-they can tell that there is much more to Chloe than a simple Metropolis girl. She's hidden herself well but not well enough."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"But you do. You want to be aware of that. I know my father's been talking to you."

Clark gulped. No one was supposed to have seen that and it wasn't his fault. Taking Lionel's initial deal was the only way he could think of to save The Torch and make Chloe happy. He would never spy on her for Lionel. He'd just keep saying no until the older man got bored and stopped his pursuit. "I said no. I don't betray my friends, unlike some people I could name."

"I deserved that."

"You did. I just...I'm here because I promised, because it was the right thing to do. But I can't be around either of you for a while and I don't think we're going to be friends anymore, Lex."

"Are you abandoning Chloe for one indiscretion."

He blushed and ducked his head, feeling as if Lex had got him doing something shameful. "I don't know."

"I expected more of you."

"The feeling is mutual. I'd never just leave Chloe, no matter what, but I don't think I can be around either of you. I was going to take this internship at the DP anyway. Chloe has a cousin in the city that was offering to get her dad to give up the spare room. My family can't afford the rent. Maybe I just need a lot of distance."

"I'm going to be in Europe on my honeymoon," Lex countered.

"I need some distance from her too. I just can't. If it were the other way around, if you got me and Chloe together...do you know what it feels like to lose her?"

"I'm afraid that one day we'll both know what that feels like."

Clark frowned. Lex had been more cryptic than usual today, as if he knew more than he had the day before. Chloe couldn't possibly have told him. She might be confused, but she'd long ago agreed to the rules her father had set out and the chief rule was telling no one else. Yes, his mother and Dr. Swann and Crosby had been brought into the fold. But no one related to Lionel could be completely trusted. Besides, time had proven Lex to be a traitor.

It had proven Chloe one too.

"I don't understand."

"I told you once that she was extraordinary, that the three of us had a future together but perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps she's the one with a destiny all her own and we're not a part of it."

"Maybe I'm not, but I don't see how you can think Chloe's destined to do or be anything."

"I don't see how you can't, Clark. You know I'm not a fool. Chloe's meant for more than this cow town or even the auspices of The Daily Planet and we both know it."

"So you can kiss her? Bring her into the kind of life she wants?"

Lex blinked. "You think she's not happy with you?"

"We've been having problems. She doesn't seem to have them with you."

"There isn't a her and me. There's you two or there was. Believe me, I have no interest in ruining what you two have."

Clark shook his head as he adjusted his cufflinks. "Too late."

It was ten thirty and his mom and Mr. Sullivan weren't at the altar like they'd promised. Mom had sworn to help Helen with the last of her flower arrangements and Mr. Sullivan was sticking close to the bridal party excitement, convinced that watching Helen was the best way to gauge any potential problems for Chloe. That blood sample was ruining everything and it was Clark's fault. He'd suggested Helen in the first place because she'd been so good with his mom. Now she had enough to prove Chloe wasn't human and she couldn't be trusted in the least with the information.

He paced back and force before the baptismal font, occasionally checking his digital watch.

"They should be here."

"Clark?" Lex asked, eying the last splashes of red roses as they were lain out across the railings. "What's wrong?"

"My mom and Mr. Sullivan aren't here."

"Were they supposed to be?"

"Yeah, they were supposed to get here before me."

"Well would they have gone back to the Sullivan's for any reason?"

"What?"

Lex stilled. "Chloe is there, isn't she? She's finishing dressing."

"She left her dress at my house."

"But you mentioned you'd seen her last."

"Not where. Lex, what the Hell is going on? Chloe was completely distracted when I saw her. She wasn't acting like herself at all and that's beyond the kissing thing."

"She met up with me at the mansion and asked me to drop her off at home. That's all I know. If she's not feeling well, she may have called Gabe. Your mother being your mother...well, she'd be sure to follow with Kent made chicken soup or something else."

Not even chicken soup would make a sick Kryptonian feel better, but that was the least of their problems. If Chloe was feeling poorly, then the AI could have started something already. She could be controlled or injured or who knew what. God, he was an idiot. She'd been so distracted; of course something else was going on. He'd forgotten about the threat of the ship because of the soap opera in his head.

Fool.

"Oh God."

"Clark?"

"I have to get to Chloe's. I'm sorry, Lex. Don't wait for us."

"But I-"

"Go and get married. Go to Europe or the Cayman's or wherever. I'm sure we'll make the reception," Clark finished, hurrying out the door, undoing his bow tie as he went.

He pulled up on a level of devastation that couldn't be real. He was staring at what had once been Chloe's home but the front wall of the house had been ripped off. The remaining dry wall was scorched black and the front yard was parched dust. Surrounding what was left of the lot was at least three large fire trucks, their lights still blaring.

Clark hopped out of his truck and ran to the police barricades. Nothing could hurt Chloe. It just couldn't. She couldn't be...not when the last thing that had happened was an argument between them. He was waving his arms, trying to get the attention of one of the firemen when someone grabbed his shoulder.

Turning, he came face to face with Pete.

"Pete? What the Hell happened?"

Pete looked ashen, as if all the color had been seeped from him, leaving him the color of a cow skull in Death Valley. "It's your mom."

"What?"

"Chloe called from the emergency room waiting area. She tried to destroy her ship."

"What? That's not even possible!"

Pete, always mindful, looked over his shoulder and whispered to Clark, "Lionel made a Kryptonite key. Chloe tried calling you first but your cell was off so she got me instead. She told me to wait here cause she figured you show back up when she missed the wedding. She told me everything."

"Why does no one ever tell me that?"

"She was trying to destroy it and it worked, but her dad and your mom were coming back here to check on her. They got caught in the blast."

"What about them? Is my mom?"

"They're both in surgery, Clark-man, no one knows."

Clark staggered. Not his mom, not his little brother. "No."

"Look, I can take you to see them. Don't worry. I'm sure they'll be okay."

Clark found Chloe crying in the waiting room. Her eyes were swollen and tear tracks stained her cheeks. Her hair was a wild mess of tangles and he'd bet she'd been running her hand through her hair because of all her anxieties. She'd never outgrown that habit.

"Chloe?"

Strong arms were around him, squeezing him maybe a little too tightly, but he wasn't going to complain. "Clark, oh God, I'm so sorry."

"Pete told me what happened. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought I could handle it. I was just going to destroy it," she sniffed, pulling back from him.

"But by yourself? What if had tried to kill you?"

"I had to!" She shouted, her agitation growing. "It told me that if I didn't do something by noon then everyone I loved would suffer. I was trying to protect daddy, to protect you."

"How is your dad?"

Chloe burst into tears again. "He's in a coma. They're not sure if he'll ever wake up and even if he did, there might be brain damage. He wasn't breathing when I pulled him out of the car. I had to do CPR until his heart restarted."

"Jesus, Chlo," he said, slipping easily into old pet names.

"I know," she replied, leaning into him. "I haven't heard anything about your mom. She was at least awake and talking when they loaded her into the ambulance."

"But?"

"No word in over an hour. I just don't know."

"Chloe, you were so stupid," Pete said, turning the corner and coming to join them. "How could you even do something as dumb as a green K key?"

"I didn't-"

He glared at her. "Of course you didn't. You didn't know and you didn't think. What if your dad dies?"

"Pete!" Clark shouted, pushing Chloe a little behind him. "That's not going to help anyone."

Chloe stepped around him and wiped her sleeve against her eyes. "I know. I'm so sorry."

"It's not good enough. What if Lionel suspects something?"

"God! You're not my father."

"Yeah, well someone has to be your brain then, Chloe."

"Well it's not going to be The Boss Ross either," she snapped.

"Guys, seriously, we're all stressed and we just need to cool it."

"Sure, we'll just enjoy the silence. It matches how Chloe shut us out," Pete snapped.

"You three always gang up and boss me around. Guess what? The ship came back and only I can deal with it."

"By almost killing your dad and Mrs. Kent?"

Clark shoved Pete back a few feet. "That's enough I said."

"Excuse me," one of the doctors, a man with sandy hair who looked barely old enough to have graduated medical school, called. "Are you Clark Kent?"

Clark nodded back at him. "We're sorry about everything. We're just stressed."

"I've seen worse," he replied quietly.

"Clark, your mother is going to make a full recovery. She's fine."

Clark felt Chloe's hand sneak into his own and squeeze. "Thank God, I was so worried about my mom."

The doctor didn't smile and Clark felt his heart stop. "However, son, I'm afraid she lost the baby."

"She what?"

"I'm sorry. Martha miscarried."

Chloe's hand was gone fast enough to leave a breeze. Clark watched everything in slow motion-the disbelief crawling across Pete's face, the doctor turning away to gather up paper work, Chloe hunching down on herself. Nothing felt real. He wasn't going to be a big brother anymore. Sure, he'd been mildly jealous of the new baby, but he'd never wanted anything like this. He'd always wanted to be a big brother.

"No."

"Clark-man, I'm so sorry," Pete said, patting his shoulder. "This is what happens when you try and do things on your own, Chloe."

"No, I...stop Pete," Clark replied, his words hollow.

No baby.

No baby. His dad was going to be so broken about it. He'd brought his mom into all of this with Chloe. It was his fault.

"Why? She did this?"

"Yeah, I did," Chloe replied, her voice breaking and then he felt a breeze and knew she was gone.

And for an instant, he almost didn't care


	18. Chapter 18

18

She had to find it. She could make this better, she could...she couldn't fix this. Clark's baby brother was dead and she'd done that. Pete was right. She'd killed Clark's family. She'd ruined everything with Clark. But worst of all? She'd tried so hard. She'd tried to save her father from any pain from Jor-El. After all this time, after how much he'd sacrificed to protect her, and she'd managed to put him into a coma.

She couldn't bear that.

She couldn't bear a life without her father. Clark, her dad, Lex...everyone who mattered to her was leaving or already gone.

Jor-El might have been destroyed, but everything he said had come true. She'd hurt everyone she loved. The only solution was to leave them before anything else happened. Her dad might recover and when he did, he didn't need her there with him, ruining his life, destroying all the gifts he'd given her.

She wouldn't be around to hurt anyone anymore.

Her instincts had been right back when her ship had first delivered its message.

She needed to leave. She was never meant to have a family, not a human one at least and the Kryptonian side, beyond being meglomaniacally insane, was dead.

No place for her.

She was ready to go; she just needed something to make her disappearance bearable.

She was digging through the file cabinet in The Torch office. It was going slowly, in human speed. Her perceptions were excellent but she needed to be able to find the box. She wanted to make sure she didn't overlook it. Besides, she was in no hurry. There was no one waiting for her any longer. Lex was on his honeymoon, Clark would never look at her again, and her dad...

She found it, finally clamping her hand around the small lead box that held her class ring.

Well, not hers. Pete's that they'd kept as proof after The Torch had run the expose on the ruby replacements. Hers had been smashed to a million pieces by her dad and a sledgehammer.

But she needed that rush back now, needed to be able to put everything behind her.

Wanted the drug that would keep her from caring anymore.

Wanted anything that could kill Chloe Sullivan once and for all.

She flipped open the box and stared down at the blood red stone, salvation and damnation had never looked so similar. She hesitated for an instant, her hand hovering there, as she thought of her father.

"Chloe, don't."

Her head snapped up in superspeed and she turned to Clark. "What? How'd you even know?"

"I know you. I know how you feel responsible for everything and how much you enjoyed the Red K the last time you were on it. Don't do this."

"I hurt my dad."

"_ Jor-El _did it," Clark said, easing closer and reaching out to touch her shoulder. She backed away as fast as she could.

"I made the decision to blow up my ship. I can't do this anymore either, Clark. I can't keep pretending."

"Pretending what?"

"I hurt you and your family. I hurt my dad. Chloe Sullivan shouldn't even exist; my dad never should have taken me home."

"You don't mean that."

"Yeah, I really do," she said, reaching for the ring.

He grabbed for her. "No!"

She moved far faster than any human could and she already had the ring on her left thumb. She felt the whitehot flash of the red K working itself through her system, the adrenaline-or whatever equivalent-working through her.

Chloe cared; she was in acute pain. But her life was over.

Kala didn't give a shit.

"Chlo?" Clark asked touching her shoulder.

She sped around him. "Not this time, Clark. I have to go."

"No, stay."

She laughed and then jutted out her hip seductively. "Come with me."

"My mom's still sick. You know I can't and you can't either."

"Too bad," she replied. "Don't look for me."

And with that, she was gone. Away from her old life, from her responsibilities, from her father. Away from Chloe Sullivan and off to wherever she wanted, to somewhere fun.

Somewhere where surely she couldn't hear her ship still calling her.


	19. Chapter 19

**19**

Clark felt small.

He didn't usually. He wasn't a strong guy and he certainly wasn't overly muscular, but he was tall. He filled up corners of the loft and had to watch his head. But today, sitting on the sofa in Luthor Mansion, he felt smaller than he ever had.

Lionel was sitting across from him, ankles crossed in front of him, a cup of coffee in his hands.

"Well, I think everything's in order. I have to say, I'm surprised that you came to my door, Clark. After last time, you were more than emphatic that I could go slither away."

"I never said anything like that."

"I think it was implied in your tone," Lionel replied, coolly. "I have to wonder, why are you back?"

"You know what I want."

"But I'd like to hear you elaborate on it, before I agree to it. I like to hear when people need me."

Clark nodded. "I'm here because Chloe's gone and Mr. Sullivan's sick-"

"In a coma, last I heard. They're unsure if he'll wake up at all."

"He's doing better than he was. He's off the ventilator," Clark replied, as if that made it better.

"Yes, but Ms. Sullivan isn't around anymore is she? Odd how she'd abandon her father and you."

"She didn't. She just ran away."

"Hmm, curious. Of course, one would think she'd caused the explosion in her home."

"I wouldn't know."

"But you will and you'll tell me all you learn about Ms. Sullivan. I want all her secrets, Clark."

"But if I report to you each week, you'll send out a team to find Chloe, won't you?"

"It occurs to me that if Lex were still around you would be going to him. How tunes change when you have no one else to go to."

"Lex is missing."

"My son might be dead."

"Missing," Clark corrected. "I know you're still searching the place where it went down. It's only been four weeks."

"I'm not sanguine about his chances, son. I'm a realist."

"I know but I can hope. I just want Chloe and Lex home."

"Oddly noble of you, considering the things I've heard from Helen. I had hoped sending Lex here would cure of him of his wild ways. Ms. Sullivan is hardly his type. It must all go back to what makes her so special."

"I don't know."

"But you do and you're going to tell me, or you'll never see her again at all. Now, Mr. Kent, do we have a deal?" Lionel asked, sticking out his hand.

Clark hesitated then, thinking of Chloe. He had no intention of telling Lionel thing one about her, but he could play him long enough to find her. He just needed to find her. She was dangerous on red K and if she ever hurt someone, she'd never forgive herself when she was back to normal. He had to stop it.

For her, he'd do this.

Taking Lionel's hand, he shook it.

"Deal."


	20. Chapter 20

**20**

The city was hers.

She can have anything she wants. It strikes Kala that the irony is that she doesn't want anything that the glittering temptress of Metropolis has to offer. _Chloe _would have wanted to go home. To flee back to that hick town and that life she was clinging to, had clung to like a life preserver in the middle of the Atlantic. But that was always a false hope. Chloe Sullivan was an artifice, something that Gabe had long ago invented, something designed to keep her true power contained. It was inevitable that she'd die.

That didn't mean that Kala was going to listen to that machine either.

It was dead. The one great advantage in all that had happened was that with the destruction, with the _death _, had come a release from the pressures of that machine, from its edicts. Kala wasn't going to take over the world, just have a little fun in hers. There was nothing that archive from a dead world could do to her now, even if she thought she sometimes she heard its voice in her head, even if her skin burned and chafed under its branding.

She was past all of that now, these inconveniences, even if they made her cry in the  
>night. It wasn't enough. Nothing would ever be enough to make her seriously hurt anyone. Cripple a little if they got in her way like those guards at Tiffany's on Sixth she'd robbed last week, sure. Go out and conquer Washington in a bloodbath, no way. Even high with the power of the red rock coursing through her veins, Kala wasn't going to do that. Some other alien patsy would have to be found. She was busy.<p>

Hedonism beckoned.

She answered its call.

The amazing thing, the thing she never would have thought of before, was how easy it was to bust into ATM machines. She could shred steel. Ripping through a little plastic and wires was laughably easy. It was something so out there to Chloe, so apart from her nature, that her goody-goody counterpart had never considered it. Years spent begging Gabe for extra allowance and all she'd had to have done was go out like this and punch.

Well, it was slightly more complicated than that.

Only an idiot wouldn't fry the security cameras first.

A quick blast of heat vision and the camera above the ATM crackled and died. Kala grinned to herself. Pulling back her first, she slammed it into the first ATM, feeling plastic and metal give way, ignoring the tickle of the shards left in her wake. Her hands clasped around bills, dozens of them, and she pulled them out, shoving them at a languorous pace into the knapsack she carried. Being caught was something she was mildly annoyed by and intrigued over. She'd had a run in with at least one officer before while grabbing extra money. It didn't take much effort to leave him unconscious.

She just hated leaving a video trail.

She was more skilled than that.

Kala continued her ministrations, clearing out the bank of ATMs easily and without incident. X-raying the bag and counting through her gain was as easy as acquiring it in the first place, seven hundred thousand dollars in one night, not a bad grab. Some of it would go in the account she kept at Metropolis Second National-oddly enough the only bank not to be hit in the midst of the city's biggest crime wave, a spree that had left the more prestigious banks victimized two or three times over. Funny how that worked out. But the rest?

The rest would be used for play.

Grinning to herself, she hefted her backpack—black to match the dark jeans and scoop neck blouse she wore-over her shoulder and sped to the Porsche dealership. It was still just seven P.M. and it was open. How fortunate for her that they were running new summer hours. Kala sauntered in and smiled at the man working behind the counter. He was not much older than she, maybe early twenties, with sandy blond hair and a slightly over done tan.

Good, she could deal with blonds.

Dark-haired men she avoided. They brought up memories of floppy dark hair and green eyes brimming with disappointment. She wouldn't think of those any longer. Just as she would not think of why it had to be a Porsche dealership she was standing in, why her hands were running over the surface of a silver model that reminded her of what had brought Lex into her life with a bang. Clark was dead to her and Lex was literally gone, had perished at sea in a "tragic accident" that Kala suspected was either Lionel's fault, Helen's doing, or a sick twisted plot of both. If she were still a reporter, she'd have looked into proving that the loss of Lex to the world was anything but by chance. But she wasn't that anymore. Helen, however, should watch herself. Kala had seen the pics in Page Six of Helen shopping in every boutique and couture store from Metropolis to Milan.

She'd be getting a visit from Kala after the funeral.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" The attendant asked.

Kala looked back at him, her smile wide and predatory. "Gorgeous. What's it cost?"

He looked back at her and snickered. "If you have to ask, you can't afford it."

Silently, she slipped the backpack off her shoulder and dumped the cash onto the Porsche's hood. She'd put money in savings another night. Tonight she wanted something fun. "Oh I think I can. Is cash alright?"

He blinked back at her. "That's…no one carries cash like that."

She could see it-the eyes narrowed in suspicion, the step back. This one wasn't dumb and with reports of a woman robbing banks wholesale spreading across Metropolis, well, the math wasn't so difficult to do. Moving in closer to him, Kala dragged one hand over his chest and lower, stopping to grab his belt buckle. She even added a purr for him. "I do. Now, if you'll just fill out the work for me. We can get out of here. You work on commission, don't you?"

He gulped and she moved in closer, her hips grinding into his, her breath on the skin of his neck. "I…"

"You want to wrap this up for me. I have to admit, identifications going to be a bitch but I don't think I need to prove collateral do I?"

"I could lose my job," he defended, but his voice was low, husky. She could hear his heart beating furiously from where she stood. Men were always too easy, except for two she would no longer think of.

"Or you could make ten percent of 700 grand. What's that again? Math's never been for me. Seven thousand?" She was batting her eyes, her tone breathy. Marilyn Monroe would be jealous.

"Seventy thousand."

"Wow, seventy thousand dollars in one night and all you have to do is fake the papers and hand me some keys. Hell, I'll let you keep whatever goes over the sticker price, tax free, under the table." Her grin widened and she leaned up, blowing in his ear. "I'll show you a good time too. Would you like that?"

"I can have it done in twenty minutes."

Speeding down the streets of Metropolis didn't interest her. She could run faster than a human could blink, faster than sound, faster than the 180 mph this car could manage. It was just the fact that it was the model it was, the thrill of convincing Devon to let her but it with clearly stolen money, the fact she'd won her game for the night. Of course, there was something to be said for racing down the streets of the city, the wind whipping through her hair as she focused on split second turns to avoid crashing into those who obeyed posted speed limits. Again, child's play to her reaction time and senses, but the game was fun. Accidents could still happen and avoiding pedestrians grew to be a game in and of itself.

Beside her, Devon was alternately begging for her to slow down and clinging to the dashboard, as if that would save him. She had to be careful of that. If this car crumpled like it was wont to do, she'd be fine, not a scratch. She knew that from experience. Humans, however, were so fucking fragile, so breakable.

Like Clark.

Kala gripped the steering wheel harder and pressed down on the accelerator. They were doing 90 now. Not fast to her, not even close, but far over the twenty per hour that was typical of Sixth Avenue. It helped clear her head of things, of people she no longer cared about. Besides, it was a faster way to get to the club district that bordered on Suicide Slums, some effort at urban chic renewal, something that let the wealthy of Metropolis play close to the burned out ghetto without getting actually in it.

Double-edged sword that.

The nights she spent trolling _Atlantis _-and it was almost every night after she went "shopping"-she could hear things. No matter how loud the beat of the dance floor, the squeals of drunk co-eds, the booming bass of the speakers, she heard screams for help. Her hearing was growing more acute, just as she was growing stronger, still changing under the yellow sun. It got easier with each passing day to ignore the calls. It, however, didn't make them less annoying.

She finally slowed as they reached the club district. The bitch was finding a place to park when she drove, but Kala had long since found a solution over the four months for that as well. Hopping out, she glanced at Devon, "You coming?"

Pale-faced, he looked back at her. "Yeah, I'm just waiting for my stomach to catch up with me."

"It will in time," she replied. "Now, hop on out."

"We're still in the middle of the street."

"Not a problem," she replied, turning her attention to the line up to the club. Even at one a.m. with last call looming, it snaked around the block. Kala didn't do lines. She didn't wait on anything anymore. She sauntered up to a man who would have easily towered over certain farmboys that shall remain nameless and was about three times as thick. Smiling at him, she reached out her hands. "Bruno, how's it going?"

He shook his head and laughed. "Kala, you don't think I'm always going to jump you in line. Also, you're blocking the red line on the sidewalk with where you 'parked.' Don't want to get fire code violations."

"Like you ever get violations here. I know Edge can handle it," she finished. "Besides, it's not my car."

"You drive up in a brand new Porsche and it's not yours. What is it that guy in the wannabe threads?"

She pressed her hand into his palm, making sure he felt the cool metal of the key concealed there. "Actually, I think it's yours."

"You're shittin' me? I mean, I heard from Scott that's how the hell he got an Aston Martin, but I didn't believe it."

"I'm generous to my friends. So, are you letting me and my date in now and taking care of your car or aren't you?"

He smiled and licked his lips, his attention now focused solely on "his" car instead of the people complaining in the line before him. "Mine."

"With strings of course. I scratch your back and…"

"Come on in, Kala, and tell Jake on bar that your tab is all mine tonight, least I can do."

"I can take care of myself, but I appreciate that offer. I'll remember it."

"You're a strange chick," he said, standing up and undoing the velvet rope.

"You have no idea," she replied, waving at Devon to follow.

"Do you know everyone here?"

Kala sighed. Why couldn't men just be pretty and shut the fuck up. She didn't want to talk. If she wanted to talk, they'd be at her penthouse and not at the loudest club on the strips standing under the speakers. Sometimes the guys she picked up needed flashing neon signs instead of clues.

She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the bar. She entered with him and made a bee-line for it. Jake, the usual bar tender, was the person she'd talked to most all summer, usually shooting the shit. She'd indulged in a little creative writing and made things up about being an oil heiress from Texas-accent bred out of her by boarding school in New York, naturally. It amused her to see how many lies she could come up with before he started getting suspicious. So far, Jake hadn't questioned anything. Hell, if there had been a Chloe Sullivan investigating mutants in Bumfuck, why couldn't there be a Kala fresh out of Exeter?

She thought so.

But she had gotten her drink-Jack and Coke, not that she felt it's effects-and was settled against the bar, just watching. It was what she did. Watched the humans. From a distance, they interested her. Up close, being with them was too complicated, but from afar, they satiated her curiosity. Occasionally, if they could follow her provisos a few of the men on the floor had come to scratch her itch.

Devon, who would not shut the hell up, was quickly losing his chance to scratch anything. "Are you sure you don't want to dance. We've been here for like an hour."

"I said that I just like to watch. What was hard to understand about that?"

"I thought watch for ten minutes, not watch as in waste time at the best club in town sipping the same damn drink. Come on," he said, reaching out for her shoulder, snaking his hand down her collar bone. "I bet we can have some fun." His fingers crazed against her scar and she hissed as she reached up to grab his wrist. "What the Hell is that?"

With her right hand, Kala readjusted her shirt so that her scar no longer showed. "None of your damn business. Don't fucking touch it."

Devon squirmed under her gripping. "You're hurting me."

"You touched me first," she reminded him, dropping his arm. "Forget it. You're not worth it," she finished, stalking out across the crowded hall. From behind her, she could hear Jake explain that was her more typical pattern, that most nights she left alone as if she were saving herself. That wasn't true. If she found someone blitzed enough not to notice the scar or someone who'd agree to let her keep her shirt on and the lights off, she took them back to her apartment.

God knew she wasn't a fucking saint or even a nun. Besides, there was no one to save herself for, and a girl had needs.

Kala paused outside the club, taking in the cold night air in the side alley, willing the smells of rot and decay in this part of the city to leave her alone. It was there she spied a phone booth and laughed. In the age of cell phones, she couldn't believe those even existed anymore. And yet…she just had to.

Stupid thoughts.

Stupid thoughts for a stupid girl.

Kala was walking past the booth when she felt it, that first wave of tingling across her scar. That hint that everything was going to burn. Ducking into the booth, trying to be as indiscreet as possible, Kala scrambled to pull off the ring. Fucking goddamn ship had branded her with something that reacted to the red K ring. She couldn't keep it on forever. Every night felt like this, every night came the burning of a hundred suns across her chest. The pain that was too intense even for her, that would kill a human.

Screaming, Kala pulled the ring off and threw it to the ground. It didn't stop the burning, didn't quell it in the least. Chloe Sullivan fell to her knees in the phone booth and cried, tears rolling quickly down her cheeks. The pain of the scar was abating but the memories of all she'd done, of Clark's dead sibling, of her father, of the messes she'd made assaulted her. She needed the school ring in order to not care because the weight of her guilt was crushing even her.

God, Chloe wanted to make it right, but she had no idea how.

The misery was palpable, heavy as tens of tons could not be to her. Struggling to stand, Chloe leaned against the glass of the phone booth. The reaction prevented her from taking solace in her next dose for at least an hour. She'd have to deal with the pain alone.

Or did she?

Instinct driving her, she reached over and dropped in three quarters, dialing a number she knew better than her own. Chloe waited with baited breath.

_One ring, two, three _

Despairing, she was about to hang up when she heard a familiar voice.

"Chlo? Hello? Are you there? God, please if it's you, just it's okay. You can come home. Chlo?"

She breathed, in and out, hardly steady, and then hung up the phone. Clark was sweet in his promises but she couldn't go home, didn't deserve to. She'd hurt everyone she'd cared about just as her ship had promised she would. As long as she was with them, they were in danger and that she couldn't allow. She'd already cost Clark part of his family, humiliated him, driven him away, already left her father on a ventilator. Whatever more damage she brought home to them would surely kill them. No, Chloe Sullivan was still just a ghost, a figment that appeared early in the morning when last call came.

Kala was all there was now.

And she had no home to go to, not anymore.


	21. Chapter 21

**21**

I'm telling you it had to be her," Clark shouted, pacing the expanse of Mr. Sullivan's modest living room. "It was a call at two a.m. and there was no trace. Some random number from this area code."

"If it were random," Pete countered, "and from Lowell County, come on, man. Chloe has superspeed and doesn't give a shit anymore. Why would she be in the same county here she could be tracked down?"

"Maybe she's lonely?"

Pete snorted. "You've seen her on red K. She doesn't give two shits about anything or anyone else. She doesn't feel lonely. She feels some things and I'm not going to say them in front of Mr. Sullivan, but she's not going to hang out and call her ex-boyfriend, especially the one that broke up with her."

Clark flinched. "I don't care what happened with me and her and Lex. She called me. I know it was her. I'd know just the way she breathes anywhere. No one has ever, ever called my cell at that time before. It had to be Chloe."

"You're reaching, man. Her speed? She could be in Patagonia, living it up in South America. Hell, she can't fly but she could have swum the Atlantic and be living it large in Europe. She's not just hanging a couple hours away waiting for you to bring her home!"

"Enough, both of you," Gabe said, and he wheezed a little. Clark bent over and helped place the oxygen mask over his face. Two months ago, Gabe had woken up. He was still sick. It was hard for him to breathe, since one lung had been punctured in the crash. His left leg had been crushed when the car had flipped over and he was still in a wheel chair. He was working on physical therapy. Clark's mom took him twice a week for his appointments. He thought that it helped to fill the void that was freed up when the baby died, that caring for Chloe's dad replaced getting ready with showers and other things.

Tonight she wasn't with them. Instead, she was working an extra shift at The Talon. She'd thrown herself into that as well, anything to ignore the loss in their family. Dad was the same way, working hard on the farm. It all made him feel almost latch-key and resulted in long, sullen dinners in which no one said anything at all.

"Mr. Sullivan, I didn't mean anything about Chloe. I just mean that that stuff's a drug. It's stripped her of anything _Chloe _at all," Pete defended.

"But that's not what you two are really doing," Mr. Sullivan countered. "You're set up on opposite sides of everything and have been since Chloe left the hospital. Pete, she might not be as wild child as you think, but Clark, son, you have to realize that the odds she's still this close to Smallville are terrible. Pete has a point, with her speed, we might never find her."

"Maybe she misses us. Maybe she heard that you're recovering."

"Or maybe you had a prank call from a club kid who mis-dialed," Pete added. "Clark, I know you want to believe she's still out there, that the power of love or whatever will bring her back to you, but she left before she even was gone, you know?"

"Pete, why don't you go home?" Mr. Sullivan suggested.

"What?"

Clark shook his head and grabbed his jacket. "You know what? I'm just heading to check on mom. You think she's not here but there's an impossible crime spree going on in Metropolis and with that M.O., I don't think it's just some meteor freak out there. I think Chloe misses us. She just doesn't know how to come home."

"Pipe dream," Pete snapped.

"Maybe, but I'm not the one who insulted her, am I?" Clark bit back, letting out from of the anger he'd felt with Pete since the day in the hospital. They'd all made mistakes, all shared their part in driving off Chloe, but Clark couldn't help but think that Pete's outburst had done the final damage.

Of course, on the other hand, if he thought he'd been responsible for his mom or dad being hurt, he don't know if he'd be able to stay in town and face that fallout either.

"I didn't. I was just telling it like it is."

"You're good at that," Clark snapped. "Look, I have to go. I can't deal with this and, like I said, I have an early shift at The Talon. Mr. Sullivan, I'm taking over for my mom and I'm sending her right over, just to check up. I know you have therapy today and she's always happy to drive. I can keep thinking about the next place to start looking for Chloe. I think that maybe I'll head out to Metropolis myself."

"Clark, you don't have to-"

"No, I _want _to. She's still my friend and she'd do the same for me," he said, leaving out the front door.

It was six a.m. when he arrived at The Talon. Early morning Czechoslovakian meetings were good for getting him up and ready to face the day and take muffin deliveries. Of course, he wasn't the only one there. Lana was behind the counter, arranging the croissants and bagels. Clark coughed and she shot her head up, her eyes going wide when she saw him. Lana had been weird around him since at least July. He thought maybe it had to do with the tension between him and Pete, except as the last two months had dragged on, he began to notice she was even more nervous when Pete wasn't acting as a buffer between them.

He still couldn't figure out what any of it meant, but it meant something. She'd even manipulated her Talon work schedule so that they rarely shared shifts. This was the first time in weeks he'd seen her behind the counter, in fact.

"Lana, hey. How are you?"

She swallowed and smiled for him. "Oh great. You know how it is. Busy, busy. I didn't know you were going to be in."

"I wasn't but I thought mom might need the help."

"I saw her earlier. She looked so tired."

"Yeah, mom's not sleeping that well, so that's why I thought I'd stop by and take her shift."

"No worries, I did that already. I offered to take deliveries and do everything until Sheryl came to relieve me. For school."

"Yeah, but we can work on it together. I know there's some boxes in back that needs stacking and I can reach the shelves better. You don't have to do shifts alone."

She stood back up and started wringing her hands. "But you can get to school early, make sure The Torch is ready to go. I mean, all I do is cartoons. You're the editor now."

"Until Chloe comes back," he replied, forcing a smile.

She _would _come back.

"Clark, I really think you should go," Lana said, starting to the tables to wipe them down.

"Why are you avoiding me?"

"I'm not."

"We haven't said two words to each other in months."

"We're talking now."

"If you count me watching you scrub tables with your back turned to me. What gives? I thought we were friends?"

"We are."

He sighed and reached out to take her wrist. "Then why don't we ever talk. I thought things were going well."

"They are. I just have been so busy this summer and with learning to be a manager from your mom...it's being busy."

"No, it's something else. Even Pete says you're not around as much, slipping out lately."

"I just have things to do. Besides, you've been so busy trying to find Chloe."

"Well, she'd try and find me."

Lana sat down her rag and looked back at him. "Are you going to Lex's funeral tomorrow?"

"That's a drastic change of subject."

"Not completely. Lex was my friend too and I didn't want to believe he was gone, but he is. Clark, Chloe's gone too and you just have to accept that."

"She's not gone. I got a phone call this morning."

"Was it her?"

"It was just someone who hung up, but it _could _be her in Metropolis. I have some fliers I put up every month, but I think I'm going to canvas again tomorrow after the funeral, just in case. Someone has to have seen her."

Lana shook her head. "She's _gone _. She doesn't want to come back. The sooner you get over that fact, the better you'll be."

He took a step back. "I don't want to get over it. That's a terrible thing to say."

"It's what Pete and I both think. She didn't get abducted. She _left _. If she wanted to come back, she would. I just...I hate to see you set yourself up for disappointment."

"I'm not. A real friend would try and find her."

Lana narrowed her eyes at him. "I am her friend but I'm yours too and you're making yourself sick worrying. I've been avoiding you cause I have to get this off my chest and I knew it would just be a fight. Please, just give it up."

"You too," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I can't and I won't. You can have this shift. I'll start the editing for the next layout early."

"Mr. Kent," a smooth voice crowed.

Clark looked up from where he was just organizing the headline on the latest soccer game and gaped. "Mr. Luthor, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I was in town closing up sections of the mansion, taking some of Lex's childhood things back to the penthouse."

"Right," Clark said. He didn't know how much he trusted that Lionel was sad. He had his suspicions about that plane crash, but it would be rude to say anything out loud.

"And I was wondering where your newest report was, not that your others have been so enlightening."

"I'm done with the arrangement. I can't do this anymore and you haven't even come close to finding Chloe in four months. Not to mention the fact that I don't know anything."

"You dated her for two years," Lionel replied, advancing on him and Clark took a step back. "I think you know quite a bit about Miss Sullivan, about her connection to the caves, about how she manages to pull off so many miraculous saves. You just won't tell me."

"I don't know all you think I do. I've given you what I have and now our deal is done."

"Hmm, that's very bold of you."

"It's honest."

"True. Did you know that your father took out another loan last week from Smallville Savings and Loan."

"Yeah, mom and dad argued about it."

Lionel nodded and stroked his beard. "And I happened to just have purchased that bank yesterday morning."

"I don't understand."

"If you don't give me something substantial on Miss Sullivan in one week, I will have them foreclose, but you can still defend your girlfriend, that's noble of you. Wait, isn't she your ex-tryst?"

"She and I decided not to see each other."

"So loyal. Your family farm or Miss Sullivan. It's your choice, Clark, good day."


	22. Chapter 22

**22**

Kala stood on the edge of the cemetery.

She could see it all laid out before her, the sloping green hills, the parade of mourners-and there were dozens of them-the pomp and circumstance of the large granite obelisk erected for her missing

Her missing what?

What had Lex been to her.

They had never truly been friends. She'd started out the relationship using him, using him to hurt Whitney and his goons because they'd dare to hurt Clark. Then there'd been Phelan and Nixon, favors she hadn't asked for but had gotten anyway. And he'd used her, wanted to know about that other half of her and she'd only ever told him because, as twisted as it was, he was the only person on Earth she trusted that much, trusted enough to destroy her if it came to that.

Had she loved him?

Had she loved him and Clark both?

She didn't even know anymore, but she knew it hurt, burned deep down into her soul, that even the rock on her finger couldn't keep the pain from eating into her.

Life would not be the same without Lex and that was a thought she loathed shouldering.

The funeral had started already and she could hear the priest's litany rising across the field, despite the fact that she was hidden close to the mausoleum far from the site. Lionel was there, tears actually falling from his face. Kala sneered. She still bet anything that either Lionel or Helen or _both _of them had had her...her Lex killed.

She'd find out soon enough on her own.

There were things she'd be prepared to do about it now, things the ring made possible, things a cruel part of her was looking forward to.

Kala smiled when she saw Helen, resplendent in a dress that was pure Metropolis Sixth Avenue, strolling leisurely across the expanse from her car to the ceremony. She had a silk handkerchief to her face, and from where Kala stood, her keen eyes could discern that the widow was not actually crying. It took only that to leave her blurring across the field.

She loved the way Helen startled.

She should be afraid.

"Chloe Sullivan?"

She smirked and started circling the other woman. "I go by Kala now. Do you still go by Mrs. Luthor or does heartless bitch work for you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I've followed the story, every minute, every account for months and it's suspicious to say the least and now you're in charge of his shares of LexCorp. You're an extremely wealthy woman, Helen." Kala reached out and grabbed her wrist and started to squeeze.

Helen reached her arm back and tried to pull away. "You're hurting me."

Kala increased pressure, barely restraining herself from snapping bone. "I know. I will find out what you did, how you did it and when I do? You'll have to answer to me." She grinned. "I'll let you wonder first what someone with my genetic make up can and will do to you. It won't be pleasant."

Helen looked at her and shuddered. "Your eyes."

Kala dropped the woman's arm. "Get along now, Helen. I know where to find you when I want to." She was enjoying the rapid beating of the woman's heart, when she looked across the field and realized that Clark was staring at her. Swallowing, Kala made her way to the shade of the nearest tree and blurred back to the heart of the city.

He wouldn't find her there.

Not if she didn't want to be found.

Kala did not appreciate the sight that greeted her upon her return to her penthouse.

Lana Lang, in her nicest funeral apparel-long black skirt, dark spaghetti strap top-was knocking on Kala's door. "Chloe? Chloe come on!"

"Chloe's right here," she snapped, angry and frustrated enough to just snap the locked door knob. Any burglar dumb enough to threaten her deserved everything coming to him.

Lana followed closely behind her and frowned. It gave her face a vaguely hamster like quality and Chloe snickered to herself at the sight of the princess looking less than perfect. "It's not funny and it was locked!"

"I had a key," she said, tossing her bracelets onto a dish by on her desk, listening as they clanked one by one. "What do you want? I thought I told you after you found me in Atlantis never to come here."

"I had to see you."

Kala turned and eyed the princess. "We were never close. It was more about your passing interest in Clark and then I'm Pete's best friend. You needed to be my friend to be close to the boys."

"That's not true."

"I think it is. Impress little old Chloe and then you can move onto Pete, fuck him rotten. Well, you've gotten to do that so I don't think you need to check up on me."

"Someone has to," Lana said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Do you even know what you're putting people through? Your dad is awake, Chloe. He's worried sick about you. Pete won't stop talking about it and Clark can't quit looking for you."

"Is he going to find me?"

"I keep my word."

"See that you do."

"But I can't forever. Clark's going crazy. He comes to Metropolis every other weekend. He puts up fliers. He looks over police feeds and missing persons and ER reports. It's killing him. Don't you even care?"

Kala sat down in the plush leather chair behind her, crossing one leg slowly over the other. "I've put Smallville behind me." She reached down then, toying with the large red ring on her hand. "It's my past."

"No one made you come here."

"It was time for a change."

"You think you're so special, that you have to what? Have the weight of the world on your shoulders? What happened to Mrs. Kent isn't your fault. Your dad's going to make it but he'd heal faster if he had you back."

"No one needs me."

"You're not a martyr, Chloe. It doesn't suit your style."

"I don't want you to be here and I don't want you to come back. You tell Clark or anyone where I am and I will run so far away from this place that you'll be a hundred before you see me again."

Lana hesitated then. "Don't do this just come home. Your family misses you. Your friends miss you. Your boyfriend-"

"We broke up."

"I can see that. But he thinks like you're still dating. Don't do this to him. He deserves better than that and I thought you were that kind of girl." Lana shook her head. "I guess I was wrong."

"You were...oh, God," Kala said, and she could feel it. Feel the flash of heat and the burn spreading from the scar on her breasts across her stomach, across the nerves of her body. Standing up, she put her hands on Lana's shoulders. "Don't come back."

"Stop pushing!"

Kala didn't care, she kept driving Lana to the door, using more strength than she normally would. She would not let anyone ever see what Jor-El had left on her, not again.

"Get out! Get out!" She screamed, feeling her eyes heat up.

Lana's own eyes widened. "Chloe?"

"Out!" She screamed, shoving Lana out the door and slamming it shut so hard behind her that the hinges splintered. Reaching down, she pulled the ring off her hand and flung it aside, still screaming from the pain as everything burned. And then, something worse than the scorching of her scar happened.

Then she felt it.

The pain of her all she'd done, of her conscience crashing down on her. So Chloe Sullivan slid down the side of the wall and cried.


	23. Chapter 23

**23**

Clark stared at his computer screen. The cursor was blinking there, mocking him. He was typing up his bi-weekly report for Mr. Luthor. Lionel wanted everything and Clark could give it to him, could tell him everything about Chloe from the name of her home planet to the things that weakened her, every secret, every bit of trust. It wasn't like she'd trusted in him or respected him. He'd been a fool to think that he could trick Lionel, that he could offer tidbits here and there, nothing concrete and still be able to retain the billionaire's help.

Or Hell, even stay on his good side.

He still wanted to find Chloe, to save her. It was all he wanted to do. The crime spree in Metropolis with the thief who literally ripped off bank doors and disappeared in a blink had to be her, but no matter how often he canvased the Slums, no matter how many fliers he handed out, he couldn't find her. She had stayed oddly well hidden for four months. Even Lionel hadn't been able to get his hands on her and Clark had no doubt that it was exactly what Lionel wanted, a Czechoslovakian for his very own.

Clark could never let that happen to her.

No matter what had fallen between them, she would always be his friend and, try as he might to make those feelings stop, the girl he loved. If he turned in another collection of lies, however, then his family's farm would be gone. They'd already lost the baby. How could he be responsible for them losing the farm? How could he pick Chloe over his family. They'd picked _him _, saved him from a life of foster care and loneliness. The farm was supposed to be his some day.

They trusted him.

Everyone had trusted him and they'd been wrong cause he'd been stupid and desperate and made a devil's deal and someone was going to suffer.

Clark started typing, steeling himself. If he lied to Lionel, he lost the farm, but it was just land. If he told the truth, then Chloe lost her life. He could never, would never let anything bad happen to a person if he could help it. He'd figure out a way to save her, save the farm, save everybody.

Except he wasn't the hero here, that was supposed to be Chloe's job.

Clark sent off his report-completely fiction-by e-mail to Lionel. He'd already seen him once this week and he had no desire to repeat the experience. Lionel would never buy the lies. He already suspected too much about Chloe's true nature. However, if Clark had to say it in person…well maybe there was a chance Lionel would still bide time and not hurt his farm. It could be possible. It could be something like that, couldn't it?

Sighing, he slipped down the back stairs and wished he hadn't. His parents were fighting again. Clark stopped a few steps from where he'd be visible and spied the argument.

His dad was pacing a bit, one hand waving his coffee mug wildly. "I know that you and Gabe have bonded over this accident Martha but the farm needs you too. I just would like you to be around more."

His mom glared back at his dad. "And I am home. I'm still baking the pies and muffins for The Talon and the hospital cafeteria. I'm still here helping with chores. I just feel like Gabe needs some help. He's lost everything, including Chloe. If something happened to Clark, I don't know what I'd do."

"And there's a difference between helping a friend and never being home. I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks, like you're a ghost in this house. I know how horrible everything with the baby was-"

Clark swallowed. If he hadn't conspired with Chloe to drag his mom into the crazy traveler conspiracy, then his little brother would have been five weeks old by now. Instead the nursery stood empty, the cradle unused and the wallpaper half hung, a reminder of the real Kent baby never to be born. He'd offered to take it down himself, to spare his father, but his dad had refused.

Mom wouldn't go near that end of the hall at all.

"Jonathan, it's not about the baby," his mom said through clenched teeth. It's not about that at all. It's about helping a neighbor and a friend."

His dad set his coffee down and sighed. Walking over to her, he let one hand stroke her hair. "Sweetheart, I feel like I can't reach you lately, like we're drifting. It feels like it did back before Clark came."

From his perch, Clark inhaled slowly. Before they'd adopted him, his mom had had two miscarriages. It was the second one that was supposed to have kept her from conceiving again. He didn't know too much about that time in his parents' lives, but he had heard that after the second miscarriage, his mom had spent the summer with Grandpa Clark in Metropolis. He wasn't sure if his grandfather, the notorious litigator, had filed papers on her behalf, but his parents had definitely been estranged. He was scared for his family, scared that another lost child would send it crumbling.

"I'm fine," his mom said, her tone forcefully cheery. "Everything's fine. We have Clark and sometimes these things just aren't meant to be. I understand that, and I love you. I've just been busy." With that, she leaned up to give him a quick peck on the cheek. "If you don't hurry up, you'll be missing the morning deliveries."

"If I don't hurry, I'll miss the afternoon meeting with the bank. With all your hospital bills, we really need this second mortgage to come through."

His mom smiled. "I'm sure it'll go well. Now, do you want some more coffee for the road?"

"No, I'll be fine. I'll be home in time for afternoon chores with Clark."

"There won't be any," his mom reminded. "He's going into Metropolis for Lex's funeral."

Clark swallowed. Lex, the baby, Chloe, maybe even the farm. There'd been so much loss over the last few months, he could barely keep track. Despite everything, even the betrayal of finding Chloe in the other man's arms, Clark still missed Lex, still felt like one of his best friends was missing from his life. Maybe it would have been different if both Chloe and Lex were around and he had to see on Lex's arm, but, for now, he just felt a deep ache for both his lost friends.

His father didn't feel quite the same. Jaw clenched, he added, "It's a shame what happened to the plane, but somehow and don't tell Clark, I'm relieved. Nothing good ever comes from a Luthor. You see what Lionel did to this town and what happened to Lex's mother and little brother. It's a bad bunch, Martha."

"He was Clark's friend."

"And people talk. Sometimes I wonder what he wanted with Clark and Chloe. He was 22 and they're sophomores." His dad snorted. "Especially with Chloe. Clark didn't need a friend like that."

His mom's eyes narrowed. "You need to get a move on and don't let Clark hear you talk like that. This whole service…it's so much on top of Chloe going missing. He misses his friends."

"He has Pete and I'm sure Chloe will come home. Tell that to Gabe if you're going to physical therapy with him. I'm sure Chloe will be home by school time."

His mom sighed. "I wish I were as certain as you are."

"Positive. Chloe would never let anything hurt her grades or her future."

Clark had enough there. His dad just didn't know everything, didn't know that Chloe's future might have gone out the window the day Dr. Swann had told her her birth name. Maybe it had all disappeared the day Lex had hit her with his Porsche. But it was certainly gone now. With that ring on her finger, Kala didn't care about _The Daily Planet _or Met U or being a hot shot reporter. Clark wasn't sure what she cared about besides a lot of money.

She wasn't the same.

But if he could just find her, maybe she would be.  
>Coughing, Clark stood up and bounded down the stairs with an exaggerated loudness. "Hey mom. Dad, the deliveries."<p>

"Just heading out the door, son," his dad replied, winking. "Good luck today. I'm sorry."

Clark nodded, still knowing the sentiment was only half genuine. "I know." With that, his dad shut the kitchen door behind him, leaving him alone with his mom. "How are you really?"

His mom sighed and started wiping off the kitchen countertops. "People keep asking me that. Sweetheart, I'm fine."

"You don't always have to help Mr. Sullivan. That's what Pete and I are for."

His mom stopped and stood up. "Clark?"

"It's just, everything went wrong. We didn't mean to tell you about Chloe and then we did and the baby-"

"Was never your fault and it wasn't Chloe's fault either," his mom reminded. "It wasn't about either of you."

"But you wouldn't have been in any of this mess if it weren't for us. The baby _died _."

"I know," she replied, starting her scrubbing back up.

"Yeah, you know it, but we don't talk about it. We don't mention it. We just go on like he never even existed. It can't be healthy."

"It's not always good for you to spend your weekends canvassing Metropolis," she pointed out.

"But we were talking about you."

"We're talking about both of us, baby. Your little brother died and I've accepted that. I'm moving onto the people who need me like Chloe's father. He needs someone right now while she's gone and it needs to be more than just two teenage boys. You and Pete are mature and you're trying, but this is something else. He's needs an adult."

"Dad might need for you to be around."

"I am…I just want to help. That's what I'm trying to do."

"Like I am with Chloe?" He asked leaning against the island.

"You're obsessing," she chided.

_Look who's talking. _

"I'm not. I know she's in Metropolis. All those reports, the robberies. I know it's her, mom. I just need to find where she's staying. If I can talk to her again, I can be better. I can get her to listen to me and get her home."

"Clark-"

"No, I don't care if it's been almost five months. Chloe wants to come home. I know she does. She _called _me."

His mom frowned. "She what?"

"Last night, it was really late and someone from a Metropolis area code called my cell. I know it was Chloe. She's scared. She might have that ring on and she might be angry too, but I don't think she wants to be alone."

"Baby, she's the one who left."

"She made a mistake. She just is such a martyr she thinks she can't come home. I know she can. I just need to talk to her."

His mother nodded. "Clark, I have to ask you something. I've been meaning to ask all summer."

"If it's about Kryptonian stuff, that's really more Mr. Sullivan or Chloe's place to tell."

She shook her head. "No, it's about some things I've heard. I've made deliveries to Dr. Bryce and some of the servants there say things about Chloe."

"She's been too obvious?" Clark asked, his throat going dry.

"No, more that she and Lex weren't just friends. That they were together."

"That's not true."

"Helen implied it just once as well," she countered.

Clark swallowed and let his head drop so he could stare at the linoleum. "Chloe made one mistake the day before the wedding. It's not what you think. I…she loved me. I know she did."

"I'd never use that as a reason to stop looking, but, baby, why didn't you tell me? Why did I have to hear it from Helen Bryce of all people?" She asked, reaching out to cup his chin, forcing him to look her in the eye.

"Because she _loved _me. If I talk about it, it's real and I can't do that right now. It doesn't matter. It's Chloe and I'd do anything for her, even if there was something with her and Lex. I just…I _need _to find her."

His mom nodded and stroked his cheek. "I'm so sorry, Clark."

"Don't be. It's fine. I'm going to find her and get her to come home and it's all going to be okay again."

"I think that might be a bit naïve," she said, dropping her hand.

"No, it's not. I'm going to find her, mom, if it's the last thing I do." He wasn't even certain then whom he was trying to reassure, himself or his mother. But he had to find Chloe. He could make it right. He knew he could. Clark just needed more time.

The funeral was somber, smaller than Clark had expected. It was closed to the actual Luthor family and to Lex's friends. There were a few from Princeton, one from Excelsior, and a few of the highest ranking execs from LexCorp. It was he and Lana, as well as Lionel.

Helen came late, throwing herself on the granite marker to cry.

Clark had never seen Lionel so mad at someone who wasn't himself.

The billionaire had been civil about it but he'd also made it clear that Helen was not welcome at the funeral. Either the two were putting on an amazing show to divert suspicion or Lionel truly did miss his son. With her performance and the way she'd strolled in late, not to mention the excessive amounts of money she was spending on renovating the mansion, Clark was beginning to suspect that Helen had acted alone. That was a problem for another day-proving that, getting justice for his dead friend-but Clark filed away this scene for later.

If Helen thought she were fooling everyone, she was wrong.

Of course, if Lionel could prove she'd killed Lex, Clark suspected no one would ever hear from her again, let alone the court system.

He gulped and undid the top button of his collar. What would Lionel do to him if he couldn't produce Chloe's secrets? A voice in the back of his mind gnawed at him, reminding him that the stunt with the farm would only be the beginning.

God, the farm.

He couldn't lose it. It had been in his family for four generations (if you counted him), and his father had worked that land for what seemed like forever. They'd hate him if Lionel got the upper hand. They'd…

Wait.

There was someone of in the distance.

Clark blinked because she looked all wrong. Her hair was long and a brassier blonde than it had been. Her dress wasn't too short but it was tighter than Chloe normally wore. There was an anger to her features, something almost feral that marred them and Clark noticed how intently she was staring at Helen. It was his Chloe, but it wasn't.

Despite the differences though, she was definitely there.

Even as the minister droned on, Clark stepped through the crowd of mourners, trying to catch her. He knew it wouldn't work, that if she sensed him coming-and of course with her senses she would-that she'd disappear in an instant. He was halfway through the crowd when he caught a familiar blur of motion. When he peered back at where she'd been, Chloe was gone.

Just like before.

Clark was packing up his truck, making sure he had twice as many fliers this time when a small hand gripped his shoulder. For an instant, he let himself believe it would be Chloe but when he turned, he was disappointed to find Lana standing behind him.

"Lana, uh hey."

"Clark, are you okay?" she asked. "You seem preoccupied at the funeral yesterday."

"I saw her, Lana."

"Helen?" Lana snorted. "Yeah, everyone saw her. If there was a black widow, it's totally her. I have this great idea for a cartoon to draw in next week's edition."

He shook his head. "No, I saw _Chloe _. She was there. I know she was."

"Clark, we went over this. Chloe's been missing for five months. Why would she still be in Metropolis?"

Clark slammed the door to the truck's cab. "For the same reasons I keep saying. It's familiar, she knows the town. It's near home. I know she wants to come back, she's just afraid too."  
>"Clark, it's a wild goose chase!"<p>

"I saw her. I'm going to go to every shelter in Metropolis. She can't get an apartment. There's no way, so she has to be there. If I look hard enough…"

Lana's eyes widened. "You're going to the Slums?"

"Of course, she has to be there."

"People get shot there."

"But she'd be there. It's the most affordable place in the city," he finished.

Lana bit her lip and looked between his backpack with the fliers still sticking out of it and his eyes. "Clark, you're not going to need the fliers."

"Well how else are people going to recognize her," he asked, feeling as though he were in an Abbott and Costello routine.

Lana sighed and looked at her sneakers. "You don't need them because I've known where Chloe is for three months."

"What?" He asked, his legs feeling like spaghetti beneath him.

"I found her. I was out at this new club with Dean's daughter and I saw her. I tracked her back to her penthouse and she said that if I told anyone where to find her she'd runaway so far that no one would ever see her again. I've been working on convincing her to come home since but you don't understand!"

"Don't understand that you lied to me and Mr. Sullivan for months. No I don't, Lana."

"No, you don't get it. Chloe's not the same intrepid reporter we used to know and love. There's something wrong with her. She's so angry, Clark. I went to see her after the funeral and she screamed at me, threw me out of her apartment. She just doesn't care. I told her her dad was better and awake. I told her how much you missed her and Pete and me too. She won't come home."

Clark shook his head. "She'll come home for me."

"The two of us are pretty good friends by now from The Torch. If me telling her her dad was in rehab and needed her support didn't do it, I don't know what will. I mean, I know you two have been dating forever, but it's her dad. She didn't even seem to care about him."

He gritted his teeth. "She'll listen to me. I know she will."

"How do you know? If you go there, she'll just run again and we'll never get her back."

"I know," he replied, climbing into the cab. "Because I'll _make _her listen." He backed up but pointed his car south, down the back drive besides that ran by the swimming hole and out by the Hubbards to Granville.

Lana frowned and tapped on the glass until he rolled down the window for her. "That's not the way to Metropolis. Besides, don't you want the address?"

Clark nodded. "That might be nice for a change, Lana."

"I get it. I messed up, but I was just trying to help."

"Tell me where she is?"  
>"LuthorCorp Towers. The name on the mailbox for 803 is Blye, Nellie Blye."<p>

Clark whistled under his breath. "Damn it, I should have known."

"I don't get it."

"I'll tell you later," he said.

"But I don't get it. Where are you going? Why the Hell did you think you could even start to find her without an address?"

"Because," he replied. "I'm heading the Kawatchee Reservation. There's something I need."


	24. Chapter 24

**26**

Chloe's clothing was in tatters and she didn't care. Clark was lying on the ground in front of her and his lip was smashed open, bleeding, his left eye was already swollen shut. He was talking to himself, rambling about paying a price, and she had no idea what he was talking about, but she knew he looked bad. Clark was bloody and injured and she'd been the one to do it to him.

Every nightmare she'd ever had, everything she'd ever striven to do, had been about this or about protecting him from it.

Down on her knees, she cradled him on her thighs. "Clark, hey," she said, her voice soft. She lowered her left hand and threaded her fingers through his bangs. "Hey, are you okay?"

He coughed and sat up to look at her. "Hey, did I get weird there?"

"You were talking to yourself but I think I thrashed your pretty hard. Clark, how did you even get my powers?"

He sat up and almost hyperventilated as he did it. She leaned forward and held his back. "Getting those kind of powers is an incredible rush. Having them stripped makes me feel very dizzy."

Chloe smiled and used her strength to pull him to his feet. "Just lean on me okay?"

He put an arm around her and, being Clark, blushed when he realized she was still exposed. "Oh Chloe...I..."

She grinned. "Of course you'd mean it if you weren't so dizzy. It's okay. I need you to hold onto me. Do you think if I sped you'd be good enough not to Ralph on me?"

Clark smiled and his head wobbled a little. "If you take me to the farm, I promise to only throw up a little."

"Perfect," she said, slipping into superspeed and running with him to the farm. She deposited him on the loft sofa and when she turned from setting his head down carefully on the sofa cushions, she jumped. Martha Kent was sitting at Clark's desk and her expression was livid.

"Chloe Sullivan, what have you been doing with my son?"

Chloe looked down at her torso and covered herself with her arms. "Mrs. Kent, it's not what it looks like."

Martha slipped off the sweater she'd been wearing in the cool September night and tossed it to her. She put it on in record speed, even considering her powers. "It looks like you're dragging him back from wherever you've been hiding, bloodied and worse for wear, and that you did it half naked. Am I close?"

Chloe blushed. They hadn't had sex, but not for lack of trying on her part. If he'd been in a mind to take advantage of her and not just be a gentleman and take her home, she'd have slept with him. She'd slept with a Hell of a lot of Metropolis this summer just to prepare for it. "No. He came for me. I don't even know how he did it. He had Kryptonian powers and he showed up to drag me home."

"And your shirt came off?"

"When he threw me into a pillar as we superfought?" She said, flinching a little. It sounded bad when she said it out loud, as if she had abused him.

Martha nodded. "Is he going to be okay?"

"I think so. Whatever...however he had my powers, it ended the moment I smashed the red Kryptonite ring I had. He doesn't have my abilities anymore."

Martha breathed a sign of relief and it hurt Chloe to see that, as if it were the worst thing Martha could imagine if her son were stuck with abilities like that, or maybe she was just overreacting. The night had been long and she was incredibly tired.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know. I didn't know humans could just obtain my abilities. I just...I don't know."

"Are you going to see your father?"

Chloe looked back at Clark who was already asleep, probably wiped from whatever crazy thing he'd done to himself. "He's going to be so mad at me. I know he's in a wheel chair because of me."

"Then you know it's recovering from two shattered legs. With a lot of physical therapy, he'll be walking again. He's going to do it faster knowing his daughter is home and safe."

"I can't. I just...I _can't _."

Martha narrowed her eyes at her. "You're not staying, are you?"

"I brought Clark home because he did something incredibly stupid and incredibly sweet for me, but I don't know."

"Do you have something to go back to back to?"

Chloe closed her eyes. Of course she didn't have anything to go back to. She didn't have anything but an empty apartment and a series of nameless men. A sea of nights wasted at _Atlantis _and a swath of banks that she'd hit and ruined. She had nothing there, but did she have anything here?

Her father was hurt. Lex was dead, and Clark didn't want her.

Just like her real parents.

No one wanted her.

And Martha had...

Chloe reached out before she knew what she was doing, touching the flat stomach of Martha's. It had been rounded in May and it was still rounder than normal; she was still clearly losing the baby weight, but there was no infant there, and there never would be again.

All because of her.

She started to turn, but Martha grabbed her wrist tightly. Chloe could speed away but she didn't like to hurt anyone and pulling away from Martha could do that, and she'd vowed never to do such things again.

"Chloe, please, don't leave. Stay in Clark's room tonight and when Jonathan goes to run the morning deliveries, I'll call your father in and Pete. They'll want to see you."

"Not Pete."

"What? You've been friends since you arrived in Smallville."

"I can't...he said I'm the reason you lost the baby and it's true."

Martha's eyes widened in understanding. "Pete's why you left."

"Why I left?" she asked, breaking into a bitter laugh. "Why I left? I left because my alien father wanted to make me a dictator. I left because I broke your son's heart and ruined your life and crippled my father. I left because I don't belong anywhere."

"Sweetheart, that was neve your fault. It wasn't."

Martha's arms were around her then and she couldn't help from crying, not at all. She felt like an ass. She was the reason Martha would never bear a child of her own and everyone knew it, and Martha was still going to comfort her, stick by her in a way Moira never had. Chloe felt herself melt in the older woman's embrace. She couldn't stop, not now, not ever.

A flood gate had opened after her long summer of exile.

Chloe Sullivan had come home.

The smell of pancakes and blackberry preserves awakened Chloe. Of course, the sight of Clark sitting on the corner of her bed helped wake her too. She wished this were five months ago and that this was some romantic moment stolen between them, but it wasn't.

Their relationship had changed forever and she'd been the one to do it.

"Mom made pancakes."

She sighed and touched her nose. "Even if I weren't an alien with phenomenal cosmic powers, I'd have been able to smell Martha Kent's breakfasts."

"Yeah, she thinks you could stand to eat. Superpowers or not, mom says you got too lean in Metropolis."

Chloe touched her stomach and she could feel the slightest traces of ribs underneath her. She hadn't eaten every day in Metropolis, even though she could have afforded it. She hadn't had an appetite in the city for much of anything, save maybe money. Chloe thought she'd imagined how gaunt she'd looked.

Obviously she hadn't.

"I wasn't hungry."

There was a silence then, stretching between them that she hated. He wanted to ask what she had done in Metropolis, and the truth was that she was nothing more than a common criminal and a whore.

"Chlo-"

She looked up at him. "You want to know what I did in Metropolis all summer."

"I know about the bank robber with the impossible powers. I know that was you and that it wasn't. You had the ring on."

"I _chose _to put it on. I _chose _to rob a lot of people."

"And where did the money go?"

"An account I have at First National. I must have ten million there, maybe more. I didn't want to spend it. I just like the thrill of taking it. I mean, I used to stop people, like those guys Whitney got mixed up with. Then I stole just because I could." Her voice wavered but she didn't cry. She'd cried herself out last night in front of a woman who hadn't known the real her until a few months before.

And look what it had brought her.

Clark nodded and patted her shoulder, so nice and platonic. "You weren't even thinking when you put the ring on and when you do have it, it's a drug. It doesn't make it right, but I understand. I'm not gonna pitchfork you for it."

"What?"

"We've all done things we're not proud of. I know that Jor-El was twisting you up inside, pressuring you." Clark's eyes clouded over, as if a shadow were haunting him. "We do things when we're scared or desperate. I want you to know that I understand."

"Clark?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

He squeezed her shoulder. "You're here so everything's okay."

"But it's not."

"We're not mad."

"No, that's not what I'm talking about," she replied. "I mean that yesterday, you showed up and you had my powers. Then you passed out and now you're normal."

"Just not powered. I don't think 'normal' is fair to anyone and there isn't a normal."

"Spoken like Clark Kent," she said. "But that doesn't change anything. You had my powers and you weren't supposed to. How did you get them?"

Clark paled. "Does it matter?"

"It matters to me. No way you should have been able to get them. So how did it happen? I have to know. Because someone had to give them to you and the only person I know that could is..." she trailed off and her eyes grew wide. "You found a way to talk to Jor-El."

Her stomach clenched. It was so cold in the little farmhouse all of a sudden.

"Chlo?"

"I thought..._ he _talked to me in Metropolis. I heard his voice in my head sometimes, late at night when the ring was off. I thought I was just tired and imagining things. But he's alive or around, isn't he?"

Clark nodded. "He lives or his essence is in the Kawatchee caves. I got the idea to go there after what happened with Dr. Walden. I don't think the caves are caves at all. I think they're a computer left by your people and that when the ship was damaged, Jor-El downloaded himself into the caves. I went there and begged him to help me get you back."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "So Jor-El, who branded me and threatened me, just gave a lowly human-according to him-Kryptonian abilities to bring me back to a place he doesn't want me. That makes zero sense, even to a crazy computer with more bugs than a roach motel."

"Well he didn't have you as a runaway in his plans."

"But Jor-El has edicts and rules. He gives things with a price if he gives them at all. I know there was a price because I heard you talking about it."

"He mentioned something about the powers not being compatible with humans when I took them, that I might get sick afterwards, but I feel fine and he was in my head talking about how I didn't pay the price."

"Cause he's letting you out of it. That's absurd, Clark. How could you do something so stupid. That machine branded me. It abused even me, and you decided to fuck with it?"

"I didn't fuck with it," Clark replied, his voice rising. "I made a deal."

"And he shoved you full of powers you weren't supposed to have. What if you get sick? We have no idea what will happen to you and why would you risk that?"

Clark swallowed and stared at her. "Because I love you. Even if you love Lex now or did or I don't know what. I love you and I would do anything to get you back."

She couldn't answer for the longest time. She didn't know what to say. Then when she spoke, it was the dumbest question she could come up with.

"You love me?"

"I'm an idiot sometimes and very stubborn."

"Clark, I-"

"It's okay. I understand. And, hey, I'm fine. So, are we getting pancakes or are we getting pancakes?"

"Go on, I need to slip on the clothes your mom left me, but I'll see you down there."

Clark grinned his blinding grin and bounded out the door, humming to himself.

He was happy.

And Chloe was terrified because she knew that program claiming to be her father now. If there was a price to be paid, it would be. If he'd tried to take it from Clark, he'd try again._That _was the best case scenario. The worst was that something was wrong with Clark already that canceled out whatever Kryptonian powers could do to him.

Chloe looked around at Clark's room, at the Met U Bulldogs poster and the old quilt his grandmother had knitted him. Clark never talked about the first four years before he left foster care, but he'd been born in Lowell County and raised there even inside of the system. He'd been in Smallville the day of the showers, she'd gleaned that much from him.

What if there really had been a reason he'd been passed around so often from homes?

And a reason Jor-El couldn't use him the way the AI had planned?

Chloe shuddered and pushed the thought away.

No, Clark wasn't infected.

That?

That was just crazy.


	25. Chapter 25

**27**

Clark didn't know how to act. He didn't know what to say. Seeing Chloe back, the real Chloe and not the one hopped up on Red Kryptonite, reminded him painfully of what he'd lost. Over the summer, he'd been able to push all his feelings for Chloe into this undefined mass, into all the motivation he needed to get her home safe, like any friend should have wanted, but the truth was he wasn't just her friend and hadn't been in two years.

Seeing Chloe, _touching _her again made him want more.

Of course the more part would have to wait. Chloe was upstairs getting dressed and he had come downstairs to a firing line. His mom was sitting down at the table across from Gabe and she was scowling at him, her hands folded over one another. When she got eerily still like that, it meant she was furious.

"Mom?"

"Clark, how could you do it?" Gabe asked, shaking his head.

"Well I just woke Chloe up," he joked. "I didn't do anything to get in trouble for."

"You dragged Chloe home," his mother said, her voice measured and quiet.

"Someone had to," he replied, leaning against one of the pillars in the kitchen. He didn't feel like sitting with such an ambush going on.

"Where did the powers come from Clark?" she asked.

"The caves, Jor-El gave them to me."

His mom surprised him by turning to Gabe and asking, "Was this your idea?"

"Never Martha. I had no idea the cave would give out powers, and even if I had...some things aren't Clark's problems to fix."

His mom's jaw clenched. "My son fell in love with your daughter and if I'd known when he did it what he was dragging himself into, I might have-"

"What?" Gabe countered.

"Chloe's an amazing girl and I do like her. She feels like my own daughter, considering how close she and Clark are, but this is too much to ask for Gabe. The baby I could never blame her for."

"It sounds like it," he gruffed.

"I don't, but my son just made some deal with an insane alien computer to get superpowers and I don't know what that means for _him _."

Chloe's dad started to wheel his chair away from the table and cursed when his left wheel was trapped by the counter. He stopped then and glared back at Clark's mom. "So now that Clark's in trouble, you'd like Chloe and me to leave."

"We're leaving?" Chloe asked as she came down the kitchen stairs.

"I don't know, Chlo-bear," Gabe replied. "Martha made it clear we're not very welcome here."

"No, that's not what I said. What I said was that Clark's made a huge mistake and I need to know what it means for him."

Chloe nodded and came to sit next to his mom. That surprised him. He expected her to rush first to her father and hug him. She turned to his mom without glancing to much at her own father, except to leave a lingering stare over his legs. It was then Clark got it. Chloe and her self doubt and tendency to want to control everything, her fear of touching others. Gabe was already broken and she was so emotional, she didn't want to hurt him.

Clark would bet anything on that.

"I didn't ask for Clark to come for me."

"I know," his mother replied, her tone not unkind. "But you know Jor-El better than any of us. What is he going to do now that Clark's on his radar. Powers like that don't come without a price."

"But they're gone!" he objected, patting his chest a bit like Tarzan. "They're gone and I feel fine."

"Just because you feel fine, doesn't mean you actually are," she continued. "Sweetheart, what have you done?"

"I got Chloe back and that's what matters, isn't it? I'm fine. F-I-N-E! I can't make it clearer to you but I feel just okay, like I did two days ago or a year ago or five years before. I don't have superstrength anymore or speed. I'm just me."

"You had superpowers."

"Is that a problem," Gabe asked his mother and he could see him rankle.

"No, I don't care if Chloe can do 101 super things, but Clark's-and please pardon the term-human and I don't know if his body is supposed to support a metabolism or abilities like that. There are so many things that could have gone wrong."

Clark threw up his hands in exasperation. "But they didn't! I am completely healthy and Chloe's back. Why can't people be happy for that."

Chloe answered his question. "Because you collapsed after Jor-El took the powers back and because you were mumbling to yourself or maybe to him about the price to be paid. Clark, what was the price?"

He stilled. He would not tell her about the deal to bring her back to the caves when the time was right. He had no intention of ever turning her over to Jor-El. It was just something he'd said to get Jor-El to give him what he'd needed in the first place. Clark was making so many deals, promising so many things he'd never deliver that he was beginning to lose count.

He'd only wanted her back.

"I don't know. It's not me, though. I'm not the price."

"Even after you were passed out cold on the loft sofa?" his mom pressed. "Clark, honey, what have you done?"

"I brought her home. If that's not good enough, then I don't know what else to say," he replied, stomping off to the front porch. Chloe was already there by the time he sat down on the porch swing. "Aren't you supposed to be in the middle of a tearful reunion with your father?" His tone was snotty but he was sick of the ingratitude. He'd risked everything to bring her home and now he was getting the Spanish Inquisition for it.

It was so unfair.

Chloe quirked her head and he knew she was Listening.

"Your mom and my dad are arguing right now about risks and secrets. I think she finally realized how hard it is to run with a Czechoslovakian."

"Chloe, not everything is your fault. Jor-El-"

"Played me. So it makes me wonder how did he play you?"

"You can't tell my mom."

She laughed bitterly. "We have a lot of things we don't tell our parents. What did Jor-El want?"

_You. _

"He talked to me, when I passed out. I heard his voice in my head. He expected something in me to change, but I don't know what. I just...I can't explain it but I feel okay. I'm not lying."

Chloe nodded and were her eyes shiny? Was she starting to cry? "I know that and I believe you but I know Jor-El and your mom is very smart. We could even ask Dr. Crosby and Dr. Swann. I don't think humans are supposed to have my powers. I think it's dangerous."

"Well, I passed out. That was as dangerous as it got," he deflected, not wanting to get deeper into the conversation.

Then Chloe confused him by changing the topic. "Clark, you were what? Four when you came to the Kents?"

"About that, closer to five, really, but, yeah, and this has what to do with Jor-El?"

She sighed. "I never pressed you on what happened before when you were in foster care because it was off the table."

He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. "It's still off the table."

"Why don't you talk about it? Lana talks about her parents often and life with Nell. You know I've shared everything I know about Krypton. What are you so afraid of?"

"I'm not. I just don't remember much. I think I remember my bio-mom a little bit but that's all." That wasn't completely true. He remembered his mom and he remembered being hurt because of her, not being hit, but there was a reason he had to go away. He just couldn't remember, and then they moved him around and around, four or five homes until the Kents.

There had to have been something the other homes didn't like about him, but he couldn't remember what.

It didn't matter now.

He was a Kent and he was always going to be the only Kent on the farm besides his parents and some deep down petty part of him liked it that way, and most of him was just ashamed that he'd ever felt threatened by the little brother he'd never have.

"Clark, why did they take you away?"

"What are you getting at?"

"You've always lived in Lowell County. I...were you in the meteor shower?"

Clark's jaw clenched. "You think I'm some kind of freak? That's why Jor-El couldn't get a price out of me, right? Because I'm just not what? Dying of a heart attack right here? I'm not some meteor mutant!"

"Would it matter if you might be? I mean, you always tell me that it's okay that I'm an alien. So you're only just saying it?" she replied, her voice rising and her chin held out in defiance.

"No, I don't mean it like that," he said. "I think you're amazing."

"Then maybe if you're infected..."

"I don't have any abilities, Chloe. I don't."

"Why did they move you around, Clark?"

"It's the foster care system. Kids move. I wasn't sitting around making fireworks without the gunpowder or something."

"And we know from Lex that meteor mutants have high white blood cell counts and that they recover from things quickly. Couldn't you just-"

"I'm not a freak. I'm not and you're just grasping because Jor-El let me out of whatever creepy deal he'd made. I'm fine. What about you!"

She frowned. "What do you mean, what about me? My dad's crippled, I still feel like I killed your baby brother, Lex is dead, and the thought of seeing Pete or Lana makes my stomach turn, and, frankly, I'm jonesing for some more Red K."

"But I'm here and your dad wants you here."

She laughed. "I can tell by the way he's defending me and, um, you _and _me to your mom that he still does."

"You could hug him."

"And break more bones? No thanks. I can't...not without it."

He shook his head. "Without the Red K you mean?"

"I've come down, if that's what you're worried about. Physically, I'm fine, but it just...it makes things easier not to care."

"But you still did," he replied, pushing the swing back and forth with his long legs. "I know you called me more than once this summer. You cared."

"But I wasn't worried that I'd break bones. I was getting..." she stopped then and clamped her mouth shut as her cheeks grew scarlet.

"Better?" he asked and he felt his chest constrict in a way that had nothing to do with his asthma. He had had Chloe's hearing in _Atlantis _and he'd been able to hear the whispers of the club regulars when she'd left him to pass through the crowd and visit with Edge. She had a reputation there. One of the crudest men had called her a dangerous lay but the best in the club. He'd been bragging to his buddies about the best sex of his life with that 'blonde slut,' but admitted she'd put his friend in the hospital the night after.

She was some kind of freak but 'worth the ride.'

It didn't surprise Clark, not really. She'd been high and he'd broken it off with her, not the other way around. She had no reason to wait for him, but it still hurt. She'd kissed Lex, slept with apparently half of Metropolis's underbelly, but she couldn't touch him.

Why wasn't he good enough?

She couldn't look at him. "It's not what you think."

"I heard them, Chlo. I know what you did, but I won't tell Pete or your dad. It's your secret to tell. Frankly, if you told your dad that it was just bank robbery he'd be happy enough to buy the story." His voice was so quiet but at least it wasn't breaking.

"Clark-" she said, reaching out for him.

He pulled away. "It's okay. It's just...did you ever love me?"

"I did it for you, for us."

He laughed bitterly. "That's not what it sounded like."

"I wanted to be able to touch you like you deserve. You're so fragile."

He snorted. "Apparently not. Maybe you just have a type. Lex and me, meteor freaks, if your theory is even right."

"Clark-"

"It really hurts, Chloe."

"Well you broke up with me! I just...I wanted to be better for you."

"You did it the wrong way," he replied, standing up. "Let's go see your dad. At least something good can come out of my deal. At least you can have your family back."

"I...we're still friends, aren't we?"

"Always, but I just need some space because I don't think I know you anymore and I really don't get why you'd accuse me of so many things." He said, turning to go to the front door. His father, coming out from out of his truck, beat him to it. His complexion was pale and his eyes were wide. Clark grabbed him by the shoulder as he came in. "Dad? What's wrong?"

"Mr. Kent?"

"Chloe? When did you even get back?" his dad asked, whatever panic temporarily forgotten.

"This morning but that doesn't matter. You look terrible. What happened?" she pressed.

"We got a letter from Smallville Savings and Loan. They're foreclosing on the farm."


	26. Chapter 26

**28**

Chloe couldn't believe that she'd heard Mr. Kent correctly. All these years the farm had teetered on the edge of debt. The Kents didn't like to talk about it, but she knew all they hurt for money, how often they tried to work around everything. It was obvious with the way Clark wore clothes that either didn't quite reach his wrists or were patched together with Martha's clever stitching. She knew that part of the reason Martha had started managing The Talon was in order to help make ends meet.

Sometimes she'd offered to help around the farm-late at night or something, somehow when Mr. Kent wouldn't see her-because she knew powers like hers would have gone far on a farm, but Clark had always refused. He was a gentleman and never wanted to even cross the line into exploiting her. Still, it had always amazed her how the farm ran with just three people, one still a high school kid, running it. It seemed that extensive loans had been the key and that now they were being called in. If the bank was doing that, did that mean Clark would leave Smallville? She couldn't blame him. With the way things were between them, he had no reason to stay, especially considering his parents were losing the farm and would want to be as far from Smallville as possible.

It couldn't be real.

She'd just come home and Clark was leaving.

Lex, Clark...no one save her father were left.

"Dad, what?" Clark asked and somehow he didn't look as shocked as he should have. Maybe Clark and Martha had known the loans were iffy.

Mr. Kent looked between her and Clark. "Chloe, is your father here?" There was a resignation in his voice, as if her father being on the farm had become a fact of life for him and maybe it had. She wondered if her dad's rehabilitation had become a project for Martha, something to distract her from the loss of everything else.

"Yeah, we just came over," she said, hoping he never went into Clark's room and noticed her discarded clothes. Mr. Kent wasn't being dragged into the trust. It was better the fewer people who knew. After all, she seemed to only manage to cost people what they loved most.

"Chloe, this is a family thing. I was wondering if you'd mind taking your dad to The Talon or back home for a little bit?" He didn't say anything else, but he didn't have to. She could see the way his shoulders were slumped and head was bowed. Mr. Kent had been born and raised on Kent Farm, as had his father. His grandfather had claimed the land and built the little yellow farmhouse and the barn. It was the only life that he knew and this had to be crushing him, but, of course, he was too stoic to stay anything.

But she knew when something was deeply personal and had the potential to be deeply embarrassing.

She didn't want to add to the pain, which seemed to supersede her own, at least for the moment. "I'd love to do that. I'll just...can I borrow Mrs. Kent's station wagon to take him home. Clark can call me and I'll bring it back. Is that okay?"

Mr. Kent was still staring ahead almost blankly into space. He snapped to and looked back at her. "Uh yes, I'd really appreciate that Chloe. I don't want to be rude-"

She offered him a bright smile and watched him enter through the front door. "No problem. I'll just finish things up with Clark and my dad and I will be off."

"Thank you," he finished as the door slammed shut behind him.

Chloe turned and looked back at Clark who was now taking in ragged breaths. He looked like he was going to pass out and, for a moment, despite the issues between them, she reached out to steady him. "Clark, are you okay?"

"It can't be. He wouldn't."

"What?"

Clark blinked and stared back at her. "They can't really foreclose on the farm, could they?"

"It's the bank. If they call in the loan and your dad doesn't have the money, they can do anything they want," she replied, her tone thoughtful. "Clark, I have the money."

He shook his head. "No, you _stole _the money. I can't use it. It would be wrong."

"You being homeless would be worse. You can't just be packed up and what? Move to Metropolis to your grandfather's?"

Clark snorted. "My grandfather hates my dad. I have no idea where we'd even go. My dad's parents are dead and my dad's an only child anyway. I...my mom has a sister in Gotham..."

"Gotham's half way across the country!" she countered, even though distance for her had never been a consideration. It was keeping up appearances that would be hard if he moved to a new time zone. She couldn't just show up after school any time as if he were still living in Kansas, although that presuming a lot, like that he'd ever want to see and talk to her again.

"I know, but there's nowhere else to go."

"And that's why you should take the money."

"I can't do that."

"Don't be stupid and noble."

He swallowed. "It's what I have. I can't just take stolen money. I'm not like you."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I do love you, but I know you're _flexible_ when it comes to morals. You told me about what you asked Lex to do to Whitney and the other members of the football team just because they hurt me."

"It was lost scholarships, not being rubbed out."

"But it's not right, just like taking the money, even if I'm desperate wouldn't be right. There's an answer to this mess and I'm going to find it, but I can't be a thief too."

"I thought you said it didn't matter."

"I said that we can make it work, that if you return the money, we can move on from there cause I know you're sorry, but I just can't take what you're offering."

She gripped his shoulder harder and she hoped it wouldn't bruise. "If you don't take it, you'll end up in another state and your dad is going to lose the only home he's ever had."

He pulled away from her and straightened his shirt. "If I take the money, then I lose myself and I can't afford to."

She nodded. "You don't want to end up like me?"

"No, it's not about what you did. I'm not...Chlo, you don't know the mistakes I've made this summer, with Jor-El, with pushing you away, with...never mind."

"Clark?" Something was wrong and her long dormant reporter's instincts were screaming that it had to do with the farm's foreclosure.

"I'm not a good person."

"You came for me."

"But I'm not who you thought I was either. I have to fix this, but I have to do it my own way. So, please, just get your dad."

"If something's wrong...I know we're not, but friends help each other too."

He shook his head and started after his father. "Not this time."

The drive home was awkward.

Everything in her life was awkward now. She didn't know how to deal with Clark and she didn't know how to deal with her father. She loved both men desperately, still trusted and needed her father more than anyone she'd ever met, but she couldn't deal with what she'd let happen to him. Looking away from the steering wheel, she glanced down at her father's legs. They'd had four months to heal over the summer, but they were still horribly bruised-a mottled collection of yellow and black-and encased in thick braces, the kind with joints at the knee. He had a second brace on his neck and even easing himself into the seat had caused him to flinch in pain.

All her fault.

"Daddy," she started, after five minutes of non-conversation drove her nuts.

He smiled at her. "Yes, Chlo-bear?"

"You haven't yelled at me yet. When you found out about me using my powers to save Clark or the time I burned down the school gym at St. Catherine's. You're a yeller. It pretty much runs in the family."

Her dad turned and frowned. "You did something incredibly stupid."

"Yes, I did."

"You hurt a lot of people this summer in Metropolis."

She swallowed. "Yeah, I did."

"You're going to return the money and we're going to try being a family again, right?"

"Um, yeah."

"And Clark already seemed to be having it out with you quite a bit already, didn't he?"

"It was about what happened with Lex," she lied. She could deal with her dad knowing she'd been on a crime spree. She couldn't bear to have him know that his little girl had run wild through Metropolis, that she'd been little better than a common whore.

"That we have to talk about. He was 23 and you're 16."

"I know."

"He was engaged to another woman."

"I know," she replied, reminding herself not to snap the steering wheel.

Her dad turned and narrowed his eyes at her. "He's been investigating you since the day he hit you with his car and his father is Lionel Luthor."

"The name Lex _Luthor _did imply the lineage," she snapped.

"Chlo-Bear, what in the world were you thinking?"

"That? That's what makes you upset? I blow up our house, ruin your legs, runaway and steal from every bank in Metropolis _twice _and you're upset about me and Lex?" Her voice caught. "Lex is dead and what happened between us, it doesn't matter, not anymore."

"Chloe...turn left here."

"Luthor Estates is three blocks to the right," she reminded him, wondering if the explosion had led to a bit of head trauma too.

Her dad sighed and started picking on the peeling vinyl of the dashboard. "We don't live there anymore. My health insurance didn't cover all the bills I had and then there was the explosion...I moved into the apartment above The Talon a few days ago, after everything was settled. I've taken the last of the insurance money and there's an elevator now, so that's nice."

She blinked. "You live in The Talon."

"You like coffee," he added weakly.

"But our house?"

"It had only been our house for a few years. I managed to salvage some things. There were school awards and Grammy Sullivan's quilt. Your great-grandpa's old fiddle. Just a few things, but the important ones."

Chloe couldn't breathe. "But the house?"

He sighed as they pulled into one of the spaces in the alley behind The Talon. "Chlo-bear, it doesn't matter about the house. We'd only been there three years. What matters is that I'm going to get better and that your home."

"In an apartment above a coffee shop," she muttered. "I just...what have I done?"

"It's fine," he replied, opening his door and pausing, looking back at her with one worried bottom lip. That biting thing, it was something she'd learned from him. "Sweetheart, would you mind? Martha's been great about helping me and I can make it on my crutches."

Chloe felt her chest tighten. "But you wanted me to maybe carry you up?"

"That's suspicious. I just have the crutches in the back seat and was wondering if you could hand them to me."

"But I could just speed you. No one would notice."

Her dad smiled. "I'm getting better. It's been four months and the physical therapist the company's insurance pays for is great. Martha's been with me every step of the way and I'm feeling better."

"When do they think you'll be able to walk without these?" she asked, handing her dad his crutches and lifting him up despite his protests. It was a subtle pulling him to his feet. If anyone saw it, they'd just think she was being squished by his weight leaning on her as he gets out of the station wagon. But she was the one pulling all the weight.

Slight of hand.

Story of this life.

Her father hunched over on his crutches and, despite his cheerful lies, she could tell he was in pain. If she stayed, she'd have to sit down with Martha and get all the run down on his pain pills. She had no doubt he had a ton of them. Flickering on her X-ray vision, being sure to keep herself from squinting, Chloe looked down at her father's legs and tried not to shudder. The bones were healed enough now, but she could make out at least five or six lines per leg, places where crushed bone was desperately trying to regrow.

The flipped car had injured him as surely as it had Martha and the baby.

"Huh?" she asked, realizing that her dad had spoken again.

He frowned and she knew as she led him up the back stairs that she hadn't been as subtle X-raying him as she had hoped. "Chlo-bear, we really don't have to talk about all of this right away."

"When?"

He sighed and she pushed her hip into his side, just a little, forcing him to lean on her. She could lift a fucking Mack truck if she wanted, she could weather his burdens up the rickety theater stairs. "Dr. Scanlan thinks that the left one-it has less fractures-will be fine in a year."

"That's not what I asked."

Her father nodded as he slumped against the door, fishing out his pockets for his keys, he kept his focus away from her. "The right one isn't as good."

"What does that mean?" she prodded, as the door swung open for him.

"I'm probably going to need a cane once I get through the first round or two of physical therapy."

"Oh."

"Yeah, but that's something I've been pretty psyched about," he replied, giving her a goofy grin. "I'm getting something elegant-hard wood, silver tipped, maybe a few racing stripes. I think it'll be very debonair, help me with the ladies."

"Dad-"

"So do you think like an animal handle. I've heard they do the coolest things with bears' head motifs."

"Dad, you don't have to," she said, as she surged into the main room of the apartment.

It was a mess.

Her father hadn't been kidding about just moving in. There were boxes everywhere and it was clear that her dad hadn't blackmailed Clark and Pete yet into cleaning the place up much. It was still dusty and, if she'd been human, she bet the collected dust bunnies would have her sniffling. There were old movie posters, torn and yellowed, and a lot of old projectionist equipment. Only the steady hum of the refrigerator and the freshly made bed gave her any indication at all that someone lived here.

Shaking her head, Chloe slipped into superspeed and unpacked everything she could and moved the equipment back down to the large cellar below. When she finished the apartment was at least livable. Still Spartan because her dad hadn't gotten around to buying anything to temper the bright checkered walls of the apartment-and who picked orange and blue anyway?-but still livable. She finished by pouring a cup of instant tea and heating it up for him with heat vision.

Grammy Sullivan had always said that some Earl Grey with a shot of scotch could cure anything.

She was leaving off the alcohol, considering it was still nine a.m., although, if she could get a buzz from it, she'd try some. She wasn't addicted to the red K. There wasn't some physical jones for it or withdrawal, but she desperately wanted not to care again. She didn't want to be faced with her father's broken body, the lost Kent baby, or whatever scary thing Clark had done with the A.I.

She just wanted it to stop.

Instead, she plastered on her best "Moira's gone but it's okay" smile (patented by her dad over a waffle breakfast), and handed her dad his mug. "Tea?"

He narrowed his eyes at her and sat slowly down on one of the stools. "Chlo-bear, I was going to get Pete to help me with this. You didn't have to exhaust yourself."

"Unlimited alien powers should come in handy for something. Besides, it took about three minutes, no problem."

"Well, the apartment does look more friendly. It's been such a whirlwind moving and Martha's let me stay in Clark's room on nights when I'm not feeling up to it."

Chloe had a bad feeling about that statement. Not that her father and Martha would ever do anything like _that _. It was more that with the lost baby and the farm obviously failing, it seemed like such a huge imposition on the Kents and on their marriage to have a spare guest and, to be honest, an invalid to boot, crashing in the tiny farmhouse.

"Do you spend a lot of time at the farm?"

"I have. Martha's been really great with my therapy. She was in the hospital for a while with a broken arm and some, um, counseling sessions."

Chloe swallowed and started making her own cup the human way. "Because she lost the baby?"

Her dad stared down at the dark liquid swirling in his cup. "She didn't stay long. I've tried talking to her about it. I know that Clark and Jonathan have too. She's just not dealing with it. It's not that it never happened, just that it is _off limits _She'll talk your ear off about the produce or about my PT or even about you, but if I even ask about how she's doing, she shuts down."

"Oh," she added, putting her "Reporters Do It on the Desk" mug into a microwave that might have been older than she was and pressing start.

"Don't do that."

"What?"

"Start blaming yourself all over again."

"How can I not. I heard what Martha said. I cost them everything."

"She's alive and the farm in trouble isn't your fault. You don't control everything, Chlo-bear."

"But the baby is my fault."

"Because an evil alien supercomputer tricked you and, I hear from Clark, scarred you pretty badly."

She blanched. "What?"

"Clark told me this morning about what the ship did to you," he said, reaching out to her shoulder as the microwave dinged. "Why didn't you just come to me?"

She pulled away and got out her drink, sipping it without blowing it down to cool off. "It hurt, daddy. It burned so badly and it was _me _. If you or Clark or anyone had tried to deal with Jor-El, the ship would have just killed you. You saw what happened when I tried to fight it."

"Chloe."

She was crying a little but she didn't care. "It told me."

"Told you?"

"It said that if I didn't listen to it, I'd hurt everyone I ever cared about and it was right."

"Because it was psychotic...is psychotic. The ship/the caves/that thing, no one could have fought that and certainly not a sixteen year old girl."

She swallowed. "But I'm not just a sixteen year old girl and that's what the ship was trying to tell me. I don't belong here."

Her father considered that. "So you belong robbing banks in Metropolis?"

"I'm sorry. I'll return the money after I know someone is looking after you."

"I'm not an invalid."

"It'll make me feel better," she riposted. "Daddy, I'm sorry. I know...I fucked up. I just, everything hurt, and then the ring made it better and I just didn't care."

"I know what the Red K does to you. I know how you were on the class ring or when Pete snuck you the rock. You might have dosed yourself for one reason but your judgment was severely impaired. Return the money, make it right, and we won't talk about it again. I just want you home."

She swallowed. "I don't know if I should stay."

He set his cup down with an eerie stillness. "Where will you go?"

"Well not back to Krypton. I dunno, maybe I should just to the caves and get it over with. If Jor-El can't be destroyed, he'll get to me eventually. I've already put you and Martha in the hospital, and you saw what happened with Clark."

"I didn't see anything. He looks fine."

"Jor-El did something. He was so pale and wiped when the AI took the powers away. I can't get it out of him, but Clark's made a terrible deal with the caves. If I keep running from it, the AI will use you all against me."

"And if you go, what happens?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. It wants me to 'embrace my destiny,'" she added in a booming baritone, imitating the ship. She even added that oddly British accent for effect.

"What is that?"

"I don't want to take over the world."

He blinked as if it were a nonsequitir. "No one said that."

"_ He _said it. I'm supposed to 'rule them with strength.' I know what I read about my ancestors in China. I could take over the world if I wanted."

"But you don't."

"Of course not, but if I got brainwashed or something, I might not care."

"Then you see why you can't ever go. Jor-El's all threats and mind games. Just don't play them, and we'll keep Clark from playing them for you. It's in the caves and it can't get to you."

"What if it gets to you?"

He looked up at her and his jaw was clenched. "Then it gets to me. I'm still your father and I promised to take care of you. I promised it in that damn corn field and I'm promising it now."

"Yeah, but now you've been exiled from Metropolis, downgraded to crap factory manager, and can barely walk. If I keep fighting Jor-El, he could just kill you or threaten to again. I can't let that happen."

"Then I've lived my life. I'm not going to leave you to that monster and I can't bear to have you run away again. If you stay, we'll face this as a family."

"If I stay, it's only a matter of time before more people get hurt."

"And are you saying this because you'd rather be at _Atlantis _and playing Robin Hood without the philanthropy?"

"No, I'm saying this because you're not my father."

Her dad rocked back in his seat. "What?"

Chloe's voice wavered as she spoke. "I love you more than anything. You are my family, that thing in the caves can't replace you, but you don't have to be my family anymore."

"It's not something you just quit. I'm not going to just stop being your dad."

"I want you to."

"Chlo-bear?"

"I need you to just forget me. You and Clark and Pete and Martha. I need to run and stay gone. I can't let Jor-El have me because then the whole world might end," and despite her powers she couldn't believe still that that was a possibility in her life. "But I can't stay here either. I can't ask you to keep risking your lives for mine."

"But you didn't ask."

"I'm too dangerous and the A.I. wasn't wrong."

"How?"

"I'm not human, no matter how much I want to be, and maybe I don't get to have Clark and you in my life."

"You can't be alone."

"And if you died because of me..." Chloe stopped then, her tears coming so fast. Her dad pushed himself off the stool and hobbled over and it made her cry harder.

Holding and rocking her as if she were still a little kid, he added, "Chlo-bear, you tried to do this by yourself last time. I'm not blaming you, but it didn't work. Please stay."

"I'll hurt you again if I stay."

"You'll hurt me more if you leave," he replied, leaning on the counter. "I can't make up your mind for you. You're too much a Sullivan to be told what to do."

She sniffled. "I wish."

"I know, but just try staying with your family this time. We can figure this out. You don't have to be Kala. She's not you. You can still be Chloe; we just have to figure out a way to shut the caves down. Maybe Dr. Swann can help, you just don't know."

"Alright, I'll stay around for a few days, try school again, maybe fix something with Clark."

Her dad stilled at the mention of Clark's name. "Chlo-bear, what did happen with you and Clark?"

"You know about Lex."

"But I don't know _why _. I don't understand what it was between the two of you."

Chloe swallowed at the past tense. It had only been a few days since the funeral and she was still raw. It didn't seem real that someone as vibrant, as driven and as intelligent as Lex had been, was gone.

She'd cared so much for him, and she wasn't even sure what that meant. How she could love Clark but betray him. How she could be drawn to Lex, despite his ties to Lionel, and share parts of herself with him that she was scared to show even to her boyfriend. It would be easier if she could just pick and choose from both guys-Lex's understanding of how gray the world was, Clark's faith, both of their dedication and affection.

She was just torn.

"Would it help if I said that I didn't either."

"He was engaged, Chloe Anne."

Full name.

"I know. It just happened. I didn't mean for it to."

"I expected more from you and I expected you to know better. He could be dangerous. He had Nixon investigate you and you know about that damn room."

"He'd never hurt me."

Her father shook his head. "He's a good boss and he's been very generous with me through all our family emergencies. I know he's kept this town running when Lionel was going to ruin it, but that doesn't mean he can be trusted. Or could have been. He had so much power."

"Like Dr. Swann and Dr. Crosby?"

"It wasn't the same and you know it."

"He wasn't his father."

"But he wasn't for you-there was Helen and Clark in the middle, you're still a kid!"

"Technically," she added, her tone bitter, "We don't know how old I am."

"Not the point. Legally, under Kansas codes, you're 16 and he's 23. I just...I never thought you'd risk your secret like this, not to mention hurt Clark. He's been so good to you."

Chloe swallowed and pushed other thoughts from her mind. Lex was dead and it didn't matter now that he knew she was Kryptonian. He was never coming back, no need to have her father yell at her even more. "I love Clark."

"Then why did you do it?"

"I don't know. Sometimes, being with Lex was just easier. I have to be so perfect for you and Clark and I'm not, daddy. The things I want to do sometimes with my powers..." and she looked away from him. She'd never killed anyone, but sometimes she'd wondered about it. She'd come goddamn close with Phelan after he'd framed her father.

She wasn't a hero.

Lex had understood that. Her father and Clark couldn't. To her dad, she was still his little Chlo-Bear. He probably still saw her as three years old. To Clark, she was perfect.

It was too much pressure.

"You're not a bad person, Chloe."

"But I want to do things sometimes. Lex got it. He didn't have abilities, except maybe some wicked white blood cell count, but he had a lot of power. He understood what it was like to deal with it."

"With what?"

"He could have anything he wanted at any second. I have that kind of power and you can't understand how hard it is _not _to use it."

"Like this summer? Or the time you ran up my credit card after you had your class ring?"

"Exactly. He got it and I just wanted to be perfect for Clark." She shook her head. "I fucked that up, didn't I?"

"No one's perfect."

"But he wants me to be."

"I don't think that's true," he replied. "Clark really cares about you. All this summer, he wouldn't give up on finding you."

She frowned. Her father, she knew, would never have quit on her either, but she wondered what his statement implied. Had other people in her life wanted to leave her for gone? Lana had tried to reach her several times, even if she couldn't possibly understand the situation. Clark had risked his body and his life on an idiot deal for her.

What about Pete?

"I noticed. I can't believe he went to Jor-El."

"He was desperate. We all were."

"Daddy, I made so many mistakes." she started, thinking about what she'd done in some drug-clouded effort to "be ready" for Clark. God, her father could never know. He'd never even look at her again.

"And it's alright because you are gonna set them right."

"I don't know if that's going to happen. I mean, how do you even start?"

"Well, I think you're making a great start by staying."

"But I hurt Clark so much. I've said things..."

"Like what? You two were so angry on the porch."

"Some about the deal and some about Lex," she hedged. She wanted to talk about her fears for Clark, about how scared she was that he might be meteor infected, but it wasn't her secret to tell. Perhaps she was just panicking. The A.I. had been damaged by the explosion, maybe it just didn't have enough power to extract Clark's price.

It could be that he was going to be fine.

"Chloe?"

"Nothing. I'll start with something simple then."

"Like?"

"Un-Robin Hooding everything."

He grinned. "Great idea! So, why don't you call that babysitter and go make some banks in Metropolis very happy and very confused."

"I love you," she said, kissing his temple.

"Me too, Chlo-bear, me too."


	27. Chapter 27

**29**

Clark couldn't think.

Nothing seemed real as he sat down at the kitchen table. It was an antique. His great-grandfather had built it, just like he'd made the farmhouse and the barn with his bare hands. The farm had been his family's for a hundred years, and now Lionel was going to take it away, all because he'd made a deal when he'd been so desperate.

Because he thought he could out play Lionel.

He'd been a fool.

His mom frowned as his dad entered into the farmhouse. "Jonathan, you're supposed to be finishing up deliveries. Did the truck stall out again?"

"Martha, you're going to want to sit down."

Her frown deepened, causing a line to form in between her eyebrows. "What's wrong?"

"Please sit down."

"Okay. Are Gabe and Chloe alright?" she asked, taking her seat. "They rabbitted out of here so fast."

His father gritted his teeth. "For once we're not thinking about the Sullivans."

"Well it was nice to have them over now that Chloe's come home."

He looked at her and said nothing for a few minutes. Clark was grateful. Everything with her working hard with Mr. Sullivan's therapy and even inviting him to spend time at the farm while Chloe was away had let to tension in his parents' marriage. The farm just didn't have the resources or the hands for his mom to be distracted with something else. It took all three of them and the two hands they had part time, working as hard as they could to make the farm go. Except, it seemed, that now even that didn't matter.

They were losing their home.

"I went by the bank today. I was dropping off this month's mortgage payments and I discovered something."

"What?"

"The bank is calling in the mortgage."

"Can they do that?"

"They can. LuthorCorp bought them out this spring and Lionel is interested in insuring all his investments are in order." Clark could see his father's knuckles go white as he gripped the sides of the old oak table. "He's calling in the loans now. We have a week to pay or we have to get out."

"A week? You said foreclosed to me and Chloe on the porch," Clark corrected.

"We don't have the money. Even if I sold the back forty, there's no way I could pay off the mortgage we owe. I think that we're going to have to start packing."

"What?"

His dad's jaw clenched. "We're losing the farm."

"Oh Jonathan, there has to be something we can do. What if I tried calling my father?"

His eyes narrowed. "Metropolis businessmen are the reason we're in the trouble we're in."

"Would grandpa even do it?" Clark asked, trying to smooth over the tension.

"William Clark? No chance in Hell he'd save the farm."

"But he might be able to give us a place to stay until we find something else. I can be a paralegal in his firm for a while. I have enough training for that. If we sold off the cars and the equipment, we might have enough to start some kind of life in the city."

"That's what your father would want, that I'd finally have to admit that I couldn't keep the farm."

"Then we don't. I'll go to the bank myself. There has to be something they can do."

"They weren't owned by Lionel Luthor in the past."

"But they've always given extensions before and we've been making the payments on time."

"The bank doesn't care. It's calling everything in. I'm sure Lionel is getting some kind of sick pleasure out of all of it." His father shook his head and turned to him. "This is what Luthors do to everyone."

"I believe that," he replied, looking down at the table and thinking of Chloe in Lex's arms. "But there just has to be something we can do. I don't want to leave the farm."

"I can try talking to the Harold Marsh. He's been president there for ten years and we were on the Crows together, but the best I could probably manage is an extension."

"Then maybe you should try that. That might be the best we can do," his mom replied.

Nodding, his father stood and headed out to the door. "If it doesn't work, I'll be back with packing boxes. I just...I'm sorry, Clark."

Clark swallowed. He should be the one apologizing. "I don't understand."

"Son, I worked this land so hard so that you could inherit the farm. My father and my grandfather managed to keep it working and I just couldn't."

"You don't know that yet," his mom prodded. "Go and see if you can work out an extension, and then we'll go from there. Besides, it's not the land that makes a family," she continued, her hand straying against her stomach. "We've weathered worse."

His dad leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "I know. We'll pull through this. I'm just sorry."

Clark wanted to stop him right there. He wanted to confess everything but he couldn't possibly explain it. He couldn't explain to his dad why Lionel would be so interested in Chloe, or why he'd be so stupid to turn to him, not after everything Lex had told him about his father, and not after all the threats he'd made over the years.

He'd just wanted Chloe back, and within a few minutes of her being home and awake, they'd been back at each others' throats.

"It's okay, dad. It's all Lionel's fault. Just see if you can negotiate something. I'm sure we can work it out."

Clark was sitting in his loft, looking out the window. He remembered when he'd been little. One of his first really clear memories was of learning to ride on the farm. Chestnut, an old mare on her last legs, had been the one he'd learned on, and he had fond memories of his dad leading him across fields and even into the back forty, telling him how one day the land would be his. Even when Clark had realized in middle school that he wanted to be a reporter, he'd always loved the land. It was a home, something he could always return to, a reminder of the stability in his life that he'd lacked as a little kid.

But now the land would be gone and it was all his fault.

"Clark?" his mom called as her boots clunked up the stairs.

He turned and smiled. "Mom, hey. I was just thinking."

She nodded and walked over. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she said, "I called your grandfather. You don't have to tell your dad I did it, but he says we can come back home to Metropolis for a while. We have that option."

"Dad will never go for it."

"I know. That's why my father put a deposit in my account this afternoon. We have something to live on and I'm calling your cousin Jordan in Gotham. We can always stay with them until we get on our feet."

"I know and I'm so sorry."

His mother narrowed her eyes at him. "It's not your fault."

"No, I know," he hedged. "But it feels like nothing has gone right. First there was the baby and now we're losing our home. It's like everything that matters keeps disappearing."

One hand cupped his cheek. "I meant what we said. We still have each other."

Clark shuddered a little, thinking of Jor-El wanting a price from him. So far, he hadn't been able to extract it. He refused to believe that he was a mutant like Chloe hinted. He just wasn't, so that meant that the price, in addition to returning Chloe, still hung over his head.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"What was I like when I first got to the farm?"

"Perfect. Everything I'd ever wanted," she replied, stroking his cheek. "Why do you ask?"

He turned and looked down at her. "Nothing really, but are you sure nothing odd ever happened?"

"Clark what's this all about?"

"It's just," he continued, starting to pace. "This is Smallville and weird things happen all the time. I just thought that maybe I could be a part of that."

"You think you're infected?"

"No," he replied, his tone bitter. "That's what Chloe thinks."

"It's why you two were shouting on the porch."

"That and the ghost of Lex came up."

"Honey, about that, I'm so sorry about what happened."

He nodded but shirked her out-sretched hands. Right now, he just had to keep pacing. "I don't know what I was thinking. I broke up with her but she was all I could think about all summer. I just wanted to get her home and I thought that once she was back...I dunno, I wanted to _believe _that all our problems would go away. Maybe I was being stupid."

"Naive, perhaps, but not stupid. You love her."

"No matter what she does, yeah."

"Your father and I are like that. I got up to the point before the wedding and I almost ran out on him. We had this horrible fight."

Clark's eyes widened. "You did?"

"Yeah, I was worried my father was right. I was so scared to try and make it work with him and I returned to Metropolis with your grandfather, but I couldn't stay."

"Why not?"

"Same reason you had to go to find Chloe."

"But I thought you were mad at her, that you didn't want me around her."

"I don't want you doing anything that hurts yourself. So what's this about being meteor infected?"

"I just...what if that's why I'm not sick right now? What if there's something different about me."

"Well, I've never seen you use any abilities, Clark, but I'm more worried about why you think you should be sick. What is it Jor-El wants?"

"In the long run?"

"Sure."

Clark swallowed and shoved his hands in his jeans pockets. "He still wants Chloe, but I think he wants a price from me too. When I lost the powers I _felt _something. It was like this shock throughout my whole body and I know it should have hurt but it didn't."

"Oh Clark."

"I don't know what it means, but I know the AI tried something and I'm scared. I don't want to be a freak."

"But I promise, I've never seen you do anything in your entire life that was unusual, and even if you did, I don't care."

He did. He didn't want to get sick. It wasn't having an ability that worried him. It was going insane and hurting other people that scared him so badly. He didn't want to be like that.

"I know, but I am scared."

"You think Jor-El will come after you again."

"He might."

She hugged him then, letting on hand up to stroke his hair. "Why did you do it? I can't lose you too."

He pulled away and forced himself to smile. "If it were dad?"

"I'd have done it in a heartbeat."

"Then now you know, too bad it didn't work the way I hope it would."

"And it's not instant. Chloe made a huge mistake and then you've been fighting over the deal you made and what it means. Sometimes you have to work through these things. I've seen how you are with Chloe and, even if we have to move to Gotham, even if you two have to be more creative about hanging around one another, don't give up on her. You'll regret it."

"I know."

"So, why don't you come down and I'll make some hot chocolate?"

He shrugged and jammed his hands in his pockets. "No, I have an errand to run."

"Chloe-related?" she asked, giving him a knowing smile.

"Something like that," he lied.

"Clark, it's so nice to see you," Lionel purred as Clark strode into the mansion.

He'd heard Lionel was in town and he wasn't surprised to see him there. Helen was busy in New York, apparently. Even he had heard the gossip about how much money Lex's widow had been spending. As angry and confused as he was about Lex, it still made Clark's stomach turn. With Helen buying new extravagant clothing on a daily basis, Clark was beginning to have little doubt that Lex's crash and accident had been anything but.

"You know why I'm here."

"So strident," Lionel said as he leaned over his desk. "You're like your father, Clark. You never have any patience."

"You don't know anything about my father."

"And apparently he doesn't know anything about you, or am I wrong? Does he know why his loans were called in?"

"No, and I don't have to tell him. What you want is from me. You can leave my family out of it."

"Well, I could but you didn't honor you contract, Clark. Imagine my surprise to hear that Miss Sullivan is back at The Talon or that her father was using the Kent family car."

"You have spies on us?"

"I have loyal ears to the ground in this hamlet. You knew where she was, didn't you?"

"Lana did. I didn't know until she showed up at my farm this morning."

"You always have excuses. Did no one ever tell you that that's not becoming?"

"I don't care. I have nothing to give you on Chloe, not one word. I can't give you what I don't know."

"Then you should have tried harder. You want to be a reporter. Good ones find what they need to know on their subjects. You found nothing, so I'm calling in my price."

"But you can't do this! That farm has been in my family for generations."

"And the lumber in the back forty will be profitable when I sell it off and the land will be great for plant expansion. It's all very advantageous for me. If I can't find out Miss Sullivan's secrets from you, I shall merely move on."

"To what?"

He smiled and it made Clark's stomach turn. "To whatever means necessary. Goodbye, Clark, I hope you don't mind having security see you out."


	28. Chapter 28

**30**

Even Chloe was tired.

She'd spent the morning rushing from bank to bank in Metropolis, returning money. Despite the gravity of having stolen so much, she had to smile a little at the reactions that the tellers and bank managers would have coming into work and realizing millions of extra dollars were back in their vaults. She bet they'd be having heart attacks, at least good ones. It was nice to know she'd contributed something back after months of just taking.

Almost getting her hero mojo back, except for the part where she was also the thief.

She was returning the last several million to Metropolis Savings and Loan when she paused outside the alley. She could rush in and give the money back, she could do that, but there was something better she could do with the money. Chloe wanted to be better than she was. She didn't want to revel in the grays. She didn't want to be vindictive, and she didn't want to be a thief.

But above all things, despite her fantastic origins, Chloe Sullivan was a pragmatist. It was why she and Lex Luthor had always been so compatible.

Clark didn't bear the responsibilities she did. He could afford to be noble.

She couldn't.

If he wanted to be stubborn for the sake of being forthright and moral, then so be it. His own stubborn ethical code was going to cost him and his family their home, and she wouldn't allow that. Sure, he'd be mad but he already was. Their relationship was so fractured that she wasn't sure if anything could patch it back together. If he was going to be mad at her for what she'd done with Lex-Hell half of Atlantis-and for pointing out the possibility of a meteor mutation, then he could damn well be mad about her saving the farm. He'd at least have a roof over his head while he brooded.

Shaking her head, Chloe grabbed the duffel bags with the remaining bills. She'd take them to Smallville right away.

At least she could save something.

"Ms. Sullivan, is it?" The bank manager asked, eying the money she had deposited on his desk. "You don't hold the title on the lease."

"I know that."

"You're sixteen. Can I ask where you got this much money?"

Chloe reached over and picked up the heavy metal paper weight (it was lead and bent into some modern art abstract shape) and bent it in her grasp. The man at the desk gulped. "You had at least two unusual robberies here in the last two years. If I remember the last bunch of robbers actually phased through the bank vault doors."

"Officially, there was a glitch in the electronic lock and it wouldn't open."

"Unofficially?"

"I was the last one to lock up the vault that night. There's no way they could have just snuck in and there was no damage to the door. It was perfect. No alarm tripped. I believe it."

She nodded. "Then you're going to admit that Smallville has a few citizens with unusual abilities." She smiled and retwisted the metal back into an approximation of its old shape. "All I want to do is deposit the money, not take it out."

"Ms. Sullivan-"

She smiled, letting her teeth show, and pushed the duffel bag back across his desk. "Just take the money. In fact, there's three million in here and from what I can tell, the Kents owe about a third of that. You can keep a little for yourself. I'm sure someone like you knows how to invest it under the table. Something in the Caymans perhaps?"

He looked between her and the money. She could see his fingers twitch. Oh yes, he was tempted. "Where did this money come from?"

"It doesn't matter, does it? The only thing that does matter is where it's going. It's going to help the Kents, who are like family to me, and it's going to make you a fairly comfortable man."

"It's highly illegal."

"It never has to be verified. Say that Lex left Clark something in his will. Play with the paperwork. You don't get to be branch manager if you can't balance the ledger," she replied. "Oh, and about what I did..." She let her eyes go red. "You didn't see that or else we'll be having a problem."

"See what?"

She smiled wider. "Thank you, Mr. Goldman. I see a very profitable future for you."

Chloe made it out to the alleyway behind the bank before she threw up. She'd never done that before, never been exposed long enough to any color of Kryptonite to make her that sick. Invulnerable constitution and all that. She'd never even been this sick during the more sensitive times of the month. But she was retching now.

Her breath came in ragged gasps and she swooned from dizziness.

Thinking about saving Clark's family and doing it were two different things. She'd never threatened someone before when she was completely sober. She'd never even hinted at using her powers against a human either. It left her ill. But a terrible voice in the back of her mind kept reminding her of how good it felt, how much like last summer, how amazing it was to be strong.

It was that voice that was purely Kryptonian, that, like her ancestors in China had been forged and tempered to rule humans with strength.

Standing back up, Chloe side-stepped the vomit she'd left in her wake and slipped into superspeed. She was standing in the main reception area for the New York Planetarium before even she knew it. The secretary on duty looked up at her strangely.

"I didn't see you there."

Chloe swallowed. "I sort of just flew in."

She pursed her lips. "Visitor passes are sold on the first floor. This is for the private offices."

She rolled her eyes and silently cursed pit bull secretaries. "I know that. I'm here to see Dr. Bridget Crosby. I'm on her list. Chloe Sullivan."

The women adjusted her 50s shiek glasses and looked down at the registry. "There's no one by that name on the list."

Chloe sighed. "Try 'Kala.'"

"Last name?"

"It's a one name thing, like Cher."

The other woman narrowed her eyes at her. "Are you being cute with me."

"No, just read the list again, please."

She shook her head, clearly anticipating a prank or a chance to kick Chloe out, but then paused. "There is a _Kala _."

"I told you, now let me in."

"Fine, buzzing you through."

Chloe nodded as the door opened and walked, human speed, through the labyrinthine corridors until she came to the door with Dr. Crosby's name plate on it. Taking a deep, calming breath, she knocked on her mentor's door.

And knocked again.

And again.

Sighing, Chloe let herself lean against the wall and then slide down it. More exhausted than she'd ever been, she set her head down on her knees and let her mind wander. That was how Dr. Crosby found her. Chloe awoke when she felt a hand shaking her arm furiously.

"Kala? Are you alright? God, where have you been?"

Chloe rolled her eyes, all an affectation. "It's 'Chloe,' Dr. Crosby."

"My apologies. Chloe where have you been? Your father has been calling her all summer."

She hopped to her feet and trailed after Dr. Crosby as they walked into her office. With little aplomb, Chloe fell down onto her over stuffed sofa. "I was in Metropolis."

"He thought you might have run as far as The Big Apple. It appears he named the wrong fruit."

"Yeah."

Pushing her hair behind her ear, Dr. Crosby continued, "I know about the crime spree in Metropolis. When I read about it in the papers, I hoped it was one of the more unusual citizens of your home county, but I was wrong, wasn't I?"

"There are a lot of mutants in Lowell County," she defended.

"A lot of the descriptions were of things you could do, especially the part about surviving being shot."

Chloe paled. "I did a lot of things I'm not particularly proud of."

"Did you talk about this with your father or Clark?"

"They know about what I did all summer. I just got back from Metropolis yesterday and I returned the money this afternoon...most of it."

Dr. Crosby focused her attention on her but the doctor's expression remained neutral. "What does that mean?"

"I kept 3 million dollars."

"Kala!"

"You don't understand. The bank was foreclosing on the Kents' mortgage and I wanted to help them. I already cost them the baby and put Mrs. Kent in the hospital with bills they couldn't afford. I was trying to make it right."

"Your father mentioned the accident. Kala, how could you severe the only link you had to your planet."

She stiffened. "It's not my planet. I live here! I grew up here. I didn't even know until two years ago I was Kryptonian and the great and noble Kryptonian race can shove it up their ass."

"Kala, I understand that you're afraid of what your ship said."

"No, you really don't. I have some all powerful computer program that can _hurt _me, trying to get me to take over the world and, deep down, I know that I could pull that off. I'm strong enough that if I wanted I could be some dictator. I know that, and I don't want that destiny. It's why I ran away in the first place."

She frowned. "I thought you said that the ship was destroyed."

"The caves in Smallville are a primitive form of Kryptonian computer. That's where Jor-El is now, the AI. I don't know what to do about it, except stay the hell away from the caves and his influence."

"I don't understand."

"Me neither."

"No, you look healthy. What did the ship do?" And Dr. Crosby's tone was harsh. Her eyes blazed and again Chloe was filled with that odd warmth. It was as if she had a mother, after all, or at least someone who could be. Martha and Dr. Crosby both had been brought into her crazy life and, despite the costs to both of them, for that she was at least grateful.

"It branded me."

She leaned next to her and touched her shoulder. "Where?"

"It's gone now, but I had to get away. I just...I can't tell my dad about keeping the moeny and Clark told me expressly _not _to do it, but I had to. I keep costing everyone I love so much. My dad is never going to walk normally again and we're both crammed into The Talon apartment. Martha Kent lost her baby and the hospital bills must have put them behind in the mortgage. Clark's..."

"What's wrong with him?"

"I think he's sick. Jor-El was able to give him my powers temporarily and then he took them back."

"I didn't know that was possible."

"Neither did I. I don't know how Clark even knew to ask for them, but there's some kind of price for it. I think it was supposed to be physical."

"Supposed to be?"

Chloe shook her head. "Clark shook the whole thing off. He fainted and had a high fever but after a few hours he was fine as he's ever been, just mere mortal strength again."

"But you're not relieved?"

"I think he's infected and if he is then that's my fault too because the rocks are from my damn planet. I just wanted someone to understand why I had to do this."

"I can't approve of someone stealing three million dollars. Kala-"

"Chloe, damn it!"

"Chloe, then, my apologies. Chloe, you keep telling me how much you don't want to be like your ancestors and then you break laws and expect someone to pat you on the back for it."

"I don't, but isn't it the right thing? I'm trying to give something back to the Kents after Clark and Martha almost died and the baby did die. They didn't ask to be dragged into this mess."

"It's stolen money."

"But it's the only thing I could do with this little notice."

"I can't condone that and you know that Clark wouldn't either. I assume that's why he's never going to know where the money came from to save his farm."

"He'll know. He'll know I'm the only one with the means to do it, now that Lex is gone, and he'll know because we argued about it."

She considered that. "Then what's the point? Even if he's still going to be able to stay in Smallville, you'll lose him any way."

She blushed and looked away. "I already have. I've done so many things wrong."

"Ka...Chloe?"

"I cheated on him. Before he died, I kissed Lex and Clark found out about it. Helen Fucking Brice showed him the footage of it, I think. He dumped me."

"But he still came for you."

"We're friends now, but we won't be even that when he finds out about the money, but I don't care. I've put Clark in danger ever since I told him about my origins and I have to make that right. If I do that, then at least we're even."

Dr. Crosby shook her head. "I told you about Lex-"

"It doesn't matter now, does it? And he wasn't the same person who ran around with your daughter in Metropolis."

"I never cared for the Luthors."

"No one ever does. But he was a good man. He helped me destroy my ship."

"What?"

"He knew, Bridget. I told him."

"Chloe-"

"It doesn't matter. He's never coming back."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"What?"

"You're so torn up about Clark but if Lex were alive?"

"I love Clark and I'd be trying to make things up to him even if Lex were alive and Helen and he were divorced. It's nothing to do with Lex's death."

"I still can't believe that you told."

"Imagine me telling my secret to a billionaire," she deadpanned.

"Virgil isn't like Lionel and Lex and he and I only want to help you."

"With everything, I remember," she finished twisting at her fingernails. "I don't think we're going to need anything like that. Cark and I aren't together, let alone kids. Besides, the Red K proved to me that _that's _not my problem."

Her eyes widened and her stoic nature finally fell away. "You didn't."

"I made a lot of mistakes, but I just needed...I wanted to prove that I could be could enough for Clark, that I wouldn't hurt him. I was so scared I'd hurt him."

Dr. Crosby stroked her back and sighed. "Oh Chloe."

"I just want someone to tell me that this is all going to be okay."

"I can't promise you that, but if you should ever need a place to stay again, you don't have to go to Metropolis. Dr. Swann's home is always open to you, and if you need help trying to fight Jor-El, we can try and understand the machine. Perhaps we can disarm it."

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"I might take you up on your offer, next time life in Smallville becomes too difficult, but no one else goes near Jor-El but me. It hurt my dad and Mrs. Kent. It tricked Clark into something terrible. No one else is going to get in trouble like that for me."

"Kala-"

"No, I can handle it."

"As you have before?"

"I dunno, but it's my responsibility. I can't run from it. I know that much and I can't have other people fight for me."

"Then what can I do?"

"Can I just...I need some quiet."

"You need a confessor?"

"It'd be nice. I don't think Father Murphy is going to believe me."

Bridget laughed. "Alright, Kala, stay as long as you want."

Chloe left the Planetarium around nine p.m. with a promise to visit Dr. Crosby weekly from now on, and to keep her and Virgil both up to date with whatever she decided to do with the caves. She knew that staying the Hell away from them wouldn't be enough to keep her safe, but she didn't know what to do otherwise.

Waiting was all she knew to do.

She found herself walking aimlessly down Fifth Avenue, taking in the hustle and bustle of the hundreds of humans around her.

God, she wanted to be just like them, to not have to worry about the end of the world or what she could do, what she sometimes wanted to do, not any of it. She just wanted to embrace her life as Chloe Sullivan, but it kept crumbling. If she didn't love her father so much, she'd stay her or run to Alaska or Paraguay or wherever and never go back to Smallville, but she'd cost him too much and he'd worked too hard for her.

She could never leave, not again.

It was wandering there, that she bumped into someone familiar.

Chloe stomach twisted for the second time that day. Helen Bryce-Luthor stood in front of her.

"Chloe, you do get around."

She eyed the other woman's couture dress and the large diamond tennis bracelets on her wrist. The only gaudy accoutrement that she didn't have was her wedding ring. The bitch had probably pawned it.

"I was visiting some friends in New York."

"You look better. Less leather and more every day small town chic."

"And you look like a billion dollars."

"Clever."

Chloe shook her head. "You can't lie to me."

Helen smiled. "Likewise, I've seen your blood work."

Chloe didn't rise to the bait. "I know that you killed Lex and now that I'm back. I'm going to find a way to prove it."

"That's a lot of accusations to throw around, Nancy Drew. I didn't do anything. I was lucky to survive."

"It's not luck when you sabotage the plane," she countered. "I'm going to hunt every lead down and, soon, you'll be, well," she said, eying the zebra print of her outfit. "In a different set of stripes or possibly a bright orange. I bet that's your color."

"Try it. I've got nothing to hide, unlike you."

Chloe stiffened. "We'll see who exposes the dirt on whom first. Lex was one of my best friends."

"He was more than that." The word "whore" was completely poised on the tip of Helen's tongue. Chloe kept her head held high.

"He was a lot of things to me and you, bitch, are going to pay."

"Clark!" Chloe called blurring into the barn. "Clark! Look, I know you're mad at me, but I think we have a serious problem with the widow Luthor. I know Lex is far from you favorite person but I think that-" She sighed as she made her way to the top of the loft steps. "Or you could be gone and I could be an idiot."

Turning around, Chloe started to the farmhouse. Maybe Clark was there. It would make sense if the Kents had started boxing up there belongings; it would take some time for the transaction to go through. Maybe she'd find him up in his room. As she was heading to the little yellow house, a limo pulled up. Chloe rolled her eyes. The last thing she needed tonight was to deal with Lionel Luthor. Apparently, the gods of irony heard her because it wasn't Lionel who opened the car door.

It was Morgan Edge.

"Kala, how lovely to see you."

"What the fuck do you want, Morgan?"

He looked at her and laughed. She was back to chunky boots, jeans, and a bright firework-patterned shirt. She didn't look like the hardened club goer and criminal that she'd become. "So, I see we're back to small town life. How quaint."

"I don't work for you anymore."

"See, I know you see it that way," he said, standing up and buttoning the middle button of his blazer. "But I'm owed my package. I need to have it back."

"I don't have it."

"I don't believe you," he said, leaning closer and brushing a finger under her chin. "Shame you're back to bucolic. I had heard you were quite the ride."

Chloe was on him in an instant, shoving him against the side of the car with one hand. With the other, she tore the rearview mirror from the right side and crumpled it in her hand like tin foil. Morgan shuddered under her.

Good.

"I don't do that anymore."

The cool barrel of the gun was against her temple. "Let him go," some thug with a Celtic knot tattoo around his neck said.

She laughed. "Go ahead and shoot. The ricochet will do some damage to your dickless weasel of a boos."

Morgan swallowed. "Put it down."

"Boss-"

"I said down."

Chloe tightened her grip until he started to turn blue. Summoning all that bravado that red K brought out in her, she growled. "I don't have it, Morgan. You get the fuck off this farm and you never come back or I'll kill you and you know I can do it. You saw what I've done to your men before."

He nodded. "I see."

"Do you hear me?"

"I do," he said as she dropped him and she grinned at how fast he scurried into his limo.

"Run away, Morgan," she said, as she gripped the gun out of his henchman's hand in superspeed and crumpled it to powder. "And don't ever come back."

The squeal of the tires as he pulled out of the driveway was the best sound she heard all fucking week.


	29. Chapter 29

**31**

"I've done something."

Clark startled awake in bed, shocked to see Chloe, still dressed in her clothes from this morning, standing in the corner of his room. Glancing at the clock, he frowned. It was one a.m. He'd never thought of the ramifications of having a best friend who could be anywhere she wanted in a blink. It made stalking easier. He wasn't amused.

"Chlo?" he hissed. "It's late. My dad can't find you here. He'll kill me."

She laughed and it was bitter. "I'm not here for that."

"No, you wouldn't be," he replied, evenly. "What's wrong?"

She didn't say anything but sat on the edge of his bed. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a small lead case. "I made a deal."

Clark nodded. "I had superhearing for a few hours. I heard that Morgan Edge wanted a deal with you, but I wasn't sure the terms."

"They involved a lot of money. Millions of dollars. I could steal it, make a diamond like the Hope if I really wanted to, you know?"

"It crossed my mind," he replied, tone uncertain. He was tired already of the back and forth with her.

"But the money with Morgan was easy and I could have had it fast and be ready to run."

"Run?"

She traced her fingers over the cool metal of the box. "You found me. Lana knew where I was. I needed a clean break or I thought I did. So I made a deal."

"I know what it's like to make desperate deals," he replied. "I've had my back against the wall."

"With my father," she spat. "If that thing...if it hurts you, I don't know what I'll do."

"Get branded or brainwashed," he riposted, touching her hand. "Chlo, I did it for you and I'm fine. If you made a deal while not thinking clearly, believe me, I'm the last person in the world who can hate you for that."

She squinted at him in the dark. "What happened with your farm?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Bad debts, people collect." And that was true, but it wasn't his family's finances that had been wrong. This time it had been his naivete and his need to save Chloe. He'd been so stupid to tangle with Lionel and now his father was paying for it.

"Clark?"

"I can't. It's personal."

"We're best friends."

"Are we?"

She rocked back. "What?"

"Are we really best friends? You say that, but best friends don't accuse each other of being freaks."

"Card carrying alien, right here. And you said it doesn't matter."

"It doesn't, for you," he countered. "You know who you are. You know you're not like your ancestors."

"I don't. I did a pretty good job in Metropolis."

"If you'd wanted to take over the world, you'd have gone with Jor-El. If you really cared about the money, you'd have spent it and not made a point of hitting banks Edge's thugs were hitting first. You could have anything you wanted, Chloe, right now. You think I don't get that but I do. I don't know what it's like to have that kind of power, but I do know that you could. What do you do? You come home, take care of your dad, and worry about me and my family. You're a good person."

"If you let the definition of person be really broad," she countered. "And good include a lot of robbery."

"Chlo-"

"You're not a freak. I just said you might be infected."

"Good, so in a year or two I can develop telekinetic powers and try and impale people with farm instruments or burn the school down with a thought. That sounds great!"

"You'd be you, if it were true." And her hand was on his then and it was as soft and warm as it had ever been. God, he wanted her.

"You made the wall. There's an 80% chance I wouldn't be. I can't deal with that. I won't."

"But Jor-El-"

"Is in a cave and trapped there. He can't touch me and he can't have you and that's just the way it is and I'm not some monster."

"Not all the meteor mutants are. Not Cassandra Carver or Kyle Tippet. You could be okay."

He turned to her then, finally looking her in the eye. "Or I could be sick-possibly-and I could kill people. I can't have that on my shoulders. I just can't."

"But you might be sick. We should..."

"My family's about to move, Chlo. Your dad is still recovering. Hell, you stole for Morgan Edge. We have other problems that do not include me."

"_ We _?"

"Yeah, _we _. I...I'm sorry I snapped about the meteor mutant thing. Not that I believe you, cause I don't." Except for where he was terrified she was right because they'd left him. Four or five families and they'd just given him back. He'd done something, hadn't he? There had to be some reason why so many people hadn't wanted him.

Why his birth mother hadn't.

Maybe he was broken.

"Clark?"

"I...nothing. It's late and my mind wanders," he side-stepped. "We're friends and I don't want that to change. I know what happened. I know what happened with Lex and those men at _Atlantis _. I know that maybe I'm not...you don't love me anymore and that's...I have to learn to live with that."

"You dumped me," she countered.

"I don't want to go through who did what to whom," he finished. "Somehow, I'm not enough and I lost you because of that, but I can't _not _have you in my life."

"Clark, I do love you."

"You don't sleep around on someone you love."

"You do if you don't want to put him in fucking traction."

He clamped his hand over her mouth so fast, you'd have thought he had the superspeed. "My dad."

She nodded and he released his hand. "It was for you."

"No, Chloe. I don't know what all of it was about and I know you were really, really high when it all happened, but it wasn't about me. It was about you and whatever fears you have. I'm sickly. I get that. I'm not some hulking football guy. I have bad vision and a wicked case of asthma and I can't self heal like Lex, but I've never been tissue paper."

Chloe looked up at him and, without a word, tore the lid off of the box. "But you _are _."

"We're never really gonna be equal unless you trust me to take care of myself."

"Then we can't be because we didn't really even know each other until I saved your life."

"Um, best friends," he countered. Hurt that she'd say anything like that.

"I knew you and I liked you, more than Pete or anyone I'd ever met at St. Catherine's in Metropolis, but you didn't know me."

"Your powers aren't all you are."

"No, but the secrets and the loneliness and the fear _are _. I'm glad I had someone to share that with, but you didn't really know me until I showed you my abilities."

"I don't think that's true."

"I do. I'm sorry, but I don't want anything to hurt you. I'm scared of it every day with you and I can't even explain it. Every time we touched, I just wanted more and I saw you shatter and I couldn't."

"But Lex is okay?"

"Was," she added, bitterly. "I don't know anymore. I just can't hurt you."

"Too late," he replied sadly, reaching over and wrapping an arm around her shoulder, sighing when she went stiff as always in his grasp. "But I can't let you go. If we can't...I know we can't, but your problems are my problems."

He felt like a hypocrite for saying that because whatever he owed Lionel and Jor-El was his alone to pay. He wasn't going to put her in that, not ever. Hell, she'd never understand him crawling to Lionel and the "spying," never at all.

"I missed you."

"Every day?"

"Every day," she said, leaning into him.

"I was right here. Swear I didn't leave." He couldn't stop himself from reaching over to stroke her hair, but he stopped, when he noticed what was in the box.

"Clark?"

"Chlo, is that blood?"

Clark blinked. Being Chloe's friend entailed a lot of sleepless nights. It was why he was standing in the middle of The Talon apartment with Chloe on the far end, by the fire place, and her dad and him by the bed. Clark had the rock in his hands. He'd used it a few times on Chloe, usually when she was high out of her mind on Red K. He hated having them, but they were necessary. Mr. Sullivan, his mom, they all had a lead box and a green rock.

When he brought it to the vial, the blood boiled, just like he'd known it would.

"Clark?"

"It's yours, Chlo. Where the Hell did you steal this from?" He asked, as he locked the rock back in its case.

"Chloe?" Gabe countered.

She eyed the lead box and stepped closer. He could see her flinch a little as she did it, almost as if she half expected the box not to work. "Morgan asked me to steal it from Lionel Luthor's office. The money was so good that I said yes without hesitating. Besides, Lionel's an ass and he's ruined so much. It sounded fun to me as I was." She looked away and he shrugged back at her.

So much had gone wrong for both of them that it wasn't his place to judge.

"You stole a vial of your blood from Lionel's office," Gabe repeated, as if he couldn't quite believe it.

"I didn't know what was in the package until I opened it and saw a vial. I definitely wasn't sure it was my blood until the boiling."

"How did Lionel get it?"

Chloe swallowed. "Only Helen had the blood. If Lionel had it, she had to sell it to him, but he can't know the source."

"That's a wide logic leap," Gabe said.

Clark adjusted his glasses. "No, actually it's not. Chlo, you said that Morgan asked for it back."

"In so many words. That and his wonderful threats on Kent Farm."

Clark shuddered at the thought of the Metropolis kingpin in his home. "Exactly, so why does he need it?"

"Cause he ripped Lionel off and crime boss or no, Lionel will find a way to have him killed over it," Chloe replied.

"But why? If Lionel knows you're the source and that you're back at The Talon-"

Gabe frowned. "Lionel knows we moved?"

"Um, he could find it out," Clark hedged.

Chloe and Gabe both paused a beat and looked at him and he tried not to squirm. He had to be more careful around the Sullivans, they were smart.

"That's not the point," Chloe said, still quirking her head at him. "Lionel knows how to get to me. He knows how to press my buttons. He threatened you, dad, and I'd turn myself over in a heartbeat. He had that blood in a vault for months. He scared Morgan so badly he was desperate to get to me. I _saw _the fear in his eyes. And it wasn't about me. He's terrified about what Lionel will do to get it back. If he had access directly to me, Morgan would be an afterthought."

"That's something to be relieved over, but if Helen sold him the anonymous supply, then he has had it analyzed. He _knows _what he lost," Gabe said.

"But why need it?" Clark asked.

"Alien blood. Hello, holy grail!" Chloe snarked.

"No, I mean, scientific advancements aside. It's just blood. It can't do anything but prove that the owner isn't...oh jeez." He paused then. It sounded ugly to say "alien" and cutting to remind her she wasn't human, as if it were some prize.

Chloe smiled and reached up to squeeze his shoulder. "Human? Newsflash, I think I knew that."

"Chlo, I-"

"You didn't mean it badly. I know. It's a small sample. Without me, I don't know why it matters so much."

Gabe looked at both of them and Clark gulped under the scrutiny. "It's the code maybe? Clark had powers. It's possible somehow to give them to humans."

"If Jor-El does it," Chloe groused.

"Well, what if he doesn't know that? What if he thinks he can synthesize abilities from it. Invulnerability, speed, strength, maybe all of them. If his scientists think they can use it to make...I dunno what," Gabe trailed off.

Chloe clenched her jaw. "You do know what. An army. You have five people all like me in one spot, you could rule the world, highest bidder. Clark, give me the damn vial."

"Aren't we supposed to be brainstorming ways to get this back to Morgan in one piece?"

Chloe blurred and a small part of him wished he still had her abilities. He wanted to be even with her, to show her that he wasn't breakable. She had the vial in her hand and then she crunched it, the small rivulet of her own blood running down her fist.

"No blood, no army. Fuck Lionel."

Clark's eyes widened. Chloe hadn't talked like that before, but maybe he didn't know her as well as he thought, not this new post Metropolis version.

"Chlo-bear, that wasn't smart."

"Lionel can't have the sample."

"What if he puts pressure on Helen to tell him whose it is?" Gabe countered.

"He must have already. Helen's not talking. She's not stupid. She's hoping to pressure me one day into coming for her. She wants the credit for herself and I'd bet she like the power she has over him. She's not going to talk."

"That's a blatant assumption. You need to be smarter. If Lionel makes an army, he makes an army. I'm worried about you in a cage."

Clark stepped back and let Chloe go toe to crutches with her father. "It's never going to happen, but I can't let him use my powers for something evil. It moots everything we suffered through this summer if he gets his own pseudo-Kryptonians together."

"I don't care about the world, Chlo-bear. I care about you."

"Doesn't matter now. Morgan's not getting his package back."

"Then you're very foolish cause he and Lionel aren't going to forget it."

"I threatened him pretty badly," she countered weakly.

"Lionel threatens worse and he _means _it, Chlo-bear. We have to think of something else."

"How about a way to get to Helen Bryce," she replied and Clark was a little put off by the vehemence in her tone.

He yawned his way through the morning meeting at The Torch. He and Chloe had arrived early but Pete and Lana would be in soon. They could actually put a decent issue out with their lead reporter and real editor back in the saddle. Clark was drinking through about his eighth cup of coffee. He never usually drank it, not more than one cappuccino at The Talon in the afternoon.

But he'd had three hours of sleep and his mind was full of what-ifs. The biggest of which was exactly what Lionel was playing at. He wanted to use Clark to get to Chloe, that much was obvious, but he was willing to move on and try other methods. He had her blood but clearly didn't know to whom it belonged. He was obsessed with Chloe, the caves, and anything Kryptonian.

There were angles here that he couldn't see and that he couldn't understand, but it scared him.

Knowing they had to deal with Jor-El and Morgan Edge didn't make him feel any better.

"So, I think that Helen murdered Lex."

Clark choked on his coffee. "What?"

"That's what I think," she replied. "I know we have more villains right now than an X-Men comic and I'd love to see like Magneto compared to the fucking AI."

"Tell me about it," Clark muttered.

"Exactly, but I know Helen murdered Lex."

Clark shifted in his seat, unsure of how to deal with everything. Lex had been his best friend outside of Pete, and he'd really enjoyed the other man's company. Then everything had fallen apart with him over Chloe and the pain was fresh. Every time he thought of it, it was still fresh. But if someone had murdered him, then that couldn't stand.

Not ever.

"I'd been thinking the same thing."

"You had?"

"Lionel or Helen, but the scene at the funeral? Helen wasn't very upset. Lionel's the best liar out there, but I still bought he was upset, that even if he pushed Lex, he didn't want him dead. Helen seemed perky."

"I was in New York yesterday to see Dr. Crosby."

"You were?"

"Sometimes we girl talk. It's fun," she quipped.

Clark went with Chloe sometimes to New York. He liked talking with Dr. Swann. It wasn't every kid who got access to a physics legend and, yes, Clark really was a complete nerd. However, he'd noticed that Chloe went to New York more often than he did and it wasn't Dr. Swann whom she spent most of her time with. Clark wondered if she were trying to make something mother and daughter with Dr. Crosby. He hoped she was. He knew how deeply Moira leaving her had wounded Chloe and he understood it more than he'd like to admit.

"Oh."

"Yeah," she replied leaning against the layout table. "I was on Fifth Avenue and I bumped into the wealthiest 'grieving' widow in the country. She didn't confess, but the shopping backs, the bright red outfit, the threatening to expose me if I dug any deeper-Helen Bryce is hiding something big. I...when I met Morgan on your property, I was coming out to see you about this."

"So, you want the amazing team of Kent and Sullivan to prove Helen sabotaged a jet. Something that a pretty large inquest couldn't prove?" He asked and he liked that flutter in his stomach. Reporting, ever since Chloe had introduced it to him, was something he'd grown to love. It was the career he wanted, so much more than the farm.

"Well they don't have the best thief with X-ray vision and supersenses working for them. There has to be something somewhere. Helen can't get away with it." She was shaking as she spoke. He could feel the anger coming off of her.

Maybe it's not in trying to find the wreckage, which I know you're amazing, but you can't fly and it could be off the coast of Fiji somewhere by now. Paper trails. Helen's good, but I bet someone somewhere got a large payoff to get the plane to go down." He shrugged. "It's all in the math, follow the numbers-"

"I knew I liked you and that math crap."

"It's not crap!"

"So says the kid with the three digit geometry average," she chirped and it was easy then. That tension between them was gone for a moment and he knew most of that was they could work a case together, that investigating was simple and familiar and what they did.

Even if it was over something as serious as murder, there was a lightness there, something not nearly as terrifying as Lionel's potential army or Jor-El's edicts or Edge's threats. Even if they were just sixteen-despite Chloe's fearsome abilities-it felt like they could take on anything.

Maybe even the chasm between them.

"But we can start going through the records. I figure it'll take you a while to hack them but then we can start backtracking from there. We could also start looking into hospital records. Could be Helen's not just been selling your blood work. There are a lot of special patients at Smallville Medical Center. She could have been supplying Level Three with a lot of options. And that's federal violations too."

Chloe's eyes flashed and Clark took it in stride. "That's like how Capone went to jail for tax evasion. I want proof that Helen murdered Lex. He trusted her and she betrayed him."

Clark bit back the instinct, perhaps the petty one, to mention that he knew how that felt. Instead he leaned forward and patted Chloe on the hand. "Anything to get her behind bars and off your trail. She knows, Chlo, and that makes her more dangerous than anyone but Jor-El."

"You sound like my dad. I'm going to be fine."

"You shouldn't have gotten rid of the blood sample."

"Like I said, you sound like my dad," Chloe replied, forcing the biggest Sullivan fake smile.

"Someone should," a third voice called out and Clark turned to look at Pete, who stood by the door. His friend eased it shut and locked it. "Lana's got an emergency at The Talon. Something with the refrigeration and helping Mrs. Kent fix it. She'll be here for second period."

"Pete," Clark said. "Hey, I guess there's a surprise! Chloe's home."

"I saw her Beetle in the parking lot. I was a little surprised," Pete replied coldly.

Clark didn't like the tension. The last time Pete had spoken with Chloe, she'd run away to Metropolis for months. Based on the way Chloe'd forgotten to breathe (and she was good at remembering cause she honestly didn't need it more than once every few minutes), he wasn't the only one feeling the animosity.

"Pete, so, hey," Clark parrotted. He'd never been good with awkward situations.

"Said that," Chloe said, her tone strained. "Clark, look, I think that you should go to The Talon. I mean, without one reporter/cartoonist, we can't do much on the issue. You should check and make sure your mom's doing okay and even see if my dad actually did like he promised and got some sleep."

"Mom can handle it and Lana's pretty smart."

"But strapping farmboys and spoiling produce. You should be there."

Clark stood but didn't go to the door. "But, Chlo-"

"I think Pete and I have some things to talk about. I'll even blur by there before English, make sure it's all good. I mean, times like these, why can't I just have ice vision too?"

"Nah, don't be ridiculous. Ice vision? You're a swiss army knife already," he joked. "So, huh, I'll just leave you two alone."

"That's the idea," she replied, and she gave him a crooked smile. "It'll be fine, Clark."

He wasn't so sure about that as he left.


	30. Chapter 30

**32**

Chloe kept the smile on her face until Clark was out of The Talon office. He never would have left if she'd been showing how she really felt. The nervousness and hurt were raw and brimming at the surface. The last time she'd seen Pete, he'd only said the truth, and the truth was that Clark's little brother was dead and her dead was maimed because of her.

"Pete."

Her friend-and were they still friends even-glared at her. "Chloe, you know _The Daily Planet _has an really interesting series of articles about the bandit in Metropolis. They say she's been shot by police and shrugged it off. Of course, the cops have alternate theories about kevlar vests."

"Imagine that. Sounds weird, right?"

Pete's expression didn't change. "You were the one ripping off banks in Metropolis, weren't you?"

"'Ripping off' is such a strong phrase," she deadpanned.

"Then how am I supposed to say it?"

She sighed. "I did a lot of things I wasn't proud of. If it makes you feel better I returned the money yesterday."

"Well, if you returned the money, I'm sure that makes it all better," Pete riposted as he leaned against the locked door.

"I made a lot of mistakes this summer. I can't lie about that."

"No, I don't think you could. What am I supposed to do, Chloe? Give you a standing ovation because you realized four months late that stealing is wrong. I thought you knew that already. Can you imagine how surprised I was when the crime spree hit the paper?"

"No."

"Can you imagine how upset your dad was?"

Chloe swallowed. She knew she'd ruined everything with her father. He was hurt because of her. He'd lost his home because of her (twice now). He had to live with the knowledge that his daughter had been a drug addict and a thief. "We talked already when I came home. It was him urging me to return all the money."

"I'm glad somebody got to you. How'd you even decide to come home?"

"Clark came for me."

"And that worked? Lana told me you weren't very receptive to her."

"She told?"

Pete nodded, "She was in tears the day of Lex's funeral. She told me how much you yelled at her. You _scared _her."

"I've been doing a lot of that lately, I can admit that. She was trying to get me to come home and I didn't want to."

"So Clark coming by changed your mind after everything that happened with Lex?"

Her eyes flashed despite herself. "What happened between me, Clark, and Lex is none of your business."

"I don't know how you could even have stood him. He's not a good guy. Hell, he probably deserved what he got."

Chloe blurred over so fast to Pete that she had his heart racing. She didn't touch him, but it was very hard to resist the urge to wrap her hand around his throat. "I don't know how you could say that."

"Easy, he's a _Luthor _. Don't you get it? He was always a jerk. The fact that he went behind Clark's back when they were supposed to be best friends just confirms it. Luthors are bastards. It's just like what Lionel did to my uncles' factory."

"Exactly. What _Lionel _did. Lex was nine when that happened and he paid for even being in Smallville by getting infected by the meteors. Why do you hate someone who was a little kid when the plant got sold and, guess what? Your uncles sold it. It could have been to Lionel or to Metropolis Produce or to Rickman. Once they sell the property, they can't control what someone does with it. It's not like Lionel had a gun to their heads."

"But he screwed them over."

"Why were they selling the factory in the first place?" she countered, beginning to pace. "If it was so profitable, they wouldn't have been looking for any buyer. The fact that you're letting this family feud get in the way of seeing Lex for what he was-"

"He was the bad guy. He had Nixon _trail _you. He pushed and pushed about your connection to Dr. Swann. He just wanted to get to you because you're an alien."

Chloe stopped and swallowed. "Say that again."

"He wanted you because he's curious about Krypton, Chloe. He doesn't know the name, but he can see the ruins and the stone stuff and guess. He wants to get to you in order to get to whatever it was your ancestors had going on here. It's not about you."

"Is that what you see, Pete?"

He paused and crossed his arms over his chest. "What?"

"What do you see when you look at me? Clark and I _had _to tell you where I'm from because we needed the ship back and you were supposed to know where it was."

"I know that."

"But I didn't _want _to tell you. That was Clark's urging cause we were desperate, but I regret it every day since."

"You what?" he asked, his jaw clenching.

"I wish I hadn't let you in on everything because things between us suck."

"They suck because you ran away to play Robin Hood without the giving it to the poor and because you were easy for Lex."

"Don't start."

"I will, though. How can you get closer to him-kiss him-when you know he'd have you on a lab table if he knew."

"Lex would never do that."

"Just like all that stuff at Level Three is just an accident. You can't be so stupid that you'd just set yourself up to be bagged and tagged."

Chloe shook her head. "Which is it?"

"Which is what?"

"When you see me, who do you see-the girl or the Kryptonian."

"I don't see stalk eyes," he groused.

"No, I wouldn't think so. I meant, what do you focus on? I know where I stand with Clark and my dad, but I can never tell who I am to you."

"We've been friends for three years."

"But it hasn't been the same since I told you about my ship. It's always focused on running my life and worrying about the Luthors or Dr. Swann. I don't need a second father."

"And you've made a lot of shit decisions, Chloe. Snuggling up to Lex? Trying to destroy your ship? Going on a crime spree? Someone has to monitor you."

"Monitor? What do you think you are, MiB?"

He shook his head. It was a calm, measured movement. "No, I don't think that, but I do think that you've done a lot of dangerous things and hurt a lot of people."

"Like my dad?"

"Or Mrs. Kent."

"You still meant what you said back at the hospital, don't you?"

Pete sighed. "I meant some of it. If you'd come to us, things wouldn't have gotten so bad, but I'm sorry I snapped. I should have phrased it better."

"But the sentiment is the same. It's all my fault Clark's little brother died, isn't it?"

"You shouldn't have touched that ship. How did you even get your hands on Lionel's kryptonite key?"

"None of your damn business," she snapped. If he was ready to light a torch for Lex, then she definitely wasn't going to tell Pete that he'd known all about her before his death, that he'd been her accomplice and partner. He'd never understand that and he'd just run tell her father.

"You made so many mistakes."

"I'm trying to solve it. I know I can't bring the baby back or make my dad healthy. I know I don't have that kind of power and it ate at me every day in Metropolis. It still eats at me."

"You made a mistake."

"It wasn't your family involved."

"I've been friends with Clark since we were six. It felt like my family. I just don't understand how you could have done it."

"It's not like I put a pillow over him and smothered him. How could I have known this was going to happen?"

"You should have known that you can't lie to us and that messing with whatever the fuck it was in your ship wasn't going to end well. You should have been smarter, Chloe."

"And I had my back against the wall! It branded me, threatened me, and told me everyone I knew was going to suffer. What would you have done?"

"I'd have gone to the rest of us. We're a team."

"Are we really?"

He snorted. "You ask a lot of questions."

"Then I have to know. Are you anxious to help me deal with everything? Is that why you're so damn bossy and skeptical?"

"I care what happens to you," he countered.

"Then, I have to know, Pete, are you scared of me?"

"What?" he asked, his tone the same but she noticed his eyes had found an extremely interesting patch of linoleum.

"Are you afraid of me because of what I am?"

"I'm not thrilled when you rob banks."

"That wasn't the question. Are you afraid of my powers?"

"Chloe, what do you want me to say?"

"The truth."

Pete finally looked up at her and he didn't even need to speak; she could _see _it. "Sometimes."

She swallowed and struggled to keep her voice even. "Do you think I'd ever hurt anyone?"

"You're the one who went on a crime spree."

"No one injured," she countered. Even high, she'd never wanted to hurt anyone. What happened with a little rough sex was never going to be any of Pete's damn business.

"But you could hurt people. You could fry them or shred them and shit follows you everywhere you go. Is it wrong to admit you make me nervous?"

"No, it's honest," she replied, and it frankly wasn't anything she hadn't already suspected. "No one makes you do anything. If it's too hard for you to be in my life, then you can split."

"I didn't say that."

"But you did admit I scare you. I just...since you realized where I'm from, do you see Chloe Sullivan or the Kryptonian?"

"I don't know. Sometimes both but sometimes I just get bogged down in everything you can do and-"

"You get nervous."

"What happened to Mrs. Kent and your dad really scared me. I did think for half a second about what would have happened if it had been me or my family."

"I get that."

"Then, I don't know what's gonna happen. I don't. This stuff-we're talking alien spaceships and angry billionaires and comas-it's not what I signed up for. I never thought it would get that out of control."

Chloe nodded and picked up her backpack, slinging it over one shoulder. "Then I guess you'll have to figure out where you go from here. You can leave all of it behind. It does cost too much to keep you a part of it without giving you a chance to bail."

"I'm sorry."

"About what happened in the hospital? Don't be. I blame myself too. Clark and dad are too nice, but I did something wrong and only innocent people paid for it. If you can't handle it...well, even _I _want to escape from my life, clearly. I won't hold it against you."

"I wish I was as cool with the alien thing as Clark is. I wish I didn't worry all the time about what Lex wanted and what Lionel does want, but I can't shut down that part of my brain."

"You can't stop worrying about what I might do, about whether everything in Metropolis was just a warm up act."

"It crossed my mind. I'm a naturally suspicious guy."

"It's mutual," she replied, moving past him to unlock the door. "Sometimes I'm afraid it's a warm up act, too." He gulped but didn't add anything. "Look, Clark and I have something cooking, something about Helen Bryce that you might want to be on if you still want to be in my life. If you're interested, stop by my dad's apartment after school. If not, I'll understand."

"Chloe, I wish I could lie."

"Don't," she said, tapping her left her. "I'd know anyway. So, maybe I'll see you."

"Maybe."

With that, she was heading to The Talon.

"So, what can I do for you guys. I'm not the handiest with a wrench but I bark orders pretty well!" Chloe called as she walked into The Talon. The door had been locked and she would owe Mrs. Kent for a new one. She assumed they'd had to emergency shut down everything and turn away customers. Without adequate refrigeration, they had big problem.

It was quiet and empty in the front room. She expected Martha and Lana to be working to try and do something with the frozen coffee mixes, cream and milk that were stored under the espresso machine.

"Hello?" Chloe called, rolling her eyes. They must be in the back, more worried about the massive walk-in that stored the eggs and other components for The Talon sandwiches and fresh baked desserts. Some melted ice was one thing; rotten eggs were a much bigger worry. "Guys, really, this whole thing is ridiculous," she said passing through the swinging door into the back storage room.

She stopped cold at the sight before her.

Morgan was sitting calmly in a folding chair, one leg crossed over the other. One the far left side of the room, the thug with the Celtic cross on his neck had a gun trained on both Martha and her farther. On the far right side of the room, a second thug, someone hulking enough to be a football lineman, had a semi pointed directly and Clark and Lana.

Morgan grinned when he saw her. "Kala, how nice of you to join us."

Lana blinked. "What's going on?"

Chloe bit her lip. The last thing she needed was yet another person in on her secret. All it did was ruin lives. She hoped Lana would be smart enough to not ask questions.

The thug on her dug the gun into her shoulder. "Shut up."

Chloe stepped forward, resisting the urge to speed. She was fast, but not faster than a speeding bullet when it only had to travel the the fabric of a thin t-shirt to hit vital arteries. "Don't hurt her. Don't hurt any of them."

"Well that depends, Kala," Morgan droned.

"It depends on what?"

"Do you have my package?"

She couldn't help but shoot a guilty look at her father. He'd been right and she'd been a fool to think she could just intimidate Morgan Edge. If Lionel were threatening to kill him, well, Lionel was the scariest bastard out there. She could understand how desperate Morgan could become. Desperate enough to shoot her family and friends right in front of her if she didn't cooperate.

So dumb.

_Kala _had no family, no ties to exploit.

_Chloe Sullivan _had a whole life to lose.

"I don't have it."

Morgan shook his head. "That's the wrong answer. Simmons."

The thug holding her father and Martha still cocked the safety on his gun, and Chloe held up both her hands. "Wait, I can get it."

"I thought you said you don't have it."

"I don't have the original package," she replied, but that doesn't mean I can't get it for you."

"I doubt that."

"I don't. Morgan, come with me."

"I'm not stupid."

"Do you want the damn package or don't you?" she barked. "You have me. You know you have me. Your men can kill my family before I can stop them. You're smart enough to know even I can't be in two places at once."

"The thought did occur to me that you're just not that fast."

"Then you know I won't run and that if I even thought of hurting you, that your men would kill them. My hands are tied."

"You're smart."

"Not smart enough," she said. "Now do you want to come with me to my apartment or do you trust me to come back?"

"You have three minutes. If you're not back by then, I'll start with your father."

Chloe swallowed. "I can do that." She turned and walked human speed back through the swinging glass doors. Now wasn't the time to do something stupid. Even if she tried running to the police station, it would lead to a hostage situation and Morgan would kill her family out of spite and have the best and most crooked lawyers in Metropolis spring him with bail in the hour. She had to do what he asked. Even though she sped up the stairs and to the drawer in the bedside table where her father kept the Green Kryptonite, every moment seemed to be done in the slowest of human speeds.

God, she was a fool.

She never should have fucked with Morgan in the first place.

The doors swung back and forth behind her as she entered back into the storage room. The lead box with the Kryptonite felt heavy in her hand. "I said I'd be back."

"Two minutes. I was disappointed. I know you're faster than that," Morgan purred.

Chloe eyed Lana who was watching her with unflinching scrutiny. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Morgan smiled more broadly. "How quaint, you have an alter ego. What? You whore it up in my club as Kala by night but are just an average small town girl when you feel like it."

"You what, Chlo-bear?" Her dad asked.

Chloe forced herself not to flinch. "It's nothing."

"You've been a bad girl all summer, Kala, no need to lie about it now," Morgan replied. "Do any of them know you the way I do? Have they seen the bank vaults you've left behind."

Chloe gritted her teeth. "Shut up."

"Do you pretend back here? Go 'aw shucks' and never let any of them know what you're capable of. No wonder Kala had to let loose. A cow town like this must be stifling."

"It's not. Do you want your damn package or not?"

"This is fun too."

"Fuck you, Morgan."

"I offered that."

"In your dreams," she shot back, putting the box on the counter and flipping the lid. The nausea hit her instantly and she had to bite back the urge to vomit. Morgan stood and came to lean over her shoulder.

"That's not the package. Lionel told me it was a vial not another piece of shit rock."

Chloe couldn't speak. It took all the concentration she had to stay standing. Slowly, far too slowly, she placed a jagged corner of the Kryptonite against her skin and pressed down. She cut deep, feeling the blood well to the surface. Quickly-but still like a human-she reached out for an old, washed mayonnaise jar and let the blood drip into it. When she was done, there was more in the jar than there had been in Helen's vial. With great effort, she put the green K back and shut the box. "Here."

Morgan took the bottle and eyed it skeptically. "What's this?"

"It's what you're looking for."

He eyed Martha and her father. "Don't fuck with me, Kala. I'll kill them."

"And I'm telling you the truth. This is _exactly _what Lionel is looking for. If you take this much to him, he'll probably give you a few million extra for your trouble."

Morgan considered that and shook his head. "I can do better than that."

"I can't get you the original sample. I already told you that it's gone."

Morgan nodded to the thug holding Clark and Lana hostage. There was a horrible click and then a bam as he shot right through Lana's knee cap. Chloe started to blot but felt Morgan's hand clamped around her arm. "Don't even think it."

Lana was screaming in pain and Clark was kneeling over her, desperately trying to stop the blood flow with his tan jacket.

"I did what you asked."

"I'm making a point. I'll let her bleed to death, unless you do exactly as I say."

"I gave you the sample!"

"I don't want a sample. I want the whole damn thing," he replied, opening the lead box back open. Chloe immediately felt the strength leak out of her and her pulse pounded with the pain. Grabbing a roll of duct tape left on the counter, he placed the rock against her chest and strapped it tight. Chloe screamed even more loudly than Lana's keening when that happened. She could feel her blood boil and her heart shudder in her chest.

"Don't."

He pulled her against him. "You come with me or I'll kill them all."

"You'll let her go!" her dad yelled and she heard a shot and clamped her eyes closed.

He couldn't...

She opened them after an eternity and saw the bullet hole in the ceiling from where Celic Knot had fired his "warning" shot.

"Kala's coming with me. I have a feeling she'll be valuable to the highest bidder. Simmons, you know what to do."

Chloe swayed as Morgan scooper her up into his arms. "You'll let them go."

"I have you now, don't I?" he asked, and that's all she knew as he shoved her into the back of his limo.

There was pain.

That was all she knew.

There was pain burning its way into her chest, through her heart, into her blood. She could barely move. She could barely breathe, and, as she came to in the stopped limo, all she could think about was her family. If Morgan hadn't kept his word, her dad, the Kents, and Lana could all be dead. Hell, even if Morgan had kept his promise, she knew exactly where she was headed. The sycophant would turn her over to Lionel and then she'd never see the outside of anything but a lab again.

And that was assuming they didn't just vivisect her and drain all her blood.

Chloe groaned and pushed her head up just enough to look out a thickly tinted window. She could spy Lionel's mane of greasy hair from where she sat. He was stepping out of his own limo to approach Morgan, a large and angry bodyguard at his side.

Chloe wished her hearing still worked, but she could guess the delicate tete-a-tete going on as Morgan bartered for peace and a guarantee that Lionel wouldn't go after him.

She didn't have much time. Morgan would open the door soon and reveal her identity to the one Luthor she _knew _she couldn't trust.

Fumbling with the tape around her chest, Chloe tried shredding through it. It was insane, normally she could bend metal without an effort. Currently, she couldn't even get enough purchase on the duct tape to tear it off. God, she was going to end up just like all those people in Level Three. They were going to cut her open and...

No.

She wasn't going to panic.

Reaching up, Chloe took out one of her earings and undid the clasp. It wasn't much of a point, but it was sharp enough to cut into the tape, to give her some unraveling thread to pull on. Her limbs heavy with poison, she worked on the tape, shredding the smallest line. Her long nails got underneath the ragged edge and she pulled, forcing herself to stay awake.

God, she hurt.

Finally, the tape peeled away enough for her to grab the Kryptonite.

She hissed as she felt blisters rising against her palm. The back window of the limo was open a crack, just wide enough for her to hurl the green K away. It landed out of the door with a thud and instantly she felt better, felt her strength return.

Morgan had a bullet proof limo, probably lead lined metal.

It was perfect for her.

Taking a breath, Chloe sped out of the window and hid behind the pile-ons by the pier. She watched as Morgan pointed to the limo and Lionel started to edge forward. Squinting, she aimed her heat vision and set the limo aflame, the explosion that followed blew her into the water and flung Lionel fifteen feet across the tarmac.

She hadn't been aiming to kill him, but setting up what _looked _like an attempted assassination was her idea. If Lionel and Morgan were at war with each other, then they could forget her, at least for a while. Lionel would be busy with vengeance and Morgan would be busy trying to save his skin.

Perfect.

She waited there, letting the putrid water of the Metropolis harbor soak into her, until Lionel sped away. He could have killed Morgan then and there. He was letting the other man live, probably because he loved instilling fear in someone else, because he lived for the cat and mouse game.

So Chloe waited until everyone else had left before pulling herself out of the cold water and speeding back to The Talon.

She only hoped that she wasn't too late.


	31. Chapter 31

**33**

Clark's heart was racing. He could feel the beginning of his chest tightening, that familiar sense of constriction. He couldn't afford to panic right then. He had to think, he had to find a way to stop everything that was coming. God, if he still had the borrowed powers. If only he could do anything.

Morgan Edge had Chloe.

He had her.

They were already half way to Metropolis and when they got there, Lionel would have Chloe.

That wasn't even the worst of it. Lana was swaying back and forth beside him. The hulking man behind them had one hand wrapped around her shoulders and Clark knew he was the only thing supporting her, that she was ready to fall down. The left leg of her jeans was coated with blood and her color was pale. If Edge's men didn't let them go soon, Lana wouldn't be alive.

Clark eyed Gabe, who looked across the room and straight to the thug holding Lana.

"You have to call an ambulance now. We won't say a word. We'd be fools to finger you or press charges against Edge."

"Boss hasn't called to let you go," the man with the Celtic knot said.

His mom eyed Lana and even from where Clark stood, even without enhanced hearing, he could notice her wheeze, notice her breath slow and stop. "She's bleeding out.

The man holding Lana jostled her and she screamed. "Seems fine to me. If the boss doesn't call, the boss doesn't call."

"But-" Clark started to protest, clenching his teeth when he felt the butt of a pistol slam against his temple.

"I said, shut it," the thug growled and Clark heard a thunk as his grip on Lana was relinquished. The man grabbed Clark by both shoulders and, turning, shoved him against the counter. "We don't take suggestions."

Clark looked up and struggled to get his words out. From out of the corner of his eye, he could see Celtic Knot leaning over to watch, his grin wide and predatory but his grip on Gabe and his mom ironclad. "Just her, please."

Slam.

And he felt the fist slam into his side. Clark coughed and but managed to keep from howling. "Do you want another murder on your hands."

"We don't get charged," the man replied as he landed another blow.

Clark wheezed and felt no air go into his lungs. He hadn't felt that bad since he'd been strung up as the scarecrow, left in the field to die, except now no one would be coming for him. "Please," he let out in a strained whisper.

"Don't listen to please," and the thug cocked the trigger of his gun. "I'm incredibly bored."

It was then that Clark saw the blur of movement. Some irrational part of his mind hoping Chloe had escaped, but this person was moving in normal speeds. It was just that with the situation, time felt stopped. Clark's shock and pain warred with that corner of his mind screaming none of this was possible, that he'd slipped into hallucinations.

He didn't care.

The newcomer had to only glance at him and he knew. They had to move together. Clark watched as the other held up three fingers and ticked them down silently. On one Clark drew back his leg and kicked out with all the force he had. It was cheating to go below the belt but so was murdering four people when you'd promised not to.

His captor went to his knees immediately and, still struggling for breath, Clark turned and grabbed for the gun, fear and adrenalin making him move faster than he thought possible. He had the gun at the other man's throat before he could think. Over his shoulder, he heard the slam of fist into flesh and the ensuing tangle.

"Don't move," Clark said, pressing the muzzle to the thug's artery. Looking over his shoulder, he shook his head. "Great timing."

Lex Luthor nodded. "I thought so. Now, does anyone else want to call the police?"

Lana's eyes fluttered open and Clark's heart finally returned to its normal tempo. It had been years since he'd nursed a crush for her, but she was a good friend and his mom's favorite coworker. She was part of his life. The thought that she might not pull through had really worried him.

Gabe and Dr. Swann and Dr. Crosby were working on tracking down Chloe. The only lead anyone had was a mysterious explosion at the Metropolis harbor from about the same hour Chloe would have been ready to be delivered to Lionel. Nothing yet, but Swann's team was combing the area. Clark wanted to be there, but he'd needed to go to Smallville Medical Center to check out his own injuries. He was bruised and sore but not with anything more than Albuterol and ice could fix. So it made him the perfect candidate to wait by Lana's bedside until Nell drove in from Metropolis.

God, he just wanted things to be better, no more billionaires or mobsters, no evil alien computers or near death experiences, something normal and stable since the summer that had felt endless.

"Lana?"

Lana took in a shaky breath and eyed the thick cast on her left leg. "I feel like Hell."

Clark offered her a pained smile. "You look great, really." Leaning over, he picked up the small plastic bag from the SMC gift shop. "I got you some markers and a sketchpad. I figured that would help keep you busy more than three fuzzed out channels of soap operas."

Lana took the bag and eyed it's contents. "Crayola, amazing. Did someone call Pete and the Rosses?"

"Yeah, they're in the waiting room and Nell's on her way. I sort of got the free pass as a fellow inmate."

"Black eyes suit you. You look rugged," Lana replied, sitting up a little and wincing as she did it. "God, I feel like I-"

"Just got shot. The doctors think you'll be fine. You had a transfusion because of the blood loss, but with a little bit of physical therapy, they think you'll be fine."

"I guess Mr. Sullivan and I can schedule joint sessions," she replied, a frown returning to her face. "Clark, what the fuck just happened?"

He stilled. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Metropolis's biggest crime boss showed up and held us all hostage to get his hands on Chloe's blood for Lionel Luthor. I might have been shot but I wasn't _that _out of it. Why would Edge even _know _Chloe. I can't imagine what he'd want with her."

Clark swallowed. He was her secret keeper always. He'd promised her that, even if that was all he could be for her. "I don't know. I guess she made more friends than we thought in the city. She mentioned you'd found her. I'm thinking you knew about her hanging out a lot in _Atlantis _."

"I know Chloe wasn't herself."

"And you knew her address. I wish you'd told me earlier."

"I thought if you showed up on her door, she'd run again. I was trying to convince her to come home, but she was so angry, Clark. She wasn't the girl we know. I didn't even know she was back in town. I don't get it."

"What?"

Her nose crinkled unflatteringly. "Her personality transplant, her ties to Morgan Edge, any of it. What the Hell is going on."

"She made some mistakes running with his gang this summer," Clark said evenly. "That's all."

"Mistakes? So that's why Edge was acting like her blood was the Holy Grail. I'm not stupid, Clark."

"I didn't say you were."

"I draw cartoons but I do know my way around The Torch's databases and I've written my share of articles. There aren't that many things about a kid from Lowell County that would make a billionaire salivate."

"What are you getting at?"

Lana stared at him, her eyes cold and calculating. "Chloe's one of _them _, isn't she? It's why Edge let her run with him and why Lionel wants her blood."

"_ Them _?" Clark asked, trying very hard not to show emotion. It shouldn't matter that "them" might actually include him.

"The meteor freaks. She's like Greg Arkin or Tina Greer, isn't she?"

Clark paused. "And what would it mean if she were? No one asks to be meteor infected."

"I'm sure they don't but that doesn't mean you can trust them. Hell, you saw Jodie Melville try and murder Pete or what happened with Sean Kelvin and your parents. After all of that, how could you even defend them?"

"Well, it doesn't matter because that's _not _Chloe. She got into some bad debts with Edge and he came to collect. That's all there is to it."

"You're covering for her. If she's some kind of ticking time bomb, I have a right to know."

"She's not. I can't even believe you think like this. Not every meteor mutant is some evil serial killer."

"Just about 85%. I'd like not to be hanging out with someone with a 4/5 chance of wanting to gut me!"

Clark nodded and stood up. "I'm really surprised at you, Lana. I thought you didn't want to be like your aunt."

"I'm not."

"I guess you're not," he replied. "Maybe, but she was really fast to judge my mom for being from Metropolis. Now, you're ready to throw one of your best friends to the wolves because you're assuming something that's not true."

"I'm not. I just...Greg almost killed me, and Tina, and Ian. It's terrifying. If Chloe's going to snap one day and go after me, I'd just like some warning."

Clark's stomach turned. He didn't understand what he'd ever seen in her and he didn't understand how she could think anything like that about Chloe. "She's not infected and not all infected people are bad."

"You keep believing that, Clark. You get too close to one of them and you end up thrown over a bridge or in a fucking cocoon."

"Because they're all monsters."

"They're hardly saints. I...look, I'll go with you. I've never seen Chloe do anything weird, but I have seen her be the center of attention at Edge's front. I can buy he just wanted her from weaseling out of a deal. But I'm not going to go all 'ra-ra, meteor freaks.' I'm just not and you shouldn't either. Those things kill people."

Clark forced himself to take an easy, measured breath. "I guess things like that are made for it. I'll send the Rosses in. They've been very worried."

"Clark-"

"I hope your feel better, Lana," he finished, storming back out to the waiting room.

Plastic orange chairs were just as comfortable as they sounded, Clark decided, as he tried to get comfortable in the far corner of the waiting area. Pete and his family were checking on Lana. Dad was in with his mom for her check-up, although she was the best for wear out of any of them. Lex was...Clark had no idea where he was or why he wasn't dead at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Frankly, Clark didn't even care. Lex had the best timing in history. If he hadn't shown up when he had, they'd all be dead.

That went a long way in Clark's book to making amends, not that they could ever be friends again, but more that it made it easier to at least look the other man in the eyes.

He studied the muted beige tile in front of him. Lana's attitude wasn't really all that surprising. He knew most of the town felt the same way. No one talked about the meteor infected but when one broke bad and ended up in Belle Reve, the whispers started back up.

Meteor freaks were monsters.

Clark was just as afraid of it, of what might be inside him. He could sit there and act all offended on Chloe's behalf-hell, be offended on his own behalf-but if he were honest with himself, Lana only voiced the same things he thought. Jor-El had tried to exact a price from him and failed. He'd _felt _it, the A.I. rooting through his body and coming up empty, the sizzle, the sting, the extra pain that _should _have been there.

Something was wrong with him, something that the scariest most powerful entity on the damn planet couldn't even negotiate with.

What if he turned out to be like Arkin, some kind of bug creature, or, God, there was no end to what the meteor rocks could do to someone's genetic make up. Powers didn't bother him. Chloe had more than he could even fathom. But if he became some monster, tried to kill someone...

He'd never let that happen.

If he noticed something, he'd take care of it.

_Anything _but become a killer, _anything _to avoid four gray walls in Belle Reve.

Clark's head was in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees, when a familiar soft hand touched his shoulder. "Hey."

His head popped up and he did a double take, not believing that Chloe was standing there, whole, in front of him. "Chlo?"

God, he'd never seen a sight as great as her bright smile. "Did you miss me?"

He was hugging her then, his fears pushed aside for a while and the confused tangle of their relationship forgotten. Friends hugged. Friends who'd almost watched the other die hugged. He was squeezing her so tightly and sighed as she didn't return the gesture. He scared her. Hurting him scared her, so this was as intimate as they'd ever be.

He could feel that truth.

And he hated it.

"Chloe," he said, pulling away from her. "I...what about Lionel?"

"I can get myself out of a scrape. Papa Luthor is busy tracking down Morgan Edge who seems to be implicated in trying to blow him up."

"Your heat vision?" he hissed.

"I didn't aim to kill," she conceded. "Lionel is busy thinking Morgan betrayed him and Morgan's busy trying to save his sorry life. They deserve each other."

"You're okay."

Chloe held up her arm, unscarred by the edge of the Green K rock. "Fine, and I hear someone channeled his inner Bruce Willis."

"Not really. Lex gave me the opportunity I needed."

Chloe frowned. "That's insane. Lex is-"

"Standing right behind you," a smooth voice intoned. "Chloe, you look like you've had a rough day."

Chloe turned and Clark watched her still. For an instant, she started to bring her arms up, but must have thought better of even touching Lex in front of him. "You're not dead?"

"Only half. I crashed on an uncharted island but a passing fisher boat found my fire. I'm here."

Chloe's grin was beaming. "We thought..."

"I'm fine, and I have to say Clark's better at handling himself than I thought. Seems he's learned some things since the Scarecrow."

"I might have," Clark replied evenly, eying Chloe and waiting for her lead.

She sighed and stepped away from both of them, settling herself on a windowsill. "What are we going to do here, about us?"

Clark eyed Lex, Lex who hinted that he knew far more about Chloe than he should, Lex who had kissed her, Lex whom Chloe could embrace. He was so tired then. Tired of everyone from Helen to Lex to Edge trying to get to Chloe, giving the impression that they knew she was Kryptonian too. "I don't know. I'm thankful that you saved our lives."

"You'd have done the same."

"I hope, but I...I still need to breathe. Chlo, Lex. I think you have a lot of catching up to do," he replied, grabbing up his jacket. "I'm glad you're alright. I just can't be here to be replaced."

Chloe's eyes narrowed. "I didn't say I was replacing anyone."

"Feels like it."

"Clark, wait," Lex said, pulling out an envelope. "I came here to give you this."

He frowned and took the note hesitantly. "What is this?"

"The deed to your land. I came back just in time to buy out your debts from my father. The farm's yours, and it's always going to be."

Clark nodded and shoved the parchment in his pocket. "That makes it better then. You can stab me in the back but I'll just be quiet about it because I owe you for the farm."

"No, I didn't want to see my friend out in the cold. There are no strings. I don't harbor any illusions that I can buy back your trust, but I can save your land and I have."

"How did you even know?"

"Talk of the town. It's why I came to The Talon in the first place. Once I'd heard what had happened to your mortgage, I rushed to the bank and rectified things. I know you can't trust me, but it doesn't mean I still don't think of you as my brother."

"Thank you," Clark replied. He was no saint. He was going to take the money. He'd made the mess with Lionel first and he had to save his family's land no matter the cost, no matter the strings. This would be the best deal he'd made in months. "Now, I think I'll leave you to it. Take care of her, Lex. You wanted the job and now you have it.


	32. Chapter 32

**34**

The snap was loud even to someone without enhanced hearing.

It annoyed Kala: that snap, that crunch of bone. This time it had been the forearm, the radius to be exact. Frequenting Edge's front made sense from so many angles. Not only was it the most popular club in Metropolis, but it allowed her to keep an ear out for Edge's jobs. She stopped them, sure. It wasn't altruism so much as the joy she got out of screwing the bastard over. Of course, his thugs were known to be trigger happy. Even high on red K, that was not she. She'd rob anything, but she wasn't a killer. She knew her limits and her lines and that one still held.

She would never be like those monsters from the temple in China.

Not completely.

The greatest advantage of _Atlantis _was that it was a front for illegal drugs, all funneled by Edge's outfit, of course. Some of the patrons were high beyond belief. Those were the ones she liked, the ones who at two am wouldn't notice a girl who moved too fast, those who would be too drunk to care that a groped breast had more scar tissue than untouched flesh. Those were who she hunted for. She'd found one tonight, a guy named Sean so strung out he barely could utter his own name, but he was awake enough for certain activities.

At least he had been until she'd gotten overzealous. She'd been there, in the back alley, her skirt rolled up around her waist and the two of them rounding bases at lightening speeds, and then she'd reached out and snapped his motherfucking arm.

This was the sixth time in the summer she'd broken something.

Kala had rushed to Met Gen's emergency room and left him there for the doctors to care for. He didn't know her name and if he remembered the incident at all, no doctor would believe a girl her size could split bone with a grip. That only happened in horror movies, of course. It was four am when she reached her apartment. Four am and she reeked of cigarette smoke and vodka, of antiseptic and blood.

It had been a hell of a night.

Gunfire met her after she opened her door. Chloe stood there, taking the bullets mostly because she was too exhausted to bother slipping into superspeed. The thugs and she knew them too, had stumbled upon them during a bank robbery earlier in the morning, drained a clip each and then they started to reload. This time she didn't give them a chance. It took a concentrated stare and then both men were left screaming, the melted slag that had once been the steal of the guns scalding their hands. Bored with the commotion, Kala finally did speed and knocked both of them to the floor.

"Fuck."

There was an applause and then a light turned on by her spare recliner. "That was most impressive."

Kala glared at Morgan Edge as she started to tear off the shredded remains of her shirt. She let her bare chest out for him to see, the street cred she carried for the club of the unusual and the bizarre. Nothing there could be considered erotic anymore. It was why she needed the most drugged only.

He whistled. "What the Hell is that?"

"My father's a real bastard," she replied, sauntering over to her night stand and pulling on an old black t-shirt. It was someone who'd made it back from _Atlantis _with her. Fuck if she knew his name or cared. It pooled at her knees, swallowing her completely, hiding the filth and cum on her skirt.

"Aren't they all?"

She narrowed her eyes and set the lampshade next to him on fire, smirking as he struggled to bat it out with the bed sheet. "I don't have any interest in your racket, Morgan."

"It's Mr. Edge to you."  
>She slunk over to him, leaning over him just so their hips touched. Voice breathy she asked, "Is that so?"<p>

"This is not that kind of call."

"Scared?" She taunted.

Morgan eyed his thugs. "Definitely."

"You should be," she replied, smiling unpleasantly back at him. "So what the fuck are you doing in my apartment?"

"Well I see it as mine. You've been stealing from my jobs to pay your rent."

"Morgan, baby, I don't need to rob banks to pay my rent. I have so many ways to pay it." That was true. Give her some coal and she'd have more money than one could count.

"But you've been ruining my jobs. I take those kind of slights personally."

"It's not personal, just fun. I wanted to see if I could make the big bad Morgan Edge scared and I think I have. Everyone has to set a challenge and boy have I met mine."

"I'm scared of your strength, but not of you. You? What are you, sweetheart? Twelve?"

"Sixteen," she huffed, standing back up. Her eyes were blazing crimson.

"Sixteen and you'd be Kala, right? I have a few bartenders who've had an amazing raise in their salaries because of the money your throw around, at least three bouncers with luxury cars too."  
>"I like to tip service people. It's just polite," she purred.<p>

"But it is Kala?"

"Now it is," she countered. "What do you want? Cause if you're here for a little revenge, I'd say that plan failed."

"I don't want to get revenge on you," he said, laughing and it reminded her of Lionel far too much. Even with the red rock coursing through her, Kala didn't feel at all confident She felt the way she had when she'd been just a kid and woke up screaming in her room from nightmares she couldn't place and spurred on by an overwhelming fear of the dark.

"Then what do you want?"

"I want to hire you."

"I don't kill people."

"I have my own assassins for that."

"They're not terribly good. I'm still here."

"No, that was intentional. I've heard the stories about you, Kala, and I wanted to see if you were girl or goddess and clearly you're both."

She yawned. "You flatter me, Morgan, but I'm not looking to branch out."

He shook his head. "You might have some impressive powers, but underneath it all you're still a kid and you're still small time. If you work for me, I can take you to the top."

"Of the wannabe heap for pushers and second rate mobsters."

"I own this city."

She snorted. "LuthorCorp owns it. You feed from table scraps and I'm not interested. Believe me, there's nothing you have that I want."

Morgan stood and narrowed his eyes at her, "Everyone wants something. Everyone has a weakness. All you need to do is figure it out and exploit it."

"Words to live by," she replied. "What I want no one can give me and certainly not a thug like you. Now get the fuck out or next time? I will kill you."

Morgan laughed and had the audacity to pinch her cheek. "No, Kala, you won't, and that's why you'll always be small time." She glared back at him and, to his perspective she knew, she flickered. He blinked when he realized what she'd done. "Where are my men?"

"I've sent them to Met Gen. They're going to need some medical attention. Now, like I said. Get the fuck out."

It was the long night that had done it, the long night without the sexual release. The confrontation with Morgan and his men had left her rattled and the trips to the hospital had left her drained. It was just exhaustion playing with her mind and her resolve. That's why when Clark Kent showed up at her door the night after Lex's funeral, she'd opened it and then invited him along-in flannel and all-to come with her to Atlantis.

"Chloe," he said, and she could hear that earnest Mayberry hesitation in his voice. "I don't think we should be doing this."

She rolled her eyes. The thing left unsaid as she flashed Bruno a winning smile and slipped with Clark under the velvet rope was that they were illegal minors in a club. The thought made her laugh. Kala had done so many illegal things this summer from assault to grand theft. Spending a little time drinking Gray Goose was the least of her crimes. Had he always been this way?

He was trailing behind her, bumping his way through the crowd where her preternatural grace allowed her to slip easily between the bodies. Clark was gripping her hand tightly, as if he were the one with superstrength as if it would keep her from bolting, but she wasn't going to. She'd missed him and now they were going to stay together. She wanted to tell him she'd been practicing, that she was figuring out how to control it, that one day she wouldn't be the monster she was, but that wouldn't work, not without her crushing him. Clark wasn't like the nameless men in the alley. He wasn't like Lex. He was special and hers and too good for any of this.

She was supposed to be better for him, and good girls didn't fuck their way through Metropolis's underbelly.

Not Clark's type.

"Chloe, slow down," he said as they sidled up to the bar.

Chloe smiled and kissed him passionately. "God, you're cute when you're pissy. Hey, Jake two rum and Cokes. You'll love this Clark, it's just got an extra kick. I mean, I don't feel it, but you'll deal with the taste. It's not half bad."

Jake snorted as he set her drinks down. She was about to give him a fifty when he shook his head. "No need. Boss says it's on his tab from now on. Anything you want, you can have, and when you're ready, Bruno can show you up to the main office."

She shoved the fifty in his hand and passed Clark his coke. "Tell Morgan to shove his offer. I'm still not interested."

"I can't keep this."

"Under the table then as a tip. I'm not on Morgan's tab, ever."

"Fine, Kala, but—"

"I'm not." She snapped, grabbing her own drink and turning to Clark.

"'Kala?' What's that all about?" he asked, setting his drink down and pushing his askew glasses back up on his nose.

She grinned. "That's my secret identity." She laughed. "God, what did I just tell you? Don't you want a drink?'

He turned and put his hands on the sides of her shoulders. "What's gotten into you? I show up at your place after a two hour drive and the next thing I know you speed me over here. And now, what? We're going to drink and just dance."

"Oh we so should!" She exclaimed, threading one arm around his neck and grinding her hips against his leg. "Don't you want to dance? I haven't seen you in five months and you just wanna talk?"

Clark blushed and she could feel that talking certainly wasn't the only thing on his mind. "Chlo…Chloe…now that's…I'm here to take you home."

She licked her lips and pressed tighter to him. "I am home. Didn't you see the penthouse? I'm going to give that up for some mundane life in suburbia? I don't think so. Clark, why are you being the good boy? We're here. You can get drunk and I'm already feeling great. We can just have fun."

Clark scowled at her. "This isn't about us. I came because everyone back home is worried about you and you're my friend."

It felt like someone had pulled the ring from her finger. "Excuse me?" she asked, pushing herself off of him. "You're here as my friend."

Clark nodded. "Last time I checked that's where we were. You chose _him _and not me, Chloe."

Her eyes blazed. "Kala."

"Chloe. I'm never going to call you anything else and you know that. I'm not here to hold anything from last spring against you. I'm not here to make you feel bad but whatever you think is going to happen. It's not, Chloe. It's just not. We're not having sex. It's not going to solve your problems."

"And lemme guess. Going home will? Maybe thousand hail Marys for all the money I stole. Perhaps helping my dad convalesce?'

"I know this is the ring talking. If you'd just take it off-"

She stepped back. "What? So I can be the same weak little girl who calls you at night? Do you want me to cry? Is that it, Clark? Want me to cry on your manly shoulder."

"No," he said calmly and he was always calm. Why didn't he ever rise to the bait? "I just want you to come home, Chloe. That's all I care about."

"I'm never coming back to Smallville and if that's all you have to say to me, then go back to bumfuck without me," she snapped.

And with that, she ran to Morgan's office.

She was ready to go pro.

Stealing from Lionel Luthor would be both fun and easy and then she'd be ten million dollars richer and happily out in Aruba or the Bahamas or something. She had already slipped into the room and pulled the safe door off. Hell, she had the damn box-and who knew what it held-if it made her ten mill she certainly didn't give rat's ass.

Kala smirked to herself and turned around, just in time to bump right into Clark. Something went off in her mind, an alarm, a niggling warning. Something was wrong.

"Clark, I don't know how you got in here, but I'm leaving."

"Chloe, please. You need to come home.""

She sighed. "Pete said it best, what all of you were thinking. I don't have a home, not with you, not with _humans _."

"Chlo, please," he said, stepping toward her.

Chloe flung her hand into his chest and sent him flying into the wall. So much for no trace left behind. She shook her head as she stepped closer to the doors. "I told you to stay out of it. Now you're going to just end up in the hospital."

It was then that Clark stood up.

And then that Chloe knew she was screwed.


	33. Chapter 33

**35**

Clark hated the caves. He'd never trusted them. They'd lured Chloe to them and then left her altered in a way even she could not yet explain. Hell, Dr. Swann couldn't explain the download that had been forced into her brain. It wasn't the same as Lex or Lionel. He didn't fear what the others had done in China or Mexico. He didn't see these caves as a way to gain power. That hadn't factored into it.

What he did see was something powerful and unknowable, something that was using its will and a technology he couldn't imagine to possibly control Chloe.

He hated that, just like he hated the ship, hated it for trying to force some destiny on Chloe she wasn't supposed to have, hated it for leading her to this mess in the first place.

Clark stood in the caves and coughed. They were dusty and aggravated his asthma. He hated the feel of his lungs even partially constricting, the dry feel to his throat, but for Chloe he'd do anything. Steadying himself, he called out to the dark surrounding him.

"Hello?"

_Nothing _

Clark's grip tightened around the key. He'd found it in Chloe's sock drawer. Perhaps not the most covert place to hide anything, but if he had a key like that he couldn't think of any place better for it than maybe his dad's old tool box out in the barn. It was good she hadn't been so covert. He'd at least been able to find it, once he got over blushing as he floundered through her unmentionables.

"I'm here for Chloe."

_Still nothing. _

"Damn it!" He shouted. "I'm here for Kala Jor-El. She's in trouble!" Clark began to pace. His fingers alternately tightening and loosening around the key. "Who do you even think you are! You put all this pressure on her and then you just...you drove her over the line."

_Silence echoed around him. _

Clark eyed the indentation where the key would have fit. It was covered over with rock, something that he was sure hadn't been there just a few months earlier when he'd come to the caves last. Frustrated, he punched at the rock and gritted his teeth when nothing crumbled, except possibly the bones in his hand. Pain shot through him and he dropped the key to the ground. Disgusted, he turned his back on the lock the key was supposed to open.

"You had no right to do that to her. She's not some soldier for you to play with. God, if that's your idea of parenting, no wonder your planet destroyed itself."

_I disagree. _

Clark didn't even have time to react to the booming voice reverberating in his head. Before he could process anything, he was engulfed in a bright tunnel of blue light and the strongest wind howled around him. Bringing his arms up to his face, he tried to shield his eyes from the swirling motes of dust.

"Hello?"

_I am Jor-El, the true father of Kala Jor-El _

Clark narrowed his eyes. "I think Gabe Sullivan would disagree with that."

_I care little for what humans have to think. I have talked with Kala. She was informed that the humans have served their purpose. _

"And what was our 'purpose?'" Clark barked back, offended.

_Gabe Sullivan has cared for Kala and protected her when she could not protect herself. That was necessary. You and the one called Lex Luthor have taught her about being human. It was quaint. _

"It's who she is and she has to come home."

_She is slated for training and she will come to me, sooner or later. She cannot fight that. Whether she ever sees you or her adoptive father means nothing to me. _

"It means everything to me, but you should care. She's too young to do this, Jor-El. She needs more time."

_She does not _

"She does and you know it!" He shouted. "She wouldn't have runaway at all if she were ready. Help me bring her home."

_You care greatly for her. _

Was it possible for a machine to be derisive? How about condescending? Because Jor-El sounded like both.

"I love her!"

_She is not made for a human life _

"She's not made to be a criminal, either. What you did backfired. I can save her."

_I care little for what a human wants. _

Clark clenched his jaw and looked down at his boots. "Then you care about getting her back. It's been four months and she hasn't even tried to come to you. Your plan isn't going well at all."

There was a pause and a _I am listening. _

"Help me get her and, when you need her, I'll bring her to you." Clark had no more intention of delivering Chloe to her father than he did giving Lionel any substantive information on her. He just needed to get her home.

_What do you have in mind? _

He swallowed. "She needs to be forced home. If I had her strength..."

_Is this a trick? I will not grant a human Kryptonian strength permanently. _

"No!" He shouted, desperate to be heard over the howling wind. "It's not, but someone needs to drag her home and you can't and Gabe is far too sick. Let me do it."

_There will be consequences. _

"I don't care! Please, Jor-El, help me!" He was begging now, his tone pleading.

_Very well. You have 24 hours. _

With that the light flared and Clark felt it, the strength and power surging through him. It was amazing, to feel his lungs work the way they were supposed to, to realize he wouldn't have to wear the glasses if he didn't have to. He didn't care about that as much; he just needed to find Chloe.

She was all that mattered.

Clark was standing in the club, leaning against the bar. Chloe had sped out on him. He could have followed her, used the speed and strength he now possessed to bring her home as he'd promised. Except something deep and instinctual told him to listen.

So, taking a deep breath, he opened up his hearing and focused on Chloe's voice.

To his surprise, she didn't even sound far away, just up on the second floor of the club. Clark frowned. He'd worked this summer as an intern for the Daily Planet, a second summer in a row for him. Clark knew about the ins and outs of the city, had had his ear to the ground. He knew who owned and ran _Atlantis _, and Morgan Edge had a reputation for being _the _crime boss in the city.

He didn't like where this was leading, not one bit.

Perking up his ears, he heard Chloe drawl, her voice low and intentionally seductive.

_I need to disappear. My past has caught up with me. _

A gruff, older male voice. It had to be Edge. _I need to you break into a well fortified office. For someone of your strength and abilities, it shouldn't be a problem. If you break into the safe and steal the vial located there, well this is what you'll get. _

Clark could hear the sound of paper slipping over the surface of a desk; that was how intense and acute his hearing was now.

Chloe whistled. _That's a hell of a lot of zeroes. So who am I stealing from anyway? _

_Lionel Luthor. Is that a problem? _

He could hear the glee in Chloe's tone as she spoke. _It'll be my pleasure. _

Clark stood up and brushed the plaster from himself. Chloe, who was faster and had had her powers longer, managed to beat him to the office. She'd also sent him smashing into the far wall of Lionel's office. He hadn't wanted to leave evidence of him being there, or Chloe for that matter. It was pressing their luck when Lionel was so close to uncovering her secret, but there was so much more at stake now.

Chloe eyed him and whistled. He could see the way she was shaking from here, the way she tried to be braver than she was. "Well, someone got an upgrade."

"Chloe, it's time to come home."

She smirked at him, her tongue tracing over the tips of her eyeteeth. "I'm planning on it. I finish this job and I end up with some nice property in Jamaica."

"You know what I mean. You have to stop this. Stealing's wrong."

"It's from Lionel. Like he got it honestly himself."

Clark shrugged. That much was possibly true. "It doesn't make it right."

Chloe's eyes blazed red. "Spare me the Kent morality." Still smirking, she slipped the metal box she'd stolen into the pocket of her black leather jacket. "So are you going to get out of my way. Cause you're just gonna get hurt." With that she took a step to the door and he moved to block her.

"No."

"Tut-tut, come on Clark."

"Chlo, don't make me do it."

"Do what?"

"This," he said, summoning all his speed and running straight into her. His momentum sent them both plummeting through the large glass window before Lionel's desk and a hundred stories to the warehouse below. Even in mid-air, they were scrabbling, her nails tearing into the flesh of his cheeks and him desperately trying to get purchase on her jacket. They twisted, so that she was straddling him, a wild glint in her eyes. Clark had barely any time to process it before they slammed through the roof and then into the concrete.

The sudden jolt of landing shocked him, but he was amazed that it didn't hurt, that it _couldn't _hurt him.

Was this the kind of power Chloe felt every day?

It was mind boggling.

He stood and stared back at her, his hands raised up. "Chloe, please. I don't want to hurt you."

She sped at him and raised an uppercut for his jaw. He ducked, his reflexes as lightening fast as hers now. "Well I want to hurt you," she groused, aiming for him again. This time she hit him, sending him flying through a pillar. As it shattered, Clark hoped it wasn't weight bearing.

He rolled and was on his feet in time for her to speed into him. He grabbed her by her jacket this time and flung her into some large industrial equipment he couldn't name. Meta crumpled and sparks arced through the air. When Chloe stood, her jacket and the tight red shirt she'd worn fell in tatters at her feet. Clark, his initial instinct to be polite, started to turn away but stopped when he spied the large scar on her chest.

What he saw was disturbing and his first emotion was concern for Chloe, for whatever amount of pain she'd endured. Something strong had to have left that burn on her chest.

Something like what had gifted him with Kryptonian powers.

"Jor-El did that to you, didn't he?"

"He did it so I wouldn't ever be able to forget where I really came from, who my real parents and people are."

"Chlo, Jesus."

Her eyes were hard staring back at him. "Do I disgust you now?"

"No, but what did he do. It has to hurt."

"Not anymore," she finished, speeding toward him. They grappled and he lost. She had him by the collar of his flannel shirt and pinned against the wall. Her fist was cocked back to strike him and he knew if she let loose with all her strength, even with his Kryptonian boost, it would kill him.

"Go ahead."

"What?"

"I know you, Chlo, even if you are confused. You wouldn't kill anyone and if you did kill me, right here, right now, then you're right, Jor-El won and you aren't any better than your ancestors in China. So do it."

"Don't think I won't."

"Hit me!"

She pulled back further and he kept his eyes open as her fist slammed into the girder beside him. The ring shattered, sending shards of red meteor rock flying everywhere. Chloe screamed and backed away from him and, as he watched, the scar on her chest glowed a bright red, a searing crimson, flickered and was gone.

Clark fell to his knees, feeling the borrowed strength leak out of him, feeling the disorientation of being mortal again.

Unconsciousness beckoned him and as he fell to darkness, he felt Chloe cradle him. That was not all he felt. In his head, down to even the bones in his skull, he felt something else, a stern and haughty voice, but currently it sounded confused.

_This cannot be. There is always a price, a toll, for the powers. _

Mostly asleep, he mumbled to himself, "I guess I'm not gonna pay it."


	34. Chapter 34

**34**

"I don't know where to start," Chloe said, sitting down in one of the couches by Lex's fireplace. They'd driven there in his Porsche; there was no point in being showy with her powers and, after having Kryptonite strapped to her chest, she didn't have the energy to speed. Chloe didn't know how to leave anything. Her father had heard too much about her time in Metropolis, Pete was still afraid of her, and Clark was just so angry.

But Lex had been dead and now he wasn't.

That took precedence.

"Well, do you want me to talk?"

"When haven't you?" she joked.

"I know about _Atlantis _. I've been back a day and that was my favorite club."

"I know and it's part of the reason I picked it."

"I still have contacts there and I heard all about what happened-the crime spree, working for Edge, your reputation."

Chloe darkened. "The meteor rocks affect me."

"Like the key for the caves, I remember."

"No, the red kind plays with my mind. I wore a class ring all summer and it made me more open."

"_ Open _is a way to describe it," he conceded. "I remember when you got your class ring, you were aggressive, especially with Jesse, that delinquent in training. But I can't imagine you spending a summer doing such things."

"Pedestals, Lex," she replied, looking him in the eye. She wouldn't shirk, not with Lex.

"I hardly have a pedestal for you, but I didn't expect for you to-"

"Sleep my way through the Metropolis club scene. Meglomaniacal fathers, inhuman powers, club kid ways. It was fun."

"I heard you shattered bone."

"Not intentionally," she said. "You don't understand my life. My back was against the wall and I came to you because I was scared but I shouldn't have done it."

Lex shook his head. "Because I'll just walk you down to a lab in my dungeon and cut right into you?"

"No, because it's dangerous. Lana just got shot for knowing me. Martha lost the baby and my dad's never going to walk normally again. I dragged you into my crazy, fucked up life and everyone whom I drag with me regrets it."

"I didn't say I regretted it. I just got back from a desert island because my ex-wife tried to have me murdered."

"What happened to her?"

Lex smiled. "Repeat trip. I'm sure she'll resurface eventually."

It was the kind of line that would make Pete or her father tell her that she could never trust him, the kind of line that would horrify Clark. It was a sentiment she completely agreed with. "Bitch earned it. I was working on a way to prove what she'd done. I didn't want her to get away with it."

"I'm flattered by that. I didn't kill her but after a few months in the middle of nowhere with no money, she'll wish I had."

"Yes, I can see materialism was Helen's strong suit. I'm not proud of what happened in Metropolis."

"Well there's been a rash of returned money. As if it just apparated into bank vaults. I can see you've been trying to make amends, but I can't believe you'd throw you lot in with Edge. He's scum."

"He's an old childhood friend of your father's."

"Like I said, scum."

"I was drugged."

"You could take the ring off if you wanted to."

"I just didn't want to care. _I _got Clark's brother killed. Pete accused me of it to my face and he was right. I just wanted to forget."

"But you didn't."

"No, I didn't. There's was nothing I couldn't steal, seduce or have and I was still miserable."

"I'm glad you're home."

"Clark dragged me back. He's a great guy," she replied, looking back at the fire. It was stupid to have one in September, not with the heat, but it was so typically Luthor that it felt perfectly in place.

"I didn't mean for what happened between us to happen. You should try and make amends with him."

She looked up and felt her eyes water. "We're friends. I can't expect him to ever take me back. I love him so much."

Lex grew preternaturally still. "I know."

"Do you want to know why I trolled Metropolis all summer, why I really left some of my dates in the ER?"

"I can imagine," he replied gruffly.

Chloe said nothing at first but blurred to the fireplace. Picking up the iron poker, she glanced at him and then bent it. "I can put that back."

"No need. I can get more."

She nodded. "This is what I can do. I can't stop it. I can't keep my powers from going into overdrive when I'm distracted."

"Sexually."

She blushed and knew it went all the way to the tips of her ears. "I wanted to be better for Clark. You know him, how sickly he is. I just don't want to kill him. I wanted to be able to hold my boyfriend-to fucking kiss him-and not worry about traction. I wanted to learn to be like a normal girl."

"Was I practice then?"

Chloe straightened out the poker and began to pace. "I don't know what you are. I love Clark so much."

"A theme of this conversation."

"But when I'm with you, so many things are easier. They just are. I don't have to hide the fact that I'm not as good a person as I want to be, and with you, you just understand so much more. Lionel and Jor-El feel like the same person. I..."

Lex stood up and closed the distance between them and she let him. Reaching up, he cupped her cheek. "Am I just another trial run to prepare you for him?"

She swallowed and leaned into the embrace. "I can't hurt you."

"Excuse me?"

"You heal, you're strong. You fucking survived a plane crash that would have killed anyone else. When I'm with you, I never worry that you can't keep up. I feel like I can be myself."

"Warts and all."

"Petty, dark, aggressive, all of it. I care about you. God, I was miserable thinking that bitch killed you."

One rough thumb stroked over her cheek. He looked so different, sunburned and blistered. He hands rough from the effort it must have taken to make fires and fish on his island hell. He was a survivor, like she. "But you love him more."

"It doesn't matter now," she replied. "We can't go back to where we were and I can't ever stop myself. He touches me and I freeze. What kind of girlfriend does that."

Lex nodded. "You're extraordinary, Chloe. I've always known that."

She looked up into his eyes. "I'm a freakshow."

"Then you're in fine company. I'm far from ordinary," he said, dropping hand and stepping back. She shuddered at the loss of contact. "But you don't want me."

"Can I have both of you?" she joked weakly.

"You're still too young."

"I'm not as young as you think. Being the last of you kind really ages you."

"It's not meant to happen, Chloe. After Helen and Desiree, I'm considering taking up the priesthood and you only feel an interest because you think you can't kill me."

"I couldn't, could I?"

"Remains to be seen the limits of my ability, such as it is, but you love what I can do."

"I care about you. I...Clark's the normal life, but you understand the power and the pressure. Together you'd be perfect."

"Well there are two of us. Perhaps friendship is all any of us could stand right now."

She nodded. "I'm sorry I fucked up everything between us."

"As it turns out," he said, taking his seat again. "Nothing was ruined. Helen was hardly the woman I thought she was."

"Am I?"

"You're more than I imagined, Chloe. You've never disappointed."

"Not a goddess," she chuffed.

"And that lays between us. I can't unknow what I do. I suppose at the time you really did believe the ship would kill you and all your problems would end."

"I didn't expect to survive the explosion, no." And wouldn't that have been better? Nothing Kryptonian following her, hanging over her head, nothing left of her birth planet to continue ruining her adopted one.

"I never should have left you."

"I didn't need another injury on my conscience. I can't leave town. I don't have anywhere else to go and Jor-El is my problem to face."

"So the explosion?"

"The A.I. is still out there and it wants something from me."

"Following ancestral tradition?"

"Something like that. I can't run but maybe it's best if I just...forget you know me. I won't ruin you too."

"Chloe-"

"I can't save anyone. I can't protect them anymore from what's coming, Lex."

"Then let me help you face it. I can help research whatever it is that came with your ship. Every program has a weakness. We can find it."

She bit her lip. She wanted him on her side. It didn't matter what his last name was or what her father and Clark would say. It didn't.

He was Lionel's son.

He understood. She knew, thinking back on the way Lionel had backhanded him and of the scar burned into her chest, that Lex would understand her always.

"I won't get you killed."

"I'll research it anyway," Lex challenged. "You're an alien."

"Kryptonian," she corrected.

"Exactly, well I'm a Luthor and we damn well can't be run off. All I wanted was for you to trust me and now that you do, I promise that you won't regret it."

She scrunched her brows. "You don't care?"

"Do Clark or your father?"

"No, but not everyone is like them."

"I am," he said, holding out his hand and waiting for her to take it. "We're still partners in the caves, Sullivan, that's never changed, agreed?"

She hesitated but slid her hand into his callused palm. "Agreed."

"Good then, now, let's get to work."

It was ten by the time she left the mansion. She'd left a voice mail for her father and he'd let her stay. She figured he knew how much it mattered to her that her friend was back and that it outweighed his disapproval of age differences or of the Luthor name. The Talon was closed and dark but it surprised her to see someone sitting on the stools by the counter.

"Pete."

"Chloe."

"How's Lana?"

"Fine or as well as can be expected. My mom's furious that the attackers were expedited to Metropolis, but Edge's pockets run deep."

"You didn't have to come by. I'd have seen you at school tomorrow," she replied, trying to keep her tone jovial.

"I didn't think this could wait. Clark got Lana off your trail. The blood thing made her suspicious but she's dropped it."

"Good. I'd like to actually keep something a secret."

"I was thinking a lot about you and what you said this morning."

"I figured."

"Lana and I are quitting The Torch."

She blinked. "You're what?"

"She's going to busy with recovery and she's mad about whatever you dragged her from Metropolis. It's not a good time for her."

Chloe swallowed. She had a supreme talent for driving people off. "And you?"

Pete hopped off his stool and inched closer to her. "You're right."

"I am?" she asked, reminding herself to breathe.

"I'm scared of you, and this is all too much. I didn't sign up for interplanetary intrigue or mobsters. I didn't-"

She nodded. "You used to have a crush on me. Did that change too, the day you saw my ship?"

Pete looked away. "Chloe Sullivan is a good friend of mine."

"But you're scared shitless of Kala Jor-El; that's the score, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry. Lana and I aren't made for this crap."

"Then get out."

"Excuse me?"

"Get out of my home. I don't have time to deal with your bullshit."

"Chloe, I'm sorry. It's just that-"

"I'm not the girl you thought I was. I get that a lot. Good-bye, Pete," she said, blurring up the stairs to her apartment.

"Chlo-bear?"

Chloe sighed as she shut the door behind her. "I don't have time for the big run around, dad."

"Pete was downstairs. Based on the way he didn't want to wait with me, I could tell it wasn't going to go well."

"Daddy-"

"You were yelling, you know," he continued, hobbling on his crutches to the counter. "I heard. I had no idea he was so close-minded."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm a space alien, not a cultural minority."

"I still thought more of him. Chlo-bear, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks. You're not bad and you're not dangerous."

"Your legs say otherwise."

"You're _not _," he said, placing two mugs of tea in the microwave and pressing start.

"Daddy, about what Edge said," she started.

Her dad shook his head. "I don't care what a liar like Edge says. You went clubbing; it doesn't make you anything like what he said."

_Whore _.

"Daddy-"

He smiled warmly as the microwave dinged. Soon, he was passing her a mug of her own. "You're a good girl, Chloe. I know that. And you're a good _person _, and anyone who says otherwise isn't worth this family's time."

She was on him in a millisecond. "I love you."

"Me too, Chlo-bear, me too."

Clark was exhausted. His father had not taken the news that Lex technically owned the farm well, but he also couldn't do a damn thing about it. Lex's lawyers had tied it up so well that there was nothing his dad could do to undo the arrangement. His mom had looked through the contracts and noted how odd it was, that Lex hadn't even officially come back to Metropolis until a day after it was signed.

Clark filed that away, something to ask Lex about later, if they ever spoke again. He owed the other man his life, not necessarily his courtesy.

He tried to block out the shouts from the house as he walked to his Fortress of Solitude. His mom and dad were going round about it and he knew she'd make him see reason. It was just a lot lately-the baby, the farm, everything with Mr. Sullivan. His parents would get back on even footing, he knew it.

They all just needed time.

Which is the opposite of what Chloe was giving him.

Clark frowned as he bounded up the last of the steps. "I thought you'd be at the mansion."

"It's eleven. I don't sleep there."

Clark nodded. "I'd guess your days of doing that are over."

"Ouch."

He sighed and slumped down onto the battered loft sofa. "Sorry, long day. My dad didn't take the Lex news well. I didn't really mean it."

"It's what I did. Morgan wasn't wrong."

"You're sixteen and you were out on your own. You didn't have to do anything anyone else's way. I broke up with you. I know that."

She sat down next to him. "How did we get here? It feel like yesterday we were up here celebrating your birthday."

"I think there were alien supercomputers, mobsters, and evil billionaires in the middle of all of that."

"Lex isn't-"

"I meant Lionel," he replied. "I think everything else got lost."

"I can't forget what happened. I can't forget about the bruises, Clark. I hurt you and I never wanted to do that."

"I think that works both ways. Now that Lex is back, maybe you two have something better."

Chloe looked up at him. "Do you think I'd do that, just jump from person to person?"

"No, but you like him and he's _stronger _. I want you to be happy and if he does that..."

Chloe sighed. "I don't think anyone is going to do that. I need time to just be alone."

"Like in Metropolis in a loft alone?"

"No, I just...maybe I'm not meant for things like that. I mean, Kryptonians and humans most likely aren't compatible. I'm the last of my kind for a reason."

Clark had heard enough. Reaching out, he wrapped his arms around her. "You're not."

"There aren't any other Kryptonians around," she said, sniffling.

"But there are Sullivans. You're not alone, Chlo. I'm sorry about the hospital. I meant what I said, if I can only have you in my life as a friend, then I'd be honored."

"Even if I stay friends with Lex?"

He stilled. "I don't think that we'll be the three musketeers any time soon. I just...it hurts too much."

She leaned his head on his shoulder. "I understand. We're running out of people to hang out with."

"Oh so you heard about Lana?"

"Yeah, and Pete."

Clark frowned. "Pete?"

"He doesn't feel comfortable with me anymore. I think he's upset Lana was hurt, but he's mostly..." she looked back at him and her eyes were red. "He's afraid of me, because of what I am."

Clark paused. No one had told her about Lana's anger and fear over Chloe being potentially infected. Maybe she hadn't mentioned it to Pete, or maybe Pete hadn't wanted to add something more to Chloe's worries.

How decent.

"I can relate."

"You're scared of me?"

He wanted to kiss her so much but that wasn't his place anymore. Instead, he squeezed her hand, never once thinking of the strength that resided there. "Never, Chlo, not even when we fought. You're my best friend."

"Thanks."

"No, I mean, if I were infected-and I'm not saying I am-but _if _, I can understand. No one would understand if there were something wrong with me."

"You'd have extra character," she corrected.

"And you do. People who don't get that suck."

"Even Pete?"

"Especially Pete," he replied. "Krypton stuff or not, at the end of the day you're still Chloe."

"Clark-"

"You are."

"And then you're Clark."

_I hope so. _

"Thank you."

She let out a slow breath. "I know we never talk about it and everything with Jor-El brought it back up, but, Clark, even if it were true, even if...there's nothing wrong with you. The Kents were lucky to get to. All the other families don't know what they missed."

Clark couldn't answer to that. Chloe didn't...her parents had sent her away to save her life. His birth mother and three or four families had passed on him. There had to be a reason for it.

"Clark?"

"Then that leaves us here," he said, moving past her point. "Just us."

She nodded and stared back out at the stars, somewhere out there were the last vestiges of the one from which she'd come. "I hope so, Clark. I really hope so."


End file.

Smallville, Drama, Hurt-Comfort